Gala concert in Athlone to raise funds for St Hilda's services

The Rotary Club of Athlone is organising a Gala Concert in aid of St Hilda's Services which will take place on Thursday, November 9.

The event will be held in the town's Radisson Blu Hotel at 7.30pm, and will feature the Combined Bands of the Defence Forces, with special guest tenor Gavin Ring, for an evening of military favourites and popular arias.

The Defence Forces Bands are this year celebrating their centenary and are currently presenting a similar concert in the National Concert Hall in Dublin.

First formed in February 1923, the Defence Forces now has three bands, with one each in Dublin, Cork and Athlone.

The Athlone concert will be conducted by Captain John Carpenter, a native of Australia who recently took up the position of conductor of the 2 Brigade Band in Athlone.

Guest Artist, tenor Dr Gavan Ring, is a native of Cahersiveen, Co Kerry and is a multiple prizewinner at competitions such as the Wigmore Hall song Competition and the Concorso Lirico Internazionale di Portofino.

He has performed at the BBC Proms and Lucerne Festival under Sir Simon Rattle.

St Hilda's Services is in the process of developing and building a new Community Home in Athlone for individuals with an intellectual or additional needs.

Athlone Rotary Club has supported St Hilda's in the past and will continue to do so as it is considered by many to be one of the most important charities in the Midlands. Proceeds from the concert will go to St Hilda's, with a small proportion going to the Army Benevolent Fund (ABF) for needy ex-soldiers.

Tickets are €25 and can be purchased online here, at the Radisson Hotel, or on the door.