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To mark the 90th birthday back in March of Charlie Smyth, a giant in Musical and Pantomime circles in Newry and further afield, Newry Musical Society commissioned a 'Charlie Smyth Perpetual Trophy' to present to Newry Musical Feis for their 'Songs from the Shows' section. Members of Newry Musical Society, Newry Musical Feis together with members of the Smyth family gathered at Newry Town Hall to present the trophy last evening.
An appropriate location for the event as Charlie recalled the first Newry Musical Society show he was involved with, was 1952 operetta 'The Maid of the Mountains' performed in the self same Newry Town Hall, when he was just 19 years of age.
The beautiful trophy made from Waterford Crystal is especially significant for Newry Musical Society members including Charile who always went down to the Waterford International Festival of Light Opera.
Currently Charlie is President of Newry Musical Society and before that Chairman for 18 years. Speaking at the presentation Mary Goss, Administrator, Newry Musical Feis said "I think that Charlie would have walked round the streets here as a very small version of himself when he was at St Joseph's Primary School back in the day."
Charlie reflected on competing in the Feis when he was around 8 year old. "I remember competing in the Feis and it would have been around 1941, coming from the Abbey and getting a medal which was a big thing at that time. I recited a poem called 'Binky and Me'. If you asked me could I recite any of it now, I'd say no, but it was marvelous at the town hall." he said.
Mary commented that the adjudicator must have been very smart in recognising his talent.
In reply Charlie said "The Adjudicator I remember was Marjorie Lyons. Of course the Feis was well known, it was brought in in 1928 and it has been a big asset to the whole of Newry and district and the talent that has gone through it. A lot of it I have to put down to the committee at that particular time and the committee now, who have kept it all going, because it's not easy putting these things together and you can't run them without a committee. It's the same as the Musical Society, you need a committee, and they are fortunate having wonderful office bearers and a great committee to put on the shows. All I'm saying is that it was a great honour for me to be involved in the Feis and meeting so many wonderful people."
Reflecting on past years Mary commented to Charlie "Musical theatre has really gone skywards in the last ten years, but there were many many decades when the things that you would have been doing with the pantomime and the Musical Society that kept that happening, even when people weren't appreciating it so much - Its flying high now."
Replying Charlie added "Maybe they didn't realise how important it was. When I think back it was the beginning of careers for many many persons. Even to walk on that stage, I always felt that. I played with Margaret Nolan, another wonderful trooper. I was outside left and she was outside right."
One of the Newry Musical Society members concluded "Charlie was always a great man for saying that the society was always bigger than any one person and one person never did make the society.". While that is certainly very true, the impact this 'one person' has had on the Newry Arts scene over the past 71 years is quite phenomenal.
