Derry's Pink Ladies group forms male choir to support local gents 

The Pink Ladies Cancer Support Group formed their choir in 2011 to sing for their Health and Wellbeing.

Choir members are made up from Cancer Thrivers and their “buddies”.

Now, the Pink Ladies have recruited 21 gents to join their choir as they grow from strength to strength.

They learn songs important to them, that mean something to their story and have since performed to an audience.

With Siobhan Heaney as choral director and Joe Deery as piano accompanist, Jacquie Loughrey at Pink Ladies said the choir is a great support system.

Jacquie applied for funding through CLEAR PHA and now the project, called "Rock Your World," is providing not only great notes but great support for those who need it.

The ladies and gents sing both separately and together to form beautiful harmonies, singing songs that provide strength, hope and comfort. 

Jacquie said: "We've become quite good at it. We're performing and gigging, Siobhan is pushing us and we are delighted."

Jacquie said they are always looking for new ways to engage members and The Pink Ladies noticed a significant drop in the number of men taking part, in person, post lockdown.

"We have found that post lockdown that people are starting to re-engage with our programmes and revisit us but we found a large dip in our male members," Jacquie continued.

"We found that the gents were not as ready to come back and engage in person as the ladies were and we wanted to come up with an idea to help the male members get off zoom and back outside and better their mental health.

"So, we ran a couple of focus groups and we came up with a short term project; the choir. It was to get them engaged for one hour a week, it was something they had to commit to.

"So to tie in all their interests we thought, the final performance would see them perform at halftime at a home game in the Ryan McBride stadium and the City of Derry Rugby Club."

Nine men initially signed up to sign alongside the ladies choir, with 15 the following week and now on a weekly basis, 21 men show up to take part. "Even during the World Cup, they showed up," Jacquie laughed. "Even in the ice and snow, they showed up.

"We are all in this together and when the two choirs sing as one; it really is beautiful."

Every Christmas, the ladies choir sings at The House in the Wells and this year, they were joined by their male counterparts, which was a huge success.

Jacquie continued: "Everyone loved it, the residents were up singing which they have never done any other year. I think because there were men in the choir, they felt comfortable coming up and singing with the men. We really felt a buzz.

"It is what the choir is all about; getting support from each other and getting support from others."

As a result of recruiting men to the choir programme, Jacquie said there have been a couple of unintended consequences, "It did peak their interest, they came and met up and they began to open up. 

"We managed to signpost men to services in the area that are available for their mental health which may not have otherwise happened. We ran free "MOTs" and signposted them in the right direction based on their results with regards to their physical health too. There have been so many good things that have come from this."

The choir is continuing to practice ahead of their final performances at Derry City Football Club and City of Derry Rugby Club which Jacquie said will hopefully be scheduled for the end of February. 

"We didn't tell the guys they were going to perform until week three," she laughed. "But, we chose two very powerful songs that we thought they would like. They are a wee bit male orientated and one is Derry oriented. 

"We are singing Queen's 'We Will Rock You' and 'What About Us.' which is Pink's song, written by Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid, who is from Derry.

"If you look at the lyrics of 'What About Us,' it is about the men saying don't forget about us and our mental health too. Both clubs are so supportive of our cause and the importance of mental health too, it is great."

Jacquie added that the choir is a great way to meet new friends and gain additional support. There are no auditions; you just turn up and commit to an hour of practice once a week. They meet every Wednesday at The Gasyard from 7 to 8pm.

Jacquie hopes that the male choristers continue to come along and the programme continues past its initial 12 week running time due to its success, the support it has received, the help it has provided and the engagement from both the male and female members.

If you would like to find out more about the choir, contact: 07710025494 or email:jacquiepinkladies@gmail. com