Mayoral honour for Limerick Jazz Society to mark four decades of dedication

CELEBRATING their 40th year of existence, the Limerick Jazz Society was honoured with a special award of recognition for their tireless work in promoting jazz music and education in the region.

The Mayor of the city and county of Limerick, Cllr Francis Foley, honoured the group at a special event to mark the society’s 40th year anniversary, where he praised the significance of the societal contribution to ‘enriching Limerick’s diverse cultural and artistic life’.

Being the longest running jazz society in the country, the Limerick jazz group didn’t have their spirits dampened by the Covid-19 pandemic in which they continued with hosting various performances, where possible, during this time.

John Daly, chairman of the Limerick Jazz Society, said: “In terms of continuity, we found that working through covid gave us a boost, and the incredible people that I have working with me - it’s really all about the teamwork within the society”.

“When I think back to our first funding in the 1990’s of £1,000 punt, it has come such a long way since then - jazz has been going on in Limerick since the 1960’s and the fact that there is still interest in it is great,” added John.

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John, a Limerick native, mentioned a memory as a child was waking up and listening to the music his father would be playing downstairs in the morning: “I grew up with music in my family, my father was a traditionalist musician.

“For me, listening to traditional music when I was young influenced my love for jazz when I landed on it as an adult.”

The Limerick Jazz Society is now hitting their 12th Jazz Festival this summer and there is one upcoming gig in mid-March that the people of Limerick can look forward to.