Westmeath country singer Tom Allen is celebrating 35 years as TR Dallas this year. A special gala night to mark the occasion will be held in The Well in Moate on Friday 8 May.

It was Donie Cassidy who came up with the idea of the stage name TR Dallas, based entirely on the massive popularity of the American television series Dallas at the time.

The song Who Shot JR Ewing became Tom’s first number one in the Irish charts and the legend of TR Dallas was born.

TR followed up with several big records, including Hard To Be Humble, which was another mega song for him.

“Things just fell into place for me at the time. The stage name stuck and here I am now, 35 years later, and busier than ever,” smiled Tom who was honoured with the Country 35 accolade at the recent Irish Country Sound entertainment awards.

This week also sees the release of a new single, Happiness, from his Be My Guest album. The song was written by Mike Fallon from Portumna, an uncle of Mike Denver.

TR will be joined on the big night by some of the original members of his first band. Also confirmed are Foster & Allen, Aidan Quinn and band, Triona Moore, Hugo Duncan, Trudi Lalor, Gene Stuart, Bob Brolly, and locals Gerry Farrell and Tony Nugent. Special accommodation packages are available in the Moate area for those coming for the show. CL