Thrilling Final to ‘Tavern’s Got Talent’ as Conor O Meara Triumphs
Winner Conor O Meara
A capacity crowd witnessed a fitting finale to this year’s Tavern’s Got Talent competition on Saturday night last in The Tavern, Ballinderry. The venue was literally packed to the rafters and the “house full” sign put in place as early as 9.30. This created a very special atmosphere for the 9 acts who gave top-class performances in their quest for the prize. Starting off the evening was Orlaith Murphy from Clonaslee. With a beautiful vocal performance of Jeunes Fillettes and Cant Help Lovin That Man, Orlaith set a very high standard indeed. Olivia Douglas from Ferbane showed her versatility by accompanying herself on keyboard before giving a dazzling display on the button accordion.
Local man Alan Dunne as usual gave a very original performance featuring a number by Crowded House, and some sparkling guitar playing and a most accomplished vocal on his second number. He was followed by Cian Morris (Bubba Shakespeare) from Nenagh with an original rap number and a very impressive rendition of Cry Me A River.
All The Finalists
From Birr came the only band of the night, D-Bloc. These 3 lads rocked the house with their own 2 original songs, and were a breath of fresh air. They certainly got the audience involved and are a band to watch out for. Great performance by the lads from Birr! By complete contrast Bridget Maher gave us a bluesy performance of Big Bad Handsome Man and the beautiful To Make You Feel My Love, which certainly pleased the judges.
Next up was the eventual winner, Conor O’Meara from Portumna. This young man possesses a very special voice, and it was shown to its best with a most
Phil Quigley Presenting Connor O'Meara with 1st prize
beautiful and sincere rendition of Panis Angelicus. Following this Conor introduced his 2nd song as the rugby world cup anthem from 1995, The World In Union. The tune was an excerpt from Gustav Holst’ Jupiter (The Planets) with lyrics by Charlie Skarbek and has been recorded by the world’s most famous singers including Katherine Jenkins and Lesley Garrett, but it is fair to say that Conor’s rendition would not be out of place alongside them. He gave a true understanding of the lyrics, and with the fabulous arrangement and his masterful performance, the audience was applauding long before the final triumphant note.
A hard act to follow, but Shane Dwyer did follow it and very graciously indeed by paying tribute to Conor’s performance. Shane himself gave his own unique delivery of Dancing In The Moonlight. Accompanying himself on guitar, he followed this with a very heartfelt version of Guns And Roses’ Patience.
The final act was Shauna Deane from Cloughjordan. After a long wait in the packed venue, you might expect Shauna to have been a little nervous. Maybe she was but she certainly didn’t show it. Shauna gave, at least in this reviewer’s opinion, one of the outstanding performances of the night. Taking on 2 incredibly difficult and complex songs, Ironic by Alannis Morissette, and “Paparazzi“ by American recording artist Lady Gaga, Shauna gave a truly flawless performance and could certainly front any band with confidence. A word of praise must go also to fellow competitor Alan Dunne who gave brilliant accompaniment on guitar and also added harmony.
Top 4 Acts;L to R, Reuben Noyce,Luke Garland, Ciaran Keane, Birr (D-BLOC), Shauna Deane(Cloughjordan), Connor O'Meara(Portumna), Orlaith Murphy (Clonaslee)
It was then up to the judges to adjourn and make the decisions. The audience also had an important part to play, and their voting cards were collected and the counting of votes took quite a while, leaving everyone with an anxious wait. The judges’ points were tallied and the audience votes were added, and lest anyone think the audience votes made no real difference, we can reveal that in fact the audience vote reversed 2 of the top 4 positions, but in fairness to all the 2 shall be unnamed. The judges were Ronnie Minnock (Clara), Noel Sheedy (Limerick), Louise Heavin (Moate), Veronica Crowley (Roscrea), Noel Ryan (Ballymackey) and Karen Martin (Tullamore).
Proprietor of The Tavern Philomena Quigley paid tribute to all the acts who had taken part, 30 in total. She said that they had all participated with great talent but also in the right spirit of enjoyment and co-operation. She also praised the audiences and thanked them for their tremendous support, as well as all who helped in any way. Noel Ryan praised Phil’s commitment to providing a stage for local talent, and also made a presentation to musical director Kevin Carroll for all his hard work co-ordinating the entire event.
Judges Taverns Got Talent; Ronnie Minnock(Clara), Noel Sheedy(Limerick), Noel Ryan(Ballymackey), Louise Heavin(Moate), Veronica Crowley(Roscrea)
The results were then announced. A special judge’s award was made to Alan Dunne, for his generosity in helping and accompanying fellow contestants throughout the competition. In 4th place and receiving €100 and a trophy was Shauna Deane. 3rd place (trophy and €200) went to Orlaith Murphy; D-BLOC from Birr were the runners up, receiving trophy and €300, and the winner, with maximum 20 pts from every judge, and 20pts from the audience vote, was Conor O’Meara from Portumna. Conor received the winner’s trophy, €1000, and 1 day’s recording in Zepplin Studios, Nenagh.
Conor then gave a reprise of The World In Union, and it was a fitting tribute to the Tavern’s Got Talent to see all the supporters of all the acts on their feet at the end. Here’s to next year!
