Skipping school for a good cause!

A number of children are going to skip school in Edenderry on Friday. Don’t worry though - their parents are aware and in favour of it, and it’s for a very good cause.

Recently Edenderry’s own Elvis impersonator Greg Traynor wrote a song about Irish people who have had to leave the country for work. On Friday students of Edenderry School of Music will record their part of the song that is to be released on iTunes and as a CD, and profits from the venture will go to help those affected by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

Greg, who underwent surgery on his vocal chords this week, is helped out on “Sing Them Back Home” by a number of people.

With just a week of practice, earlier this week Derek McCreanor recorded music by the teachers at Edenderry School of Music for the track.

Emilija Paliulyte played piano and synths for the track, while Jay Kelly played guitar, Trisha Mulraney played fiddle and flute, Matt Cross played drums and Edel Conlon helped out on the vocals.

“The song is about all the Irish and people in general who have left their country to find work abroad,” Emilija explained. “The song asks their families to ‘sing them back home’ where they belong.”

The song will be unveiled at a launch night on December 8 in Edenderry School of Music, on the town’s main street next to Bank of Ireland.

From 7pm on that evening all locals, but particularly families, will be welcome to a concert culminating with a performance of “Sing Them Back Home”. From that day the tune will be available on iTunes and on CD, with all profits set to wing their way to the Philippines.