It was a bedraggled bunch that arrived back in Shannon Airport early on Wednesday morning after an overnight flight from JFK in New York.
As Tommy Tiernan remarked one time, they resembled a bunch of young fellas that had failed an audition for the Wolfe Tones.
Enjoyable and all as the four-night stay had been, there were few complaints about heading for the comforts of home.
With the wind behind it, the flight was much shorter than it had been going out but everyone was tired and most were hungover to some degree or other.
It didn’t help that there was a fair degree of turbulence making the flight feel like a drive from Timahoe to Spink – all bumps and bends at 30,000 feet in the sky.
But it was the final leg of an utterly memorable, scarcely believable, trip. It’s one that you can be sure will be talked about and remembered for ever more.
It was just one feel-good moment after another. The various gigs – from the exclusive Irish-American Historical Society to the standing on tables in McSorleys Old Irish Ale House – were all great for various reasons.
McSorleys, in particular, was a special pub, the oldest Irish bar in New York, where they were hosted by Shane Buggy from Crettyard.
There are no TVs in there, no WiFi code, only their own brand ale, sawdust on the floor and memorabilia on the walls.
There generally has never been much singing in there either and the story goes that there have only been a handful of occasions when there have been actual music performances.
One of them was by John Lennon. Trust this crew to break down more barriers.
Down the road, Portarlington’s Sean Michael Manley, in Phebe’s Tavern, had the metaphorical red carpet rolled out for them too.
Posing for a big group photo in Times Square was another surreal snapshot memory, as was marching up 5th Avenue in the parade, attending mass in St Patrick’s Cathedral and singing Lovely Laois essentially outside the front door of Trump Tower.
What makes it all work is a combination of factors. Main man Damien Bowe has a wealth of music experience. He knows what he’s doing for a start and leads the way with his energy, enthusiasm and, eh, authoritative style of leadership.
Roghan Headen is an outstanding organiser who knows no bounds when it comes to seeking out opportunities. Noel Brennan, who is from Rathdowney but living now in Castlecomer, has professional DJ skills and that helps to elevate them to another level altogether.
Their set list of songs – all sing-along classics – is so appropriate to who they are.
None of the members will try to claim they are wonderful singers (though some are) but they are well organised, look sharp and are genuinely brilliant entertainers.
They then have an accompanying cast of characters – of all ages and from all walks of life – that are simply having the time of their lives.
There are some men in their 20s – there are some in their 70s. And there’s essentially everything in between.
In their ranks are farmers, builders, publicans, guards, prison officers, auctioneers, taxi drivers, ESB employees, sales men, business owners and even Stradbally parish priest Fr David Vard.
Some are from multi-generational Timahoe families. Others are new to the area. All are the same when they’re in the choir.
There’s friendship, camaraderie and craic oozing out of the whole operation.
Separately, the welcome given to the LaoisToday team that accompanied the trip was sincerely warm and inclusive.
And while Timahoe is its anchor, to use GAA parlance they have members from Crettyard, Spink, Ballyroan-Abbey, Ballypickas, Portlaoise, St Joseph’s, Stradbally and Rathdowney-Errill.
Good luck to any of them getting any of their colours included on the red t-shirts though.
What’s next then?
In the 18 months since they have formed they have been on some journey in every sense of the word.
This time last year they performed on a trailer at the bottom of Main Street in Portlaoise for the St Patrick’s Day street festival.
They are going to take a short break from their Monday night practice sessions for the next couple of weeks before returning to prepare for their appearance on the Saturday of the Punchestown Festival in early May.
Then they are one of the support acts for a 2 Johnnies concert in St Anne’s Park in June. Electric Picnic is again on the radar.
Can it go on indefinitely?
Damien Bowe mischievously suggested in one of his bus announcements over the weekend that they’ll be finishing up in September. That notion went down like a lead balloon needless to say and isn’t being countenanced by the wider group.
It wouldn’t work without him but it can’t be simple to keep it going either. The work that goes on behind the scenes has to be massive.
There’s talk of another USA trip next year. Back to New York again? Or to a Boston, Chicago or San Francisco? Surely a Melbourne or Sydney would be out of the question for how long they’d need to go for.
Invites to play alongside other more established bands or singers are possible – perhaps the likes of The High Kings or the Whistling Donkeys, both of whom were performing in Irish bars in New York over the weekend.
Declan Nerney’s Hooley in the Sun has come up in discussion as well.
So too has the plan to add a few new songs to their repertoire.
No matter what happens they’ll always have this to look back on.
St Patrick’s weekend 2025 in New York, for those lucky enough to be on it, will live long in the memory.
McSorley’s and Timahoe Male Choir have a lot in common
When sitting at one of the communal tables in McSorley’s Old Irish Ale House on Sunday afternoon and enjoying one of their own brand beers, we got chatting to a father-and-son duo who were down for the weekend from Boston.
The men, who’d both worked in the Boston Fire Service, had some Irish heritage but weren’t sure of the details.
“Everyone knows about McSorley’s,” exclaimed the older gentleman when we asked why he chose that particular venue for Sunday afternoon drink.
And it really is a well-known New York establishment. It has a lot in common with the Timahoe Male Choir too.
Established in 1854, it was more than 100 years before they let women in.
There’s no sign of women being let into the Timahoe Male Choir.
Whether they can hold out for 100 years remains to be seen.
New York sights and smells
The CEO of Laois County Council Michael Rainey joked that the local councillors back home would never run out of motions if the New York paths were under their jurisdiction.
It really is a city that never sleeps and while it’s a really cool place with lots to see and do, it’s not without its problems.
The aforementioned paths are in poor enough nick, there’s a regular pungent smell of dope (it was legalised a couple of years ago) and the steam rising from the streets from the city’s steam system isn’t overly pleasant either.
There also seems very little effort at recycling and the absolute state of the roads from JFK to the city – disgracefully strewn with rubbish – is hard to fathom. On many basic levels, Ireland is way ahead.
Keeping the home show on the road – and looking after The Heath
If it was said once, it was said a hundred times. Our own Alan Hartnett was worn out over the weekend responding to queries as to why he wasn’t in New York as well.
He was more than happy to set the record straight – it was offered to him but he chose to stay at home.
He wisely reckoned that someone was needed back at base to keep the LaoisToday show on the road.
In any case he had been invited by The Heath St Patrick’s Day committee to judge the floats at their parade.
Reporting for duty at 8.15am, he and the other members of the judging panel assessed the various floats under a range of criteria.
For the record the top prize was shared by The Heath Cemetery Committee and The Heath Active Retirement Group.
Well done to all concerned.
A big thank you to the LaoisToday audience
The idea of going to the New York St Patrick’s Day parade was always something that we wanted to do in LaoisToday.
But we hadn’t a clue how well or not that idea would be received by our audience.
After all, only a small portion would actually be in America on the day and we would be largely following their exploits – so how much interest would there be?
The reality blew us away. The coverage that we provided, aided by the brilliance of Paul Dargan and the soundness of the Timahoe Male Choir, was absolutely lapped up.
The reaction to every article, video and Instagram story was insane and we want to thank everyone who followed the journey.
SEE ALSO – Check out all our other New York diary pieces here
