Tag Archives: Declan McGrady

Downpatrick Choral Society: Welcome and Introduction

Contributor: Matthew Campbell

In my first blog of this research project, it is my intention to introduce you to my topic and outline my intentions for this area of study. As an MRes student at Queen’s University Belfast I am about to embark on my final dissertation which will look at the history of amateur musical theatre in Northern Ireland and potentially the south of Ireland also. As part of this research, I have chosen to create this blog which will take you on a historical exploration of an amateur musical theatre company that I have been involved with for some 15 years, Downpatrick Choral Society..

Downpatrick is a small town located approximately 21 miles south of Belfast. Traditional music has always flourished in the town, especially with the establishment of the old ‘folk club’ in Pillerwell Lane (no longer in existence), however in 1962 a new musical group formed which would broaden the variety of musical genres performed in the town.

The late Declan P. McGrady B.A founded St Patrick’s Choral Society in 1962. Not only was Declan the founder of the society, but also the first musical director. The intention of forming the society was not for the purpose of performing musical productions initially, however that is how the repertoire naturally developed.

Declan McGrady B.A

McGrady had quite a long and illustrious musical background having joined St Patrick’s Church Choir in the 1950s. From there he was persuaded to “give the organ a go” by the then organist Sister Patrick (later known as Sr. Dorothy). After studying the organ, McGrady began to travel to Belfast each Saturday night in the late ‘50s to study composition as it was his intention to consider arranging some choral pieces himself. After a few short years McGrady had built up a reasonable collection of material which he had composed (sometimes under the name of Patrick Dancel) and subsequently in 1962 with the support of the then Parish Priest Very Rev. Canon Connolly and Right Rev. Monsignor Joseph Maguire, he proposed the conception of a choral group who would perform some of these pieces, amongst others.

It has never been documented or recorded however I can only assume that the name ‘St Patrick’s Choral Society’ (as it is also referred to) was a derivative of the already existing St Patrick’s church choir which was of course based in St Patrick’s Church Downpatrick.

McGrady did admit that he was always more interested in four part choral arrangements, and it was these choral arrangements which made up much of the programme for the societies inaugural concerts in 1962/63, however he remembered with pride the society’s first two full musical productions, ‘The Bohemian Girl’ (1964) and ‘Maritana’ (1965). Whilst the society still to this day produce concerts from time to time the focus has very much shifted to full musical works which inevitably was a natural transition.

McGrady gave up the society a number of years later when they refused to even consider attempting a production of Rossini’s ‘Stabat Mater’. This would have been an overly ambitious task for the still considerably new company and McGrady’s abrupt departure only consolidated his interest in traditional choral material rather than the light operettas of Gilbert & Sullivan which were becoming more popular within the town.

Original production of Bohemian Girl (1964)

Images courtesy of Downpatrick Choral Society archive