Opera production allows 120 Limerick schoolchildren the chance to shine

Peter Barley, organist at Limerick’s 12th century St Mary’s Cathedral, was jazzing up his usual routine over the weekend as he led more than 120 youths in Benjamin Britten’s children’s opera, Noye’s Fludde.

Peter is the cathedral’s full-time organist and said the production may reveal Limerick’s young talent.

A native of Oxford, he said: “Many of the great singers in the UK learned their music at local cathedral productions. Hopefully, we will see more of this in Limerick and the talent we have come across has been marvellous and very exciting.”