Moydrum's Tara is hitting the right notes in Marino

A young Moydrum woman whose family is synonymous with musicals in Athlone is following that proud tradition in the capital.

20-year-old Tara Flanagan, a student of Early Childhood Education in Marino Institute of Education (Dublin), was the director and musical director of the institute's recent hit musical production of ‘All Shook Up’, based on the music of Elvis which ran in Liberty Hall, Theatre Dublin from February 5th-7th last to sellout performances, much to the pride of her family and friends back in Athlone.

The daughter of Des and Valerie Flanagan, Tara has been performing since she was very young and her family background is steeped in the musical tradition. She is the granddaughter of Athlone Musical Society's legendary leading lady over two decades, Sadie Flanagan, while her uncles and aunts are still heavily involved in local productions, including Donal and Camilla in Athlone Musical Society.

From an early age, Tara was encouraged by the teaching staff of Baylin National School in regards to performing, where she sang numbers like 'O Holy Night', 'Lift the Wings', and 'Ave Maria' at various events. However, her main performing background was in dance in her youth where she was a student of Shannon Dance Academy for 14 years. Over that time, she also performed with the prestigious Youth Ballet West for two years.

Last year Tara was honoured to receive the leading role in Marino Drama Society's production of ‘9 to 5’, where she played the character of Judy Bernley.

Currently studying Early Childhood Education, Tara later plans to do a masters in education and she hopes to be able bring her love of the arts to her career as educator in the years ahead.