St Patrick's College Choir in Hungary

The St Patrick’s College choir has recently completed a series of engagements in Hungary.  Under the baton of  Dr John O’Flynn, Head of  Music, the choir participated in the Hungarian-Irish festival at Győr,  opening the  festival on 8 July and  again entertaining an appreciative audience in the beautiful Széchenyi Square on the following day.   A programme of popular music was interspersed with traditional Irish music and dancing.  The choir also performed a religious programme at a commemorative service at Győr cathedral where it was joined by the Apáczai Csere János choir from the University of West Hungary.

Győr Cathedral houses the famous seventeenth century painting, ‘the Irish Madonna’, a gift from   Bishop Walter Lynch who fled Galway during the Cromwellian period.  He found refuge in Győr and died there in1663. Thirty-four years later, on 17 March 1697, a seemingly miraculous event occurred when tears were observed flowing from the Madonna.  The shrine has been a place of pilgrimage ever since.   At the commemorative service, wreaths were laid  on a Lynch’s memorial plaque of Connemara marble by the  first secretary at the Irish embassy in Hungary, Dermot McGauran,  and the mayor of Győr 

During their visit, the choir also sang in two local villages, Vének and Hédervar.   In the latter village which was celebrating its 800th anniversary, the choir performed with the local women’s choir.  This event was followed by a civic reception hosted by the mayor.

As part of the Hungarian-Irish festival, Győr museum hosted an exhibition of manuscripts from the national Library of Ireland.  This was based on the Irish in Europe: Strangers to Citizens exhibition curated originally by Dr Marian Lyons from St Patrick’s College and Dr Tom O’Connor (NUIM).

 

Last Updated: Thursday July 15 2010