Louth students wowed audience with 'phenomenal performance' at sold-out show

The De La Salle returned to An Táin Arts Centre in Dundalk on January 29th for the ‘24/25 edition of Class Act.

The sold-out show wowed everyone in attendance with a spectacular night of music, comedy and that classic De La Salle charm.

The show kicked off to an electric start with Odhran Madden’s Elvis tribute, performing the iconic Jailhouse Rock.

The crowd went mad for Odhran, who turned the An Táin stage into his very own. Smoke billowed from behind him as he belted the iconic song, at points turning the mic towards the audience for them to sing, as if performing at his own sold-out concert.

The show continued into the next phenomenal performance, this time moving from rock n’ roll to a classic Irish piece called Boys of Ballisodare, performed by Oisín Ó Maoileoín and Michael Kirby.

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The crowd clapped and cheered for the two lads, who delivered a stellar few minutes of pure art.

The musical excellence continued on into the next act. First year Matthew Cavaroli performed a spectacular rendition of Just the Two of Us on saxophone, providing the audience with a sultry performance full of charm and talent.

As a newcomer not only to the Class Act stage, but to the school itself just this past September, Matthew has definitely cemented himself in the Class Act legacy.

Hopefully we’re lucky enough to see him take to the stage again in the future!

Next, the stagehands rolled a beautiful grand piano into the centre of the stage, with fifth year Shea Coburn taking a seat to perform a beautiful Spanish piece called Malaguena.

Once done, the piano was rolled offstage (once the wheels decided to start rolling after some slight difficulty!) and a single guitar stand was placed at the centre of the stage. Cian Halpin took to the stage to perform an acoustic version of the Irish classic Grace. Cian delivered a stripped back, raw performance featuring some incredible guitar work.

After a very down tempo solo performance, the grand piano was rolled back onstage and the next group act, The Fusion, took to the stage, led by fifth year Deaghlan McGovern.

They began their performance with the 1961 classic Stand By Me, before surprising the audience with the addition of a second tune, the rock n’ roll smash hit La Bamba.

As remarked by presenter Mr. Halpin before the band took the stage, they chose the two seemingly very different songs because “they were in the same key”. Truly one of the most electric performances of the night that the crowd definitely loved!

The penultimate act of Act 1 took to the stage in the form of sixth year Chris Conway and second year Ryan Martin, playing the concertina and harp respectively. Together, they performed a beautiful classical piece.

To conclude Act 1 of the show, Adam Finnegan took to the stage, representing our school’s Le Chéile class.

He got the crowd going with a version of Queen’s We Will Rock You before being backed on stage by three rows of students, together performing a body percussion act to the beat of the song.

The crowd went mad for Adam and Co., who closed Act 1 with one of the most exciting moments of the night.

During the interval, Ms McBreen and members of the student council made their way around the theatre to sell raffle tickets, while the crowd eagerly awaited what was next from the stage.

Act 2 opened with mega-group The Atmosphere playing Coldplay’s hit A Sky Full of Stars, prominently featuring second year Noah Rafferty on the grand piano, giving not only incredible keys but also stellar vocals.

They were quickly followed by first year Ronni Univer, who performed a solo piece on the piano titled Liebestraum, which wowed the audience.

Ronni was extremely confident on stage, and it is clear that he belongs there.

Next up was third year Ben McKeon with his rendition of Zach Bryan’s Revival. Backed up by two other amazing musicians in Michael Kirby on fiddle and past pupil Enoch Elewa on cajon, Ben got the crowd going with his electric performance, as if transporting the audience to their own Zach Bryan concert.

To switch it up, the next act was a comedy act brought to us by Ms Woods and Mr McArdle.

In the skit, a group of lads sat in a row of chairs as if in a cinema, and in walk a couple.

The couple sit on opposite sides of the row but send their messages of love to each other through the people between them, as if playing a game of Chinese whispers.

The skit had the audience erupting in laughter and was a star moment for all the boys involved. It was definitely one of the highlights of the night.

For the next act, were an amazing Trad group known as Dúchas, made up of Chris Conway, Michael Kirby, Oisín Ó Maoileoín and Ryan Martin.

Together, the group performed an Irish piece known as Gan Ainm, which the crowd absolutely adored.

The penultimate act of the night was one of its most hilarious.

Boyband The Combovers, comprised of fifth years Dylan Haughey, Adam Woolard, Niall Connolly, Alex Babbington and Evan Hoey Rogers.

The group lip-synced to The Backstreet Boys’ iconic I Want It That Way, making the audience believe they were a true boyband ripped straight from the ‘90s.

Their performance ended with the lads throwing roses into the audience, cementing themselves as one of the most memorable acts of the night.

To end the student acts, fifth year Alex McEneaney took to the stage to perform a cover of My Way, a classic Frank Sinatra track.

He shocked the audience with his breathtaking vocals, ending the show on an extreme high.

As the student acts came to a close and the judges left the theatre to deliberate on the winners, a QR code was placed on the screen for the audience to have their vote.

A few minutes later, hooded figures started to fill the stage, as the STAFF ACT was about to begin.

Staff members from throughout the school, including teachers, SNAs and secretaries, delivered an astonishing six-minute medley of hits, displaying the hard work that they’ve put in the last few months to make this act happen.

Shout out to SNA Vincent Cunningham, who began the act dressed in full Elvis attire.

The audience absolutely loved the act, which was carefully choreographed by Kirsty O’Hare!

To end the show, the judges took to the stage to announce the winners.

Ben McKeon won the audience vote, Ronni Univer had come 3rd place, Dúchas had come 2nd, and the official Class Act 24/25 winner was announced as Alex McEneaney.

"Big congratulations to all involved with the show, and special thanks to Ms. Pamela Campbell and the Class Act team for organising everything!!Thanks also to our school’s Parents’s council who organised the prizes for the raffle.", a school spokesperson said.