Kilkee family act to represent the West

A KILKEE father-and-daughter duo are representing Clare and the West in the popular RTE programme, The All Ireland Talent Show.

Eleven-year-old Aoife sings and plays the concertina, while her dad, Paul Moroney, an environmental engineer with Clare County Council, sings and plays the guitar.
They were chosen from about 1,500 people who presented for audition for the show in Galway at the end of August.
Last year, Aoife and Paul made it to the semi-finals of Clare’s Got Talent but otherwise they have never performed together in a competitive environment.
“We have really only started performing together in the past year. Even this time last year, we hadn’t really considered entering The All Ireland Talent Show but following on from Clare’s Got Talent, we thought we might as well give it a go. Of course, we really didn’t think that we’d get through, so we’re amazed that we’re now at the live show stage,” Paul remarked.
He recalled how those who turned up for audition in Galway were whittled down over the course of the weekend to 50, who were then did a further audition for the West in front of Daithí Ó Sé and his judging panel in Dublin at the end of September.
“Firstly, the 50 was narrowed down to 30, then to 16 and then to the final eight, who went through to the televised live shows.
“Until we got to the final 16 for the West, we really didn’t think we’d get through. It was really hard to know what the judges were looking for ­because there was such a range of talented acts auditioning.
“The judges kept their cards very close to their chest and honestly we were amazed each time we got a step further. When we got to the final 16 we performed in front of Daithí on his own and he made the final decision on his top eight.
“We were genuinely surprised when we made it through. The shock on Aoife’s face was absolutely real and not faked for the camera,” Paul added.
Aoife is the eldest of four children and the whole family love music. In fact, Paul and his wife Bláthnaid Regan, a doctor in Kilkee, met singing in the Fleischmann Choir in Cork in the early 1990s.
“Music is something all the family love. Michael, aged seven, loves music and set-dancing, Aisling, aged five, plays the tin-whistle and Cian, three, loves music but is a bit too young to take it up properly yet.
“They are all so excited about Aoife and me being in the show and there is a great buzz about it all,” he said.
Aoife is also getting lots of support from teachers and pupil at Moyasta National School, where she attends.
“Gráinne Maron, the school principal, is very supportive of music and dance. Aoife goes to the Hell for Leather dance school run by Gráinne’s husband, John Fennell, and between John and Gráinne, they have mentored Aoife as a performer, both musically and as a dancer.
“They are very excited about her being on The All Ireland Talent Show.”
In recent weeks, Aoife has received some vocal training, which Paul says is helping her voice considerably.
While he says they are both nervous about their live performance on the show on February 6, he added that they are “taking it in their stride”.
“Mainly, we just want to do the best performance we can. Our style is fairly relaxed so we won’t depart from that too much. We aren’t permitted to give details of what we’ll perform but Aoife will be singing and playing the concertina and I’ll be playing the guitar.
“For us, the beauty is that we’ll be playing music in a forum that we’d never have expected to be playing in.
“I never would have done this on my own and a big part of it for me is to try to help my daughter musically.
“In saying that, I’m thoroughly enjoying it and delighted to get to do this with Aoife.
“We are definitely creating memories for the whole family in doing this and it’s a great opportunity to do something special with my eldest daughter before she thinks I’m not cool anymore,” Paul said.
He is calling on the people of Clare and “anyone else who likes their performances” to vote for them on the show.
Updates on their progress and appearances by Paul and Aoife can be tracked through their facebook page. They will represent the West on The All Ireland Talent Show on RTE 1 on Sunday, February 6.
Another performer well-known throughout Clare who is representing the West in the show is Galway man, Don Stiffe.
Don is a rising singer-songwriter on the folk scene whose musical talents have been favorably compared to the likes of Sean Keane, Sean Tyrell, Dolores Keane and Dessie O’Halloran.
The singer released his debut album, Start of a Dream, to critical acclaim in 2006 and it featured the musicianship of Frankie Gavin, Carl ­Hession, Sharon Shannon, Cathal Hayden and Arty McGlynn.
He beat off tough competition from other performers in the show on Sunday night to secure his place in the semi-final.
Having been in joint second place on the leader board, after the judges vote, he topped the audience vote, giving him his place in the semi-finals, due to be televised after all the initial rounds have been completed towards the end of February.
Daithí Ó Sé is also mentoring Don. “I really believe we can bring the All Ireland Talent Show trophy back across the Shannon this year,” said Don, adding that he needs as many votes from the West and Mid-West as possible.
“I’ve had huge support so far and I really hope that people keep texting in for me so that I can get through and do everyone proud,” Don said.