The much-loved boys’ Palestrina Choir, based in St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral in Dublin, has been entertaining audiences for over 100 years.
A few from among their number visited The Irish Times studio earlier this month to perform and chat with Roísín Ingle for a special Christmas Day edition of Róisín Meets podcast.
Blánaid Murphy, the choir’s director since 2002, said the choir has become more inclusive over the years.
“We truly have people from all over Dublin. We have a strong inner city programme. It doesn’t matter where you come from, what your background is in music or in any other way, you’re very welcome,” she said.
“You can come in and if you have worries or are feeling tired, you pick up all the energy from the other people in the room. Apart from the camaraderie of doing a team thing, it releases great feelings. It’s fantastic for everybody.”
Josh (12) agreed: “You kind of forget about what you’re thinking about before you came in. You kind of leave that all behind and you feel different. It feels better when you’re singing.”
There are currently over 40 boys in the choir, and entry is competitive.
To listen to the conversation or other episodes of the podcast, go to Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher or irishtimes.com.