Ennis bands prove they’re stars in their bar

THREE Ennis-based bands did the Banner County proud in the Munster finals of the Stars of our Bars VFI/Smithwicks talent competition in Killarney last Friday.
Fifteen acts from all over Munster battled it out in the provincial final in the Gleneagle Hotel. Amongst the 15 acts, were three from Clare, representing Brogan’s Bar and Restaurant. The Westies, the Clare heat  winners last month, comprise Kevin Finucane (fiddle), Kieran Hehir (banjo), James Duddy (bodhrán) and Brian Mooney (bouzouki).
Rock group, The Araby, with Siomha Brock on vocals and Ronan Daly on drums came second in the Clare heat and also competed in the Munster final.
The third Clare act were The Bridies, who came third in the Clare heat. The traditional group is made up of Suzanne Leahy (sean-nós dancer), Nóirín Lynch (singer), Joan Hanrahan (fiddle) and Bríd O’Gorman (flute). Unable to make the finals in Killarney was Dympna O’Sullivan (concertina) who completed the original Bridies’ line-up.
Although none of the Clare acts were placed in the Munster final, they made a strong contribution to the night. In fact, the only two Irish traditional music acts in the contest came from the Banner County, who kept the music going well after the competition had ended.
A group from Tipperary won the Munster final and will go on to the All-Ireland finals next month.
The competition was judged by Pippa O’Connor from Celebrity Salon and Bob Corkey of RTÉ. MC on the night was Brian Ormond.