The Dublin-based agency, The Public House has rolled out a new Christmassy campaign for EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum that brings the boys from the NYPD Choir together for the first time to sing Galway Bay, in a powerful nod to the festive classic Fairytale of New York by Shane McGowan and Kirsty McColl.
Possibly the most played Christmas song of the 21st century, Fairytale of New York has also been lauded as a global Irish emigration anthem with a memorable chorus that recalls “the boys of the NYPD choir were singing Galway Bay…”. But they never sang together because there never was a NYPD choir….until now.
As part of the campaign The Public House and EPIC decided to create their own NYPD choir, made up of retired officers, and have them sing Galway Bay, another timeless Irish classic, penned by emigrant Dr. Arthur Colahan as a tribute to his homeland and his brother.
According to Aileesh Carew, CEO of EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum: “At EPIC, we take immense pride in highlighting the stories and accomplishments of Irish emigrants, demonstrating that Irish identity transcends the geographical boundaries of our island. With that in mind, what better way to celebrate this than by giving life to an Irish emigrant ballad, performed by retired NYPD officers, all of whom proudly share Irish heritage. This Christmas, we hope that the NYPD Choir’s rendition of ‘Galway Bay’ will be shared far and wide, both at home and abroad.”
The idea was the brainchild of The Public House founder and Executive Creative Director, Colin Hart. Commenting on the piece he said
“In theory the Irish have no right to have had such an impact on the world but you only need to listen to the talent and creativity in songs such as ‘Fairytale of New York’ to understand why it has,” says Colin Hart, executive creative director, The Public House.
“Rather than making a traditional ‘ad’ this December, we erred on the side of meaningful by building on Ireland’s greatest ever Christmas anthem, which just so happens to have multiple tales of emigration at its core,” he adds.
The musical elements of the campaign have been immortalised in a special limited edition 7” vinyl, and the campaign is supported with social, digital, press, and OOH.
Fans of The Pogues’ will also be delighted to learn that from December 1st until the end of January 2024, EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum will be running a supporting exhibition titled, “They Gave the Walls A Talking – the extraordinary story of The Pogues and Shane MacGowan.” developed in collaboration with Hot Press.
Credits
Agency: The Public House
Executive Creative Director: Colin Hart
Creative Director: Dillon McKenna
Associate Creative Director: Mikey Curran
Head of Design: Eimear O’Sullivan
Production Lead: Trevor Nolan
Motion Graphics Designer: Kevin Hughes
Head of Strategy: Sarah Walsh
Managing Director: Catrióna Campbell
Group Account Director: Terri Turner
Agency Producer: Claire Boylan
PR : Vroom Digital
Head of PR: Niamh Walters
Media Agency: BDO Eaton Square
Director: Declan Kelly
Account Manager: Jane Daly
Client: EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum
CEO: Aileesh Carew
Director of Marketing: Yvonne Murphy
Head of Exhibitions and Programming: Nathan Mannion
Social Media Lead: Audrey Abaca
Director of Sales: David Cleary
Business Development Executive: Lindsay Leach
Digital Marketing Executive: James Kielty
PRODUCTION CREDITS: Out of the Blue Productions
Director: Michael Uys
Producer: Federico Negri
Editor: David Dessel
Vocal Arrangement: Jon Burr
Music Mix and Mastering: The Bridge Studio
Choir: The Crickets
Retired NYPD: Sergeant Gerard Flanagan, Detective William “Billy” McDonald, Officer John Behan & Officer Michael Daly
