The Cork RTAI Choir was formed by Mary Fitzgerald 11 years ago. Performing locally at first, over
time we spread our wings to Northern Ireland twice and then on to Choral Festivals in San Marino in 2017 and Krk, Croatia in 2019. We had further overseas ambitions when Covid struck. After the severe early days of lockdown, once we were allowed to reassemble, we sang through masks, well spaced out and in danger of pneumonia from Siberian ventilation. Yet still we dreamed. When our conductor, Dr. Mary G O’Brien, first mentioned a Choral Festival in Normandy, part of the 80th Anniversary of D Day, we were already mentally packing our buckets, spades and music! After much hard work behind the scenes, we were on a plane heading east to Paris, Beauvais Airport, a place similar to Farranfore, but without the charm. The singing demands of the trip were daunting, five performances over four days with one day’s travel at either end. We needed a variety of music, approximately 20 pieces, for formal and informal events.
Staying at the Ibis Hotel in Port En Bessin, we headed off each morning fortified by an excellent
breakfast. Returning to a bar with only one beer tap might imply a temperance experience but
rumours to the contrary suggest otherwise!
Singing in the American War cemetery at Colleville Sur Mer was emotionally heavy going. The choir had in our hearts John F O’Sullivan, father of one of our members who bears his name. John F Senior was among the first paratroops to arrive on French soil on D Day. He was one of a group of men who had been transported across the channel in gliders and dropped in a field near Sword Beach. Their task: get control of the strategic Pegasus bridge, which they did. Thankfully John F Senior survived the war experience. A poem entitled “An Unsung Hero,” written on 6th June 2024 by his daughter-in -law Marie, also a choir member, was later read aloud at the War Memorial in Coutances. In the war against fascism, he had been willing to sacrifice all his tomorrows that we might have a today.
The following day in Caen we saw film of the shocking price paid for liberation. The city was
flattened to rubble with huge civilian casualties. The images could have come from Gaza. Leaving
Caen, we headed to Carentan where we sang in Eglise Notre Dame de Carentan with a local choir, Choeur de la Baie du Cotentin. The D Day knitted scenes in the church won the admiration of all of us.
On Saturday we headed to Mont Saint Michel. The famous abbey sits atop a village on an island of rock that brought Sceilig Mhichíl to mind. If only the sea off the Kerry coast lost its fiery
temperament and made walking out there a possibility! In Granville that evening we sang with,
Deutsche Welle Choir, in the first of two concerts and meals together. Based in Bonn, it has 20
nationalities among its members and a repertoire that reflects its international membership. The
third choir on the night, Choer Akhali Talr’a, based in Caen, sang from the Georgian polyphonic
tradition. A typical Normandy- Breton meal of crepes with local cider and wine had us in good form for the long bus ride “home”.
Not burdened by shyness, the longest road home is usually too short to hear all of the party pieces of a choir on tour. Plus, on this occasion far sighted planning ensured parched throats were lubricated by an excellent on-board distribution service!
To many in the choir, being so near to Bayeux and not visiting the famous Tapestry, would have been a disappointment. Our schedule allowed for just 3 hours free time on Sunday morning. A visit was hurriedly arranged using the great persuasive skills of Jonathan, our guide and Festival director, who managed to get us a group booking for 9am as the museum containing the wonderful tapestry opened its doors. With military style precision we were back at our hotel by 11am.
On Sunday afternoon, we sang in a public park in Coutances with our German friends and Voces
Novae, a French professional choir. From the latter we heard some dramatically high notes in an
uplifting performance, intimations, perhaps of the Heavenly Choir which hopefully awaits- but not yet Lord! The welcome we got that night from a packed Cathedral of Notre Dame, Coutances, will long remain with us. The concert had been opened by the wonderful, Grand Choral Pour la Paix, with 250 members of every age from all over Normandy.
Following such a large group was daunting, but we definitely rose to the occasion and got a spontaneous standing ovation. Later, as we joined the massed choirs for the finale singing “We are the World, We are the Children”, we felt anything but our real ages. Food in the Cathedral “Halla” was eaten with the best sauce, the company of fellow choristers from far and near. As we left, all our formal singing done, we broke into “An Poc ar Buile” and drew a crowd who joined in the sense of fun and in the “Ailliliú!”
We reached the hotel late and exhausted but happy to have risen to every challenge, sung our
hearts out and had such fun. Our inspiring conductor, Mary, and excellent accompanist, Antoinette Baker, had elevated 25 individuals to a choir who could face any audience with confidence.
As we headed for Charles de Gaulle Airport, our wonderful driver, Michel, deviated from the main
highways to show us some more of his beloved France, travelling on roads that buses, except in the most expert of hands should avoid! Airport security, in the run up to the French elections and
Olympics seemed three notches over the top. The flight home was uneventful but then came the
challenge of finding Zone 10 for the Cork Bus. Happy, but exhausted, we let the “bóthar fada
abhaile” slip by. It was a mission accomplished due to the hard work of many and the co-operation of all. The generosity of spirit shown in a myriad of ways by our non-choir travelling companions, jokingly referred to as our groupies, sustained us throughout the trip. Ár nGrúpaí Abú!
The choir gratefully appreciates the support given by both Cork RTAI Branch and RTAI National
Executive Committee towards the cost of the trip
By Seán O Callanáin
Knitted scenes of D Day Landing
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