Irish Songs For All Ages &

Backgrounds, Sunday

On Sunday, March 12, the Dublin-born Irish tenor Mark Forrest will perform a concert of famous Irish songs at St Rose of Lima Church in Newtown. The concert will take place in the church, at 46 Church Hill Road, and will begin at 3 pm.

No tickets are needed; a freewill offering will be taken up during the concert.

Mr Forrest is a much sought-after performer at this very Irish time of the year. He was born and raised in Dublin, and emigrated to the United States in 1988. He is a university-trained oratorio singer, having graduated from Catholic University of American and studied in the grand tradition of Frank Patterson, Ireland’s current tenor king, and the immortal John McCormack.

Mr Forrest’s audiences have included the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Friendly Sons of St Patrick, and Concern Worldwide, a Dublin-based famine relief organization. He has sung for Pope John Paul II, the late Mother Theresa, at the White House, in Congress, and at The Irish Embassy.

Mr Forrest’s charm is the combination of “a riveting voice” and “the melancholy of the Irish songs,” said Father Peter Towsley, a friend of Mr Forrest’s and an assisting priest at St Rose.

“You find yourself missing Ireland, even if you’ve never been there,” said Father Towsley. “This is a great opportunity for the greater Danbury area to hear an outstanding Irish tenor.”

The concert is part of St Rose of Lima’s Jubilee Celebration. “We want to recall the important contributions immigrants have made to the Roman Catholic Church over the last 200 years,” said Father Bob Weiss, the pastor of St Rose. “On Sunday, we will celebrate the heritage of the Irish who came to this country to seek a life where they could raise their children without fearing their death from famine and hunger.”

In addition to his engaging voice, Mr Forrest also has a distinctive message. Having lost his third child, a son, at a very young age, he reminds other fathers to take every opportunity to be with their children. His experience and his encouragement gives a special pathos to his rendition of “Danny Boy.”