Wednesday September 5th was the day we returned to rehearsals after our summer recess; it was to herald the beginning of a very busy year.

Malaga beckoned very early in our opening term of 2018/19,  this very historic Spanish city was the preferred destination for our biannual trip abroad, but before we started to pack our travel bags we had to organize our September Mass programmes, especially one for our Harvest Mass on Sunday 23rd. With these successfully negotiated twenty  members flew out of Cork airport on September 28th to soak up the sun and history of Malaga. It was a trip that was thoroughly enjoyed by all,  and the beautiful weather was an added bonus.

Back in Cork on the 2nd October we wasted little time in getting back into rehearsal mode.  Our 10:30am Mass on Sunday 28th was a  special occasion where we remembered the deceased members of our choir. The following Sunday we had a ‘double shift’ where we sang at our usual 10:30am Mass and after a quick ‘cuppa’ sang at the 12:15 which was a special occasion marking a belated celebration of Fr. Berti’s Golden Jubilee.

Once the month of November was visited we were more or less into Christmas mode and before we knew it we were heading out to the Wilton Shopping Centre after the 10:30am Mass on the 2nd of December where we had a very enjoyable and satisfying hour singing Christmas Carols to a very appreciative shopping public. The following Sunday we played a very active part in the Parish Advent Carol Service “Waiting in Hope”.

 Christmas Eve was now upon us and this year we sang a selection of Carols for 30 minutes prior to our Vigil Mass at 9pm… it was a very demanding programme but the spontaneous round of applause and favorable comments that followed made Christmas Eve a very satisfying and proud moment for all the choir. We had to quickly come back down to earth as we had our 10:30 Mass on Christmas morning.

After a slightly longer than usual Christmas break from rehearsals it was back to work on the 9th January. This month marked a landmark moment in the life in our choir when we changed our financial contribution system from €3 a week to €40 three times a year.

On Friday January 18th we enjoyed a very successful Annual Dinner in the Model Farm Restaurant, it was the first time the choir used this beautiful venue, but I’m sure we’ll return again.

Even though Easter was very late this year year it was no time at all before we were facing into the Easter Tridium which is a very demanding for the choir:

Holy Thursday 8pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper.

Good Friday ..Stations of the Cross ..12 noon… 3pm Passion of the Lord.    

 Easter Vigil 9pm…..

Easter Sunday morning..10:30am Mass.

 This Easter was a ‘blue letter’ day for the choir as it was the first occasion that we donned our new uniforms…black clothing embellished with aqua blue scarfs and ties.

Easter was hardly over when the Cork Choral Festival was upon us and we were off to the Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Ann to fulfill our exchange commitment. It was a wonderful and pleasant experience enriching the Sunday Liturgy in the Diocesan Cathedral. The following Sunday we hosted the 60 strong Hamburg Academy of Music and Theatre Choir at the 10:30am Mass. It was an unbelievable  experience to witness first hand the fabulous singing of this incredible choir and to enjoy their company afterwards over tea and coffee in the church crypt. The year was now almost at an end ..all that remained was our AGM and this was a very encouraging and positive conclusion to a very busy year in the life of our choir.