Ireland’s oldest choir: How Dr George Hadden founded the Wexford Male Voice Choir

The Wexford Male Voice Choir is likely the oldest in the Republic of Ireland, established in 1941 by the renowned Dr George Hadden…

Last month, the Wexford Male Voice Choir took to the stage on the Gig Rig to perform for the 2025 Fleadh Cheoil in what choir secretary Terry Byrne called a ‘massive highlight’.

It was the latest chapter in the Wexford Male Voice Choir’s rich history, which stretches all the way back to the early 1940s when a doctor returned from missionary work in China.

Dr George Hadden was born in 1882 at Richmond Terrace on Spawell Road. He was raised Methodist and attended the Methodist secondary school, Wesley College, in St. Stephen’s Green. He later enrolled in Edinburgh University and graduated with a medical degree in 1905. It was at university that Dr Hadden met his future wife, Dr Helen Vickers. The pair’s shared humanitarian values led them to China in 1906 as Methodist medical missionaries.

Dr Hadden and Dr Vickers married in Changsha, China in 1909 after years of missionary work. While working in China, Dr Hadden refused to wear a sun helmet, against the advice of his colleagues, because of their association with colonial rule.

According to Des Kiely’s book Fascinating Wexford History Volume 3, Dr Hadden once walked thirty miles a day for nine days without protection from the sun.

After several decades of missionary work, which included a stint in Siberia where Dr Hadden assisted the American Red Cross during WW1, Dr George and Dr Helen returned to Wexford permanently in 1939.

Never one to live a quiet life, it wasn’t long before Dr Hadden became active in Wexford’s political, cultural and social scene. It was around this time that Dr Hadden decided that Wexford ought to have a Male Voice Choir ‘on a level with Welsh Choirs across the sea’.

Dr Hadden set about finding people who shared this dream and soon came together with Sam Coe, Willie Robinson, Wally Doyle, Jimmy Robinson, Christopher Rossiter, Larry O’Neill, Nicky Rossiter and Peter O’Connor. In 1941, the Wexford Male Voice Choir was founded.

‘For a long time, they used to rehearse in his house. Forty or fifty men would pile into the living room on a particular night. Famously, before they would go in, Mrs Hadden – Helen – would lift the good carpet off the floor so they wouldn’t dirty it.’ -Terry Byrne, secretary.

Continuing to thrive to this day, the Wexford institution is the oldest male voice choir in the Republic of Ireland. In the whole of Ireland, the Portadown Male Voice Choir in Armagh likely claims that title, having been formed in 1926.

Among other impressive achievements, Dr Hadden was among the founders of the Old Wexford Society in 1944. Today, it is known as the Wexford Historical Society. He was an avid reader and writer of history and regularly gave lectures on Wexford history. When the Wexford Festival Opera first opened in 1951, Dr Hadden gave guided walking tours of the town for the international festival.

Overtime, Dr Hadden became one of Wexford’s most recognizable faces, aided in part by his distinctive appearance. Standing around 6 foot 5 and sporting a long, white beard, the esteemed doctor was hard to miss. He was also known for his aversion of socks; he was known to walk the streets of Wexford without socks or an overcoat, even in the winter months.

Dr Hadden passed away in 1973 at the age of 90 having lived a truly extraordinary life. A couple years previous, he had asked that his epitaph simply read ‘He refused to grow old’. His wife, Dr Helen, later passed away in 1983 at the extraordinary age of 103. Before she passed, she was the oldest resident in Wexford at the time.

The Wexford Male Voice Choir performing on the Gig Rig at this year’s Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann.

84 years after its foundation, the Wexford Male Voice Choir continues to perform with no sign of stopping. The Wexford Male Voice Choir is not only known for its longevity but for the loyalty of its members. Many members have been singing in the choir for generations.

‘Marty (Robinson) is now approaching his 53^rd year (in the choir). He joined when he was 16 and his father, Willie, was one of the founding members. We get a lot of the history off Marty because he has the connection back to the beginning. A couple of the other lads are pushing 40 years (in the choir). The collective service is huge. I would say if you talked to anybody in Wexford town, there’s very few people who wouldn’t be able to tell you that a family or friend hasn’t come through the ranks of the choir. There’s thousands of men who have come through the choir over the last 84 years’ -Terry Byrne, secretary.

The choir not only has a band of dedicated singers but also organisers, followers and musicians who have been with the choir for decades. The current Musical Director and Accompanist of the choir are Fiona Quirke and Fiona Kelly respectively.

‘We’ve had some fantastic support in terms of our musical team. You can’t do anything without the musical team. The current musical team is fantastic – the two Fionas. Fiona Kelly is over thirty years at the choir. You don’t get that kind of commitment in a lot of organisations’. -Terry Byrne, secretary.

The Wexford Male Voice Choir will be performing in this year’s annual Wexford Spiegeltent Festival. You can keep up with their other performances and events using their Facebook page.

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