“In order to thrive, classical music in its purest and most delectable form needs to be offered to the people like a gift, it needs to be ‘of the people, by the people’ and crucially, for the people.” So said Gavan Ring, at Friday evening’s launch of the 2024/25 Drogheda Classical Music season of which he is administrator.

No matter what the genre, music is born out of passion and there was plenty of that evident from the speakers and guests at the launch in Scholars Townhouse Hotel.

“What an honour it has been to steward this fantastic series and I want to pay a special tribute to my predecessor Pauline Ashwood for what she did in creating what I consider to be a cultural bastion in the North east of Ireland” Gavan said.

“Anything that takes classical music out of its naturally perceived habitat of the urban centres and places it in the regions and provincial towns like Drogheda is a story I want to be part of.

“After my first season in Drogheda it dawned on me that classical music is a gift in that you say to the people of the area “this is for you” and there is an inherent sense of ownership with that because if I gave you a present in the morning you’re not going to say, ‘I don’t want that’, you are going to take it and hopefully enjoy it.

“You may throw it away but the chances are you’re going to say “you know, I might get that again.” For me that is what Drogheda classical Music is about, it’s an inherent gift to the people.”

Music lover, businessman, cyclist and former TV Dragon Gavin Duffy, a patron of the series, also thanked Pauline Ashwood or “She with the Big Brown Eyes” as he referred to the founder of the  series who had approached him saying ‘I’m thinking of  running a series of classical music concerts, what do you think and would you help me?

Long story short, Gavin agreed because, as he said last night, “Nobody can say no to Pauline!” That was in 2012 and the series has gone from strength to strength ever since.

“The Drogheda Classical Music series is very lucky on three counts Gavin said. “Firstly, for the local authority to purchase the Steinway piano, it was €200,000 which is a big figure, but that was only half, they had to get matching funds and to this day we still don’t know who came up with the rest of the money to buy what is one of the best pianos in the world.

“The second part of all this is that if you take a world class piano, put it in a brilliant acoustic space with a bundle of energy life Pauline Ashwood in charge then you can create something very, very special and this is what we have in Drogheda.

Referring to Pauline’s successor, Gavan Ring, Duffy said that he has known him for many years and to see the line-up for this year’s series, bringing top international artists into Drogheda is so special.

Colette Farrell, The Director of the Droichead Arts Centre described the Drogheda Classical Music series as “exceptional, very much a celebration of Irish and international artists of the highest calibre.

“Droichead is part of the engine that drives the series, we provide box office, marketing and ticketing services. DCM acts as our classical arm of the Droichead programming and its just wonderful to have this collaboration.

“We are so, so lucky. But it wouldn’t have happened without the energy of its founder Pauline Ashwood and now her successor Gavan Ring.

Colette said that there are new initiatives coming down the line such as a focus on young people and much more such as bringing classical music out into the communities that that, because of their perception of classical music, may feel they cannot accept the series and we are looking at how we can change that narrative. She gave as an example of some of the ideas bringing opera singing into cafés and bars.

“I have this ambition to produce opera in the Moorland Café” she confided. “The idea of tucking in to an Italian pastry while listening to Gavan sing some Italian opera just appeals to me!”

She outlined many other ideas to bring classical music out into the community at festivals and other events and she too paid tribute to the Church of Ireland Community describing their support as “wonderful.”

The launch proceedings were brought to a close with a selection of sublime music played by acclaimed British-Irish cellist William Butt on a cello made by Giovanni Grancino in Milan in 1690.

For details of the new Drogheda Classical Music season and to buy tickets, see droghedaclassicalmusic.com