A fundraising evening of St Patrick’s Day music will be held at Winchester’s O’Neill’s bar to mark 30 years of support in the city for Wessex Cancer Trust.

In February 1984, Hugh McCrossan, assistant organist at St Peter’s Roman Catholic Church in Jewry Street, spent over seven hours playing his way through every verse of all 625 hymns in the hymn book.

The sponsored marathon session raised £577 towards an ultrasound scanner for Southampton General Hospital and the charity’s Winchester branch was formally founded soon afterwards.

Now Hugh is set to join other volunteers to play on March 17 at one of a string of events at O’Neill’s to raise money for both Wessex Cancer Trust and Naomi House Children’s Hospice.