*Photograph: Eamon Ward
A MILESTONE 21 years in business will be celebrated by glór this November.
Since opening its doors in 2001, more than 950,000 people have attended over 8200 ticketed performances and events at glór.
Following the official opening on Friday 30th November 2001 by former Clare TD and then Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Síle de Valera (FF) before a specially invited audience, over 60 great Clare performers – three generations of the best players of Clare music took to the glór stage.
They included Tony McMahon, Paddy Canny, James Cullinan, Tony Linnane, Noel Hill, Siobhan Peoples, Martin Hayes, Josephine Marsh, Maura O’Connell, the Tulla Céilí Band, and the Kilfenora Céilí Band, to present a night of music such as has never been heard before.
With Martin Hayes and the Saw Doctors performing over the next two nights, glór’s opening weekend certainly served as a musical feast to remember. The opening night concert was broadcast in full by Clare FM, and RTÉ Radio One transmitted the second half.
To celebrate reaching the milestone, glór is collaborating with broadcaster and producer Áine Hensey to present a 21st birthday concert which will once again raise the roof and feature a host of special guests from Clare and beyond. The concert will also feature just some of the many recent collaborations that glór is very proud of.
Miltown Malbay’s Therese McInerney will be MC for the concert that will feature some of the county’s finest musicians and performers including Tim Collins, Ceara Conway, Éamonn Cotter, Gráinne Cotter, Geraldine Cotter, Marian Curtin, Diarmuid de Faoite, Maeve Donnelly, Eimear Howley, Sharon Howley, Aisling Lyons, Seán Lyons, Mary Mac Namara, Andrew MacNamara, Therese McInerney, Naomi Louise O’Connell, Emer O’Flaherty, Síomha, Sean Shannon, Dermot Sheedy and many more.
21 years later a generation of younger Clare musicians will take to the stage to echo the opening night performance and to celebrate in true Clare style.
Produced by Áine Hensey in partnership with glór, the concert on 26th November at 8pm will bring together a flavour of Clare’s rich musical and theatrical talent that has delighted audiences in the past 21 years.
Tickets go on sale this Thursday for €26 plus a €1 booking fee. The concert will also be recorded and available to view as a ticketed event online for €10 from Monday December 5th through until Thursday January 5th.
