Mark tries out Francis’s chair
GOREY uilleann piper Mark
Redmond was in the hot seat on Sunday when he managed to sneak onto the Pope’s chair for a few seconds.
The 30-year-old musician from Gorey performed for
Pope Francis at Phoenix Park on Sunday as part of an ensemble during the Papal Mass which was broadcasted live on RTÉ television.
It was earlier in the day when Mark managed to try out the Pope’s chair.
‘It was a great event and a massive thing to be at,’ said Mark. ‘It is something
I will be very proud of down the line.’
Mark said the musicians had to gather early on Satur- day for rehearsals at Phoenix
Park, but were not allowed in until Pope Francis left the Áras, where he was calling on the President. ‘He was in Áras na Uachtaráin. Once security let us in, we got to practise,’ said Mark. ‘We had to leave our instruments overnight, which was not ideal.’
The Papal Mass was not set to begin at 3 p.m., but musicians had to get a special bus at 8.30 a.m. to bring them to the park. The miserable weather played havoc in the lead-up to the Mass.
‘We couldn’t do our soundcheck because of the bad weather. The wind was blowing the music stands, scores and chairs away,’ said Mark. ‘It was touch and go for some musicians who had 19th-century instruments and they did not want to destroy them in the rain.’
He said that five minutes before it was time to start, the weather cleared. ‘We had one minute to pull together, get our seats and play,’ said Mark. ‘We were just 20 metres from the Pope, but it was so cold for us. It was an awful pity the weather wasn’t better.’
The ensemble, conducted by John O’Keefe, played music based around Irish composers.