A ROUSING musical celebration in Crossley's St Brigid's hall has added $10,000 to the Australian-Irish community's fight to retain its ancestral buildings.Almost 500 people packed the historic hall on Saturday night for a powerful musical display, which later spilled over into the church for an emotionally-charged acoustic encore. The money raised at the sell-out event takes The Friends of St Brigid's rescue fund to nearly $40,000.The concert was organised after the Catholic Church announced it was selling the buildings. The Friends of St Brigid's is planning to submit its own tender for the 130-year-old hall and church, which was officially opened in June, 1914. "I think the outpouring of support from people that came from far and wide shows how loved these buildings are," committee member Regina Lane said.The group will meet with the Koroit Business and Tourism Association tonight to present its vision for an Australian-Irish cultural and heritage centre, which is hoped will transform St Brigid's into a major tourist attraction. Ms Lane said people came from as far as Melbourne and across the south-west to hear musicians including Archie Roach, Shane Howard and Ruby Hunter perform.Each performer sung in the hall before moving to the church for a acoustic set, with the community joining in to sing Howard's song Church on the Hill, Ms Lane said. "We sung from the loft down to the people in the pews below," she said. "That was a really moving experience for everyone there, singing about the faith, the struggle and the dreams of our forefathers that built that church for the community and for the future." Roach said his Gunditjmara people knew what it was like to have something taken away."This place belongs to these people," he said."You can't just take it away. "They belong here," he said.The Friends of St Brigid's secretary Teresa O'Brien - who was interviewed by ABC TV's 7.30 Report which filmed the concert - said the gathering gave the community strength. "It's just about reminding people of what great assets are already in their community," she said."The smiles on people's faces last night, it was amazing. A lot of them were in the hall for the first time."