Popular musical group to perform in Tipperary church in aid of children's charities

The Church of the Immaculate Conception, Boherlahan, is getting set to host a special night of music, as the community gets ready to kick-off the festive season.

Popular Tipperary group Ceola have been rehearsing ahead of their concert on December 6. The all-female group are looking to dazzle the crowd with a mix of festive and non-festive songs.

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Admission to the show is €10, with all tickets available on the door, and no booking required.

The show also coincides with the one-year anniversary of Parish Priest, Father Michael Mullaney, moving to Boherlahan.

Fr Mullaney has been crucial in the organisation of the concert, providing the church premises for the show, and actively supporting the organisers throughout their planning phase.

Speaking with Tipperary Live, Boherlahan’s Jenny O’Dwyer and Ceola’s Geraldine Delaney spoke of Fr Mullaney’s involvement in the show, who Ceola are, and where the money that is raised will be donated.

“We’ve a new priest in Boherlahan, Fr Michael Mullaney is his name.

“He’s in the village coming up to a year now. We approached him there about a month ago about doing a concert in the church. And he’s a new-aged priest, I’ll put it to you that way, he’s all gung-ho about new things and having parish events and whatnot. So he okayed it,” said Jenny.

“Ceola is a group of six women, and basically we’re together since 2019 and we’re doing concerts on a regular basis, but this is something we wanted to do, and they gave us the church in Boherlahan, and then we asked what we would do it for, and Father Mullaney was willing to do it, but he wanted to do it for children, something to do with children, so we picked the Children’s Health Foundation,” said Geraldine.

“We’re calling it ‘Winter Song’ but it’s kind of a mixture, we’re doing a bit of everything, but there’ll be a smattering of Christmas in there. Father Mullaney is a year there as well, it’s marking his anniversary, the weekend that we’re doing the concert, so it’s a special weekend for him as well, so he’s very excited about it.

“We also have the Dualla Children’s Choir performing on the night, and their director is Patrice Davern, so they’re performing a few songs as well.”

“It’s not a Christmas event as such, but it’s probably to mark the occasion itself. December 8 is the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and we do the concert on December 6 in the Church of the Immaculate Conception.

“So it’s a celebration I suppose as it is a year with Fr Mullaney in the parish. It’s also a celebration at the time of the Immaculate Conception being what the church is named after. So basically on the night, the concert starts at 8 o’clock, it’s a €10 ‘admission-donation,’ with all of the proceeds going to the Children’s Health Foundation, which is very important I think at that time of year, I mean Christmas ultimately is about children, so I suppose it’s kind of a pre-Christmas thing for people, and I suppose six women performing is a bit of an unusual one. Music bands tend to be either mixed or an all-male affair.

“So we’ve come off the back of doing a culture night event in St Patrick’s College in Thurles, where we had 240-odd people at it. Ultimately Boherlahan church could take 350 to 400, and if we could fill it, it would be great,” Jenny added.

Speaking on the concert, Fr Mullaney says he is thrilled to facilitate the concert in the church, and that he is looking forward to singing along on the night.

“Well, as you know, Ceola are going to lead the concert on December 6, it’s a nice coincidence that it’s the same weekend as we celebrate the patron of the parish, it’s the Immaculate Conception Church.

“So it kind of comes at a good time just to celebrate that, but also it’s an opportunity to give our young children’s choir in Dualla a platform to kind of I suppose, sing as well, and then it’s just timely, at this time of year, it’s kind of a concert that will be uplifting for people that, it kicks off into the Christmas season.

“So it’s nice to come together to sing and hear these lovely seasonal and sacred songs.

“At this time of the year it helps us begin to get into the true meaning of Christmas, you know, so coming together is one of the main reasons.

“And the added benefit is that any proceeds or donations that we receive in the night in their entirety go to the children's hospital, you know, either Crumlin or Temple Street.

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“So we’re delighted to be able to support children who are sick in this time of you as well, and their families.

“So I support the heart of it, and it’s an opportunity for people to come at this time of year, which will give them a lift in the dark season of winter and also we’ve had a lot of sad funerals over the year, and it’s an opportunity to come together for a moment of reflection and celebration and joy and being together.”

Fr Mullaney also spoke of how welcome he has been made feel within the Boherlahan community over the past year, and that after a long year for many, he is excited to unite the community in a setting where they can reflect and celebrate.

“Jenny approached me and we chatted about it. We were going to have it in Ardmayle at one stage, but then we thought maybe the parish church made a nice occasion because it’s the feast of the patron that weekend. And my role is to facilitate, I’ll hope to sing along, more importantly, Ceola are a great group, and our children’s choir under Patrice Davern, she’ll be leading them.

“I’m delighted to host it, support it, and welcome people on the evening.

“Would you believe that that weekend is my first anniversary, I’m there a year that weekend.

“So it’s kind of my first year down, you know? So it’s another marker, and we’re not having the concert to celebrate me being there a year or anything like that, it just happens to be another coincidence.

“But I just note that it happens to be the same weekend that I started last year.

“These days and weeks have been an opportunity to reflect back on the year and, you know, it’s been a year of transition after 25 years of academic and college life in Maynooth and transitioning into full-time ministry and parish community life and, you know, a lot has happened in the 12 months, it’s been a very rich 12 months and people have been very welcoming and very warm and helping me settle in and settle down.

“Within those months you really begin to feel apart of a community, a family of faith, and people have been so welcoming to not only the community, but into their homes, into their lives, and into the schools, and into the different clubs or organisations that I’ve met in the parish, so I’ve been very moved by the the genuine welcome.”

“I come to that weekend with a great sense of feeling at home, feeling welcome, feeling a part of a community already, I had a great sense of gratitude and also a great sense of hope, you know, and this is the year of hope and I will say I found great hope in the faith and love and loyalty and the community and the people there and great kindness and compassion with people as well. They’re amazing.

“They’re lovely. It’s a lovely parish. For me, it’s been a very rich experience.”

The concert takes place on Saturday, December 6, in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Boherlahan, starting at 8pm.

Admission is made via a €10 donation, which can be paid on the door.