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Teenage singing star heads for Junior Eurovision glory
A Galway star in the making is bidding for Eurovision glory – at just thirteen years of age.
Talented Moycullen singer Aimee Banks will make history as Ireland’s first ever entry in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, which will be held in Sofia, Bulgaria on Saturday week.
Seventeen countries will take part in the event in what is the thirteenth year of the competition – and Aimee has already come through quite an audition to make it to this international stage.
Young singers and songwriters were invited to attend nationwide auditions, from which 32 entries were chosen to go forward in the televised heats on TG4.
Each performer was required to sing an original Irish language song before a panel of judges that included former Eurovision winner Niamh Kavanagh, Brian Kennedy and Stiofán O’Fearail.
And last weekend, the talented thirteen year old from Moycullen was chosen to represent Ireland in Sofia with Réalta na Mara (Star of the Sea) which she co-wrote with Niall Mooney, Jonas Gladnikoff and Brendan McCarthy.
The song, she says, is about “travelling home from sea, in the midst of the gales of the ocean not knowing if you will make it, hoping you have luck on your side and being guided by the ‘Star of the Sea’. It is a metaphor for life, there are rough patches but things work out.”
Aimee is well spoken, polite and appreciative; she listens to classical music and says her dream is to be the next Maria Callas – not your average thirteen year old.
She’s been singing since she was six when the family still lived in Killbegs before moving to Cartoor, Moycullen some years ago – too young to be part of things officially, she badgered the curate to let her sing in Church and ensured there wasn’t a dry eye in the house with her version of Sarah McLaghlan’s Angel.
Junior Eurovision isn’t the teenager’s first brush with success; this year alone, Aimee has secured eight titles at Ireland’s prestigious Feis Ceoil as well as winning the Overall Vocalist Award and Bursary 2015 for Midlands Feis Ceoil.
On top of that, she was recently awarded first place for the International Vocal Competition ‘American Protégé’ and will have the honour of performing in the legendary Carnegie Hall on December 19.
“I’m so excited, my whole family; my cousins and aunties and uncles are coming. I also have American relatives coming, and some of my Nana’s friends,” she says.
Her ‘Nana’, Nuala Quinn played a pivotal role in the young singer’s life. Aimee recounts that her maternal grandmother was her biggest fan as well as her biggest source of inspiration. Nuala was an alto choir singer and member of the Ancór music ensemble.
And that’s the one part of this that is tinged with sadness because her grandmother passed away last April. “This year has been amazing but it’s also been difficult,” she admits.
The close bond they shared is clearly evident; she speaks of her ‘Nana’ with fondness and love. Aimee’s mother says ‘Nana’ “would have been beyond proud to see her perform at the Eurovision and Carnegie Hall”.
Aimee released an album last year, she donated all proceeds from ‘My Classical Spirit’ to the Laura Lynn Children’s Hospice.
“Sadly, in Ireland, there are loads of kids dying with cancer; Laura Lynn is Ireland’s only children’s hospice where services are provided free to families of sick children,” she says.
Aimee was in Dublin to film a segment for RTÉ’s ‘Two Tube’, but remains unfazed by the hype. Performing it seems, comes naturally for the young singer.
“It’s not a chore for her, she absolutely loves it. Her dream is to perform in La Scala, the famous Italian Opera House,” says her mum, Alyson.
Alyson is understandably very proud of her daughter, but remains most proud of her caring and generous character.
“She won’t mention her achievements; she tends to downplay her success. The wonderful thing about Aimee is that she will always try to include everyone, especially her twin sister Anna and her younger brother Ross,” she says.
And as if to prove the point, when asked about her twin, Aimee replies “she’s an amazing singer” who prefers the jazz/blues genre.
Anna will join Aimee in Sofia, and not just as supportive sister but also to fulfil her role of ‘Arts Ambassador’ – whereupon she will read out the votes.
Aimee does not attempt to conceal the thrill and delight she feels at having her sister involved in the Junior Eurovision. “We’re best friends,” she exclaims.
The twins, accompanied by the entire Banks family – parents Alyson and Jeff and siblings Anna and Ross – as well as Aimee’s singing coach Michel Durham, will fly to Sofia this Saturday.
Entrants will have one week to rehearse and get to know one another.
“We will be with them (other contestants) all week” she says, adding that she will undergo four rehearsals during that time period.
Aimee’s dress for the Eurovision is being designed by Niall Tyrell of Bespoke Couture.
The show will be a live broadcast from the Armeec Arena in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, in a two hour ‘spectacular’ show which can be viewed on TG4, on Saturday week, November 21, at 6.30pm.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
On the eve of completing his 150th marathon, an odyssey that has taken him across 53 countries, Loughrea’s Marathon Man has announced that he is planning to hang up his running shoes.
But not before Jarlath Fitzgerald completes another ten races, making it 160 marathons on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
“I want to draw the line in 2026. I turn 57 in October and when I reach 60 it’s the finishing line. The longer races are taking it out of me. I did 20 miles there two weeks ago and didn’t feel good. It’s getting harder,” he reveals.
“I’ve arthritis in both hips and there’s wear and tear in the knees.”
We speak as he is about to head out for a run before his shift in Supervalu Loughrea. Despite his physical complaints, he still clocks up 30 miles every second week and generally runs four days a week.
Jarlath receives injections to his left hip to keep the pain at bay while running on the road.
To give his joints a break, during the winter he runs cross country and often does a five-mile trek around Kylebrack Wood.
He is planning on running his 150th marathon in Cork on June 4, where a group of 20 made up of work colleagues, friends and running mates from Loughrea Athletics Club will join him.
Some are doing the 10k, others are doing the half marathon, but all will be there on the finishing line to cheer him on in the phenomenal achievement.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
