Lawrence

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVI, Issue 12, 26 March 1908, Page 23

Lawrence

The promoters of the St. Patrick's Day snorts' gathering (says the • Tuape!: a Times ') are To blTymthat IS nlvS ? Ln ' ww e H vn H fortun *tc father condiEs i!tvf P 7 - c i °£ Wedn es'rtay..afteimoon, which- seriously mteifered wath. .the carrying through of the programme 2 J^ mpl v tely marred ' the enjoyment ol what promised to be an interesting afternoon's sport A light ' ?"? ]l*> rain came on about 1 -p.m., wMch must have had the eflect of koep'ing a good many from venturing - out, and when the first event was got off the attendance on the ground was very sparse. 'Shortly before S o clock the rain cleared and the sun came out, and for a time it looked as though the conditions for the . remainder of the meeting would be favorable, and > attendance improved considerably. bnfortunately, however; the promise did" not hold>-for about half-past three rain began to fall very heavily, and there was a general rush for shelter. It moderated slightly, and one or two* field events, for which good entries had ,been received, were get off, as also was the 220 yds amateur race. - _ The concert took place in the Town Hall in the evening, when, despite the unfavorable character of the weather, .the- hall was well filled, and in every respect the concert may be termed an unqualified success. The audience- was a thoroughly appreciative one', and, no doubt, • tin© prompt manner in which the various items ~ carre on helped to give a pleasing warmth' and bright- , ness tc the proceedings — a, feature which is frequently conspicuously" absent at similar gatherings. The programme opened- with the duet, ' Gaiilard'ise,' by the Misses Dorothy and Ziita Hart, which was -excellently -played by -these youthful performers, who were accorded a' well-merited round of ' applause. Miss-Hannah'Swee-ney sang ' Terence's farewell, ' which was' extremely well ' rendered, 'as was ' also ' The dear little shamrock ' in the second - part, and was encored' !in both instances.

Master J. Pearson., a youthful performer, gave a very pleasing rendering of ' The last rose of summer ' as a violin solo. Mrs. R. A. Power (Dunedin) made her first appearance before a Lawrence audience. Her numbers were • Kathleen Mavourneen ' and ' O steer my •baraufl ' for both of which she was recalled. Mr. McCxratn s song, ' The wearing of the green,' was remarkably well sung. He was enthusiastically applauded and responded with the favorite ' I'm off to Philadelphia.' At the conclusion of the v second [ part of the programme he sang ' The gladiator ' ' in a manner which left no doubt as to the cultured l natuire of his voice Miss Mary Woods, L.R.A.M., chose as her item ' Killarney,' and her artistic rendering of this nuiriber was a revelation to novices in the vocal art. Her encore number w a s the simple Trish ballad, ' Erin, O Erin,' which was also sung w r ith fine musical taste. In the second part of the programme Miss Woods displayed'her musical versatility by delighting her auditfh.ee with „ a violin solo. The second part of the programme opened with a pianoforte duet, ' Irish airs,'" by Misses M a ry Simpson and Dorothy Hart, which was played in a bright and finished style. Mr. D. Corrigan sang with consummate taste the fine ballad, ' Let me love thee.' Ira response to an undeniable encore he s a ng ' The minstrel boy,' in which he was equally successful. Last, but by no means least on the programme, was Mr. Percy James, who, as> usual, was very amusing. In both parts of the programme he had to aPP e &r three times. At t/he conclusion, Mr. J. J. Woods (conductor) apologised for the unavoidable absence of Monsignor O'Leary. At his request and on his behalf he thanked the very large gathering present for their kind and liberal patronage ; also the performers. He also thanked those who assisted in an unobtrusive manner in the work of the concert.