The Mick Clifford Podcast: How the pandemic made a leading Irish tenor change his tune
Gavan Ring is Mick's guest on this week's podcast.
Leading Irish tenor Gavan Ring was so desperate for work during the pandemic that he applied for the job of press officer for the Social Democrats.
Mr Ring described how like all performing artists he was “feeling an existential weight” during the lockdown as his outlets for work disappeared overnight. He was drawing the Pandemic Unemployment Payment when he saw an advert for the press officer job.
“I saw the criteria and said to myself, I could do that, I’m good at public speaking, I’m good at communications and writing, I have a sound political philosophy which is pretty much social democratic orientation.
"Of course I didn’t get near it but I was so desperate.”
Speaking to the Mick Clifford podcast, Mr Ring said that he applied for all manner of jobs before securing teaching work which tied him over until the lockdown ended.
“You really couldn’t let any opportunity pass you by and if there was hay to be made you made it,” he said.
He says that the Minister for the Arts, Catherine Martin, saw the value of the arts to the community during the pandemic.
“She really recognised how vital artists and the arts are and she was acutely aware of the contribution of individual artists (at that time).” He also related how he discovered that labels can be so important when, in the course of moving to the UK over a decade ago, he rang up to try and secure some accommodation.
“I said I was a freelance musician, which I am and they couldn’t get me off the phone fast enough,” he says.
“My wife Nicola told me to say the next time that I’m an opera singer and I did. They wanted to give me a penthouse, which of course I couldn’t afford, I hadn’t a bob at the time.”
Gavan Ring is this week’s guest on the Mick Clifford podcast.
