Pettigo group Borderline Players' Lip Sync Challenge

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter this week, he didn’t sound too confident.

“It’ll be all right on the night, they say,” laughed Garry.

However, he won’t be alone on the night. Calling themselves “The Kesh Wannabees”, Garry will be joined on stage by James Walmsley, David Moynihan, Liam McMulkin and Darren Moore.

“Some of us are farmers, some are into rallying and some of us are volunteers who help organise and run the current Kesh Community Carnival,” he said, adding: “Dancing wouldn’t be our main priority, but we have to do it.”

“I can’t say too much, but it’s getting out of hand!”

Organised as a major fundraising event to help raise much-needed finance to support the purchase of a new home for the Pettigo-based drama group Borderline Players, the Lip Sync Challenge, sponsored by Envirogrind, Humac Engineering and Tractor Parts and Spares, will see 12 acts from across the Border region perform show-stopping routines to some of the biggest hits of all time.

Alongside acts from Pettigo, Belleek, Garrison, Enniskillen, Ederney, Kesh, a certain well-known Irvinestown hotelier has joined forces with a renowned auctioneer to perform on the night, and chaos is sure to ensue.

Liam Leonard and Joe Mahon.

Not a stranger to the stage, or fundraising, Joe Mahon is looking forward to the challenge. Accompanied by Liam Leonard, they are “The Roaring Roosters”.

“The first song I ever recorded was the Rooster song,” said Joe, talking about the origins of the act’s name: “I record a song every year for the Marie Curie CD so that was the first song I ever recorded.”

When asked how rehearsals have been going, he commented: “We had a rehearsal last week and a few acts were on, then me and Liam went on and we got a standing ovation.

“We have been practising four/five times a week in the hotel [Mahon’s],” added Joe, noting that the practises have been good “but it’s very hard to get Liam turned”.

Imagining the pair dancing, this newspaper probed Joe to give more details on what the performance would entail, but he refused to give any more away, saying “it’ll be a surprise on the night”.

The 12 acts are being put through their paces by Dancing with the Stars Ireland professional dancer Laura Nolan.

Dancer Laura Nolan leading the way.

Laura has appeared on three series of the RTE1 show reaching the semi-final stage in both 2022 with Matthew McNabb and 2023 with comedian Kevin McGahern.

Marathon training buddies Tracey Kernaghan and Siobhan O’Donnell, who have called their act “26 point 2”, will be swapping their running shoes for dancing shoes.

“We have a dance and a song. We’re lip syncing to the song and it’s a really catchy little number.

“We have a really well choreographed dance by a really young, fit, gorgeous girl who choreographed it for herself, not for two menopausal women,” laughed Siobhan.

“I will be leaving myself behind in the audience and I’m arriving on stage as somebody completely different. It’s gonna be fun,” she added.

Getting ready for Borderline Players' Lip Sync Challenge.

Other acts on the night include “The Aces”, “The Gillaroo Ladies”, “The Venga Dads”, “The Hot Flashes”, “SJ”, “The Emo-Jits”, “The Hustlin Hunnies”, “The 4 Bridies” and “Anomali”.

On the night, the acts will be scored by a formidable panel of judges featuring Bundoran singer Marion Fitzgerald, BBC reporter Julian Fowler and newly-appointed Editor of The Impartial Reporter Rodney Edwards.

Chairperson of Borderline Players Siobhan O’Brien is looking forward to the event and added that the support received from the local community to date has been “overwhelming”.

She explained that the fundraising event was coming at a vital time for the group as they are currently seeking a new home for rehearsals, workshops and to store the wonderful array of costumes and props that the group has accumulated over the past 23 years.

Siobhan added that the group is “very fortunate” to have access to the wonderful Termon Complex in Pettigo to stage their productions, but their current rehearsal premises could no longer meet the group’s needs and is inaccessible to members with mobility issues.

The group has identified what is believed to be a suitable building that would offer development potential and room for the team to grow over the coming years.

Borderline Players is working with both GrantED Productions and Events54 on the delivery of this special event and Siobhan said that the cast and crew have been having lots of fun since rehearsals began in mid-July and are looking forward to showcasing some

unforgettable performances on

the night.

Tickets for the Lip Sync Challenge are available now and can be booked online. Doors on the night will open at 7pm and the show kicks off

at 8pm.