SHANNON Musical Society and Wolfe Tones are coming together for a fundraiser, which tests how well couples know each other.
Entitled ‘Mr and Mrs’, it will be held at Wolfe Tones at 8pm on November 18 and Karen Barrett, chairperson of Shannon Musical Society, said it will be a very fun night.
“It’s based on a TV show that was on in years gone by. A couple are brought onto the stage and then one of them is brought away while the other person is asked a series of questions.
“The partner comes back and is asked the same questions and hopefully give the same answers!
“There’s another round when they’re given a paddle, one side of it is pink and the other blue, they switch it over for the appropriate answer.”
Karen said that there are some couples with links to the two organisations.
“It’s a bit of fun really and while it’s a fundraiser for Wolfe Tones and ourselves, it’s also a community event. It’s a nice way to pair up the two organisations.
“We’d have a bit of crossover. Rory Hayes, who plays for Wolfe Tones and Clare, his partner is Aisling Gough and she’s a member of the Shannon Musical Society and has been in a number of shows.
“We couldn’t do it with ten couples, but we have a few with links to both groups. Aodán Fox is the host and he’ll have a bit of fun with them. He’ll know a bit about the couples beforehand.”
She said that the organisers have gone for a mix of ages to make the night appealing to different demographics. Was it hard to convince people to take part?
“Some couples that you’d think would say ‘yes, no problem’, couldn’t take the leap! But for the most part it was easy, they know it’s just a bit of fun and they want to raise a bit of money for the Musical Society or Wolfe Tones and it’ll be a bit of craic.”
The two organisations are starting to announce the participating couples this week, and Karen said that one of them will be a winner on November 18.
“On the night you vote for your favourite couples, you buy votes and that’s how the money is made really. You buy votes for your favourite couple and the winner is crowned at the end of the night.”
The month of November is really part of the off season for the GAA club, but the Musical Society is starting to come to life once more, ahead of its first show since the start of the pandemic.
“Our rehearsals started this week for our next production, Little Shop of Horrors, which will be on in February. Unfortunately we had to cancel it this year because of Covid, but we’re delighted to be having it in February 2023,” Karen added.
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.