J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio 
Choral Composition Commission
The Guinness Choir celebrates its 75th anniversary during the 2026/27 season and has commissioned a new work to recognise this milestone. Renowned Irish composer, Seán Doherty, will create a twenty minute choral cantata based on the text from a new work by celebrated Dublin poet Paula Meehan. and will receive its premiere performance during the choir’s 75th anniversary season.
Future Plans
The choir will be performing Elgar’s ‘Dream of Gerontius’ with the East Cork Choral Society at the opening Gala concert of the Cork International Choral Festival, at City Hall, Cork, on Wednesday 30th April 2025.
In mid June 2026 we will embark on a four-day singing tour of England, including concerts in Cambridge, Norwich and other locations in Norfolk and Suffolk.
For more information please see our Upcoming Concerts page.
Please join our mailing list to be kept informed of future concerts.
The Guinness Choir
The Guinness Choir was founded in 1951, over 70 years ago, for the employees of the Guinness brewery. It is one of the oldest mixed voice choirs in Dublin and was one of the earliest workplace choirs in Ireland. The choir has since left the ambit of the brewery and is an independent, self-funded, choir attracting amateur singers from all over Dublin and beyond to sing the great oratorios and major classical works as well as the many beautiful choral works from the renaissance, baroque, modern and contemporary eras. Over the years, the choir has given many hundreds of amateur singers the opportunity and privilege to perform these works with professional orchestras and soloists in major venues in Ireland and abroad. Please join our mailing list to be kept informed of future concerts, and information will be on our Upcoming Concerts page.
Hitting the Right Note with Spry Finance
Music Director – Ciarán Kelly
Ciarán hails from Derry city. He was appointed Music Director of The Guinness Choir in August 2022. He is also Head of Music at King’s Hospital School in Palmerstown, Co. Dublin and was appointed as Choral Director of Cór Linn in 2023. Ciarán completed a BA in Music Performance at the Royal Irish Academy of Music under the tutelage of Dr Veronica Dunne, and in 2020 completed an MMus in Choral Conducting. He is an experienced choral facilitator and has led workshops with choral societies, schools and universities in the UK, Europe and Asia. He was a member of Apollo5 in London as part of the VOCES8 Foundation, a founder of Ardú and member of The Five Irish Tenors. Ciarán has studied conducting with Neil Ferris, Robert Houlihan, Geoffrey Spratt and Blánaid Murphy.
Our Rehearsal Venue
Holy Trinity Church, Rathmines is our wonderful rehearsal venue. The church includes a generous, comfortable rehearsal space and full washroom facilities. There is free on-street car parking (after 7pm) and the Beechwood Luas stop is 7 minutes walking distance. Rehearsals are held every Tuesday from 7:30p.m. to 9:45p.m. from September to May.
Joining the choir
