Joining in the Gulliver 300 celebrations in Cavan

We were delighted to be invited to participate in the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Jonathan Swift's writing of his epic tale of Gulliver's Travels. We sang in a beautifully decorated Church of Ireland in a concert with Cavan Sinfonia conducted by Sue Donohoe, which meant that as well as our own program, we got to sing along with Viva La Vida, and the final chorus of Cavan Girl with their soloist Cathal.

Image attribution - Terry O'Connor

For our own programme our Musical Director Eileen Tackney chose five songs evoking the spirit of Cavan and of love, longing, adventure in the literature and lore of Ireland ...

1. Cavan Girl - Thom Moore - arr. Eileen Tackney

2. The Lake Isle of Inishfree - the poem by WB Yeats set to music by Muriel Herbert, sung solo by bass Brian McKeever
Then we traveled back in time for music of Swift’s era, beginning with

3. Song of Jupiter - GFHandel's setting of William Congreve's words was his first huge hit, and widely performed later in the life of Jonathan Swift
And we finished with two evergreen songs as Gaeilge, both born in the Jacobite era but still popular today; the first laments the exile of Ireland's heroes, echoing the loneliness of Gulliver himself; the second celebrates the welcome return home of the travelling heroes ...

4. Mo Ghile Mear - trad - arr. Donal Ó'Liatháin of Cúil Aodha - featuring solo alto by Irene Dunwoody

5. Óro Sé Do Bheatha Bhaile - trad - arr. Eileen Tackney - featuring solo by soprano Jenny McEntee

When we finished, our Chair Brian McKeever thanked the audience, and also the Arts Officer Karina Charles Lynch for inviting us to be part of the Cavan community Gulliver 300 celebrations. 

Singing for wellbeing during Mental Health Week

On Saturday October 12th at 3pm in the Johnston Central Library, we are singing alongside the Soul Sibgers and Cuan Crooners to celebrate Mental Health week. This is an open sing, everyone is welcome.

Update

We sang Viva La Vida, and our Mary Poppins medley. We also joined in with the Soul Singers, and as finalé we all sang Hey Jude together.

Swing into Christmas on December 8th

We are ringing the bells of change this term and "Swing into Christmas" in the company of Cavan Rugby Club Male Voice Choir, Song Sisters, and Cavan Sinfonia. Tickets from the usual outlets.

2026 AGM

We had our AGM last evening after our rehearsal in the Kilmore Hotel.

Our incoming committee for 2026-2027 was elected as follows:

Chair - Brian McKeever (B)

Secretary - Darragh Hourihane (T)

Treasurer - Bríd Brady (S)

Vice Chair - tbd

PRO/Vice Sec - Dermot McMonagle (B)

Vice Treasurer - Fiona Flynn (S)

Librarian - Mags Amond (T)

As it is our practice to ensure a balance in line representation on the committee, the co-option of line reps - Carmel Gaffney (A) and Orla O'Sullivan (A) will continue.

Many thanks to those who provided refreshments with our cuppa after the meeting.

As a new year of singing together begins, we are Gettin' In The Mood for Christmas

We returned to rehearsal on Tuesday Sept 8th, to begin preparations for a busy term already planned by our Committee with our Musical Director Eileen Tackney.

This term we have a major Christmas concert planned with guests Cavan Rugby Club Male Voice Choir, Song Sisters, and Cavan Sinfonia Orchestra. It will be in the Hotel Kilmore on Tuesday December 8th, with the theme of "Swing Into Christmas". The programme will feature popular and much-lived seasonal music and song. Ticket information will be added here soon, meantime save the date and we will save you a seat.

Also this term we will take part in other celebratory events. Coming up on Saturday afternoon October 10th is an event for Mental Health Week in the Johnston Central Library, and on Sunday afternoon and evening October 25th the 'Gulliver 300' celebrations bring organized by the Co Cavan Arts Office at Cavan Courthouse. On November 6th we will join four other Cavan Choirs - Rugby, Community, Cuan, and Loreto - to sing at an event to help fund a memorial to those who died in the orphanage fire in Cavan of 1943 (more details to follow.)

Medleys & Melodies all played to a packed Proms audience - that's a wrap for 2025-2026

It was a delight to see our first billboard on the Dublin Road into Cavan for the past few weeks. We finally presented our show in the Hotel Kilmore on Tuesday evening to a packed house - the most appreciative audience we could have asked for.

We had one choir, two orchestras, two bands, and in a new bold move - some dancers. We are used to singing with our musical director Eileen Tackney and our accompanist Sue Donohoe; on this occasion we had to build our stage AND an orchestra pit, as both of Sue's orchestras - the Sinfonia and the Youth orchestra, were joining us. We also had a wee trad band as well as our 'forever' favourite band of Peter (guitar), Paul (drums), and Jim (bass), joined on this occasion by John lending us some string sounds on the keyboard.

Eileen is our inspiration, and she and Sue put together a programme to challenge us and delight the audience. The choir and the musicians perfomed seperately and together, Eileen and Sue changing roles gracefully and seamlessly. Evin O'Meara also conducted the orchestras; our bass Hugh Tunney made us proud as he sang several solo pieces with the orchestras. In our own performaces we were also led by individual members of the choir, as listed beow in the programme list. In a surprise move this year, Eileen chose a piece wich called for dance moves and body percussion, so the plywood was added to the stage floor, the set dancing shoes were donned, and the audience was treated to a dozen dancing dames 'breaking it down'. Huh!

This concert was a great collaboration of talents from the community - the combination of voices with full orchestra was a thrill for us in the choir. At the end of the evening, as our chair Brian McKeever paid tribute to Eileen and Sue he also thanked all who had supported us in our work to make the concert happen - all listed below - and most imortantly for us, the audience; he ended with an invitation to  people to consider joining us, espeically if they were tenors :)

So the now stage is packed away, accounts are settled, the choir is resting for the summer ... but the committee never sleeps ... they meet next week to tie up the last few threads and sow the seeds of plans for 2026-2027!

Eileen Tackney, Musical Director

The Sound of Music - Medleys & Melodies

Cavan Singers Summers Proms

@ Hotel Kilmore May 12th 2026 8pm

Cavan Singers :: Musical Director - Eileen Tackney, Accompanist - Sue Donohoe

Cavan Sinfonia Orchestra & Cavan Youth Orchestra
Musical Director - Sue Donohoe, Conductor Evin O’Meara

Act One

✼✼ CAVAN SINGERS ✼✼

COME FLY WITH ME

Lyrics - Sammy Kahn; music - James van Huesen; arr. Kirby Shaw

featuring Hugh Tunney

AUTUMN LEAVES

Lyrics - Johnny Mercer; music Joseph Kosma; arr. Ryan O’Connell

JOLENE

Lyrics & music - Dolly Parton; arr. Mark Brymer

featuring Irene Dunwoody

✼✼ CAVAN SINFONIA ORCHESTRA & CAVAN YOUTH ORCHESTRA ✼✼

COLONEL BOGEY

Composer - Kenneth J. Alford

DUBLIN DANCES

Traditional Irish melodies; arr. Jan Van der Roost

MY WAY

Lyrics - G. Thibaut, C. François, Paul Anka; Music - J. Reveaux; arr. Damian Montalto      

    Solo Hugh Tunney

LOVE’S BEEN GOOD TO ME

Lyrics & music - Rod McKuen; arr. Sue Donohoe

Solo Hugh Tunney

I AM I SAID

Lyrics & music - Neil Diamond

Solo Hugh Tunney, Conductor Evin O’Meara

PALLADIO

Composer - Karl Jenkins; arr. Sue Donohoe

Conductor Evin O’Meara

JUPITER (The Planets Suite)

Composer - Gustav Holst; arr. Sue Donohoe

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

Composer - Hans Zimmer; arr. Klaus Badelt

✼✼ INTERVAL ✼*

Act Two

✼✼ CAVAN SINGERS ✼✼

THE SOUND OF MUSIC medley

Lyrics - Oscar Hammerstein; music - Richard Rodgers; arr. John Leavitt

FOR GOOD (Wicked)

Lyrics & Music - Stephen Schwartz

Duet Jennifer Entee & Maria Battigelli

VILIA (The Merry Widow)

Lyrics Adrian Ross; music Franz Lehar; arr. H. M. Higgs

Solo Pauline Brady

BENDEMEER’S STREAM

Lyrics - Thomas Moore; music traditional Irish; arr. Alfred Scott Gatty

Solo Brian McKeever

SIÚIL A RÚIN

Traditional Irish song; arr. Michael McGlynn

featuring Áine Duffy, Jennifer Entee & Maria Battigelli

AMY’S TUNE

Music - Eileen Tackney; arr. Eileen Tackney

Uilleann Pipes Keenan Smith, Fiddle Niamh Kelly, Bodhrán Evin O’Meara

DANCE!

Lyrics, music & dance direction - Robert T. Gibson

✼✼ CAVAN SINGERS with CAVAN SINFONIA ORCHESTRA & CAVAN YOUTH ORCHESTRA ✼✼

CANTILENA

Lyrics & music - Karl Jenkins

BENEDICTUS (The Armed Man)

Lyrics & music - Karl Jenkins

Viola Sue Donohoe

ADIEMUS

Lyrics & music - Karl Jenkins; arr. Nicholas Hare

MARY POPPINS medley

Lyrics & music - Richard Sherman, Robert Sherman; arr. John Leavitt

✼✼ FINALE✼✼ 

Some lovely pictures here were taken during the evening, thanks to Paul Cox.

[Official pictures of the perfomance are still being processed, we will upload them later]

Clockwise from top left - Hugh Tunny, Pamela Young & Mairead Conaty, Angie Flynn, Rachael Cullivan Elliot, Tony McMahon & Aedine Browne,  Áine Duffy.

Clockwise from top left - Peter Denton, Rachael Cullivan Elliot, Phyllis McMonagle, Mary Haren & Maureen Gaffney, Paul Cox, Jim Kelly

::Cavan Singers wish to thank each person who played their part in this production::

Organising Committee

Brian McKeever, Brid Brady, Carmel Gaffney, Darragh Hourihane, Dermot McMonagle, Fidelma Sheridan, Fiona Flynn, Mags Amond, Orla O’Sullivan

Cavan Singers Musical Director Eileen Tackney Accompanist Sue Donohoe Alto Aedine Browne, Áine Sullivan, Ben Charles, Carmel Gaffney, Catherine Maguire, Dollé Cullivan, Janice Robertson, Mairéad Conaty, Mary Haren, Orla O’Sullivan, Pamela Young, Phyllis McMonagle, Rachael Cullivan, Yvette von Cramon Bass Brian Derham, Brian McKeever, Dermot McMonagle, Hugh Tunney, Jan van Haaster, Kevin O’Connor Soprano Áine Duffy, Angela Costello, Angie Flynn, Anne Smith, Bríd Brady, Fiona Flynn, Fidelma Sheridan, Gay Fannon, Jenny McEntee, Laura McQuaid, Liz Murray, Lucilla O’Hanlon, Maria Battigelli, Mary Sullivan, Mary Lou Reilly, Nora Kennedy, Paula O’Neill, Pauline Brady, Priscilla Gorman, Rita Cullen, Sheila Cooney, Tina Farrelly Tenor Brian McGill, Carmel Lewis, Ciarán Tackney, Darragh Hourihane, Irene Dunwoody, Mags Amond

The Band Guitar Peter Denton Bass Jim Kelly Keyboard John Kelly Drums Paul Cox

Cavan Sinfonia Orchestra Musical Director Sue Donohoe Musicians Helena Brady, Aedine Browne, Shane Cavanagh, Gerry Darcy, Eithne Doyle, Irene Dunwoody, Áine Duffy, Maureen Gaffney, Mary Haren, Marie Henry, Jennifer Jones, Jim Kelly, Niamh Kelly, Carmel Lewis, Tony McMahon, David Mulligan, Sinéad O’Ferral, Evin O’Meara, Paula O’Neill, Margaret Rose Traynor, Fidelma Sheridan, Ashley Wynn, Anette Ziemann

Cavan Youth Orchestra Musical Director Sue Donohoe 
Co Conductors Sue Donohoe & Evin O’Meara 
Musicians Hendrik Altenhoefer, Leo Brandt, Caoimhín Cryan, Christopher King, Vivienne King, Marie Koci, Odhrán McKiernan, Conall McManus, Genieve McManus, Jay Newman, Cian O’Maol Tuile, Dónal O’Meara, Niamh O’Meara, Jamie Smith

Sound & Light Vincent Macklin

Cavan Singers appreciate the generosity of our many volunteer supporters

Backstage & Set John Conlon, Brian Derham, Brian McKeever, Kevin O'Connor, Leon Lynch, Sue Dononoe

Front of House Andrew Fannon, Colman Smith, Dermot McMonagle

Orchestra Organisation & Support Ashley Gordon, Maureen Gaffney, Sinéad O'Ferral of CSO; Nuala Gordon, Zoe Wells of CYO

Tickets Sales Cavan Gifts - Eddie Coleman, Liz Murray; Hotel Kilmore reception staff

Publicity Abbeyset; Anglo Celt Newspaper; Mel's Signs

Raffle Prize Donors Absolute Jewellry, Café Mana, Cavan Crystal Hotel, Cavan Gifts, Dunnes Stores, Hotel Kilmore, House of Fabric, Latté Da café, D & P McMonagle, Peoples Restaurant, Shades Restaurant

Last term rehearsals for out summer proms concert

Here we go - poster is ready - rehearsals are in full swing - don't miss it!