Wicklow audience moved to tears as south Dublin dementia choir perform

Irish Independent

23-05-2025

The evening included the debut public performance of St Joseph's Community Dementia Choir, which regaled the audience with firm favourites for all to enjoy. The audience all joined in with the songs and the choir were rewarded for their efforts with a standing ovation. There were even reports of tears with the smiles from the audience who were so moved by the music.
Speaking at the event, Siobhan Grant, fundraising manager at St Joseph's, said: 'We were thrilled that Frank Kelly and Bella Voce invited us to sing here and to use the event to raise funds for the dementia specific care we provide.
"Our choir lead, Joan Dempsey, brought her talent and love of music to so many people at St Joseph's and the choir is open to anyone living with dementia and their loved ones, or any carers in our community, to come along every Tuesday at 2.15pm. Music brings such joy to all our singers, and it is just one of the many community initiatives we are proud to host,' she said.
The concert continued throughout the evening with the talented Ballinteer Male Voice Choir, under the baton of Thomas Kehoe, and The Inver Singers, who were all invited by Frank Kelly and Bella Voce to join them in this very special event.
St Anne's parish, very graciously and generously supported the concert, making An Evening of Song a true community collaboration. The event was a fabulous platform for all the choirs to showcase their talents and, importantly, raised nearly €4,000 for St Joseph's while doing so.
Saint Joseph's Shankill is the largest care home in Ireland solely dedicated to dementia care. Its vision is to lead the way in dementia care in Ireland through innovation, education, and community engagement. To find out more about the other community initiatives available, or to donate, visit: saintjosephsshankill.ie