Power twins on song as musical gets Irish premier

Date Published: {J}

The Power twins from Mervue couldn’t be better named because they truly are an incredible force together when it comes to anything musically theatrical in this city.

Born ten minutes apart, they were cute from day one and even cuter when they started entertaining at family gatherings. There was no stopping them.

The Galway Musical Society’s latest offering, A Tale of Two Cities, which opens in the Town Hall Theatre next Tuesday, will be the brothers’ 21st directing project.

They have been involved in musical shows for 27 years but just a few weeks ago when they were designing flyers for the new show, they realised that this indeed was their 21st anniversary.

Brian and Seán have been part of the city’s musical scene since they first started performing in Tops of the Town,(variety performances staged by staff groups from all over Ireland), with the Credit Union, with CIÉ, with Thermo King and with Digital.

Brian explains that to become involved, you had to either be employed by these companies, or have a family connection with them, and sure enough every year, the pair got a part. “Dad worked in CIÉ, and we had family working everywhere else!”

They say they got their music from their late father, Bernie, who was a box player. He played hurling with Galway too and indeed was the youngest player ever to stop Cork’s Christy Ring from scoring in a game. The brothers are proud that their dad was a member of the first Connacht team to win the Railway Cup.

It seems that everyone on the Power family was involved with the St Patrick’s Brass Band; well everyone except Seán and their sister Helen. There were six boys and one girl. And mum, Teresa.

Brian was a percussionist but in the early days Seán preferred Irish dancing and singing ballads.

But trad was soon replaced with pop once the boys got older and the influence of television began to grab a hold. And yes, identical twins doing a song and dance routine were a bit of a novelty. These days the never perform in their own shows, preferring to direct and produce but they are still able to sing in harmony and will do when asked.

Seán says: “Some new members of GMS who had never heard us sing were surprised last week at the launch of the show to hear us doing a two-part harmony of Brown Eyed Girl.”

They are often asked to perform at charity concerts and they sang together last week at a reunion.

The thing about the Powers is that they started performing long before the glut of performing schools, or before reality talent shows became popular on TV or on YouTube, Seán points out.

“There is so much talent around now among the young because they have so much more confidence and they know how to move and dance from seeing it all around them on TV, the internet.

“The Tops of the Town competitions were so popular because there was so little contemporary entertainment. We loved it, of course and we haven’t stopped really.”

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.