Mystery surrounds acts that will perform at Mayo soccer club's 'Stars in their Eyes'

Everyone in Westport United FC and their charity partners in Western Care are really looking forward to the big 'Stars in their Eyes' event in the Dome Suite of the Castlecourt Hotel on Saturday night next, April 11.

People are expected to be travelling from far and wide for a night that promises to be one of the social highlights of the year in Westport.

Planning for the event started last December but things have really ramped up in the last few weeks with rehearsals taking place in the Westport United Clubhouse at AbbVie United Park. Ten acts will take to the stage and while for some it's not going to be their first rodeo, for others it will be their first time to appear on stage.

Every act has managed to keep their act identity under wraps and there is great speculation locally on who will actually appear on stage when the famous words 'Tonight, Dermott, I'm going to be. . . . . ' are uttered. Dermott Langan is back again as the MC for the night and he can't wait to get stuck into it.

“It's always a fantastic night out and from all that I hear this one is going to be better than anything we've seen before. There are going to be loads of surprises and the only advice I'd give to the public is to be sure to have a ticket. This is definitely one of those not to be missed nights,” he said.

Other local personalities making a return to the Dome Suite stage include Conor O'Neill, Joe Ring, Michael Horan, Stephen Duffy, Cathy Waddell, Fiona Silke, Trish Walsh, Regina McCormack, Joe O'Malley, Tracey Duffy and Fr John Kenny. Some of the newcomers include performers such as Orlaith McGeough, Rachel Browne, Liam Keaveney, Robert Reilly, Peter McNally, Conor Calvey, Babs Strutt, Des Reidy and the incredibly shy and withdrawn Finian Gardner.

The big breaking news this week was the announcement that two Western Care service users - Patrick Carr and Mark Roache - are going to be performing. No one knows what they are going to be doing but what we do know is that there is a good chance that a very well known local politician (who may or may not work with Western Care) will be joining them on stage. That should be worth the admission money on its own.

The panel of judges has had a bit of an overhaul too and someone called Michael Ring will be joined by Brid Chambers and Catherine Roddy. Expect the unexpected from the trio.

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Brian Cusack is the chairman of the Westport United FC Development Committee and he can't speak highly enough of all the people who have supported the project.

“It's incredible really. We have a fantastic town and the community support for organisations such as ours is so heartening. Believe it or not we haven't had a major fundraiser for six years and we can't say thanks often enough to the people who supported us. Huge thanks to all of the Kavanagh Group for joining us as the main sponsors for the night and to everyone who has supported us. We're indebted to everyone.”

He went on to pay tribute to the ten acts who have committed to performing on the night. “Everyone says it's great craic but it still takes guts to get up on stage and perform. It's not for everyone but the acts that committed certainly put in the hard work to make sure it all goes well on the night,” he said before adding that there's a real competitive edge to this year's show with a very significant amount of money going to the winning team or individual (there's one solo act, the irrepressible Conor O'Neill).

Western Care will benefit from the event and Brian Cusack said it was an easy decision for the club to partner with them.

“They have such a visible presence in the town every day of the week so it wasn't hard to decide to go with Western Care. It's a fantastic organisation and we're proud to be working with them,” he said.

Westport United will also benefit and they have already identified a project within Abbvie United Park to start work on with the monies raised from Saturday night next.

“We have to finish the car park this year. It's what we set out to do at the start of the year and we have to get it done. Anyone that has been there in recent months will understand the importance of getting the surface completed. It's not just that it will look an awful lot better but it will make it so much safer. At the moment we can't install the safety systems that we'd like to and we're relying on people not to drive fast. Most people drive safely but there are some who drive too fast and with so many children using the facility we have no choice other than to make it as safe as is humanly possible. If we can get that work completed this year it will have been a good year,” he said.

Brian is hoping that everyone has a great night on Saturday.

“The one big takeaway from the previous Stars in their Eyes nights was the fun everyone had. It's always a great family and community night and it gives everyone a great lift. I think we need that bit of fun and escapism more than ever now so I'd encourage everyone to make sure to get a ticket and go out on Saturday night and have a bit of fun,” he said.

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