The Celtic Brothers performed a wonderful concert in St Patrick’s Church, Rathvilly
By Elizabeth Lee
A CONCERT in St Patrick’s Church, Rathvilly to raise funds for the upgrade of a local community centre was a sell-out success!
Hundreds of people from the town and beyond gathered in St Patrick’s recently for a concert by the acclaimed Celtic Brothers. The event was organised by Martin Deering, a member of the Rathvilly Schoolhouse and Enterprise Centre committee.
“I’ve heard the Celtic Brothers before, but that night in our church was special. The lighting and the acoustics were out of this world,” said Martin.
Martin was inspired by his great-great-grandfather to organise a concert in the church as a fundraiser because he’d done something similar back in 1882.
“My great-great-grandfather Mark Deering from Patrickswell, Rathvilly organised a concert as a fundraiser for the completion of the church after they’d run out of funds for the fittings. Percy French came and performed and actually stayed for a week in the village, sleeping in a room above the vestry and visiting all the big houses in the area,” explained Martin.
There was another historical connection to the concert, too, as the Celtic Brothers are Des, Johnny, Robbie and Richie Willoughby, who hail from Coolboy near Shillelagh.
“The Willoughbys’ own grandparents got married in our church 74 years ago, so they were singing from the same altar that their grandparents were married on,” a delighted Martin continued. “Really, the concert had to happen and it was very special.”
Around 400 people attended the concert to hear the Celtic Brothers and to support the fundraising cause for the community centre.
The plan is for the complete renovation of the Phoenix Centre in the village. The existing building, which incorporates an old school, will be wrapped around by an extension to create a new centre. The project, with estimated costs over €2.3 million, will be part-funded by government grants, but the community still needs to raise about €500,000. So far, almost half of that amount has been collected, with some €6,000 from the Celtic Brothers concert.
“The concert was a big night for Rathvilly; I’d say we raised about €10,000 for the cause,” said Martin.
