By Seamie Briscoe
Choral singing in Drogheda has lost one of its most revered and dedicated choristers.
Robert Kierans, more affectionately known as Bobby, was synonymous with choral singing in Drogheda but, perhaps, male choral singing is where he excelled over many years in his native town. He commenced his choral singing with St Peters Boys and Men’s Church Choir in the early 1950s when the choir sang in St Peters Church, Drogheda.
Later in his young life, on a trip to Belfast with his friend Eugene Mooney to support the great Drogheda baritone Pat Mooney in a major recital, Bobby and Eugene’s attention was first drawn to male choral singing when they heard the Harlandic Male Voice Choir on the same concert. This choir impressed them greatly and their immediate thoughts were to form such a choir in Drogheda. On the way home from Belfast, they discussed the aspiration and his great friend and musical director of the St Peters Church Choir at the time, Mr Eugene Mooney, agreed to pursue it.
Subsequently, Mr Eugene Mooney called a meeting of the men of the church choir on the following Sunday morning after Mass in St Peters, and agreement was reached to proceed with the formation of a male voice choir. Bobby Kierans was appointed Secretary of the newly formed St Peters Male Voice Community Choir in 1956.
The successes that followed this momentous decision were outstanding, both nationally and internationally. Bobby Kierans continued his role as a chorister and secretary of the St Peters Male Voice Choir until his career with CRH took him to Limerick for some years before he returned to Drogheda in the 1980s. By this time, St Peter’s Male Choir was in decline and, once more approached by his lifelong friend Ownie Rafferty, they encouraged Mr Eugene Mooney to reactivate the choir, resulting in a return to its previous excellent standards.
In later years, Bobby retired from concert choral singing with St Peters Male Voice Choir in 2007 but continued to sing the liturgy with St Peters Church Choir at the 11am Mass on Sunday mornings in St Peters Church.
However, Bobby could not stay away from male choral concert singing and came out of retirement in 2013 to join the newly formed Drogheda Male Voice Choir. He was reunited with lifelong choral friends Ownie Rafferty, Teddy McConnon, Sylvie Kierans, Fintan Harmon, Tom Murphy and Seamie Brannigan, all of whom had sung with him in St Peters Choir. His standing within the Drogheda Male Voice Choir was soon recognised when he was honoured as its first President. He was succeeded by Mr Richard Cooney but retained the title of President Emeritus until his sad demise last weekend.
The Drogheda Male Voice Choir had the honour of being one of the invited choirs to take part in the London Welsh Choir’s 25th Festival of Choirs in the Royal Albert Hall, London. A number of pieces were sung in Welsh, with the vernacular presenting a major undertaking for non-Welsh-speaking choirs even before singing a note.
During the choir’s participation in this choral spectacular, there was no prouder man than its President, Bobby Kierans, who inspired his fellow choristers with his untiring enthusiasm during rehearsals for the festival. Many new choir members drew great inspiration from his attitude and discipline, which were always accompanied by humour and stories of his choral experiences over the years.
What emerged was his long and historic association with male choral singing in the town of Drogheda. At that time, Bobby declared that the Royal Albert Hall Festival was the highlight of his involvement in his 64 years of choral singing.
The initiative taken by Bobby Kierans and others all those years ago, together with musical director Mr Eugene Mooney, to form a male voice choir in Drogheda deserves to be recorded and appreciated in the annals of the town’s male choral singing history. Many choristers who have enjoyed this tradition are indebted to the likes of Bobby Kierans and the musical directors who maintained this honourable tradition through the years.
Mr Richard Cooney, President of the Drogheda Male Voice Choir, said in his tribute: “I know the term gentleman is frequently used in circumstances such as this but, in Bobby Kierans’ case, he epitomised the phrase in the manner in which he lived his life. His contribution to choral singing for 70 years was immense. I was so fortunate to sing beside Bobby in the baritone section for many years and his encouragement and advice were invaluable to us all. On behalf of the Drogheda Male Voice Choir, I extend our most sincere sympathy to his beloved wife Alice, daughters Anne-Marie, Eileen and Geraldine, his son Patrick and the extended Kierans family.”
Bobby Kierans’ funeral service took place on Tuesday in St Mary’s Church, James Street, Drogheda, with interment afterwards in Calvary Cemetery.
