| They say a prophet is not recognized in his own home; well
if the same can be applied to singers then Anthony's concert in Enniscorthy must surely
prove this wrong. The venue in the Riverside Park Hotel in Enniscorthy -Anthony's nearest
large town- seats 750 and every seat was taken. There were even a few people
standing. The hall for the concert was in the shape of a large quadrant with no obstructing pillars to interfere with our view of the stage. Because of the shape of the hall everybody was very close to the stage and could easily make out Anthony's expressions and gestures during his songs and banter in between songs. This fundraiser for the Halfway House/Bunclody G.A.A club (Gaelic sporting club) started with Anthony singing about six songs. I arrived a little late and missed the first couple of songs but was in time hear him sing Mother Mcroi, Star of County Down, a piece by Schumann and a Mario Lanzo song, Because you're mine. Anthony then introduced a trio of traditional musicians who entertained us for a while with traditional jigs and reels. Anthony then came back on stage to sing Phil the Fluter, Macushla (which he dedicated to Mavis Day from Texas, who was in the audience), Eileen Og and Girl from County Clare. It was then time for the interval and an opportunity for the GAA to sell some raffle tickets. The second part restarted with a few lively tunes from the traditional group. Anthony then came on stage to sing La Dona e Mobile, Ireland Mother Ireland, Love Thee Dearest, All hail thou dwelling pure and holy by Faust, The two Gendarmes (which was sang as a delightful duet with Patrick Healy), Danny Boy, Spanish Lady, Younger than Springtime from South Pacific, O' Sol O Mio (which Anthony had great fun with, as this tune is used here to promote ice-cream. Anthony sang some of the parts from the TV advertisement during parts of the song. This went down very well with the audience). Anthony then sang Boolavogue dedicated to Jim and Peter Furlong who were there from Chicago. This song received a standing ovation and as Anthony had introduced it as his last song we all clamored for more. He finished off with Trotting to the Fair and Far from the Land. Anthony and Patrick then went to the hotel lobby for some tea while the draw for the raffle took place. I retired to the bar and could see that Anthony hung around the lobby for a while and everybody had ample opportunity to meet him. The verdict in the bar "A great night out". |
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