Dermot O’Leary & Friends on the 25th of September marked an incredible night for the London Irish Centre. 350 of our supporters came together in our McNamara suite to witness an evening of celebration, fundraising and entertainment courtesy of a star-studded line up. Our programme and event theme highlighted and celebrated the beautiful art that is formed from the relationship between Irish culture and being Irish in Britain.
Fundraising events like Dermot O’Leary & Friends represent an opportunity to relieve the pressure on our charity by raising essential funds that allow us to deliver our life-changing work. Over the last year, the cost of living crisis has caused a soar in demand for our community services, and the overall increase in cost associated with opening our doors has resulted in significant financial pressures. Nights like these allow us to make a bigger difference in the lives of those in our community.
The night kicked off with a VIP reception, canapés, champagne and Guinness were served to our VIP guests. There was a private welcome from our patron Dermot O’Leary, entertainment provided by Jig & Swig an Irish dance group that regularly frequents the Centre as part of our culture programme and a special performance from Niall McNamee.
The reception was closed out with beautiful words from Xnthony, who discussed his relationship with the LIC and told the story of how the London Irish Centre gave a platform to express art as an up-and-coming Irish creative in London. Since then Xnthony has gone on to develop an award-winning theatre show and we are proud to be part of this journey.
The first half of the evening’s entertainment featured a host of performances from Mundy, Biig Piig, Picture This and Tom Grennan. The incredible and charismatic Mundy kicked off proceedings and brought an incredible energy to the room. Biig Piig brought a beautiful energy with her performance of “Linger” by The Cranberries.
Jimmy and Ryan from Picture This took to the stage with their ballads and a special performance of ‘Smuggling the Tin’ a song originating from the Irish travelling community. Finally, a show highlight came from superstar Tom Grennan, performing the traditional Irish classic “Streets of New York” by The Wolfe Tones. All performers were incredible and highlighted what tonight was all about, celebrating the best of Irish culture.
After the interval, London Irish Centre CEO, Séamus MacCormaic spoke to some of the challenges the LIC has faced over the past year, with the cost of living crisis putting increasing pressure on delivering cultural and community services. Stories were shared that showcase the community and cultural impact the Centre has through its work. It was a beautiful reminder of what nights like these are all about, raising money for our life-changing services.
Following this, Dermot O’Leary and Angela Scanlon headed up our charity auction with charisma and class, our audience had once-in-a-lifetime unique prizes and the opportunity for our supporters to fund specific charitable works carried out by the London Irish Centre.
Then it was onto more incredible music, the second half of the show featured performances from Gavin James, Maverick Sabre, Tolü Makay and Imelda May. Tolü kicked off giving the audience a sneak peak of her at the time unreleased song “My Eyes are Open”.
Gavin James delivered a live version of his ballad ‘Always’. Maverick Sabre performed a breathtaking rendition of ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon and our final performance on the night came from the brilliant Imelda May, supported by Niall McNamee in performing a range of ballads and poems.
To close out this unforgettable night artists joined each other on stage for a finale that will stay in the minds of our audience forever, all 8 artists sharing the mic to perform Irish classics ‘Dirty Old Town” and “The Parting Glass” which was truly incredible.
This fundraiser helped the London Irish Centre to raise over £100,000 towards our mission of enriching lives through Irish community and culture. We cannot thank our artists, supporters, sponsors, volunteers and staff enough for making this possible. A final and special thank you to our patron Dermot O’Leary, for your continued support of the work that we do.
We look forward to doing it all again next year. Go raibh maith agat. 💚
Be the first to hear about events, rafflles, competitions, fundraisers, impact stories & more.
"(Required)" indicates required fields
