To mark the occasion of the launch of the book, "Castlebar International Song Contest, 1966 - 1987", by Paddy McGuinness, we will be including a song writing session in the night. We are asking song writers from near and far to send us an original song for our "Castlebar International Song Contest 2017" and three will be invited to perform on the night in front of an audience who has been synonymous with one of the world's biggest song contests ever. The idea is to recognise what the event was all about and to remember that it was always about the song. Since 1966 the technology has changed and methods of recording so accessible but at the end of the day, you still need a keen imagination to craft a good song and the chords that go with it. What also have not changed are the emotions that go into a song and the memories that a song brings to life.

So while there is no actual competition, this section of the night is an ideal opportunity for all songwriters to have their own works performed to an appreciative audience. The writers will perform on stage with just a guitar/keyboard or soundtrack (or have their song performed by someone else) and will get feedback from our panel, (including a younger addition who will throw a modern eye on proceedings), all who certainly know their crochets from their quavers!
The selection of the three songs will be done by an independent (anonymous) panel of people who have been involved with original music for decades.

This will be an exciting part of the night and will be the piece to link it right back to that famous night in 1966 when CISC started first.

So, if you have an original song or if you would like to write one, start now. Send your song on MP3 or video to cisc1966@gmail.com and we will follow up with you. A few T&Cs apply but just standard stuff.