Clonmel World Music revisits iconic Irish albums to support local charities.

Clonmel world music is delighted to present an exclusive musical mini-series, where we celebrate iconic irish albums of the 1980’s and 1990’s, through funding from the government’s live performance support scheme. 

The shows were filmed live in Hearns Hotel Clonmel during the lockdown, with no audience present, due to covid restrictions.

The format of each show is that the artist sings a selection of songs from the particular album, and there is an interview after the songs, where the artist talks about the recording of the albums, the songs on the albums and the era in which they were recorded.

The 3 episodes will be fundraisers for 3 great charities, whose funding has been severely hampered during the pandemic. Each episode will be broadcast on Youtube, through the Clonmel World Music Facebook page and broadcast simultaneously on the selected charities social media outlets. The shows will be broadcast on successive Sunday nights in October, and Clonmel World Music is delighted to partner with 3 great charities, one charity linked with each artists show. 

The shows will be world exclusives and will free to watch, but the audience will be asked to donate to the particular charity on the night of the broadcasts, through a donate link before and after each broadcast. Each charity is a Clonmel based charity, or has strong local connections, and the idea is to fundraise as much as possible on the night for each of these great charities who do invaluable work in Clonmel and surrounding areas.

Luka Bloom, Riverside, and SEMRA:

Luka Bloom will revisit his debut 1990 album Riverside, and the charity he has selected is The South Eastern Mountain Rescue Association (SEMRA). 

SEMRA provide an invaluable search and rescue service for those who find themselves in difficulty on the mountains of the South East of Ireland. The area of operation includes, but is not confined to, the Galtees, Comeraghs, Slievenamon, Knockmealdowns, Blackstairs, Slieve Blooms and Ballyhouras. SEMRA is a 24/7 service provided by volunteers and is available 365 days a year, and their base is in Clonmel. 

This episode will broadcast on Sunday 17th October at 8pm, and there will be a special donation link to donate directly to SEMRA on the night of the broadcast.

Mary Coughlan, Tired And Emotional, and Cuan Saor

Mary Coughlan will celebrate her debut album tired and emotional from 1985. Mary has chosen Cuan Saor as her nominated charity.  

Cuan Saor (Safe Haven) was established in Clonmel in 1994 to offer support to women who were experiencing domestic violence. In 1995 a Freephone helpline was launched and in 2000 a large centrally located building in Clonmel was renovated and opened its doors as a Refuge. The refuge provides short-term crisis accommodation for women and children fleeing domestic violence. Mary has done many fundraisers for similar charities in Wicklow where she lives.

This episode will broadcast on Sunday 24th October at 8pm, and there will be a special donation link to donate directly to Cuan Saor on the night of the broadcast.

Freddie White, Do You Do, and Dogs For The Disabled

Freddie White will revisit his 1981 debut studio album Do You Do , and the charity he is supporting is Dogs for the Disabled. This is a wonderful charity which has its Assistance Dog Training Centre in Cork and they provide Assistance Dogs free of charge to children and adults living with a physical disability in the republic of Ireland, including in Clonmel.

Dogs for the Disabled is a unique charity founded in 2007 to improve the lives of children and adults living with physical disabilities in Ireland. They deliver approximately 25 fully trained assistance dogs each year to their physically disabled partners. The assistance dogs are specially trained to assist physically disabled children and adults to carry out a range of practical tasks in order to achieve greater independence. Every dog is trained to help with simple everyday tasks such as opening/closing doors, picking up dropped items. Each dog is trained to cater for the needs of the specific client to enable them to live life with greater independence.

This episode will broadcast on Sunday 31st October at 8pm, and there will be a special donation link to donate directly to Dogs For The Disabled on the night of the broadcast.

Clonmel World Music is grateful to minister Catherine Martin and the department of tourism, culture, arts, gaeltacht, sport & media for awarding them funding to do this musical series,  under the live performance support scheme.