Nenagh concert draws an A-list of musicians for fundraising night in aid of the A Team

This September sees the return of the biggest night in in the north Tipperary social and musical calendar when Nenagh welcomes a national, international, and local line up of some of the best-known names in Irish contemporary trad music to St Mary’s of the Rosary Church.

Donal Lunny and friends - Shaun Davey and Rita Connolly, Cora Venus Lunny and David Brophy, principal conductor of the RTE Concert Orchestra who brought the High Hopes Choir to St Mary of the Rosary last year - will feature in what is now an annual fundraising event and a memorable night out.

The line up also features the popular In Tune for Life Orchestra, a group of over 50 young musicians under the inspirational leadership of local man Ned Kelly, who won the TG4 Gradam Comaoine (Outstanding Contribution) award in 2020.

The event is being jointly organised by the Ballycommon Sponsored Ride group led by local man Albert Purcell, and the parents of children involved in the A Team, the youth clubs for the autistic community of the Nenagh area.

Proceeds from the concert will go to the A Team’s fund to develop a premises for all the young people of the Nenagh area, including children with autism and young people.

The A Team was set up in May 2022 by a group of parents of autistic children and young people to create a safe and fun space which nurtures their self-esteem and provides a vital network for the autistic community and their families.

Now located in the RehabCare premises in Nenagh’s Kenyon Street car park, the A Team youth clubs now have more than 120 children and young people taking part, making a huge difference to them and their families.

The A Team are being supported by Youth Work Tipperary, whose CEO Donal Kelly was present at the launch of the September Concert in Nenagh.

Donal Lunny is one of the towering figures in modern Irish music, and for five decades has influenced and shaped a renaissance in Irish traditional music.

He is a founder member of Planxty, Moving Hearts and the Bothy Band, and has collaborated musically with the greats of modern Irish music, including Sinead O’Connor, Christy Moore, Mary Black, Paul Brady, Mick Hanly, Liam O’Flynn, Andy Irvine and Jimmy McCarthy.

Shaun Davey and Rita Connolly, the husband and wife composer and interpreters of the atmospheric and powerfully moving musical pieces the Brendan Voyage, Ripples in the Rockpools and the Special Olympics anthem May We Never Have To Say Goodbye, are making a very special appearance as part of the concert line up.

The always popular In Tune for Life Orchestra, many of whom have returned from Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Mullingar, will also feature in the line-up.

Cora Venus Lunny, who at 16 was the youngest ever winner of the RTE Musician of the Future competition, has already had a stunning career both has a classical violinist and in her collaborations with, among others, the late Sinead O’Connor.

David Brophy, the former principal conductor of the RTE Concert Orchestra, is one of the leading conductors of his generation, and is also known to Nenagh audiences for his television series charting his support as a vocal coach for the High Hopes Orchestra.

Tickets, at €50, including cheese and wine reception, cane be purchased at Easons, Pearse Street, Nenagh; Slatterys of Puckaun; by phoning 087-243546 or from any member of the A Team parents’ group.