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“EVERY SONG TELLS a story,” High Hopes co-ordinator Glenn Alexander says.
“And every single member of the High Hopes Choir has a story to tell – a story that may contain unfathomable loneliness but it also contains courage. It’s also a story that conveys remarkable hope.”
Its members first hit the headlines after an RTE documentary in 2014, and there is more good news for Ireland’s first homeless choir, as they have been announced as the headliner for the upcoming Sligo International Choral Festival.
The High Hopes Choir will kick off proceedings at the 28th Sligo International Choral Festival at the Gala Concert in the Knocknarea Arena on Friday 11 November at 8pm.
Sean Larkin, festival chairman for the event, says: “We are delighted to announce, on World Homeless Day, that the High Hopes Choir will join us at the Sligo International Choral Festival for their first ever performance in Sligo.”
High Hopes will kick off the festival, which will take place over three days and include a range of styles, ranges and ensembles, from school choir and jazz orchestras to gospel and barbershop choirs. Around 58 entries have been submitted from both Irish and international choirs for the festival.
The High Hopes Choir is supported by several charities across the country, including Dublin Simon Community, Saint Vincent de Paul, Focus Ireland and Penny Dinners Cork.
The group most recently performed at last weekend’s Busker Fleadh in Smithfield, and the choir, which since 2014 has involved more than 90 homeless adults, continue to perform throughout the country led by former RTE Concert Orchestra principal conductor, David Brophy.
Larkin adds:
We look forward to the 80-strong choir joining us and we will be providing accommodation for them. We are looking for donations in order to help us fund the visit from this inspirational choir and are asking members of the public to help.
Alexander says that the choir continues to help change the public perception around homelessness and what it means to be homeless in Ireland today, from its regional choirs in Dublin, Cork and Waterford.
You can find tickets for the High Hopes show at the Sligo International Choral Festival here.
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So he finally took Vincent Brownes advice…
Sliptu in cahoots with the liebour party explains the shafting the working man got during the recession and still been shafted!!!
All the new entrant Teachers nurses Garda the water protesters hammered by liebour and not a sign of sliptu nowhere to be seen awaste of space and a waste of money.
@Robert Phelan: don’t forget they privatised 10% of the bus service and now represent the slaves in Go-Ahead on €28,000 per year but do nothing for them. Big Business is all they are, making money off the backs of hard pressed workers
@Irish Spider-Man: https://youtu.be/sHzbaLc__uY. This was the night he lost all respect. A dinosaur that milked his position for way to long.No doubt he’ll have a comfy retirement on the backs of the working man and woman.
@Irish Spider-Man: tell my why any Dublin City bus driver should be on more than what a lot of young professionals are on.
@Darren Bates: the question you should be asking is why weren’t the young professionals on more then the Dublin city bus drivers!
A complete petrol tanker …..
The writing is on the wall for labour
Caused the greatest damage to workers pay and conditions in the history of the state with his co conspirators Howlin and Noonan. A smoked salmon Stalinist, not a socialist bone in his teeth.
Good
A shleeveen if ever there was one
Sold every worker in the country out no loss
Where was sliptu during the water protests people are mad to be paying that union what does it represent anyways anybody know!! because it ain’t the working man..
He got the hint,not wanted.
Good
Sail off into retirement with your big fat pensions you f– king traitor.
That there is the problem, party over worker, fuxxk off sliptu..
He smelt karma
Hit the road Jack, and don’t you come back no more…..
Jack O’ Connor portrays everything so called Labour party stood for … Baby Blueshirts.
Jack, you have proved yourself a good Union man, but Politics as a retirement hobby, YOU would just end up being a powerless GOLDEN backseat Money Grabber.
@James Keogh: ya a great union man on a massive salary
@Thomas Harrington: As about as straight as a roundabout.
Labour should never be allowed forget what they imposed and tried to impose on the working people in the middle of the last recession, Property tax, USC, Water tax, Carbon tax, increases in Motor tax which they and FG used to waste half a billion euro putting useless water meters into the ground!!!!…..the list goes on…. Labour never to be trusted
Jack read the polls (5%) and the straws in the wind and he knows Labour have no hope of a TD in Wicklow.
I sincerely hope the good folk of Wicklow aren’t supporting this shower.
They are the biggest shower of political prostitutes in Ireland.
They are a disease and need to be eradicated from the country.
NEVER AGAIN !!!!
A relief to the constituency. A man not known for his intellectual promiscuity.
Now there’s a fellow you would not trust. It’s a gut feeling and I only met him once
One of the most stupid men to ever lead a union. Took hundreds of thousands of cream at the very top but couldn’t negotiate his way through a paper bag.
The Labour Party is being flogged still for the failures of the major players leading to the banking collapse.The credit mania, land & property speculation was not promoted by Labour, & the financial collapse that resulted was a disaster for ordinary working folk who did not even participate in the madness. Which party agreed to the bail out & to guarantee the bank debts & bondholders?
Not Labour, but they had to provide a minority role in the Gov’t. that replaced The Fianna Failures.
The state had to have a gov’t. to struggle through the disaster, to negotiate with the EU & European bank, to get bridging finance on the conditions demanded, which was the austerity programme. The people voted for, & continue to vote for the the bigger sinners, & blame the little party for the mess.
The Labour Party is being flogged still for the failures of the major players leading to the banking collapse. The credit mania, land & property speculation was not promoted by Labour, & the financial collapse that resulted was a disaster for ordinary working folk who did not even participate in the madness. Which party agreed to the bail out & to guarantee the bank debts & bondholders?
Not Labour, but they had to provide a minority role in the Gov’t. that replaced The Fianna Failures.
The state had to have a gov’t. to struggle through the disaster, to seek & negotiate with the EU & European bank, & get bridging finance on the conditions demanded, which was the austerity programme. The people voted for, & continue to vote for the the bigger sinners, & blame the little party for the mess.
@William Kelly: Labour should of pulled the plug so William they would of got more respect instead they became liberals..
William Kelly I note after the number of posts, you are really doing your best to justify the labour party .I would ask if your party leader is in touch with the people of Ireland as he was calling out for a minster to apolgise that spoke the truth this week. Trust he was just getting his name out as an election is on the cards. I was taken back when it was revealed that SIPTU finance the labour party each year, no wonder Jack can call the shots .
The Labour Party is being flogged still for the failures of the major players leading to the banking collapse. The credit mania, land & property speculation was not promoted by Labour, & the financial collapse that resulted was a disaster for ordinary working folk who did not even participate in the madness. Which party agreed to the bail out & to guarantee the bank debts & bondholders?
Not Labour, but they had to provide a minority role in the Gov’t. that replaced The Fianna Failures.
The state had to have a gov’t. to struggle through the disaster, to seek & negotiate with the EU & European bank, to get bridging finance on the conditions demanded, which was the austerity programme. The people voted for, & continue to vote for the the bigger sinners, & blame the little party for the mess.
The repetition was caused by a strange message that my post was not in the correct format, whatever that means.
WHO?
Dreadful person. He was a parasite in his years at siptu and then decided he wanted more. Go away jack. Live off your big pension. You v earned it on workers backs
He should maybe join the not for 67, although his colleagues singed up for it.
have your say