About Us
The Forget-Me-Nots Organisation is a registered charity in Ireland (No. 20144661) offering an inclusive community choir for older people, family, friends and neighbours and is especially welcoming to those affected by dementia and memory loss. Participants are drawn from the neighbourhood, the local HSE Day Care centres, The Alzheimer Society Social Clubs in the region, local residential nursing homes, and from the wider Dublin NorthEast community.
We never heard of Zoom before COVID hit but it became a lifeline for our choir members as we worked to stay connected during this period of lockdowns, cocooning, tier level restrictions and social distancing. This short video collage gives a small taste of our "Silver Lining" musical appreciation sessions which we still host by zoom every Friday morning from 11am to 12.30pm. These sessions connect people who might struggle to leave their homes, and open fun lines of engaged communication between seniors where physical gatherings are limited or not possible.
This Quality Arts project engages highly experienced choral professionals, drawing on some of the most exciting musical talent in Ireland – Norah Walsh, award-winning Musical Director & Composer and who features in Tyrone Productions latest choir documentary with David Brophy, and Emmet O'Connor as accompanist. The project is wholly managed and supported by enthusiastic volunteers from the Dublin NorthEast community for the Dublin NorthEast community with every penny raised going towards the choir.
Our goals are to:
1. build an inclusive choir for the vulnerable elderly, older people, family, friends, neighbours and with a special welcome for those affected by dementia or memory loss.
2. extend access to a quality, professionally managed Arts activity for the continued self-growth and creative enrichment of our members.
3. promote wellbeing through song and through social inclusion in our community with a special reach into local residential nursing homes.
4. embrace the community by including school children in periodic rehearsals and performances where this is possible.
5. record and share any anecdotal or empirical learning we gain regarding the benefits of this project for our members and for the wider community.
The choir got its inspiration from The Unforgettables Chorus founded in New York in 2011 by Dr. Mary Mittelman of NYU Langone Medical Centre’s Comprehensive Centre on Brain Aging. The Forget Me Nots is the first choir of its kind in Dublin's Northside and aims to progressively interact with the youth of the community as well as residential nursing homes in the locality.
2. extend access to a quality, professionally managed Arts activity for the continued self-growth and creative enrichment of our members.
3. promote wellbeing through song and through social inclusion in our community with a special reach into local residential nursing homes.
4. embrace the community by including school children in periodic rehearsals and performances where this is possible.
5. record and share any anecdotal or empirical learning we gain regarding the benefits of this project for our members and for the wider community.
Norah Walsh has been Musical Director since January 2015. You can learn more about the inspiration for the choir on RTE's Morning Ireland (aired in November 2013) and which sparked the foundation of The Forget Me Nots.
In August 2014, the choir featured in RTE Radio 1's 'Doc on One' series with a 'A song for Kathleen' by award-winning documentary maker - Elayne Devlin. It can be heard on the RTE website in perpetuity. Have a listen, it will warm your heart!
In April 2018, the choir featured in a concert 'Moments of Joy' as part of the Sonas apc International Conference on Dementia held in The Helix. Michael Sullivan interviews Norah Walsh and Orla Horn as part of NearFM's 'Lifeline' radio programme.
The choir is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year and has gone from strength to strength each year. It has featured in the RTE Brendan Grace documentary - Thanks for the Memories - as well as recording songs with celebrated Irish musical artists such as Mike Hanrahan of Stockton's Wing, Lisa Lambe, Sandy Kelly and ALDOC with A River Rolls on to the Sea, Waltzing on Borrowed Time a climate- change awareness written by Pete St John, as well as Snowflakes - a Christmas song written by one of our choir members - Gerry O'Halloran - for his children when they were little and now being recorded with Mike Denver and his band for release this Christmas - watch this space! Our Musical Director - Norah Walsh - who is also an award-winning Composer, writes music and creates musical arrangements for the choir. Our anthem - This Shock of Flowers p was inspired by the choir for the choir and this video will be released in time to celebrate the Bealtaine Festival 2025 as it celebrates its 30th anniversary. This festival is the longest seniors festival in the world - spread over the entire month of May each year - and has the greatest community reach.
The Forget Me Nots Choir is proud to be a part of amazing projects and collaborative efforts and is particularly honoured to have been chosen to be part of the Shared Island initiative sponsored by the Irish Government through Creative Ireland. In this capacity, the choir is working with Community Arts Partnership 'CAP' based in Belfast and The Music Yard in Larne with the choir - This Is Me - reaching out to each other through songs and stories. This 2 year project will continue through end 2025 and will include key performances on both sides of the border.
There is always something exciting happening with the choir but we never forget our roots and what our primary objective is - to be a Quality Arts Socially Inclusive Community Choir for our seniors and carers, with a very special welcome for those families impacted by dementia and memory loss conditions. That's what powers us ahead every single day and we thank our Musical Director - Norah Walsh - our volunteers, our sponsors and our supporters who make this all possible.
Our Supporters - THANK YOU!
Proud to be a member
