From all corners of the country, be it car, train, bus or in
one case by plane from the US, we converged at the Westin Hotel to sing for #txs2 (#twitterxmassingle). The twitter gathering came about
in 2011 when Brenda Drumm tweeted ‘wouldn’t it be great if we made a twitter
Christmas single’. Little did she realise
what she had unleashed. Last year 140 people
turned up to sing Winter Song to
raise funds for the neo-natal unit in Holles Street.
On Sunday 11th November, in
response to Brenda’s #txs2 tweet, we came together to sing Holding on for Christmas which is an original song written by Ian Callanan, Brenda Drumm, Gavin Byrne and Alan Chadwick. This year the charity of choice is Console, an
organisation that resonates with me on a personal level.
Ciaran speaking on behalf of Console at #txs2 |
Since my
teenage years, Christmas has been an ambivalent time of year. I have tried to feel the spirit of Christmas,
to capture its joy and sense of goodwill and I have wanted to enjoy it but somehow
it has always eluded me. In The two realities of Christmas I discuss both the joy of Christmas and its capacity to heighten one’s grief. What I did not share at that time was the
manner in which my sister died; she opted for suicide. It was devastating. Suicide is not something that
you can get over or ‘forget about’. It
is life altering and life changing. The
world stopped when I was told my sister had ended her life and I thought the emotional
agony would never end but it does.
For the first year after her
death I used wine to try and escape the grief until I went to my doctor with a
hand rendered useless from extreme eczema.
Knowing my circumstances, she threw me a life line when she suggested
counselling and I grabbed it with both hands. The counselling saved my sanity and enabled me
to come to terms with my sister’s suicide. Whilst grief still takes me by surprise from
time to time, I accept that she is gone and I am at peace with her decision. I now have something else to counteract my
loss; I can reflect upon #txs2 and know that I was part of something good,
something that benefits others who have lost loved ones to suicide. As an aside I believe I finally get what Christmas is about.
I feel I have I experienced the central tenet of Christmas which is the spread of
goodwill. Yesterday I had the
opportunity to share my own piece of goodwill by singing with a community of
twitterers. I felt good being part of
something so spontaneous, organic and mad cap with the flashing Santa hats, the
seriously uncool but lovely Christmas jumpers and the all round good banter. We participated in the Christmas spirit of
giving, singing and doing something for a higher cause and it feels wonderful.
Brenda Drumm in her groovy Christmas glasses |
There is
only four weeks until Holding on for
Christmas is launched at the Westin on the 9th December. It will be available for download after that
date from I-tunes, etc and more details can be found on the twitterxmassingleblog, Facebook or following the twitter hastag #txs2. So only 27 days and counting
before we get to hear the final cut.
Thank you so much for sharing this. It really was a magical day. You are right - Christmas can be a tough time for some, but hopefully those who hear 'Holding on for Christmas' will hear the smiles in our voices as we sang our hearts out yesterday for a cause also close to my heart unfortunately. There is barely a family at the moment who has not been touched by the numbness of suicide, but yes, while the grief is still there at times, and the awful numbness that comes with it, days like yesterday remind us that there really are wonderful people who will be there to help. Glad you were there to feel the Christmas magic - and experience the jumpers too!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Anne marie for your lovely comments and sharing your experience. I felt yesterday was very positive and it was great fun too. I agree that probably most if not all families in Ireland have felt the impact of suicide. It is great that there are charities like console raising awareness and supporting those who feel suicidal or those bereaved from it.
DeleteA lovely heartfelt piece, looking forward to hearing the song!
ReplyDeleteThanks for that Niall.
ReplyDeleteWith regards to the song, well I am biased so suffice to say it's brilliant. Roll on the launch date of 9th December.
A very good cause, like others have said there have been so many families hit by suicide. Maybe the love and joy felt in this song will help people to forgive others and look at the true meaning of Christmas. Look forward to hearing the song..
ReplyDeleteThanks, I must admit I am counting down the days until we can all hear the song.
DeleteHi Helen, thanks for this, a lovely moving post. xx Mags
ReplyDeleteThanks Mags
ReplyDelete