PASCHAL Allen was a relatively late starter as a professional singer, but enjoyed a career as rich in variety and experience as his distinctive voice.
The Armagh man performed with some of the biggest names in opera in Britain including 15 years with the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.
He was also a familiar voice on radio on both sides of the Irish Sea and returned home regularly to entertain audiences in his native city.
He was born in Upper Irish Street in Armagh, the eldest of a family of six to Tommy Allen, who ran a hardware store, and his bookkeeper wife Brigid.
She played the piano and fiddle in ceilidh bands and Paschal developed his love of music as a treble in the St Patrick's Cathedral choir.
His schooling was interrupted when his father was hospitalised with typhoid, forcing him to leave early to help support the family.
Paschal worked for several years in the shop and became a popular figure in the city, enjoying cross-country running with Armagh City Harriers.
He won county titles at several distances and artist Brian Vallely recalls a supportive and genial clubmate during Sunday morning training runs.
He also enjoyed Gaelic games, playing hurling with the Cuchulainns club, with his grandfather, Thomas Allen, having been a founder member of Armagh Harps GAC.
Paschal performed in St Joseph’s Operatic Society productions at St Patrick’s Parochial Hall and Armagh City Hall - he was 19 when he sang the lead in The Mikado - and was a regular winner at festivals.
A crucial influence in his singing career was Belfast-based teacher Frank Capper, who introduced him to other musicians.
After being encouraged by his brother Paddy to join him at the Guildhall School of Music, he departed for London on a scholarship in his mid-twenties to begin a four-year course and a life devoted to singing.
He performed as a baritone with the Glyndebourne Opera Company and Benjamin Britten’s English Opera Company, bringing him across Europe and as far away as Australia and South Africa.
His many memorable roles included a 1983 appearance in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut opposite Placido Domingo, and he was highly regarded for his performances of sacred music, including Bach's St Matthew Passion and Handel's Messiah.
In 1970 Paschal met Sheila McGrow, a singer with Scottish Opera, and they married and settled in London where they had a son, Keiran.
He was 50 when he joined the Royal Opera House but opted to sing in the chorus rather than leading roles so he could continue other work.
He performed regularly on BBC music programmes including Melodies for You and Friday Night Is Music Night as well as on RTÉ radio.
Paschal also enjoyed singing traditional English and Irish ballads, some of which were released on a CD entitled From Covent Garden to County Down.
His renditions of Father O'Flynn and My Lagan Love also featured on a CD by Armagh Theatre Group telling the history of the city.
Friend Joe McManus said he will be remembered as one of Ireland's finest singers.
"His voice was rich and pleasant and he scored over some of his rivals by the agility which he could use when necessary, despite his advancing years," he said.
"He seemed equally at home in rollicking songs and those of gentler mood."
Paschal had suffered with Alzheimer's in recent years and died aged 87 from Covid-19 on April 6.
He is survived by his wife Sheila, son Keiran, grandson Zachary, and siblings Patrick, Catherine, Aileen and Joseph. A sister, Maureen, predeceased him.
