Willie Clancy Week : running comment

feadogin · Post by **feadogin** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 9:20 am

Hi there, finally made it to the library to add to this...It's been a pretty quiet week for me this year; I definitely don't have the energy I had the last time I was here, so I'm not doing too much.

I'm amazed at how many piping students are here this year! Last time I was here you really got a chance to meet everybody hanging around the piping classes, but there are a lot more people this time. I haven't met any of the people I was told to look for! I did see Peter hanging around a few times; I think I was one of those people that said hi to him on the street that he didn't remember.

I am in Kevin Rowsome's class & learning a lot, as expected. So far it's been nice getting to catch up with some musicians that I don't get to see too often. And it's been nice to see some of my favorite pipers like Tom Creegan & Leo Rickard. The piping recitals have all been really good, I think I especially liked Tiernan Dincinn & Mick Coyne. I passed by Jimmy O'BM on the street today and he was showing someone his spare change and saying, "You want to see a Coyne set?"

Some of the highlights so far...I haven't been playing much at all but I listened to a few nice sessions. There was a nice B session the other day with Ronan Browne and Jimmy O'Brien Moran among others. Yesterday I was listening to a session in town with Mary Bergin, Alec Finn and Cathal McConnell that was very nice also.

In general the town seems quieter than the last time I was here, which is nice. I have to get myself out to play at some point, I'm looking for a nice quiet session.

Oh, well, talk to you all later,

Justine

Azalin · Post by **Azalin** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 9:43 am

Just go crazy Justine, it will be your last Willie week for a while

I dare you to sit beside Mary Bergin and scream out loud "Do you know this tune???" and start playing the Butterfly. You're not game! Chicken! Chicken!

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 11:02 am

feadogin wrote:. I haven't met any of the people I was told to look for! I did see Peter hanging around a few times; I think I was one of those people that said hi to him on the street that he didn't remember.

I am in Kevin Rowsome's class & learning a lot, as expected. So far it's been nice getting to catch up with some musicians that I don't get to see too often.

I passed by Jimmy O'BM on the street today and he was showing someone his spare change and saying, "You want to see a Coyne set?"

Justine

O, yes I did see you, first on the corner at Canada cross and this mornign when JOBM did the coin set thing on me while buying a copy of 'They'll be good yet' off me when you were coming down from class.

Is Tiarnan O Frighil still in Kevin's class ?

Kitty Hayes asked me to come to the house for a few tunes and I was happy to leave the town to it's own devices for the afternoon. Might havea quick look after dinner.

I did hear 'the' fiddle session: John Kelly, Peter Mackey, Vincent Griffin, John Joe Tuttle etc with fluteplayers Siobhan Ni Chonorain (and usually Catherine McEvoy although I haven't seen her so far)etc play the Butterfly. No shame in that.

edit: as Flanum said, the thursday has the other crowd moving in, no reasons to be in town tonight and a lot of reasons not to be there so kept my lookaround brief.

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 7:19 am

Nothing much to report really, classes continuing on. There isn't a lot of nice music in town at all, the afternoons in Fahey's are pleasant with the Kellys, John Wynne and their crowd, nice bouncy Clare fiddle stuff.

The usual croaking and moaning in the piper's reedmaking workshop, big end of the week rush from pipers who want t ogo home with a new reed or a general tune up.

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 7:58 am

Thank you so much, Peter, for these post. I love the pictures and that last one in particular. Good for you and Kitty about the shinding at the Crosses!

johnkerr · Post by **johnkerr** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 10:57 am

Peter Laban wrote:Nothing much to report really, classes continuing on. There isn't a lot of nice music in town at all, the afternoons in Fahey's are pleasant with the Kellys, John Wynne and their crowd, nice bouncy Clare fiddle stuff.

Glad to hear these afternoon sessions in Fahey's are still going on. They were always my favorite part of the Willie Week. Gosh, has it been since 2001 that I was last there? Anyway, I first discovered these sessions by following Catherine McEvoy out of class one day, and then kept going every day after without fail. This was back in the day when Bobby Casey was still alive and they played in the kitchen of the pub across the road, which is now closed. (Was it Cleary's, the one that was not the Blonde's?) These afternoon sessions gave me the feel of what real sessions ought to be about - musical comrades getting together for a social exchange of tunes. A regular crowd, open to visitors but not overwhelmed by sheer numbers of them. The publican standing a round or bringing out the tray of sandwiches as the session winds down. I'm glad that Catherine and her crowd graciously tolerated myself and a few others sitting around the fringes and playing along with them!

One of the things I liked about the Feakle Festival when I went there a few years ago was that many of the sessions were like this, rather than your typical festival sessions that are over-run with players who don't know the others and are just madly trying to get their tune in. I think you'll enjoy Feakle, Peter.

BTW, Catherine may not be there at Willie Week this year, or if she is there she may be keeping a low profile and resting up. She's teaching this year at the Catskills week in East Durham, which starts this coming Sunday. Pulling off Willie Week and the Catskills in the same year would be quite the challenge - although some have managed to do it...

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 5:16 pm

Feakle is now mostly organised stuff session wise. Or so I found when dropping in for the day over the past few years. The days I sat in Bohan's with Martin Rochford are gone I am afraid.

There's actually a crowd here teaching or just being here set to travel on sunday, Jackie Daly, Edel Fox, Paul de Grae and probably a few more.

Anyway, the friday evening is always the time for the family outing, the youngfella and myself went back into town after four and did a 'mainy'. Outside the Hall Marcas O Morchu, Oisin McDiarmada, Caoimhin O Raghallaigh and the two Mulcahy girls were playing with a few others. A few steps were danced on the pavement

Interesting enough Marcas asked for a copy of the pics and said he had downloaded the other shot from this thread already in the local internet cafe. Only to show you never know who's reading this.

A few of my son's friends were doing a spot of busking , all week there seemed some interest in him from the two young ones on the left. Ah, the excitement of budding love

In Friel's there was a nice tune going with Breda and Claire Keville, stayed in there for a while.

After that it was up the street again to meet the woman of the house coming back from work and a spot of dinner in the town. Salmon in Lemonbutter, not too bad.

After that back to Friel's where there had been a slight change of personel but nice enough to move into for a while for a few tunes.

Some of the faces in Friel's :

Mary Bergin and Angela Crotty-Crehan

Leon Agnew and Tara Diamond

Mary Bergin again, so what do the pundits say about the cheap whistle with the black label?

There were a bunch of others there as well, Mark Kelly, Christy MacNamara, Dermy Diamond and others, posting photos of all would be a bit much.

From there it was to the concertinaconcert for the three of us, as we do most years. Lots of lovely music and lovely musicians too. Kitty Hayes wasn't sure she'd remember the start of the reels she had in mind so I had the whislte ready. She threw a desparate look down from the stage and I played the first phrase of the Doonagore reel to a roar of laughter and she fired away in great style.

A few of the concertinaplayers:

Dympna O Sullivan

Aoife Kelly

The town was getting fierce lively after the concert, straight over the backroad towards home.

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 7:42 pm

That looks like a Galway whistle Mary's playing. My example has a different label, though. If you have a higher resolution version of the image, perhaps you can blow up the label and see if it's at all legible.

Best wishes,
Jerry

Azalin · Post by **Azalin** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 8:48 pm

Hehe, a few board members are going to get a heart attack. "What, Mary Bergin and others playing cheapos? Oh my!!!".

susnfx · Post by **susnfx** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 9:21 pm

Thanks to Peter, et al - I'm loving this thread! I'll never make it to Willie Week (do I want to?!?) and I appreciate the "as it happens" feel of these updates.

Susan

fel bautista · Post by **fel bautista** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 10:34 pm

Azalin wrote:Hehe, a few board members are going to get a heart attack. "What, Mary Bergin and others playing cheapos? Oh my!!!".

NEVER, never discount the master's hand!

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 6:48 am

It's winding down now, or maybe I should say it's being flushed out. Rain that was predicted arrived a bit earlier, it's lashing but the gales that were foretold haven't arrived. Yet?

A lot of people are leaving. Had to force the young fella out of bed this morning, got him into town a half an hour late for classes. Collected him agan around noon. Tommy keane, Jaqueline and Marion McCarthy and the two Kevilles were starting up in a quiet Friel's. In B. Hadn't thought of bringing the B whistle and even the D one was left in the car with the rest of the stuff. Listened. Good music.

Home (coming up to two in the afternoon now), coffee, big roaring smoky turf fire.

flanum · Post by **flanum** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 7:37 am

This running update is very good for people that didnt make it

With all this new technology, wouldnt it be gas for the new internet cafe in milltown to host a live web-cam next year (the cafe is on the main street!).
Peter, what do you make of all these changes in Milltown? good or bad? can you smell the death in the air for casual sesiuns in the coming years with all these "punters" arriving in the town just to drink and be lairy? I have to say that ive noticed in the last decade or so every year becoming more raucous! it would be a shame to see it being spoiled!
Oh and a Chinese restaurant in town!!!!! Whatever next?

Heres a pic of Paddy Keenan and Leo Rickard from last wednesday night in Moroneys backroom in Mullagh.
(taken on my camera phone- i must figure out how to enlarge the pics!)!

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 8:09 am

There have always been complaints of the drinking crowd, right back to the days when the lads came in after the Lisdoonvarna festivals. There has been a shift though. For a long time you could walk into any place and find nice music and I mean really nice music (OK there was always a chance you'd find rubbish too), over the past few years music seems to be disappearing from the town, you're lucky enough to get a nice tune at all and a lot of places just don't have any musicians in at all. There's always Mullagh at night but that whole development towards a fleadh atmosphere has taken from it, especially as you get a nice tune going somewhere people go on the mobile to phone their friends so the place will be packed beyond capacity in no time.

At least the number of mobile chippers, salmonella on wheels, was down a bit.

I suppose some changes are for the better and some are for the worse. But there's perception too: yesterday one of the locals was complaining all the sessions at the Bellbridge hotel were down the tubes because of the busloads of young ones taking over the place. One of my piping pupils though said the Bellbridge was brilliant all week with great music going, but then she's sixteen and raring to go.
That's another thing, a whole generation of musicians we came to learn from is dead and gone, most of the old faces have disappeared, the age group taking the classes has changed dramatically, loads of children (often from parents who took classes themselves) taking over. All that stuff, I saw a few very nice ladies in their twenties playing their grandfather's tunes at one of the concerts and thought 'I remember them playing on the beach in the nip 23 years or so ago'. Things shift, time moves on. My son was happy in concertinaclass, starting to look at girls in the street and they at him. That's life.

I can still enjoy parts of it but am not so worried I might miss anything as I used to. Heard some nice music and will probably get some more tomorrow or early next week.

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 8:22 am

Thirty + years down the road or so, if it is still running, it'd be interesting to hear the comments of the twelve year olds (today, forty somethings then... ) discussing how it just isn't the same anymore... without the old farts, like Peter Laban for example, hanging around playing good tunes.