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Robes, music are all packed. Rehearsals are over and it is time for some final packing before we head to the airport for 4.30am to start this really special trip to Rome. Lots of very special events: singing in Palestrina for the Fondazione Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, concert for the Irish Ambassador to the Holy See - Her Excellency Frances Collins , taking part in the Jubilee of Choirs in St Peters, and it will be a very special honour to be giving a joint concert with the Sistine Chapel Choir in the beautiful Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola. This is at the kind invitation of Fondazione Pro Musica e Arte Sacra And, of course we will fit in lots of bits of sight-seeing and will sample the delights of Italian cuisine. 22 excited boys (4 just robed in time for the trip), 13 Gentlemen of the Choir Choir Manager Maria Årøy Tour organiser; Mary Sugrue 3 additional Chaperones Our Cathedral Administrator Fr Kieran McDermott And Choir Director Blanaid Murphy 
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These 4 young choristers were admitted as full members of the Palestrina Choir this morning. A joyful moment for their families and for all of us at St Mary's Cathedral. We are heading off on our tour to Rome on Tuesday, so this happened just in time! Congratulations to Fiachra, Max, Sean and Evan!   14th november 2025: pro-cathedral upgraded to cathedral status. now st mary's cathedral, dublin14/11/2025  On 14th November 2025, on its 200th anniversary, the Feast of St Laurence O'Toole - Patron Saint of Dublin on the 800th anniversary of this canonisation, Archbishop Farrell announced: "Today 200 years afterwards, it is with great joy that I am pleased to announce that the Holy Father, Pope Leo, has consented to my request and has approved by decree that St Mary’s be designated as the Cathedral Church of our Archdiocese."  The Choir doing what it has done for the last 122 years - singing at liturgies in the service of the Pro-Cathedral and the Archdiocese of Dublin - and once again today, on the special occasion, when the Pro-Cathedral was upgraded to St Mary's Cathedral by Pope Leo XIV. It was an honour to be involved on such a historic day in the Archdiocese.
We are delighted to announce our appointments for Leadership Roles in the choir for 2025-2026
Head Chorister- Daniel Mulcahy Deputy Head Choristers- Cillian de Fréin and Luke McEvilly Senior Vocal Scholar- Adam Bowe Senior Chorister- Diarmaid McGrath These boys have shown utmost dedication to the choir and we are delighted to see how they step up into their roles and lead the choir throughout the year! Well done boys, we know you will do us proud!  The Boys came back to choir on the 3rd of September feeling refreshed after a lovely summer break! They got straight into work and fun, preparing for Mass, getting fitted for robes and starting the big effort to prepare for Rome in November!  We were very lucky to have 4 new Senior Probationers this year who are doing so well at learning their Latin responses, new music and really enjoying their teas on Friday! We are very happy to have Seán, Max, Evan and Fiachra in the choir and we know they are going to blow us away with their dedication and talent! We have concerts coming up at the beginning and end of October to prepare and raise money for the trip!
 We are deeply shocked to hear the extremely sad news that the wonderful Seán Rocks has died. We all extend our deepest sympathies to Catherine and their sons Christian (one of our boy choristers) and Morgan.
Rest in peace Seán.  We are so thankful for the hard work that Diarmaid has put in to being the Head Chorister of the Palestrina Choir this year.
He has been a wonderful leader, showing how we expect the boys to behave with kindness and humility. We hope he returns next year to join us in our tour to Rome in November to celebrate the Jubilee of Choirs and Palestrina 500! Thank you Diarmaid!  10 of our boys have been working really hard to prepare for their RSCM Silver and Bronze exams!
They have been putting in extra time at choir to make sure that their singing and music theory are progressing so that they will fly through their exams! The staff have been working hard to make sure that the boys have all the resources available to make them stand out! We want to celebrate the boys on how much effort they have been putting in and how much they have improved! We wish them the best of luck!   We were delighted to have Seán Doherty join us for the launch of his Mass, commissioned for the Palestrina Choir's 120 year.
On the 4th of May, we invited Parents, Congregation and friends to join us for some Tea and Biscuits to celebrate the Launch of the Mass on streaming platforms after hearing the Mass performed during the 11am Solemn Mass that day. The boys were so happy to meet the person who composed the mass and got to enjoy some juice and biscuits too!  Throughout 2025, the Palestrina Choir will sing the music of G.P. da Palestrina (1525 - 1594)The 500th anniversary of the birth of the Italian composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina occurs in 2025. Giovanni Pierluigi, named after the town of Palestrina where he was born, became one of the most influential composers of the mid- 16th century Catholic Reformation. The election of the Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina as Pope Julius III changed Giovanni Pierluigi's fortunes. The new pope summoned him to Rome to work at the Vatican. Pope Paul IV decreed in 1555 that singers were to be clerics. Giovanni Pierluigi, who was married with children was forced out of his position. On the death of his wife he remarried a wealthy widow. Palestrina composed a large corpus of music including 105 Masses, 68 Offertories, more than 300 Motets, 72 Hymns, 35 Magnificats, 11 Litanies, and four or five sets of Lamentations.. In addition, he composed at least 140 Madrigals. He is famous for his beautiful polyphonic (many voiced) settings. Palestrina's ethereal music continues to inspire to the present day. "He is the real king of sacred music and the eternal father of Italian music." Giuseppe Verdi The Palestrina Choir was founded at Dublin's Pro- Cathedral in 1903. Now, 121 years later, the choir continues to sing at the Latin Mass every Sunday morning. Composed of over 20 boys and 10 men, the choir is preparing a series of concerts, recordings, broadcasts, national and international visits to celebrate the life of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina in 2025. This will all happen alongside music by Palestrina weekly at the 11am Solemn Latin Mass at the Pro-Cathedral.  |
AuthorsBlánaid Murphy - Dir. Archives
November 2025
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