Cracking Christmas concerts in north Mayo this weekend

Ballina will host two incredible seasonal concerts this weekend.

First up on Friday (November 29) is a stunning concert of seasonal music by candlelight in the unique, beautiful surrounds of St. Muredach’s Cathedral.

Directed by Regina Deacy, Midwinter Melodies will be hosted by former RTÉ newsreader Eileen Dunne, with former Eurovision winner Eimear Quinn as special guest.

Quinn is one of the pre-eminent Irish voices of her generation. An Irish singer and composer, she is best known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 with 'The Voice'. Since then she has toured and performed extensively internationally and has released four albums of her work, the most recent being Ériu, recorded with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and released in 2020.

Eimear has toured in Australia, Europe, America and South Africa in venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, the Sydney State Theatre, the Vorst National, Brussels, and Theatre De La Ville, Paris. She has also made numerous television appearances as a performer and presenter for Irish television and radio programming for RTÉ and TV3, with many radio and television performances in Europe to her name as well.

The overwhelming reaction to her performance of ‘O Holy Night’ live on Ryan Tubridy’s Radio 1 show inspired the album, also entitled O Holy Night. This in turn led to Eimear presenting her own television special – A Christmas Celebration with Eimear Quinn – on RTÉ in December 2008. Eimear still tours with these songs nationwide in Ireland every December. Her new album, Songs of Winter Dreaming, will be launched at the end this month.

St. Muredach’s Cathedral Choir, fresh from their stunning performance of Handel’s 'Messiah' in 2023, will lift the roof with a few 'Messiah' choruses as well as some Christmas pieces in anticipation of the festive season.

Add in the velvet tones of tenor Alan McGinty and the sweetness of the St. Mary’s Secondary School choir, and this is concert not to be missed. Tickets cost €30 and are available online at www.ballinaparish.org or in person at the Kilmoremoy parish office (between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.). All proceeds from this concert will go to the St. Muredach's Cathedral restoration project.

Taking place on Saturday (November 30) is An Enchanted Night in Belleek Castle.

In this concert, the velvet tones of Donna Malone's voice will enchant music-lovers in a spectacular setting as the Christmas season begins in earnest.

Join Donna – a native of Ballina – as she breathes new life into timeless classics from the likes of Peggy Lee and Doris Day as well as modern day favourites, musical hits and much-loved seasonal melodies.

An accomplished classical crossover artist, Donna has performed with The Celtic Tenors throughout their world tour and also with Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance.

Described as one of the most astonishing Irish voices of her generation, it was a huge honour for Donna to be invited to Áras an Uactartáin, where she performed for President Micheal D. Higgins and his wife Sabina.

Her most recent engagement was in Panama, where she was invited to take part at World Youth Day, performing on the main stage for the Pope and 250,000 people who attended the event.

Her Belleek concert on Saturday will take place in the glow of the candlelit Stables setting of the award-winning hotel. This is a ticket-only event, with tickets available now through eventbrite.ie.