My Passion With Catherine McCanny

GROWING UP, my family all loved music and singing but it was my father, Paddy, who was the driving force. He had such a love for music that he produced and directed a musical pantomime every year to raise money for charities. His first big hit was his own version of Danny Boy and he then adapted popular shows such as Cinderella and Dick Whittington to bring all the locals together in the community.

My siblings, all six of them, and myself were involved as stage hands, writers, costumiers, actors and singers and dancers, basically anything that needed doing and he thought we could do.

I was a dancer and in the chorus but being part of the magic as a child inspired my passion for music and performing.

I never missed the chance to perform and would practice the piano endlessly, probably driving my family to distraction. More importantly for me though he inspired a love of music and performing that I still have today.

By the age of seven I was signed up to take piano lessons. I was reasonably successful and hit Grade 8 before it took back stage to my academic studies when I went to Queens University in Belfast to study dentistry.

I’ve never lost that love of music or playing the piano and for my 30th birthday, my husband, Joe Hendron, who’s also a dentist bought me a piano that has become as important and central to our own family life.

Until the change in NHS funding and I had to become more of a businesswoman than a practitioner I never missed the chance to play.

Now though it’s more likely that my daughters Niamh and Orla will tinkle the ivories. Both are musical and love performing, with both girls successfully achieving distinctions in drama, musical theatre and piano.

It’s fantastic that the girls are interested in the performing arts and it’s brilliant they share my passion.

Music and the shows are such a brilliant way to chill out and sharing it with my family means as much to me now as it did when I was a child and we performed together.

We’re huge fans of West End hits and never miss the chance to go to the shows. My favourite is Les Miserables for its passionate story, heart rending music and thought provoking lyrics.

Usually I restrain my own musical performances to the house but when we all get together as a family we have been known to break into song.

My second eldest brother, Barney, who has just retired as a dentist in Edinburgh is renowned for breaking into song when we’re out.

Not long ago he launched into an Elvis hit that sparked off a sing song in the restaurant we were at. If we’re not careful they will start carrying health warnings when we all turn up.