Donegal woman thrilled to share stage with Imelda May at sell-out concert

An audience member at Imelda May’s concert in An Grianan Theatre, Letterkenny was delighted to answer the call when the singer asked if anyone would like to sing a song.

Geraldine Harkin of Brockagh sang a beautiful version of The Water is Wide, with Imelda May singing along for the chorus.

Geraldine received a huge round of applause from the packed house in An Grianan on Tuesday evening, February 24.

The Glenfin native was at the concert with three friends, Nuala Murphy, Eileen Coyne and Heather Neilands. It was Heather who had bought the ticket for Geraldine as a Christmas gift. 

Around half-way through the set, the singer asked: “Would anyone like to sing a song?”

With encouragement from her friends, Geraldine, seized the opportunity. 

“The girls says to me, why don't you go up?” Geraldine told Donegal Live. “And I just put my hand up. When the opportunity was there I just thought, seize it now and I get to meet Imelda May.

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So what was it like to walk on stage and sing and for Imelda to join in? 

“Oh, it was fabulous, fabulous, absolutely,” said Geraldine. “I was very nervous but I was so excited about meeting her in person. 

“She was just fantastic, she just gave me such a warm hug. And she's so wholesome, she is just a beautiful lady, an absolute lady.”

Imelda is not the first family member with whom Geraldine has performed. 

“I was singing along with Imelda May’s brother in the Reel Inn in Donegal Town last week,” she said. 

Geraldine certainly looked quite at home on the stage, singing to a rapt audience.

“I was born and reared in Harkin’s Pub, and we used to have plenty of singsongs," she said.

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Imelda May performed in An Grianan as part of a very special tour, Raised on Songs and Stories. 

The mood was set with a beautifully atmospheric performance by opening act Last Apollo. 

Imelda May then took to the stage. Against the backdrop of a specially constructed homely sitting room featuring a hearth, upright piano, old family photos and musical instruments, the singer created a convivial and intimate atmosphere. She recalled memories of falling asleep to the sound of songs being sung in gatherings at her family home.

This tour, she explained, was an opportunity to move away from the structured format of touring an album and to ‘let the magic happen.’

There was plenty of flexibility within the setlist which included much-loved Irish ballads, some of the singer’s favourite personal compositions, poetry from her collection A Lick and a Promise, as well as impromptu audience requests. 

The music was stripped back, with only a guitarist and double bass player on stage, adding to the intimate feel of the evening. 

In thanking the appreciative audience, Imelda May said: “I can feel the love circling in the room, it is beautiful.”

She added: “I can still feel Geraldine’s lovely energy here on the stage.”