Staging opera is a fiendishly costly business – there was no state contribution during the early days of the DGOS and the generation of funds was vital: one of the significant players in fundraising activities was the Ladies Committee – set up in the 1950s and running right through until the late 1990s – it habitually offered a supper evening (in reality, a fundraiser) half-way through each season usually at Clyde Road – it turned into one of the most hotly anticipated social events of any season.
For as long as anybody could remember, Margaret McDonnell was the driving force behind the work of Ladies Committee: visiting singers stayed with her at her big house in Monkstown which became a focus for her fundraising activities. Elegant recitals of music were held with flunkeys in attendance – there would be a hat for contributions by the door. During the immediate postwar period, foreign soloists enthusiastically returned to lodge in Monkstown repeatedly – the perfect antidote to the deprivations of their situation back home.
In later life, Margaret particularly enjoyed the social meetings of the Dublin Opera Circle. Her contribution was examined in the programme book for the winter 1987 season by Caroline Phelan:
The Artistic development of every civilisation had been achieved by the belief in intellectual and financial support of the Artist by the Patron. The role of patron in the arts had been well documented through the ages and they have been just as important to the cultural development of their society as the actual artist. Without patronage would the world have ever known the artistic riches it now possesses? I think not.
We, the Dublin Grand Opera Society have been fortunate in having Mrs Margaret McDonnell as a very special patroness, totally committed to the continuation of opera in the city and the survival of this company. Her role has been quite unobtrusive but brilliant.
On 20th February 1941 in the Central Hotel when the Dublin Grand Opera Society was officially born and the late Bill O’Kelly took the chair, I am quite sure that nobody present that evening visualised the extraordinary growth of this company and the vital position it would hold in the musical life of the city today. During these World War II years our seasons at the Gaiety were given with all-Irish casts and in 1944 patrons’ subscriptions were introduced. This is where Margaret’s association with the Dublin Grand Opera Society began. She always loved music and played piano as a child. Her father was a very good violinist and, growing up, the family enjoyed musical evenings. When she married, Colm, who also shared her interest in music, became a very dear friend of the Dublin Grand Opera Society.
Her memories are legion and often hilarious. No privileges for patrons in the forties – you queued just like everybody else outside the Gaiety while the late J. J. O’Connor marched up and down keeping everyone in line. Couldn’t see it happening today!
At the end of the war the Company brought in singers from England for the first time, the DGOS had spread its wings. In 1948 the principals of the Opéra Comique Paris brought Debussy’s “Pelleas et Melisande” to Dublin. This was made possible by a a subvention from the French Government and and operagoers were thrilled this led to a demand for more continental singers by Irish audiences and so a long association with Italy began. A need for a special Patrons Committee arose and so a group of opera lovers came together and formed a very active committee indeed who gave full support for everything. Margaret was a driving force here right from its inception.
In 1950 when the principals of the Hamburg State Opera brought Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” and “Cosi fan Tutte”, Bill O’Kelly experienced severe difficulties boarding out these luminaries. Margaret housed part of the cast and remembers with delight sipping her coffee watching rehearsals of “Cosi” taking place on the lawn in the afternoons.
Her beautiful South Dublin home has played a significant role in the history of the Company and in funding its many operations. Here Margaret has hosted opera balls and musical evenings – who could ever forget those magical evenings with the late Jacques Klein at the piano? This year the the house was the setting for the Tennis Classic with the the entire McDonnell clan taking part. Over a hundred people playing tennis for opera.
Margaret was a founder member of the Ladies Committee and it would be impossible to list her achievements on behalf of the society with them. Nor would she wish it. One can only marvel at her extraordinary commitment and energy. She has been a loyal friend in every need, our loyal supporter in change. Positive, progressive and true, she is patron extraordinaire.
(Written by Caroline Phelan and originally published in the programme book for winter 1987 season)
The social side, meanwhile, remained an integral part of the DGOS seasons, with the fund-raising events organised by the Ladies’ Committee a highlight. Some of the more enjoyable were still being held at “Dalguise”, the home of Mrs Margaret McDonnell and her husband Colm. Carmel McHale, a long-serving member of the Ladies’ Committee, recalled the recital in the house by the celebrated pianist Jacques Klein and how he had come to be there. Shortly before, he had performed at the RDS and afterwards Professor Anthony Hughes and his wife had entertained him at a party in their home – both men had studied in Vienna – and Carmel McHale got talking to the pianist. ‘He asked me about the Dublin Grand Opera Society and I said we were trying to raise funds and to my astonishment he offered to give a free recital to raise some money. Great, I thought to myself, but wondered if he would forget all about it by the next day. But instead he repeated his offer and I immediately got in touch with Margaret McDonnell and suggested the recital be held in her house. Margaret and her husband Colm agreed and it was given to an over-flow attendance of over one hundred friends and music lovers who contributed generously. It turned out to be one of our most memorable fund-raising events.’ There were other events such as the fashionable ball held in a large marquee in the grounds and, according to Carmel McHale, it was a magnificent occasion as friends made up parties and more than two hundred people were treated to a champagne reception. Having the ball under the big top made all the difference and the society benefited handsomely. And on other occasions the McDonnells ran a casino in the house and attracted people from judges to politicians to opera buffs. They played cards and roulette and other games with all the proceeds going to the society. Charlie Haughey was one of a small group who played cards at a table in a first floor room and was happy to hand over the winnings to fund-raisers. For years he was good to the society and as Minister for Finance was always sympathetic to approaches for assistance. ‘He nudged the Arts Council to give us grants against loss and in that way took us out of more than one crisis,’ said Donnie Potter. In addition, there were tennis tournaments held on the lawns and these according to Maire Hogan, a member of the Ladies’ Committee, not only raised money but forged new friendships. ‘Margaret and Colm McDonnell were marvellous the way they made their home available to fund-raising and it was something everyone appreciated.’
(Extracted from “Love and Music: The Glorious History of the Dublin Grand Opera Society” by Gus Smith, 1998)
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