Loudest Whisper concert

LEGENDARY folk rock band Loudest Whisper will celebrate 40 years on the road with a big concert in Cork this weekend.

The group, which shot to fame with Brian O’Reilly’s seminal album, Children of Lir, will perform a full concert version of the album in the Cork School of Music on Saturday night.

The album is in the top 100 most wanted records of all time. And if you’re lucky enough to still have an original copy of the vinyl LP, keep it — it’s a prized collector’s item worth a cool €1,000, making it the most valuable Irish LP ever released.

The group started out in Fermoy as The Wizards, performing cover versions of songs by The Beatles, The Hollies and The Spencer Davis Group.

O’Reilly, one of the group’s founders, was soon joined by his brother, Paud, and the group became Loudest Whisper in 1969.

The 40th anniversary concert on Saturday will feature the six-piece band, a string quartet, five backing singers and a narrator.

Tickets cost €20 and are available from Pro Musica on Oliver Plunkett Street.