Holy Trinity College video tribute to Shane MacGowan goes viral

Students from Holy Trinity College in Cookstown have released a very special, self-produced music video this week, in which they have covered the Pogues Christmas classic, ‘Fairytale of New York’.

The video, which was filmed in the Belfast House in Cookstown, has been dedicated to the Pogues frontman, Shane MacGowan, the iconic singer-songwriter, who sadly passed away last week following extended health issues.

The track features the stunning talents of some of the school’s finest musicians, including Killian Armour on the banjo, Patrick Bell on the fiddle (and who is the chief sound engineer), Deirbhile Canavan on the whistle, Ryan Coney on guitar, Joe Donaghy on bass guitar, Shayne Ferrity on mandolin and banjo, Cahir McKeown on piano, Chloe Hawker on guitar, Conal Moore on drums, and Ryan Neeson and Jessica Dascaula on vocals.

Holy Trinity College teacher, Gerard McStocker, managed the production.

Speaking with the TyroneHerald, Mr McStocker explained how the project came to be, and what’s next in store for these talented young students.

“Every Friday in the school at lunchtime, we have a ‘Feel Good Friday’ music session, where the pupils and staff get together with their instruments to practice and record together, he said.

“Following on from the success of this, a group of students decided to record a few songs on ‘GarageBand’, featuring all different genres, such as traditional to jazz, rock and anything in between.

“They are planning to release them over the Christmas period, but with the Christmas on the way, and considering the recent passing of Shane MacGowan, they thought it was fitting to release Fairytale of New York first,” he added. “The students had ‘Fairytale’ already recorded in GarageBand, but they needed a video for it.

“Another staff member, Mairead Conway, whose husband owns the Belfast House, arranged for us to film the video there.

“It couldn’t have turned out better,” Mr McStocker continued.

“Everything was recorded in about an hour, and our buildings supervisor, Paddy Gervin, completed the difficult challenge of editing it all together with drone footage of Cookstown and the Christmas lights also included.

“It was a great team effort from the students and staff here at Holy Trinity College, and I hope everyone enjoys our version of this classic and the others being released over Christmas!”

Despite the significant popularity of the Pogues Christmas classic, ‘Fairytale’ has never actually reached the number one spot on the charts.

In the wake of MacGowan’s recent passing, however, his wife, Victoria, has backed calls to see the classic song reach the top of the charts this Christmas in memory of her late husband. So, let’s hope the Holy Trinity College student’s efforts can contribute to such a Christmas miracle.

You can check out the Holy Trinity College student’s uplifting version of this Christmas classic via the Holy Trinity College Facebook page now.