Nobody can take the place of The Celtic Tenors, said Dubliner Patricia Mulligan before dashing into the auditorium of the National Concert Hall (NCH), Dublin, for the tenors' performance on Tuesday night.
Her friend, Liz Moloney, formerly of the Gaiety Theatre, was there with her sister, Grace Brady, who stated proudly that she had flown over from Birmingham specially to attend the concert.
Members of the Skerries Ladies Golfing Society, including Maria Dunne, Dolores Ferguson, Marie Phelan, Sheila Wilde, Geraldine Neary, Janet Phelan, Rita Tolan and Ann Duggan, were out for the night to enjoy the music of the tenors, who are just back from performances in the US, Canada and the Netherlands.
"It's our Christmas party," explained one of the golfers.
Backstage, the tenors - Niall Morris, from Dundrum, James Nelson, from Sligo, and Matthew Gilsenan, from Moynalty, Co Meath - were warming up for their gala performance, which featured songs from their new album, We Are Not Islands.
In the dressing room next door, Donna Malone (18), from Ballina, Co Mayo, was preparing to make her NCH debut, singing O Mio Babbino Caro and Nella Fantasia. Her mother, Patricia Malone, and her aunt and uncle from Dublin, Mary and Jim Gubbins, were in the audience.
The Celtic Tenors, who formed five years ago, will play at venues around Ireland over the holiday period, beginning in Waterford on Tue, Dec 27, and going on to the Helix, Dublin, on Thu, Dec 29, Killarney on Fri, Dec 30, Cork on Sat, Dec 31, and Derry on Wed, Jan 4