FRONTLINE CHOIR 71 healthcare workers became singing superstars before our eyes as RTE documentary charted the progress of conductor David Brophy's newest choir, made up entirely of frontline staff. The heartwarming series gave the nation an insight into the realities of life on the frontline during the pandemic.
I
n March 2021, after possibly the toughest 12 months in living memory, RTE conductor David Brophy began recruiting for a new choir, made up of entirely of healthcare workers. The progress of the choir was charted in a heartwarming three-part RTÉ series, from the initial rehearsals on Zoom during lockdown to a special one-off concert in Dublin Castle where they were joined by Aslan, Paul Brady and Sibéal Ní Chasaide. Based across the country, some 71 people are members of this choir. They hail from a wide range of medical professions and disciplines – there are neurophysiologists, staff nurses, clinical scientists, consultant paediatricians, hospital porters, finance managers, receptionists, therapists and directors of nursing in the choir – over 50 professions in all. Over 40 healthcare institutions are represented. Staff from St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin, the Mater Hospital; Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street; Tallaght University Hospital; St Luke’s Hospital Kilkenny; Midlands University Hospital Mullingar; University Hospital Kerry, Caherciveen Community Hospital, and many more are involved, including nursing homes, care and community services and Mental Health Services. With the help of Assistant Choir Director Róisín Savage, the group also created a hugely emotive and powerful music video. The music video sees the choir sing an arrangement of the U2 song ‘Sometimes You Can’t Make it on Your Own’ and was fittingly filmed on the campus of St Vincent’s University Hospital, projected onto the external wall of a building that served as a COVID-19 ward. 2 | HEALTH MATTERS WINTER 2021
It was a particularly poignant moment for Nice Marie Tarugo, a healthcare assistance at the hospital. She lost her mum Mariter, a fellow healthcare assistant there, to COVID-19 on Christmas Eve. She had contracted the virus a week earlier. Nice Marie said the choir helped her to get through the horrible time she had following her mum’s passing. “It was awful, it really was. Those months were tough. I had to think about my dad and family, but the choir acted as an escape for me. It was inspiring because you heard the stories of others and how they learned to be resilient. It helped me,” she said. “We didn’t know what to expect from that first Zoom meeting to our outdoor rehearsals. We couldn’t imagine how it would all come together in the end, but it did, and it was so entertaining.” Within the choir, a number of members have lost family members to COVID-19. Nice Marie was one of two members who lost family members who were fellow healthcare workers and so the choir and David decided to dedicate this music video to the choirs’ colleagues and fellow healthcare workers in Ireland who lost their lives fighting against the virus. He said the series showcases the choir’s power in creating community and connection and the joy of singing. “I wanted people to recognise the ordinary extraordinary people that are our healthcare workers. It was the nurses, the doctors, the porters and assistants who had to step up and make the hard decisions and choices in the worst of times. They need to be celebrated because they are the real heroes,” said David Brophy. “What we have done here is utterly
David Brophy
ICU nurse Vanessa MacNamara
unique. This group has bonded from the very beginning. The comraderie they share and the friendships they have made are fantastic. I have huge admiration for this incredibly talented, great bunch of people.” Vanessa MacNamara is an intensive care nurse at the Mater Hospital in Dublin. She said the choir has given her joy during a very difficult time. “The first two waves of COVID were
