Sam helping lift spirits with nursing home gigs

Sam helping lift spirits with nursing home gigs

10 June 2020

A KILLYLEAGH musician is lifting the spirits of residents at a local nursing home — despite the Coronavirus lockdown and heart surgery. 

For over 30 years Sam Miskelly has been entertaining the residents of Fishbourne House at Spa, with his accordion.

However, his weekly visits were put on hold after he underwent heart surgery several months ago and had stents fitted.

He recovered only for the Covid-19 virus to spread around the globe, which meant he was no longer to go inside the home.

Undaunted, the 61 year-old former lorry driver now sets up his accordion, amplifier and microphone in the garden of the nursing home and residents are still able to enjoy his tuneful medleys.

Sam is a regular performer at old tyme dances at a number of local venues and it was at one of them where he met Mr William Brown, owner of Fishbourne House.

“One night he asked me if I would play music for the residents. That’s how I came to play at the care home,” he explained.

“I just love going there. The residents love to hear music that reminds them of the old days.”

Before his operation, he played in various church and community halls, but he always ensured that Monday evenings were set aside for the residents of Fishbourne House.

Sam likes to play a mixture of music, including country and gospel, as well as some Elvis Presley hits.

He first picked up an accordion when he was 14 and has been playing it since. 

“I’ve never been able to read music. Instead I recall every note from memory and I’ve built up quite a repertoire,” he said. 

Around 2008 Sam gave up driving lorries to concentrate on the music scene full time and he has gone on to acquire a faithful following.

He performed regularly at afternoon tea dances and music evenings at Ravara Orange Hall, Ballygowan Village Hall and Comber Unitarian Church Hall until the coronavirus pandemic took hold. 

Sam and his wife, Avril, who have been married for 38 years, have two children, Stuart (36) and Christine (33), and four grandsons, Jamie (9) and Harry (6) and two granddaughters, Katie (12) and Aoife (8).

It was only when Sam celebrated his 60th birthday last year that the couple  realised their daughter, Christine, could be following in her dad’s musical footsteps.

During the birthday celebrations Christine got up on stage and sang the Doris Day song, What Ever Will Be Will Be. 

“There wasn’t a dry eye in the hall that evening,” Sam recalled. “It was the first time we both learned that the entertainment gene wasn’t dormant in the younger generation.”

Instead of birthday presents everyone who attended the party in Killinchy Presbyterian Church Hall gave donations to the Helping Hands charity, which is closely associated with the Royal Belfast for Sick Children. A total of £3,300 was raised.

“The charity helped my grandson, Harry, recover when he was admitted to the hospital as an emergency and placed on a ventilator for seven days in 2018. He was just four years old at the time,” Samuel explained. 

“We were so grateful to the team and wanted to give something back, so we arranged the evening.”

To his wife’s delight, Sam is using the lockdown to some gardening work which had been put on hold for some time. 

Their garden has never looked so good and now Sam and Avril enjoy relaxing outside during the warm evenings. 

Sam added: “We both really miss not having family and friends over to show them how nice the garden finally looks. We especially miss not seeing our grandchildren. That has been the hardest part of all.”

To find out more about Sam log on to www.sammymiskelly.com/biography-page.