Ceiliuradh means to celebrate and the choir of that name has been doing just that, since 1992. They now boast 20 members in their group and every autumn they are glad to receive new talent.

The choir is busiest in the Christmas season when they perform at a variety of venues including an annual ecumenical carol service, taking place in a different church each year, in the Dublin 4 area.

Breda O’Shea has been at the helm conducting for the last ten years. I went to see them perform for the residents of Mount Tabor Nursing Home near Sandymount Green on the 29th April and was very impressed.

The choir is well drilled and extremely professional sounding, singing on a 4-6 part harmony with soprano, alto, tenor and bass voices. There were ten pieces that took about 45 minutes, chosen from the wide selection of choral works in their repertoire.

The choir typically performs a mix of liturgical music, Irish folk song, madrigals and choral arrangements, such as ‘Love’s Old Sweet Song’, Tchaikovsky’s ‘Crown of Roses’ or Yeats’s ‘Down by the Sally Gardens’.

This year they are having their main annual concert on Saturday 6th June in St. Mary’s Church of Ireland Church on Anglesea Road at 8pm. The organist at St. Mary’s, John Shera, will perform two pieces and soprano, Hannah Macaulay, graduating soloist from the DIT Conservatory of Music, will be there along with three first-year students: Niamh Kerley, Clare Nolan and Cliona Anderson, who will also perform a short piece.

The choir extends an invitation to NewsFour readers to come along, enjoy the evening and share a glass of wine after the concert. Having seen them myself, I would definitely recommend a visit.

The autumn is the time for anyone interested in joining the choir when they hold auditions. Potential choristers can contact Breda O’Shea at bredaoshea6@gmail.com