On Friday 30th October, members and friends of The Glasnevin Musical Society gathered to celebrate a new social occasion for the Society – a “Murder Mystery Dinner”, aptly on Halloween weekend, in The Davenport Hotel. These events are very popular and The GMS is embraced this with enthusiasm. The occasion centred around a performance of murder mystery and intrigue performed during dinner, with the guests eagerly taking on the roles of Hercule Poirot or Agatha Christie to solve the mystery.

The “Style Theatre Company” presented their plans for their latest production to the guests of the evening to some dismay. Chaos ensued however and interesting life histories of our characters all came to light little by little. Unfortunately, not all of the company survived to see the end of the night and the guests were faced with solving the mystery for the police who were little under pressure due to recent cut-backs in staffing!

A stunning cast was lined up with many of our Jekyll & Hyde cast returning to star once more: Jackie Curran-Olohan, Annaliesa Evans, Tony Finnegan, Susan Haddon, Adam Lawlor, Karla Moloney and John Sweeney.

This event helped to raise some much-needed funds for the Society while everyone had a truly memorable night out.

The Glasnevin Musical Society hosted a series of workshops during the month of June, giving people (including beginners) the opportunity to learn from leading Irish professionals, Aisling Doyle (Dance), David Brophy (Vocal) and Tony Finnegan (Theatre).

Separate dance, vocal and theatre workshops were held and for those who chose all three options, a musical theatre workshop at the end of June brought all three together.

The workshops covered ensemble, group and solo numbers from Chicago, Dirty Dancing, Hairspray, Little Shop of Horrors, Ragtime & West Side Story. In addition to excerpts from the shows mentioned above, the Theatre workshop included some time on 'non-singing' material.

Open to both members & non members of the GMS, the workshops provided an exciting opportunity to work with some of Ireland's big names in the industry - and they were great fun too!

Following 5 weeks of ‘intensive’ training in the phoenix park during the month of May, a group of lovely ladies from the society met at the Molly Malone statue on Monday 1st June 2009 for what was to be a day of walking, talking and enjoyment. Proudly donning our black GMS t-shirts we set off along Merrion square for our 10Km ‘epic’ adventure. Surrounded by over 40,000 other women, we waved at the nurses in Holles St, danced to the tunes of the various bands along the route, stopped for a toilet break at 3km (too much gulping of water pre-race!) and sang a few songs along the way. The trek past RTE and up towards UCD proved the most challenging part, but we were treated to a refreshing cool-down courtesy of the firemen from Donnybrook fire-station!

We completed the race as we began-soldiers together holding hands across the finish line. We’re not quite sure of our exact time, but it didn’t matter to us. After our journey we skipped off for pizza and a well deserved glass of wine-sure we had burned the calories! Thanks to all who sponsored us on what was a truly memorable day out and an event through which we raised much needed funds for the society. Here’s to next year girls!!

Just as Spring emerged from the depths of Winter, so did the members of The GMS emerge from their Winter hibernation to join forces once again for a night of comedy in the Laughter Lounge, Dublin 2 on April 2nd (notably avoiding the dreaded 1st of the month!)

The night was very relaxed and members made sure to avoid the tempting empty front row of seats – this would surely only lead to public humiliation and they were right to do so. The evening was hosted by an MC with contributions from 3 additional comedians, of varying styles. All of these thoroughly enjoyable with some hilarity – particularly the jokes of “Mr Mee” – never have we heard so many permutations and juxtapositions of “Me” into a soliloque! The night ended with music, dancing and chat with members availing of the opportunity to catch up on news and events.

Due to our recognised charitable status, we were able to avail of the Laugher Lounge’s monthly charity night. As such we were able to sell tickets to our members at less than box office price, however still generate a profit. This event was attended by around 80 members and was a great fundraiser for the society.

As members really enjoyed the night out, it is planned that another of these nights be organised for 2010.