'Ode to Joy' performed inside Newgrange chamber

The Office of Public Works (OPW) and the RTÉ Philharmonic Choir accepted and completed Plácido Domingo's challenge to sing Ode to Joy, the anthem of Europe, at a favourite heritage site during this European Year of Cultural Heritage.  The challenge was completed on Sunday at the Newgrange monument in Brú na Bóinne, UNESCO World Heritage Site.

To celebrate the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, Europa Nostra and its president, Plácido Domingo invited all citizens in Europe and beyond to contribute to the #Ode2Joy Challenge.  This challenge was to celebrate Europe through our common cultural heritage.  It seeks to unlock creativity and encourage participants to make an “#Ode2Europe” as a humanistic and cultural project, based on shared values, history and heritage.
The RTÉ Philharmonic Choir led by conductor Mark Hindley gathered at the Stone Age monument and performed both inside and outside the iconic site.  The first verse was sung acapella by a small group inside the chamber, while the second verse was sung outside in the open air by the entire choir who waved European and Irish flags in celebration.  The event was recorded on film which will be uploaded on the Europa Nostra website by May 9th - Europe Day.  The performance was enjoyed by many visitors to the site, including local resident Mairéad McGuinness MEP, Vice President of the European Parliament.

Clare Tuffy, OPW, said: “The celebration of European Year of Cultural Heritage at Newgrange was very fitting as passage tombs are tangible evidence of trans-European cultural connections from earliest times. Passage tombs are found in other areas of Europe, but it is in Ireland that they found their most inspired expression. Ireland in the Stone Age was not on the periphery of Europe but was central to a vast Atlantic Europe cultural network”.    
Mairead McGuinness (pictured below) said it was something really special.  “The hauntingly beautiful voices echoed around the historical site and brought us back through the centuries. You could not but be moved,” she said.