The first musical production by a Galway Society in the 20th century was 'The Messiah' which was performed by the Galway Orchestral Society in 1902. In 1907, the Technical Choral Society was formed under the baton of Clement Leaper, headmaster of the Technical School. In 1924, Miss Mai Fogarty produced 'The Bohemian Girl' and later 'The Pirates of Penzance'. After that there was no notable musical society until the foundation of the Patricians.

In 1948, the Department of Education sanctioned the building of St. Patrick's National School on the site of the Shambles Barracks. �20,000 of the cost had to be raised locally, so a number of fundraisers were organised. Brother Cuthbert of the Patrician Brothers was asked to form a choir to accompany various artistes at these concerts. This he did with boys from the Bish & the Mon. They were called The Patrician Brothers Boys choir & they made a 78 record in the Astaire Ballroom, & were recorded by Radio Eireann in the old Mon. At the same time, Patrician Brother Productions, which was run by Charlie Donoghue & Jimmy Walsh were putting on revues & pantomimes.Bro.Cuthbert decided it was time for Galway to step into the musical world, and he got the Patrician Brothers Past Pupils Union to form a choral society, and so the Patrician Musical Society came into being.

Their first public recital was on May 14th 1952 & featured a chorus of about 60 & 12 musicians. They then turned to the production of their first musical show�.Maritana, which took place in the Town Hall in 1953. There was huge enthusiasm & also some serious drawbacks�the stage crew could make no preparations until the cinema audience had left the theatre after the last show on Sunday night ; The cinema screen had to be rolled up & the props, the sets & scenery, which of necessity had to be constructed elsewhere had to be brought in by P.J.Ruane ; the tab rail, which carried the tabs behind the main curtain, was carried by members of the mens chorus from An Taidhbhearc to the Town Hall while some of the women's chorus warned the traffic. There was no dress rehearsal.

The production was a huge success�. The foundation from which the society grew. It was produced by Maureen Philibin from the North, the principals were Mary Angela Kyne, Patty Long, Sonny Molloy, Vincent Kyne & Gerry Glynn ; Dodo Courtney played piano and coached the principals; Bro. Cuthbert conducted; Noreen Warner led the orchestra ; stage management was by Brother Maurice & Sean Beatty; John Mulhern painted the sets; Dick Kilgarriff did the lighting & Peg Grealish was the wardrobe mistress.

The PMS was up and running and has never looked back since. Tomorrow evening sees the launch of a history of the society from 1952-2006 written by James Casserley, a profusely illustrated book which documents every show done by the PMS.It is full of information & nostalgia and is highly recommended. In good bookshops @ 25euro. It was made possible by the hard work and support of George Herterich, Micheal Staunton and Tess Emerson.

Our photographs show

• 1) Some of the cast of Maritana, 1953. In front are Maura Lillis, Angela Lupton, Laura Browne & Kathleen Mannion. Back row; Maura Maloney, Brother Cuthbert, Nancy McCormack , Noel Kennedy , Noreen Newell , Tess Emerson, Noreen Flaherty, Jack Doherty, Rose Bray, Theresa Raftery & Danny Curley.
• 2) The cast of Martha, 1956. The principals were Marie Geraghty, Evelyn Margetts, Gerry Glynn, Sonny Molloy, Michael Healy & Michael Hennessy. In the female chorus were Misses T. Egan, M. Molloy, M. Gill, R. White, E. Lillis, J. Long, F O'Toole, Anne Leonard, M. Lillis, Tess Emerson, Anne Watson, T. Corless, P. Lillis, M.Ryan, U O'Callaghan, P. McDonnell, K O'Hehir, M. Cunningham. N. O'Hehir, Mary Corbett, M. Moran, M. Doyle, P. Browne, Molly Browne & Maire Stafford. The men's chorus included F.Kelly, P.Scally, D.White, Frank Reidy, P. Wright, J. Conneely, J. Reck, George Herterich, F. Kelly, N. Heaney, H. Folan, T. Hynes, Val Carty, T. Sexton, C. Kennedy, M. Francis, D. Sexton, J. Cottingham, P. McDonagh.. The children were Eithne Mitchell, Mary Molloy, David O'Keeffe, Sean McDermott & Patrick D'Arcy.
• 3) The principals rehearsing 'The Pirates of Penzance',1957. Seated are Sonny Molloy & Dodo Courtney. Back Row. Anne Watson, Tess Emerson, Buddy Ward,Liam Keary, Marie Geraghty, Evelyn Margetts & Gery Glynn
• 4) Marie Geraghty who played the lead in Carmen, 1959.

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