Posts Tagged With: Clare

Ennis Trad Fest 2015 – The Last Three Days

Posted on November 11, 2015 by singersong

I have been remiss. Immersed as I have been in the Ennis Trad Festival I have just not found the time to sort photos and write my thoughts. Now it’s over and I have repaid some of my sleep debt I can give it some attention. Where do I start?

Facebook has been flooded with praise for the Ennis Trad Fest so there is probably little that I can add but as many of my blog followers are not on Facebook I will record my impressions here in my blog. And if you’re bored hearing how good the Festival was then just adopt the Playboy philosophy and skip these words and just look at the pictures. I think you will agree they tell a story just on their own.

As someone who has been to all the major schools and festivals over the last 18 months (and a lot of the minor ones) I am often asked what is my favourite Festival. I have avoided an answer. Really because I have found it almost impossible to answer. I have discussed this before in other blogs. but every Festival gives me something to take away. Indeed I have a love-hate relationship with many Festivals. I can’t stay away yet the session experience is often unsatisfying.

I am reminded of Sydney in 2000 when we staged the Olympic Games . The now disgraced Juan Samaranch proclaimed during the Closing Ceremony “I am proud and happy, to proclaim that you have presented to the world the best Olympic Games ever.” Well for what it’s worth, “Ennis – You have presented the Best Festival I have been to in Ireland”

There I have done it. I’ve said it. The Best Festival in Ireland!

I suppose I should give my reasons. Firstly it is the best location. Ennis in the heart of Clare is the spiritual capital of Irish Traditional music. Ah sure, there’s Donegal and Sligo and Galway and Kerry and I know not everyone will agree but nowhere have I seen music, song and dance so deeply ingrained as part of the culture. It bursts out everywhere, in young and old, in pubs and cafes, among visitors and locals and in players and listeners. So if ever a festival was going to work it was in Ennis. There are heaps of venues. Many of the pubs are widely recognised ‘music pubs’ outside festivals such as Faffa’s, Kelly’s, Brogan’s, Cruises etc and many are large enough to accommodate the inevitable giant festival session. There are hundreds of musicians resident in Ennis and the surrounding villages. While tourists go to Doolin, ‘real’ musicians come to Ennis. It is a mecca for many from overseas, some making it their home.

You can hear all kinds of music in this town. The classic ‘Clare-style’, whatever that is, to the fast, furious and wild. So much choice. In fact why not hold the Fleadh Cheoil here?

Ok so it has everything going for it but of course that’s not enough.. ..

This Festival is a special experience. It delivers on so many levels where the larger Summer Schools and Festivals and the small local ones can’t – It is a musicians festival! Whereas if you go to a Fleadh Cheoil the streets are packed with massive throngs of people. Many families and tourists. And that’s great but walk the streets of Ennis during Trad Fest and you will see crowds, but the great majority of people carry an instrument on their back.

The sessions here are at a different level. The core of each session is usually four musicians but up to 30 may join in. Virtually without exception the music is of the highest quality. Something that cannot be said of Willie week or the Fleadh or Drumshanbo. Yes there are ‘session wreckers’ of course but somehow they don’t seem to destroy the ambience. And you can always move on as there are so many sessions at the same time; scheduled and unscheduled. Just have a look at the pictures and you will see the quality of musicians you can hear.

And my pet hate… pubs so noisy you can’t hear yourself or the fiddler sitting next to you and patrons so disrespectful it becomes unpleasant. Just not a problem here. I love to watch people while I play and there are so often smiles; or listeners with their eyes closed and those chatting do so without disturbing. Yes there is sometimes tension as many don’t understand the unwritten rules around sessions but somehow it works itself out.

I reread my blog from last year and I’m going to repeat what I said then, Not because I am lazy but because what I observed then is confirmed this year and I can’t really add to it.

For me the fact that this was a ‘special’ festival was apparent from the very first session on Thursday to the last note played on Monday night. In my short time here in Ireland I have made many musical friends and this Festival made me realise how important that is to enjoying the musical experience to the fullest. A music festival is not just about the music you hear or make but how you fill the spaces between the music. There was such a sense of goodwill and around the place that it was so easy to make new friends and there was not the negative influence of the, shall we say, over-excited crowds of visitors seeking a different kind of craic, that was a feature of Miltown.

I made heaps of new friends again , John and Maureen from the States, Isabelle from Quebec, a contingent of 25 young musicians from Sweden, Etha from Bali, probably the only fiddle player in Indonesia, Ben from UK, Angela from Germany. And of course renewed contact with many in the real, rather than virtual, world such as Veronika, Steve, Sarah, Clare, John, Jim and Barbara, Tony and the rest of the Festival Family.

I didn’t get to many concerts this time because I wanted to play but I did see Beoga which inspired some of the most creative dancing I have ever seen, and I saw Dermot Byrne and Flo Blancke; beyone sweet! And there were some great music in CD launches – including the wonderful Claire Egan’s first CD.

But for me it was about the sessions. Of course I can only talk about the ones I was at. And you can’t be everywhere. But I have to mention the first with the Lahawns (Andrew MacNamara and Friends) in Ciarans and the last in the front bar of Queens with those still on their feet at 3am on Tuesday morning. In between my musical buttons were pushed by Yvonne Casey and Brid O’Gorman in Cruises, Yvonne and Eoin O’Neill and Damien Werner in Suas. Martin Connolly, Eileen O’Brien and Geraldine Cotter in The Old Ground. Blackie etc in the Diamond, the Clancy sisters in Copper Jug, and some sessions not in the programme such as Monday morning at Queens with a host of international visitors and in the Rowan Tree at 4am on the Saturday morning. And then there was time to let the hair down literally with the legendary Trad Disco and Paddy de los Pamas in Cruises.

It was the right move to get accommodation in Ennis and I really want to thank all those who made this possible for me with my current travelling limitations. Particularly Yvonne and Steve for the lifts in and out, Lorraine for her couch, when all the hotels were full, and the organisers for delivering the Best Festival in Ireland. You have something special here.

I particularly enjoyed photographing this event and I am very happy with some of my images despite my camera playing up and the really high ISO I needed for flashless photography. So here goes…

Farewell and Thanks to Ennis TradFest 2015

The final session at Queens

All too much for some

It starts here.

The Ennis Bard

Part of the International Brigade

Relaxing at Suas Cafe

Kieron, do you really think you can show the master?

Sweet

I love this photo

Part of the Swedish invasion

Tara Howley CD launch

Some running repairs

Bliss

When Quebec meets Ireland

Interpretive Dance 1

Interpretive dance 2

Beyond sweet

there you are Alistair. A serious shot

Categories: Concerts, Festivals, Sessions, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Beoga, Blackie O'Connell, Claire Egan, Clare, concert, dancing, Dermot Byren, Ennis, Ennis Trad Fest, Ennis Trea, Festival, Ireland, Irish music, music, photography, session, Sessions, Siobhan Peoples, traditional music, travel, Yvonne Casey | 2 Comments

Ennis Trad Fest 2015 Day 2

Posted on November 7, 2015 by singersong

Day 2. In full swing now. Sessions kicked off at 430 and by this time I was well in the mood for tunes. I popped in to the piper’s session in Dan O’Connor’s. Now I love the pipes, don’t get me wrong but I love the fiddle more so I continued my search heading to the Old Ground Here was Niamh O’Dea and Anne-Marie McCormack and friends. In the words of an onlooker “lively isn’t it?”

I won’t go into detail of every session but I dropped into a few, playing in most. There was Brogan’s with Carmel O’Dea, Murty Ryan and Seanie McGrath. Knox’s where Hugh Healy and friends were holding court and Martha and Geraldine Clancy in the Copper Jug. Oh and Mickey Kerin’s as a night cap. What a selection.

You have gotta love this Festival. There’s plenty for everyone. If you really want there are enough sessions to get a seat at the table and if you can’t well the quality of the sessions is so good that you are happy to just listen. And many come here just to do that. On Thursday I spotted Martin Hayes soaking up the Lahawns in Ciaran’s and last night I chatted with Daithi Gormley, this year’s All Ireland box champion and Aiofe Cunningham, All Ireland fiddle, just happy to sit in the corner and listen to the eclectic mix of tunes from the Clancy sisters.

This year there seem to be more people. I walked into Fawles and there was an unscheduled session with a dozen players none of whom I reconginsed. There are surprises around every corner. In the Copper Jug I caught up with Dave Garner, from Manchester who I had met in Australia nearly three years ago. A class fiddler. There is a group of young Swedish musicians here as part of a six month course on Irish music in Sweden. And I met lots of old friends and made plenty of new ones; including a lady who must be Indonesia’s only trad Irish fiddle player. She is passionate about the music despite there being no sessions there.

Let’s see what tomorrow brings.

Categories: Festivals, Sessions, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Clare, Ennis, Ennis Trad Fest, Festival, Ireland, Irish music, music, photography, Sessions, traditional music, travel | Leave a comment

Ennis Trad Fest 2015 Day 1

Posted on November 6, 2015 by singersong

Thursday November 5^th. The opening day of the Ennis Trad Fest for 2015. I have decided this year to book a room at the Rowan Tree. To be in the thick of it. Ennis is ripe with anticipation. Like a rehearsal for the Fleadh. There are already sessions in the lounge of the Hostel when I arrive.

By the time the official opening gets underway at the Queen’s Hotel the front bar is packed. Mercifully short speeches from Blackie O’Connell, the Mayor and Ron Kavana who sang his wonderful song ‘Reconciliation’ and we were away. Two CD launches, first by Phillip Duffy and Liam Kelly. I had seen these guys play at Tubbercurry and bought the CD there so I headed off for some tunes. First stop Brogans. With Damien O’Reilly, Caoifhionn Ni Fhrighil and friends. This quickly built up to over twenty musicians. A great taster. Where to next? – the perennial problem. Tonight though I only had to choose between Siobhann Peoples at Faffa’s or the Lahawns. I chose the Lahawns this time – and they took the roof of Ciaran’s Pub. The line up was Andrew MacNamara, Joan Hanrahan, Anne-Marie McCormack, Eileen O’Brien, Jim Corry two pipers plus whoever could find a seat.

From the first chord on the piano the place was hopping. Their music was infectious and they were still going at half one when I left. A quick walk around town and there were sessions popping up everywhere. I spotted Tom Delaney and friends in Dan O’Connells. And way after 2am there were still tunes in the lounge of the Rowan Tree.

This is only day 1. Boy are we in for a cracker!

Categories: Festivals, Sessions, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Blackie O'Connell, Clare, Ennis, Ennis Trad Fest, Festival, Ireland, Irish music, music, photography, Sessions, Siobhan Peoples, Trad Fest, traditional music, travel | Leave a comment

Traid Phicnic Spiddal 2015

Posted on October 17, 2015 by singersong

I know it’s a while ago now but I have been on the go ever since; so before I forget I want to say a few words about the Traid Phicnic held in Spiddal on the weeked before Willie Clancy Week back in early July. I spent two days there this year instead of the three as I had to rush off to Miltown for the chance to meet Tommy Peoples…….

This festival is on the verge of something big. This is my second year there and it seemed to have grown this year with great crowds. An wonderful relaxed family atmosphere exhibiting the real spirit of the Gaeltacht. Blessed this time with sunshine taking full advantage of the spectacular location looking towards the spiritual home of Irish music across Galway Bay to Clare (ha ha).

The festival has a lot going for it. It is a great concept where you can relax on the grass, mingle with musicians, experience wonderful acts and attend amazing sessions in the evenings. There is a wide demographic with families, young and old, locals and people from ‘away’. Bridge Barker and her team have really hit on something here. This Festival will continue to gain momentum. There were three film crews from Irish TV and BBC making documentaries so this can only help. The donation ethos is unique. Pay what you can afford. I haven’t seen this anywhere else but despite Bridge telling me that people were generous, I know how hard she and the committee worked to cover costs.

In addition to the music there are circus acts, workshops, craft activities and it is hard to see where improvements can be made. Also a special mention of the food. A small selection but real quality. I wasn’t going to review this festival but I guess I sort of have.

Anyway it was great to catch up and meet with so many wonderful friendly people, I think more than any other festival what makes this one is the way the musicians mingle with the punters. There is no green room other than the surrounding lawns. You could bump into Steve Cooney, Liam O’Brien, Brid Harper, Charlie Lennon, Tola Custy, Laoise Kelly, Jessie Smith and they will make you feel comfortable. And their was participation at all levels both on and off the stage. Fair play to you Bridge.

Categories: Concerts, Festivals, Sessions, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Bridge Barker, Clare, concert, Festival, Galway, Ireland, Irish music, music, photography, Sessions, Spiddal, trad picnic, traditional music, traid phicnic, travel | 2 Comments

Eoin O’Neill and the Mórglór Award

Posted on October 12, 2015 by singersong

Every now and then something comes along that, for me, reaffirms my raison d’etre for being here in Ireland. Something that underscores and reinforces the creative core of Irish music and gives a window into the Irish psyche. Such an event was the Mórglór concert held on 10^th October in the glor Theatre. The Mórglór award is relatively new and the brainchild of Tim Collins, leader of the Kilfenora Ceili Band among other things, and is presented to an individual or group who have made an outstanding contribution to culture in Clare. It is not so much the concert (and it was fantastic by the way but I will have more to say on that) which made this event outstanding but it was the way it embraced and fired up the local and international community of traditional music followers.

Last year the award was deservedly won by the organisers of the Corofin Festival. The recipient this year was Eoin O’Neill. Eoin is a giant on the Clare music scene. His contribution to music in this county is deep and profound. He has been playing trad, particularly in Doolin and Ennis, since he arrived here from Dublin 35 years ago, playing with many of the greats. He has recorded dozens of CDs both his own collaborations or as a session musician with many of the big names, adding his sometimes subtle, sometimes driving, bouzouki always in tune with the music and always with soul. He has mentored many younger musicians encouraging them to play in public and to record and he has also identified many older musicians ensuring their legacy is preserved. To watch him work a room during a session and bring everyone along with him for the ride is to watch a master communicator and someone who really understands the pull of Irish Music and why people come here. Through his contribution to the ClareFM programme West Wind he has built an enormous international following. It would be difficult to overstate the contribution this has made to Clare’s reputation as the go-to place for Irish Music. This is evidenced by the response to this concert. As soon as it was announced tickets flew out the door even before the line-up was announced. Many of these bookings came from Eoin’s followers all round the world. People came for this concert from Netherlands, Belgium, UK, France, Germany, the US and who knows where else. Many of these are regular attendees of festivals in Clare and many have their strong connection to Clare music through Eoin.

As I say it wasn’t just the concert. What was remarkable was that this award triggered a Festival-like celebration and an almost continuous weekend of traditional music.

On Friday night was a session at PJ Kelly’s with Eoin, Joan Hanrahan and Brid O’Gorman and many visitors. It was hard to get a seat at the table. Kelly’s is one of the great pubs in Clare to listen to and play Irish music and I have written about this before but this night had something extra. Particularly of note was the singing, which soared, with contributions from Noirin Lynch, Willie Cummins, Steve Brown, Job Cornelissen and singers from the bar. A particular highlight for me was when the whole pub joined in with the singing of Red is the Rose.

I might digress here to mention briefly Eoin’s influence on me. I play with Eoin regularly. Musicians that Eoin plays with are the kind of musicians that I enjoy playing with. So he has become a friend. With a dry sense of humour, his mastery of the Irish tradition of slagging, his deep knowledge of music and his strong opinions, which he is only too willing to share, it is a pleasure to spend time in his company. He has tolerated my musical inadequacies with good grace and always made me feel welcome. And recently he has encouraged me to sing more and play guitar even suggesting songs, one of which was Red is the Rose. That night at Kelly’s I understood why.

Saturday afternoon saw visiting musicians gather at Cruises from 2pm to share tunes and stories. I love playing in the afternoon. The pubs are quieter the music somehow seems cleaner and everyone is more relaxed. This turned out to be the case here.

But all this was a precursor to the main event which kicked off at 8pm. The programme had Eoin’s stamp all over it. Mainly a reflection of where he is at now musically, but with clear reference to where he has come from. Ever generous with his time and his words, he paid tribute to Tony Dalton who he acknowledged as his greatest influence on his arrival in Doolin and who broke a 30 year playing hiatus to join Eoin on stage. There were also some of his old sparring partners such as Kevin Griffin, Terry Bingham and Kevin Crawford and among his current collaborators were Yvonne Casey, Joan Hanrahan, Brid O’Gorman, Luka Bloom, Quentin Cooper, Adam Shapiro, Dermot Byrne, Noirin Lynch and Willie Cummins. And surprise packets (though not to me as I was well aware of their talents) were some of his protégés such as concertina player Aiobheann Queally and the sweet, sweet voice of Clara Buetler. It was a complete concert with various combinations of the who’s who of Clare music weaving their tunes and songs through a packed glor theatre. The common thread was Eoin’s ever-present bouzouki and his ever-present sense of humour. The obvious friendship with all of the musicians and, in particular, his long-time colleague Quentin Cooper, binding it all together. The music reached great heights. Luka Bloom put in an excellent set with his more driving contemporary sound being a strong counterpoint to the class traditional music that we had most of the night. This was a gentle reminder that Eoin is not just about trad but has wide musical tastes as evidenced by his eclectic radio show on Sundays where, as was pointed out during the night, you can have Purple Rain followed by Micho Russell. There were many highlights for the night. But for me the biggest buzz is what happens when you put class musicians together who understand each other and enjoy playing together. This was no more in evidence than in the last set where everyone joined in and took the roof off. Ever humble Eoin was somewhat bewildered by the standing ovation which he so clearly deserved.

As is often the way in this town, the concert was only the beginning of the night and many adjourned to the Old Ground where the Guinness flowed along with the music until well after 4am. To his credit Eoin was there until the very end, when I departed, stumbling back to my bed in the Rowan Tree to grab some fitful sleep.

As if that wasn’t enough the Sunday saw the remnants gather at Brogan’s at 1pm for what one would have thought would have been a nice quiet recovery session. But no. The tiredness was evident but the music did not suffer. It was a bit of the old Brogans and it felt good to be part of it.

A wonderful and fitting weekend of celebration for a great man of the music. Comhghairdeas ó chroí le Eoin.

Categories: Concerts, Sessions, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Clare, concert, Dermot Byrne, Doolin, Ennis, Eoin O'Neill, Festival, glor, Ireland, Irish music, Kevin Crawford, Morglor, photography, Sessions, traditional music, travel, Yvonne Casey | 3 Comments

All Ireland Wren Boy Champions!

Posted on September 21, 2015 by singersong

You don’t have to be in Ireland long to become aware of Kilkenny’s dominance of that uniquely Irish sport, hurling. They have been All-Ireland Champions eight of the past ten years. But you may not be aware of the dominance of one West Clare village, in recent times, of another quintessentially Irish pastime – the Wren Boys Competition. That village is Cooraclare, 10 km from Kilrush on the south western tip of the County and they have just returned from the All Ireland Wren Boys Championship in Listowel, Kerry, where they have been crowned for the fifth year in a row. OK, there was only one other team competing but this does not diminish the achievement. You may not even be aware that there was a Wren Boys Competition I wasn’t. But I am now and my participation in the 2015 team makes me a most unlikely All-Ireland champion. Might have to rewrite my CV.

I have participated in a Wren Boys event before and I suggest you head to my blog for a bit more of the background.

https://singersongblog.wordpress.com/2015/01/05/st-stephens-day-and-the-wren-boys/

This story though for me started at the Crotty Galvin Festival weekend in August in the village of Moyasta. I have also blogged on this recently.

https://singersongblog.wordpress.com/2015/09/19/crotty-galvin-weekend-moyasta-2015/

Here I met Grainne, one of the organisers, and she invited me along. Clearly they were short of numbers to have countenanced such a thing but I never refuse an invitation despite in this case knowing absolutely nothing about it. I was told to get myself to Cree and a bus will pick me up at 6pm on the Friday night and drop me back at 6am on Saturday morning. She assured me the craic would be mighty and that was all I needed to know.

A couple of weeks later I am sitting next to Joe Joe Marrinan on a bus headed to the Ferry at Kilimer (with forty others) as he fills me in on some of the history. The competition had been going in Listowel as part of the Harvest Fair for 57 years. Cooraclare’s participation started forty years ago when local identitiy Denis Ledane decided it would be a good idea to take a team there. Interest faded but in 2011 the tradition was revived after 35 years in honour of Joe Joe’s father Marty who died that year. Joe Joe was installed into the prestigious role of King of the Wren. In their first visit to Listowel they won and have not lost since and it is easy to see why.

On the surface it looks a bit ridiculous, dressing up in skirts, silly hats and bright colours and tinsel. (at least there weren’t any bells and sticks a la Morris Dancers) but underneath it is a serious desire to preserve a fading Irish culture. The competition involves each team putting on a 45 minute show incorporating music, singing, set dancing, step dancing, sean nos, storytelling all presented with humour and passion. The team marched through the streets of Listowel, with turf fires burning atop hay forks, to a stage in the centre of the town square, to the strains of the Centenary March and from there on it was a celebration of all things West Clare. Many songs told of West Clare including the eponymous Chapel Gates at Cooraclare (after which the team is named) and this little corner of Kerry certainly knew about the virtues of the Banner County by the end of the night. A highlight was the finale with a lovely rendition of Feet of a Dancer leading in to a simply outstanding display of set dancing.. There were all ages participating with the dancing dominated by youngsters from villages dotted through West Clare, such as Moyasta, Kilrush, Cree, Mullagh as well as Cooraclare. Many of them were All Ireland champions from the recent Fleadh in Sligo and it absolutely shone through. There is no reason not to suppose that Cooraclare will continue to participate in and dominate the Wren Boys competition in the years to come judging by the enthusiasm with which everyone threw themselves into it..

A fantastic session at Foynes in Limerick on the way home and people had to be dragged back to the bus well after 2am. The music continued on the bus with a rousing singing session and the night finished for most people well after 4am as they were dropped off into the West Clare night by our long suffering bus driver.

Thanks to Grainne and Joe Joe and Tony and everyone else for making me feel so welcome. I felt privileged to be part of this tradition and I hope these few photos do it justice.

Categories: Festivals, Real Ireland, Sessions, Stories, Trad Irish Music | Tags: All Ireland, Chapel Gate, Chapel Gate Wren Boys, Clare, concert, Cooraclare, Festival, hurling, Ireland, Irish music, Kerry, Listowel, music, photography, Sessions, traditional music, travel, West Clare, Wren boys | Leave a comment

Crotty Galvin Weekend Moyasta 2015

Posted on September 19, 2015 by singersong

I returned to Garrihy’s Pub in Moyasta in the last week of August 2015. I blogged on this last year and really nothing much has changed.

https://singersongblog.wordpress.com/2014/09/10/the-crotty-galvin-music-weekend/

It benefits from being held in a remote part of West Clare and being off the Festival circuit map. There were quite a few visitors from other counties this time however and if anything the sessions were of better quality. The Sunday afternoon session was particularly memorable. How could it not be with Andrew MacNamara, Eileen O’Brien, Carmel O’Dea, Anna Falkenau, James Culinan, Noel O’Donoghue, Paul Gallagher, Geraldine Cotter and Angela Crotty among others. The workshops were great. A lovely hour for me with Vincent Griffin on the fiddle. All the things I remember from last year were there. Endless supply of sandwiches, enthusiastic punters, dancing and relentless sessions. A really good wind down of the Summer Festival Season. Well done again to the organisers. Just a few photos to tell the story.

Categories: Festivals, Sessions, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Clare, Crotty Galvin, dancing, Galvin, Ireland, Irish music, Moyasta, music, photography, Sessions, traditional music, travel | 1 Comment

Feakle Matters

Posted on August 14, 2015 by singersong

Since I last posted on Willie Week I have been to schools and festivals at Tubbercurry, Drumshanbo, Achill and Feakle. So I have a bit of catching up to do. I will start with Feakle and post on the other festivals as I have time.

As I write this, the sun is shining and the Quilty coastline looks stunningly gorgeous outside my study window. I should be out there and I will but first I need to say a few words about Feakle before it becomes too distant a memory. Does Feakle matter? (well I thought it was funny at the time – last year in a Guinness-fuelled creative frenzy the idea of a local newspaper with the name Feakle Matters popped up so it seemed logical as the heading for this blog) The answer: yes.

Feakle is an otherwise sleepy village with the four pubs and a fifth, the famous Peppers, about half a mile down the road. It is legendary as the home of PJ Hayes and his illustrious son Martin, and the surrounding villages are the home of many musicians, now and in the past, some of them icons of Irish music. On this weekend it is a one lane street choked with musical pilgrims visiting the spiritual home of East Clare music and the Tulla Ceili Band.

Feakle markets itself as an International Festival. That ‘international’ flavour comes from the hoards of overseas visitors who come specially, though there was one international act ‘The London Lasses’. The music however is pure Irish. I won’t say pure Clare, because visitors from Kerry and Sligo and Galway and elsewhere see to that, but the influence of Mary MacNamara, Martin Hayes and the legacy of Paddy Canny and PJ Hayes shines through everywhere.

There are many highlights and I can’t begin to list them. You could have done a lot worse than to just grab a seat in Peppers and stay there for the full four days. You would have heard Seamus Begley, Martin Hayes, Cliare Egan Paraig Mac Donagh, Derek Hickey Gerry Harrington, Conal O’Grada, Benny Macarthy, Andrew MacNamara, The London Lasses, Pat O’Connor, Mark Donnelan, Cormac Begley, Anne-Marie McCormack, Eileen O’Brien, Dave Sheridan, Charlie Harris, Joan Hanrahan, Brid O’Gorman, Conor Keane, Joe Fitzgerald and the rest. What separates Feakle from the other summer schools and festivals is that people here come for the music. Yes they come for the craic and the Guinness but there is a reverence here that I didn’t find everywhere and often the music was so good that the pub was stunned into silence without the need for a chorus of ssshhhsshh’s. Peppers is one of the best places to listen to Irish music. It is intimate but there is room for both the listener and the player and there is room for the occasional set dance. Sessions at Festivals can be a mixed bag and there are always some that disappoint (I will talk about this in another blog) but here at Feakle the quality is so high that whether you play or listen you can’t fail to be satisfied.

For me. Two days of workshops with Martin Hayes and a day from an equally impressive Yvonne Casey was a major highlight. Martin spoke at length of his approach to playing and there was much wisdom. We were also treated during his class to an impromptu concert from Martin and Mary MacNamara. Wow. Yvonne’s workshop complemented this beautifully and I came away inspired just as a School should. Best of all there was a tutor’s session where a privileged few of us had the opportunity to play for two hours in PJ’s Corner with Martin and his nieces Aiofe and Ciara. It was 4pm so the pub was quiet and it was sublime, respectful and not just a highlight of the festival but of my stay in Ireland.

I was also very lucky to catch up with Joe Fitzgerald. Joe lives in Melbourne with his brothers and is at the centre of the session scene there. He was making a rare visit back to his home near Feakle and I was surprised with the reverence he was held in here. We had a great chat and it turned out he was a sometime prospector and had worked the area around Kookynie in the WA goldfields where I cut my gold exploration teeth in the early 80s. TG4 were filming him for a documentary and afterwards he joined in a session in Peppers. This session was memorable as it had Aiofe and Ciara Hayes and Amy and Sarah Donnelan and other young Feakle/Tulla musicians and amply demonstrated the continuity of the musical tradition in this part of the world. Almost like a handing over of the baton from Joe to the new custodians of this great tradition.

While on the young players, there was a tremendous opening concert with groups of local young musicians, many of whom are County and Provincial champions and will no doubt come home from Sligo as All Ireland champions. Mary MacNamara and Eileen O’Brien and all the others who put so much time into ensuring the young inherit the strong local tradition of quality dance music, with the characteristic bounce and ensure that it is played with honesty, passion and heart are to be commended and thanked.

Feakle is a great meeting place and if the weather is good there is no better place to spend time than on the benches outside Peppers. May this continue well into the future.

There’s plenty more I could say and should but I’ll just put a few pics up. I was so busy playing that I left the camera behind on a number of occasions so I haven’t caught everyone or every great moment but I think you’ll get the picture.

Categories: Festivals, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Clare, concert, dancing, Feakle, Festival, Ireland, Irish music, joe fitzgerald, Martin Hayes, music, Pepper's, Peppers Feakle, photography, Seamus Begley, Sessions, traditional music, travel, Tulla, Yvonne Casey | 3 Comments

Willie Week 2015 – Chasing the Dream or Living the Reality?

Posted on July 15, 2015 by singersong

My silence of the last few days does not mean I have nothing to say about Willie Week. Firstly I just haven’t had the time but I am also having trouble formulating the words to describe the experience.

What a difference a year makes; last year I was chasing a dream this year I lived the reality.

As a Willie Virgin in 2014 I found it overwhelming. The sheer quantity of music, the crowds and the whole atmosphere was almost crushing. I had only been here a little over a month and my insatiable desire to participate in sessions and to play with Legends and Gods led to much frustration. The crowds were oppressive, particularly in the popular pubs such as Friels and the Blondes and at night it was a challenge at many levels. OK I was naiive.

This year was different though; I decided not to do the School which immediately meant I got more sleep and was able to ease into the day. I was at my home which is only a short drive away and had a houseful of guests so that added an extra dimension. Beanie and Anne and Jeff from North Carolina, Ana Carolina from Brazil and Bardon from UK and Julie from Denmark. I was able to retreat to my little oasis and chill out if needed. Sometimes play a few quiet tunes and eat properly with some magnificent cooking from my housemates.

Yes the crowds were there, and the weather was bad and despite spending a lot less time looking for the killer session I actually played in better sessions and enjoyed them more. I was much happier to stand and listen. Of course there were sessions I would love to have joined such as with Seamus Begley and Clare Egan in the new room in Fries or with Frankie Gavin and Noel Hill or the street session with Anton Mac Gabbhann, but there were many I did such as with Jacky Daly and Matt Cranitch. Some of the best sessions however were with people I had never met but are now good friends. That’s how it works at Willie Week.

I started a few sessions myself in the afternoons and that was a new experience. Just quietly playing a few tunes with a friend in the kitchen at the Blondes or at the back of Martin Flynns and feeling the session grow around us. The evenings however were chaotic. There were times you could not move in Friels and being on the street was challenging so most evenings were spent in Mullagh or the Quilty Tavern. At Quilty I could play with Johnny Connolly, Johnny Og Connolly, Colm Gannon, John Blake and avoid the crowds.

The Willie Week experience happens on many levels. There are actually a number of parallel worlds and sometimes they don’t meet. There is the Summer School with over a thousand pupils mainly kids many of whom never leave it; There are the concerts and recitals and ceilis, there are the sessions in Milltown, there are the mini festivals at the Bellbridge, Mullagh and Coore, there is the dance festival at the Armada and there is the private world of the house sessions in the many cottages around. But mostly there is the catching up with people not seen for a year. People go there for any of these reasons and are rewarded accordingly,

There were many highlights. Meeting Tommy Peoples for one. But perhaps for me what will stand out was dropping in to Friels on the last Sunday afternoon. I was getting ready to drive to Tubbercurry but just had to have one more dose. There was no music but sitting in the front bar was Padraig Mac Donnacha. who I had met at Ballyferriter, and he invited me to join him for a few tunes. Initially there was just the two of us but then Thiery Masure and a few others sat in. I won’t overplay it but itnwas special moment for me.

So that’s Willie Week for 2015. I get it now. I get the mystique and the draw. Such that I know where I’ll be in the first week of July next year.

Just a few of the many photos I took. I know I missed many opportunities but you cant be everywhere. The photos of me were taken by Anne Gerhardt. Thanks Anne.

Categories: Festivals, Sessions, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Clare, concert, Festival, fiddle, Ireland, Irish music, Miltown Malbay, music, photography, Sessions, Summer School, tommy peoples, traditional music, travel, Willie Clancy, willie week | Leave a comment

Willie Clancy Summer School – Monday.

Posted on July 7, 2015 by singersong

It seemed like a good idea at the time. The sun was shining, not too much wind – I’ll ride to Miltown! It’s only five kilometres. Great. No problem with traffic or parking. What was I thinking! I rode home in the driving rain at 1am buffeted by squally winds in the pitch black being overtaken at breakneck speed by an endless stream of Willie-ites heading back to their cottages, caravans or campsites. The Bellbridge was a safe haven about halfway so the obvious solution was to sit there, soaked through, in the warm pub and play tunes with complete strangers. A silk purse from a sow’s ear?

In between though I experienced just a little of the magic of Willie Week. I played with Sean Moloney from East Galway in the sun at the back of the Blondes, I saw Frankie Gavin and Noel Hill at Michael A’s (no chance of a seat there!) , then there was Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and Eileen O’Brien at Friels and Jacky Daly and Matt Cranitch at the Yard and…….

In the evening we were treated to a smorgasbord of fiddling styles from some of the best in the country and beyond. It is so good to hear all these fiddles back to back. I know it’s unfair but highlights for me were Tara Breen and the wonderful sweet fluid playing of Yvonne Casey and then Claire Egan. Perhaps I’ve been in Clare too long.

Then I finished the night with a session at the Bellbridge; but I’ve already mentioned that.

And this is only Monday.

Just a handful of photos. I will wait until the end to sort them all.