Rock 'n' Roll Kids Eurovision singer at McAuley Place in Naas
Charlie McGettigan, who won the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland while performing with Paul Harrington, will play a gig at McAuley Place in Naas on Saturday, February 9.
Tickets for the event – which will provide a funding boost for the centre – are priced at €15 and will be available on the door on the night, as well as from Jam Music in Naas and ticketstop.ie beforehand.
The show will be held in the Arts and Culture Centre at McAuley Place, with doors opening at 7.30pm. It’s the perfect spot for an intimate event, as evidenced by a Christy Moore gig for residents and staff last year.
“We’ll be delighted to have him here. We’re looking forward to it,” said Catherine O’Sullivan, Volunteer Co-ordinator/Administration Executive with McAuley Place. “We had Christy Moore here last year… it was an ideal setting so I’m hoping Charlie likes it as well as Christy!”
Charlie will be joined by a special guest in local Naas singer/songwriter Sive O’Sullivan, who is no stranger to the residents and volunteers at McAuley Place through the Past Times choir. “Sive is brilliant,” Ms O’Sullivan added. “We’re delighted that she’s special guest on the bill.”
His music career began in the 1960s, performing with a variety of rock bands in Donegal. After moving to Dublin in 1968, he formed Jargon – which would later win the Letterkenny Folk Festival – in 1973. More than two decades later, he joined forces with Brendan Graham and Paul Harrington to win the Eurovision in 1994 with ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids’.
Artists including Mary and Frances Black, Daniel O’Donnell and De Danann have recorded Charlie McGettigan’s songs over the years, and these days he tours both in Ireland and abroad, alongside presenting The Saturday Connection on Shannonside/Northern Sound Radio. A serving member on the Board of the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO), his latest album – Tuesdays with Paul – has been well-received since its launch last year.
The upcoming gig is one of the first events in what will undoubtedly be another busy year for McAuley Place, which provides centrally-located independent living for older people in Naas town. One of the next events on the calendar is a black tie ball at the Killashee Hotel in Naas on 23 February. The ball will be free for volunteers and residents while tickets are to be made available for the public.
As Ms O’Sullivan explains, the event will help recognise the hard work and dedication over the years on the part of Margharita Solon, a founding member of McAuley Place who recently resigned from its board.
“McAuley Place was all her idea, her vision,” Ms O’Sullivan said. “The gala on the 23 February will really be a kind of thank you to her from the volunteers, the residents, the board, the management of McAuley Place.”