ICA news: Happy times for tuneful Bree members

A 19th century song about hard times performed by Bree Guild won the top prize in Wexford’s ICA Has Got Talent competition.

Bree ICA secretary Josephine O’Reilly says ‘Hard Times Come Again No More’ was written by Stephen C Foster in 1845 during a time of recession .

“It’s about thinking of those less fortunate while we’re doing ok. It’s about boom and bust, when the poor didn’t gain much from the boom and suffered most in the bust. Even though it’s an old parlour song with old-fashioned words, we felt it reflected modern life. It’s very relevant in terms of what has gone on in our country.”