Derek sings for charity CD

LOCAL singer Derek O’Brien could soon be sharing a stage with Daniel O’Donnell after he was selected as one of 19 singers to record a track for a charity CD released by the Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) this week.
If You Just Smile is a collection of songs recorded and performed by members of IWA. The CD also features Daniel O’Donnell singing I Believe in Angels.
Derek, who has cerebral palsy and has been in a wheelchair since birth, said that while he didn’t get a chance to meet Daniel during the recording, there are plans by the IWA to host a benefit concert in the future featuring the Donegal crooner.
“The concert is still only being planned for later this year so there are no details yet but hopefully I’ll get to meet him and possibly sing with him,” Derek said.
Derek was one the many members who entered a national singing competition launched to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the association. The contest identified the best singing talent within IWA membership through a series of regional heats. Finalists were then selected to record a song of their choice for the 50th anniversary CD, If You Just Smile. Derek recorded the track Little Ol’ Wine Drinker Me, along with singing on the group song, If You Just Smile.
The CD is a collection of traditional Irish folk songs, show tunes, country and western and pop songs.
This isn’t the first album to feature Derek’s vocal stylings. He previously released an album called Take Me As I Am in 2006, raising money for Enable Ireland. He is also working on a new album of songs titled The Man and His Music, which will raise money for the Irish Wheelchair Association.
Derek said, “I’ve been a member of the Irish Wheelchair Association since 2006 and they knew that I was a good singer. I just love to sing and I love music in general. Singing is in my family, both my parents were great singers.
“There were auditions in Roscommon and then we went to Mallow to record a demo. After that we went to Athlone to record the group track with 18 other singers from throughout the country. There are a lot of talented singers on the CD and I’m delighted to be involved.”
Little Ol’ Wine Drinker Me is a favourite song of Derek’s and it will feature on his new album. “The new album has a bit of everything, with songs like Any Dream Will Do and Summer Time.
“The recording was done with the help of Jason Noone, music therapist with Enable Ireland and it has 11 tracks. All of the proceeds will go to the Irish Wheelchair Association when it is released,” he said.
If You Just Smile is available to buy directly from the IWA regional office located in Orchard Lane, Ennis or by logging on to www.iwa.ie/smile. All funds raised from the sale of the CD will be used to maintain the services the IWA provides in County Clare.
Speaking about the release of the CD, IWA director of fundraising, Helen Martyn, said, “There was huge interest in the IWA singing competition, which was one of the many initiatives the association organised to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Many singers of an extremely high standard entered the competition and we are delighted with the final result.”
Derek is just one of 20,000 people with physical disabilities who receive services from IWA. Last year, the association provided over two million hours of services to people with disabilities living in Ireland.
The IWA provides a range of services and programmes to support people with disabilities to live as independently as possible, including assisted living services, resource and outreach centres, motoring advice, assessment and tuition, training and education, wheelchair sales, rental and repairs, sport and holidays.
For more information about IWA and the services it provides in Clare, log onto www.iwa.ie