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Dara MacMahon THURS11APR24
ike all fine ideas, Wicklow Sings grew out of a simple plan, in this case, to pull 
together some of Greystones’ choirs for a one-off concert.
ike all fine ideas, Wicklow Sings grew out of a simple plan, in this case, to pull 
together some of Greystones’ choirs for a one-off concert.The year was 2016, the place, Temple Carrig School, and organiser Dara MacMahon quickly realised that this simple idea was taking on a life of its own.
“Suddenly, we had 13 choirs taking part,” she smiles as we sit down for coffee at Café Grey on this fine April afternoon. “It just grew all by itself, with one choir knowing of another choir, who knew another choir…
“Suddenly, we had 13 choirs taking part,” she smiles as we sit down for coffee at Café Grey on this fine April afternoon. “It just grew all by itself, with one choir knowing of another choir, who knew another choir…“This county is full of singers, and to have them all come together for one night was just magical…”
That Wicklow Sings boasts over 400 singers at its annual spring concert makes for a pretty emotional night too, as both the choirs and the audience get swept up in song. That the night ends with that audience joining all the singers present for one big singalong could fair make a cynic like GG almost cry.
Almost.
“There’s definitely quite a bit of work involved,” continues Dara, “and I’m lucky to be working alongside three wonderful people, Jamie Lyon, Brigitte Hart and Anjie Mitchell. And to have the generous support of someone like Ross McParland is wonderful, but it’s really all about the simple joy of people coming together and just singing.
The Sound Crowd
