Marty Whelan speaks of his Athlone connection ahead of John McCormack recital

Broadcaster Marty Whelan has highlighted his Athlone family connection ahead of a recital paying tribute to the town's most famous son, John McCormack, in the National Concert Hall this Friday.

On today's Marty in the Morning show on Lyric FM, the host interviewed singer Ross Scanlon who will be performing some of the songs made famous by McCormack on Friday.

Marty told listeners that he owned a 78 record of McCormack's recording of The Rose of Tralee, which he played on the show today along with the renowned tenor's version of Macushla.

He also spoke on air of an Athlone connection which he shared with McCormack.

"Goldsmith Terrace is where (McCormack) was from, and it's where my mother was born and reared. Well, she was born elsewhere, but up to her teenage years she lived in Goldsmith Terrace," said Marty.

The broadcaster is no stranger to the Athlone area. In 2011, he hosted the Athlone People of the Year awards in the Radisson Blu Hotel, and a few years prior to that he had a stint in charge of the Maryland GAA team for the RTÉ series Celebrity Bainisteor.

His guest on the programme today, Ross Scanlon, said his affinity with John McCormack's music started at a young age.

"I grew up with it... it was kind of like the bread and butter when I was having singing lessons.

"I always loved him. I loved his voice, how he told a story, the diction, the breath (control), there was just something that drew me to him.

"He was like a rock star of the opera world back in the day," Ross added.

"For Irish opera singers that weren't that well known, of his generation, he really put them on the map, and he became a household name."

Ross, and pianist David O'Shea, will be performing The John McCormack Songbook in a lunchtime recital at the National Concert Hall this Friday (September 2).

The performance will take place at 1:05pm in the John Field Room and tickets, priced €17/15 can be booked online here.