DEMENTIA IN SOCIETY
The Forget Me Nots Choir The Forget Me Nots Dementia-Inclusive Community Choir Baldoyle, North Dublin is a seniors choir and counts many people with memory loss conditions and their carers within its ranks. Founder Órla Horn tells us more about the choir’s beginnings, its achievements and how members have been adapting to COVID-19. The Forget Me Nots is a dementia-inclusive community choir based in the beautiful coastal town of Baldoyle in North Dublin, Ireland. I founded it in 2014 with the help of two of my sisters – Fiona and Karen – inspired by our mother Kathleen Tierney – who loved music and had recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 86. Her diagnosis came as a quite a shock to the family and we wanted to find things we could do with her to keep her happy and engaged. I heard about The Unforgettables Chorus of NYC featured on Irish radio which included dementia patients and their carers, and I thought what a wonderful thing to be able to do with Mam if I could only find the right choir! As it turned out, there was no such inclusive community-based choir, so I sought some starter funding from Fingal Arts Office, our local County Council, and with their support, and the enthusiastic help of local volunteers, we were off!
Another key element of the choir’s success is our group of amazing volunteers! Apart from their terrific operational support, they all love to sing and are mostly drawn from amateur women’s choirs in the area. This mix of vocal abilities from Soprano 1 to Alto 2 has given the choir security to stretch, while carers learn the harmonies if they choose and their loved ones with memory loss conditions can sing the melodies or hum or clap or even dance… whatever makes them happy and part of the group.
Órla Horn
at Christmas where we welcome arrivals from all parts of the world – all coming home for Christmas. In our neighbourhood, the ‘official’ start to Christmas is now when we sing in a local coffee house – Insomnia – where families can bring their kids to kneel in front of us and join in touching every part of our community and being touched by the hugely warm reception we get in return.
In 2016, we became a registered charity in Ireland, The Forget Me Nots Organisation, and now we have 150 members enrolled although the hall can only accommodate 110. We were able to maintain this safety limit through a “This Shock of Flowers” – an anthem rolling attendance of some nursing home residents and the ongoing need to people Our choir continues to do amazing things… to attend medical appointments from time we’ve commissioned our own anthem to time. Apart from professional musician composed by our Musical Director, Norah fees, the choir is 100% supported by enthu- Constance Walsh, “This Shock of Flowers”. For siastic volunteers. inspiration, Norah surveyed our members to Involving the community and getting hear about what the choir means to us. The things started From strength to strength feedback was powerful! The choir brings us joy and happiness, it helps us express our Local children posted flyers into every house- The choir has gone from strength to strength emotions, it uplifts our mood, we’ve made hold in the neighbourhood, and we started in its first eight years! We have performed in new friends and feel we really belong in our with a group of 11 (to include Mam’s dear every type of venue large and small (with the community, we’ve even experienced fan mail, friend Claire) – singing nostalgic songs our exception of a football stadium – although we’ve attracted sponsorship and support seniors could remember. The choir really took we were due to sing in Croke Park in Dublin locally, nationally and from other countries off with the appointment in 2015 of Norah until COVID-19 arrived!). This includes sing- to include Canada, Australia and the NethWalsh, our Musical Director. Norah is a gifted ing in local nursing homes for residents, in erlands! We’ve sung with visiting choirs musician and composer as well and brought special rehab places like St Michael’s House from California, Texas and Virginia. We’ve the professional skills needed to create har- and L’Arche, in key Dublin venues such as The recorded songs with household names such monies and arrangements for old songs to Olympia Theatre, The Helix and The National as Brendan Grace (RIP), Mike Hanrahan (Stocksuit the different abilities within the choir – Concert Hall with major Irish celebrities. We ton’s Wing), Lisa Lambe, and Sandy Kelly. keeping aspects like old melodies accessible also love to sing in repeat venues such as We’ve performed with Irish superstar Mike while introducing new harmonies, rhythms, The National Gallery for St Patrick’s Festival Denver, and Irish Showband celebrities like mix of voices etc. to keep things challenging where we meet lots of foreign visitors, Fingal Philomena Begley and Brendan Shine. We’ve and interesting for everyone. Atrium for the public at large, Dublin Airport sung at the Áras for Irish President Michael D
38
Dementia in Europe
