Cormac Neeson's new album White Feather is supporting Mencap NI

Cormac Neeson’s new song Broken Wing is taken from his debut album, White Feather. 

A share from every copy sold will be donated to Mencap Northern Ireland.

In 2014, Neeson's son Dabhóg was born 3 months premature weighing just 1 lb 12 oz and with Down’s syndrome.

The impact of this life changing experience had such a profound effect that Neeson sought solace in penning an autobiographical and emotional account of his thoughts and what it’s like to bring up a child with a learning disability .

Speaking about the song, Cormac said:

“I’ve never written a song like Broken Wing before. Even though I’ve heard it hundreds of times now, I still get emotional every time I sing it back because of just how relevant the lyric is to my life and my family’s life.

"The song is about our experience of working through the early stages and getting to grips with the new challenges.  It is a positive tribute to our boy.”

Dabhóg attended the Mencap Children’s Centre in Belfast when he was 2 years old. Where, in partnership with the Belfast Trust, we provide specialist learning and early intervention support.

 

Cormac says:

“Of course, he’s overcome more hurdles and challenges in his young life than a lot of kids his age.

“He had heart surgery on his first birthday to fix a hole in his heart that’s associated with Down’s syndrome. He needs a bit more support and time to reach his developmental goals but he’s getting there. He’s started to take his first unaided steps and his speech is progressing steadily. He also knows more Makaton than me.

Whether it was the attentiveness of the key workers, the regular physio and speech therapy or just the companionship of his peers, Dabhog really thrived under Mencap’s care. For us as parents, to see our son achieve so much on a daily basis, it was a big moment in our journey and helped to remind us that everything was actually going be okay.”

Show your support

You can support families of children with a learning disability, like Cormac Neeson's.

Get your copy

You can buy your copy of Broken Wing or White Feather online at My Shopify. 

Donate

You can donate to Cormac Neeson's Broken Wing fundraising page. The money raised here will be donated to Mencap.

You can also text to donate. Text WING to 70660 to donate £3 to Mencap NI.

Please note: Text costs £3 plus network charge. Mencap receives 100% of your donation. Please get the bill payers permission.

Organise an event

From an odd socks day in your school to a coffee morning in work, host our own fundraising event with family, friends and work colleagues to make a big difference today!

Get in touch with the NI Fundraising Team to let us know what you're planning and we'll give you all the support you need to make your event a success! 

Take part in one of our events

You can show your support by taking part in one of our exciting new events, such as our golf day, race day, skydive or abseil.

About Broken Wing

Broken Wing has been co-written by Tennessee legend Blue Miller.

The track was recorded in Nashville and mixed in Belfast. It features an emotional arrangement that combines the best of both those rich and diverse cultures, including beautifully crafted Nashville pedal steel by John Heinrich (who has performed with artists such as Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, and Tammy Wynette) to a magical blend of choral backing vocals from some of the finest Northern Irish singers, hand-picked by Neeson.

In support of the single, Cormac has also made a short documentary about the making of Broken Wing in which he gets a tattoo of an extra chromosome on his shoulder.

The documentary, lyric video and main music video for Broken Wing have been released in the lead up to today (Thursday 21 March 2019), which is World Down’s Syndrome Day.

Upcoming tour dates

• Thursday 16 May 2019: The Grand Social, Dublin (tickets available via The Grand Social).
• Friday 24 May 2019: The Black Box, Belfast (tickets available via Ticketmaster IE).