Living Head Illusion
Tuesday, August 3, 2010 at 9:07PM 
Apologies to Paddy Ward and the lads in Limerick who sent the following to us some time back. It somehow managed to sneak through the cracks.
THE LIVING HEAD ILLUSION
"This old illusion has been performed over the last number of years by the members of the Munster Society of Magicians, and has raised thousands of euros for various charities in the Munster area. On Sunday, June 27th last, it was the main attraction at the Charleville Agricultural Show, which was attended by over 30,000 people – you can imagine the amount of “viewers” we had!! Afterwards, the Charleville committee said it was a great attraction and the highlight of the festival. Anyone wishing to see this illusion is welcome to view it at the Milford Hospice fund raising day on the first Sunday in September. We will also have it up and running in the Bunratty Castle Folk Park over the Halloween festivities. So if you are in either area, it would be worth your while seeing it.
Some years ago I, Paddy Ward, commissioned Pat Harbison (RIP) to build the illusion. I asked Vincent Finucane and Terence Andrews if they would be interested in sharing the cost/ownership of it with me, to which they agreed. We then purchased a marquee, curtains etc. in order to display it in its rightful glory. As you can see from the pictures attached, we use Paddy Clancy’s head. It takes a bit of work to set it all up, but the four of us work together to ensure a good presentation. It is gratifying to hear the comments from the people as they pass through the marquee – wondering and guessing on how it is done! Paddy Clancy is an excellent “head” and has very witty answers to all the people’s various questions.
The Living Head is solely for raising funds for various charities.
Note: The Munster Society of Magicians is as strong as ever with 32 members from various counties i.e. Limerick, Clare, Galway, Kerry, Cork and Kilkenny. Both Vincent Finucane and myself perform at least once a week in a nursing home and/or day care centre for the elderly and disabled children, and bring great joy and happiness to all who see our shows. It is regularly commented that more of this type of charity work should be done."
Yours in magic,
Paddy Ward
Vincent Finucane
Terence Andrews
