Posts Tagged With: travel

Ennis Trad Fest Day 5

Posted on November 11, 2014 by singersong

It’s over. That was some Festival. I have been to 18 Festivals and Schools in the last six months and I really have to say this was right up there. I will blog on this in more detail some other time but for the moment let me congratulate the Committee for carrying it off and for fulfilling the expectations of the many who have travelled from all parts of Clare, the rest of Ireland and the globe to be at this Festival which over the years has cemented a special place in the Irish Music calendar. Here are a few photos from Day 5. I will repost Days 1 and 2 soon, as I only put them up on Facebook. See you next year!

Categories: Festivals, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Clare, Ennis, Ennis Trad 21, Festival, Ireland, Irish music, music, photography, Sessions, Trad Fest 21, traditional music, travel | Leave a comment

Ennis Trad 21 Day 4

Posted on November 10, 2014 by singersong

Here is a selection of images from Day 4. Please share if you want to.

Categories: Festivals, Trad Irish Music, Uncategorized | Tags: Clare, Ennis, Ennis Trad 21, Festival, Ireland, Irish music, photography, Sessions, traditional music, travel | 1 Comment

Joe Cooley and Willie Keane Weekends

Posted on October 29, 2014 by singersong

This is why I am in Ireland!

But I did have a dilemma this last weekend . It was October Bank Holiday weekend and there were two Festivals within striking distance. Solution – go to both.

So Saturday I headed off to the Joe Cooley Weekend at Gort about an hour’s drive from Caherush. Gort is just over the border in Co Galway and a pretty town it is. There is a magnificent monastic ruin just down the road and the home of Lady Gregory nearby. The streets are unusually wide and it is situated around a spacious square with a number of pubs, all within a quick jog of each other. Necessary to avoid the wind and the rain! A perfect place for a Festival.

Where do you start when you arrive at 1:00 pm? Well you park the car and you wind the window down and listen and within moments you hear the strain of fiddles and accordions coming from inside O’Donnell’s Pub. So with my travelling companions, Danny and Nicolle, we headed in and immediately the circle widened to accommodate us. This doesn’t always happen and when it does you know you are in for a good session. It was led by box player Jim, who I am sure is the happiest man in Ireland, smiling and whooping his way through tune after tune and engaging all and sundry in continuous banter, and there were some older players and a good smattering of the next generation. So the music was a great mix and at a good pace. Plates of toasted ham cheese and tomato sandwiches kept arriving and even a special ‘order’ for vegetarian, Nicolle!

Around 3:00 we headed off to Sullivan’s Hotel for the highlight of the programme. This was the attempt on the Guinness World Record for the Largest Irish Band. The record is something around 270 held by nearby Kilfenora in Clare and only set earlier this year. There was palpable excitement as scores of musicians gathered outside the ballroom with their whistles, fiddles, banjos and pipes. Even a cahone (does that count?). Fevered last minute run-throughs of the chosen tunes created a somehow engaging dissonance, much as the expectation created by an orchestra tuning up. There was sheet music for those unsure of how the polkas went.

We all filed in shepherded by hi-vis vested marshals who almost outnumbered us, to take our places in rows of seats laid out for us. It looked like they were expecting around 300. There were cameras and videos including Irish TV there to record the event. Initially there was optimism but as the queues diminished and only half the seats were filled it became apparent to all that this was not to be the day. The scheduled start time of 4.00 pm went, perhaps in an attempt to scour the pubs for more musicians, and finally, it was after 4.30 when an excited announcer surprisingly proclaimed over the microphone “Congratulations! You have broken the record!” Looking at the empty seats I was a bit confused. “The largest Irish band in Connacht!”. There was excited applause as the crowd basked in the glory of being an ‘almost-Guiness World Record’ holder. To confirm the record we of course had to play and after a run through off we went launching into Maggie in the Woods. The sound was fantastic and it was actually quite thrilling to play with such a large ensemble, roughly in time and close enough to being in tune. There was genuine enthusiasm in the playing and in the reception from the assembled crowd, many of them proud parents. Then there were more tunes (not rehearsed!) and even a set dance. Was this the world record for the biggest Ceili Band playing to a set dance? Perhaps just in Connacht! Anyway it was all great crack and we queued up again on the way out to get a certificate to record the Attempt. There’s always next year!

The search resumed for the ‘killer’ session. So back to O’Donnelly’s where there was a new crowd of musicians but equally welcoming and then to Johnny Ward’s. This session was in a separate room with no bar and was as close to a house session as you could get. It was unfortunately marred by an extremely drunk bodhran player, with a Walton’s instrument and while it had a lovely celtic design the music did not match as he proceeded to beat it mercilessly and a whistle player who certainly made his presence felt. I watched as this man, already finding it hard to stand up demolished his next Guinness in two swigs. Despite these ‘distractions’ which contributed to a sometimes messy sound there were moments of absolute magic in the music. Concertina player, Patrick and a couple of box players and a banjo drove the session and I provided the only fiddle – an unusual event. Tunes were played fast but with a real skip which gave the music a lovely rhythmic lift. It was absolutely fantastic to play along with. After this session fizzled and a plate of Taco Chips from Supermac’s there was another great session at Sullivan’s populated mainly by Galway musicians and three hours went so quickly as we cycled through a familiar array of reels and jigs. Bed was very welcome at 3:00am after close to 12 hours of playing.

Sunday morning arrived, with all good intentions to head to the Willie Keane Weekend at Doonbeg (about ten minutes drive to the south of Caherush) in time for the Trad Breakfast, I have to admit the late night proved too much of a barrier and I didn’t get there until 2pm! There was music in four pubs on the main street of the village, famous more for the Donald Trump Resort a couple of kilometres out of town than anything else. But this weekend it was all about the music. Some of the best music you will hear and most of it coming from the unsung and the unheralded. Highlights for me included:

A wonderful set from Tony Linanne and Padraig Mac Doncha (in an Eb session) at Madigan’s, the brilliance of Andrew MacNamara and Mark Donnelly, the surprise packet that was Scaradaragh (a group of Sliabh Luachra musicians from North Cork), just so much fun to play with – bring on those polkas!, the brilliance of the young musicians from Tulla and Kilmaley (Amy & Gearoid McNamara and Yvonne & Pamela Queally, joined by friends including the Murphy sisters from Dublin) and then a great exhibition of sean nos dancing to wind up Sunday night.

On my way home after a fabulous day, I popped into the bar at Tubridy’s to the sight of a table of well primed revellers enjoying the music of Roisin & Conor Broderick and Deirdre Winrow. One of them saw me come in with my fiddle on my back and yelled. “Here he is. I have been reading about you” Taken off guard I asked what she meant. “In the brochure – you’re the fiddler!” They then engaged me in a random conversation in which it became apparent they were down from London for a weekend of golf at the Trump Resort. Luckily they didn’t stay long and on her way out I asked the girl what she meant. She explained that it was me in the programme as a “fiddler’ from 10pm and they were waiting for me. I looked to the corner where Dierdre was quite expertly pumping out a reel on her fiddle and pointed out “but there’s already a fiddler here.” “No” she said in all seriousness “that’s a violinist!” And she retreated with her companions to their five star room in the Lodge at Trumps…..

One other quick anecdote. Sitting, engrossed in my playing at the Igoe Inn (great name!) I felt a hand on my shoulder and a whisper in my ear. “Kevin Crawford” was all she said. I looked around to see a middle aged lady standing over me. “What about him?” I whispered back. [Kevin, of course, is the well know flute player from Lunasa]. “Is he here?” she said seriously. “I haven’t seen him”, was all I could think to say and apparently satisfied she wandered off. I later found out she had done this with every musician in the place! He should be very pleased he has such a devoted fan.

Anyway, home by 1.00 am after another ten hours of almost continuous sessioning on top of the previous day. So I think I put in a good shift. A quiet couple of weeks now but really looking forward to the Ennis Festival coming up. Stay tuned.

Here are some pictures from the weekend. …….

Registering for the World Record Attempt

Toasted Cheese and Tomato Sandwich

Danny and Nicolle lead a session

Optimism

Last Minute Practice

Filling up

Expectancy

The biggest Irish Band in Connaught!

Mick Minogue on his ancient goatskin

Session at Johnny Walsh’s Gort

Session at Sullivan’s in Gort

Alice from Galway via Australia

Danny from Australia

fingers

I was there!

Tony Linanne and friends, Doonbeg

Session at Igoe Inn, Doonbeg

Sliabh Luhraca comes to Clare.

Andrew MacNamara and friends, Doonbeg

Igoe Inn

Great craic

Categories: Festivals, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Clare, Doonbeg, Festival, Galway, Gort, Ireland, Irish music, Joe Cooley, music, photography, Sessions, traditional music, travel, Willie Keane | Leave a comment

Home

Posted on October 21, 2014 by singersong

Well it has been a month since I have posted and a lot has happened. I have kept telling myself I will catch up when winter arrives but it never did. We have had an amazing warm September and the first couple of weeks of October with more blue skies. That all camne to an end last week and we have had our first taste of winter. I am ready for it!

Those of you following me on Facebook will know that I have found a house to rent. I can’t believe where I have ended up. A magic place on the water between Spanish Point and Quilty near Miltown Malbay in west Clare.

My cottage is at the end of a row of houses that stretches along the Clogher Road to Point Caherush. It is situated on the edge of the land where it meets the rocky shore. Surrounded by gravel and a high wall there is no softening green garden but the starkness somehow seems appropriate. Adjacent is an old whitewashed stone shed with a slate roof and behind that are large domed sheds that constitute the operations base for my landlord’s extensive farmland, which stretches beyond in all directions to the sea. Everyone here talks about nothing but the storms last January and the damage done by the high tides, but I am assured by the owner that the new seawall will keep the ocean out.

The house looks directly south across a shallow bay and to the treeless plains and hills that are so characteristic of this part of West Clare. In the distance I can see Quilty and the round tower of its church poking above the horizon. And out beyond the now calm ocean is the uninhabited Mutton Island only accessible by boat. I have a table and benches, like those provided at picnic sites, outside my front door and from here I can see the sun rise over the hills to my left and watch it all the way to where it disappears into the Atlantic Ocean on the right. The last month has provided glorious clear blue skies and amazing sunrises and sunsets. For most of the day the sun streams invitingly into the house filling it with light.

The bay is forever changing moods. At low tide the ocean floor is exposed across its entire width. Rocks and seaweed predominate with pools of water left behind temporarily. It is not what is conventionally regarded as appealing. At high tide the rocks are completely covered and though there is no pristine white sandy beach, just boulders and kelp and various flotsam bordering the calm waters, the scene has a raw beauty that is captivating. There are very few people. Occasionally I will see someone collecting periwinkles or the landlord’s brother collecting and drying seaweed for his business or the occasional walker or a mother pushing a pram but for the most part there are just the sea birds, which provide plenty of movement and interest and there is Valdo, the neighbour’s border collie who spends all day chasing them.

Just a handful of steps and I am on a rock platform that stretches along the northern side of the bay to the end of the point. The rocks dip largely to the south at about 20 degrees and the sandstone and shale layers provide a series of steps which one seems to be forever climbing. At low tide you can walk all the way around the point. At the end of the point the calmness of the bay gives way to breakers which hint at the power that the Atlantic can unleash. For now though it is has been mostly peaceful but I have had a little taste of its power last weekend. There are some spectacular folds in the rock layers and the dip changes from the south to the north and back to the south providing plenty of geological interest. If I walk the other way I walk across the boulders and weed best negotiated at high tide. There is an exposed layer of peat just above the high tide mark. It provides a fascinating insight into the formation of this unique part of the Irish landscape as abundant, partially decomposed trees, branches and roots protrude from the ground. Further round the point towards Quilty is a cliff face formed of jagged, loosely consolidated boulders that appears to be a glacial moraine and the weathering of this cliff contributes to the mix of irregular and rounded boulders seen on the shore.

I am seeing it at its absolute best but I already love this place. It is not the Ireland I expected to live in but I finally have a sense of place and I am so looking forward to spending the next year here.

To cap all this off the house has a rich musical heritage. It was the home of JC Talty, who played pipes and flute with the Tulla Ceili Band for 35 years, until his death in 2006. He was mates with Willie Clancy, Paddy Canny and Leo Rowsome among others. It is inspiring to think that these guys may well have played music in this house. It was also a favourite place for his niece Brid O’Donoghue the well-known Miltown whistler who came here after school regularly to learn her craft from her uncle.

As I said the place has many moods. I have tried to capture this with some of these photos from my first month here.

I will soon get to posting some of my thoughts and adventures from a truly wonderful summer.

Categories: My Journey, Wild Ireland | Tags: Caherush, Clare, Ireland, Irish music, Miltown Malbay, photography, Quilty, Spanish Point, traditional music, travel, West Clare | 3 Comments

The Crotty Galvin Music Weekend

Posted on September 10, 2014 by singersong

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Last weekend I headed out to Moyasta for the Crotty Galvin Traditional Music weekend. It’s a mouthful I know and I don’t blame you if you dont know where Moyasta is. I didn’t. Head out to Kilrush on the south western tip of Clare and a few miles further on you’ll find it. But dont blink. There’s one pub and a school.

I have been to many festivals this year (small and big) but nothing really prepared me for Moyasta. Everything happened in Garrihy’s Bar. There were two session locations in the front bar and for much of the weekend there was continuous music in one or both. In fact in the time I was there the music only stopped for the All Ireland Hurling final. (For the record it was a breathtaking draw between Kilkenny and Tipperary that had the nation captivated). In the back was a large cavernous room with a small stage in the corner. There were continuous events there including more formal miked up sessions, ad hoc concerts and dancing. There didn’t appear to be a fixed programme and things just happened.

On the Saturday I played in the front bar from 4pm until I called it quits at 1230, That’s 8 ½ hours pretty much without a break. It went on to the small hours I believe. The session (or ‘sessiun’ as they call it in this part of the world) had a peculiar dynamic to it and as people came and went it ebbed and flowed sometimes the music being absolutely brilliant and at other times delightfully messy. It was a pleasure to play there although the pub got noisy and at times you could hardly hear yourself no one seemed to mind. Even the out of time bodhran playing was tolerated!

This was as close to an authentic rural Irish festival I have seen and as far from the Fleadh Ceoil as you could possibly get. One venue, so you missed nothing. Not a hint of commercialism. Just good honest craic. No big imported names and predominantly just locals from West Clare. There were drinks on the house for the musicians and an endless supply of delicious sandwiches, not just for the players but for the punters too, all coordinated by an amazing hard working committee. It had the feel of one big old fashioned house party where even the gate crashers were invited in.

Thanks to everyone who made me feel so welcome and to the many new friends I made. A definite for next year. The battery went dead on the camera so only a few pics but I’m sure you’ll get the feeling for the weekend from these.

Categories: Festivals, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Clare, Crotty Galvin, Ireland, Irish music, Moyasta, photography, Sessions, traditional music, travel | 4 Comments

The Session of the Summer

Posted on September 2, 2014 by singersong

Geraldine Cotter, Ronan Browne, Peadar O’Loughlin, Maeve Donnelly and Tony Linnane at Kelly’s in Ennis.

I have to share this story.

The other afternoon Graham and Niamh were having a Guinness at Kelly’s in Ennis and casually asked the barman if there were any tunes that night. He said he thought Peadar O’Loughlin was playing. Peadar is a legend of Irish music and well into his 80s and rarely plays in public now so Graham said I shouldn’t miss him even if just to listen. So I went along. What Graham didn’t know and the barman didn’t tell him was that it was a private function for Peadar’s 50th Wedding Anniversary.

When I got there, there was a gathering of about 10 musicians and they were in full flight as I walked in with my fiddle. There was a crowd seated and standing around them and all eyes turned in my direction. But as if they were waiting for me to arrive there was a vacant seat in the midst of the musicians. I was encouraged by the onlookers to sit there, even though they had no idea who I was. Intimidated, I just sat motionless, not wanting to attract attention, and listened, though when they launched into Craig’s Pipes I hesitatingly got my fiddle out and quietly joined in. I got talking to Nancy, who was sitting next to me and instantly recognised my Australian accent (a rarity as only about two in ten do!). She whispered in deferential tones the names of the musicians. Next to me were fiddlers Tony Linnane, and Maeve Donnelly, then Peadar also on fiddle, then piper Ronan Browne, then Geraldine Cotter on piano and Eamonn Cotter on flute, then another flute player, Jim O’Connor, and then two more pipers, whose names just faded away as my mind tried to digest the horsepower in this amazing gathering. One I later identified as Maire Ni Ghrada. The music was out of this world. Sweet combination of fiddles, flutes and pipes. Irish music – as it was meant to be. A truly magical experience.

This was the session of the summer for me and a memory I will treasure. I have only one photograph as my presence there was intrusion enough.

One day I fear I will wake up and find that all this is a dream.

Categories: Sessions, Stories, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Clare, Ireland, Irish music, photography, Sessions, traditional music, travel | Leave a comment

100 Nights of Sessions – 100 photos!

Posted on August 31, 2014 by singersong

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. 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 100^th 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 15^th 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!

Categories: Festivals, My Journey, Sessions, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Achill, Clare, Drumshanbo, Feakle, Festival, Fleadh, Ireland, Irish music, photography, Sessions, Sligo, traditional music, travel, Tubbercurry, Willie Clancy | 2 Comments

McArthur’s Bar Tulla

Posted on August 29, 2014 by singersong

I mentioned McArthur’s Bar in my recent blog on Tulla. I want to say a few more words on it. This place deserved to be in the late Peter McCarthy’s wonderful book McCarthy’s Bar even though he would have had to stretch the qualifications a bit (If you haven’t read this book it is a must; it is one of the best travel books written on Ireland). I saw the pub during the day and it looked to be just another abandoned building. A peek through the window failed to see any sign of life or even recent use and the weeds growing behind the front window did not look promising. But walking past it at midnight there was a glow of lights through the drawn shades and blurry shadows through the frosted window pane. And the door was just slightly ajar. A familiar murmur came from behind the door. The quiet hum you get from a pub pretending to be shut. I went through the door into the narrowest of rooms and it was jam-packed. With my fiddle on my back I could hardly squeeze through the door and then past the throng. I could hear music and I stood there momentarily until someone seeing my fiddle nodded his head towards the back saying “it’s in there”. I made my way through another narrow door into another crowded room. I couldn’t help but notice the floor as I walked up a distinct concrete slope. One can only imagine this being a huge advantage when they hose it out at the end of the day.

The music was getting louder as I reached the back room. It was coming from a bunch of kids most of whom looked under 15. By now it was midnight. Their parents were watching and lemonades in hand they were producing magic music. I felt like an intruder but was invited to sit in. It was as good a session as any I had been to in Ireland.

This experience showed to me a window into the ‘real’ Ireland. A country that has gone through centuries of struggle and subjugation, indeed attempts to eliminate the Irish music and language, was here thumbing its collective nose at petty authority that says children can’t be in a pub after 9pm. Wonderful.

I said in an earlier post that one needs to “go with the flow” in Ireland. After this experience I should add “if you see an open door go through it”.

McArthur’s Bar in Tulla

McArthur’s Bar in Tulla at Midnight.

Categories: Sessions, Stories, Trad Irish Music | Tags: Clare, Festival, Ireland, Irish music, music, pub, session, travel, Tulla | 1 Comment

The Burren, Again.

Posted on August 29, 2014 by singersong

The Burren in the north of Clare has an indefinable pull. I can’t stay away.

When Geraldine, schoolteacher friend, asked me if I wanted to accompany her and the kids from her school at Doora near Quin on a hike through the Burren, I was a bit unsure. Didn’t sound all that exciting but I have made it a rule not to say no to anything since I’ve been here. So I agreed. I’m really glad I did.

The day did not start out too promising. I met Geraldine after a couple of false starts at 11:00am and four carloads of kids from 5th and 6^th class with a handful of parents and teachers met at Crag Road, the start of our linear hike. We had hoped to use the National Park free bus service but times did not work so some cars were dropped over to Coolorta Cross, the end of the hike. By 11:45am we were on our way!

The weather was overcast but dry though rain was predicted (of course). The plan was to head up to Mullaghmore and then across to the next mountain (well they are technically hills) knows as Sliabh Rua. Wasting no time the kids headed out along the trail leaving me and a couple of stragglers in their wake. We caught up eventually (well I think they waited for me) and with barely time to catch my breath I found myself giving a talk on the unique geology that is the Burren. After a month in Clare I was an expert on the Burren geology. Well the kids thought so. Some of them were surprisingly up to speed while others hadn’t even stepped foot on the Burren before.

We continued the climb along the ridge beneath the first cliff and I kept stopping to look at the amazing fossils and rock formations and to take photographs so of course we got further behind. By this time I was left with just one boy who delayed me further as I stopped to answer the non stop stream of questions and comments about what he was seeing. It was great to see this unbridled curiosity and his eyes opening to what was around him. Eventually we rejoined the group.

As we were on a deadline and I was slowing them down, we agreed they would go ahead and I proceeded at my own pace. I was in awe of the scenery at the top. Limestone bands twisted into gentle folds ran in sinuous waves across the barren treeless landscape. With the dull light it had a mysterious mystical quality reinforced by the clarity of the eerie silence. Truly a breathtaking place. In the distance I could see the group had reached the top of Sliabh Rua and were now proceeding down so I followed the contours around the mountain and attempted to re-join them. Distances are deceptive up here. It was a fairly treacherous descent over boulders and scree formed from jagged limestone. Every foot had to be carefully placed so there was no rushing. I would stop often to breathe in the view. A new vista around every corner. I never did catch them and I arrived at the cars about half an hour after the rest. We were lucky. The rain had held off.

I was mightily impressed with the whole day. The kids behaved impeccably and were a credit to their school.

Once they had left, Geraldine wanted to show me more of the Burren, a place she clearly loves, so we headed along another track to a Holy Well. I had never seen one before. This was a natural spring coming out of the base of a moss covered rock. Nestled in a dark cool glade which felt as ancient as it probably was. It would not have surprised to see fairies darting about! There were cups hanging from a string inviting you to partake and there were ribbons hanging from nearby branches, perhaps some sort of offering. An elliptical walled area a few metres across was apparently an ancient bath which was used for ritual bathing. It takes a while to get one’s head around the fact that this place may have been used by our predecessors up to 5,000 years ago.

The magic of the place was having an effect. We walked back along the track to see a car driving up the lane. I did not recognise the occupants but Geraldine did. There was P.J. Curtis (the eminent writer/record producer/broadcaster/historian) and Maurice Lennon (fiddling legend from Stockton’s Wing). I was introduced to them and they couldn’t have been nicer. We ended up back in P.J.’s house in Kilnaboy (built in 1770, the year Cook landed in Australia) listening to Maurice play tunes from ‘Light in the Western Sky’ (one of my favourite albums) and then some gorgeous airs including one of his own on his Viola. I had to keep pinching myself. P.J. gave us a tour of his Forge which was full of original equipment. It was the conclusion to a wonderful day.

If you go with the flow in this extraordinary country then extraordinary things happen. 

Burren Limestone with fossil coral

Some of the wildlife in the Burren

Geometric patterns etched in the cliff face. The Burren

A large fossil coral colony. The Burren

On the way up to Mullaghmore

Pausing for a breather.

the view from the top

Heading across to Sliabh Rua

Spectacular landforms that make up the Burren

Twists and contortions in the limestone layers on Mullaghmore

One last cliff on the ascent of Sliabh Rua

Looking back from Mulalghmore

Gentle folds in limestone, Mullaghmore

Cairn, Mullaghmore, the Burren

The descent from Mullaghmore

Native orchard, the Burren

Limestone plain at the foot of Mullaghmore

Returned safely

Holy Well, the Burren

Moss covered walls of an ancient bath, Holy Well, the Burren

Glacial erratics, dumped at the end of the last ice age. The Burren

Meeting Maurice Lennon in the middle of nowhere

Mullaghmore. A distant view

PJ Curtis outside the Old Forge at Kilnaboy

Categories: Wild Ireland | Tags: Burren, Clare, Geology, Ireland, landscape, Mullaghmore, photography, travel | 6 Comments

A New Home?

Posted on August 21, 2014 by singersong

It’s been so long since I blogged and so much has happened. The really big news for me which I got today is that I have approval to stay in Ireland for the next 12 months. The journey which I started three months ago is not over. I can now plan for the future. Buy a car and rent a house for starters. And see if Ireland is really for me. Everyone (and I mean everyone!) tells me I won’t be able to handle the winter. We’ll see.

In the last six weeks I have been on the Festival trail. A journey that has taken me through Clare (Willie Week, Tulla and Feakle Festivals and the Clare Fleadh at Kilaloe) to Galway (TradPhicnic at Spiddal), Sligo (Fleadh Cheoil and Tubercurry), Leitrim (Drumshanbo) and Mayo (Achill Island summer school). I have attended concerts, lectures, workshops, recitals and of course sessioned relentlessly. Indeed every day for the past 97 days! Is there a Guinness record for that?

It has been a wonderful experience but the festival season has come to an end. I haven’t dared look until I knew what my visa status was but I am sure there will be some fantastic events ahead of me. Perhaps more space in between them now!

It just occurred to me that the reason I have come here is to learn fiddle and while I have played fiddle every day, sometimes for 10 hours in a day I have not done any ‘practice’. Playing in sessions is not practice. I have hundreds of hours of recordings of workshops, sessions and concerts to sort. Great material for new tunes.

Of course I ’learnt’ heaps of new tunes at the Schools, from James Kelly, Paddy Ryan, John Daly, Liam O’Connor, Tola Custy, Siobhan Peoples, Martin Hayes, Eileen O’Brien and Yvonne Kane, but am having trouble recalling any of them. So there’s a lot of work there for me. Likewise I have literally thousands of photos to sort from the Festivals and from my travels through Mayo and Connemarra as well as here in Clare.

I have met some wonderful people and have some great stories to tell, so bear with me and I will start posting again when I can.

A quick thankyou to everyone who has supported me and encouraged me in what I am doing over here. I won’t name you all but you know who you are. I have been warmly accepted into the musical and broader community here in Clare and am really looking forward to the year(s) ahead.

In the meantime with my mind firmly on where I might live for the next year I have identified a few likely properties. The views can’t be faulted!

Stay Tuned…..