By Ronan Scott
DUNDRUM singer Gerry Flanagan is preparing for the biggest night of his performing career on Tuesday when he will join some of the biggest stars at the Irish Entertainment Awards.
Gerry’s song, ‘A Little Piece of Heaven (Medjugorje)’, has been nominated in the category of ‘Most Inspirational Song of The Year’ at this major Irish awards event.
The event will see the likes of Dana, Johnny Logan as well as Foster and Allen, The Whistlin’ Donkeys, Declan Nerney, Mick Flavin and many more perform for an audience of 800 people. There is also a series of awards to honour the brightest and best performers in Ireland.
Gerry’s song is a tribute to the town in Bosnia and Herzegovina which is a place of Catholic pilgrimage.
It is fitting it is this song that earned him what will be his biggest night as a singer, as it was his first trip to Medjugorje that inspired him to start writing songs.
Gerry told the Mourne Observer: “I wrote the song ‘A Little Piece of Heaven (Medjugorje)’ about an unplanned trip to Medjugorje.
“I never wrote a song, or played the guitar or composed music, until I went there.
“It all came flowing into my head after that.
“I wrote my first song in 2008, in July the following year. I had a launch in the Millbrook for my first album, which was quite cheeky. I was worried no one would turn up for it. But 300 people turned up.”
The experience he had in Medjugorje set off a series of events that has led Gerry to becoming a regular musical performer, both here in Ireland, but also across the world as he has performed his music in places like Nashville.
He has released three albums and has another one on the way.
But he says that the song about Medjugorje, ‘A Little Piece of Heaven (Medjugorje)’, has attracted a lot of attention.
“It has become very popular. People were getting to know it.
“It is an emotional, peaceful song. A healing song. A lot of people break down and cry when they hear it.”
After he wrote the song he would sing it in Medjugorje.
“When I sang the song in Medjugorje I was stopped in the street, I had a standing ovation in the chapel.”
Then it became more popular and people wanted to hear it in Mass.
That led to his highlight.
Gerry said: “Singing a song which I wrote in St James’s Church Medugorje was probably the highlight of my career because it was surreal to see people from different countries around the world in the congregation singing and knowing the words and joining in.”
The song has been translated into Polish, Croatian and Italian. The reason for that is that Italians are the biggest attenders of Medjugorje.
The song found its way into the Irish Entertainment Awards, as it was part of Gerry’s album, ‘The Times We Are In’.
He had sent the album into a number of radio stations in order for it to get some radio play, and he received a response from Keltic Radio and TV who are one of the groups connected to these Irish Entertainment Awards.
“They put the song up on their social media and it got thousands of views in no time.
“I knew from the start when I was writing the song that there was something special about the song. It came from total inspiration. I didn’t know that it was going to go this far, but I knew that it was going to be popular. I had that feeling.”
He found out about the award two months ago and was pleasantly surprised.
“I thought that I must have been doing something right.”
And he added that the reaction to his nomination has been great as well.
“People are delighted, and they hope that it wins.”
Gerry will be performing his song on the night alongside the stars.
“I went last year. It is something else.”
It will be the biggest event that he has performed at.
There is a bus of fans going from Hilltown, including a lot of his family members.
He said that he can’t quite believe the trajectory of his career following that inspirational trip to Medjugorje 16 years ago.
“I am blown away to be honest. I came off the building sites to record a song. Then it spiralled from there. That was after my first trip to Medjugorje.
“It all happened from an unplanned trip to Medjugorje.
“My six sisters decided to take my mother to Medjugorje. In 2008. I wasn’t supposed to be there.
“At the last minute my youngest sister dropped out. So, my other sister asked me if I would go.”
Since then, Gerry has been to Medjugorje 26 times.
His passion for the place has led to Gerry organising groups to travel to the pilgrimage site.
Last April he took eight people, and this year he took a group of 32. He is taking the next group in April for seven days. Anyone who wants to get in touch can contact him via Facebook.
“There is nobody I know that went to Medjugorje once that didn’t want to go back. They all went back.”
At the bottom of it all Gerry’s passion comes from his fondness for the place.
“It is an unbelievable place. Everyone in the street will stop and talk to you. You can feel the peace in the place. When people come home, they look forward to going straight back.”
To listen to his song, or contact him to buy copies of his albums, see Gerry’s You Tube page.
