Willie Clancy Week : running comment

[Azalin]

I would have killed just to be able to listen to Claire and Breda's session. Isnt the first time Claire and her sister spend the whole week in town? I guess the fact that they both have a CD must be more than coincidence

Next time I go to Willie Clancy I will definitely want to have a car to be able to go further away. I'm also sure there's some great half-private sessions going on, but you have to have contacts I guess.

Thanks for the posts Peter, it's a deligh to be updated on such a festival.

[Cayden]

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.

Well that's it for most of the regulars it's just about people, meeting the familiar faces and meeting a few new ones, catching up and having a few tunes and a bit of a chat. There are still people that have been there right from the beginning, I've done 26 now, you do become part of the scenery that way. I told Tiernan O Dinncin 'nice playing' when I met him after his recital on monday, he did say he remembered me from when he came to the classes as a very young boy (and that I hadn't changed a bit since but I don't think he got that right).

I would have killed just to be able to listen to Claire and Breda's session. Isnt the first time Claire and her sister spend the whole week in town? I guess the fact that they both have a CD must be more than coincidence smile

I don't know, they turn up in town together with some regularity and I 've had a good few tunes with them when we were doing the cover pics for 'Kitty lie over' : the Kevilles, Mick, Caoimhin, Henry Benagh and myself all playing in C.
You should get Breda's CD, it's lovely and she told me I was the one who bought the first copy ever. That put me in her good books for sure.

Claire was playing the fiddle today though.

[Azalin]

I don't know, they turn up in town together with some regularity and I 've had a good few tunes with them when we were doing the cover pics for 'Kitty lie over' : the Kevilles, Mick, Caoimhin, Henry Benagh and myself all playing in C.
You should get Breda's CD, it's lovely and she told me I was the one who bought the first copy ever. That put me in her good books for sure.

Claire was playing the fiddle today though.

Thanks for the info. I'll definitely try to meet Breda next november and buy the CD straight from her. Claire playing the fiddle? Darn! What's next, the pipes?

[feadogin]

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!

Oh, too bad I only saw this post today, otherwise I would have when I saw her the other day. I heard her playing at a nice mellow session with Alec Finn & Cathal McConnell playing crazy stuff. Jack would have liked listening to him.

I guess it probably will be my last Willie Week for a while but John is already talking about coming back next year and maybe having just one of us take classes. We'll see...

That's right Peter, the young Tiernan was in my class. What an ear that kid has! I never heard anyone pick up tunes so fast! He's going to be a great piper.

Tiernan Duincinn is a really nice guy, too...We might try and meet up with him when we head back to Cavan next week.

Anyway, it's been a pretty quiet week for me compared to the last time. For some reason I find myself really missing the sessions back home, which I haven't gone to recently. It's nice to get to listen to tunes you don't normally hear and play with different people, but I guess I am coming to appreciate playing more with people I know.

It's pouring rain today and things seem pretty quiet, so I'm off to find my roommates & figure out what we are going to do now...

Justine

[flanum]

. 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.

.

He he , you are right there. When i first started going to Milltown, it was mainly in Faheys for the week, the usual crowd then was piper Brian Mac Aodha (who had his cd launch in Faheys years ago), Bouzouki player Beth Patterson, Guitar player Meg? , Bodhran player Damien Quinn, Flute Brian duke, and all us Cavan crowd.
It was great to see Brian Mac Aodha coming into Faheys last tuesday with new wife Bernie(whom he met in Faheys) and their 5 month old Baby Aibheen for her first ever Milltown session!

[Cayden]

Yes and I remember Brian when he was twelve or so and always following Geoff and myself around with the taperecorder when we were playing in the street

The sun has come out again after last nights wild windy weather. Peaceful and pleasant in town, in Fahey's John Weir was playing with another fiddleplayer and Eithne on the harp. The McCarthy's and Tommy Keane, Henry Benagh and others were in Marrinan's. All very pleasant, Paul Dooley was in Hillery's but the rest of them didn't really mix with him. All the locals are out and lots of Clare people with the family over for the day. Nice but it's really winding down now.
Not much in the way of music on the street but a human statue to brighten up things:

[fel bautista]

Thank you Peter for keeping us informed and entertained with your observations

[Joseph E. Smith]

Let's do this again next year, same Willie week, same Willie channel. Thanks Peter!

[Cayden]

I had hoped more people would have picked up on this, newcomers like Claudine would probably have given a better perspective, at this point I move a bit around the sides and pick the odd nugget when I find it, have a few tunes and disappear again. There are as many perspectives as there are people so it would have been nice to hear some more voices.

Terrible showers coming in from the ocean now, they'll wash the street clean. There will be loads of nice music over the next weeks. Padraig MacMathuna will be back in a day or ten and there will be loads of other people around for summer season tunes.

We'll see if we survive another year.

[Frezz]

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!)!

You're not the only one with a pic.....






In fact you might even be in this one, sorry so dark!!



I agree with whoever said about young people in the Bellbridge, I went there one night and felt really old......

[flanum]

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!)!

You're not the only one with a pic.....






In fact you might even be in this one, sorry so dark!!



I agree with whoever said about young people in the Bellbridge, I went there one night and felt really old......

Ah, wasnt that a great night! so "frezz", who are you? Were you sitting down by the pool table? I was standing next to it in the very corner with 2 tall dutch lads and a blondie irish lad (patrick Mac Aodha)! I probably spoke to you at some stage!

[Frezz]

Ah, wasnt that a great night! so "frezz", who are you? Were you sitting down by the pool table? I was standing next to it in the very corner with 2 tall dutch lads and a blondie irish lad (patrick Mac Aodha)! I probably spoke to you at some stage!

I played the fiddle a bit, I was sat down and was chatting to Niamh Parsons about cameras at one bit, she was sat on my left at that time and a friend of mine from Sheffield sat on my right playing a mandolin. You can probably work out who I am but I'm not sure who you are, you would have been behind me??? (And it's hard to remember where I saw people I do know let alone ones I don't!

[claudine]

So here is my report: I had a great week, learnt a lot and at the end I was very tired.

On sunday before the beginning of the classes, we (= my hubby & me) spent the day on Inisheer. The weather was splendid and at the end of the afternoon we both had a terrific sunburn. So on monday morning I looked like Rudolf the rednosed reindeer surrounded by a crowd of pale
faces. Besides looking funny, it hurt, too.

After the assessment, they sent me to the flute class of Ciarán Somers. He is a very funny guy and a very good teacher as well. He made every
student play on his own, and tried to give everyone some personalized advice. He explained a lot about ornaments, phrasing, breathing, punctuation and told us to ask him any questions we might have. After he left us on friday, Aoife Granville continued the class and her teaching was also very useful.

Besides the classes, I went to all the recitals (except the singing) and to most lunch concerts. Every afternoon I also practiced a bit, trying to
learn the new tunes and to apply the things Ciarán had taught us.

We also tried to listen to some sessions, but that was quite hard, as the pubs were horribly packed. Nevertheless we heard Cathal McConnell play
in a pub one afternoon and we also assisted to the street performance of Marcas O'Murchu. And we met the finnish female fiddlers on Inisheer

The recitals have impressed me most and I especially enjoyed the flute and the accordion recitals. Almost all the musicians there were good, but
some were really amazing. It was also impressive to hear how irish teenies play music, they have such good and steady rythm (unlike most
continental musicians) and after years of thinwhistling they also have great technique on the flute, even those who just got their flute a few weeks or months ago. All in all it was a very inspiring and motivating experience and I really hope I can go back next year.

[fel bautista]

what's the goings on with the last picture???

[claudine]

A group of Finnish women playing nice Scandinavian music in the street.

The 2nd photo shows the finnish women Peter talked about.