Songs of Hope and Inspiration

What to Expect

Thurles Parish hosts an evening of music inside the Cathedral of the Assumption on Friday 2 October 2026. Songs of Hope and Inspiration brings together four well known Irish performers, Des Willoughby, Louise Morrissey, Marc Roberts and Clodagh Lawlor, for a programme of song within the setting of Thurles’s cathedral church. The event gives the parish community, and visitors from across Tipperary, a chance to gather for a night of live music in a building more usually associated with Mass and everyday devotion, and it is one of the set-piece events in the parish’s autumn calendar. The cathedral itself, seat of the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, is one of the more striking pieces of nineteenth century church architecture in the county, and its acoustics and scale suit a concert of this kind well. Doors open at 7pm ahead of an 8pm start, with the evening expected to run through to around 11pm, giving performers time for a full set each.

Good to Know

• Date: Friday 2 October 2026
• Doors open 7pm, concert runs from 8pm to approximately 11pm
• Venue: Cathedral of the Assumption, Liberty Square, Thurles
• Performers: Des Willoughby, Louise Morrissey, Marc Roberts and Clodagh Lawlor
• Ticket price: €35 donation
• Tickets available from the Thurles Parish Office (0504 22220), Bookworm (0504 22257), or the Holy Cross Abbey Shop (0504 43124)
• No online booking; tickets are sold in person or by phone through the outlets above
• Organised by Thurles Parish

Getting There

The Cathedral of the Assumption stands in the centre of Thurles town, within easy walking distance of the town’s main car parks and of Thurles railway station on the Dublin to Cork line. The town is well connected by road from Nenagh, Clonmel, Cashel and Roscrea, and by Bus Éireann services to the town centre.