Castlebar - County Mayo - Vard Sisters Cathedral Tour comes to Castlebar

“Heavenly” music will soon be heard in Castlebar and throughout the country as the Vard Sisters team up with the AIB Better Ireland Programme for their nation-wide Cathedral Tour. Based primarily on the music featured on the Vard Sisters’ triple-platinum album “Heavenly”, the tour which stared in Limerick Cathedral on 25th October 2002, takes in 14 dates countrywide along the way, and comes to Castlebar on Thursday 21st November to the Church of the Holy Rosary at 8.45pm.

The Vard Sisters

As the Tour is sponsored by the AIB Better Ireland Programme, a children’s charity in every venue will benefit from ticket sales – in Castlebar, the beneficiary is ISPCC Castlebar.

This is the first ever nationwide tour undertaken by the Vard Sisters – Cathy, Lisa and Wendy – whose 1997 album sold in excess of 100,000 copies – unprecedented in Ireland for a new act. Each concert will feature a rich blend of classical and spiritual music from “Heavenly”, as well as some contemporary songs from an eclectic mix of composers including Ennio Morricone, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jimmy McCarthy and Liam Lawton. Set against the backdrop of Ireland’s largest cathedrals and churches, which will be almost entirely illuminated by candlelight, each concert’s ambience will reflect the beauty and magic of the angelic voices of the Vard Sisters.

The Cathedral Tour is taking place in association with the AIB Better Ireland Programme, which aims to significantly impact the lives of children affected by homelessness, lack of education through poverty, or drug/alcohol abuse. Donal Forde, Managing Director of AIB Bank (ROI), said today “in the past year, the AIB Better Ireland Programme has donated over €1.5m to organisations working with vulnerable children, and we are delighted to bring further support to children’s charities, while teaming up with such a successful and well-loved group as the Vard Sisters”.

Says Wendy Vard, “Both myself and Cathy have children, and we’ve seen the importance of surrounding them with as much love and support as possible from the outset. Teaming up with the AIB Better Ireland Programme for our concert tour gives us the opportunity to help children who don’t have that kind of support mechanism around them.” The proceeds raised from each concert will go back into that town, so each community directly sees the benefit of their support.

The Vard Sisters’ Cathedral Tour, in association with the AIB Better Ireland Programme, commences in St John’s Cathedral Limerick on 25th October, and apart from Castlebar, also takes in Wexford, Cavan, Sligo, Dundalk, Roscrea, Longford, Galway, Waterford, Cork, Mullingar and Navan, with the final concert taking place in Dublin’s magnificent St Patrick’s Cathedral on 6th December 2002. Tickets are priced at €21 and available from Downtown Records, Main St, Castlebar or on 01-6174812 for credit card bookings. Check out www.vardsisters.com for further details.