‘Mr Entertainment’ closes one chapter, but still going strong

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He’s been involved for over 40 years in the entertainment business as a DL, compere and radio and TV presenter. He is known as Castlebar’s “Mr. Entertainment”, but Henry McGlade is a Sligo man.

ENTERTAINER: Sligo native Henry McGlade has called time on his music shop in Castlebar.
ENTERTAINER: Sligo native Henry McGlade has called time on his music shop in Castlebar.

He grew up in the Church Hill area of Sligo town and went to St John’s national school and Summerhill College.

But it was getting a summer job after leaving school in 1971 that was laid the foundation for the move to Castlebar.

“I went down for the summer to Bundoran to work in Fitzgerald’s music shop. They then opened a shop in Wine Street and I worked there for a couple of years.”
But then Fitzgeralds decided to open another shop in Castlebar and they asked Henry to work in it.

At first Henry wasn’t that happy in the County Mayo town.

“There was nothing doing in it and I used to go back to Sligo every night because it was a good college town where there was a buzz.”
But he eventually got into the local social scene, mainly through going to the Royal ballroom.

But it was time when the disco scene was just taking off in Ireland and he became a DJ.

“I was the first DJ in Castlebar. I started in the Welcome Inn on a Saturday night and the first song I played was ‘Dancing On A Saturday Night’.”
But he then moved to what was then the Traveller’s Friend, now TF, when they opened Copa’s nightclub, and he was there for about 20 years.

A full interview with Henry can be found in this week’s Sligo Weekender- out now.

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