Choirs in decades past conjured up images of sombre Sunday hymns or serious classical singing. But group singing has gone through a revolution in recent years with more pop and mainstream songs added to repertoires, modernising the image of community choirs from fuddy-duddy to fun.
Timahoe Male Choir definitely falls into the latter category – they are the very definition of feel-good.
It’s impossible not to smile as several members belt out a rousing version of My Home, My Donegal or Old McDonald Has a Farm in the shadow of the historic round tower in the picturesque Laois village. It is here St Mochua founded a monastery in the 6th century, but rather than a Latin chant, these singers are getting ready to debut some 90s dance classics.
The choir, who have members in their 20s right up to their 80s from all walks of life, are preparing for their biggest gig yet – on 7 June in St Anne’s Park, Dublin. The Pints in A Field outdoor gig with the Two Johnnies and special guests is expected to attract close to 20,000 people.
Musician and choir leader Damien Bowe says they are aiming to surprise people on the day.
“What we are doing is a set based on what people definitely won’t expect. We are singing Maniac 2000, Gala’s Freed from Desire and Declan Nerney’s Stop the World and Let Me Off. I want people to go, ‘Oh my god, look at these lads,’” he says, laughing.
In front: Jim Walsh, Damien Bowe and Roghan Headen. Back: Chris Fraser, Steve Crowley, Matt McDonald, Jim Ramsbottom, Aidan McCabe, Paul Keane and James
Ramsbottom. \ Odhran Ducie
Only up and running since November 2023, Damien decided to try and get a few lads together from a Sunday pub session in the village to perform at a fundraising concert for the local school. Ten people turned up on the first night, and it snowballed from there, Damien says.
“It’s about camaraderie. What it has done for the spirit of the place is amazing. I know individuals who have different issues going on in their lives, whether it is loneliness, anxiety, relationship difficulties, or maybe the kids are reared and gone away and you’re on your own. Then they are bachelors living alone, and the sense of unity and camaraderie is unbelievable.
“You see lads stepping out of their comfort zones. They are trying something completely new. None of these fellas ever sang in their lives, and now they are going to stand up in front of thousands [this weekend].”
Steeped in the entertainment and music business all of his life, Damien is firmly of the belief that there is a place for everyone in this group, irrespective of ability and age. They meet every Monday night alternating between the two village pubs.
“It’s amazing what it has done for people and for the community. All it is is fun, fun, fun. There are no solos; nobody is put ahead of anyone else. It’s a team effort,” says Damien.
Joyful togetherness
That aspect is something also referred to by the secretary, Roghan Headen. Having played football and hurling locally for years, he is now enjoying putting on the jersey of Timahoe Male Choir and representing the village.
“This [the choir] is filling that gap for me. It’s the training of a Monday night, a different kind of training, mind you,” he says, laughing. “It’s the togetherness of the team. I really enjoy it. It’s something special. You’re putting on the red jersey, getting on the stage and singing songs that people want to hear and having the craic,” adds Roghan, a garda who works in the Garda Training College in Templemore, Co Tipperary.
“There is something joyful about singing and singing together, that togetherness – no matter how weak of a singer you are or how strong – together there is something harmonious when it all comes together and sounds great,” enthuses Roghan. He calls the group – boasting around 60 members – the village’s “own version of the Men’s Shed”.
Since their first local concert, the group’s trajectory has been upward all the way. They have performed at a multitude of local and national events, and made their debut at Electric Picnic last year.
This year has continued in a similar vein. In February, Stradbally Male Choir launched their first charity CD before a crowd in the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel, raising funds for Cuisle Centre and Timahoe National School.
The recording included their unique take on the county song Lovely Laois with an accompanying video filmed at the nearby Rock of Dunamaise.
In March, the group travelled to the Big Apple, which was a “trip of a lifetime”, according to dairy farmer Jim Walsh, who marched in the St Patrick’s Day Parade and sang at several concerts in New York.
From nearby Ballyroan, Jim, who is undergoing cancer treatment says: “It’s great enjoyment, the singing, even apart from the great people. You couldn’t be at better. I wouldn’t miss the Monday night in Timahoe for love nor money, and a lot of the lads would say the same.”
Timahoe Male Choir members Steve Crowley, Roghan Headen and Jim Ramsbottom taking a break from rehearsals. \ Odhran Ducie
He enjoys a “fierce lift” from the singing and banter of being involved, and like all members, credits Damien and Roghan as a huge part of its success.
Accountant Chris Fraser, who is originally from Melbourne, Australia, has settled in the village after meeting and marrying Siobhan O’Connor, a Timahoe native. He says it has been a fun way to meet people.
Jim Ramsbottom, who runs one of the village’s pubs while also beef farming, says that the choir has taken him to places he would never have believed. “I was never in New York before in my life. I was at Electric Picnic, but if someone said you’d be playing Electric Picnic, I’d have laughed at them. It was some experience,” he says.
“It’s a great outlet – you don’t have to be able to sing. It’s as much about meeting up, and if you have a bad day, come over to Timahoe, sing and forget about it.
“Lots of lads are farming, and they mightn’t see someone from one end of the day, apart from the postman. Then they come down on a Monday night; they might have a problem with a cow or machinery, and they are sitting down talking to lads, and the problem gets solved.”
His namesake and cousin James Ramsbottom, who has a beef and tillage farm nearby and works full-time in pharmaceuticals, agrees.“There are more excuses to stay on the farm than leave it. You have to find time.”
“I wouldn’t have a note,” James laughs, “but it’s the harmony. There are very few individual good singers, but the group setting choreographed by Damien brings the harmony, and the male voice is obviously different to mixed choirs. That’s appealing at the moment. You had the boybands of the 90s; we’re the boyband of the 2020s,” he adds, laughing.
Kerry native Eoin O’Sullivan joined after his retirement. Prior to this, he was up and down to Dublin every day for work, so he would meet and know few locals. Now, he counts many as friends.
The only singing he did prior to that was at 1am, he quips, but the group has given him a new lease of life.“You have to stay young; you have to stay vibrant and doing something.”
See @timahoemalechoir on Instagram.
Choirs in decades past conjured up images of sombre Sunday hymns or serious classical singing. But group singing has gone through a revolution in recent years with more pop and mainstream songs added to repertoires, modernising the image of community choirs from fuddy-duddy to fun.
Timahoe Male Choir definitely falls into the latter category – they are the very definition of feel-good.
It’s impossible not to smile as several members belt out a rousing version of My Home, My Donegal or Old McDonald Has a Farm in the shadow of the historic round tower in the picturesque Laois village. It is here St Mochua founded a monastery in the 6th century, but rather than a Latin chant, these singers are getting ready to debut some 90s dance classics.
The choir, who have members in their 20s right up to their 80s from all walks of life, are preparing for their biggest gig yet – on 7 June in St Anne’s Park, Dublin. The Pints in A Field outdoor gig with the Two Johnnies and special guests is expected to attract close to 20,000 people.
Musician and choir leader Damien Bowe says they are aiming to surprise people on the day.
“What we are doing is a set based on what people definitely won’t expect. We are singing Maniac 2000, Gala’s Freed from Desire and Declan Nerney’s Stop the World and Let Me Off. I want people to go, ‘Oh my god, look at these lads,’” he says, laughing.
In front: Jim Walsh, Damien Bowe and Roghan Headen. Back: Chris Fraser, Steve Crowley, Matt McDonald, Jim Ramsbottom, Aidan McCabe, Paul Keane and James
Ramsbottom. \ Odhran Ducie
Only up and running since November 2023, Damien decided to try and get a few lads together from a Sunday pub session in the village to perform at a fundraising concert for the local school. Ten people turned up on the first night, and it snowballed from there, Damien says.
“It’s about camaraderie. What it has done for the spirit of the place is amazing. I know individuals who have different issues going on in their lives, whether it is loneliness, anxiety, relationship difficulties, or maybe the kids are reared and gone away and you’re on your own. Then they are bachelors living alone, and the sense of unity and camaraderie is unbelievable.
“You see lads stepping out of their comfort zones. They are trying something completely new. None of these fellas ever sang in their lives, and now they are going to stand up in front of thousands [this weekend].”
Steeped in the entertainment and music business all of his life, Damien is firmly of the belief that there is a place for everyone in this group, irrespective of ability and age. They meet every Monday night alternating between the two village pubs.
“It’s amazing what it has done for people and for the community. All it is is fun, fun, fun. There are no solos; nobody is put ahead of anyone else. It’s a team effort,” says Damien.
Joyful togetherness
That aspect is something also referred to by the secretary, Roghan Headen. Having played football and hurling locally for years, he is now enjoying putting on the jersey of Timahoe Male Choir and representing the village.
“This [the choir] is filling that gap for me. It’s the training of a Monday night, a different kind of training, mind you,” he says, laughing. “It’s the togetherness of the team. I really enjoy it. It’s something special. You’re putting on the red jersey, getting on the stage and singing songs that people want to hear and having the craic,” adds Roghan, a garda who works in the Garda Training College in Templemore, Co Tipperary.
“There is something joyful about singing and singing together, that togetherness – no matter how weak of a singer you are or how strong – together there is something harmonious when it all comes together and sounds great,” enthuses Roghan. He calls the group – boasting around 60 members – the village’s “own version of the Men’s Shed”.
Since their first local concert, the group’s trajectory has been upward all the way. They have performed at a multitude of local and national events, and made their debut at Electric Picnic last year.
This year has continued in a similar vein. In February, Stradbally Male Choir launched their first charity CD before a crowd in the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel, raising funds for Cuisle Centre and Timahoe National School.
The recording included their unique take on the county song Lovely Laois with an accompanying video filmed at the nearby Rock of Dunamaise.
In March, the group travelled to the Big Apple, which was a “trip of a lifetime”, according to dairy farmer Jim Walsh, who marched in the St Patrick’s Day Parade and sang at several concerts in New York.
From nearby Ballyroan, Jim, who is undergoing cancer treatment says: “It’s great enjoyment, the singing, even apart from the great people. You couldn’t be at better. I wouldn’t miss the Monday night in Timahoe for love nor money, and a lot of the lads would say the same.”
Timahoe Male Choir members Steve Crowley, Roghan Headen and Jim Ramsbottom taking a break from rehearsals. \ Odhran Ducie
He enjoys a “fierce lift” from the singing and banter of being involved, and like all members, credits Damien and Roghan as a huge part of its success.
Accountant Chris Fraser, who is originally from Melbourne, Australia, has settled in the village after meeting and marrying Siobhan O’Connor, a Timahoe native. He says it has been a fun way to meet people.
Jim Ramsbottom, who runs one of the village’s pubs while also beef farming, says that the choir has taken him to places he would never have believed. “I was never in New York before in my life. I was at Electric Picnic, but if someone said you’d be playing Electric Picnic, I’d have laughed at them. It was some experience,” he says.
“It’s a great outlet – you don’t have to be able to sing. It’s as much about meeting up, and if you have a bad day, come over to Timahoe, sing and forget about it.
“Lots of lads are farming, and they mightn’t see someone from one end of the day, apart from the postman. Then they come down on a Monday night; they might have a problem with a cow or machinery, and they are sitting down talking to lads, and the problem gets solved.”
His namesake and cousin James Ramsbottom, who has a beef and tillage farm nearby and works full-time in pharmaceuticals, agrees.“There are more excuses to stay on the farm than leave it. You have to find time.”
“I wouldn’t have a note,” James laughs, “but it’s the harmony. There are very few individual good singers, but the group setting choreographed by Damien brings the harmony, and the male voice is obviously different to mixed choirs. That’s appealing at the moment. You had the boybands of the 90s; we’re the boyband of the 2020s,” he adds, laughing.
Kerry native Eoin O’Sullivan joined after his retirement. Prior to this, he was up and down to Dublin every day for work, so he would meet and know few locals. Now, he counts many as friends.
The only singing he did prior to that was at 1am, he quips, but the group has given him a new lease of life.“You have to stay young; you have to stay vibrant and doing something.”
See @timahoemalechoir on Instagram.
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