A special St Patrick’s Night Concert and Supper will be held in St Patrick’s Church Hall, Castle Street, Ballymena on Saturday, 17th March 2018. The evening gets underway at 7:30 pm.
Details of the programme are as follows:
Rev Jason Kernohan
Local man and former Parish Reader in St Patrick’s, Jason was recently appointed Rector of All Saints’ Parish Church, Eglantine. He is an accomplished pianist, violinist and accordionist. However, his first love is singing and he is making a return visit to St Patrick’s to do just that!
Emma Nevin & Diane McCullough
Emma (fiddle) and Diane (fiddle/accordion) held their audience spellbound as they performed a beautiful, haunting Slow Air by Neil Gow on the Burns Night Concert, broadcast on BBC television on 25th January. The organisers are delighted to welcome them on their first visit to St Patrick’s.
Laura & Rachel Smyth
Laura and Rachel are no strangers to St Patrick’s. They now sing in the Belfast Philharmonic Choir. In addition to full-time music teaching, both girls work as musicianship tutors for the Belfast Philharmonic Youth Choir. They hope to be joined by other singers for some of their pieces. The audience is in for a real treat!
Irish dancers from the Ollar School of Dance, Ballyclare
No St Patrick’s night concert would be complete without some Irish dancing! Erin McConnell, together with other Irish dancers, will display some of the fancy footwork which has helped to carry off numerous trophies in competitions throughout Ireland.
Castle Players
Former rector of St Patrick’s, Canon Stuart Lloyd and local actress, Evelyn Riddel, will display their thespian talents in a short sketch written specially for the occasion by Barry Duke. Barry has divulged very little about the content but, no doubt, his inimitable humour will be evident throughout!
2 am
Those of a certain age may remember Gracehill man, Bill Wray (guitarist and vocalist) perform in Southbound Train many years ago! Bill and fellow musician, Paul Jordan, have recently teamed up to do some 2-piece acoustic music. They currently write some of their own material and have recently played on a CD (to be released shortly) featuring artists on the local music scene.
St Patrick’s rector, Revd Mark McConnell will compère the evening.
A beautiful oil painting by Raymond Cochrane (kindly donated by the artist) will be the star prize in a Prize Draw.
Tickets are now available for the St Patrick’s Night Concert and Supper at St Patrick’s Church Hall, Castle St, Ballymena.
Admission (including supper of Irish Stew and Apple Tart) is £10. While you may pay at the door, it would be very helpful, to assist with catering, if you could please buy tickets in advance. These are available from the Church Office and Good Morning Ballymena (please see attached poster for details). Proceeds are in aid of Church Funds and Good Morning Ballymena. Everyone is welcome for what is sure to be an enjoyable event!
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