When it comes to Irish Tenors I tend not to like them. When it comes to the song Danny Boy then Lord spare me enough is enough. And yet when I hear the Irish Ballad The Parting Glass my objections to syrupy Irish Ballads melts away. Here is an exceptional choral version of a song that has been a favorite of Irish Tenors and folk singers for many a year. It is a version done by the UCD Choral Scholars – “The Choral Scholars of University College Dublin, under the artistic direction of Desmond Earley, is Ireland’s leading collegiate choral ensemble. With a large repertoire ranging from art to popular music, and stretching from the medieval to the contemporary in style, this choir gives many concerts throughout the academic year, both in Ireland and abroad. Following a competitive selection process each September, eighteen gifted students are awarded a scholarship, with recipients of the award coming from a range of academic disciplines across the university, from Music to Medicine, Law, Agricultural Science, Commerce and Engineering.”  – Wikipedia

For pure emotion check the following video – Choir singers from University of Wisconsin Eau-Claire Women’s Concert Chorale surprised locals of Peadar O’Donnell’s bar in Derry with their beautiful rendition of The Parting Glass.

And when you remove the syrup from the song this is what you get – Ronnie Drew of the Dubliners.  Remember that before the Pogues there was the Dubliners…….

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