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Music as Gift and Calling

Martin's guest this week is Mairead Duffy - teacher, musician, singer/composer and director of Dungannon community choir Gathered Voices, which she founded in 2019.

A native of Tuam, County Galway, Mairead came north in the early 1990s to study music at Jordanstown.

Her musical formation began early, with Mairead's grandmother teaching her some piano chords. It was love at first sound. She practiced constantly and soon took up the harp.

Mairead's practice would eventually bring her to the famed stage of New York's Carnegie Hall, a venue she played twice - once in the august company of the Chieftains.

Mairead obviously loves performing. As a rookie music teacher in Enniskillen she put on Westside Story (her favourite musical). She has a great gift for bringing people together. Last Christmas, Gathered Voices, which includes members of the East Timorese community, sang 'Silent Night' in Tetum, the language of East Timor.

Mairead sees her music as a calling, closely related to her faith, which is evident from her second choice of a piece of music, "Sweet Surrender" by Luke Parker.

There were to have been three pieces of music, but the conversation between Mairead, Martin and Oliver flowed along with such joy and gusto that we had to settle for two. Truly, this podcast is a delight from start to finish.

To listen to more of Mairéad's music check out these links

https://maireadduffy.bandcamp.com/album/silver-tin-house

Little Bridge

https://youtu.be/dmF0EaDbtIU?si=-vfSaby3EVWAKYyJ