In 2005, Ballinrobe Musical  Society won three major awards at the annual AIMS awards, including being selected as runner-up in the Best Overall Show award.

Buoyed up by these successes, the  Society was nominated by a supporter for a Connaught Telegraph/Rehab Mayo People of the Year award. We were also successful on this front, and  Society members enjoyed a memorable night in Castlebar when we picked up an award we believe recognises the many years of outstanding shows produced by this  Society.

Here we produce part of the submission made by our supporter for the People of the Year award.

“Ballinrobe Musical  Society was formed in 1943, during the Second World War, to provide an avenue of escapism for a community weary from the drudgery of war, economic hardship and emigration.  It is testament to the power of music, that to this day, despite all the advancements of technology, the members and patrons of the  Society still use this avenue of enjoyment to entertain and be entertained.

After its establishment and four productions during the 1940s, the  Society lapsed, giving way in the 1950s and particularly the 1960s to an avid interest in the art of drama, which manifested itself annually in the Ballinrobe Drama Festival.

The 1970s saw the pendulum swaying once more in the direction of musical drama, with the late Dr. Christy Guckian R.I.P presiding over the rebirth of the  Society.

It is hard now to imagine Ballinrobe not being invaded for one week every year by cowboys, gangsters or pirates with nothing more in mind than joyful music, song and dance.

Every autumn, the same shudder of anticipation runs through the members of Ballinrobe Musical  Society - new officers, a producer, the choice of show, auditions, stage-hands, publicity, and a thousand other chores.

In September 2004, the fuss was for Ragtime The Musical a powerful musical that would test this experienced  Society to the very limit in terms of production, casting, stage management, and lighting. When the show blossomed in February – in arguably the finest amateur musical ever staged in the west of Ireland – all the hard work was handsomely rewarded.

Ballinrobe Musical  Society has enjoyed much national success in recent years.  In 2005, the greatest honour to date came their way – the selection as runner-up in the Best Overall Show for their stunning depiction of Ragtime The Musical.

Ragtime The Musical was an extraordinary triumph. Other societies have the benefit of purpose-built theatres and can plan accordingly: Ballinrobe must turn the local Community School gym into a theatre and somehow make do without the facilities that are taken for granted in a purpose-built theatre.

To be selected as runner-up revealed just how well Ballinrobe did with Ragtime The Musical in 2005. Over 4,000 people attended – another 1,500 would like to have come but just could not get tickets. “We could have run for four more nights,” said  Society chairperson and stage performer Pat McGovern.

In summary, the AIMS 2005 awards won by Ballinrobe Musical  Society were:

Best Overall Show – Runner-up

Best Male Actor – Michael Coen

Best Female Voice – Sinead Heneghan

The  Society was also nominated for:

Best Programme

Best Front of House

These were extraordinary victories for a  Society operating in a town of just 2,500 people, and without a purpose-built theatre.

Ballinrobe Musical  Society is made up the Ordinary Man or Woman in the Street of popular lore. The lady who brings a tear to your eye in the show’s denouement on a Friday night may cut your hair the next morning, or even serve you a drink half an hour after the show.

Not surprisingly, these are perfect conditions for romance. Several marriages were born of people who got to know each other in the musical  Society.

Members come from a wide radius, including Tourmakeady, Hollymount, Robeen, Castlebar, Westport, Partry, Claremorris, The Neale, Kilmaine, Shrule, Glencorrib, Cross, Cong, Clonbur, Corr na Mona, and even as far away as Galway city. Patrons come from an even wider radius.

The very real love of this group, of music and the arts manifests itself in productions of professional standards by a group of totally amateur status.”