By David Hennessy
Irish star of The Voice Elly O’Keeffe will be performing in aid of the front line staff of Cork University Hospital this Wednesday where she will be playing her original material.
Originally from Knocknagree in Cork, Elly told The Irish World that Cork University Hospital is very close to her heart: “Obviously I’ve been gone from Cork the last nearly seven years but of course I support them.
“Years ago my sister- She’s very lucky actually- She actually had a thing called a dissection which is basically a tear in the main artery in her neck. She spent about three weeks in the CUH and they saved her life really. She was very lucky, she was only a day off a massive aneurysm.
“They were great. The doctors and nurses were unbelievable. They took great care of her.”
Front line medical staff are under severe pressure at the moment due to the Covid-19 pandemic. When she plays, Elly will make sure to mention some special people as a young girl from Cork named Ciara Keenan got in touch with Elly asking for a message for her mother who is a nurse on CUH’s 1A ward where they treat the Covid-19 patients.
“I got a message from Ciara. Because her mum is working on the Covid ward, she was looking to brighten up their day. I thought it was so sweet.”
Elly impressed the judges on The Voice earlier this year, choosing to be mentored by Tom Jones. She was victorious in her battle round but was then unfortunate to get eliminated before the live shows.
“It was a great journey really. It was unbelievable, the support from west London and Ireland has just been phenomenal.”
However, Elly is looking forward to what lies ahead as exciting things have been happening for her since the show.
“I’m actually after being taken on by a management company in Seattle. I’m really looking forward to making a video for a single in the next few months.
“I just can’t wait for things to get back to normal. I’m really excited. There’s lots of things happening.
“It was a fantastic experience and Tom Jones was a gentleman. I’m just happy that I met all those people. I’m really proud of myself and I gained a lot of confidence. I feel like I could anything after it.”
Elly plays for Cork University Hospital at 6.30pm on Wednesday 29 April. You can find the gig on her Facebook page here.
You can donate by clicking here.
You can find Elly’s original music on her Spotify here.
