Articles-'Irish Echo' Newspaper

by Frank O'Shea
Transcribed by Jess Lai

Irish band The Corrs brought delight to an Australian school when they performed their distinctive blend of Celtic and modern music from the unadorned school stage last week.
The occasion was part of the ACT school celebration of Irishness.
It was a coup for the school, with local and national media in attendance along with Irish ambassador to Australia Mr Richard O'Brien and President of the Canberra Irish Club Mr Patrick Harris present to launch the program.
Wanniassa High School nestled in the foothills of the Tuggeranong Valley in the southern suburbs of Canberra, its name and location reminders of the nomadic people who inhabited this region of Australia for thousands of years before the coming of the Europeans.
As part of its educational program, the school has "adopted" Ireland as a theme for 1998.
Prominent Australians of Irish birth or ancestry will speak to the students about the history, geography, culture and literature of Ireland.
Among those who have already agreed to help are Dubliners Dr Brian Kennedy, Director of the Australian National Gallery, and Geraldine Doyle, broadcaster and comedienne.
In his address to the school, Mr O'Brien recalled some of the historical ties between Ireland and the South West of NSW.
The original settler in what is now the Canberra CBD was Limerick-man Terence Aubrey Murray, while other Irish influences are seen in names of Canberra suburbs like O'Malley, Flynn, Duffy, Hackett and O'Connor.
He stressed the modern, dynamic, forward-looking Ireland of writers like Maeve Binchy and Frank McCourt and musical superstars like U2, The Cranberries, The Chieftans and The Corrs.
The Corrs maintain a huge following in Australia, with music selling across all age groups.
Their debut album Forgiven Not Forgotten sold more than 550,000, a phenomenal success in what is a relatively small market, while Talk On Corners has already achieved double platinum status since its release late last year.
For the school, they performed a set of traditional airs, followed by I Never Loved You Anyway and Only When I Sleep from their Talk On Corners album.
Even allowing for schoolhall acoustics and a less than perfect sound system, their brief spot was magical.
They looked not much older than some of the students but they all appeared comfortable despite the lack of normal big-venue embellishments.
Andrea was in beautiful voice and her tin whistle playing was startling.
Wanniassa High School has a reputation in Canberra for innovative educational programs.
Whatever else the students discover about Ireland this year, they won't forget the day the Corrs came to visit.