Castledermot choir director retires on a high note

SINCE the last century Castledermot ecclesiastical music has been under the one guiding hand, but like all great things, it must come to an end.

And so it was earlier this month when Carole Dempsey lay down her baton for a final time after serving her beloved choir across an astonishing four decades.

“I had thought I’d retire when I was 70, but I didn’t!” laughed the retired English and Geography teacher from Coláiste Lorcáin.

“Then I thought after nearly 30 years as director I decided it was time to let someone else have a go,” she said.

“When Fr Hampson and Fr Casey came to the parish, Fr Casey did the rounds to find a choir, and we started small,” recalled Carole.

“He asked us did we know Panis Angelicus, and that was it. There’s about 20 of us in it now,” she said.

“Sr Clare Ward started a junior choir in the parish, and they were lovely,” said Carole.

“Like a feeder system?” your reporter asked.

“That’s true,” she nodded.

“However, after a few months we couldn’t keep the juniors going, so I amalgamated the two choirs,” she said.

“Now, with old and young we do Christmases, Easters, weddings, funerals.

“We are very lucky at the moment we have Brian Keogh (and occasionally a young buck called Michael English) to play the organ for us.

“We had two tenors, and two basses, unfortunately we are going to lose one of the tenors as I persuaded him to take up as director in September,” she chuckled.

From a young age

Marvelling again at her longevity, Carole pooh-poohed your reporter.

“Oh no, there are some people in the choir as long as me,” she said.

“Margaret Balfe, Peg Hayden, Ann O’Shea would all be choir stalwarts, and a number of them are becoming stalwarts,” she said.

“We’ve done our fair bit, and we succeeded in getting the choir gallery renovated five years ago.

“We would have a number of charity concerts over the years, usually in Coláiste Lorcáin or the church.

“We even participated in Voices of the World in Landsdowne Road 20 years ago, while our juniors sang in the Point.”

Carole added: “I was originally from Newbridge, and my parents would’ve been involved in the choir there in the college, so I would’ve been involved with choirs from very young.”

She attended St Mary’s Convent, a girl’s boarding school in Castledermot run by the Order of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God back in the 60s before it amalgamated with the tech to form the present Coláiste Lorcáin.

Presentation

Then, after Carole had made her decision to step down, her community decided to honour her contribution with a presentation on 2 March.

“At the end of Mass I was called up to the altar where I was presented with a beautiful Emmett Kane sculpture made from oak with a circle of gold in it,” she revealed.

“I feel really honoured, because his sister told me he’s stopped doing them for weddings and birthdays anymore.”

“I made no speech, and I was glad nobody thought to ask me to make a speech!” she laughed.

And there is no keeping this woman down.

“I’ve rejoined the choir as an Alto – I love singing in seconds (harmonies),” she said.