After over a year of hard work and fundraising, the Sacred Heart University Band was finally able to take their long awaited trip to perform in Ireland.  

The first ever international tour for the band consisted of five performances between Dingle and Dublin, Ireland. 

Using the help of Sacred Heart's Dingle campus coordinator Sean Pol, a travel agency, and a special invitation from Father Pat O'Donohue of the Pro-Cathedral in Dublin, 60 people represented the university in Ireland. 

Keeping busy performing in joint concerts and a Mass at the Pro-Cathedral, the band took time out to do some good as well.

Kicking off their tour, they performed at a benefit concert called Hope Guatemala. With the help of the band, the concert raised almost $2,000 for the Dingle-based Charity that does service work in remote parts of Guatemala. 

"I felt so privileged that I could help out just by putting on a concert," said freshman Winnie Maloney, who performed at the benefit. 

Even though they have been performing music for many years, Sacred Heart band director Keith Johnston and instructor Galen Tate, took this once in a lifetime opportunity to perform alongside the band. 

With Johnston on trombone and Tate playing the organ, the group performed a special concert in the Chapel of the Sacred Heart at the Diseart Centre for Irish Cultural Studies, the home of Sacred Heart's Irish Study Abroad program.

In the last few days of their journey the band got to join native Irish men and women for two performances, one with the Mullingar Town Band and the other with the Clondalkin Youth Band.

  "Both bands combined to perform four pieces together, with both bands intermingling and getting to know each other," said Johnston. 

Besides the Sacred Heart band, the concerts featured performances by award winning traditional Irish bands and step dancers.

"The Irish people we met were extraordinary, welcoming, kind, and gracious. The band's reception was one of the warmest I've ever encountered. We have truly made new friends and I look forward to returning," said Johnston.

Although their purpose of going was to perform, many of the band members found their greatest experiences in Ireland were interacting with the people and land. 

"Making new friends was such a thrill. Some of my greatest experiences of the trip were spending time with friends and just walking around the streets," said Maloney. 

It was the little things about the country that left the biggest impression on junior Christopher Mastrocola. 

"My greatest experiences from the trip were meeting new people, learning about the culture, and drinking Guinness," he said. 

The trip gave a whole new meaning to "hands on learning."

"We got to experience the thrill of making music with our Irish friends, and in the process we came to understand something about them that would be impossible just by reading about them in a textbook or seeing a documentary on TV," said Johnston. "I am so proud of the band and what they accomplished for themselves and for the university."