Songs and poetry inspired by ‘the war to end wars’

The Patrick Kavanagh Western Association, Galway Percy French Society and friends are joining forces once again to host a concert of music and dance, poetry, song and story, inspired by World War I, once known as ‘the war to end wars’.

Keep the Home Fires Burning will take place in the City’s  Harbour Hotel, New Dock Street, next Friday, July 17, as part of the Galway Fringe Festival.

The works of renowned war poets and soldier poets – among them Rupert Brooke, Laurence Binyon and John McCrae –will be performed, along with female poets of the period who articulated the feelings of those who were left – to ‘endure’ and survive.  Irish poets who will feature include WB Yeats, Tom Kettle, and Francis Ledwidge.

The melodies of Jerome Kern, Ivor Novello, Jack Judge, Eric Bogle, Arthur Colohan, Cormac McConnell, Harry Lauder, Fred Weatherly will be captured by contralto Deirdre Curley, tenor Pat O’Sullivan, and bass-baritone Eamon Shevlin, There will be wry humour from the pen of Percy French, while Patrick Kavanagh, who was ten years old when war was declared, will also be remembered.

Eamon Shevlin and Pat O’Sullivan are members of Galway Choral Association and Pat is also a member of the popular a cappella group The Baytones.  Deirdre Curley, a former pupil of The Royal Irish Academy of Music and College of Music, Dublin.

Music for the event will be provided by violinist, Íde Ní Fhaoláin and there will be dance performances from Pat and Connie O’Sullivan, Dolores Wright and Terry Coogan.

The concert will begin at 7.30pm with doors open from 7pm. Tickets are €12.50 each, and will be available on the door or in advance from 087-7990637 or 086-8736837.