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Newry Musical Society celebrated its 80th Anniversary with a gala dinner in Bellinis in Newry at the weekend.
Founded 1945 as the Second World War was coming to an end the society has entertained Newry audiences for 8 decades with at least one production each year.
Speaking to Newry.ie in 2023 Society President Charlie Smyth explained how things were after the war "Don't forget that people were gasping for a bit of entertainment. You had the Town Hall and you were seeing the like of Jimmy O'Dea coming down. from Dublin and Maureen Potter and a few other great artists."
At the 80th celebrations on 15 February, Newry Musical Society Chairperson David Cunningham spoke of the challenges throughout the years and celebrated how they had stuck together through thick and thin.
Reflecting on how honoured the society is to have Charlie Smyth, Cunningham said "There is one man here who is 80 years more or less with the society, and that man of course is our President. Vice Chairman, Chairman, Vice President, and now our esteemed President. Charlie we're delighted to have you with us.
"Charlie, of course, a very talented performer. Many, many, many plaudits for his performances down through the years, but he has been a wonderful friend, lead and guide to the Musical Society, and we are honoured, honoured to have him as our President."
The chairperson reflected on the wonderful talent Newry Musical Society has had throughout the years and held a moments silence to remember those who have passed on.
"Newry Musical of course, has had many memories, good and bad, sad and happy, ups and downs, but the important thing is that we stuck together, and that is the importance going forward, that we stick together through thick and thin. And let's face it, if we have stuck together through the last year, I call it the Town Hall year, well then we will make 81 and many more after that, but thank you for being part of us down through those 80 years." Cunningham said.
"I would like to think that as we move into our 81st year, that we try to be stronger than ever. I remember one or two rebirths in the Musical Society, probably the most famous one was around 1971/72 and then the rebirth in 73 with Oklahoma, but it was a very successful rebirth. But let's just keep going and not have any rebirths, keep going because we need the talent, and Newry needs the talent, even though there are so many societies nowadays, but this is the important one."
"I should also say that I know at the moment, we're in the middle of awards season, but Newry Musical has had its fair share of awards, and Probably the 70s was the most lucrative time for Newry Musical, when we were the lead society, not only in Ireland, but throughout the British Isles as well. When you think of all the awards that Newry brought home. We're still winning awards, and we thank you for them. We thank you that the talent is in Newry Musical to bring those awards back, but the important thing is the performance that you give, because that's what the audience is expecting. They've all paid their money, as Charlie would say, and they all deserve a good show and I have to say that most of the time, we give them a good show. So thank you to all of you for that."
Cunningham added "We're here to enjoy ourselves, to celebrate, and the emphasis must be on celebration. We have come through. We're doing well, and let's keep going. I want to say congratulations and well done to everyone."
The chairperson thanked the anniversary organising committee and finally the society's committee. "May I say thanks to our committee. It's a very hard working committee. Yes, we have plenty of talk, plenty of laughs, but it's a hard working committee, and I want to say thank you to each and every member of our committee, and say to them, well done, because you are responsible for bringing Newry Musical straight through those 80 years."
In October 2025 Newry Musical Society will perform The Sound of Music.
