It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas for Laois star
Trudi Lalor talks about her love of the festive season which began in her childhood in Mountrath
Laois singer Trudi Lalor is among the best-known stars of Ireland’s Country Music scene.
The Mountrath woman, who now lives near Cashel with her husband Billy Morrissey, has recorded multiple albums in her career, which spans over 20 years. Her popularity has snowballed in recent years thanks to her appearances on the hugely popular Country Music Special on the Late Late Show.
Trudi started performing in Laois as a teenager and continues to have a legion of loyal Laois fans thanks in no small part to the new anthem of the county, Lovely Laois.
Like every year, she is looking forward to Christmas.
So what does a typical Christmas look like in her house?
“Very traditional,” she says, adding that the tree goes up on the first of December. “Christmas is my favourite time of the year so I have the Christmas tree, the decorations and the crib on display from early December. I like to entertain so we have several gatherings in the house over the Christmas season with family and friends and I just love it.”
Daughter of Philomena and Paddy, Trudi was raised in St Fintan’s Terrace, Mountrath and has fond memories of her childhood over the festive season with her big family of brothers and sisters.
She remembers one particular year early in her life with particular fondness.
“I loved every Christmas and found the magic and excitement of the season just electric,” she says.
“I remember once when I was about five that I actually got a glimpse of Santa! He had just delivered our gifts and he was eating the food we had left out for him. I opened my eyes and then closed them really quickly in case he saw me. But I definitely saw him!”
Many of us can remember a childhood gift from Santa that we treasured and can still look back on with magical memories, and Trudi is no different.
“I remember when I was about four I got a doll’s cot on wheels,” she says. “It was the coolest thing I had ever seen, I could put my dollies into it and wheel them all around the house.”
Back to the present day, Trudi is a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas dinner.
“Turkey, ham, rib roast, mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, selection of vegetables, stuffing, cranberry sauce, bread sauce and home made gravy made with the juices of the meat. You’re making me hungry,” she says.
But she’s not a traditionalist when it comes to preparing the feast.
“I help the cook. I’m fortunate that my husband Billy is a great cook so he does all the cooking,” she says. “I enjoy getting the house ready; fire lighting, playing Christmas music. I really enjoy the build-up to the family arriving on Christmas morning.”
As for the feast itself, Trudi has a definite answer to one of the most debated tastes at the Christmas table. Does she like brussel sprouts?
Trudi came from a family where music was always central. She describes her home in St Fintan’s Terrace as “a singing house” where music was always on the radio or record player.
She recalls her home in Laois being especially musical, with a traditional sing-song on Christmas night.
“I thought this happened in everyone’s house until I got older and realised ours was actually the party house,” she says.
Her husband Billy is a member of the Morrissey family from Tipperary who are famed in the Country Music and Folk music scene. It’s no surprise that music is still part of her celebrations. But has she started any new Christmas traditions in the last few years?
“Yes, I’ve learned to play cards and we play a few games now before the sing-song,” Trudi says. As for her favourite song, she chooses a classic that reminds us that 25th of December is the day when people celebrate the birth of Jesus.
“O Holy Night. I actually got to record it some years ago,” she says.
There are no end of Christmas songs to choose from and Trudi can probably sing many of them. But as a professional singer one Christmas hymn stands out, as does the venue she loves to sing it in.
“I love singing Silent Night and I love singing it in any church setting and in The Watergate Theatre in Kilkenny every Christmas,” she says.
Pictured: Trudi and husband Billy.
“Donner the singer, of course,” she exclaims.
A trend that took off in recent years was putting the Christmas tree up really early and taking it down well past the festive season, while others ruthlessly dispatch the decorations and tree on the first of January.
An admitted festive season traditionalist, there is no surprise that for Trudi the first of December is the day for the tree to go up. As for how long the house should be kept wrapped in festive decor, Trudi keeps everything up until Nollaig na mBan.
“I enjoy keeping them up as long as I can, so I’m traditional in the sense I keep them up until after the 6th of January," she concludes.