Youth Band raise €20,000 at lip sync fundraiser

Clondalkin Youth Band raised around €20,000 thanks to their lip-sync fundraiser at the Green Isle Hotel on Saturday night.

13 acts performed hits such as NSYNC’s ‘Bye Bye Bye’ and Robbie Williams’ ‘Let Me Entertain You’ in a multi-generational affair to raise money for new equipment.

CYB instructor Tara Christopher noted that the fundraising event was the local group’s largest to date and had been in the works for months, with several band families getting involved.

Mrs Christopher said: “We had fathers going against sons and mothers and daughters doing acts together. You had siblings going against others.

“So, there was a great bit of rivalry.”

Tara’s own family were competing against one another – husband and band director Neil was in a quintet performing a Jackson 5 song, son Lewis lip-synced to early-2010’s chart-toppers LMFAO with two others, while daughter Zoe performed as part of NSYNC.

Michael Murphy Jr and Harry Brown were the team that claimed the crown at the Green Isle Hotel with a performance of The Darkness’ ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love.’

Judges included Mrs Brown’s Boys star Fiona O’Carroll, Gaiety Theatre star Joe Conlan and a former member of the Youth Band, Laura Norton, who is one of heads of local dance school, McKinley Norton.

The money raised from the event will go towards the purchase of new instruments for the band – some of the current crop of instruments have been around since the band’s inception in 1986.

“We’re coming up to our 40th anniversary. Some instruments are 40 years old and were bought and not very expensive at the time…Neil actually spends a lot of time fixing instruments.

“And I think, for example, one of our clarinet players has four different clarinets put together in one to try and make an instrument…it’s a good complaint that we have so many new members coming into the band and not enough instruments to give them.”

Kids join the band, play recorder for a year and are then advised on what instrument may suit them best, but the demand is higher than the supply.

Tara is hoping that the money raised will allow the senior players to avail of the new instruments that can be passed on to newer members as time passes.

It’s not the last of the fundraising for the band this year – they are set to hold a concert in November at the Scientology Community Centre in Firhouse alongside St Joseph’s pipe band and Lucan concert band.

“This year, we’ve spent a lot of money on changing instruments, we’ve changed the uniform as well and just [hope to] revitalise and update the bands as we move into our 40th year.”