Slane singer to perform at concert raising awareness of violence against women

A Slane singer is preparing to take to the stage at a special concert in Dublin marking the United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Susan Rice is one of 55 women impacted by cancer who make up the Sea of Change Choir, which has been inspiring audiences since making headlines on Ireland’s Got Talent in 2019.

The choir will perform alongside renowned musical theatre star Rebecca Storm at the RDS Concert Hall at 1pm on Wednesday, 25th November.

“We are very excited to be taking part and to be given the opportunity,” said Susan.

“We are delighted to do anything that can promote awareness while celebrating women and strength. We believe in positivity and mental health and supporting each other.”

Susan said the choir members feel fortunate to have spent the past eight years performing together, appearing on Ireland’s Got Talent, Britain’s Got Talent and The Late Late Show, as well as performing at Electric Picnic and the European Parliament.

“We never thought for one second that we would have played in so many amazing places and met so many amazing people over the last eight years,” she said.

“Our big thing is supporting one another and being strong and a voice for each other.”

The concert will also mark the beginning of the annual 16-day campaign against gender-based violence, which calls for collective action to protect women and girls.

Organised by Opportunities for Women and Soroptimist Ireland, the event will feature speeches from leaders of women’s groups and representatives of the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Ireland.

IOM Ireland Chief of Mission Zuzana Vatralova, who will speak at the event, said every woman deserved to live free from violence, discrimination and fear, regardless of her nationality or background.

“A shocking 840 million women globally, including many migrant women, have been subjected to physical or sexual violence at least once in their life,” she said, adding that online abuse was also a significant concern.

Concert organiser Alison McNamara of Opportunities for Women described November 25 as a “powerful day” for people to come together and take a stand against violence towards women.

“This will be an inspiring concert in the hugely historic RDS Concert Hall raising awareness of an important issue that needs to be addressed. Events like this bring great hope for the future,” she said.

A portion of ticket proceeds will go to Safe Ireland, a social change agency working to end domestic, sexual, gender-based and sexuality-based violence.

Tickets cost €30, plus a €3.15 booking fee, and are available here