Matt Cunningham has been around the course so many times that there is little he has to learn when it comes to delivering a class show. The Headford man and his entourage raised the roof, as they delivered the most talked about show at the annual Enjoy Travel Music Holiday in The Amaragua Hotel in Torremolinos, Spain, last week.

Close by the shores of the Mediterranean, Matt and friends showed just why live music always wins the day.

After playing for two and a half hours for the céili session, Matt – together with his daughter, Ita, his son, Joe, and band members PJ Duggan and Larry Cooley – transferred from the céilí room to the ballroom, where they were joined by Stephen Smyth and Chris Blair from Down, along with Frankie and Keith McDonald and Chuck Daly, for a two-hour session.

“It was one of those nights when everything fell into place,” says Matt. “There are times when things just happen and everyone picks up on the buzz. We had a brilliant time and it was a night that I will cherish in a special way.

“The response was phenomenal and the biggest we ever got out in Spain. I played the fiddle throughout all of this session and sang a few songs, like When The Roses Bloom Again and Beneath The Weeping Willow. The whole night clicked in a special.”

Enjoy Travel CEO, Gerry Flynn, reflected on what was a special night. “It was a brilliant two-hour show and the perfect send-off for Matt and his family, who were returning to Galway the next day.

“We must have had around 600 people at the show, as we rolled back the partition between the two rooms to cater for the crowd. They put on an exceptional show featuring country, bluegrass, céili, Dixieland jazz, showband hits and some classic big ballads, it was all there. The folks loved it and the show was the talk of the place.”