J - Comhaltas Archive

. /11
I _
/ :
.,
'..
'"',
' ..

Creoir
lris Oifigiuil Chomhaltas Ceolt6iri Eireann
Che Book of Craditional Music, Song and Dance
Iml 32 Uimhir 4 2000 1 SS No 790 004X
1 ' Fleadh we' ll never forget' 2 16 Ca iti lfn Tria il 14 30 A Glimpse of Glenariffe 34
2 Enn iscorthy 2000 5 17 Music Col lectors and Echoes 31 Gorged on Irish Tradition 35
3 Fleadh 2001 for Listowe l 5 of Mull ingar 16 32 Queen Maeve Summer School 36
4 Bufochas 5 18 The Land of Liberty: Music and 33 Will ie Gribbin -'A Man of Character,
the Em igrant Irish 16
5 Another 32 Years 5
Honesty and Commonsense' 37
19 An tUachtaran i Leac snamha 17
6 o Gh luin go Gluin 6
34 A Lao is Sa lute for stephen 37
20 Seisiun 2000 19
7 M il ey 6
35 Cen scea l 38
21 Fleadh Champions 2000 20
8 Music from the Gods 7 36 Brother's Farewe ll to Earth 38
22 A Musical Son of Ki lmihi l 24
9 Ceo ltoirf i dtiuin lena cheile 8
37 A Great Singer 38
23 Comhaltas Trio Launch New CD 25
10 Many Star Performers on sean Treacy
38 Bill McEvoy Honoured at Tionol 39
bra nch CD 9 24 The Party Continues in Bofield! 26 39 The Road from Connemarra 42
11 We are the Musicmakers 9 25 Granard Harp Competitions 28 40 Cu lra na nOg in firinn 45
12 A Prince among Men and Pipers 10 26 The Big '50' Celebration of Leeds 30 41 Flann the Chessp layer 47
13 In Pursuit of Tradition 11 27 The Boston Green Briar Seisiu n 31 42 W here the Mulkear River Flows 48
14 Kit is Honoree 2001 12 28 Hr Gan Teanga, H r Gan Anam 32
15 Traditional Music Exams for Brita in 13 29 Kel ly's Eye 33
TREOIR (1 SS 790 004X) is published quarterl y by CCf, Belgrave Square, Monkstown, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Single copies £2; Subscription
Rates: Ireland and Britain £9; USA and Canada $20; Australia and New Zea land £14; O rders in the USA to be forwarded to Mrs Mai Whelan,
Treoir, 244 Wardwell Road, M ineola, New York 11501 . Periodicals Postage Paid at Mineola PO and at additional mai ling offices, USPS 2115.
Orders in Canada to be forwarded to Maureen Mulvey-O'Leary, 2040 Don M ills Road, 606 Don Mill s, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3A 3R7.
Comhaltas Ceolt6irl Eireann
Cearnag Belgrave, Ba ile na Manach, Co. Atha Cliath, Ireland. Fan: (+353-1) 280 0295, Fax: (+353 -1) 280 3759
e.mail: enquiries@camhaltas.cam webpage: http://www.camhaltas.cam
€ogorfhocol
One of the most gratifyi ng achievements in
2000 was the return of the nationwide
traditiona l entertainment scheme sE ISIUN
after an absence of over a decade. The
si lence has been broken! The native music,
song and dance of Ireland were again
centre stage throughout the fou r provinces.
The access ibi lity of the indigenous arts; the
exce ll ence portrayed by performers young
and old as loca l commun ities proudly
disp layed their cultural ta lents; the warm
cead mile fai lte for locals and visitors alike
Designed and typeset by Graftr6naic, Dublin 16, Ireland / SAC 16, Eire.
who participated - all of these were
hallmarks of SEISIUN 2000.
Th e Fleadh in Enniscorthy, with over
10,000 performers and 200,000 fol lowers,
w ill go down as one of 'the greats'. How
does one measure the sheer dedication,
in itiative and voluntary endeavours of the
loca l organ ising comm ittee The nation
surely owes them a debt of gratitude.
The extensive network of f leadhanna,
classes, concert tours, ceilithe, courses,
sessions all combined throughout 2000 to
susta in the cultura l infrastructure at home
and abroad . This is made poss ible by the
huge voluntary effort of thousands of men
and women, boys and girls whose on ly
motivation is love of country and her
cu ltura l heritage.
Go raibh mile maith agaibh: ta an naisiun
go mor faoi chomaoin agaibh uilig.
Beananchtaf na Fei le ora ibh agus go ra ibh
rath De ar bhur saothar san athbhliain.
1

He was delighted to see that such links
were alive and well in Enniscorthy as
evidences, not only by St Aidan's
primary school, but also by a host of
other groups who ca me to the
ass istance with grounds, buildings or
personnel.
A virtuoso perforlllance at the overseas
concert.
The plaque unve iled w hich is now on
disp lay in the main hall at St Aidan's
recognises the school's in volvement in
Fleadh Cheoil na hEirea nn in 1999 and
2000 - in both English and Irish.
Musicians of note
on every corner
Close your eyes. Take the Enniscorthy
Strawberry Fair. Add the Gorey Summer
Fair and the Wexford festival Opera. You
are now about half ways to imagining
the sca le of Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann.
It wou ld surely have been possible to
walk on heads from Hahady-Breen's up
to Billy Doyle's on heads without ever
having to lengthen stride. The streets
Kathl een Mahon , Cathaoi rl each of
Craobh Inis Ch6rthaicl h CCE.
J

Enniscorthy 2000
'Twas the last days of August we went down to Wexford
The Fleadh Cheoil 2000 for the whole of Ireland
The forked lightning danced like great knitting need les
The thunder did growl like a thousand bodhrans.
By barley fields shorn of their crops and their grasses
The history rang out through each placename and town
Dunlavin, Kilcormack, Boolavogue and Bunclody
Enniscorthy the jewel in Wexford's bright crown
Round a castle that's built on a so lid foundation
A good spot to make music in cri ss crossing streets
Where culture survived 'mong the poor and downtrodden
All classes of Gael you were likely to meet.
There were cars, tents and campers plus all kinds of knick knacks
Lorries, prams, buses in an atmosphere grand
Flutes, Fiddles and banjos, accordaons, bouzoukis
And groups of musicians forming impromptu bands.
The gig - rigs were crammed with an abundance of talent
The halls, schools and platforms to the rhythm did beat
In the pubs songs were chanted - wild, strange and enchanting
The reels and the polkas sung out in each street.
There was Brendan McGlinchey and Ant6in MacGabhainn
loe Burke came from Galway and the Tain Ceilf Band
Many more from Belfast, Ballinasloe and Listowel
Pat Butler from Leargas, TV crew to command.
Aifreann Tradisiunta in Pugin's St Aidan's
Bishop Comiskey, priests and the faithful at prayer
The gift-bearing dancers and Pat Berry's choristers
Shall we ever forget these experi ences rare
The fun is now over, the throngs have departed
But the pulsating rhythms circulate in my soul
Enniscorthy still beckons and Slaney's bright waters
Vinegar Hill with its story and All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil
Fleadh 2001 for Listowel
Padraig 6 Gruagain
September, 2000
Possibly the most popular venue in the history of Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann,
Listowel, Co. Kerry, has been selected to host Fleadh 2001 - the 50 th Anniversary of
the founding of Comhaltas. This Fealeside town of illustrious writers has been a
mecca for traditional musicians down through the years. The dates 24/27 th August,
2001, will by now have been written into many a diary worldwide.
In a very closely contested campaign for the Fleadh Listowel emerged as the
winner. The other applicant was Warrenpoint, Co Down. At the Ardchomhairle
meeting of Comhaltas Ceolt6irf Eireann, both applicant towns tied with 14 votes
each. The Ardchomhairle members represent the four provinces, Britain and North
America. The eventual result was decided on a draw from a hat.
This will be Listowel's 13 th time to host the premier traditional festival which
attracts up to 200,000 people and 10,000 performers.
Warrenpoint's bid for the fleadh had the support of the official Unionist Party, SDLP,
DUP, Sinn Fein Clare Co. Council and the Mid-West Regional Organisation. The
Fleadh has never been held north of the border in its 49 year history. CCE delegates
wish Warrenpoint every success on a future occasion. Following this close result, it
is likely that the Fleadh will be heading north in the very near future. Warren Point
said 'we'll be back' and wished Listowel the best of luck in 2001.
Buiochos
My fam ily and I was in Enn iscorthy
for the Flead h Cheoil, my granddaughter
was competing in the slow
airs and lilting (sad ly she was not
placed).
Sunday 27 th August, we had a grand
day, Enniscorthy's atmosphere of
welcome was next to none, the end
of the day, we watched the fi reworks
display by the Slaney, my daughter
and a few of the family went to the
Riverside for the loo and had a drink.
The next day at about 6.30pm my
daughter discovered her hand-bag
was missing, her husband and she
drove to Enniscorthy Garda Office,
someone had passed her bag with
everything intact (sea-cat tickets,
credit cards, passports, drivers
licence, money both in sterling and
punts, new camera etc.) If that person
is readi ng this 'thank-you' th is is my
appreciation. I hope you never want,
it made our holiday, because we had
our next week to go.
The Magic of Ireland
Thank you once again,
Winnie Lloyd
Another 32 Yeors
It is highly unlikely that another 32
years will elapse before Enniscorthy
again hosts Fleadh Cheoil na
hEireann. Having hosted the event so
successfully in 1999 and 2000, the
town has shown that it can easily
cope with large crowds over a
number of days; this occurred more
noticeably in 2000 than in 1999. In
addition, the organisational success
of the event in the town - the
venues, the pr-o-vision of food,
accommodation, the very lay-out of
the town, tbe willingness of the
townspeople to open their homes to
visitors, traffic control, camping and
caravanning, the co-operation of all
the statutory bodies - all point to a
quick return of the event to the town
much sooner than the previous lapse
of 32 years.
Those wishing to contact the Fleadh Committee should write to An Runaf, Fleadh
Cheoil na hEireann, Lios Tuathail, Co Chiarraf or phone 06823036 or 068 23037.

Music from the Gods
Niall wall, Cathaoirl
ch of Fleodh 2000
surrounded by Traditional
Irish Music, Song and Dance
:Llleing
never fails to bring to mind,
for me, the lines from Nikolai
Zabolotsky's poem 'A Walk'-
'A weightless bird circles
In the deserted sky,
Its throat labouring
Over an ancient song.'
Our music is older than humankind. It
comes form the Gods and our ancestors
learnt it not from sheets or manuscripts
but from the birds in the trees, the wind
whistling through lonely glens; to the
beat of rain and with the pace of
mountain streams in turn rushing
headlong to the sea and swirling lazily
over deep river pools. It comes down to
us cherished by each generation, not
classified and purged of emotion but as
a living sense to which we belong more
than it belongs to us.
We do not play our music; it pours
from us as part of our collective
consciousness, both past and present.
Through a sometimes turbulent and
difficult history traditional Irish Music,
Song and Dance have sought refuge in
the hearts of the poor and dispossessed.
Now, in more prosperous and confident
times yes, for other reasons and in
other ways no less difficult, the music
will repay that trust and, as with
previous generations, will fortify, enrich
and sustain us.
Naturally occurring, our music does not
threaten : it is, positive, gentle and
benign. Yet it is powerful in that it can
arouse, move and touch the very soul.
In lands far away people have listened
to this beautiful music, and thus
touched, have become some part Irish
without having been to Ireland or even
having met an Irish native.
This music is our birthright, our
heritage. Let us not try to over-regulate
it, or over-classify, it or even overvenerate
it. Let us not try to control or
limit it. Let us celebrate and enjoy this
wonderful music, song and dance and
on this very special Fleadh weekend,
live it.
1-

Many Star Performers
on Se6n Creacy
Branch CD
We ore the
Musicmokers
Members of the
Comhaltas Group
for the North
American Tour of
2000 present
some favourite
tunes and songs
on this souvenir
cassette.
O
raobh Sheain Uf Threasaigh of
Comhaltas was founded in 1970,
and over the thirty years of its
existence it has remained one of the
most active and exciting Branches in the
organisation with consistently lively and
innovative sessions and a constant
stream of young talent emerging from
the very successful Branch classes.
The many thousands who have taken
part in, or attended, Sean Treacy Branch
sessions or other activities down the years
will be pleased to hear that the Branch has
just produced a souvenir CD and cassette
to celebrate its thirty years of musicmaking.
Amongst those taking part in this
production are many of the familiar
names who have contributed so much to
the Branch activities through the years, -
families such as the Regans, Duffys, 0
Muineachains, McKeons, Mac Gabhanns,
O'Shaughnessys, Leechs, Mac
Tighearnains, Hanleys, Reillys, etc., etc.
For this CD they were thus able to
produce high-quality group music from
several different age groups, and when it
came to 'senior' groups they were able
to give us fine selections from both
'over-18' and senior groups, the former
being made up of musicians in their late
teens and early 20's, and the latter being
somewhat more mature.
The 'family items' include one where
Donncha 6 Muineachain dances a neat
hornpipe to music supplied by his son
Fiachra, and the instrumental solos
include a splendid fonn mall ' Amhran
na Leabhar' on the fiddle by Eimear
Burke, fine solos on the fiddle by Colm
Keane and on the box by D6nal Regan;
plu s a heart-lifting se lection of reels by
that great young piper, Conor McKeon.
Paddy Fallon throws in a few of his best
bodhran stories, and there are two well
sung traditional songs - all in all a very
enjoyable session from the Sean Treacy
Craobh. The title (of the CD) is Idir an
Da Linn.
Incidentally, copies of the CD or cassette
are available from Siopa na Culturlainne
or from Runaf na Craoibhe, - Helen Uf
Mhuineachain (01-8463479).
Irish
Wooden Flutes
Ltd
(Tom Ganley)
The title for this
year's Tour
Group cassette
comes from a
poem by the
19th century poet
Arthur W. E. O'Shaughnessy.
The opening verse is often quoted.
It goes as follows -
We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers
And sitting by desolate streams:
World losers and world foresakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.
The musicians featured in the group
recordings (side 1, item 2 and side
2, item 9) are Padraig O' Neill of
Dublin on fiddle; Eirn McGeown
of Craigavon, Co. Armagh on fiddle;
D6nal Regan of Dublin on
accordion and Martin O'Connell
of Brosna, Co. Kerry also on
accordion. Barra McAllister of
Dublin and Colm O' Donnell of
Aclare, Co. Sligo on concert flutes;
Padraig Butler of Kilmanagh,
Co. Kilkenny on the pipes; Kate
Marquis of Carrickmacross,
Co. Monaghan on banjo; Trfona
Hayes of Tralee on concertina and
R6isln Hambly cif Gla'remorris,
Co. Mayo on the harp. ,Ail! these
also contribute instrumental solos.
Colm O' Donnell (listed above) also
sings a song, and our female singer
is Kathleen Ford of Letterkenny,
Co. Donegal. Our seanchaf
(traditional storyteller) is Daisy
Kearney from Ballyhahill,
Co. Limerick.

In Pursuit of eradition
.!:::
l
13arbara Ennis Price
to a suitable air from his
vast repertoire.
Seam us Ennis
any members of the
7ffi: ( 1/ Comhaltas w ill be familiar
J .1 ~ with the name and
accomplishments of Seamus Enni s and,
as one of his sisters, I am happy to find
that his memory is alive and well in the
area of his experti se in the Ireland of
today.
I enj oyed reminiscing recently w ith an
old family friend who knew us all when
we were growing up at Jamestown, in
North County Dublin, and I reca lled a
tri p I had made w ith Seamus a good few
years ago now. He was then collecting
traditional music and song for the
Folklore Commi ssion, spending most of
hi s time in the Gaeltacht areas of Kerry,
Galway and Donega l, collecting and
recording, particularl y from the older
generati on, before it would be lost
forever. I was based in England at the
time, but returned home frequently,
always looking forward to the
enjoyment of the music and song which
were so much a part of our family life.
I
Denis Murphy
There was nothing to compare w ith it
across the Irish sea in the atmosphere
of gloom and deprivation of that postwa
r period.
It was late summer, towards the end of
August, w hen Seamus suggested I join
him on a trip, to leave the next day. I
remember that night he and my father
vied w ith each other, surpassing
themselves as they perform ed on pipes,
fiddle and flute, with the odd
interchange - almost a conversation -
to prove a point on tin whistles.
We set off next morning in the big
square Ford that Seamus drove,
complete with his notebooks and
recording equipment - and of course
his pipes in the black leather case,
lined w ith green baize.
O n ou r way through Dublin we
stopped to pick up a friend, Dinny
Cronin. Dinny (Donnacha 6 Cr6infn)
was Professor of Irish at Ca rysfort
Training College, and he, together with
M yles Dillon, Senior Professor at the .
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies,
produced 'Teach Yourself Irish'.
We were now on the way to Macroom,
w here we would stay w ith Sean Cronin,
Dinny's brother. As we drove th rough
towns and villages Seamus had a song
for each one - and if not, he quickly
improvised with his extraordinary
ability as an instant versifier, his
impromptu verse immediately married
Sean Cronin made us
welcome in M acroom, as
l1tII.lt;;!tillllj did his mother, Mrs
Eli zabeth Cronin at her
house in Ballyvourney. She was a great
singer and had provided Seamus with
two or three hundred songs for his
collection. The next day pipers and
fiddlers gathered there to play and sing
in the open ai r - a lively scene in the
summer sun.
We left Macroom to travel on to Kerry,
w here to drove up a mountain to
collect Denis Murphy, of Sliabh
Luachra fame, and his fiddle. There his
mother gave us rashers and eggs,
brow n soda bread and jam, and pots of
tea - gourmet food in the fresh
mountain air.
With Dinny and Denis safely aboard
we set off for Dingle w here we stayed
at the Benners Hotel, arriving in time
for lunch. Here aga in Seamus was
welcomed, as we were, in his orbit.
There was a good sess ion of music in
the bar during the afternoon, and aga in
in the evening w hen further guests
arrived. These included Dylan and
Ca itlin Thomas, together w ith thei r
entourage, which consisted of awesome
literary folk like themse lves.
The craic was great that night. Seamus
was in great form, singi ng and pl aying,
and many of the guests rose to the
occas ion, as anyone w ho w ished, and
had something to contribute, was
encouraged to take the floor. At one
stage silence was called for, as Dylan
Thomas w ished to give a reading from
his poetry, but when he finished the
party began again with renewed energy.
11

'Craditional
Music Exams
for Britain
The Irish trad itional music
examination structure of RI AM/CCE
w ill be extended to Brita in in 2001.
Senator Labhras 6 Murchu, Or John
O'Conor and M fchea l 6 hEidhin
w ill travel to Britain in January to
meet w ith teachers in several areas.
The dates are the 4th to the 7th
January (Thurs. - Glasgow; Fri. -
Manchester; Sat. - Birmingham, Sun .
- London).
Since the launch of the new
Irish Traditional Music Sy llabus the
President Mary M cAleese over 3,000
musicians have sat the exa mination
in Ireland. This is expected to ri se to
5,000 in the very near future. At the
launch ceremony in Dublin Castl e
Pres ident M cAleese sa id that 'it is
enlightening and reassuring to see
two such wonderful and worthy
institutions working in co-operati on
to help susta in and maintain
sta ndard s of excellence in relation to
Irish traditional music - Ni neart go
chur le cheile. '
tr,\(lition.11 IllUSIC SI 1I,1bus rlelt to right Dr lohn 0 (onor, RI \I, (lL'nlent Ma(SLllbhnl',
CCE, and Dr Tom" , 6 C1n.1lnn . 'ince that Iltfi( iall,lunch, mer 1,000 music i,lIls h,1\('
alrl'acly sat thl' (' amination

collapsed abruptly and a red crest
appeared where the knife van ished into
the wave. No more wind remained then
that wou ld be at the spout of a kettle.
The sails flapped to and fro in the still air.
The vessel stayed as if at anchor from
noon that day until the same hour the
day after. The capta in climbed to the
crow's nest looking about w ith a glass
and he very glad that he still had the
Irishman. Suddenly he ca lled down to
him that a wonder was to be seen that
day such as he himself had never seen
before nor had anyone else - rider on a
white horse com ing over the sea from
the North West. They stood side by side
watching the rider until it was clear to
them that he was making for the ship.
They onl y had time to drop the ladder
gentlema n, 'that I am seeking and I give
you my hand and my word that I wi ll
bring him back safe and sound to you
before a day is out. In the mea ntime
your vessel will not stir an in ch this
way or that from where she is now until
we come back aga in'.
'On that understand ing you ca n take
him', said the captain .
The gentleman gave the Irishman a
sea-cap and put him on the croup of
the horse. They headed north west
from the vesse l until the captain lost
sight of them.
He bought her a farm of land, cattle
and stock, and he built her a grand big
house. However he was onl y a month
at home w hen he began to fail. None
gi rl on a white horse there but a sudden
sf goath flitting across the sunlit fie lds
blocked her view. When it passed there
was onl y the sparkling ocean. With a
sigh she looked back. At first she
thought he was sleepi ng he looked so
peaceful but he himself was away in
the fairy w ind.
This story was co llected at the Belfast
Harp Festiva l. Caitlfn Tri ail or Kitty
Tyrrell, was from Arklow. Eamon a
Buic a tailor with a thousand stories -
told this story about 1940, he heard it
from hi s father fifty yea rs ea rli er.
This translation of the story to English
is by Micheal Ross of Monkstown, Co.
Dublin. Go raibh mile maith agat, a
Mhichfl.
into position when a gentleman,
resplendent in gold braid came up. He
jumped off the horse and climbed up
on board.
He retired with the captain to hi s cabin .
There he told the captain that he had
come to ask a favour for twenty-four
hours. The captain told him that there
was no favour on board the vessel that
he would refuse him save one - 'That is
the Irishman', said he, 'a nd I will not
part with him'.
'That's the same man ', sa id the
of the cures he mother was mak ing
cou ld halt hi s decline. He was
w ithdrawn living in a world of hi s own.
He was forever compos ing a haunting
song in honour of Ca itilfn Triall and
neither hi s mother nor any of the
neighbours knew who she was. It was
exactly a yea r w hen his mother saw
him relax, happy as last that his song
was completed. He sa ng it for her w ith
great tendern ess and with shining face.
As he finished something ca ught her
eye flashing from the distant coral
beach. She could have sworn she saw a
15

An tUaehtar6n i Leae Sn6mha
The Pres ident unve ils the newly engraved pl aque, commemorating her visit ot Li xnaw. She
is watched by Pat Dennehy (Chairman), El ea nor McE lli gott (Secretary) and Dr Martin
McAleese.
SA
mf Bealtaine s,eo
ca ite thug
achtaran na hEireann, Maire
Mhic Ghi oll a rosa cua irt ar an
gComhaltas iLeac Snamha, Co. Chi arra f.
San oraid mhol sf an Comhaltas agus a
shaothar mar seo lean as:
Ta an-athas orm bheith i Leic Snam ha
trathnona chun a bheith pairteach i
gce iliuradh daichead (40) bliain de
Chomhaltas Ceoltoirf Eireann i Leic
Snamha, agus chun na seomraf nua ata
curtha leis an gCeolan n a osca ilt go
hoifigiCli1.
Tui gim nac h raibh aon Uac htaran na
hEirea nn eile i Leic Snamha go dtf seo,
agus cuireann se sin ionad h orm mar ta
an sraidbha il e agus an paroiste go
hail eann, agus lan de amhranafochta.
Ba choir do chraobh Leic Sn amha de
Chomhaltas Ceo ltoi rf Eirea nn a bheith
brodu il as an meid ata ba inte amach
aga ibh le daichead bliain anu as chun an
cultur ghaelach a chur ch un cinn sa
chea nntar. Tui gim go bhfuil ar
mbufochas go leir tuillte d'fhear amhain,
nach bhfui l linn anois, se sin Diarmuid
6 Cathain, iar-U achtara n Chomhaltas
Ceo ltoirf Eireann. Ta a fhios aga m go
bhfua ir Diarmu id bas trf bliana a shin
ach ta a bh ean cheile, Phil, linn inniu.
Pres ident McA leese cutting th e 40th
Anniversa ry ca ke w ith the Chairman of
the Branch, Mr Pat Dennehy.
It is recorded, during the earl y 1700's
that Anne Petty, the onl y daughter of Sir
Willi am Petty and w ife of Th omas
Fitzmaurice, 21 st Lord of Kerry, once
remarked that:
" th ere are two places in the realm worth
living in, London and Lixnaw"
We might take issue over London, but I
have no argument w ith her about
Li xnaw. With its legendary reputation on
th e hurling pitch and for music, it is
today even more worth li ving in .
John Whyte, Mar ia Co nway, Th eresa
Wall ace and Monty Boyd perfo rm for the
Pres ident.
w ill be ce leb rating its 50 th anni versary
in 2001, but not too many branches ca n
say th at they have given 40 continuous
years of dedi ca ted serv ice to the
promotion of Irish traditional music,
song, dance and the Irish language.
Over the past 40 years Comhaltas in
Li xnaw has brought out the best in the
community, it has linked the young
people with those w ho are not so young,
and has created great community sp irit
in the parish. It has brought the gift of
music into the hea rt of the people and
ensured that a new generation w ill take
ownership of that gift in turn. You should
be very proud here in Li xnaw of hav ing
ac hi eved this distinction.
O n occasions like this we reca ll the
great people in the branch w ho have
give n so many yea rs of dedicated
service to Com haltas here in Li xnaw. A
warm thank you is owed to all of them -
to th ose here today and to others w ho
are no longer with us. But one name
sta nds above all the rest, and all of you
here in Li xnaw know to whom I am
referrin g - Diarmuid 6 Cathain, w ho
Com haltas Ceoltoi rf Eireann nationally
11-
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seisiun 2000
Siamsaiocht Ghaelach ardchaighdeanach
7) /
' eirigh go han-mhaith le
SEISIU N chun sraith forl eathan
de shiamsafocht Ghae lach a
chur ar fail ins na ceithre cuigf agus
beidh tionchur leanunach ag SEISIUN
ar chomhphairtfocht agus ca ighdean.
Roghnafodh daoine le taithf chun dui i
mbun leirithe. D'eagrafodh Comhdhail
agus cursaf do leiritheoirf dfrithe ar an
chaighdean agus proifisiunchas a chothu.
• Bhf idir deichniur agus fi che cuig
ball in gach grupa.
• Roghnafodh na baill ar bhonn
chaighdea in agus eagsul achta.
• Dhein gach grupa sea foirmea lta a
mhair timpeall uair a chloig.
Leanadar ansin le se isiun neamhfh
oirmea lta (a mhair timpea ll uair a
chloig eil e) agu s bh f sea ns ag an
lucht eisteachta (idir Gaeil agus
cuairteo ir0 pairt a ghl acadh sa n
siamsafocht - ceo l, amhranafocht,
scea lafocht agus rin ce.
• Bhf beim curtha ar thraidisiClin agus
feiniulac ht an chea nntair.
Chabhraigh se sea le duchas an
chea nnta ir in a raibh SEI SIUN ar
siCiI agus do chabhraigh se go mar
le heags ul ac ht a choth u i measc na
grupaf ar fud na tfre.
An Ghaeilge
Bh f gradam larnach ag an Gaeilge sa n
ti onsca dal agus do chabhraigh cruth
dha-th ea ngach SEI SIU N go mar le cur
chun cinn na Gae ilge i mea sc an
phoba il ins na ce ithre cuigf.
Bhf an Ghae ilge go mar chun tosa igh nf
amhain ins na seoanna ach mar theanga
labhartha ag an lu cht stiurtha agus lucht
eisteachta.
Bhf an fografochtlpoiblfocht dhath
ea ngach agus bhf se sea dea nta go
proifisiunta
ar leibhea l naisiunta agus sca ipte go
forl eath an in s na hoifigf turasoireachta,
siopaf, oifigf sri, ar fud na tfre.
Bhf na mea n chumarsa ide (go mar mhor
nu ac htain agus raidio aiti CIiI) anfhl
aithiuil a thaobh poiblfochta de.
• Do lea n an ti onscadal a
Mheitheamh go M ea n Fomh air.
Bhf 382 seoa nn a ar fad.
• Bhf isteach is amac h le 550
pairteach i SEISIUN 2000.
lonaid
Portl airge (Ostan Dooley); Tra U
(Du chas); Tull ac h Mhor (Ostan an
Dro ichid); Sli geach (O stan Tower);
Ca isea l Mumhan (Bru Boru); Seipea l na
Ca rraige (Bruach na Ca rraige); Renvyle
(An Teach Cheoil); Baile Atha Cliath
(C ulturlann ); Po rtl aoise (Ostan
Kill eshin); Ma Rua (Halla Muintir na
Tire); Muineachan (O stan Hillgrove);
Mota (Dun na S0; Lios Tuathail (An
tl onad Liteardha agus Chulturtha); Inis
Chorthaidh (Ostan Murphy-Fl ood);
Inis (Co is na hAb hna); Dungarbhain
(Ostan na Pa irce); Goirtfn (Co leman
Ce ntre); Ba ile na Cuirte (Ostan
Bayview); Eoc haill (Ostan Wa iter
Raleigh); Dro ichea d Atha (Ostan
Westco urt).
Torthai
• Bh f daoine in ann teacht go
heasca ar shiamsa focht Ghaelach
ard chaighdeanac h, le cur i
lath air proifisiunta, ar fu d na tfre
agus ar feadh treimhse fada .
• Bhf an Ghae ilge amuigh i measc
an phoba il agus i dtimpea ll acht
fabhrach agus nad urth a.
• Tu gadh ardan do shlua mh or
ceo ltoirf, amhranaithe agus
rinceo irf a gcumas proi fisiunta
agus ar n-oidhreacht chu Iturtha
saibhir a leiriu do Ghaeil agus
cuairteo irf.
• Bhf SEI SIUN ar siCiI nf amhain ins
na haiteacha mora ach in aiteac ha
beaga chomh maith - aiteacha go
mbfonn nea mhaird dea nta ortha
uairea nta agus do chruthaigh na
haiteacha sea go mai th sa n
ti onscadal.
• Do dh ein gach grupa taighde agus
cur i lathai r ar thraidisiuin aitiula
agus bhf aird an phobail sin dfri the
ar shaibhreas a nduchais fe in .
• Chomh maith leis an deontas on
Ardoifig bh f ar na grupaf ciste a
sholathair doibh fe in agus d'eirigh
lea e sea a dheanamh tre urrafocht,
teacht isteach srI.
• Ar deireadh "an tseasuir" ta grClpaf
siamsa fochta oilte eagraithe agus ar
fa il anois in s na ceithre cuigf le
haghaidh imeachtaf, ca idrea mh
poiblf, ocaidf lainsea la.
19

Three in a row: Padraig don lon, leader of the Tain Ceilf Band
receives the winning Ceilf Band trophy for 2000.
Co. na hlarmhf; 15/18: 1 st Colm
Canning, CCE, Irish Minstrels;
2nd Lorraine Nf Orcain, CCE,
Beal Atha na Muice, Co. Mhuigh
Eo; Snr: 1 st P61 6 Morain, CCE,
Cora Finne, Co. na Gaillimhe;
2nd Colm Col fer, CCE, Bannow,
Co. Loch Garman; 3rd Tomas 6
Tuathail, CCE, Ca isleain
a'Bharraigh, Co. Mhaigh Eo
BANJO: Fe 12: 1 st Donna Nic
Aodha, CCE, Warrenpoint, Co.
an Duin; 2nd lisa Nf Chaithnia,
CCE, Baile an Dai ghin, Co .
Mhuigh Eo; 3rd Seana Nf
Loingsigh, Lacken, Ballinagh,
Co. an Chabhain; 12/15: 1st
Stiofan 6 Maidfn, CCE, Doora­
Barefield, Co. an Chlair; 2nd
Daire Mac Eoghain, CCE,
Clanbrass il, Co. Ard Mhacha;
3rd Eamon 6 Faolain, CCE,
Biorra, Co. Uibh Fhailf; 15/18:
1 st Cfodhna Nf Choisdealbha,
CCE, Ros Cre, Co. Thiobraid
Arann; 2nd P61 'ac an Ultaigh,
CCE, Michael Davitt, Co.
Mhuigh Eo; 3rd Aisling Neville,
CCE, Ballydonoghue/Lisselton,
Co. Chiarraf; Snr: 1 st Kerri Nf
Oireachtaigh, CCE, Fred Finn,
Co. Shligigh; 2nd Kate Marquis,
CCE, Aughnamullen, Co.
Mhuineachain; 3rd Sean Mac
Fhinn, Ma Rua/Ceapach Mh6r,
Co. Luimnigh
MANDOLfN: Fe 12: 1 st Aodh 6
Neill, CCE, Baile Mhic an Aba,
Co. Ard Mhacha; 2nd Seana Nf
Loingsigh, Ballinagh, Co. an
Chabhai n; 3rd Doireann Nf
Labhraf, CCE, Beaumont, Baile
Atha Cliath; 12/15: 1 st Matthew
Griffin, CCE, St. Albans; 2nd
Daire Mac Eoghain, CCE,
Clanbrassil, Co. Ard Mhacha;
3rd Gillian Nf Fhaolain, CCE,
Biorra, Co. Uibh Fhailf; 15/18:
1 st Cora McGee, CCE, Emyvale,
Co. Mhuineachain; 2nd Pierce
Geoghegan, CCE, Tarbert, Co.
Chiarraf; 3rd P61 'ac an Ultaigh,
CCE, Michael Dav itt, Co.
Mhui gh Eo; Snr: 1 st Kate
Marquis, CCE, Aughnamullen,
Co. Mhuineachain; 2nd
Bernadette Connaghton, CCE,
Cluain Tarbh, Baile Atha Cliath;
3rd Aaron McSorley, CCE,
Galbally, Co. Thfr Eoghain
PIANO: Fe 12: 1 st Denis 6
Maoldomhnaigh, CCE, Tulla, Co.
an Chlair; 2nd Susan Nf
Mhuilleoir, CCE, Mountmelli ck,
Co. Laois; 3rd julian Nf
Mhaoldomhnaigh, CCE, Tulla,
Co. an Chl air; 12/15: 1st
Damien 6 Raghnallaigh, CCE,
Corofin, Co . an Chlair; 2nd
Karen Breathnach, Stradone, Co.
an Chabhain; 3rd Patricia
O' Grady, CCE, St. Wilfrid's;
15/18: 1 st Ronan Mac Giolla
Mheasn6g, CCE, Dromore, Co.
Thfr Eoghain; 2nd Adele Farre ll ,
CCE, O'Carolan; 3rd Michele Nf
Mhaolcathaigh, CCE, Teampall a
Ghleanntain, Co. Luimnigh; Snr:
1 st Ita Nf Chuinneagain, CCE,
Ath Cinn, Co. na Gaillimhe; 2nd
jacqueline Nf Cionaodha, CCE,
Eamonn 6 Muirf, Co.
Mhuineachain, 3rd Nora
Kavanagh, CCE, Ferns, Co. Loch
Garman
MELODEON: Fe 12: 1 st Crfona
Nf Mhaoilchr6in, CCE, Gort na
mB6, Co . Mh aigh Eo; 2nd
Laurence Linane, CCE, St.
Alban's; 3rd Christfn Nf
Chathasaigh, CCE, Bannow,
Loch Garman; 12/15: 1 st
Stiofain 6 Cearuil, CCE, Cill
Chuimin, Co. Chiarraf; 2nd
Daire Mulhern, CCE, Doora­
Barefield, Co. an Chlair; 3rd
Janine Redmond, CCE, Cr.
Naithf, Baile Atha Cliath; 15/18:
1 st Clive Earley, CCE, Doora­
Barefield, Co. an Chlair; 2nd
Maureen linnane, CCE, St.
Alban's; 3rd Caitrfona Nf Bhroin,
CCE, Aughrim, Co. Chill
Mhantain; Snr: 1 st Sharon Nf
Chearbhall, CCE, Kilcormac, Co.
Uibh Fhailf; 2nd Sean Bass, CCE,
Carraig Teabhra, Co. Loch
Garman; 3rd Damien 6
Congha il e, CCE, Doora-
Barefield, Co. an Chlair
BODHRAN: Fe 12: 1 st Daniel
Griffen, CCE, St. Alban's; 2nd
Kiera Byrne, 259, 5. Park Ave,
Wheeling IL 60090, USA; 3rd
Donncha 6 Co ileain, CCE, Cora
Finne, Co. na Gaillimhe; 12/15:
1 st Ea monn 6 Muirf, CCE,
Loughbeg, Co. Aontroma; 2nd
Sean 6 Neill, CCE, Newcastle,
Co. an Duin; 3rd Ruth
McKiernan, CCE, Sean Treacy,
Baile Atha Cliath; 15/18: 1 st
Crist6ir Mac Giolla Eoin, CCE,
Loughbeg, Co. Aontroma; 2nd
! Chris Weddle, CCE, St. Louis
Irish Arts, USA; 3rd Marian Nf
Choilea in, CCE, Ath a'Caoi re,
Co. Chorcaf; Snr: 1 st Sean 6
Dul aing, CCE, Osraf, Cill
Chainnigh; 2nd Aindreas Mac
Daibhf, CCE, Baile an Mhota,
Co. Shligigh; 3rd Alan 6 Luain,
CCE, Dun M6r, Co. na Gaillimhe
pfOB MH6R: Fe 12: 1 st Conor
McCallion, Cookstown, Co. Thfr
Ita Cun ningham - 1 st senior
fiddle
Eoghain; 12/15: 1st Sean 6
Maoldomhnaigh, CCE, Ca isleain
Uf Chonaill/AhanelBaile fobairt,
Co. Luimni gh; 2nd Dani el
McCann, CCE, Irvinstown, Co.
Fhearmanaigh; 3rd Michelle Nic
Gabhann, Cookstown, Co. Thfr
Eoghain; 15/18: 1st Dav id
Markey, Scotshouse, Co.
Mhuineachain; Snr: 1 st Danny
Houlihan, CCE, Ballydonoghuel
lisselton, Co. Chiarraf
ROGHA GHLEAS: Fe 12: 1 st
Eibhlin Nf Ealaf, CCE, Teampall a
Ghleanntain, Co. Luimnigh; 2nd
Clfona Nf Chrighain, CCE,
Cast I eco n ne II 1 Aha ne/B a i le
fobairt, Co. Luimnigh; 3rd Mark
Gillooley, CCE, Irish Minstrels;
12/15: 1 st Niamh Nf Dhuin,
CCE, Ma Rua/Ceapach M6r, Co.
Luimnigh; 2nd Eamon 6
Faolain, CCE, Biorra, Co. Uibh
Fhai lf; 3rd joanne Hughes, CCE,
Galbally, Co. Thfr Eoghain;
15/18: 1 st Cora McGee, CCE,
Emyva le, Co. Mhuineachain;
2nd Orla Blundell, CCE, Cluain
Tarbh, Baile Atha Cliath; 3rd
Padraig 6 Domhnaill, CCE, Ma
Ru a/Ceapach Mh6r, Co.
Luimnigh; Snr: 1 st Sean Bass,
CCE, Carraig Teabhra, Co. Loch
Garman; 2nd Michael Cull y,
CCE, Rhode, Co. na hlarmhf; 3rd
Brendan Reah, CCE, Derrytresk,
Co. Thfr Eoghain
DRUMAf cEIU: Fe 12: 1 st
Eimear Colwell, Ballyjamesduff,
Co. an Chabhai n; 2nd Samantha
Nic Charthaigh, CCE,
Ballydonoghue/lisselton,
Co.
Chiarraf; 3rd Dara 6 h-Ealaf,
CCE, Caislean a'Bharraigh, Co.
Mhaigh Eo; 12/15: 1 st Darra
McCarra, CCE, Eamon 6 Muirf,
Co. Mhuineachain; 2nd Stiofan
6 Marcachain, CCE, Abbey, Co.
An Chlair; 3rd Colm Gavin,
Oldcastle, Co. na Mf; 15/18: 1 st
Sharon Nic Charthaigh, CCE,
Ba llydonoghue/Lesselton, Co.
Chiarraf; 2nd Stephen O'Neill,
CCE, johnny Doherty; 3rd Colm
Canning, CCE, Irish Minstrels;
Snr: 1 st Brian Breathnach, CCE,
Carrickmacross,
Co.
Mhuineachain; 2nd Aidan
Flood, CCE, Edgesworthstown,
Co. Longfort; 3rd Seamus 6
Caomhanaigh, CCE, Inis
C6rthaidh, Co. Loch Garman
TIONlACAN: Fe 12: 1st lisa Nf
Chaithniaidh, CCE,
Ba ile an
Daighin, Co. Mhuigh Eo; 2nd
Sean 6 Neill, cct
Ballymacnab, Co. Ard Mhacha;
3rd Niam Corcoran, cct
Bannow, Co. Loch Garman;
, 12115: 1 st Darren Magee, CCE,
Warrenpoint, Co. an Duin; 2nd
Deirdre Nf Mhuirf, CCE,
Loughbeg, Co. Aontroma; 3rd
Se6aine Nf Fhlannaga in, CCE,
Ath Cinn, Co. na Gaillimhe;
15/18: 1 st Mfcheal 6 Ruairc,
CCE, Tulla, Co. an Chlair; 2nd
Miche lle Nf Mhaolcathaigh,
CCE, Teampaill a'Ghleanntain,
Co . Luimnigh; 3rd Rya n 6
Maolmhuaidh, CCE, Galbally,
Co. Thfr Eoghain; Snr: 1 st Sean
6 Fearghaill, CCE, Naomh
Mhichfl, Co. Luimnigh; 2nd
Micheal Mac Donnchadh, CCE,
Eamon 6 Muirf, Co.
Mhuineachain; 3rd Michell e
O'Leary, CCE, St. Wilfrid's
VEIDHLfN FOINN MHALLA: Fe
12: 1 st Mairead Furlong, CCE,
11
---------------------------------------------------------------

:...
.:;
....
:..>
Eo-
Ga illimhe; 3rd Ca itrfo na N f
Dhonnghaile, CC E,
Warrenpoint, Co. an Duin;
12/15: 1st Noll aig Nf Laoire,
CCE, Dun Doire, Co. na Mf; 2nd
Abhril Nf Luachra, CC E, Cill
M6ibh f, Bea lach a' Doirfn, Co.
M haigh Eo; 3rd Deirdre
Breathn ach, cct M fn na Croise,
Co. Dhun na nGa ll; 15/18: 1 st
fde Nic Mhathuna, Cr. Na ithf,
Baile Atha Cli ath; 2nd Emma Nf
Choille, cct Cr. Na ithf; 3rd
Sharon Nf Bhuachalla, CCE,
Moyvane/K noc kanure, Co .
Chi arraf; Snr: 1 st Karen N f
Thrinsigh, CCE, Li os Tuath ail ,
Co . Chi arraf; 2nd Astrid N f
M honga in, CCE, Christ6ir Uf
Chearn aigh, Co. Mhaigh Eo; 3rd
Brfd de Paor, CCE, Na
Comaraigh, Co. Phort Lairge
AMHRAN GAEllGE FIR: Fe 12:
1 st Proinnsias 6 Ga llach6ir,
CCE, M fn na Croi se, Co. Dhun
na nGa ll; 2nd Muiris Mac
Ma th una, CCE, Rathcairn, Co.
na Mf; 3rd Tadhg 6 Donnchu,
CCE, Glea nn Fl eisce, Co .
Chiarraf; 12/15: 1 st Tom as 6
Gliasa in, CCE, Paddy O' Brien
Ormond, Co. Thiobraid Arann;
2nd Aodh Breathnach, CCE Mfn
na Croise, Co. Dhun na nGa ll;
3rd Ferdi a 6 Monga in, CCE,
Craobh Chriost6ir Uf
Chea rn aigh, Co. M haigh Eo;
15/18: 1 st Tadhg 6 Meachair,
CCE, Roscre, Co. Thiobraid
Arann; 2nd Fiachra 6 Monga in,
cct Craobh Chriost6ir Uf
Chearn aigh, Co. Mhaigh Eo;
Sea n 6 Riain, cct Ca isea l
Mumhan, Co. Thiobraid Arann;
Snr: 1 st Traolach 6 Conghaile,
cct Ca th air na Mart, Co.
M haigh Eo; 2nd Eanna 6
Cath ain, CCE, Cr. na bPiobairf
Uillea nn, Baile Atha Cliath; 3rd
Padraig 6 Co il ea in, CCE,
Beanntraf, Co. Chorca f
AMHRAN BEARlA MNA: Fe 12:
1 st Crfo na Nf Mhao ilchr6in,
CCE, Gort na mB6, Co. Mhaigh
Eo; 2nd Deni se Donnelly, CCE,
Bannow, Co. Loch Garm an; 3rd
Alana Henderso n, CCE,
Derrytresk, Co. Thfr Eoghain;
12/15: 1 st Aine Maire Nf
Chaomh anaigh,
CCE,
Borri so leigh, Co . Thi obraid
Arann; 2nd Tara Mulvihill, CCE,
Moyva ne/ Kn ockanure, Co.
Chi arraf; 3rd El aine Nf
Ghli asa in, CC E, Bannow, Co.
Loch Garm an; 15/18: 1 st Seana
Nf Mhaolain, cct Phil Rooney,
Co. Dhun na nGall; 2nd Laura
Deegan, cct Kil cormac, Co.
Kevin O'Farrell - 1st uilleann
pipes under 12
Uibh Fhaili; 3rd Brenda Nic an
Mhaoir, cct Ros Comain; Snr:
1 st Astrid Ni Mhonga in, CCE, Cr.
Chriost6ir Uf Chea rnaigh, Co.
Mhuigh Eo; 2nd M aire Ni
Cheilleac hairi cct Cr.
Thrao laigh Mhic Suibhne,
Corca igh; 3rd Ciara Nf
Bhranaga in, CCE, Tul ach Sarain,
Co. Ard Mhacha
AMHRAN BEARlA FIR: Fe 12:
1 st Oisin 6 Corraga in, cct
Carri gdhoun, Co. Chorca f; 2nd
Seamus McKenney, CCE,
Belcoo, Co. Fhearmanaigh; 3rd
Eoin 6 Domhnaill, cct
Sligeach Th eas, Co. Shligigh;
12/15: 1st Brian 6 Floinn, CCE,
Camross, Co. Laois; 2nd Sean 6
Cleirigh, CCE, Ballinascreen, Co.
Doire; 3rd Colm Considine,
CCE, Doora-Barefield, Co. an
Chl air; 15/18: 1 st Tadhg 6
Meachair, CCE, Ros Cre, Co.
Thiobraid Arann; 2nd Pilib 6
Cleirigh, CC E, Cl aonadh, Co.
Chill Dara; 3rd Tomas 6
hAodha, CCE, Cora Finne, Co.
na Ga illimhe; Snr: 1 st Seamus
Brogan, CCE, SI. Alban's; 2nd
Henry 6 Donnell, CCE,
Portarlington, Co. Laois; 3rd
Peadar Sherry, cct Emyvale,
Co. Mhuineachain
FEADAll: Fe 12: 1st Brian 6
M aoldomhn aigh, CCE, Uaran
M6r, Co. na Gaillimhe; 2nd
Mairead Nf Ch6rradain, CCE,
Teampaill a' Ghl eanntain, Co.
Luimnigh; 3rd Donncha 6
Mhuimhneachain, cct Gleann
Fleisce, Co. Chiarraf; 12/15: 1 st
Lorraine Ni Orga in, cct
Ballybunion, Co. Chiarrai; 2nd
l ames Bridges, CCE, Craobh
Ril ey, USA; 15/18: 1 st Tadhg 6
Meachair, CCE, Ros Cre, Co.
Thiobraid Arann; 2nd Peadar 6
Corcraigh, CC E, Bannow, Co.
Loch Garman; Snr: 1 st Sean Mac
Domhnaill, CCE, Mullach Coill
Sa lach, Co . Mhaigh Eo; 2nd
Sea n White, CCE, Bannow, Co.
Loc h Ga rm an; 3rd Clar Nf
Dhochartaigh, cct Bell aghy,
Co. Doire
PORTAIREACHT: Fe 12: 1st
Damhnait Nic Chi onaodha,
CC E, Ea mon 6 Muirf,
M uineachan; 2nd Mairead Nf
Chorradain, cct Tea mpall
a'G hl ea nntain, Co. Luimnigh;
3rd Aoife Colfer, cct Bannow,
Co. Loch Garman; 12/15: 1 st
Rachell e Nf Mhiobhain, CCE,
Leim an Bhradain, Co. Chill
Dara; 2nd Ca itrfona Nf
Choilea in, CCE, Ath a Caoire,
Co. Chorca f; 3rd Ceilf Nf
Ghaibhfn, cct Ca islea n
a' Bharraigh, Co. Mhaigh Eo;
15/18: 1st Leol a Lillis, CC E,
Doora-Barefi eld, Co. an Chlair;
2nd Tadhg 6 Meachair, CC E,
Ros Cre, Co. Thiobraid Arann;
3rd Ciara Brennan, CCE, Cr. na
bPi obairf Uilleann, Baile Atha
Cliath; Snr: 1 st Sea n 6
Cath alain, CCE, An Gleann, Co.
Luimnigh; 2nd Cl ar Nf
Dhochartaigh, CCE, Bell aghy,
Co. Doire; 3rd Leo Carty, cct
Piercestown, Co. Loch Garman
AMHRAN NUA CEAPTHA
GAEllGE: Aon Aois: 1 st Maiti as
6 Gormaile, cct Tuaim, Co. na
Gaillimhe; 2nd Brenda Nf
Shuilleabhain, Rathcoole, Baile
Ath a Cliath
AMHRAN NUA CEAPTHA
BEARlA: Aon Aois: 1 st Colm 6
Domhnaill, CCE, Sligeach Theas,
Co. Shligigh; 2nd D6nal 6
Cath ain, cct M oyvanel
Knockanure, Co. Chiarraf; 3rd
Bruce Scott, CCE, Liverpool
COMHRA GAEllGE: Fe 9: 1 st
Brfdfn Nf Mhaoldomhnaigh,
CCE, Mfn na Croi se, Co. Dhun
na nG all; 2nd Eoin 6
Suilleabhain, Corr na M6na, Co.
na Gaillimhe; 3rd Grainne Nf
Mhaidfn, CCE, Dun Doire, Co.
na Mf; 9/11: 1st Sfl e Nf
Ghallach6ir, CCE, Mf na Croi se,
Co . Dhun na nG all; 2nd
Michelle Nf Bhaoill, Mfn na
Croise, Co. Dhun na nGall; 3rd
M airtfn 6 Rabhartaigh, CC E,
Mfn na Croi se, Co. Dhun na
nGa ll; 11/13: 1st Deirdre
Breathn ach, CCE, Mfn na Croi se,
Co. Dhun na nGall; 2nd Sinead
Breathnach, CCE, Mfn na Croi se,
Co. Dhun na nGall; 3rd Ferdi a 6
Corraga in, CCE, Carrigdhoun,
Co. Chorca f; 13/15: 1 st Ailana
Nf Mhiochain, CCE Leim
a' Bhradain, Co. Chill Dara; 2nd
Aibhril Ni Lu achra, Cill Moibhi,
Co. Mhuigh Eo; 3rd Siobhan de
Coga in, CC E, Gaelcholaiste,
Corcaigh; 15/18: 1st Maire Ni
Mhaolmhichil, An Gleann, Co.
Luimnigh; 2nd Eibhlfn Nic
Aodha, Cloch Cheann Fhaola,
Co. Thir Eoghain; 3rd Aoibhfn Nf
Shuilleabhain, Ca islea in
a' Bharraigh, Co. Mhaigh Eo
Attracta Brady - 1 st slow ai rs on
concert flute
SET DANCING
COMPETITIONS: Under 12: 1 st
cct Ball ydonoghue/Li sselton,
Co. Chiarrai; 2nd Claddagh Set,
Co. Longfort; 3rd SI. Gerard's,
Co. an Chl air; 12/15: 1 st
Shamrock Seit, Co. Longfort; 2nd
Ca islea in na Mainge, Co.
Chi arrai; 3rd Teach Cloverfi eld,
Co. Luimnigh; 15/18: 1 st
Emerald Set, Co. Longfort; 2nd
Kilcummin, Co. Chi arraf; 3rd
Teach, Cloverfi eld, Co.
Luimnigh; Snr ladies: 1 st
Ga lbally/Ball yhoe, Co. Loch
Garm an; 2nd Gleneagle Ladi es,
Co. Chiarraf; 3rd The Rockabill
Set, Baile Atha Cliath; Snr
Mixed: 1 st Abbeyknockmoy, Co.
na Gaillimhe; 2nd Cappawhite,
Co. Thiobraid Arann; 3rd
Gleneagle Set, Co. Chiarraf

Tom Cawley's Jig
Tom Cawley's Jig, and McGreevy's Favourite, were recorded by Johnny McGreevy, a
great fiddl er in Chi cago, where he was born of Mayo and Galway parents. He died in
August, 1990. Tom Cawley's Jig is attributed to a great fiddler from Doocastle, Co. Sli go,
close to the Mayo border near Charlestown, an area w hi ch produced a lot of great
fidd lers, the best known of w hom was the late Johnny Henry .
• 10;ll1 ill ill I ill ill I rE J J1 I rE J JlI ill ill
fJJ J :11 p 1 r r r Et; 1 r r r lEi
~M fir f l(r 1 fTI J P 1 r r r Et; 1 r r r lES 1 fir f It Er
~M f3l ill 1 cU ltJ 1
~M fJJ J :11
McGreevy's Favourite
,-I HJJ3 PEt I iJJJ JWI EID Prer lib) JJj)1 JJ13 Per I
,lllJJj _I [fJ Prer lib) fJ J dlU §r a I HIre rUr I
,11 ErIPrrrr I §% iJJ I er lftfirr I Pfrr fflJ I «n un I
,11 §Q1j n J :11

The Freemantle Rescue
We published this song some years ago but a few more verses have turned up in the
meantime. It tells the true story of the amazing rescue of a group of Fenian prisoners.
They had been transported in 1868 to the penal co lony in Freemantle and a group of
Fenians in the USA. had resolved to rescue them . The rescue involved hiring a ship in
the USA., manning it with Irish sailors - many of them Fenian sympathisers - and
making the twelve thousand mile journey to the Australian coast. The prisoners having
escaped and being taken aboard, a confrontation occurred as described in the song, and
the ship and prisoners returned safely to the USA.
Come all you gallant Irishmen, a noble tale I' ll tell
'Tis of six Fenian prisoners who've been rescued from their cell
Though bound with Saxon manacles in dark Freemantle Jail
They struck a blow for
freedom and for Yankee land set sail.
Come all of you gallant Irishmen, a noble ta le I' ll tell
'Tis of six Fenian prisoners who've been rescued from
their cell
Though bound with Saxon manacles in dark Freemantle Jail
They struck a blow for freedom and for Yankee land
set sail.
2
These six brave Fenian heroes, as you may understand
Had joined the gallant Fenian men to free their native land
They were captured, tried and sentenced and transported
o'er the sea
To suffer hell in their convict cell in Freemantle colony.
3
In 'Amerikay' so far away there were Fenian brave and true
Who at last sent word, which their sp irits stirred saying we
mean to rescue you
There's a boat and crew, and a captain true to Australia
sailing o'er
And on Easter Day you must get away to lone Freemantle
shore.
4
And so in Apri l seventy-six, the Stars and Stripes did fly
Above the ship Catalpa 'neath the Southern tropic sky
Well manned by gallant Fenians led by Captain Anthony
Resolved to take those prisoners to the land of liberty,

Dn"i@li.kMM1iN.iiJ.F J
regular visitor of the USA in later yea rs
after his son (Tommy Junior - a fine
fiddler) settled there in the 1980's
In 1991 Tommy and Kathl ee n decided
to return to West Clare; their three
daughters Jacqueline, Marion and
Bernadette had already established
homes in the Clare/Ga lway area, so
Tommy and Kathleen fin ally settl ed in
Miltown Malbay.
Though Tommy had been ill in 1997 he
recovered we ll and had been in great
form for the next three years. When he
became ill thi s summer he expressed
the w ish to go to Lourdes, and hav ing
always been a great traveller, to think,
with Tommy was to act. His death, in
Lourdes ca me suddenl y enough, and
only shortly after his deep sense of
fulfilment and satisfaction at visiting the
shrine. Th e huge attendance at his
funeral, the bea utiful music at his
funeral mass and the presence of so
many outstanding musicians for the
occas ion were proof of the esteem in
which he was held far and wide.
Tommy was a wonderful companion;
he was kind, good humoured, easy
going, sincere, talented; he was great to
reminisce about old time mu sician
characters, a co untry life. Not only was
he a great mu sician but he was also
one of nature's true gentlemen, and
will be remembered w ith affection and
pride not just by his famil y and close
friends but by the many thousands who
enjoyed him music and his company
down through the yea rs . Is mai th mar a
bhf aoibhneas agus suaimhneas na
flaithis tuillte aige. I gcomhluadar na
Naomh is na n-aingeal go raibh se.
Comholtos 'Crio Lounch New CD
Three well known
Comhaltas personalities
are featured' on a new
CD released by CI6
lar-Chonnachta -
Oisin Mac Diarmada,
Brian Fitzgerald and
Micheal 6 Ruanaigh .
Micheal 6 Ruanaigh
25 year old Micheal
6 Ruanaigh comes
from Scotstown in
County Monaghan.
He has been
playing music from
an early age and
holds All-Ireland titles on concertina
and harp both at senior and junior
levels. Micheal is Producer of several
Comhaltas Tours and has toured
extensively with Comhaltas. He is
Senior Examiner for the Comhaltas/
RIAM examinations. He has
composed two suites of music, and
has also recorded an album of his
own compositions, entitled 'Ocras' .
Oisin Mac Diarmada
Oisfn began playing the fiddle at an
early age while living in Croisin, Co
Clare. Following All-Ireland fiddle
and duet titles at the age of 10, Oisfn,
upon moving to Sligo in 1989,
became interested in the Sligo/Leitrim
style of flute and fiddle playing. He
has also toured extensively with
Comhaltas and participated in many
Comhaltas projects. Oisfn has
recently completed an honors degree
in Music Education in Trinity College
Dublin/RIAM. In addition to regular
performances and radio/television
broadcasts in Ireland and abroad,
Oisfn was Senior All-Ireland Fiddle
Champion in 1999.
Brian Fitzgerald
Brian Fitzgerald hails from Bulgaden,
a small parish near Kilmallock in
south County Limerick. His father,
Tony, is a button accordion player,
and consequently Brian was exposed
to traditional music from the cradl e.
Family outings to music
festivals and fleadhanna were
frequent and Brian began playing
musi c at the tender age of 8.
Amongst those who have influenced
his musical development, Brian cites
his parents, Jimmy Condon, Willie
Larkin, Siobhan Ni Chonarain and
Marcus Moloney, Brian, was Senior
All-Ireland Banjo Champion in 1997
and has also toured extensively with
Comhaltas.
Writing of the CD Padraig 6 Riain,
Oifigeach Cheoil of Comhaltas, states:
... a variety of moods and tunes,
expressed with great feeling and
sensitivity by three young musicians
of exceptional talent and skill. Their
deep respect and love for the music,
th eir perfect tone clarity and highly
personal styles make for compelling
listening.
Writing on the sleeve note, two
renowned trad itional musician, Matt
Cranitch and John Carty, give a
enthusiastic welcome to the new CD.
_________________________________________________ 25

Irish Music, the monthly magaz ine of
folk and tradi ti onal music. Musicians
too have been featurecl on national TV
when they were captured at numerous
street sess ions during Fleadh Cheo il na
hEireann 98 and 99. They have also
appea red on Saturday Li ve. The Senior
Ceilf Band has played on loca l radio
and on RTh Ceilf House.
Many of the branch musicians have
gone on world-w ide tour either as
groups or individuals. Their next
excursion is to Paris in September
where they w ill pl ay at a twinning
ceremony.
Although Bofield has a small rural
branch it is still very progress ive and
offers exams in trad itional music. The
new traditional Irish Music Exa mination
is a joint RIAMlCCE initiative and was
launched by President Mary McAleese
in Dublin Castle 1998. In the year of its
introduction the branch had in excess of
twenty musicians who sat the exam
locall y, and since then th e branch have
had exams twice a year. Technology too
is embraced by the branch, and their
web site: www.bofield.comis currently
being developed. On the site the
viewers will find lots to browse through
and in due course they will be abl e to
down load real audio. With regular
updates planned and links to other sites
being negotiated, visitors to the bofield
page will have instant access to what's
happening at branch level.
A History Publication
Gort na mBo CCE branch is currently
involved in a number of projects
including the publi cation of a book
about the history of music in the area.
The history entitled Bofield a Century of
Song covers the last hundred years of
music and is a celebration for the
millennium. With at least 80 black ancl
white, and thirty co lour illustrations,
not including maps, music manu scripts,
line drawings it is a 'must' for all those
interested regional music and sty les.
As a companion to the publication, two
recordings are been made. Both the
publication and recordings will serve as
essential reference points w ith respect
to traditional music in the area over the
last hundred yea rs. 100 Yea rs A
Growing, is a recording of the Senior
Ceilf Band, and has just been released
by Hummingbird. It is being distributed
by Ritz. The producer was RTh Peter
Browne. The tunes recorded here are a
pleasa nt mixture of older tunes that
were played in the area, present tunes
and some new compositions.
Th e other recording Music from
Bofield, 6 Fhas Go hAois, co nsists of
solos, duets, trios and small groups and
is due for release late r.
Instead of going to a record ing studio
th e Bofield Ceili band opted for a
weeke nd brea k in Lettefrack. They
returned home, refreshed, as one
should be after a break, however they
had an extra bonus - a CD in the can .
Thi s was no accident as they had
planned the event well in advance.
Peter Browne, Producer
Peter Browne, Uilleann piper, flute, and
tin whistle player, record producer,
broadcaster, w riter and lecturer on
traditional music, produced their CD.
He has worked with th e Bothy band,
and recorded two LPs in the 1980's
w ith Philip Kin g. As a broadcaster, he
has produced and presented severa l
J.1-
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Che Boston Green Briar Seisiun
Scott L\larik, 'Che Boston Globe
to the local Irish music scene,
particularly for new players, this is it.
A little after nine last Monday, a couple
of dozen players began forming a circle
around a big table nea r the bar. For 10
yea rs, Reynolds has shard hosting
duties with his son Mike, an
accordionist and singer who performs
loca lly with his own band. A few
joined right in as Mike began with a
bright tune. Others listened, holding
tight onto their flutes, guitars and
accordions until they caught the drift of
the tunes.
Two mi ghty Irishmen and Comhaltas stalwarts Larry Reynolds of Boston and Bill McEvoy
meet at Fleadh Cheoil na hEirea nn
'There are codes about how to be in a
seisiun ... A social culture surrounds the
seisiun ... The seisiun is the beating
heart of the living tradition ... Where
virtuosos return to reconnect with the
root aesthetics of the style ... '
It is no accident that Boston's longestrunning
Irish music seisiun is also its
friend I iest.
Every Monday night for 23 years,
fiddler Larry Reynolds has hosted a
Seisiun , or informal music gathering,
for the Irish cultural organisation
Comhaltas Ceolt6irf Eireann . Since
1990, the seisiun has been held at the
convivial Green Briar pub and
restaurant in Brighton Centre. Before
that, at the old Coach House in
Brookline Village, it was one of the best
known seisiuns anywhere, a genuine
hotbed for the budding Celtic music
revival of the 1970s.
'That seisiun was known all over the
world,' Reynolds said before rosining
up his bow for a recent Monday
seisiun. 'Any traditional or folk
musician knew about the Coach
House. At the time, there were very few
seisiuns around, probably not more
than three in the whole of Boston.
There was a tremendous interest
growing in the music then, and people
embraced that seisiun whether they
had any Irish in them or not.'
There are dozens of seisiuns in the
Boston area now, but the Green Briar's
is unique for its focus on bringing new
players to the music. Reynolds is
chairman of the local Hanafin-Cooley
branch of Comhaltas and has a passion
for promoting the music and inviting
new players into the fold. Over the
years, the Green Briar seisiun has
earned warm and wide renown for its
welcoming ways. If there is a front door
Mile and Larry Reynolds were listening,
too. Throughout the evening, they
would be seen cocking an ear this way
or that, honing in on the musicians.
The trick for them is making sure
everyone is brought into the circle of
players.
'I love to watch people discover this
music, play a tune and begin to enjoy it
as much as I do,' said Mike Reynolds.
'That's what make this seis iun so great:
Everybody's welcome, and we play to
their levels. Sometimes we get carried
away a bit, but we always bring it back
to where it needs to be for the group.
We want to be sure to get everybody
playing together.'
The music was nearly all instrumental,
though occasionally someone would
break forth with a ballad or poem .
Tunes are divided into sets of three or
four jigs, reels, hornpipes, waltzes,
polkas or strathspeys, and the one who
leads off the set normally decides what
tune to change to and when.
What most players do not notice is
51

'Deutschl and Uber Alles' being
rendered in Ru ss ian'. He believes
that one of the solutions to the
prob lem of Irish identity, w hich
exercises peopl e's minds so much
these days, is prec isely the greater
use of the Irish language. After all if
someone, who has to go back fi ve
generati ons in his own family history
before meeti ng a native Irish person,
can recl aim his Irishness by gaining
competence in the Irish language, it
should present little difficulty to
those who are second and third
generation. In fact, it is quite
remarkable how a person, whose
everyday accent is filled with the
broad, flat vowels of Yorkshire, is
abl e to converse quite comfortably
in Gaelic, compared to people w ho
have a strong brogue, but little if any
Gaelic. It is the language more than
anything else that distinguishes us as
a people, as Dr Hyde sai d so long
ago 'Hr gan teanga, tfr gan anam'.
The attempt to destroy our identity
as a people during the co lonial
phase of our history was undertaken
mainly through the prohibition of An
Ghae ilge; it almost succeeded. To
totally rega in our sense of being
Irish is to revive our language and
th at by using it at every opportunity
as is just now the practice in West
Belfast and other parts of the north
of Ireland. If the people of Israel can
do it after almost two thousand
years of oppress ion, what prevents
us, now that we are governors of our
own destiny
In the photograph, Deirdre U f
Shforain, a muinteoir na Ghaeilge,
presents Donnchadh with his GCSE
in Irish during a function in the Irish
Democratic League Club, Bradford .
Jo 6 Sforain.
Kelly's eye
Steve McGrail of 'Che lTish Post'
r;G
0 culture - Iri sh,
Nigeri an, Turkish,
whatever it is -
survives or develops
without its tradition
bearers, those w ho pass the
culture on to the next
generati on.
Lacking such peopl e,
heritage is lost or simply
swamped by more powerful
forces. Now perhaps, w ith
the onset of globalisation,
tradition bearers matter more
than ever. Ireland, fortunately, has been
bl essed: spreading across the world,
Irish emigrants have left their link with
home thanks to story and song.
One of them is Owen Kelly. From
Ederney in North Fermanagh, he's lived
in Glasgow for 53 years where he's
been a mainstay of the city's Irish life.
He left home in 1947 w hen he was just
17. The family farm, he says, was a wee
bit crowded, w ith hi s eight brothers and
sisters on it; besides, there were no jobs
at home so he thought he'd try
Scotland. He did, and foun d a job in the
building trade, working in it until 1996.
It could have bee n lonely enough for a
yo un gster at first. But Glasgow had a
th riving Irish sce ne then, with three
o§ili hall s. He quickl y got absorbed
and made his mark . Q uickl y is rather
an unde rstatement: being a kee n hurler
and footballer, he and some others had
established th e city's first GAA side
w ithin a yea r (Th e Tyrconn el Harp s still
pl ay at Pea rse Park nea r Ruth ergl en,
and he now minds the groun d). He
also soo n discovered th at people
wa nted to hear th e so ngs he sa ng.
'I'd never sung much at home,' he
reca lls. 'We weren't especially musi cal,
but I knew some local songs - traditional
ones, not parlour ballads. One, The
White Hare, I've made a bit famous, I
suppose, and it's still my favourite.'
In 1957, he the piper Pat
McNulty and the late
Jimmy McHugh, a fiddler,
set up Glasgow's
Comh altas branch.
'It was the first one ever
outside Ireland, London's
came three months later.
Th e Irish Minstrels still
meets regularl y; we've
actually got 100 children
attending.'
Owen Kelly, making sure
the you ngsters have a rea I
tradition behind them With all of this, plus pl aying
in a ba nd, teaching o§ili
dancing ('I still do') and ra ising a
family, it's a wonder he ever had time
to work! Now retired, he's out five
ni ghts a week. He goes to Ireland
several times a year, singing and
collecting new songs. More and more,
he teaches youngsters to sing.
Each yea r, his pupils compete at Feis
Ghlaschu. His life's w ork has been
crow ned this yea r, beca use hi s protege,
Laurs Molloy, won the All-Britain
Under-1 2s at Birmingham.
'Her dad's from Gweedore and her
mam's Glasgow. I taught her Sweet
Inishcarra from Cork and My Father's
Cabin, that's Donegal. She's a lovely
wee singer, she' ll go on to Enniscorth y in
August and she' ll do well. I'm proud of
her surely. It makes you feel good when
you've achi eved something like that'.
He makes up specia l tapes fo r the
children, w ith trad itional singers
performing the so ngs.
'I tell them to sing the song exactl y as
they hear it. I've got half a dozen wee
ones on this now. They' ll be singing fine
by next year. Once the w inter is out of
them they'll be in great shape. Singing
ba ll ads is a very special thin g, you know.
Th e children have to have th e rea l
tradition behind th em - and it's my job
to see th at they do.'
33
---------------------------------------

Gorged on lrish erudition
7J
rendan Farrell of 'The Irish
( / Post' visits a tiny hamlet in the
J ........ Severn Gorge where a thriving
Irish culture is driven by mostly non­
Irish people who have fallen in love
with traditional music
Traditional Irish music is thriving in the
Midlands thanks to a remarkable
branch of Comhaltas Ceolt6irl Eireann.
The small village of Jackfield, nestling in
the Severn Gorge near Talford in the
heartland of the area where the industrial
revolution began, boasts one of Britain's
leading Comhaltas get-togethers.
Each Thursday up to 100 members of
the Jackfield Comhaltas branch meet
for a weekly session.
However, unlike the scores of other
branches up and down the country the
majority of members are not Irish -
they just share a passion for Irish
music, song, dance and language.
The Boat Inn lies a stone's throw from
the historic lronbridge site where
Thomas Telford's iron foundry
kickstarted the industrial revolution.
Its Comhaltas connections can be
found in the area's strong links with
traditional folk music.
The Jackfield branch was formed in
1996 by Patrick Manahan and a group
of friends.
Since then the awards have piled up.
The include All-Britain Senor Uilleann
Pipes, Under-12 Bodhran
Championship and a Senior Mandolin
championship.
The group also arranges Irish dancing
and set dancing classes at other venues
in the area. Almost 50 children with
practically no Irish ties take part each
week and are winning.
Branch secretary Mike Cheadle has
even taken his Irish language GCSE and
is now language officer for the regional
branch of Comhaltas.
One of the branch's
biggest successes was initiated by its
publiC relations officer David Haris
who is a talented bodhran player.
The sales engineer used the Internet to
compile a unique CD. He trawled
through scores of sites across the world
to put 6,500 melodies and 8,500 songs
on a CD-Rom for computer users.
The CD is not a top-seller at feiseanna
and Comhaltas events and David has
just been invited to Ireland for the
second time to present a workshop on
the use of computers in music. He ran
workshops over three days at this year's
Fleadh Cheoil in Enniscorthy.
However, even David cannot put his
finger on why the Jackfield branch of
Comhaltas has been so successful in
such a short time.
'Perhaps dedication and loyalty come
into it,' he says.
Its success is evident for all to see.
Sessions are now so popular that
people have to arrive early to make
sure of their seats. Even the musicians
sometimes struggle to find sufficient
space to show off their skills.
Visitors travel from all over the
Midlands and farther afield to take pare
in the weekly sessions.
The success has not gone unnoticed in
the surrounding community.
The musicians are held in such high
esteem that they were recently invited
to play at the official opening of a
renovated war memorial footbridge
near the Boat Inn which link Coalport
across the River Severn.
The bridge was originally built with the
names of those who perished in the
Second World War added to a
memorial plaque.
Telford and Wrekin Council engineer
Jim O'Rourke, who can trace his Irish
roots back to Connemara, was in
charge of the p.rojec,t.
The footbridge is believed to be the
only working war memorial in the
country.
It is remarkable that a man with Irish
roots oversaw the renovation of an
historic bridge that leads over the River
Severn to a British pub where you can
join with or listen to Irish traditional
music played by non-Irish musicians.

Willie Gribbin - 'L\ Man
A Loois Solute
fOT Stephen
of Character, Honesty
and Commonsense'
7:
he 1999 All-Ireland Fleadh
in Enniscorty was just drawing to
a close w hen the news of the
untimely death of Willie Gri bbin
stunned the enti re musical fraternity
gathered in that hilly Wexford town.
Before very long the
news had reached th e
local CCE community in
hi s nati ve South Derry
and the reaction was one
of shock and disbe lief
that such a true Irishman
was gone from among
them, forever.
A member of a well
known South Derry
fa mily, Willie was born
and spent all his days in
Anaghorish in the parish
of Newbridge in County
Derry. The eldest of six brothers who
all pl ayed Gaelic footba ll he helped hi s
loca l Sea n O'Lea ry club w in a number
of senior county championship medals
in the 1940's and 50's.
He li ved and worked all his li fe as pig
dea ler and fa rmer in the South Derry
area. He made many fri ends and w as
hi ghly rega rded not onl y in hi s own
community but throughout the
province of Ulster.
Willie had a great love of life and his
easy manner endeared him to everyone
he met. But although he enjoyed
meeting and ta lking with people from all
walks of life, his love, devotion and
commitment to his family always took
priority. A faithful husband and father, he
always found time to listen to, to advise
and to help and support his wife and
family whatever their needs or desires.
In October 1977 Willie was one of the
founder members of the Newbridge
branch of CCE and he served as
treas urer of the branch for the next
twenty one yea rs. He was also a
member of the County Derry CCE and
served as treasu rer there
too for a number of
years. His intense love
for our Irish culture and
trad ition evidenced itself
in the enthusiasm w ith
which he encouraged
yo ung children in hi s
locality to lea rn and to
carry on the wonderful
tradition of music and
song. He was never shy
about the work or effort
w hich might be involved
and many an afternoon he
spent supervising at music
classes in the local Newbridge hall.
Over the years he and his w ife Bri die
trave ll ed the length and breadth of
Ireland attending music sess ions,
singing sess ions and Fleadhanna. The
highlight of his year was the All Ireland
Fl eadh where many fri endshi ps were
made or renewed.
A man, tall in stature and character his
honesty and common-sense attitude to
li fe, despite suffering ill hea lth for
several yea rs, was obvious to all w ho
kn ew him. And those fortunate enough
to have known him could onl y admire
and respect that quiet, gentleman
ca lled Willie Gri bben who, on 30 th
August 1999 departed this li fe w here
he was happi est - at the end of an AII­
Ireland Fleadh
Newbridge Branch of CCE,
CO Derry
Several hundred Laois people
gathered in the Manor Hotel,
Abbey leix, to pay tribute to one of
the thei r favourite sons Step hen
Conroy of Camross and his
charming w ife M ary. It was a 'full
house' occasion w ith musicians,
singers, storytellers and dancers
lauding the work and success of
thi s inimitable Comhaltas stalwart.
Joining the Lao is contingent were
Senator Labhras 6 Murchu,
Ard stiurthofr CCE, Padraig 6
Dufa igh, Cisteoir; Padraig 6
Cea llaigh, lontaobhaf; Ant6in 6
Fionnaga fn, Cathao irleach
Lafghean; Bill McEvoy, North
Ameri ca n President.
Step hen has been Manager of
several Comhaltas Concert Tours
and is the driving force behind the
successful Camross Comhaltas
Branch w hich this year won the AII­
Ireland Scorafocht Championship.
Th e Branch has over 100 pupils
learning Irish traditional music in
the teach cheoil adjoining
Stephen's and Mary's house.
The tribute function w as organsied
by Laois Co. Board under the
leadership of Michae l Reilly and
his w ife Eileen.
31-

Bill McEvoy Honoured
at Cion6l
ion61 Leo Rowsome 200 was
held at Culturlann na hEireann
~ in Monkstown, County Dublin
over the days 7 th to 9 th September. The
Tion61, organised by Comhaltas
Ceolt6irf Eireann to commemorate the
illustrious Uilleann Piper low
Rowsome, started in 1995 (the 25 th
anniversary of his death) and is now an
annual event in the Comhaltas
calendar.
Leo Rowsome, born in 1903, made an
outstanding contribution to the
preservation and promotion of Irish
traditional music throughout his
lifetime up until his untimely death in
September, 1970 while adjudicating at
the 'Fiddler of Dooney' competition in
Riverstown, County Sligo. His
contribution ranged from the
manufacture, playing and teaching of
the uilleann pipes, numerous radio
broadcasts to his pivotal role in the
formation of Comha ltas Ceolt6irf
Eireann back in 1951.
Bill and Lily McEvoy examining the presentati on panels, perpared by
Mfchea l 6 Conchubhair, at Ti on61 2000.
It is fitting that an auspicious occasion
such as the Tion61 to commemorate
Leo Rowsome shou ld each year honour
an individual who has also made
an exceptional contribution to the
preservation and promotion of
traditional irish culture. Honorees
so far have included John Kelly, Willie
Reynolds, Paddy McElvaney and
Seamus Mac Mathuna (currently
Comhaltas Timire Ceoil). This year it
was the turn of Bill McEvoy, originally
from County Laois and now based in
America. Amongst his many talents and
achievements, Bill has been CCE coordinator
for North America (including
25 years as Provincial Counci l
Chairman), All-Ireland champion
Frank Kennedy, chairman
Ameri ca CCE, makes a presentation to
Bill McEvoy. The portrait will be
disp layed at Cul tu rl ann na hEireann .
whistler and lilter, and also an
accompli shed traditional Irish fiddler.
Bill emigrated to America in 1954 with
his Kerry-born wife Lily and 3 small
chi ldren. In America they settled in
Long Island, New York where the
McEvoys later had six more ch ildren.
Uilleann piper Kev in Rowsome, grandson
of Leo Rowsom e, presenting a fl ora l
bouquet to Lily McEvoy at the Comhaltas
Ti on61 Leo Rowsome 2000.
Comha ltas came to Bill in 1972 to
organise the fi rst CCE Concert Tour of
North America to help financially
support the founding of Cu lturlann na
hEireann. The concerts grew into an
annua l event that contributed to the
formation of 40 Branches with over
3600 CCE members in the USA and
J~
------------------------------------------------------------------------

I
Pictured at the launch of Ted McGraw's CD 'Great Cei lf Bands' at Tional 2000 are (L-R):
Jim McGinty, New York; Ted and Mrs McGraw; Bill McEvoy; North American Treasurer
of CCE Larry Reynolds; North American Secretary Jack Pendergast.
The inimitable Paddy Fallon, who ho lds
the record for the most comhaltas Tou rs
of North America (in the region of 20!),
enterta ins the audience in hi s tribute to
Bill McEvoy.
home county) . The excellent Bean a Tf
was as usual Muireann Duignan. The
concert may have finished around
12 :00 midnight but the traditional
entertai nment was to continue on into
the earl y hours as spontaneous sess io ns
sprung up throughout the Culturlann .
lional Leo Rowsome 2000 was a truly
memorable event and a fitting tribute to
Bill McEvoy and his supportive wife,
Lily who have done so much for the
advancement of Irish traditional culture
in North Ameri ca.
Pictured at Tional Leo Rowsome Seamus Mac Mathuna, Ted McGraw,
Senator Labhras 6 Murchu and Bi ll MCEvoy.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11

this is the first time that Joe Heaney's
speaki ng voice has been heard on
record . It is worth poi nti ng out that
neither the songs nor the actuality
follow the interview seq uence. The ai m
was not to reprod uce the interviews in
miniature, but to show how songs and
singi ng intertwined w ith the life of Joe
Heaney.
Carna, which is the district of south
Connemara w here he grew to
manhood, has all the qualification to
host one of the greatest folksong
traditions on earth. It is remote, barren
and poverty stricken, and some of the
flavour of the life work and
entertainment of Connemara is heard in
the actuality on these discs. In recent
years a certai n amount of light industry
has been introduced into the area.
However, it remai ns essentially a
fishing cum small holdi ng economy,
with the bu lk of its inhabitants settled
within a few hundred yards of the shore
line. Gaelic is the fi rst spoken language
of the majority of its inhabitants, and it
has been an outpost of Gaelic cu lture
si nce the days w hen Cromwell
banished the native Irish property
holders to lands west of the Shannon.
Along this bleak, inhospitable coast, Joe
Heaney's forbears and confreres fished
the Atlantic swells, dug the peat bogs
for turf and grew potatoes in the bare,
rocky soil. It is unremittingly harsh
environment, one made all the more so
by the ruthless colonialism of foreign
oppressors.
Assemble a group of aficionados of the
sean-nos or old style of the Gaelic
si nging, which is sti ll the major form of
musical expression in Connemara, and
the collective opinion w ill be that
Heaney was the idiom's greatest ever
representative. Just like Michael
Coleman, or Will ie Clancy, or Johnny
Doran, his artistry was such that it
virtually defined the medium in w hich
he performed. He was Carna to hi s
bootstraps. There is no doubt that birth
and background moulded Heaney's
singing style, a style which stayed w ith
him to the end of his days. There is no
doubt either that he left Carna with a
large repertoire of songs, and a
perspective of life which had been
shaped by poverty and hard living, and
by folk and National School memories
of Cromwell and the famine and
landlordism and the Black and Tans.
You don't have to look far into
Heaney's repertoire to see that this
perspective is reflected in many of the
songs he sought out. But Heaney was
much more than a paradigm of the
Carna trad ition. In a lifetime of
wandering he picked up a great many
songs and became many singers. He
was the private singer of the kitchens of
Connemara. He was the public face of
Gaeldom at the Oireachtas, the annual
festival of Gaelic culture. To the
building labourers of Cam den Town, he
was a pub si nger who regaled them
with memories of far off shores and
home. To the crowds at American folk
festivals, he embodied an Ireland where
the cottage door was always open, and
the kettle was always on the turf fire,
and the poitfn still bubbled merrily and
secretly nearby.
The fact that Joe Heaney spent most of
hi s adult life away from Carna,
therefore seems to have had a major
impact on the shape and content of his
repertoire. Most of his Gaelic songs
appear to have been learned in Carna;
either before he moved away, or during
infrequent visits home. Of the Gaelic
songs sung during these interviews,
only one, 'Eamonn an Chnoic' (Ned of
the Hill) is not widely known in
Connemara. A good proportion of his
English language songs were learned in
Carna as well. For the most part these
were importation's from the English
speaking world at large. It is not
I
surprising to find 'The Bonny Boy' and
'The Old Man Rocking the Cradle'
amongst them. Both songs must have
had a strong appeal in a land where
arranged marriage, often between
people of disparate age groups, was the
norm. For that matter. 'My Boy Willie'
is found wherever folksongs are sung in
English, but its drowning theme must
have held a special fasci nation for
people who risk their li ves wresting a
living from the sea. The song has been
recorded from several Connemara
singers and it finds echoes in many
Gaelic songs, including the lament for
the drowned oarsmen. 'Currachaf na
Tra Baine' (The Currachs of Tra Baine).
Other songs which Joe knew from
childhood include 'O'Brien From
Tipperary', a song from the American
civil war, and a version of the pirate
ballad, 'Captain Coulston'. Joe knew
this as 'The Tena nt's Ri ghts', which is
the name of the ship, w hose crew and
emigrant passengers jointly fight off a
company of marauding pirates. It is
also an oblique reference to the
movement against land lordism which
arose in the late 1870's. We find
another oblique reference to
landlordism in 'The Bogs of
Shanaheever', which Joe ca lled 'The
Two Greyhounds'. There are no loca l
songs in English on these discs
because, when Gaelic speakers write
songs, they usually do some in their
native tongue. 'The Two Greyhounds'
comes closest to being a local creation,
although 'Shanaheever' is actually
north of Clifden, beyond the Gaelic
speaking part of Connemara. Joe's
notion that it was written by an
emigrant in America is open to
question. Even so, this story of a rabbit
poacher, who emigrates to America on
the death of his hunting dog, must have
jerked a fierce respon se among a
people forced out of their country by a
class of rap acious rent gatherers.
The anti-landlord theme in 'Skibbereen'
is anything but oblique, and this story
of eviction and famine and ultimate
revenge would have gone down well
with Joe's work mates in 1950's
London . It is open to question though
whether this song was part of his Carna
inheritance, for it was far more popular
with showbands and ballad groups than
with Irish country singers. The author is
unknown, but its theme is typical of
compositions by nineteenth century
middle class radicals. So, too is 'The
~5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cu lra na nOg in Eirinn
Jo 6 Sior6in
(L0llowing two very successfu l
J,. Youth Leadership Training
weekends during which very
comprehensive prepa rati on and
planning for Culra na n6g 2000 in
Ireland took place, thirty-six young
people 11-17 years from all parts of
Britain together w ith fourteen you ng
leade rs departed for North Kerry on
Good Friday.
These youngsters were from different
branches of Comhaltas throughout
Britain, each of them a traditional
musician. The group was based in
Ba llybunion for the week and
accommodated in eight holiday
cottages. Each cottage held six
youngsters and two leaders. There they
were to exercise democratic
govern ance of their domestic lives
through shari ng responsibilities for the
preparation of meals, cleaning, bedmaking
and genera l management of the
house. They were also involved in
discussion and reflection on the va ri ous
activities, which made up the
programme of Cu lra na n6g 2000.
Timetabled each morning during the
week was a brief encounter w ith the
Irish language w hen some very basic
conversation was taught. The group
met w ith loca l historian Dann y
Hou lihan, w ho throughout the week
was to be a source of va luab le
information about the loca lity, its
history and culture. He is also a piper
of some note and on occasion joined
the group for some interesting sess ions.
Each evening there were sessions of
some high quality at different ven ues in
the town and the townspeople were
more than bemused by at once the
sou nd of many different British regional
accents and the fine traditional
musicianship of their owners. The
presence of Cu lra na n6g in the
forecourt of the parish church where
the mass-goers were met by great jigs,
ree ls and hornpipes as they emerged
from the chape l after celebrating the
1 0:30am Sunday liturgy, took them by
su rpri se and yet delighted them
nonetheless.
Co ntacts with the local people were
friendly and hosp itab le. They showed a
very great deal of respect and
consideration w henever members of
the group visited estab lishments in the
town. Latterl y, they were invited to take
part in an exercise discovering the
meaning of some Gaelic words, the
w hole Cu lra na n6g group going out
into the town in pairs to sea rch out by
ask ing, the answers to queries about a
long list of nouns. This proved to be a
highl y successfu l enterprise w hich

Flonn the Chessployer
Caoimhghin 6 Brolchoin
On 5th February 2000, George
Koltanowski, an International
Chess Grand Master, died in San
Francisco, aged 96. Despite his name,
he was in fact Belgian by birth, being
born in Antwerp of Eastern Jewish
parents. He could speak eight
languages and was the world's best at
simultaneous blindfold chess, which
requires a player to make moves from
memory whilst his opponents move
normally. His phenomenal memory
enabled him in 1937, to create a record
recognised by the Gu inness Book of
Records of playing 34 opponents
simu ltaneously in the space of 13.5
hours with a final score of 24 wins, 10
draws and no losses.
In a long and distinguished career, he
travelled all over the world
demonstrating his playing skills. He
especially loved coming to Ireland -
often staying for six-month stretches at
a time and had a chess school in
Sandymou nt during his stay in Dublin.
There can be no doubt that Flann
O' Brien loved the game of chess,
although he gave out that he was a
better player than he ever was in fact.
Needless to say, his sty le of playing was
of a piece with hi s literary
extravaganzas and owed much to his
imaginative genius. Niall Sheridan who
chron icl es the 'dissipation' of their
university days (Myles: Portraits of
Brian O'Nolan, p.3 8) te ll s us:
'His sty le of playing chess was very
characteristic and became part of the
image he liked to project to the outside
world. He would sit glowering at the
board, lips drawn back from his rabbitlike
teeth, making odd hissing sounds
as he drew in his breath in
concentration. Sudden ly, he would
seize a piece and plonk it down in its
new position, making every move with
an air of delivering a coup-de-grace.
This combination of play-acting and
moral blackmai l had a paralysing effect
on simpler souls and gave him a
reputation outof all proportion to his
skil l at the game.'
His brother Ciaran .O' Nuallain, in his
very readabl~ "6ige an Dearthar says
that in 1927, when their father gained
promotion in the Civi l Service, the
family moved to Blackrock in Dublin,
where they rented a large house in
Herbert Place. Often, on returning
home, he would find the house filled
w ith strangers all playing chess and the
air filled with tobacco smoke. Mr
O'Nolan (Mr 6 Nuallain) was a
member of the Blackrock Chess Club
and also the Dublin Chess Club and
often played in the competitions

etween the two societies.
Ciara n goes on to tell us:
'Bhf se (Koltanowski) sa teach aga inne
cupla uair ar imirt le m'athair, Chastaf
ora inne e go minic i dteach carad
mh6ir !inn. Oscar 0 Coig!igh ...
Mhafodh Brian gur eirigh leis cluiche a
chur ar Koltanowski ach nf chreidim
sin. I (GIGE, p.54)
He (Ko ltanowski) was in our house a
few times playing with my father. We
used to meet often in the house of
Oscar Cogley, a great friend of ours ...
Brian boasted that he succeeded in
winning a game against Kiltonowski
but I don't believe it.)
Perhaps Ciaran failed to give sufficient
credit to Bri an' unnerving tactics - the
'hissing and glowering and seizing and
plonking down' of pieces. It appears,
however, that at least one of his
university student contemporari es was
immune:
'But the weapon which had wrought
such devastation among the masters
did not guarantee invincibility against
humbler rivals, and I recall him spitting
with fury when a red-haired student
from the wilds of Co Cavan unhorsed
him with a home-made variation of the
Ruy Lopez gambit which he had
elaborated during the long nights after
Samhain. ' (Portraits, p.38)
He was or course, ever mindful that
chess was 'a game closely associated
w ith the legendary heroes of ancient
Ireland' (Sheridan, p.38). When he
quotes from O'Keeffe's 1913 edition of
Buile Shuibhne, enumerating the
multitudinous sufferin gs of the mad king,
he can not res ist add ing to Sweeney's
desolation that he was denied that
intellectual stimulus of chess.
'Grey branches have hurt me
they have pierced m y calves,
I hang here in the yew-tree above,
Without chessman, no woman tryst. '
(AS2B, p.177)
Close examination of the O 'Keeffe
vers ion reveals no such deprivation in
the main body of the extended poem .
On the other hand there is, in the
hi storica l notes provided prior to the
Sweeney saga, the tale of the murder of
the King of Ireland whilst he was seated
at chess-pl aying, by Co nga!. He says
that he committed the fell deed to
please Domhnail!. Ah, the fi ckleness of
royal favour! The king's favou rite is
served at tab le w ith a goose's egg on a
Silver tray, w hilst poor Co ngal has only
a hen's egg on a wooden plate laid
before him. It was insult enough for th e
Battle of Magh Rath to ensue ...
Ciaran, who was a very keen player for
many years and took part in
competitions frequently, decided to
give it up:
' Bhfnn fein ag imirt sna com6rtais go
dtf an la n6 an ofche ar spreag an
smaoineamh me gur mh6r an
gealtachas an meid sin ama a chur amu
ag bogadh pfosaf beaga adhmaid thart
ar chlar. D'eirigh me as agus nf m6 na
gur leag me mear ar fhear fichille
ariamh 6 shin.' (Oige, p. 53).
(I used to be playing in the
competitions myse lf up till the day, or
night w hen the thought struck me that
it was great madness to be wasting that
mu ch time moving little pieces of wood
about on a board. I gave it up and
never so mu ch as laid a finger on a
chess man since).
God rest Flann, Ciaran and the bould
Koltanowski! Ar dheis De an triur acu.
Ta am go leor chun ficheall a imirt
anois san aith ina bhfuil siad agus iad
ag seinnim ar an chlairseach idir an
dha linn. Solas De leo .. .
Hand-Crafted
Violins
Restored Older Violins
Quality Repairs
Violins, Violas & 'Cellos
Efficient Bow Re/wiring Service
Bows, Cases, Strings and Fittings
Kevin Sykes,
Kilieen, Baliyvary,
Co. Mayo.
Baliybritt, Galway,
Fri + Mon.
094-31019
By appointment

ta ught the youngsters a number of
things: how to approac h peopl e w ith
civility; how many people in the town
were familiar w ith Irish and ultimately,
the Irish word for over forty everyday
items to be found in and around the
town of Ballynbunion.
Vi sits to the Geraldine Museum in
Tr.alee and to the w indmill at
Blennerville were to be very instructi ve
and insightful. Our guide explained the
workings of this restored pi ece of
industri al machinery to the group in
great detail as we ascended each floor
of the mill to its zenith. The group also
had the opportunity to see and hea r
about the building, launching and
eventual maiden voyage of th e 'Jea nie
Johnston', a newly built replica of its
namesake, a famine ship distinguished
by the humanity of its Captain and its
record of no fa talities among its
passengers en route to the New World.
The day we were there the hull of the
vesse l was resting atop a barge in the
ri ver and workers from all over the
worl d were putting the finishing
touches to its super-structure making it
ready fo r its mai den voyage to Ca nada
and the Uni ted States in th e summer.
Cu lra na n6g's visit to the Bog Village
between Listowel and Tralee was to be
a highlight of the week. Here we met
w ith many musicians from the region,
young and old, and a might evening of
music, song, dance and story was th e
outcome. We were to ld how working
on the bog played a very important part
in the li ves of the people of the area. It
was very enlightening and served to
demonstrate the vast changes which
have taken place in Irish life-styles in a
relatively short period of time. For now,
huge machines carry out such work
and the culture of bringing home and
saving the tu rf has alm ost totall y
disappea red .
O n the Friday, the group took the
Tabert ferry to Clare and travelled
down the Loop Peninsul a, almost to its
head. There we visited the li ttle church
within a church at Bea laha. W hat lies
behind this is the remarkab le story of
the pri est w ho, refu sed permi ss ion by
the local landowner to build a church
fo r the people of th e area, set up on the
fores hore at low tide (no man's land),
each day, a sa nctu ary and altar
modelled on the bathing machines of
the time, therein to celebrate the
liturgy. The landowner later relenting,
the present church was built, but the
little bathing-m achine altar is sti ll
preserved and his housed to one side of
the altar proper.
Th e week was filled w ith in cident as
would be expected when 50 young
people convene to spend time in
Ireland, to share their music w ith each
other and w ith local peopl e, to savour
the spec ial distinctiveness of a region,
its hi story and its folklore. For the
young leaders thi s was a baptism of fire
from which they emerged w ith fl ying
co lours. Their achievement is to have
plann ed and executed a programme of
cultural inducti on for youngsters which
has to enthused them and their charges
that the wa iting list gets longer. But
more than anything else it is the quality
of the relationships forged between all
of the young peopl e, th e personal
fri endships and positi ve refl ections of
identity w hi ch serve to make of the
Culra na n6g for the twelve months
following it live in high expectation of
being abl e to go next time.
Next time, Easter 2001, Cu lra na n6g
hopes to visit North Antrim and the
Glens. There we have been prom ised a
very wa rm welcome. Young musicians
from North Antrim are very anxious to
meet-up w ith their cou nterparts from
Britain. That part of Ireland is filled
w i th interest and offers aspects of th ese
young peopl e's heritage they have yet
to discover. O ur design is to be abl e to
fo rge rea l links w ith the young people
of that region and by means of th em
in iti ate joint projects in Youth
Leadership Training as well as joint
Culra na n6g residential, thereby
developing further the Culra idea and
practi ce into the next decade.
To prepare for th is event and as part of
the ongoing development of Culra na
n6g, four separate weekends of
residential Youth Leadership Training
w ill take pl ace during th e autumn and
w inter months later this year and earl y
next. We now have a core of young
leaders who have experience of
working w ith 11-1 7 yea r olds in the
Cu lra na n6g programmes. But we
need to in crease their number and
recruit from those w ho have ta ken pa rt
in the programmes latterl y but w ho
have now reached the age where they
no longer quali fy. There has been a
very si gnifica nt take-up of the
opportunity to trai n as leaders by such
young people and the need to give
them rea l experience of leadership is
press ing. As thi s initiati ve assumes a
rate of growth and popularity beyond
our preliminary ca lculati on (a
euphemism for w ildest drea ms), we
want to reg ister our appreciation of the
support we have received from the Irish
Youth Foundati on (UK) Ud, over the
yea rs. Without th e Foundation's
recognition of the va lue of thi s work in
the form of sufficient grant aid to carry
it out, we could never have achieved
the phenomenal development we have
made to date.

Glen of Aherlow', a compos ition of the
Tipperary poet, Charl es Kickham, w hich
he wrote to warn young Irishmen aga inst
joining the British army. The large
numbers of nineteenth century Irish
enlistment's is proof that the
warning went unheeded. Even so,
Anti-English songs were stap le fare
in the pubs of Cam den Town, and
these tales of nineteenth century
oppression are complemented by
two songs from the Black and
Tan period: 'The Upton Ambush'
and 'The Valley of Knockanure'.
There is probably not much substance,
however, in l oe's contention that 'The
Harp Without the Crown' is a fragment
from the Fenian uprising of 1867. The
harp w ithout the crown was an emblem
of the Feni ans, but the raising of it is a
motif which occurs in several other
maritime songs. The popularity of
nationalist songs was matched by 'Come
all ye's like The Rocks of Bawn' (one of
the songs omitted from these discs) and
'weepies' like 'Erin Gra mo Chrof' and
jokey songs of mismatched wedlock like
Patsy McCann.
In such a milieu, however, it is hard to
imagine that l oe would have found
mu ch of an audience for the Gaelic
songs, or for that matter, for his big
English language songs like 'The Banks
of Claudy' or 'Barbara Alien'. During
this time he was visited by collectors .
from Raidio Tei liffs Eireann and the
BBC. He recorded commercially in
1959, for Gael Linn of Dublin, and in
1960 Collector Record s of London
released a disc of three of his English
language songs. Otherwise, in a world
of building sites and shared digs and
noisy pubs, these must have been lean
yea rs for the talent w hich made loe
Heaney such a powerful force in the
Gaelic world.
The ea rl y sixti es saw a parti al
acceptance of that talent into the
British folk club movement. He began
to attract invitations to sing around folk
venues, and held a resident's chair at
the Singers Club in London until his
emigration to the USA. So highly
thought of was he, that his residency
was kept open, should he ever dec ide
that America was not for him.
Nevertheless, w hile loe Hea ney's
singing was meat and drink to a hard
core of enthusi asts, very few folkies
then or now, were prepared to listen to
loe Heaney singing in Gaelic. That is a
sad situation, and it probably explains
~~
the preponderance of English language
songs sung during these interviews.
Venues like The Singers Club excepted,
the buckling of loe Heaney to the
English folk revival was not a
happy one. Indeed, it is said
that unresponsive audiences
were a major factor in his
decision to emigrate. Be that as
it may, the folk revival brought
him into contact with the ballad
groups, The Dubliners and The
Clancy Brothers, and their
influence was instrumental in
getting loe established in America. The
twenty years which he spent there fall
outside this project, but it is worth
observing that his acceptance was not
as artistically uncompromised as we
may like to think. All the same, if
audiences wanted, and got, 'The Real
Old Mountain Dew', I Wish I Had
Someone to Love Me, and 'The
Claddagh Ring', they also got some of
the great treasures of Gaelic folksong
like 'Una Bhan' or 'Currachaf na Tra
Baine', or 'Amhran na hEascainne' (The
Song of the Eel), loe's magnificent
version of the ballad, 'Lord Randa' .
He would also have given them some
of the livelier songs of Gaelic Ireland.
Songs like Bean Phaidfn (Paidfn's wife)
and Cailleach an Airgid (The Hag with
the Money) and the macaronic or dual
language Cunnla, are sometimes held in
lesser esteem than the bigger items. But
whatever they lack in stature they make
up for in vigour and wit. To complete
the picture of loe Heaney, three other
songs have been included, none of
them typical of his repertoire. They are
'Beidh Aonach Amarach i gContae an
Chlair' (There will be a fair tomorrow in
the County Clare), which loe learned in
school, and the lullaby 'Seoithfn Seo'
w hich he doubtless heard in the house
where he grew up. There is also the
obscene 'Whiskey 6 Roudeldum-Row'.
The latter would not have been sung by
loe in mixed company, and there may
be some who would question the
advisability of having him sing it here.
Nevertheless, it was decided to include
this as a rare example of bawdy
Connemara song; a substratum of
Gaelic culture which has all too often
been neglected by Gaelic folklorists.
The above is a revised abridgement of
the introduction to the Musical
Traditions interview transcription.
Lost Something
Found at Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann
and available at Culturlann na
hEireann are the following items:
3 sets of keys
2 Medals
1 Watch
If you have any knowledge or queries
in relation to these items please
contact Caitrfona at Culturlann na
hEireann, 32 Cearnog Belgrave, Baile
na Manach, Co Ath Cliath.
Tel: 01 2800295
E-Mail: enquiries@comhaltas.com

Che Uoad from Connemara
Songs and Stories of Seosam h 6 hEanai, told and sung
to Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger
Cia lar-Chonnachta Teo have rel eased
three discs of the legendary Sean-nas
singer Seosamh 6 hEanaf of
Connemara. These discs showcase one
of the world's greatest ever traditional
singers. Recorded in 1964 w hen the
Seosamh 6 hEanaf was at the height of
his powers, they capture his artistry 'as
it has never been captured before.'
Writing in the excel lent and informative
booklet which accompanies the discs,
Fred McCormick provides an
interesting and cha llenging insight into
the artist and his talents:
These recordings are taken from a
series of interviews conducted by Ean
MacColI and Peggy Seeger at their
home in Beckenham in 1964. A
transcript of the interviews is published
on the Musical Traditions website at
www.mustrad.org.uk together with a
discussion of the ideological stance
which lay behi nd the project. Here it is
necessary only to explai n that years of
working with traditional singers and
musicians had resulted in MacColI and
Seeger adopting a partisan attitude
aga inst the approaches of earlier
co llectors. Where other collectors had
typically viewed trad itional performers
as the passive bearers of sponta neous
art, MacCo l1 and Seeger be lieved that
folksongs arti culate the thoughts and
feelings of the people w ho sing them.
Therefore, in order to understand the
songs, we have to understand the
singer. We have to see the songs as a
reflecti on of, and an integral part of,
the singer's li fe and social worl d. Such
an approach is commonplace
nowadays, and
is the standa rd
working method
of practically
every other
branch of social
enquiry. In
1964, in the
world of
folksong
collection, it
bordered on
the
revolutionary.
When dealing
w ith a singer
like joe
Hea ney,
however, we
are led into a
problem, for
the subject
of these
recordings is
something
of an
.JOB HEANEY
SO-rnh ' hEanai
The Roadfrom
Connemara:
songs and stories
told and sting to
fiWAN MacCOLL &
PIlGGY SfillGEll
en igma. To the speaker of
English he was joe Heaney. To the
Gaelic cu ltural revivalist, he was
Seosamh 6 hEanaf. To the cottagers of
Connemara he was joe Einiu, w hich is
the loca l form of his name in Gaelic.
Different audiences, different songs,
different expectations.
j oe sang forty one songs and fragments
duri ng those interviews of which thirty
three are on these discs. In a lifetime of
majesti c singing, joe Heaney was never
in better form than here. Nevertheless,
several songs have been omitted, either
because they are well represented on
record already or, in one or two cases,
the performances were slightly less
than sati sfactory - the interview
situation is not conductive to retakes.
The songs have been supplemented
w ith pieces of
speech or actuality and
th ese incl ude a pa ir of folkta les to
accompany the songs of 'An
Droighnean Donn' (The Brown
Bl ackthorn) and 'Una Bhan' (Fair Una).
W ith the exception of a few short
fo lktales, whispers, as j oe ca lled them,
4~ ________________________________________________ _

I I • L'Il. (" ,JIl/))
Canada. Thi s year's Co ncert Tour
started in M ineo la (New York) on
Tuesday, lOth October, and then visited
Pearl River, Philadelphia, Red Hook
(NY), Atlanta, Virginia Beach,
Annapoli s, Boston, Halifax (NS), St
John's (NF), Saint John (NB) Toronto,
Canandiagua (NY), Chicago, Peoria
(IL), St Louis, finishing up in Ann Arbor
(MI) on Sunday, 29 th October.
Bill retired as CCE Provincial Chai rman
for North America in 1997 after 25
years at the helm. During his
leadership, the North American
Convention developed into one of the
premier traditional Irish music, dance
and workshop events world-wide. It is
annually now attended by over 1500
members in hotels w ith 600 rooms and
dance floors that accommodate 70 sets.
Bill's promotion of Iri sh cu lture in
North America has drawn high praise
from several Ministers and TDs of the
Irish Government.
Bill organised the qualifying
Fleadhanna in North America in 1974
and these events have fostered many
awards for USA and Canadian
participants, including two for Bill
himself. He was Laois Man of the Year
for 1994 and, with his fidd le, can often
be seen participating in traditional Irish
music sess ions all over the USA,
Canada and Ireland. Bi ll maintains his
involvement with Comhaltas as
Honorary President for Life of
Comhaltas North America and as a
member of the Ard Chomhairle's Coiste
Cheoi l and Fl eadh sub-comm ittees.
This year's Tionol was an outstand ing
success, both musically and sociall y.
Many of Bill's friends from all over
Ireland, the UK and North America
'If
turned up at the Cu lturlann for w hat
can only be described as an
unforgettable event. Jack Pendergast
(Secretary, Comhaltas North America)
got things off to a flying start at the
Thursday night presentation on Bill's
lifetime involvement with Irish
traditional culture. Ably assisted by
Mick O 'Connor w ith his co lourful
display panels and visual aids, Jack
turned this into a highly educational
and entertaining story, not only of Bill,
but also the growth of the Comhaltas
movement in North America from its
humble beginnings in 1972 to its
present day strength. O livia Rowsome
Grimes, Leo's daughter spoke of her
father and his times at the opening.
The Tionol was not all lectures and
exhibitions and included cei lf dancing,
sessions and a highly entertaining
concert. The Saturday afternoon session
was indeed a classic starting off at
lunchtime when we had the
unexpected pleasure of a group of
highly talented young musicians from
County Down w ho had more than a
little interest in the outcome of
Warrenpoint's bid to host Fleadh
Cheoi l na hEireann 2001 - better luck
next time!! We were then joined by
local Flute player Joey Doyle, recent
under-18 All-Ireland champion in both
Flute and Flute Slow Air competitions
and Peter Duffy, a prize-winner on the
Piano Accordion. This had been titled
the 'American Tours Session' in honour
of Bill's enormous contribution in this
area down the years and sure enough it
lived up to expectations with the
presence of artistes such as Lena 6 Se
(singer), Garry Shannon (flute and
Kilfenora Ceilf Band), Robert Gleeso n
(fiddle and Brige Ceilf Band), Frank
Whelan (flute and Manager for Tour of
North America 2000), Larry Reynolds
(fiddle, Boston) and many many more
too numerous to mention.
Following Saturday's sess ion we
were treated to a highly
entertaining and informative
presentation from Ted McGraw
when he launched the 'Great Cei lf
Bands' CD. This was followed by a
session of videos, recordings and
recollections on the life and times
of Bill McEvoy chaired by Senator
Labhras 6 Murchu. The afternoon's
proceedings concluded with a firstrate
presentation on Leo Rowsome
givne by his daughter, Helena
Rowsome Grimes.
The Tionol was finally brought to a
close with a ce lebrity traditional
concert, under the watchful eyes of
Maureen Hughes and Brfd Brody,
which included performances by the
Rowsome fami ly, Ann and Nicky
McAuliffe, Siobhan Nf Chonorain,
Eugen Nolan, Nora Butler, Joe Doyle,
Mikie Smyth, Eammon Walsh, Anton
Mac Gabhann, Seamus Mac Mathuna
and Family. The first half concluded
with Dublin's Pipers' Club group while
the second half was appropriately
given over to Stephen Conroy and his
All-Ireland champion Scorafocht group
from Cam ross, County Laois (Bill's
~O __________________________________________________ __

Comholtos Ceoltoiri €ireonn
Cen Sceal
Brother's Farewell
to earth
This is the name the Sudbury Branch
(Canada) of Comhaltas use for the
newsletter that they inform their
members of their activities. This is a
very active branch headed by chair
Pat McGuire and vice-chair Bridgit
Ripley. Their committee consists of
Sarah Bowdidge (Sec) Michelle
McGuire (Treasurer), Siobhan Fagan
(PR) Waiter Kealy (Gaelic Officer) and
Josephine Duke (Auditor).
This branch has been in operation since
March 17 th , 1996 and has hosted two
very successful Comhaltas Concerts.
They hold weekly dance, language and
music classes for children and adults.
They give support and are responsible
for Timmins forming a branch in
Northern Ontario and for trying to
spread the Comhaltas word to get
branches started in Saulte Ste Marie,
North Bay and the North Shore.
Every year at Christmas they get a
group together and go as mummers to
the Old Folks homes where there are
Irish residents and this cheers their
hearts in the cold winter month.
Since 1997 they have hosted the Irish
Celtic Fair in Sudbury with at least 50
local performers where over 1,200
people come every year to celebrate
their Irish heritage.
This summer they held an Irish
Summer School 2000 a week packed
with fun and excitement. Thirteen
children and a few adults attended
every day and learned to do Irish step
dancing, playing tin whistle, singing
and speaking conversational Irish. In
the evening 20 adults attended
learning sets. There were many
surprises that week and one was when
the group went to a camp on a lake
for an evening of sets, one night after
class there was a fireworks display.
On the last day the children got to
dress up in traditional costume and
participate in a parade for the meeting
of the Canadian waters from the
Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and
the Arctic Ocean and the local lake.
The children proudly received a
certificate at the end of the week.
The teaching facilitators were
Maureen Mulvey, Gabriele Grach,
Birdgit Ripley and Mary Keaft.
The CCE annual picnic was held on
August 12 st at Pat and Micelle
Cusack's camp on Nelson Lake. There
was swimming in the lovely shallow
beach, games, music, singing and
dancing. Thank you to the Cusack's
for extending a cead mile failte to all
the members.
On Saturday August 26 th the Branch
arranged for a group of 30 members
including Pat O 'Gorman (Toronto) and
Julie Schryer (Saulte Ste Marie) to travel
to the Massey Fair to perform for five
continuous hours. This was a
tremendous opportunity for the branch
to showcase their Irish traditions. The
group will receive $2,000.00 for their
efforts, which they will pass on to their
members to attend the Convention in
Toronto.
There is some interest in starting
another branch along the Northshore
this will encourage positive action
towards starting up the yd Northern
Ontario CCE branch in 4 years.
The Annual General Meeting was held
on Saturday September 23 rd 2000.
Plans were finalised for going to
Ottawa on October 21 st for the
Canadian Regional Annual General
Meeting where there was a speCial
celebration honouring the three
Canadian Music Hall of Fame
inductees.
Plans are underway to attend the
North American Comhaltas
Convention in Toronto April 18-23
where the focus is on the children of
the Shaskeen Ceili Band (featuring
many of Irelands youngest and
brightest students). Toronto -
Canadian - Irish hospitality will leave
you with memories to last a lifetime.
Our souls are gently gliding
Midst Heavenly stars above,
We're longing for the moment,
When we' ll meet the God
of love.
There's a Heavenly light proceeding
us,
We've an angel for a guide;
We now hear the angels singing,
In vokes sweet and clear;
We've left behind on earth man
spoiled,
We no longer know of fear.
We've parted w ith many kind
friends,
In that little dot below,
Who used to talk and laugh with us,
Not very long ago.
No need to cry or grieve for us,
We' re still not far away;
We'll be watching over all of you,
-Mn sunrise to dawn each day.
In sad and loving memory of John
and Paschal Dwyer, who died within
weeks of each other, in June/July of
thit millennium year. Both were
nDIIed ~ran players. In addition,
I'atchaI was a gifted accordian
pliWer. They were both active
member's of Comhaltas and
.members of the Leeds Branch since
* lnceptiotr
Bernard Dwyer
A Great Singer
37 Kingspark Ave.
Glasgow,
G444W
I'm w riting in reply to the feature in
No. 2 issue 2000 by AV McManus
and would like to add that while I
agree with everything he w rites and
understand that he can't name all
the great singers/musicians past and
present in the West of Scotland
scene, he never mentioned that he
himself is a great singer but alas
suffering from forgetfulness!
'Andrew Vincent', better known as
Drew, where's the tape you
promised me at least a year ago
Mrs M aureen Stewart
Irish Minstrels CC~
38 ____________________________________________ __

Queen Maeve Summer School
A Great Success
Pictured at the recording of teh programme by Raidi6 na Gaeltachta on the Queen
Maeve Summer School, Sligo Town . (Back row L-R): Sea mus Mac Mathuna (Timire
Cheoil, CC E); Master of Ceremoni es Vince Hearn s (Director of the Queen Maeve
Summer Schoo l); Ca rmel Gunning presenter with Raidi6 na Gaeltachta's Mairtfn
Daithbhf; Olivia McGrennan, Mari a Keeney. (Front Row): Seamus 6 Dubhthaigh, CC E
Town of Sli go CCE musicians, Dess ie Co llis and Veron a Rega n and Charles O'Connor
with Senator Labhras 6 Murchu. (Photograph by P. McCaffrey)
Q ueen Maeve Summer
School of trad itional music and
Jihe
song was held in Sligo town from
7 th to 11th August to mark the occasion
of 25 yea rs of teaching mu sic and song
by Sligo musician and music teacher,
Carmel Gunning.
The school was a great success, w ith
students from Ca nada, America, Sligo,
Cavan, Tyrone. Fermanagh, Mayo,
Clare, and Dublin attending classes.
The lectu res and recitals were well
attended and the hi ghlight of the
week's activities was the closin g
concert. Guest mu sicians, Summer
School students and tutors enterta ined
a delighted audience in the Tower
Hotel w hich was packed to capacity
for 3 hours.
During the concert, students past and
present pa id tri bute to the director of
the Queen Maeve summer School, for
her work as a teacher during the years
they attended the Q ueen M aeve School
of Music in Sli go Town. M any of her
students are now All-Ireland
Champions and this year, Ca rm el had 2
Ulster Champions, 1 Leinster and 1
Connaught champion representing their
provin ces at Fl ead h Cheo il na hEirea nn
in Enni scorthy, Co Wexford at the end
of August thi s year.
Senator Lab hras 6 Murchu,
Ardstiurth6ir of CCE, paid a special
tribute to Carm el Gunning, and
thanked her for her years of service to
Comh altas Ceoltorir Ei reann and Irish
music in general, since 1975.
Mairtin Daibhi, presenter w ith Radio na
Gaeltachta, recorded a special
programme w hich was broadcast
nationw ide on Saturday 19 th August at
7:30pm.
Musicians appea ring on the show were
Charl es O'Connor, O livia M cTern an,
Dess ie Coli is, Verona Rya n, Maria
Keeney and Ca rm el Gunning. The
spea kers on the programme were
Senator Labhras 6 Murchu, Seamus 6
Dubhthaigh, Sea m us M ac Mathuna,
Timire Cheo il, CCE, M artin Enri ght,
Vince Hearn s and Sile Ni Ghallch6ir.
Th e dates for th e Q ueen Maeve
Summer School next year are 6 th
August to 10 th August, 2001. The dates
for the Dervorgilla Summer School
Dromahaire, Co Leitrim are 13 th
August to 17 th August 2001 .
Instruments taught include tin w histl e,
flute, fiddle, banj o, button accordion,
piano accordion, trad. Guitar, trad .
Si nging (En glish and Irish), bod hran,
comhra Gaeilge and sean n6s danci ng.
Carmel Gunning, Director, woul d li ke
to thank everybody w ho helped make
the summer school a success and all
those w ho sent presents, congratulatory
messages and cards for the occasion.
Full details on the Summer schools
may be obtain ed from the webs ite
www.cisl.ie/tradmusic by the end of
November 2000.
All enquiries to Carmel Gunnint n CT
Director of Q ueen Maeve Summer
School,
4 Churchview Crescent Ballytivnan,
Sligo
Tel: 071-62008/087 6250454
E-Mail: carm elgunning@hotmai l. com
Queen Maeve Summer Schoo l 2000. Tin
whi stl e/Flute class w ith tutor Ca rmel
Gunning (Ph otograph : S. McCaffrey)
56 __________________________________________________ __

A Glimpse of G lenariffe
Jo 6 Slor6in
ulra Sinsearach, the senior
educational initiative of
G Comhaltac Ceolt6irf Eireann in
Britain, recently spe nt a week in North
Antrim . The participants were from
Comhaltas branches arou nd Britain and
numbered forty in all The programme
exposed the group to an aspect of
Ireland w ith which they were totally
unfamiliar. The in sights ga ined and the
experience of meeting w ith loca l
people, whose delight to meet with the
group was unbounded, served to offer
a very memorable, enjoyable and
insightfu l few days. Such friend liness
and hospitality is legendary in Ulser,
but its rea l ity begga rs description and
has to be experi enced at first hand to
be believed.
But it was the beauty of Glena riffe plus
the deep love of the countrys ide
exh ibited by Rob Sharp and Charli e
McAllister, co-authors of'A Glimpse of
Glenariffe' a comprehens ive account of
the hi story, culture and social life of the
people of the Glen which impressed
the group enormously w hen they met
the two men. A visit to Corrymeela
Peace Centre hosted by Alistar Kilgore,
left the group deeply moved by w hat
they heard and saw and fi lled w ith
admirati on for the work of that
community. Fr Des Wilson of the
Springfield Community described for
th e group a side of life lived by
ordin ary people in West Belfast, which
is virtually ignored by the media in its
coverage of the North. Here, an
attempt is being made to raise the
awareness of the people to a leve l
where they ca n make a life govern ed
only by their own effort and creativity.
Fr Des is not the flavour of the century
w ith the establishment of either church
or state in encourag ing such initiative.
A presentati on by Eamon Phoenix,
historian and journalist with the Iri sh
News, together w ith Li am Harrison,
Gaeilgeoir, angler, raconteur and lover
of the glens was a highlight of the
programme. Th e passion for the Irish
language demonstrated by Liam in his
address to the CLi lra group, filled them
w ith adm iration and not a little shame
at the low order of priority in which
members of the group placed it. Great
music, so ng and dance were enjoyed
during the week. Extraordinary sessions
with musicians, si ngers, storytellers and
dancers from the area as well as the
yo ung members of the Cushendall
branch of Comhaltas were a delight.
The trip down to Belfast for a day
produced its own su rprises, not least of
which was totally unexpected face to
face encounter w ith two very well
known paramilitaries by some
members of the group, as they toured
the wa ll-murals of the Shankill in a
black taxi . The meeting was friendly
and took place by happen-chance, but
later produced a very sobering
recollection when the group was told
by the tax i-driver the names of the two
men w ith w hom they had been talking.
In total, the week gave to each member
of the Culra group an experience they
co uld not have had but for the Cu lra
scheme. That they experi enced a
unique and inva luab le few days,
serving as a taster onl y of the riches
still to be discovered in their own
background, is due in large meas ure to
the enduring support both senior and
junior Culra have enjoyed from a core
of workers w hose enthusiasm over the
last ten yea r of the CLi lra initiative has
never waned, but grown stronger with
eac h annual programme.
Cu lra na n6g , thirty-six 11 -17 year old
members of Comhaltas in Britain,
together w ith fourteen young ad ult
leaders w ill be visiting the same
location next Easter, w here a superb
welcome awaits th em, not least from
their counterpart traditional musicians
in the glens.
)1 ______________________________________________ __

how ca refully the Reynolds pay
attention to w ho's playing at w hich
times. Newcomers w ill usuall y be
as ked at some point to lead off a set of
tun es. Thi s is in part to welcome them,
but also so the hosts can gauge their
leve l and get a sense of w hat tunes
they know. Both men keep trac k of
w ho knows w hich tun es, so in the
course of the eve ning, everyo ne is sure
to get a chance to play.
Catching her breath after pl ay ing a
qui ck set on her wooden Irish flute,
Susa n Geduti s of Somerville sa id thi s
ega litari on ca marad eri e is w hat drew
her to Irish mu sic and to the seisiuns.
She is studying ethnomusicology at
Tufts Uni vers ity, plays in the hot loca l
folk-rock band Einstein's Little
Homunculu s, and has become a Gree n
Bri ar hab itue since discovering its
seisiun last fall.
'1 studied and played jazz for a w hile,'
she sa id, 'and one of th e things I find
so attractive about Irish mu sic is that
you can just sit down and play, and it's
not about being centre-stage. It's about
pl ay ing w ith other people, becoming a
community through pl ay ing the music
togeth er. People here have been very
welco ming to me, telling me the names
of tun es, stories about the music, subtly
givi ng me the rul es. And there are
codes about how to be in a seisiun ,
about w ho starts the tun es, w hen
peopl e do so lo pi eces, things like that.
There rea lly is a social culture th at
surrounds seisiuns.'
Irish music is hea lthier th an most
trad itional forms th ese days in large part
beca use it remains a li ving tradition,
pl ayed soc iall y and passed along from
generation to generation. The seisiun is
the beating hea rt of that living tradition,
w here beginners learn the ea r training
so vita l to any folk form, and w here
virtuosos return to reconnect w ith the
root aestheti cs of the style. For the goal
is not the see who's the best player, but
for the group to attai n common ground,
for everyone to pl ay together, trill
together, breathe togeth er.
'Seisiuns are so important to Irish
music,' Larry Reynolds sa id, 'because
they keep the music in vogue at all
times, keep it being pl ayed. And it
brings the younger ones ri ght into it. '
Th at-certainl y happened for 22 yea r old
James Foley, w ho li ves in Worcester
and attends St An se lm College in
Manchester, NH. W henever he ca n
find a ride, he comes to the Green
Bri ar se isiun, breaking out hi s guitar to
play along.
He was drawn to Irish music th rough
recent mass-marketed producti on such
as the hit mu sica l 'Ri verd ance,' and
through hearing hip young ba nds,
including So las, w hose founder,
Seam us Egan, was a Green Bri ar
regular w hile attending Boston Co llege
in the ea rl y '90s. Last June, Fo ley went
to th e Irish Festi va l at Stonehi 11 Co llege,
eager to hea r his favourite Ce lti c stars
on the conce rt stage. He forgot all
about them, though, after wandering
into the Comhaltas Se isiun Tent and
meeting the Reynolds.
'1 didn't go to that festi va l ex pecting to
find a way to start pl aying th e mu sic,'
he sa id, 'but that's w hat's great about
seisiuns. This is the best way to learn
Irish music. There're so many tunes
you ca n pick up, and you ca n play
ri ght along side older peop le w ho have
played th e mu sic all their lives. You get
to participate at your level, get
comfortable w ith w hat you' re doing
and lea rn . Larry and Mike are great at
taking musicians in, making them fee l
at home. You get the fee ling th at this is
kind of a family event, cl ose- knit, and
that you belong, no matter how good a
musician you are.'
Later that evening, Foley offered a
so ng. Earli er, Larry Reynolds had urged
him to sing, but also to wa it until th e
moment felt right, until he was sure he
fe lt comfortabl e.
'1 ca n actually hear them move from
one leve l to th e next,' Larry Reynolds
sa id. ' Pl ayers I've been listening to
week after week, I can hea r their
playing elevate. That's the fun for me,
hea ring the va ri ous people coming up,
parti cularl y if they're not Iri sh, as th ey
rea lly get hold of the music, and it gets
hold of them. They become one w ith it,
and you ca n actually feel the
enjoyment they're having. That's
everything to me.'
'CiT Gon 'Ceongo,
'CiT Gon Anom
Donnchadh M ag Loingsigh, w ho has
to count back five generations to the
last native born Irish person in hi s
fami ly, recently gained an 'A" grade
GCSE in Irish Language and is
currently studying Irish to A Leve l,
an examinati on in which he w ill sit
next summer.
Donnchadh, a member of the
Bradford Branch of Comh altas,
w here he first began to lea rn the
language, was elected Treora f
Gaei lge for the British Province of
Com haltas last yea r and since that
time has been very active promoting
interest in and commitment to the
language throughout all the
Comh altas branches in Britain. He
has provided each branch w ith a 24
lesson Course supplemented by
audio-tape materi al which ca n be
used to teach the very bas ics of
Gaelic to branch members. He has
also encouraged the greater use of
the language in sign-posting,
'ca lling' at ceilf and set-dancing
events, singing, and during
meetings. His sloga n is 'Better a
cupla focal than no focal at all'. He
is ada mant that 'Am hran na
bhFi ann ' should be sung at all Irish
fun ctions and onl y in Irish, even
though it was originally w ritten in
English. 'Did you ever hea r of any
nation singing its national anthem in
the language of another', he says.
'Imagine the French singing the
'Marsa illaise' in Germ an, or
J2 ________________________________________________ ~

~~ .·".len,o!, •• "!.!.ii-
Che Big '50'
Celebration of Leeds
Paul Hammer
Playing at the 'Irish Post' overseas
concert at the Fleadh in Enni scorth y
(jJ lans are now well advanced
( L· for the big '50' weekend
J . celebration of Comhaltas in
Leeds which will be sponsored by the
'Irish Post' . Th e Council of Britain, in
co-operation with the energetic loca l
committee headed by Chai rman
accord eoni st John Ferguson, have lined
up an impress ive programme. Included
w ill be ex hibitions, workshop s, ceilthe
and plenty of sess ions. The convention
banquet wi ll be one of the highlights of
the weekend. A meeting of the
Ardchomhai rl e w ill also be held in
conjunction w ith the event. This will
be the first time such a meeting has
been held outside of Ireland.
The luxurious Jarvis Parkway Hotel and
Country Club in Leeds will be the venue
for the exciting musical Convention
weekend of Comhai rle na Breataine CCE
ON 2/4 February, 2001. The event w ill
be one of the many 50 th Anniversary
celebration events of Comhaltas.
The Hotel is set back from the road and
situated next to Golden Acre Park and
Nature Reserve, which is 6 miles from
Leeds City Centre and 5 miles from
Leeds and Bradford Airport. It ca n
accommodate in the region of 238-
250, and has been block booked for
the Convention weekend. All rooms
have an ensu ite bathroom/shower, TV,
in room movies, hairdryer,
trouser press, direct dial
telephone and tea/coffee
making facilities. Shou ld
there be an overspi ll as
rega rd s accommodation there is an
arran gement in place between the
Jarvis Parkway and
the next nearest Hotel (app roximately 1
mile away) whereby prices w ill remain
the same as the spec ial rates w hich
have been negotiated.
• Workshops w ill include
Uilleann pipes, Harp, Irish
Language, Trad itional
Singing, the Comhaltas
Story, C(lira Presentation,
Archive Exhibition, Flute,
Fiddle, Button Accordion,
Piano Accordion, Banjo, Set
Dancing.
• The Templehouse Ceili Band
has been booked to play for
the ceili both Friday and
Saturday night.
• Jim Teeva n, Chairman of the
Council of Britain, w ill
manage an exhibition room of
archives consisting of video,
photographs, press reports etc.
•
w ill provide music and drama in
the Cu lra room at intervals
throughout the weekend. They wi ll
be ass isted by the youth leaders
under the direction of Joe Sheeran
(Coordinator) and Christine Byrne
(Ad ministrator)
• It is expected that the Irish
Government will be represented at
the Banquet and RTE have also
been invited .
Prices w ill inclu de bed/breakfast for
two nights, reception, banquet, buffets,
lunch, access to
both Cei li's and
all workshops
also the use of the
Hotel Hea lth
Club including
the heated
indoor
sw imming pool,
sauna, spa bath
and gym nasium.
50 __________________________________________________ __

Mary Neary presenting the trophy for the
melodion competition at Flead h Cheo d
na hEireann to Crfona Nf Mhaoilchroin
radio programmes, ego The Long Note,
Airnean, Mo Cheol Thu, Ulster Folk,
Teach a' Chei llidhe and also a series of
documentary tribute programmes on
musicians, ego Paddy Keenan, Tommy
Potts, Johnny O'Leary, Paddy Keenan
ete. He has also produced three CDs of
rare recordings of traditional musicians
from the RTE sound archives: The
Sliabh Luachra Fiddle Master - Padraig
O'Keefe, Denis Murphy - Music from
Sliabh Luachra and Seamus Ennis - the
Return from Fingal. He has played as a
session musician with such people as
Mary Black, Paul Brady, Mick Hanle~,
The Dubliners and also as guest soloist
with the RTE Concert Orchestra.
The venue for the recording was
Monastery Studio, Letterfrack, Co
Galway. John Dunford, who manages
Sharon Shannon, had a mobile studio
in location at the Monastery Hostel, for
the month of November, to record a
new Sharon Shannon album. The
Shannon crew had a mid month break
and the studio was re rigged for the
Bofield Ceilf Band by Richard Forde,
who was part of Sharon's crew. The
sound engineer was Richard
McCullough who has a vast knowledge
and experience, which included
working with Bill Whelan, Riverdance
composer.
100 Years A Growing
The album celebrates the long tradition
of music in the area. The tunes are a
pleasant mixture of material local to the
area as well as some new
compositions. There are sixteen tracks
in all, many of which are from the
repertoire of local musicians. One of
the new compositions, a jig called
Father Pat Peyton, is dedicated to the
famed rosary priest who was a past
pupil of Bofield school. Other tracks
are dedicated to former members now
deceased. 100 Years a Growing,
includes marches, jigs, slides,
hornpipes and reels. Both the book and
recording compliment each other and
are a proud testimony to one small
branch of CCE who are working to
preserve the tradition, which they
inherited.
Cogar na bhfea r: Peter Neary. and Jack
Roche at Fleadh Cheoi l na hEirea nn
Granard Harp
Competitions
Almost forty competitions took part in
this years Harp competitions. Guest
on the day was Donal Glennon one of
the founder members of the Harp
competitions. The official opening
was performed by Co Longford. Arts
Officer Fergus Kennedy who said he
was one hundred per cent behind the
committee who were working so hard
to establish the Harp in Granard. The
Adjudicator was Aine Heneghan,
Mayo, a former competitor, who had a
very tough task on her hands as. the
standard was so high. The committee
were very pleased to see two
members from the Granard Harp
School taking part in the
competitions. Though not among the
winners, it was a great achievement.
Winners as follows. Novice: 1 si
Sinead Healy, Castlebar; 2 nd Sheena
Geraghty, Mayo; 3 rd Claire Geraghty,
Mayo. U-12 Lisa Canny, Mayo; 2 nd
Sinead Healy, Castlebar; 3 rd Cathy
Potter. Lisburn 12 to 15 1 st Seany
Davey, Dunderry; 2 nd Christene
Brady, Belfast; Joint 3 rd Cathy Potter,
Lisburn and Nadia Markey,
Castleblaney. 15 to 18 pt Michelle
Muicahy, Limerick; 2 nd Nicola Cahill,
Galway; yd Una Monahan, Belfast
-18 International competition 1 sI
Hazel Touhy, Clare; 2 nd Elenor
Meehan, Monaghan; 3 rd Marie
Wambergue, France. Voice and Harp.
1 sI Hazel Touhy, Calre; 2 nd Mary
O ' Neill, Armagh; 3 rd Lisa Canny,
Mayo. The committee would like to
thank our main sponsor Ed Molloy
Super Value. Other sponsors were
Longford County Council, C & D
Edgeworthstown, Pat the Baker, Bank
of Ireland, The Slieve Russell Hotel
and Cavan Abbey Crystal. Your help is
appreciated. The day finished off with
a Ceilr in the Community Centre with
the Four Provinces Ceilf Band which
was well attended and enjoyed by the
large crowd. Our Harp School
resumed in September. For further
details contact 04386643 or 86375 or
86721. Next year will be the 20 th year
without a break and the committee
are hoping to have something special
organised to celebrate the event.
Josie O'Rourke,
Competition Secretary

Che Party Continues in Bofieldl
(Back L-Rl: John Bourke, Deirclre Gole/en, Peter Nea ry, Silvie Go le/en, Kevin Donnellan,
Mary Conl on, David Timlin, Joe Neary. (Front L-Rl: Mary Nea ry, Jarlath Neary,
Caro l Donnellan.
The senior Bofi eld Ceilf band celebrates
100 yea rs of Mayo musi c making, and
in association with Humingbird
Record s and RTE had a night of nights
in The Downhill Hotel, Ballina earlier
thi s y~a r w hen they laun ched their
album and book.
Bofield, Gort na mBa, a small townl and
in Bonnico nlon is situated 4 miles
South East of Ballina close to the Mayo
Sli go border. It has a long proud but
heretofore undocumented tradition in
Irish music. However thi s situation is
now being reversed and the
Bonnico nl on community in
conjuncti on w ith the Local CC E branch
have over the yea rs taken steps to
ensure that future generati ons in th e
area w ill enjoy the ri ch legacy of
culture of which we are the custodians.
100 Years of Music
The pari sh w hi ch, down through the
ages has survived on community
resourcefuln ess has always had a strong
and plentiful supply of music. In fact, it
is cl ea r had a string band ea rl y in the
1900's. The peripateti c teac her at th at
time was Ned Hallinan. Some of his
relati ves are still pl ay ing with the
current Bofi eld band - one hundred
26
years later. One of hi s pupils Ber
McNulty, left our area and w as a cofounder
of th e Tull a band in 1946.
The Loftus family in Bofield established
the first G ilf band in 193 0's. Thi s
family had thei r own dance hall, The
Laurel Ballroom. It was situ ated at the
crossroads beside their house and was
opened on Christmas night in 1938. In
an age w hen environmental protection
is of the utmost importance the local
CCE bran ch has been quick to show
initiative and became in vo lved in
preserving the Loftus homestead at
Bofield cross, where the founders of the
first Bofield band were rea red. The
ballroom nea r the house is now
demolished but th ankfully the cottage
still stands and is in reasonable repair.
Th e spot has been marked w ith a small
inscription stone which states the
importance of the house in term s of
musica l heritage of the area. Local
interests have at present appl ied for
pl anning permi ss ion and it is hoped
that the future of the cottage is
guaranteed. The site has been visited
by Senator Labhras 6 Murchu CCE,
and Cllr Jack Roche w ho has built a
teac h Cheoil in Rockchapel, Co Cork.
Bofield school, a stone's throw from th e
Loftu s home has also been a vital factor
in the musica l heritage of the area. The
195 0's saw the th en school principal in
Bofi eld, l ames Brenn an, enco urage
mu sic in the area. He had va riou s
school bands th at played and won at
numerous competitions. They were
recorded by RTE and there are still
some households in the area that have
recordings of the broadcast. Th e
ori ginal acetate recordings are in
possession of the Brennan family now
li ving in Dublin.
In 1978 the senior ceilf band won the
Mayo and Co nn acht fl eadh ann a Cheoil
and represented th e province at Fleadh
Cheo il na hEirea nn in Listowel Many of
the musicians on th at group had been
former pupils of l ames Brennan.
The 80's saw the tradition of music
pl ay ing in th e area go from strength
under the guidance of Peter Neary who
had just completed his BA and HOE.
He devoted himself to the teaching of
mu sic on a full time basis. Later hi s
wife Mary, who pl ays the button
accordion and teac hes evening classes,
joined him. They have completed their
TTTC course and have received a
Diploma in Music Educati on from
UCG . At the moment the Gort na mB a
branch of CCE offer cl asses on all
traditional in struments and cater for all
ages. They have four Ceilf bands: under
12, 12-15, 15-18 and senior leve l.
Individuals and groups have
parti cipated in co mpetitions in Scar
Readofrf, Fl eadhanna Cheo il and
Slagadh and have won at vari ous leve ls
including All Ireland.
A number of mu sicians have appea red
in va riou s publicati ons associated with
Irish music including, Irel and's Eye,
Treoir, the offi cial CCE magaz ine and

5
Soon loud and high the freedom cry was heard along that
shore
The prisoners are in the boat and pulling on the oars
With heart and hand, this Fenian hand they pulled
against the tide
And the ocean clear rang with the cheers as their small
boat pulled 'Iongside.
6
They had scarcely set their feet on board the brave
Catalpa barque
When fast was seen, approaching near, a gunboat grim
and dark
It was the British Georgette and upon her deck were lined
Two hundred British soldiers with their guns and
cannons primed.
7
The gunboat fired a warning shot, across Catalpa's bows
And 'Drop your anchor' soon was heard in bullying tones
and loud
But gallant Captain Anthbny, his voice rang o'er the 'say'
You dare not fire upon the flag of the noble U.S.A.
8
'My ship is sailing peacefully beneath the Stripes and Stars
My crew are valiant Irishmen and gallant Yankee tars
And that bold emblem on the prow all plain for to be seen
Come shot or shell, we'll guard it well for its Erin's flag
of green.
9
Those British huns put down their guns, from the Stars
and Stripes they ran
They'd curse and swear, but did not dare to fight with
Uncle Sam
The gallant ship Catalpa then set sail without delay
And those Fenian men were soon free again in the good
old USA.
10
Success attend those Fenian men, who to freedom now
have flown
They are Hassett, brave, from Doneraile and Cranston
from Tyrone
Tom Darragh from the Wicklow hills and Hogan from
the Coombe
With Wilson bold from Newry town and Harrington f
rom Macroom.
11
So long life to Captain Anthony, the man who set them free
He dared the English man-of-war to fight him on the sea
And here's to that brave banner, boys, which in triumph
now is seen
The flag for which our heroes fought old Ireland's flag
of green.

The Cliff Hornpipe
. ~
The Cliff Hornpipe, and Ross' Horn pipe, and the Blu e Eyed Rasca l, were notated from
the pl aying of Noel Strange (1927-1 970), of Longford, recorded in 1962 and 1963. Noel,
in hi s day, was a ve ry popul ar figure in traditional music circles, both as a musician and
an adjudicator. He broadcast freq uently on Radio Eireann (RTE). He played the Banjo­
M andolin, a ve ry rare in strument in those days, in traditional music.
CQj 1 EtU rmfF 1 ~[m go ID tD
[J E.QJ 1 a r1 Fe E m 1 r EJ f :11 U
~ ,
~ !le 1 JJJJ fflJ 1 tW
~11j jJ J j P J 1 er
~.! (j m 6' m cm 1
er m 1 r m r r r [ r r 1 (rm go ill tD
~i! jJ JJ j P J 1 eE U CQJ 1
cl El F rE m 1 r EJ r :11
Ross' Hornpipe
~.! t 1) 1 ID
fl sW 1
~II J j J 41 rrP 1
r F r r % 1 ID
fl J J J J 1 j J j J J 1)
r F r rani J J J ] j J j ] 1 J ~ J ~ ~ :11
~ ~ .
~I! U 1 f cl -5:l-fJ 1 f c; U El 1 m cJ f f3 1 % J J J J 1
~II uJD g1 rW 1
r f r m an 1 J J J ] j J j ] 1 W
~ ~ :11
The Blue Eyed Rascal
2.'13 .

A Musical Son of Kilmihil
Seamus Mac Mathuna
Tommy McCa rthy
Ji
he passing of any well-loved
traditional musician is felt as a
major personal loss by the
members of the trad itional fraternity, so
it is no over-statement to say that the
recent death of Tommy McCarthy
concertina player, piper and true
Irishm an left people all over Ireland,
Britain and further afield w ith a deep
sense of shock and bereavement.
Tommy was born in 1929 in the
town land of Shya n in the pari sh of
Kilmihil. The area around Shyan
incl uding part of Cooraclare and
Kilmihil parishes had a nest of
concertina players including Sol us
Willis, Bernard 0 ' Sullivan, Tommy
Ca rey, and of course Tommy McCarthy.
The older people around Shyan still
speak with awe of Tomm y's amaz ing
virtuos ity as a young lad, and the ease
w ith whi ch he achieved mastery
of the tin whistle, the fiddle and
the concertina whilst still
scarcely a teenager.
Kilmihil, in the hea rt of West
Clare, was an area rich in the
heritage of music singing and
dan cing. Perhaps its most
ce leb rated musician was the
late lamented Paddy Breen
w hose annual trip home from
London in the 50' and 60's was
a signal for a two or three week
non stop sess ion which only
concluded when half the parish
congregated at the village bus
stop to see him off on hi s return
journey. Sonny Murray, th e
Ru sse lls and the McNamaras,
Micko 'Dick' Murphy and a
co uple of dozen others kept the
trad ition going for the rest of the year.
The late Mrs Galvin of Moyasta, a
celebrated fiddler in the earl y decade
of the (2 0 th ) century was also a native
of the parish.
In the 40's and 50's there was heavy
emigrations from all parts of Ireland,
and, like many another, Tommy
McCarthy found himself an ex ile in
London in 1952. There he fitted eas ily
and naturally into the exciting
traditional scene around Ca mden Town
and Cricklewood in the company of
such outstanding musicians as Rodger
Sherlock, Bobby Casey, Willie Clancy,
Brendan McGlinchey, Mairtin Byrnes,
Paddy Tay lor, the fore-mentioned
Paddy Breen, etc, etc.
Th ere in due course he met Kathleen
from the traditional rich area of
Glenamaddy in North Galway, who
shared Tommy's love of music and
tradition. Not surprisingly their four
children became top class emponeats
of Irish traditional music. In fact, down
th rough the past twenty plus yea rs, the
entire McCa rthy family might be seen
in London, Clare, Galway - just about
anywhere, playing as a family group or
in ex uberant sess ions w ith the many
mu sica l peers and comrades who loved
to play with them .
During the thirty-nine yea rs he spent in
London Tommy was continually at the
centre of all trad music activity. He
played regularl y with all those musicians
li sted above, perhaps more w ith Bobby
Casey (a lso recently deceased) who
liked his relaxed good-humoured ways .
Raymond Roland, Liam Farrell, Brendan
Mulkere, Mick O'Connor, John Bowe,
Kevin Taylor, Paddy Hayes, Con Curtin
and all that mighty generation of you ng
musicians who came along in the 70's
and 80's would also have shared many a
session with Tommy.
Li ving in London, and w ith his
personality, musical family and friends
and his read iness to pl ay, Tommy was
not surprisingly in great demand.
He played on many TV programmes
and at many festivals, and was guest
perform er on recordings by the
Chieftai ns, Horslips and Kate Bu sh(!)
amongst others. He was a frequent
performer at Comhaltas functions in
London and throughout Britain, and he,
along w ith Kathleen and his family
were regulars at Scoil Samhraidh W illie
Clancy in Miltown Malbay.
Tommy played pipes and concertina on
th at first hi stori ca l Comhaltas Tour of
North America in 19 72 and made a
return trip by popular demand w ith the
1982 Tour Group. In fact he became a
2i ________________________________________________ __

Mountmellick, Co. Laois; 2nd
sinead N f Mhurchu, cct Dun
Dealgan, Co. Lu; 3rd Clit Nf
Chraith, CCE, Loughmore, Co.
Thiobraid Arann; 12/15: 1 st
Naoimf Dunleavy, CCE, Cr. na
bPiobairf Uilleann, Baile Atha
Cliath; 2nd C1ar Nf Chuinn, cct
Ca isea l Mumhan, Co. Thiobraid
Arann; 3rd Aodhan 6 Neill, cct
Dromore, Co. Thfr Eoghain;
15/18: 1 st Mari on Nf Choilea in,
CCE, Ath 'a Caoire, Co. Chorca f;
2nd Matthew Gabel, CCE, West
London; 3rd Rya n 6
Maolmhuaidh, cct Galbally,
Co. Thfr Eoghain; Snr: 1 st Tomas
Mac Aoga in, CCE, Carraig
Teabhra, Co. Loch Garman; 2nd
Eanna 6 Cathain, CCE, Cr. Na
bPiobairf Uilleann, Co. Chill
Dara; 3rd Kevin Buckl ey, CCE, i
st. Louis Irish Arts, USA
plOB UILLEANN FOINN
MHALLA: Fe 12: 1 st Caoimhfn
6 Fea rghail, cCE, Na
Comaraigh, Co. Phort Lairge;
2nd Ri an 6 Murchu, CCE,
Fearmu f, Co. Chorca f; 3rd Eanna
6 Muire, CCE, Leim a' Bhradain,
Co. Chill Dara; 12/15: 1 st Jareth
Henderson, cct Derrytresk, Co.
Thfr Eoghain; 2nd sean McKeon,
CCE, sean Treacy, Baile Atha
Cliath; 3rd Cri st6ir Mac Maolain,
CCE, strabane, Co. Thfr Eoghain;
15/18: 1 st Daire Murraf, CCE,
Carri g Teabhra, Co. Loch
Garm an; 2nd Louise Nf
Mhaolcathaigh, CCE, Teampaill
a'Ghl ea nntain, Co. Luimnigh;
3rd Fi ac hra 6 Ri again, CCE,
Carna, Co. na Gaillimhe; Snr: 1 st
Mikie smyth, cct sean Treacy,
Bai le Atha Cliath
FEA06G MH6R FOINN
MHALLA: Fe 12: 1 st Noride Nf
Mhuimhneachain, CCE, Laichtfn
Naofa, Co. Chorca f; 2nd Christfn
I
Nf Dhoilffn, CCE, Cr. Na
bPiobairf Uillea nn, Baile Atha
Cliath; 3rd Tara Breen, cCE,
Doora-Barefield, Co. an Chlair;
12/15: 1st Aodhan 6 Neill, CCE,
Dromore, Co. Thfr Eoghain; 2nd
Ciaran Cariin, CCE, Cathair
Dhoire, Doire; 3rd M atthew
Dean, cct Tyneside; 15/18: 1 st
Joe Doyle, CCE, Cr. Cualainn,
Co. Bhaile Atha Cliath; 2nd
sinead Nf Fhathaigh, CCE, Dun
Garbhain, Co. Phort Lairge; 3rd
Eimear Nic Eoghain, CCE,
Clanbrassil, Co. Ard Mhacha;
Snr: 1 st Attracta Nf Bhradaigh,
CCE, Killeigh, Co. Uibh Fhailf;
2nd Aine N f Dheaghaidh, cct
Ballydonoghue/ Li sse lton, Co.
Chi arraf; 3rd Collette Nf
Ghamhna, cct 6 Col main, Co.
shligigh
FEAo6G FOINN MHALLA: Fe
12: 1 st Loui se Nic Chionnaith,
Burnfoot, Co. Dhun na nGall;
2nd susan Nf Mhuilleoir, CCE,
Mountmellick, Co . Lao is; 3rd
Fiona Nf Bharun, c c t Leitir
Ceanainn, Co. Dhun na nGall;
12/15: 1 st Ciaran 6
Maoldomhnaigh, CC E, Uaran
M6r, Co. na Gaillimhe; 2nd sfl e
Aine Nic Ghafraidh, CCE,
Gleeni sh, Fea r M anach; 3rd
siobhan Nf 6gain, CCE, Corofin,
Co. an Chlair; 15/18: 1 st Edel
Nic Lochl ainn, Burnfoot, Co .
Dhun na nGall; 2nd Loui se Nf
Mhaolcath aigh, c c t Teampaill
a ghleanntain, Co. Luimnigh; 3rd
Aisling N ic Philib, CC E,
Enniskillen, Fear Manach; Snr:
1 st Eibhlfn Nf Mhaille, CCE,
Carn a, Co. na Gaillimhe; 2nd
Paula Nf Dhulaing, CCE, Osraf,
Cill Chainnigh, 3rd Kathl een
Keane, cct Irish Musicians
Associati on, USA
CEOL BEl RTE: Fe 12: 1 st sean
Nev ille & Ca it Lucey, CCE,
Ballydonoghue/Li sse lton, Co.
Chiarraf; 2nd stiofan 6
Docharta igh & Padraig 6
Dubhasa, cct Bea l Ath a na
Muiche, Co. Mhaigh Eo; 3rd
sinead & Dara 6 h-Ealaf, CCE,
Ca islea n a' Bharraigh, Co.
Mhuigh Eo; 12/15: 1 st Ruth N f
Bh aoighea llain & Jenny N f
Dhiolun, cct C1 anadhl
Allenwood, Co. Chill Dara; 2nd
Grainne Gillan & sti ofa n 6
Fl annaga in, CCE, Beal Feirste,
Co. Aontroma; 3rd Mairead Uf
U rl aithe & Clit Nf Ruain, CCE,
Fred Finn, Co. shligigh; 15/18:
1 st Padraig Mac samhrain &
Daithf 6 sioradain, CCE, Bea l an
Atha Mh6ir, Co. Liathdroma; 2nd
Carmel Doohan & Clive Eari ey,
CCE, Doora-Barefield, Co . an
Chl air; 3rd Aisling & Daire
Mulhern, CCE, Doora-Barefield,
Co. an Chl air; Snr: 1 st Loretto N f
M haoldomhnaigh & Tomas 6
slattara, CCE, Baile U f Choim fn,
Co. Thiobraid Arann; 2nd Darren
& Mari on Collins, CCE, Ath a
Caoi re, Co. Chorca f; 3rd Carmel
& John Burke, CCE, Coventry
CEOL TRIR: Fe 12: 1 st
Donnchadh, Conor and Julian 6
M aoldomhnaigh, CCE, Tulla, Co.
an Chl air; 2nd Christine Nic
Ghabhann, Bl athnaid Nic Chaba
& Muireann Nf Eanna, CCE Cill
Deaglain, Co. na Mf; 3rd sinead,
Grainne & Dara 6 h-Ealaf, CCE,
Ca islea n a' Bharraigh, Co.
Mhuigh Eo; 12/15: 1 st Aine
M aire N f Ghruaga in, Aine Nf
Mhea l6id & 5inead Nic
Ghormain, CCE, Cill Deaglain,
Co. na Mf; 2nd M aedbh Boyd,
Edel Fox & Ca itrfona Nf
Mhaoldomhnaigh, CCE, Doora­
Barefield/Clarecastle, Co. an
Chl air; 3rd Caren Nf Icf, Liam 6
Maolmhuaidh & sinead Nf Ealaf,
CCE, Caislean a ' Bharraigh, Co.
Mhaigh Eo; 15/18: 1 st 5ea na
Agnew, sea n & M airead
Graham, CCE, Portglenone, Co.
Aontroma; 2nd Una & Eilish Nf
Chearuilain & Peter 6 standuin,
CCE, Cill Deaglain, Co. na Mf;
3rd Holly & Kelly Ni c
Oireachtaigh & R6isfn Hambl y,
CCE, Baile an Daighin, Co.
Mhuigh Eo; Snr: 1 st Cath al,
M airfn & Cait N f Chlochasaigh,
cct Ca islean U f Chonailll
Ahane/Baile lobairt, Luimneach;
2nd Pat & John Bass & Tomas
Keegan, CCE, Carraig Teabhra,
Co. Loch Ga rman; 3rd Carmel &
John Burke & Joanne Hocking,
CCE, Coventry & Birmingham
BuloN CHEOIL CEILI: Fe 12:
1 st Barefield 'B', An Chlair; 2nd
Bufon Cheo il Ceilf, cct
Li snaskea, Fea r M anach; 3rd
Ba nnow C, CCE, CO. Loch
Garman; 12/15: 1 st sean Treacy,
CCE, sean Treacy, Atha Cliath,
2nd Bu fon Cheoil Cheil f,
Ceolaras, Co. shligigh; 3rd Inis
6g, Co. an Chlair; 15/18: 1 st
Ceolus, CCE, Gort Leitreach, Co.
Liathdroma; 2nd Inis 6g, Co. an
Chlair; 3rd CCE, C1uain Tarbh,
Baile Atha Cliath; Snr: 1 st rain
Ceil f Band, cct Dun Dea lgan,
Co. Lu; 2nd cct Caisleain Uf
Chonaill/Ahanel Baile lobairt, Co.
Luimnigh; 3rd Naomh Padraig,
CCE, Baile Atha Troim, Co. na M f
GRUPA CHEOIL: Fe 12: 1 st
CCE, Tea mpai ll a Ghlea nntain,
Co. Luimnigh; 2nd Ca isleain
Aerach, CCE, Ca isleain
a'Bharra igh, Co. Mhaigh Eo; 3rd
CCE, Leicester, Leicester; 12115:
1 st Craobh Naithf, CCE, Cr
Naithf, Baile Atha Cli ath; 2nd
Cill Deaglain, cct Cill
Deaglain, Co. na M f; 3rd CCE,
Ca islea in U f Chonaill/Ahanel
Ba ile lobairt, Co. Luimnigh;
15/18: 1 st Crosskeys,
Toomebridge, Co. Aontroma;
2nd Baile an Daighin, Co.
Mhaigh Eo; 3rd Cluain Tarbh,
Ba ile Ath a Cliath; Snr: 1 st
Naomh Mhichfl, Co. Luimnigh;
2nd Baile Uf Choimfn, Co.
Thiobraid Arann; 3rd Eanna 6
Cathain, Co. Chill Dara
BUION CHEOIL CAIRoIN: Fe
18: 1 st K & 5 Accordion Band;
2nd St. Bri gid's Band; 3rd Castl e
Tara Youth Band; snr: 1 st
M ayobridge Youth Band; 2nd
Carnan Accordion Band; 3rd St.
Miguel's Accordion Band
BUION CHEOIL FEA06G
MH6R: Fe 18: 1 st Derrynoose
Flute Band, Co. Ard Mhacha;
2nd St. Ita's Flute Band, Co. na
Ga illimhe; Snr: 1 st Clooney Flu te
Band; 2nd Mulladuff Flute Band;
3rd Maghery Fi fe & Drum Band
BUION ROGHA GHLEAS: Fe
18: 1 st Ramelton Town Band, Co.
Dhun na nGa ll; 2nd Harp &
Shamrock Band, Clara, Co. Uibh
Fhailf; 3rd Augher Junior
Miscell aneous Band, Co . Thfr
Eoghain; Snr: 1 st 5t. Mary's Band,
Broomfield, Co. Mhuineachain;
2nd Donaghmoyne Youth Band,
Co. M huineachain; 3rd Buidean
Cheoil Chloich Cheann Fhaola,
Co. Dhun na nGal1
BUION CHEOIL PHIOB: Aon
Aois: 1 st Cloughfin Pipe Ba nd,
Co. Thfr Eoghain
AMHRAN GAEILGE MNA: Fe
12: 1st Noride N f
Mhuineachain, cct Laichtin
Naofa, Co. Chorca f; 2nd Naisrfn
Elsafty, cct Uaran M6r, Co. na
22 ____________________________________________________ _

Fleadh Champions 2000
Nuala Hehir - 1 st senior
accordion
VEIOHliN: Fe 12: 1 st Tomas
Mac Gea railt, Inchamore,
Brosna, Co. Chiarrai; 2nd Tara
Breen, CCE, Doora-Barefield,
Co. an Chl air; 3rd Eoghan
McKenn a, CCE, North London;
12/15: 1 st Aod han 6 Neill , CCE,
Dromore, Tfr Eoghain; 2nd
Darren Magee, CCE,
Warrenpoint, Co. Down; 3rd
Sinead Linane, CCE, St Albans;
15/18: 1 st Ryan 6
Maolmhuaidh, CCE, Co. Thir
Eoghai n; 2nd Feargal 6 Scathail,
CCE, Cora Finne, Co. na
Gai llimhe; 3rd Johnn y Canning,
CCE, Irish Minstrels; Snr: 1 st Ita
Ni Chuinneaga in, CCE, Atha
Cinn, Co . na Gai llimhe; 2nd
Fergal 6 Neill , CCE, Clu ain
Tarbh, Ba il e Atha Cliath; 3rd
Justin Toner, CCE, Bai le Mhic an
Aba, Co. Ard Mhacha
BOSCA CHEOll: Fe 12: 1 st
Susan Ni Mhuill eoir, CCE,
Mountmellick, Co. Laois; 2nd
Conor 6 Muircheartaigh, CCE,
Ci ll Chuimin, Ciarrai; 3rd Criona
Ni Mhaoi lchr6in, CCE, Gort na
mB6, Muigh E6; 12/15: 1st Daire
Mulhea rn, CCE, Doora­
Barefield, An Clar; 2nd Edward
Breen, CCE, Doora-Barefield, An
Clar; 3rd Darren Bresl in, CCE,
Lisnas kea, Fear Manach; 15/18:
1 st Adele Farrell, CCE,
O'Carolan; 2nd Fi ac hra 6
Mongain, CCE Cr. Chriost6ir Ui
Chearnaigh, Co. Mhuigh E6; 3rd
Clive Earl ey, CCE, Doora­
Barefield, Co. an Chlair; Snr: 1 st
Nu al Hehir, CCE, Doora­
Barefi eld, Co. an Chlair; 2nd
Olibhear 6 Duibheann aigh,
CCE, Ua ran M6r, Co . na
Gaillimhe; 3rd Sean Bass, CCE,
i
Ca rraig Teabhra, Co. Loch
Garman
FEA06G MH6R: Fe 12: 1 st
Nicol a Ni Ghiollain, CCE, Bea l
Feirste, Co. Aontrama; 2nd Aine
Ni Bhaoi ll, CCE, Fred Finn, Co.
Shligigh; 3rd Riobaird Harvey,
CCE, Cam ross, Co. Laois; 12/15:
1 st Aod han 6 Ne ill, CCE,
Dromore, Tfr Eoghain; 2nd Aine
Maire Ni Ghruagain, CCE, Cill
Deaglain, Co. na Mi; 3rd Ca it Ni
Ruain, CCE, Craobh Fred Finn,
Co. Shligigh; 15/18: 1 st Joe
Doyle, CCE, Cr. Chualai nn, Bai le
Ath a Cli ath; 2nd Barra
McAllister, CCE, Cluain Tarbh,
! Bai le Atha Cli ath; 3rd Liam Mac
Piarais, CCE, Tuar na Fola, Co.
Luimnigh; Snr: 1 st Sarah Jane
Woods, CCE, Craobh Naithi,
Baile Atha Cli ath; 2nd Triona Ni
Fhlaibhin, CCE, An Gleann, Co.
Luimnigh; 3rd Sheenagh Weir,
CCE, Loughbeg, Co. Aontroma
FEAo6G: Fe 12: 1 st Eoghan
Conway, CCE, Hanafin Cooley,
USA; 2nd Stiofan 6
Dochartaigh, CCE, Bea l Atha na
Muice, Co. Mhuigh E6; 3rd
I
Maire Ca it Nic Uaid, CCE,
Dromore, Co. Thir Eoghain;
12/15: 1st Aine Maire Ni
Ghruagain, CCE, Cill Deaglain,
Co. na Mi; 2nd Gina Ni Ri ada,
CCE, Ennistymon, Co. an Chl air;
3rd Mairead Ni Urlaithe, CCE,
Ba ile an Mh6ta, Co. Sh ligigh;
15/18: 1 st Adele Farre ll, CCE,
O'Carolan; 2nd Loui se Ni
Mhaolca thaigh, CCE, Teampaill
a'Ghl eanntain, Co. Luimni gh;
3rd Joe Doyle, CCE, Cr.
Chualann, Ba il e Atha Cli ath;
Snr: 1 st Mikie Smyth, CCE, Sean
Treacy, Bai le Atha Cliath; 2nd
Errol Flynn, CCE, Kil lorglin, Co.
Chiarrai; 3rd Eibh lin Ni Mhaille,
CCE, Ca rna, Co. na Gaillimhe
CAIROiN PIANO: Fe 12: 1 st
Sinead Ni Ealai, CCE, Caislean
a'Bharraigh, Co. Mhuigh E6; 2nd
Ciara Ni Chuinneagain ,
Crosskeys, An Cabhan; 3rd
Emma Sinnott, CCE, Bannow,
Co. Loch Garman; 12/15: 1 st
Patricia O'Grady, CCE, SI.
Wi lfrid's; 2nd Martin Touri sh,
Ballybofey, Co. Dhun na nGall;
3rd Caitrfona Ni Choileain, CCE,
Ath a Cao ire, Co. Chorcai;
15/18: 1st Edel Nic Lochl ainn,
CCE, Seamus Mac Giolla Bride,
Co. Dhun na nGall; 2nd Sean 6
hU aithne, CCE, Ba il e an
Daighin, Co. na Gaillimhe; 3rd
Deirdre de Ca ilce, CCE, Ca islea n
Ui Chonaill/Ah ane/Bail e
forbairt, Co. Luimnigh; Snr: 1 st
Gear6id Mac Eogain, CCE,
Aughnamu ll en,
Co.
Mhuineachain; 2nd Mi che ll e
0 ' Leary, CCE, St. Wilfrids; 3rd
Peadar 6 Dubhthaigh, CCE, An
Choisdeilbhe, Co. Mhaigh Eo
CONSAIRTIN: Fe 12: 1st Ao ife
Ni Uaithne, CCE, Ba ile an
Daighin, Co. na Gai ll imhe; 2nd
Gretta Ni Churtain, CCE, Tuar na
Fol a, Co. Luimnigh; 3rd Aine
Maire Nic Gea railt, Inchamore,
Brosna, Co. Chiarrai; 12/15: 1 st
Aodh an 6
Ne ill , CCE,
Dromore, Co .
Thir Eoghain;
2nd Ca itlin
Brid Nic
Ghabh a nn ,
CCE, Cill
Deaglain, Co.
na Mi; 3rd
Mairead Ni
Urla ithe, CCE,
Baile an
Mh6ta, Co .
Shli g i g h ;
15/18: 1 st
Ho ll y
Nic
MacG iolla Bhride, CCE, Cluain
Tarbh, Bai le Atha Cliath; Snr: 1 st
Mikie Smi th, CCE, Sean Treacy,
Bai le Atha Cliath; 2nd Clar Ni
Bhro in, CCE, Warrenpoint, Co.
An Duin; 3rd Darragh 6 Murchu,
CCE, Newcastle, Co. an Duin
CRUIT: Fe 12: 1 st Li sa Ni
Chai thni adh, CCE, Ba il e an
Daighin, Co. Mhuigh E6; 2nd
Chelsea Sky Link, CCE, Crotty­
Doran, USA; 3rd Ferga l
McCarten, CCE, Newcastle, Co.
an Duin; 12/ 15: 1 st Lindsay Ni
Mhuinigh, CCE, Cr. Na bPioba iri
Uilleann, Baile Atha Cliath; 2nd
Ca itriona Fawl, CCE, Doora­
Barefield, Co. an Chl air; 3rd
The boys of Wex ford: John bass 1 st mi sce ll ,lIleOU5
J nd Sca mus Broga n - I st singing
Oi reachta igh,
CCE, Baile an
Daighin, Co .
Mhuigh Eo; 2nd fd e Nic
Mhathuna, CCE, Cr. Naithi, Bai le
Atha Cli ath; 3rd Ao ilea nn Nic
Aogain, CCE, Cluai n Tarbh, Baile
Atha Cliath; Snr: 1 st Triona Ni
Aodha, CCE, Tra Lf, Co. Chiarrai;
2nd Sharon Ni Chea rbhaill, CCE,
Kilcormac, Co. Uibh Fhaili; 3rd
Ca it Ni Shuil leabh ain, CCE,
Naomh Mhichil, Co. Luimnigh
PiOB UlllEANN: Fe 12: 1 st
Caoimhin 6 Fearghail , CCE, Na
Comaraigh, Co. Phort Lairge;
2nd Sea n 6 Loingsigh, CCE,
Scoi l Acla, Co. Mhuigh E6; 3rd
Sean Mac Ca rthaigh, Killavullen,
Co. Chorca i; 12/15: 1 st Tyler
Duncan, CCE, Crotty-Dora n,
USA; 2nd Sean McKeon, CCE,
Sean Treacy, Baile Atha Cli ath;
3rd Jarleth Henderso n, CC E,
De rrytresk, Co. Thir Eoghain;
15/18: 1 st Ferga l Chambers,
CCE, Craobh Naithi, Baile Atha
Cliath; 2nd Padraig 6 Hir, Bea l
Feiriste, Co. Aontroma; 3rd Aran
Seana Ni Dhaithi, CCE, Enfield,
Co. na Mi; 15/18: 1 st Michelle
Ni Mhaolchathaigh, CCE,
Teampaill a Ghl ea nntain, Co.
Luimnigh; 2nd Sophonisba
Gathman, CCE, St Louis Iri sh
Arts, USA; 3rd Roisin Nic
Amhl aibh, CCE, Clar Cloinne
Mhuiris, Co. Mhu igh Eo; Snr: 1 st
Eileen Ga nnon, CCE, St. Louis
Irish Arts, USA; 2nd Eleanor Ni
Mhiochain, CCE, Eamon 6 Mu iri,
Co. Mhuineachain; 3rd Marta
Cook, Box 52, 42 5 S. Wasbash,
Chicago, IL 60605, USA
ORGAN BEll: Fe 12: 1 st Padraig
MacCa rthaigh, Beanntrai, Co .
Chorca i; 2nd R6isin Ann
Hughes, CCE Irish Minstrels; 3rd
Dani e ll e Armstrong, CCE,
Aughrim, Co. Chill Mhantain;
12/ 15: 1st Aibhlin Nic
Eoghaga in, CCE, An Cabh an;
2nd Edward Looney, CCE,
Killorglin, Co. Chi arrai; 3rd
Michelle Roche, CCE, Moate,
£0 __________________________________________________ __

Eleanor McE lligott and Pat Denn ehy
pictured with Comhaltas representati ves.
Entertainment segment -
perform for the President.
Past and present members of the branch come together to
and mortar but in the hearts and hands
of the people w ho bring such a unique
life to this building and will do the same
to this extension.
I would li ke to pay tribute to FAS and
Tuatha Ch iarral for supporting the
project, all of the Committee members
for their tremendous commitment and
hard work, and most of all, the people of
the parish for contributing so
generously. This is a place of strong
commun ity pride w hich has always
been ab le to pull people together in
good times and in bad. That ethos wi ll
be of great advantage to the people of
Lixnaw in these times of great change
and great opportunity for our country.
May our shared Irish heritage flourish
here in these new premises. May the
hurling team know another great year
again this year and may you all enjoy
these lovely premises and especially the
new extension which it gives me great
pleasure to offiCially open.
The Lixnaw Branch of Comhaltas with Pres ident McA leese and her husband Dr Martin
McAl eese. (L-R): Kathleen McElligott, Theresa Dennehy, M ike Dennehy (Treasurer),
Bridget Dennehy, Martin Browne (Auditor), Padraig Denn ehy (Delegate), El ea nor
McE lligott (Secretary), Thomas Costell o (Delegate), So nn y Egan, Mary Dennehy, Gerald
Foley (Vi ce-Chairman), Martin Caffrey, Ph il Kea ne (Pres ident), Brrd Dennehy (Treorar
Gaeilge), Pat Dennehy (Chairman), and Mary McElli gott (PRO). (Missi ng - Cec ilia
O'Ca llaghan.
Thank you once aga in to your
Chairman, Pat Dennehy, and all of the
Committee for in viting me here and to
all of you for your very warm welcome.
May your next 40 years be just as
successfu l. Go maire sibh. Go raibh mile
maith agaibh go leir.
passed away three years ago, and after
whom this fine cultural centre is named
out of respect and gratitude.
It is only right and fitting that Comhaltas
in Li xnaw shou ld be the proud owners
of this wonderful cu ltural centre opened
in 1985. Many a memory of a great day
or night of craic shared between one
and all, was created in this place and
there will be many more such
marvellous days to come. Here our
heritage in language, music, song and
dance, is showcased w ith deep pride
and conviction. A love of that heritage is
fostered gently by example. This is
w here you w ill find rural Ireland at its
best, its values, its virtues, its past and its
futu re. Those th ings are not in the bricks

Music Collectors and Echoes of Mu lIingar
Tomas 6 Maoldomhnaigh
The foresight shown by the
music collectors w ho
collected and transcribed
traditional melodies,
begi nning w ith the
publication of Edward
Bu nting's General Collection
of Ancient Music in 1796,
has paid dividends. Bunting
had been hired to notate the
music an assembly of very
old Irish harpers, w ho had
been brought together for
the celebrated Belfast harp
Festival in 1792. Bunting
was followed by the second Tom,b 6 Mdoldomhnaigh (a r dheisl le Dona l
of the 19th Century
,1gUS , '6irfn de BarrJ
collectors, George Petrie,
w ho published severa l volumes, most
notably The Complete Collection of
Irish Music, (1902-1 905) , Perh aps the
best known in these parts is Patrick
Weston joyce's work: Old Irish Folk
M usic and Songs, w hich appeared in
1909. joyce, from the Kilfinnane
region in Limeri ck, was more accurate
in his notation than heretofore.
However we have to acknowledge the
work of Captain Francis O' Neill, an
emigrant from West Cork to Chicago,
w ho ended up as Chief
Superintendent of Police there
between 1901 and 1905 . His works
are the primary source for most
present day musician s, probably
because he concentrated on the
dance music. Together w ith the help
of Sgt l ames O 'Neill, w ho actually
w rote down the tunes from pipers,
fiddlers, flute players etc., they were
responsible for publishing more than
2000 tunes. Nearer to our own time,
we are indebted to Brendan
Breathnach for his brilliant Ceol Rince
na hEireann, w hich was published in
1963, and can be considered a
significant advance in Irish music
publication. M ost of the tunes in all
these collections are of unknown
authorship. However, the tradition of
composing continues w ith several
newly made tunes appearing from
noted musicians like Ed Reavy, Paddy
O 'Brien, Charlie Lennon, etc. to name
but a few. This is a constant reminder
to us that we are living in a very
exciting period of growth and
appreciation for our Irish tradition.
One could have all these publications
sitting on bookshelves gathering dust,
without anything being done to
promote the tradition! Thankfull y,
Comhaltas Ceolt6iri Eireann, founded
in 1951 , was not found wanting.
Those early musicians who met in
Mullingar, were idealistic and
passionate about the preservation of
the music, songs and traditional
dance forms. Within a short period
they set in motion an education
structure whereby branches would
assist students in learning music. To
further the work, a Teaching Diploma
Course is conducted annually where
music teachers are awarded TTCT
(Teastas i dTeagasc Ceolta Tire),
'Che Land of Liberty: Music
and the emigrant lrish
2 Orchard Grange,
Moreton,
Wirral,
Merseyside
CH466DZ
England
fredmc@supanet.com
Tel/fax 0151 678 63 11
16 October 2000
I wonder if you would be good enough
to publicise an educational course on
Irish music, which I w ill be teaching in
Li verpool in the new year. The course is
called The Land of Liberty: Music and
the Emigrant Irish.
The aim is to show how attitudes to
emigration are refl ected in Irish ba lladry,
how the experiences of emigrant
musicians helped to re-pattern the
music of Ireland, and how music and
emigration have continued to interact
with and mould Irish national
consciousness.
The publici ty blurb reads as follows:­
'The musica l interactions, originally
between Ireland and continental
Europe, and more recently between
Ireland and the 'New World', are
fasci nating evidence of the parts which
music and emigration played in the
formation of Irish national awareness.
See how these three factors influenced
and moulded each other, with singer
Fred McCormick, and look out for
information on emigration closer to
home.
The course will run for ten weeks
from Monday January 15, 2001 , from 7
to 9pm, at the Institute for Continuing
Education, 126 Mount Pleasa nt,
Liverpool. The building is just opposite
the Catholic Cathedral. Course code is
LV162-1 023 and further information can
be obtained by dialling 0151 794
6900/6952 .
It is run by the Institute of Popular
Music at the University of Liverpool.
The building is just opposite the
Catholic Cathedral. Course code is
LV162-1 023 and further information can
be obtained by dialling 0151 794
6900/6952 .
Comhaltas is well supported by Irish
communities throughout the North West
of England and this course will be of
interest to many branch members.
Therefore, if you could publish the above
details in the November or December
editions of Treoir, I am sure the notice
will receive a great deal of attention.
Fred McCormick
16

Caitilin Cri ail
MlchealUoss
cou ld have sworn she saw a
girl on a white horse but a
c5he
sudden SI gaoth flitting across the
sunlit fields blocked her view ...
There was a widow's son in Ireland
long ago and he served on a vessel
sailing from kingdom to kingdom
throughout the globe. No man alive
was as handsome as he. He could do
the work of any five on board; he was
that good. None was more courageous
or cheerful than he. Small wonder then
that the Scottish captain had a high
regard for him and treated him as his
righthand man.
Years passed until finally the day came
when they were recrossing the Atlantic.
When the first seabird of Ireland was
sighted hovering over the sparkling sea
they knew it would not be long until
they were cruising by the purple hills of
Connemara. At the ought of home the
Irishman filled the heavens with joyful
song.
Alas that man was right w ho said that
there are three things that cannot be
trusted - the king, the sea and the
weather. An hour later the schooner
was battling for its life in the grips of a
sudden and terrible storm that
continued all through the dark day and
the howling shrieking night until noon
the next day. The crew did not know
from which point or at what moment
the vessel would be swamped in the
fury of the wind and the raging sea.
Time and again it was only the
captain's skill that kept them afloat. But
the storm was taking its toll. All was
given up for lost when the captain
became suspicious. 'Very often,' said
he, 'an entire crew was lost on account
of a single man,' and he ordered all
hands on deck. They cast lots and it fell
to the Irishman to be thrown into the
sea. The captain was aghast.
'I' ll make another casting of the lots,'
he said to give him a chance.
But is was in vain. The verdict
remained the same after the second
and even after the third trial. By now
the vessel was sinking.
'Och,' says the Irishman, 'It's me sure
enough. Better I go than all be lost.'
He walked to the stern and saw a sea
coming for him higher than any
mountain in the world and it poised on
high to give the ship the final blow. He
had a sailor's knife in his hand as he
smoked his last pipe. 'I'll not need this
again,' he thought and hurled it into the
mountain of water. As he did the sea

Mine host and his lady wife meantime W hen Seamus played it slowly and
had reti red, unbelievably leaving the deliberately on the pipes, it mystified
bar open, further libation ,-____ L-____ -, musicians who found it
being dispensed by a young
oddly familiar, but
architect from Dublin w ho
couldn't put a name to it.
was also in good voice
behind the ba r.
Two days later we were on
th e road aga in heading for
Limeri ck, and fri ends w ho
lived at Castletroy - they
actually had an impressive
ru ined castle in their front
ga rden. A couple of days
here were restful, and we
needed a rest! But there
were always those w ho
were anxious to hea r
Seamu s perform, and he was always
w illing. Among them there was always
someo ne w ho could provide him w ith
a song or a tune to be recorded.
As news of the arriva l of
Seamus spread, the
kitchen graduall y filled
w ith people from around
the countrys ide. I sat and
watched them arrive in
twos and threes. I had
feasted on fres h gri ddle
bread and fluffy li ght
panca kes rolled up w ith
lemon juice and sugar -
Sean 'ac Donncha
all made over the turf fire
- washed down w ith
sweet smoky tea, and I was happy and
relaxed, vi ewing the proceedings and
listening to the tentati ve warm -up notes
of the many musicians present.
boat. We climbed in and they pushed
off, Mairtin fingering a haunting slow air
on hi s fiddle and Johnny's voice soaring
to the stars, w hile Sea mus, sil ent for
once, rowed us across the calm surface
of the moonlit wate r. It was one of those
unrehearsed episodes that stay in the
memory, imposs ible to re-enact with
such unexpected spontaneity.
But all good things must come to an
end, and it was time for me to return to
Dublin, while Seam us, Dinny and
Denis took off once more for Mayo,
Sligo and Donegal. I envied them as I
trave ll ed across the country on the
Dublin train, and then on to the weary
war-torn England. However, I was
confident I would be back aga in before
long and that our own family trad ition
of music, hosted and encouraged by our
parents, would be there for me to enj oy.
We left Castletroy for Galway, arri ving at
the Great Southern in the late afternoon
to find there were no vacancies, as there
was a wedding party in progress. But
before long we were included in the
festivities, and the celebration continued
into the small hours. Guests started
leaving then, rooms were vacated, and
at last we were abl e to reti re.
O ur next destination was Connemara,
to stay with the McDonaghs in Carn a,
where Johnny (Sean 'ac Donncha) and
hi s brother Mairtfn welcomed us in.
The mother did not appea r, as she
spent her days sitting at an upstairs
w indow, mourning her late husband.
Johnny was a teacher, a good fri end of
ours back in Dublin. He had a voice
that would charm the birds off the trees
and often sang until day light in our
kitchen in Jamestown. He had a w ide
repertoire and was master of the sea n­
nos style of trad itional singing.
'Morri ssey and th e Russian Sa il or' was
a favouri te ba llad, w ith 'Green Grow
the Rushes 0', 'The Queen of
Connemara,' and so many more. But
we cou ld also persuade him to sing
fri vo lously - 'Sipping Cider Through a
Straw,' or 'Pretty Little Polly Perki ns of
Padd ington Green.' We could, and did,
listen to hi m sing for hours.
In the same way we could persuade
Sea mus to pl ay 'In the Mood' w hich
was not rea lly suitab le for the pipes.
'Deep Purple' was effecti ve pl ayed as a
slow ai r, and 'How Much is that Doggy
in the Window' was hi ghl y successful.
Seamus was obviously well known to
most of th e company and aga in was
wa rml y we lcomed. He reciprocated
w ith the co urtesy which came naturally
to him, allowing the exchange of the
reminisce of previous meetings, or
answering an enquiry as to the hea lth
and well-being of our parents, w ho
were well known in the area, and
politely, an introduction to myself, in
acknowledgement of which I received
many wa rm handshakes.
The atmosphere was now electri c w ith
anticipation as people shuffl ed their
feet, or scraped a chair-leg on the hard
floor. Musicians held their in struments
and tuned up, synchronising the 'A' as
th ey do. A bar of music from a fiddle; a
low emanation from a set of pi pes, or a
long note from an accordeon heralded
the launch into a ree l or a jig, the
transition from one tune to another
indicated by a nod of the head, or the
inclinati on of a shoulder.
Johnny sang this ni ght, and Seamus
played and sa ng and told his stories,
and Denis M urphy played magic music
on his fiddle. It was an amaz ing
concert, punctuated at intervals by a
sweet pure voice ri sin g in song, in Irish
or English, or the traditional sea n-n6s -
or indeed the stepping out of a
bawneen-c1ad gentleman who danced
like thistl edown on the fl agged fl oor.
It was after midnight and the kitchen
was nea rl y empty, w hen Johnny and
Mairtin led Seamus and myself from the
house down to the shore and untied a
Honoree 2001 Kit Hodge on right pictured
at Tion61 2000 with her sister fiddle player
Margaret (also a member of the Liverpool
Ceili band) and Kit's da ughter concertina
player Oeirdre, a member 0; the Pipers
Club winning All-Ireland Cei/( Band.
Kit Hodge has been selected by
Comhaltas as Honoree 2001 at Tion61
Leo Rowsome on the 27-29
September. Kit, who is Runaf Oifi ge, at
Cuiturlann na hEireann, has an
illustrious life in the annals of Irish
traditional music.
Kit, a fiddle pl ayer of note, is leader of
the famous Liverpool Cei lf Band. Fans
are eagerl y looking forward to hea ring
'The Li verpoo l' at the Ceilf Bands
Reunion at the Fleadh Nua in Ennis
next May, as part of the 50 th
celebration of Comhaltas.
Kit spent many years in Li verpool
before returning to Ireland to join the
staff of the newly established Head
Office of Comhaltas at 6 Harcourt
Street, Dublin, - the headquarters of
Conradh na Gaeilge.

.:.
~
L\ Prince among Men and Pipers
J;
he death of uilleann piper AI
Purce ll in Detroit has come as
a great shock to his many
friends in Ireland and America. AI
was a great supporter of Comhaltas
and a regular attender at the North
Ameri can Convention each year. He
was a student of Leo Rowsome.
AI 's love of Ireland and her culture
was legendary. Of Tipperary stock, this
devoted traditional musician spoke
w ith great pass ion of his background
and of his patriotic father whose grave
he visited regularl y in the Republican
pl ot in Glasnevin Cemetery.
AI Purcell was a true gentleman. He
was generous w ith his time and talent
in pass ing on his music skills to others.
We have seen the fruits of AI's teaching
in the students that have participated at
Fleadh Cheoil na hEirea nn th ese past
few years.
It is fitting that AI Purcell should be
remembered in music. A tune by Bill
Black in his memory is now on the
internet.
For those of you w ho don't know Bill
Black, he is a member of the Hannafin­
Cooley Branch and ceili band and Irish
music stalwart resident on Cape Cod.
He composed many tunes and some of
you w ill remember the poignant
playing by Aint6in Mac Gabhann of
one of them in memory of his late
brother Hugh at the Parsippany
Convention. Here is Bill's tribute to AI -
Subj : 'Purcell the Piper' - in
memori a m
Date: 9/29/00 10:41 :25 PM Pacific
Daylight Time
From: Zouki@AOL.COM (Bill Bl ack)
Sender: IRTRAD-L@Ll STSERV.
~._ .. _
HEANET.IE (Irish Traditional Music List)
Reply to: IRTRAD-L@LlSTSERV.
HEANET.IE (Irish Traditional
Music List)
To: IRTRAD-L@LlSTSERV.
HEANET.IE
X: 2/022
T: 22 . Purcell the Piper
M: 4/4
Q; 350
L: 1/8
R: REEL
C: B. Bl ack
N: Although I had heard about him for
years, I first met AI Purcell of
Dublin
N: and Detroit at the 1998 Chicago
fleadh. He's the kind of guy you
meet the
N: first time and think you've known all
your life. This tune is dedicated to
N: AI and the other illustrious pipers
in his family.
K: G
N GEDE GABdl e2 ef edBd I gfef
g3 el d2 BG AcBN
GEDE GABd I e2 ef edBA I GBdg
fdcA I BGAF G3 : I
d I gfga fd d2 I cBcd BG G2 /
EAAB cBcd I edef gaba I
gfga fd d2 I cBcd BGAG I EAAB
cABG I EDEF G3:1
Although I wrote this tune, I never got
around to lea rning it, but I'll make a
point to do so now. God rest his kind
soul!
Writing on the Crotty-Doran
Comhaltas Branch web page
~ ......-. (http://www.irishmusic.com). Terence
M cKinney describes AI Purcell as 'a
prince among M en and Pipers. He was
at the very heart of Irish music in
Detroit and there are many pipers in
the US today w ho owe some or all of
their success to AI who was eager to
offer his time and talent'.
Ar dheis De go raibh a anam uasal
ceolmhar.
STAFF VACANCIES
The following vacancies exist at
the Culturlann in Monkstown,
Co. Dublin:
1 Bartender/Caretaker
2 Cook/Housekeeper
3 Cleaner
If you are interested in working
for Comhaltas, then please
contact us at:
Culturlann na hEireann,
Belgrave Square,
Monkstown,
Co. Dublin.
Tel (01) 280 02 95
Fax: (01) 280 3759
E-mail: enquiries@comhaltas.com
10 ____________________________________________________ _

Ceolt6iri i dtiuin lena cheile
Lorc6n 6 'Creasaigh tells us about the musicians and visitors
that he met in enniscorthy at the Fleadh
'Ag gluaiseaeht 6 eheo l go eeo l .. .'
G
haith me an seu la fi ehead agus
an seachtu la fi chead de Lunasa
ag fa maireaeht (stro lling) th art a
cheo l go eeo l in Inis Chorthaigh mar a
raibh Fl ea Cheoil na hEireann ar si ul.
Ar an Sath arn thainig me ann luath sa la
agus tar eis an enoe a ehur dfom agus
anail a tharraingt ce ehasfaf dam ach
Hans Cybin sk i a Deutschland Radio
Berlin, a bh f in eineacht le Fionnuala N f
Bhrada igh. Bhf Hans ag baint antaitnimh
as an bhFlea ach bh f tui stf
Fhi onnu ala, Sean agus Blanaid, ag
_"........._------, eeiliuradh bainse
(ce lebrating a wedding)
a phos a mac Eanna
dh a la ro imhe sin le
ehailfn a Rath Eann a.
Go raibh gaeh rath ar
an lanuin oga!
Ag gluaiseacht a eheol
go ceo l ee dtiocfainn air
ae h Sh ane MeTaggart as
-A"n-t-a-m- h-r-an- a-f-e-a-il --' iL'-il---' Doire agus an bodhran
Paddy Berry
faoi na asca ill aige. Ma
tharl a duit i Mulligan's
Bar in Amsterdam chuala tu e. Ta roinnt
den Eoraip siulta ag Shane; ta Brittany
agus an Fhionnlainn (Finl and) mar a
mbfonn an-fh ai lte roimh eheo l na
hEirea nn, agus an Tuire (Turkey) agus
O ilean Mhannain (Isle of Man). Seinea nn
g
se leis an grupa 'Cois Locha', (Loch
nEachach) agus le cruit, feadog mhor
agus veidhlfn. Ag cuinne eile bhf fear og
a ra go seimh 'Th e Dawning of the Day'
le foca l fil eata Paddy Kavanagh, gur
chu ala me om athair fe in mar 'Fainne
Geal an Lae' fado.
Os comh air gach dara si opa bhf
ceo ltoirf i dtiuin lena cheile. Casadh
arm fea r as Montrea l a bh f in eineac ht le
fea r as an Ind agus ca i Ifn a Vi etn am. Ta
an triur acu i mB aile Ath a Cliath ; chu ala
siad faoin bhFl ea ar an Website agus a
th arl a ca ra acu in Inis Corthaigh, th ai nig
siad ann . Duirt siad uilig nach raibh a
fhios acu ri amh go ra ibh oiread (so
many) ceo lto irf in Eirinn .
Fear amh ain a raibh 'Arnotts Dub shirt'
air a duirt li om gur chaith se an chuid ba
mh o den ofche roimhe ag tab hairt fao i a
phuball (tent) a chur suas in ainneo in (in
spite of) na ba istf. "Ar chuala tu an
toirneach (thunder) no an bhfaca tu an
tintreach (lightning), bhf se uafasach.
Nac h raibh! " Chaitheamar tamall le
cheile ac h ao n fh ocal amh ain fao i pheil
nfar duradh .
Bh f Mr agu s Mrs Hicks a lar na
Breataine Bi ge ann agus infon lea agus
beirt gharinion. Thainig siadsa n ar an
mbad go Ros Lair, ca rr lea agus
sm ao in ea mh ac u cuid d' Eirinn a
fh eicea il. Thainig siad ar an bhFl ea de
thimpiste agus d'fh an sa id ann .
I Stamps' pub ar an gcearnog chu ala me
Calm Gildern ew ag ca nadh Boulavogue
agus sheasfainn go guaill i in ui sce ag
eisteacht leis. I Stamps freisin casadh
arm an Dublin Rose, Loui se Kerr, a bhf
sa bh aile a tharl a gur in Inis Co rthaigh a
rugadh f. Bhf si in eineacht lena mathair
is a haintfn, "triur ban tse imh", mar a
duirt an file. Chonaic me "Damhsa na
Scuaibe" i Shenn ani gans ar an bPrfomh­
Shraid le hard cheo l agus ca ilfn f
Cholaiste losaga in ch un tosaigh ann .
Ag an staitse thfos ag an dro ichead - ac h
cea rd ta me a ra nac h raibh an ba ile ar
fad ina staitse - bhf bufo n cheo il as Uf
bhFail i (Offaly), Tobar agus Ballyc umber
nasca ithe (grouped) le chei le, ag us
damhso irf acu ag dea namh sets agus
gach ci nea l damhsa eile. Sheasa mar ag
eisteacht is ag breathnu agus b'fhiu go
mar e.
Bhuail me bl eid ar (sa luted) Labhras 6
Murchu, cea nn fea dhna an
Chomhaltais, ach bhi se gnoth ach, ag
reiteach damh soirf is ceo ltoirf le
haghaidh clar teilifise.
Ach a luaigh me Labhras ni mar dam
oiread coisH is a thogann se lena leitheid
sin a eagru, idir choisti naisi unta agus
coisti aitiula, a lua freisin agus
comhghairdeas (congratul ati ons) a
dhea namh lea as a fh eabh as is a bhf
gach rud ann . Is docha an rud is fea rr gur
feidir a ra fao in deireadh seac htaine na
nach raibh cuma eagraithe air. Bheinn ag
suil leis an bhliain sea chuga inn.

6 Ghluin go Gluin
Accordeon maestro John Whelan of
Luton, and now based in America, gave
some exhilarating performances during
Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann in
Enniscorthy. John is of old Wexford
stock and his return to his roots was an
emotional and exciting experience.
At the Fleadh, John ended up with his
father Denis from Luton and his
Wexford-based grandfather John. They
were photographed together by Ena
Doocey at the outstanding overseas
concert in the Riverside Park Hotel.
The concert, which played to a
capacity audience, was sponsored by
the 'Irish Post' Newspaper.
Miley
Without doubt, the hit of Fleadh 2000
was 'Miley', the gigantic, colourful
figure in the middle of the Slaney.
Commissioned by the Executive
Committee, as part of the sponsorship
from Millennium Festivals, it was
erected by Bui Bolg in the river in the
worst conditions imaginable - the
dark of night and the tide at its
highest, due to the full moon.
However, Colm Lowney and his
troupe of workers were not deterred;
with water up to their necks, in the
dark, at 1 0:30pm, they bolted the
figure of 'Miley' onto his base in the
river and from there he presided over
the mammoth event.
6
Two legendary musicians John Whelan and Brendan
McGlinchey talk of old tim es at the Fl eadh .
With his head, made from a large
block of polystyrene, thrown back in
song and his outsize fiddle ready for
a tune, the thirty-five feet tall Miley
was photographed from every angle.
Matt Kavanagh from the Irish Times
gave him pride of place on the front
page on Saturday, 19th August and
from then on, Miley featured in
thousands of lens. Drivers slowed
down to photograph him while still
driving, others stopped in the middle
of the street to 'shoot' him, while lens
from Tallahassee to Tokyo all had
Miley in their sights.

Daire Mulhearn of Co. Clare, winner of
the 72- 75 accordion competition, with
teacher, family and friends.
It was played out under clear skies on a
mild night. It was the relaxed side of
the Thunder and Li ghtning Fleadh.
The Japanese duo 'Paddy and Bridget' playing at the Fleadh.
were very nearly as choc-a-bloc. This
was not a mere crowd, it was a vast
multitude.
The rumour was that the best sessions
were at the Riverside Park, but rumours
about the best sessio n are on a par with
sightings of the Holy Grail.
The trick was to find a session better
that any your fri ends might have lent an
ear to. Martin Codd of Rathnure (often
mistaken for Charlie Landsbo rough)
certainly drew an audience to the ESB .
One observer recommended the
mother and four children performing
nea r the cathed ral. Every porch, every
bench, every corner had its musi c.
The official programme had Dervish on
the Millennium stage at the Fair Green,
whipping up a storm but most of the
performances were without
microphone. I happened to come to rest
at the Lady Grey boutique in Templeshan
non where a pair of middle-aged
gents, one w ith fiddle and the other
with button accordion presided.
They were from the north and they had
a bodhran player with a Munster accent
to provide the rhythm section. The three
only ever meet up at the flead h.
Around there three rocks of musical
sense eddied an ever-changi ng cast of
passing friends, w ith everything from
the spoons to the pipes, all staying for a
few numbers and then moving on.
Pauline Fri ze ll e was tempted to join in,
with a classical version of 'The Holy
Ground'.it was mellow. It was perfect.
The Thunder
and Lightning Fleadh
Com haltas sa id that Enniscorthy would
come up with something different for
the Fl ead h and Enniscorthy duly did.
The surprise came in the form of a
fireworks display that was not on the
programme. This year's event will
forever be known as the Thunder and
Lightning Fleadh.
It really was just like a fireworks
display, w ith Nature's more spectacular
efforts greeted by gasps and cheers as
Vinegar Hill showed up in black
agai nst the most v iv id light.
Thunder and Lightning Flead h closed
w ith some commercial fireworks -
another great year officiall y over,
though seasoned fleadh watchers
always say that the best music and the
best craic comes on the Monday.

'Fleadh we'll never forget'
Enniscorlhy Guardian
Enniscorlhy plays hosls to 220,000 on a glorious festive weekend
Senator Labhras 6 Murchu, who unveiled the Fleadh memorial at tha 1798 Centre,
pictured with town clerk D6nal Minnock; County Co uncil Chairman and Treasurer of
the Fleadh Sean Doyle; John Browne ToO .; Paddy Berry, Fleadh Vice-Chairman; Monica
de Paor, Fleadh Secretary; and of cou rse the inimatable 'Pike Ladies'.
Like mother like son; Seamus Brogan,
Fleadh activist, who won the singing
championship; photographed w ith his
Mam and Dad. Seamus's mother Mary is
a former singing champ ion.
enniscorthY was left with a host of
happy memories after revelling in
the joyous invasion of Fleadh
Cheoil na hEireann.
And the departures of the last of the
220,000 visitors has prompted thoughts
of how Enniscorthy will fill the vacuum
which w ill be left in summers to come.
A festival which started w ith
spectacular thunder and lightning on
Friday ended in milder conditions on
Monday night as the Kilfenora cei lf
band were the last up on the
Millennium stage in the Fair Green.
'The local organising committee of
Fleadh Cheoi l na hEireann has been a
model of efficiency - an inspiration to us
all. Enniscorthy has earned for itself a
revered place in the annals of Comhaltas
and Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann'.
Thus observed Senator Labhras 6
Murchu on the eve of the fleadh wh ich
took over Enniscorthy for the second
year in success ion. He was the main
speaker at a short ceremony in St
2
Aidan's primary school to unveil a
bronze plaque as a reminder that the
great event was staged in the town.
The school was chosen as the location
for the plaque because the premises
were put complete ly at the disposal of
the fleadh organisers for both offices
and competitions. As county Comhaltas
chairman Paddy Berry remarked, all
in vo lved with St Aidan's have given
their al l for the event.
Organising committee chairman Niall
Wall used the occasion to state publicly
how proud he was that the annual
gathering was taking place in his home
parish. He said to visitors: 'I hope you
enjoy the fleadh here in Enniscorthy as
much as Enniscorthy enjoys having the
fleadh'.
Labhras 6 Murchu stressed that his
memories of Enniscorthy wou ld feature
co-operation from start to finish . He
said he had seldom come across a loca l
comm ittee to match Niall Wall and his
colleagues, whose attention to detail
Out on their own: Sweet music
in Enniscorthy.
Centre of attraction: Padraig Donlon,
leader of the Ta in G ill Band, being
interviewed for the RTE television
programmes.
was second to none. He observed that
the partnership between schools and
cultural/sporting organisations is an
important support for the social life of
any commun ity.