Looking Back - Ireland in Christmas Praise Online

We were incredibly thankful for the opportunity to broadcast a live Christmas event from the Ulster Hall on 19th December, for folk to enjoy from the comfort of their own home.

Under the direction of our Director Jonathan Rea, around 30 singers and 12 string players joined us live in the Ulster Hall, along with special guests Keith & Kristyn Getty and Sylvia Burnside. Andrew Peterson recorded ‘Behold the Lamb of God’ in the Ryman Auditorium, Nashville that our string players and singers accompanied on the night. We also enjoyed looking back at Dana Masters singing ‘I Pray on Christmas’ at our 2018 concert in the Waterfront Hall.

There was a special performance from members of our chamber choir of Will Todd’s ‘My Lord has come’ recorded earlier in December in Down Cathedral.

Many of our choir and orchestra and youth choir members took time to record themselves singing/playing ‘Joy to the world’, ‘O come, all ye faithful’ and ‘When I see the King’ in many fantastic locations across Ireland. Seeing so many familiar faces on the screen was really quite moving, and we are grateful to everyone who contributed in this way.

We were delighted that David Bruce, long standing friend of New Irish and member of our Board of Directors, shared a thought with us towards the end of the night. Particularly thankful to David for taking the time to do that during his busy year as Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

The evening was hosted by Jonathan Rea and Ruth Thompson, and they both did a superb job.

It was wonderful to hear from so many people during the concert who were commenting and chatting online as the evening went on. People in Spain, England, China, America and of course, right across Ireland!

O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!