Traidphicnic. Spiddal 2014. “Will I know the next tune?” Siofra Barker
Tubbercurry 2014. Alistair Cassidy. For my next trick…….
Tubbercurry 2014. John Joe Kelly
Tubbercurry 2014. Flute session
Tubbercurry 2014. Paddy Ryan
Ennis 2014. Brogan’s. Yvonne Casey, Josephine Marsh and Fu Akamine.
Drumshanbo 2014. Keith from Wales.
Drumshanbo 2014. Albert from Barcelona
Drumshanbo 2014. Caroline from France
Drumshanbo 2014. Jose from Barcelona
Drumshanbo 2014.
Drumshanbo 2014. Concentration!
Drumshanbo 2014. The kids take over the High Street.
Achill Island 2014. Brendan Begley at the Valley House
Feakle 2014. Fiddles!
Feakle 2014. Pat O’Connor
Feakle 2014. Vincent Griffin
Feakle 2014. Maurice Lennon and Vincent Griffin
Tubbercurry 2014. Alistair Cassidy. Snap!
Willy Clancy Festival. Milltown Malbay 2014. Geraldine Cotter and Kieron Hanrahan.
Tubercurry 2014. Johnny Og Connolly and friends.
Feakle 2014. Yvonne Kane and Cormac Begley
Feakle 2014. Edel Fox, Yvonne Kane, Cormac Begley and friends
Feakle 2014. Joan Hanrahan and Dympna O’Sullivan.
Feakle 2014. Steve from England
Feakle 2014. Eileen O’Brien
Feakle 2014. Young Clare musicians
Feakle 2014. Eoghan O’Sullivan, Dennis Cahill.
Feakle 2014 Eileen O’Brien and Pat O’Connor
Feakle 2014. Thierry Masure
Feakle 2014. Antoin Mac Gabhann
Feakle 2014. Dennis Cahill
Feakle 2014
Sligo 2014. Irish music played by Spaniards in the Itailian Quarter. Jose and Montse.
Traidphicnic Spiddal. Tola Custy, Laoise Kelly and Mike McGoldrick.
Traidphicnic Spiddal 2014. Magic fingers. Mike McGoldrick
Tubbercurry 2014. Nicolle Figueroa Gallaga.
Tubbercurry 2014. Emmy and Veronika from Netherlands
Tubbercurry 2014. Rita from Switzerland
Willy Clancy Festival. Milltown Malbay 2014. Adam Shapiro
Willy Clancy Festival. Milltown Malbay 2014. Friels Hotel. Can’t compete with the World Cup and Brazil vs Germany.
Willy Clancy Festival. Milltown Malbay 2014. John Rynne,
Feakle 2014. Orla Harrington, Eileen O’Brien, Andrew MacNamara
Willy Clancy Festival. Milltown Malbay 2014. Enjoying the Craic
Traidphicnic Spiddal. Tola Custy
Feakle 2014 Seamus Begley at Peppers
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Sean Keane
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Laura Ugur and John Rynne
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014.
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Musician’s Corner
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Gerry Harrington demonstrating the Stroh Viol to James Kelly’s fiddle class
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Maurice Lennon and Sean Ryan
Tubbercurry 2014. The (virtual) reality of the modern session
Tubercurry 2014. Phillip Duffy
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Sean Ryan
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. The next generation.
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Adam Shapiro and Patricia Wang
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Busking in the Miltown sun
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Let there be light. And there was. And it shone upon the fiddler
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Fiddler
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Fu Akamine and Patricia Wang
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. The genesis of a session, Coore.
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Coore
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Coore
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Liz Coleman
Traidphicnic, Spiddal. Florianne Blanke
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Sean Keane, John Joe Tuttle and friends
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Harry Bradley, Sean McKeown, Connie Connell.
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. The front bar at Friels. Gerard Callaghan, Rick Epping (in the mirror) Mick Creehan, Mick Hand
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Rick Epping, Mary Bergin, Mick Hand and Mick Creehan
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014.
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Kevin Rowsome
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Stefan, Dermie Diamond, Angela Creehan, Sinnead Nic Dhonnachadgh
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Pat Mullins, Macdaragh Mac Dhonnachadgh, Maurice Lennon, Sean Ryan
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. All boxed in at the Blondes.
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Lorraine O’Brien, Catherine McEvoy, a bemused Jackie Daly, Aoife Granville, Niall Kenny and Conal O’Grada. Revenge of the flutes.
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay, 2014. Crosses of Anagh. Alistair Cassidy and Daire Mulhern
Willie Calncy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014, Street Session with Leon Agnew, Antoin Mac Gabhann and Seamus Sands
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Frank Kelly and Leon Agnew
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Enjoying the craic at Friels. Niamh Parsons
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Antoin Mac Gabhann
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Seamus Sands
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Alistair Cassidy, Crosses of Anagh
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. In the sunshine at the Blondes. Ciarán Mac Aodhagáin, Siún Ní Ghlacáin, Damien O’Reilly
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. the Blondes.
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Niall Kenny and Caitlin Ni Ghabhann, John Flynn
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Caitlin Ni Gabbhan in the sunshine at Blondes
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Gilles Tabary on flute
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014.
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay 2014. Aine Ni Chellaigh, Josephine Boland and Declan Fay
Feakle 2014. Sorcha Costella, Brian Donnelly and Aisling Hunt.
Fleadh Cheoil Sligo 2014. Street buskers
Feakle 2014. Peppers – Half set dance to the music of Seamus Begley
Fleadh Cheoil. Sligo 2014. Seamus Tansey at Shoot the Crows
Fleadh Cheoil. Sligo 2014 Christina and Fiona from London
Achill. 2014.. Brendan Begley and Harry Bradley
Fleadh Cheoil Sligo 2014, Liam Kelly and Shane Mitchell, Martin McGinley at Riverside Hotel.
Willie Clancy Week. Miltown Malbay. My last free Willie
Willie Clancy Week, Miltown Malbay, Geraldine and Martha Clancy at Mullagh
Willie Clancy Week Miltown Malbay, 2014
Willie Clancy Week Miltown Malbay 2014. James Kelly
Recently I completed my 100th continuous night of Sessions since I came to Ireland. Not something I set out to do but over the moon that it has panned out that way. Since I started at Tullamore on 15th May and then Ennis three days later for the Fleadh Nua I have not missed a night of playing Irish music and have not felt like missing one. My hundredth night was just a lovely quiet way to ‘celebrate’ with Joan Hanrahan and friends at Kelly’s Bar in Ennis – a classic Irish Pub with a long pedigree of traditional sessions.
It would be impossible to estimate how many sessions I have participated in as on some days such as in Miltown or any of the other festival for that matter I might have played in half a dozen. Quality has been variable as you would expect but at every session I felt privileged to be there.
I have played with musicians both ‘famous’ and unheralded (but not necessarily less talented), with musicians from all over Ireland and almost every part of the globe, musicians from 8 years old to 88 and beginners and masters of the tradition. And not only players but lovers of the music who might have travelled from Cork or Canada or Sligo or Sweden to just sit and listen for hours. All brought together to share this wonderful secret we all have that is Irish music. Shhh! Don’t tell anyone.
I have been to eleven festivals so far including Doolin, Willie Week, Spiddal TraidPhicnic, Tulla, Clare Fleadh at Kilaloe, Tubercurry, Drumshanbo, Achill, Feakle and the Fleadh Cheoil at Sligo. I have been to Workshops and Summer Schools and had lessons from fiddlers such as Maurice Lennon, James Kelly, Paddy Ryan, Tola Custy, Siobhan Peoples, John Daly, Liam O’Connor, Martin Hayes, Eileen O’Brien, Yvonne Kane and Yvonne Casey. So if I still can’t play the fiddle after all that then I have only myself to blame.
Whether I will continue at this pace I don’t know but for me the journey is not over and while I get something from each session I go to I will keep going.
I have put together 100 photos to celebrate these 100 days. Some are amongst my favourite photos and others are of the many wonderful people I have met, but collectively I hope they give some feel for the mood and magic that is an Irish music session. Photos come from Miltown, Tubercurry, Drumshanbo, Spiddal, Achill and Feakle. I have included photos from sessions before Willlie Week in my earlier blogs. Where possible I have tried to identify everyone. Thanks Niamh and Graham for your help. If I have missed anyone my apologies and please let me know and I will edit the caption, and if I have spelt your name wrong, apologies again.
Thanks for the tunes!
Singersong Blog 
Fair play to you and keep up the tunes…
WWWOWWW! Thank you for the wonderful Feakle photographs.
Sheena Meagher Artist http://www.sheenameagher.com@gmail.com Tel; 086 8704418