http://www.scoilsamhraidhwillieclancy.com/

In case anyone hasn't heard yet, the 2020 Willie Clancy Week has officially been cancelled. Not surprising, but obviously a big blow to both the Irish music community and a lot of wallets, big and small, in West Clare. Hopefully in 2021 it'll back and better than ever.

It was to be expected. Harry confirmed it earlier today. It will be odd, after being at forty of them, to have a year without.

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Apparently there's no mask shortage over in Ireland ...

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"Time is the wisest counselor of all." - Pericles

"I remain not entirely convinced of it." - Nano

They keep an option of holding a smaller scale weekend of events later in the year, if circumstances allow and then come back hopefully with a full program next year. That would be nice but without a vaccine I wonder how viable the idea will be.

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I agree.

It's hard to see how a lot of areas can resume without a vaccine.

Be tough on the local economy.

Businesses are already asking for government support. 20% of annual turnover is generated by Willie.

Remember Mary Fahey: she kept all the bills for the year, had the pub full all week and paid of all of them in one go.

Lots of worry around. Ennistymon is on the rise, lively, lots of people around and things to do, places to eat and drink coffee (before the lockdown anyway) while Miltown is down in the dumps.

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It's a worry alright.

A friend of mine, a house painter, used to get a lot of work painting and sprucing up the shop fronts and houses before the summer school. That type of work would have dried up as well.

I always thought that Ennistymon was ripe for a bit of regeneration. The Falls Hotel seems to be popular and there wan't much going on in the town. A local box player, Robert something, opened up a coffee shop there.

Cheers

John

You have the young and trendy set moving in, Little Fox or Pot Duggan's for food, OhLaLa and the Cheesepress for coffee and crepes and cheese respectively, art galleries, bookshops, the healthfood shop that sort of thing and that on top of the 'traditional' Ennistymon of farmers coming in for the shopping, horsefairs and all that. I used to see Gussie Russell come in to Supervalue on the Fridays, get a pound of sliced ham, a sliced pan, a chicken and a roll of biccies and he'd be set for the week. There's a bit off that left, North Clare getting their messages. Mick O'Connor and Tony Smith are both around regularly so they have tunes going. Ennistymon has different layers or strands or whatever you want to call it. And an Aldi. It's very different from Miltown.





I wonder, there's an awful lot of painting going on, between the lockdown and the weather. Perhaps more people doing their own houses though. Done it myself.

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Hi Peter

For the past few visits to Willie Clancy week I had incorporated the Monday session in Ennistymon into my schedule. Tom O'Driscoll and Gabriel Clancy et al would be there. And then the Wednesday trip to the pub beside Bridget's Well.

Life is always moving on and changing.

Keep well

There are plans afoot for a series of online Willie events during the week the SSWC would normally be held. Keep an eye out, if you're into the social media thing.

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With the summerschool cancelled for 2020 both the WCSS committee and ITMA are making a big effort to create a 'virtual' event.

ITMA will stream archive material. highlights, from past Willies, starting on June 24.




Events from last year will be streamed. A virtual Willie .


More information on the ITMA page and more specific info is here.

On top of that the school is offering free online classes/tuition but places are limited: registration here. See also the school's website : WCSS

More in the works, keep an eye out. If you're into that sort of thing, ofcourse.

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Yesterday it was the harps, tonight, 8 O'Clock Irish tine, highlights of fiddle recitals past will be streamed : here. Whistle and flute on friday and so on..

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Thanks peter.

In the first set who was the fiddler to John Kelly' right. The man with the cap

Hi John,

Looks like Marty O'Keeffe. He kept coming and played the fiddle recital on his 100th birthday. Still came the year after but didn't play. He's gone now.

Here he is, in the back of Murphy's, St Bridget's Well, 1994:



Microphones in front of players' faces, the bane of visual registration.

It's flutes and whistles next.

[updated link to whistle/flute highlights]

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Thanks for the link Mr G. Unless I'm very much mistaken, Brid O'Donoghue there on the title page , playing what looks to be a nickel "Generation" whistle, something you don't see all that often these days. Would anyone like to hear her performance at the first Willie Clancy week flute and whistle recital I attended - in 1980, 40 years ago ? !!! In the absence of this year's Willie Week, I'm thinking of posting some of the recordings I have on Youtube, especially in memory of some of the players who are no longer around.
I'll post any whistle track links here.

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"There's fast music and there's lively music. People don't always know the difference"