My Weekend: You can't beat good food and good music!

Sinéad O’Donovan who lives in Cork city to study at Cork School of Music takes part in our My Weekend.

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

I’m Sinéad and I’m 24 years old. I currently live, and am based in Cork City, however I hail from Clonmel in County Tipperary. I moved to Cork in 2017 to study at the MTU Cork School Of Music and am still studying there now at Masters level, specialising in Vocal Performance. 

I am so thrilled to be performing at Finding A Voice in my hometown on Friday, March 4th this year as part of the Broadway Babes and West End Girls Concert. 

I’m performing as a featured soloist under the musical direction of David Hayes, alongside the wonderful students of the BA Musical Theatre Degree in MTU Cork School Of Music. I’ve worked closely with David since I was 17 in stage schools and other am-dram productions, so working professionally alongside him in my hometown of Clonmel feels very full circle!

What is your ideal way to spend a Friday night? 

I actually work every Friday evening, and I’m fortunate enough to love my job. I teach singing at Bellvue Academy of Performing Arts in Clonmel, and get great satisfaction from seeing my students fall in love with music as I did at their age! 

If I ever have an evening off, I love getting dressed up and going out for a fancy meal with my loved ones, followed by a gig of some sort. You can’t beat good food and good music!

Lie ins or up with the lark.. which is it for you?

I love getting up early as I feel like I am most productive in the morning, and I strongly believe coffee tastes better the earlier you drink it. However, I am definitely partial to a lie in too. My bed is very very cosy and it can be hard to part ways with it sometimes!

Does work creep into your weekend at all?

It does! As previously mentioned, I work at Bellvue Academy Of Performing Arts in Clonmel. I work Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons, but am lucky enough to have Saturday nights and Sunday off. Plenty of time for having fun with friends or going for brunch etc. It’s all about balance.

If money was no object where would you head to on a weekend city break? And who would you bring with you?

I’m not sure would a weekend be enough time here, but my first choice would undoubtedly be New York city. I spent a summer there for a J1 in 2019 and just fell in love with it. 

The Broadway shows, the shopping, the food, the sights. It is my favourite place on earth! 

I’d bring my boyfriend Conor as we’ve dreamed of going there together for quite a while now.

Closer to home, is there some place you like to head to recharge the batteries?My mam lives in Dungarvan, very close to Clonea Beach. Whenever I feel overwhelmed or stressed about anything, I hop in my car and drive straight there. Clonea is a beautiful beach and I’m very lucky to have a loved one living so close to it!

Do you like to catch up with family/friends at the weekend?

Absolutely. My job being in Clonmel is a lovely excuse to go home for the weekend and see my family and boyfriend. Also, I often like to go to Dungarvan after work on a Saturday and spend Sunday with my mam and my lovely dog, Rossi.

Do you get to indulge any hobbies? Even as a spectator?

In school, my hobbies would have all been music related. I attended plenty of drama, singing, and dance lessons. As I’ve chosen music for my career path, they don’t really feel like hobbies anymore, even though I still love them all as much as I did when I was 15! 

I enjoy running and have recently signed up for the Cork City Half Marathon so fingers crossed I will successfully complete that in June.

Entertain or be entertained? If it's the latter do you have a signature dish?

I really enjoy hosting! I love creating a nice dinner playlist on Spotify and decorating the table for a dinner party. If I were to have guests over, I would make a steak dinner with all the trimmings. I’m very proud of how well I cook steak!

We have so many places to eat out in Cork - where are your go to spots for coffee/ lunch/ special meal?

There are so many! I absolutely adore Joes and Bros on Gillabbey Street for brunch and coffee. For dinner, it would have to be Amicus or Market Lane.

Sunday night comes around too fast.. how do you normally spend it?

I like to spend my Sunday relaxing, and getting ready for the week ahead. This may involve going for a long walk with a coffee, or watching television, which I don’t get to do often. 

In terms of planning my work week, I’ll do a healthy food shop and make a list of duties that must be carried out, such as admin for teaching, learning material for rehearsals, and practicing my own singing to work towards personal goals.

What time does your alarm clock go off on Monday morning?

Luckily, I don’t often have any early commitments on a Monday morning. In saying that, I do like to start my week as I mean to go on, so I’ll set my alarm for 8.20am to be up and organised around 9am. I always feel rested when I wake at this time, but its also time enough to be productive!

Full details for Finding a Voice can be found on www.findingavoice.ie