The volunteering spirit

“It was amateur in name only, and any of the 3,800 people who flocked to see it will testify to that”

Speaker’s Corner
Mike Finnerty

I’VE been thinking about volunteerism quite a lot lately. That’s what happens when you spend too much time around the local GAA club, attending meetings, talking to coaches, parents and administrators. And what’s been the consensus of all this brain-storming? Well, it seems there is a major problem on the horizon. People have less time to give and are less inclined to give it.
Not enough people want to ‘put something back’ into the local club. Based on a lot of anecdotal evidence and some recent empirical data, it seems the same is true in most corners of the country.
That thought struck me last weekend when I accompanied a 60-strong group from Ballinrobe Musical Society to the All-Ireland Musical Society (AIMS) awards in Killarney. For two days and two nights I listened, watched and conversed as young and old, experienced troubadours and novice stage-hands, men and women, mixed and mingled.
Most of them were there to celebrate the success of their respective shows. Some were nominated for awards, others had come along for the fun and the frolics. And a few of us were there to offer our support and maybe even to a write a column...
Ballinrobe’s boisterous group spent the weekend reliving past glories, making plans for the future and, fittingly, brought home three AIMS awards for good measure. They could (and should) have won more but that is a story for another day.
Still, they celebrated their six nominations and three victories with all the grace and style that one would expect from one of the most respected musical societies in the land.
Of all the groups that travelled to Kerry from the four corners of Ireland, Ballinrobe brought the biggest representation. Husbands, wives, partners, brothers, sisters and singletons all travelled to show their support for the cause, and to fly the flag for the artist formerly known as St Mary’s Choral Society.
Some met old friends from other societies, others made new ones. The likes of Seán Costello has been nominated for more awards than Westlife but he still took time out from his hectic schedule to drive the length of the country and join in the fun.
Pat McGovern, surely one of the most ambitious and driven Chairmen that ever donned a white tuxedo, led from the front. He had been instrumental in ensuring that Ballinrobe Musical Society staged ‘Titanic’ earlier this year and while understandably disappointed that the show didn’t take the ultimate prize, he can reflect on a job well done.
The show filled the auditorium at Ballinrobe Community School for eight nights last February and could easily have sold eight more. Word of its incredible cast, powerful chorus and impressive set spread like wildfire across the province. It was amateur in name only, and any of the 3,800 people who flocked to see it will testify to that.
Four months of practice, painstaking practice, came to fruition last spring. By the time the curtain came back, nothing had been left to chance. The backstage crew had assembled on a string of Saturdays and Sundays to build a set that was the talk of the town. They were nominated for an AIMS award last weekend and can feel desperately unlucky not to have won.
The 80-strong chorus had no such worries. Countless hours spent listening to the ‘Titanic’ CD on the way to and from work paid off for each and every one of them. The ‘Best Chorus’ award was probably won the night the AIMS adjudicator visited Ballinrobe to see the show for himself.
Liam Horan can take the majority of the credit for ‘Best Programme’ while a cluster of well-turned-out ladies and gentleman gave of their time generously to earn the ‘Best House Management’ accolade.
Not everybody who played their part in Ballinrobe’s Musical Society’s success was there to share in the moment in Killarney but all will be present and correct next autumn when the auditions and rehearsals begin all over again. Last weekend showed this writer that all may not yet be lost.