The Irish Pensioners Choir have recorded a special version of Silent Night for “transgender children everywhere”.
Members of the well known choir collaborated with singers in Cairo and Dublin for the video recording to raise money for Fundacion Selenna, a charitable foundation supporting transgender children and their families in Chile, saying: “To transgender children everywhere: you are important, you are loved, you are wonderful exactly as you are. We are with you.”
The choir, made up of older Irish people, have been singing together for 15 years and lost their leader Alice Kennedy to coronavirus in 2020.
The choir’s Patrick Gormley, 70, told PinkNews: “When it comes to trans people, there has to be acceptance”.
He went on to say: “We older people carry the baggage of our own memories. But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to be supportive. We’re of a different generation, and we might not have personal experience of the discrimination that trans people face, but how many grandchildren do you think we have between us?
“The majority of older people wouldn’t know if they saw a trans person. We don’t have friends who are trans. When people like Molly Mulready (who is mother to a trans son) talk about trans kids, a lot of the Irish pensioners don’t know what she’s talking about.
“So we’ve got a lot to do around educating ourselves and accepting trans people. If a grandparent has a grandchild who is trans, they’ll love them, obviously.
“But how will they be impacted (by discrimination) down the line? The classic expression used to be, ‘Oh, they’ll grow out of it’. Or, ‘It’s just a phase’. I’m not claiming to know anything but just purely and simply from the people I’ve met, you think to yourself, really?
“I encourage people to give them money and let the people with the skills and talents and abilities do what is required to help trans kids. Anything you’re doing needs money.”
Molly Mulready said on Twitter: “Few things I love more in life than playing my fiddle – delighted to do so in this very 2020 version of Silent Night – supporting trans children in Chile, with musicians from all over the world.”
It is hoped the song will raise £1,000 for Fundacion Selenna, which works with families in Chile on empowerment and education, towards a society that celebrates everyone for who they are. You can donate by clicking here.
