Gay men’s choir overwhelmed by Carlow welcome
The Dublin Gay Men's Choir under the direction of Duncan Brickenden performing in St Mary's Church in Haymarket Photos: Michael O'Rourke Photography
THE Dublin Gay Men’s Choir made history recently when they performed in St Mary’s Church of Ireland in Carlow – their first official concert outside a Dublin venue – raising funds for the Carlow Pride Festival and the Carlow LGBT+ Network.
The event on 28 March came about following an invitation from Rev Paul Fitzpatrick of St Mary’s Parish, Carlow and Killeshin Group of Parishes and was MC’d by John Paul Payne, chair of Carlow Pride Festival.
Choir chairperson Patrick McNamara said the welcome from the Carlow community exceeded all expectations.
“The welcome received from the people of Carlow was incredible, to be quite honest,” he said.
The invitation from Rev Fitzpatrick carried particular significance for the choir. Patrick explained that Rev Paul had first contacted them a couple of years ago.
“Rev Paul reached out to me over two years ago when we had a controversy in Dublin where we had an event booked in a Roman Catholic church and they cancelled literally two weeks before our gig,” Patrick said.
Founded 13 years ago, the choir has grown from 16 to 88 members and describes itself as more than a musical ensemble.
“I suppose we consider it to be a community, a safe space for like-minded men to come along and sing and just enjoy music,” Patrick said.
The programme included crowd favourites and from Disney’s , alongside a more poignant piece – a ballad from about a soldier and his father that Patrick described as “really, really special”.
The choir has previously performed internationally in Munich, Bristol and Cardiff, with a trip to Brussels planned for later this year.
In a social media post following the concert, the choir wrote: ‘It was an incredible, powerful and emotional experience for us.’
