Limerick hurlers ready for another battle, a lip sync one

IF BARRY Murphy and Pat Ryan “Simon” bring the crowd to their feet like they did after they goaled against Tipperary and Cork they are in with a great shot of winning Doon GAA Club’s Lip Sync Battle.

The Limerick hurlers join Seffie O’Donnell and Fiachra O’Grady to make up The Lethal Foursome. Their performance is being kept top secret. They are up against 11 other acts in the Ballykisteen Hotel on Sunday, October 28 from 7pm. A lip sync battle is when somebody takes on the persona of a musician and mimes to a song’s lyrics.   

Audrey Crowe, Doon GAA Club PRO, said they have been rehearsing for weeks in Doon Community Centre.

“They all turn up despite work, school or college. We have great craic. I’ve seen them rehearsing and I take my hat off to them. They are standing up on stage – it is not easy. They are improving every week. You do see a difference in them every Monday. They are all working and practising hard,” said Audrey.

The GAA club PRO said the 12 acts are all from the locality.

“They are not even all GAA. We have a lovely mix of ages. It’s not a talent competition, it’s a fundraiser. We’re delighted how it is going,” said Audrey.

Pat Ryan “Simon” is pictured with his sister Amy. It is the first time they managed to get the Liam MacCarthy and West County Hotel Cups together after their success with the Limerick hurlers and ladies footballers.

And there will be more siblings competing in the Ballykisteen Hotel on Sunday, October 28. Laura Murphy, a sister of Barry’s, is taking part with Louisa O’Brien, Therese O’Dea and Laura Riordan in C’est la Vie. 

The four are excellent camogie players and won a county title this year.

The hurling theme continues with former Limerick U-21 All-Ireland winning goalkeeper Cathal MacNamara performing solo as The Big Mac. While the B Minors are made up of this year’s Limerick minors – Bob Purcell and Cormac Ryan – and county U16 player Daire Ryan.

The word on the street is that great community man, Tom Richardson’s impression of Freddie Mercury has to be seen to be believed!

Amid all the fun there is a very serious reason for the lip sync battle. Audrey says they have a growing club membership. This year they undertook a major upgrade to their playing facilities which included new state-of-the-art floodlights on the main pitch and also an upgrade to the lights on the training pitch. In the coming year they hope to drain and develop the training pitch further. That will bring the total capital outlay to nearly €200,000. 

Anybody who attended the massive homecoming for Richie English, Darragh O’Donovan, Pat Ryan “Simon” and Barry Murphy witnessed the excellent facilities the rural club has.

Doon GAA Club is currently in the county semi-final as they try to win the title for the first time in their history.

Only 600 can attend the event in the Ballykisteen Hotel and with just over two weeks to go tickets are becoming scare. Another attraction is that the Liam MacCarthy Cup will be crossing the county bounds in to Tipperary for the night.

Tickets, costing €20, can be booked through Doon GAA Club’s Facebook page where you can also find out more on the 12 acts. You can also vote, €2, for your favourite artist.