Ireland - Comhaltas Archive

TREOIRSeisiun cheoil ag an gComhdhQi/ 200 Icasadh Kathleen air. Ph6sadar anbhliain dar gcionn. Bhiodh se ag seinmi dteannta leitheidi Johnny Cronin, JoeMadden, Sean McGlynn agus JoeNellany i Nua Eabhrac.Ach nior thaitinan chathair leis agus d'aistrfodar goEast Durham i 1967 mar ar chaith setamall ag obair le muintir Mullins.Bhraith se sa bhaile laithreach marbhiodh ceolt6irf mar Andy McGlynnagus Billy McComiskey ag gnathu naCatskills gach samhradh faoin am san.Beidh sceal na Catskills agam dhaoibhamach anseo. Guim rath De ar Mikeagus Kathleen agus a gcuram.Ena O'Brien ag seinm ag an gComhdhQi/i dTorontoAndy Conroy, Joe Mills den chead uairsa'Michael Coleman Club' sa Bhronx.Bhi Mike san arm nuair a thug se anchead chuairt ar na Cats kills. Bhiodhbusanna ag dui 6 Boston agus NuaEabhrac go rialta go dti Leeds nalaethanta san. Go teach Jerry 6 Shea iLeeds isea ba mh6 a theadh muintirBoston ag an am.Ach an deireadhseachtaine airithe sea chuaigh Mike goEast Durham go dti 'Erin's Melody' -teach George Sullivan. Ce bhi ann achFrankie McCarthy agus Paddy Killoran.Chaitheadar dha la ag seinm ann agusbhi Mike deanach ag dui ar ais go FortDix agus fuair se KP da dheasca.D'fhag Mike Boston i 1964 agus thuga aghaidh ar Nua Eabhrac mar arChuir Mike CD iontach amach ledeanai "The Schoolmaster's House".Ta se le fail ar an idirlion agwww.ossianusa.com7

A register of traditional musicians,singers and dancers in Clare is to becompiled by Comhaltas Ceolt6iriEireann as part of the culturalorganisation's efforts to build aregional archive.The movement, which is celebratingits 50 th anniversary, is building up itsarchive centres at Sligo, Tipperary,Westmeath, Tyrone, Kerry andWexford. It is also setting up centresin London and Boston. The archive willbe accessible on the group's website.The first centre, established in Ennis10 years ago, has about 1,500 hoursof audio and video recordings ofhundreds of musicians, including somecommercial recordings.In a LEADER-assisted scheme, half the£50,000 needed had to be raisedthrough local funding efforts,according to Mr Frank Whelan, headof the archive."When we first set up the archiveand identified people in their 80s andupwards, we recorded their music.Those recordings, even though theyare only 10 years old at this stage arepriceless."Helping Mr Whelan are aphotographer, a projects officer, asecretary and a treasurer."The big problem is it is totallyvoluntary. It is difficult to makeprogress."The aim is to create an accessiblearchive for researchers. "If someonewants to do research in Clare, it isavailable in Clare, and easily available.It is not one of those archives thatgathers dust, that is next toimpossible to get into. In fact, thematerial that we have collected hasbeen used by a good number ofstudents doing research and all sortsof theses," Mr Whelan said.The latest project is to get personaldetails and a social history of everyartist aged over 16 connected withthe music or folklore, and to includethem on a Co. Clare Comhaltaswebsite. Mr Whelan, a flute player, saidEibhir Mulqueen, Irish Timeshe hoped to have sound samples ofevery musician.Schoolchildren will be enlisted to helpbuild the archive, in a follow-up to aproject begun two years ago whenlocal musicians and singers werebrought into the classroom to explaintheir art. The scheme is being runwith the Clare Education Centre."It is a way of building up the archive.The more people we make contactwith, the more we hear there areprivate collections here and there orwe find a pocket of people of aparticular age group we had notheard of."The archive has outgrown the roomin Cois na hAbhna it occupies inEnnis, and negotiations have begunwith Clare County Council to acquirea derelict 17 th century house nearbywhich would become the newlocation for the tapes, manuscriptsand 78 r.p.m. records."It has been a great 10 years. Whenyou look at where music has gone, Ithink Comhaltas has been the silentpartner in the success story," MrWhelan said.Mr Frank Whe/an, head of the cct archive ofmusicians and storytellers at the Cois nahAbhna library in Ennis, Co. Clare. Themovement is building up its archive centresacross the country. Photo: Se an CurtinlPress 22.A plaque was recently unveiled at theformer Pipers' Club in Thomas Street,Dublin, as part of the 50 th anniversaryactivities, and a series ofcommemorative stamps has beendesigned by An Post. A celebratoryconcert will be held at the Universityof Limerick at Easter, and 14 All-Irelandwinning ceili bands performed at theFleadh Nua festival in Ennis in May.The classes and competitions theorganisation has run since the earliestdays have played an important role inkeeping traditional music alive,according to the director ofComhaltas, Senator Labhnis 6Murchu. There are 600 music classesin the Republic and the North, and25,000 people participated in musiccompetitions, the fleadhanna cheoil,last year.With more than 4,000 hours ofmusic and story-telling recorded,the importance of regional styles andvariations, and the regional archives,have come to the fore. "Clare andthe surrounding counties are a richrepository of the music and thetype of musicians we are talkingabout," he said.9

KILLORAN-CLANCYBRANCH CCE, QUEENS, NYSean 6 FaolainThe Paddy Killoran Irish Musiciansclub was founded in New York in thelate 1940's at a time whenimmigration from Ireland was at apeak. The Paddy Killoran IrishMusicians Club, as it was known atthat time, played host to many Irishmusicians arriving here from Ireland.In those early years the club waslocated at the Irish Institute on 48 thStreet, New York City. The monthlysessions on the 3 rd Sunday of themonth attracted huge attendancefrom all over the Tri-State area. It wasnot unusual then to find as many asSO musicians spread out in a hugecircle playing reels, jigs, hornpipes,polkas, with an occasional MazurkaSet led by musicians from Donegaljoined by all present.The club grew in strength andnumber for the next several years.Among the early founding memberswas the well known fiddler PaddyBawn O'Sullivan from the Spa, Tralee.In addition to the master himself,Paddy Killoran, other renownedmusicians such as fiddle player EddieChisholm from Donegal, flute playerTim O'Riordan from Kerry, Uileannpiper Tom Busby from Fermanagh.One of the great traditional eventsthat took place in the mid 50's andearly 60's was the Irish Musicians'Annual boat ride on the HudsonRiver from New York to BearMountain. More than 3000 peopleclamoured on this floating bandstandfor a trip up the Hudson to BearMountain National Park. It was musicall the way all day until late into theevening as the sun was setting on outhomeward journey.When Comhaltas Ceolt6iri Eireannwas founded here in 1972 the PaddyKilloran Club was the first to becomeaffiliated with the new organization.There was always that great affin itywith Ireland. It was not surprising thatthe Paddy Killoran Irish Musicians Clubshould lead the way to be followedsoon thereafter by other renownedmusic clubs in the New York areaincluding, Michael Coleman Club,Bronx; PatsyTouhey Club, Brooklyn;Ed Reevy Club, Long Beach; and theLouis E. Quinn Club, Long Island.As the years went by the KilloranBranch had great Chairmen includingPat Noble (RIP. Galway); MikeMcGurn (Fermanagh); John Whelan(Clare); Jim Shannon (Clare); MaryO'Halloran (Leitrim); RichieO 'Connor (Cork) and the presentChairman, John McGurrin (Cavan).The Irish Advocate, a weeklynewspaper at the time, alwayspublished an account of the activitiesof the different branches and wasinstrumental in helping spread theactivities of Comhaltas in themetropolitan area.Venues for sessions changed over theyears and were held in such wellknownplaces as the Breffni Inn(Sunnyside), McLoughlins (Astoria),TowerView Ballroom (Woodside),and St. Mary's Church Hall(Woodside).As the years passedchanges took place. Ceili dancing hada resurgence of popularity. The13

It paysto Advertisein Treoirmessage ina professionalreadership atcompetitiveSin~le Column Inchl/'fPa~e1/2 Pa~eFull Pa~eInside CoverB&W£20£125£220£'f00£500Readership - 35,000Advertising Department,TREOIR,32 Belgrave Square,Monkstown,Co. Dublin.lel: +353-1-2800295Fax: +353-1-280 3759enqu iries@comhaltas.com

1Jim Hogan, an elderly gentleman insuit and tie, was sitting in the hotellobby near a seisiun of youngmusicians from the Barefield CeilfBand of Ennis, Co. Clare.A formermember of another Clare ceilf band,the renowned Kilfenora, he waslistening intently to these youngsters,all between 13 and 18, playing flutes,fiddles, and other instruments.I walked over to him to pay myrespects, and before I could speak, helooked up at me and said, "Beautifulmusic, isn't it?" I nodded, realizing thatthe traditional music of his homecounty still deeply stirred Hogan, anemigrant from Clare to NorthAmerica almost half a century ago.Turning his gaze back to the teens, headded, "The music's in good hands."It was a sentiment shared by 1,200other attendees of the NorthAmerican Convention held byComhaltas Ceolt6iri Eireann in theHoward Johnson Plaza Hotel, Toronto,Canada, during April 20-22. This yearwas special, marking the 50 thanniversary of CCE, an organizationheadquartered in Dublin that firsttook root in 195 I in Mullingar, Co.Westmeath, to promote andshowcase the best of Ireland's musicaland dance traditions. And thosetraditions were on overflowing displaythroughout the weekend, aptlythemed "A Musical Odyssey". My ownran nearly round-the-clock fromFriday to Sunday.Sleepless in TorontoA set-dance workshop led byTipperary's Pat Murphy, author of thepopular dance book "Toss theFeathers", had hundreds out on thewooden floor of the main ballroomearly Friday evening. In groups ofeight, they heeded the gently proddinginstruction of Murphy, who movedaround the floor with a cordlessmicrophone to guide the dancersthrough their steps.Afterward, a formal concert in a largedownstairs space began auspiciouslyElizabeth McDonald (centre) of Nova Scotia who received a special presdentation at Convention 200 IDevotees of traditional music and danceflock to TorontoEarle Hitchner, Irish Echowith New York's Felix Dolan onkeyboards accompanying threemusicians from Galway: Killimorbutton accordionist Ena O'Brien, whoimmigrated to Canada in 1964;Ballinakill f1utist Mike Rafferty, whocame to the US in 1949, and Ahascraghfiddler Larry Reynolds, a state-sideresident since 1953.This quartetplayed a set short in length but long inpleasure, including two spirited jigs, "ATrip to Athlone/Killavill".They were followed by two groups of13 musicians each from the BarefieldCeilf Band, and it was clear that theirteacher and leader, Denis Liddy, anexcellent fiddler himself, had done hisjob well. These Clare teens showed alevel of musical maturity beyond theiryears, something also apparent ontheir self-issued CD from a couple ofyears ago.Traversing the floors of the hotel, Iheard music seeping out of rooms invirtually every corridor. In thesubterranean Sean Gorman's Pub,musicians congregated to play longinto the night and morning.Elsewhere, performers young and oldnudged into nooks and crammed intocrannies, and even a bank of payphones in a remote part of the lobbyprovided an impromptu venue forsome tunes by half a dozen musicians.In the main ballroom, a ceilf was in fullSenator Labhras Murchu greetingO'Loghlin in front of The Scatteringpresentation. This look on Clare personalitiesabroad features Eamonn as one the Banner'sfavourite sonsHe/en Gannon (next year's Conventioncathaoirleach in St Louis) receiving apresentation from Minister Mary Coughlanwatched by Frank Kennedy17

TREOIR" Letting Loose the Majo r", an originalpoem mode led after the verse ofRobert Service, once dubbed the"Canadian Kipling" for such works as"The Shooting of Dan McGrew".Toronto 200 I Committee: Back Row: Dennis Lyons, Johathon Lynn, Maureen Mulvey, Pat Q'Gorman,Eamon Q'Loghlin,Anne Marie Leonard, Phyllis Gorman. Front (sitting): Mary Carr, Ena Q'Brien,Stan Q'Donohue, Ei/een Dwyer,Ange/a Bontje.swing, the blissful payoff for thoseearlier set-dance lessons. Dancersmoved to music played by U.S. andCanadian performers, includingmembers of Inishowen, a Torontoband formed in 1977, who provedthat their "Southern" cousins have noexclusive claim to great Irishtraditional music on the continent.Those who can, teachSaturday morning and afternoon werefilled with workshops, reflecting CCE'smission of passing along as well aspreserving Ireland's traditional culture.It was fascinating to witness thedifferent approaches taken by differentteachers, and it was refreshing to seethat musical instruction need not bedull or daunting.In Mike Rafferty's flute workshop, hemeticulously played passages of a tune,then had his 15 pupils play thosepassages together until he felt theyhad them down cold. The exercisebuilt carefully toward learning thewhole tune. He encouraged questions,answering them thoughtfully, nomatter how rudimentary or complex,and using his own flute todemonstrate each point.A dozen students, including wellknownOntarian pianist Julie Schryer(Sister of fiddler Pierre Schryer),gathered around the electrickeyboard Felix Dolan had set up forhis accompaniment class. He hadcopies of handwritten tune notationto reinforce his tutelage and also useda portable boom box for a tape ofsolo flute playing. He'd then ask hisstudents to suggest the keyappropriate for backing certain tunesheard on the tape, running his fingerslowly down the keyboard until theright key was recognized.Frank Edgley, a Canadian concertinaplayer and maker, also used copies ofhandwritten notation for the 10students in his workshop, while DenisLiddy took a teaching approachsimilar to Mike Rafferty's, performingsections of tunes, like "Mick Carroll'sBarndance", and asking his 21 fiddlestudents (New York buttonaccordionist Patty Furlong amongthem) to play the tunes back, in partor whole.Joe Molloy, who performed withLunasa flutist Kevin Crawford inBirmingham, England, led the banjoclass. Kevin Finnegan, a formermember of the Liverpool Ceilf Bandwho came to Canada in 1968, helmedthe piano accordion workshop. AndJonathan Lynn, a member of theToronto Irish Players theatricaltroupe, taught storytelling to 25students. Lynn regaled them withIn a suite on the seventh floor duringmid-afternoon, Kieran Hanrahan andPeter Browne, host and producer of"Ceilf House" on RTE, taped for laterbroadcast the playing of Ena O 'Brien,Larry Reynolds, Mike Rafferty, andFelix Dolan. " Luckpenny/SixpennyMoney" and "George White's/GreenGates" were among the traditionaltunes they performed in a joyouscelebration of Galway's musicaldiaspora in America.Also that afternoon, Mick O 'Connor,former flutist with the Dublin-basedCastle Ceilf Band that won the seniorAll-Ireland title in 1965, presented"Comhaltas Ceolteirf Eireann:TheFirst 50 Years", a documentary heproduced and narrated. The archivalfootage included pricelessperformances by the Clare duo offlutist Peadar O'Loughlin andconcertinist Paddy Murphy, and bytwo New York-based fiddlers, VincentHarrison and the late Martin Wynne.The Saturday night banquet wasdistinguished by the presence of MaryCoughlan,T.D., Minister of State forArts, Heritage. Gaeltacht and theIslands, who flew over to voice theIrish government's appreciation ofCCE's work. Others who spoke fromthe podium about the history andachievements of Comhaltas includedSen. Labhnis 6 Murchu, CCE'sdirector general; Padraig Mac Suibhne,CCE's president; Frank Kennedy,CCE's North American chair for thepast two years;Anne McConnell, chairof CCE's Regional Board of Canada,and Stan O 'Donohue, chair of theNorth American Convention.Dancing feet, musical featsAfter banquet tables and chairs wereremoved from the main ballroom'swooden floor. a ceili mer began inearnest, lasting from about I I pm19

TREOIRPADRAIG 6 GRUAGAI NMany people in the Tyrone areaare still coming to terms withthe untimely death of OwenSmith the prominent Omaghbusiness man. His "Owencraft"works of art are treasured byaesthetes everywhere but themusical world will long cherishthe memorable evenings of eeol,song and story at mightysessions in "Teach Eoghain" inthe centre of rural mid-Ulster.Owen was a big man in every sense,phYSically, intellectually, culturally andspiritually. But like all people of geniushe did not have to flaunt it to makean impression. His business empirestretched from Derry to Kerry andbeyond into the international marketbut he was happier sharing a story orsong by the fireside in Fernagh thanmaking a presentation at a t rade fairin New York City.And it was in Fernagh cottage outsideOmagh that we, the music familyArtist DJ Fox recordsa moment from thesession at FernaghOwen Smith with stone builders constructingnew barn at Fernagh cottagecame to know Owen Smith best. In aclachan-like enclosure of pillars,cottage, sheds and barn he hadcreated his own cultural centre, analternative folk park for theenthusiasts in the know. To Owen'scitadel of slate, stone and wood onstar-studded silver white nights andon balmy midge-filled evenings insummer we trundled. The memorieslive on of those heady days whenentertainment was produced with aspontaneity and verve that could onlybe hoped for again."White-washed walls be-deckedwith coutrements of a long lostage,Griddles, tongs and knick-knacksreverberating to the sound ofwords sage,Songs, old as Mullagharn or newverses about the woes of awoman's heart,Oblivious to pot-bellied stoveglowing arrogant ly in a worldapart."There was something so convivialabout the whole setting, thetraditional cottage, the smell of theturf smoke, the horses in the stablesand the throbbing music carrying onthe night air."The atmosphere's grand as youcome on the street,There's a hearty handshake and asmile as they meet,The horses they 'nichir' across thehalf door,You can throw care away when yourfoot hits the floor.""Owen Smith makes you welcome,he greets you with glee,A gentleman scholar, the real fear atoighe.'Come up to the fire, put your backto the wall,This place is for craic, for big andfor small'."The amazing thing about the clientelewas that they came from all arts andparts, even though the events werenever publicly advertised. But he hadcontacts in all corners of Ireland anda brief invitation was enough to letthe aficionados know that an "ofchem6r" was being planned. His widecircle of friends locally felt obliged toensure that the good name of the21

MOSCOWMUSICMAKERSThe Moscow branch of Comhaltaswas launched on St. Patrick's Day.The public relations officer of thenew Moscow branch, YuriAndreichuck, expressed hisenthusiasm fo r Irish music when he"That Moscow has caught the Irishmusic bug may be surprising butwhat should be of particular interestis the attendance at Irish languageclasses and the obvious connectionbetween language and culture." It took us over three months toget the Moscow branch of CCE"We were unable to start thebranch without having exploredBunreacht. Now I can tell you thatthis branch already works and we' llwork as good as we can."At present we have accomplisheda number of successful concertsand other events. Our Irishlanguage classes are still workingagus cl suil agam go bhfuil naranganna suimiuil."With the help of our friends andenthusiasts of Irish culture we haveexpanded the web version of ourbulletin about the Irish language,culture and music."Now its web version is alreadyavailable on the net in Russian onlyat www.irish.ru. Its name is "IrishVolunteer" or "Irish Good-WillMan")."We hope to establish an Englishversion of this site"Yuri would appreciate if'comhghairdeas' from branches andindividuals could be sent to thebranch via e-mail to eithergoldfox@mail.ru orvolunteer@irish.ru

TREOIRAg Deanamh CeoilDance m usic tunes submitted by Paddy RyanSongs submitted by Seamus Mac MathUnaOld Man QuinnHornpipeOLD MAN QUINN and THE SHASKEEN, are two South Leitrim tunes taken from thecollection of Stephen Grier, a piper and native of Abbeylare, G ranard, Co. Longford, wholived in Bohey, Gortletteragh, Co. Leitrim, where he wrote his collection of more than onethousand tunes in 1883. Unfortunately, the collection was never published but a copy canbe found in the Traditional Music Archive. A three-part setting of Old Man Quinn appearsin O'Neill's 'Four Hundred Selections arranged for Piano and Violin', under the title"Logier's". Another three-part setting of the same tune appears in O'Neills 1850 collectionunder the title "Old Man Quinn". O'Neill got the tine from the piper, Sergeant James Early,from Aughavas, Co. Leitrim. Early learned it from another piper and elderly relative, JamesQuinn (born 1805), from Cloone, Co. Leitrim. Hence the title "Old Man Quinn"." 1 e jJ IJjJJ rEEf I rfrr _I crrr rrrr I r j DJJI JjJJ rEW rfrr DJ) I,11 Jffl jJ] IJ J3 :111: if I OOE£r.r I 00 Errf I crrr [IT I r tOO I~. 1 J J r FE fir f r JfflIJ93J jJJJ I J J3 :11The ShaskeenReelTHE SHASKEEN HORNPIPE appears as a reel "Sheskan Reel", in Grier's collection but itplays better as a hornpipe. The title is thought to have come from the name of a river inneighbouring Co. Longford, a tributary of the Inny near Ballymahon. Both of these tunes,together with many other rare tunes from the Drier and Sutherland collections fromSouth Leitrim, can be heard on the excellent CD "Leitrim's Hidden Treasure", recordedby the very talented McNamara Family from Carrickavoher, Aughavas, Co. Leitrim,published by Drumlin Records in 1998." c mlj~EJJIEEErEftflrj3ettrIOO!.J@lj~EJJIEEErEfrfI,. EW [f£fl fflJ H {B'IEfrrrrflCfrFrrFIC et r eT! rflrF r ~I,. ri)#J;PirfinyIEif[f£flgH

TREOIRThe King of West Clare(A lament for the lateJohn Kelly)AirThe King of West Clare, or John Kelly the King of West Clare was written byPaddy Tunney as a lament for his dear friend the never-to-be forgotten JohnKelly of Rehy in West Clare and later of Cape I Street, Dublin. Listening toPaddy sing it again recently I felt that John himself would have been pleasedwith this fine tribute. The words, - without the air, which is that of an oldNorthern song called The Flower of Gortade' - were published in Treoir No. 21989. Here now are the words and music 'for all to sin' as the old saying goes.Lie low larks and linnets you storm-cocks and thrushesDon't flutter a wing round the Ailwee CaveYou wild-whistling blackbirds abandon the bushesWhile we bring great John Kelly in grief to the graveThe Three Waves of Erin they thunder uproariousWith weeping and wailing banshees fill the airAs we mourn in Glasnevin that minstrel so gloriousThe high priest of music and the King of West Clare.We'll miss you in Milltown at the summer Scoil EigseIn memory of Clancy, the piper supremeWhere you reigned in the Back Room with Ryan and CaseyAnd music flowed pure as the clear mountain streamThey'll mourn you with sad reels in famed KilfenoraThey'll toast you in Tulla while Canny rules thereWith Brian the Brave once of storied KincoraYour name is enshrined as the King of West ClareYou played with 6 Riada in Ceolt6irf ChualannAnd raised bardic standards this country all roundWith noble Noel Hill and the Russells from DoolinThroughout the 'Oul Banner' your name will resoundFor your rich repartee, wit and wisdom provokingWe'll be waiting in vain by the bard's vacant chairAnd those legends and tales lofty memories evokingOh! mighty John Kelly, the King of West Clare.When you reach Heaven's gates Peter won't check credentialsHe' ll wave on your chariot with honour and prideHe knows you've got much more than just bare essentialsThe troubadour monarch whose fame's far and wideMick Coleman will meet you; Gillespie will greet youSaying. You're welcome John Kelly; just sound me your AKilloran will face you and Morrison grace youAs you bow with Cree's masetro* The Queen of the May.* Cree's maestro - the late Patrick Kelly of Cree~iJlg rr J )13I) ~ i~J.flIJJjj)4 jLie low larks and linnets you storm cocks and thrushes, don't flutter a wing round theAil-a-wee Cave. You wild-whistling blackbirds a-bandon the bush~,while webring great John Kel y. in grief to the grave. The Three Waves of Erin they,thunder uproarious with weeping and wailina banshee" fill the ;1 ir;1" weKing of West Clare.J/1

,TIR GAN TEANGA ,,TIR GAN ANA MTREOIRJO 0 SfORAINDonnchadh Mag Loingsigh, who has tocount back five generations to the lastnative born Irish person in his family,recently gained an A grade GCSE inIrish Language and is currently studyingIrish to A Level, an examination inwhich he will sit next summer.Donnchadh, a member of theBradford Branch of Comhaltas, wherehe first began to learn the language,was elected Treorai Gaeilge for theBritish Province of Comhaltas lastyear and since that time has beenvery active promoting interest in andcommitment to the languagethroughout all the Comhaltas branchesin Britain. He has provided each branchwith a 24-lesson Course supplementedby audio-tape material which can beused to teach the very basics of Gaelicto branch members. He has alsoencouraged the greater use of thelanguage in sign-posting, 'calling' at ceiliandset-dancing events, singing, andduring meetings. His slogan is 'Better acup la focal than no focal at all'. He isadamant that 'Amhran na bhFiann'should be sung at all Irish functions andonly in Irish, even though it wasoriginally written in English. 'Did youever hear of any nation singing itsnational anthem in the language ofanother?; he says. 'Imagine the Frenchsinging the 'Marsallaise' in German, or'Deutschland Uber Alles' beingrendered in Russian'. He believes thatone of the solutions to the problem ofIrish identity, which exercises people'sminds so much these days, is preciselythe greater use of the Irish language.After all if someone who has to goback five generations in his ownfamily history before meeting a nativeIrish person can reclaim his Irishnessby gaining competence in the Irishlanguage, it should present littledifficulty to those who are second andthird generation. In fact. it is quiteremarkable how a person whoseeveryday accent is filled with the broad,flat vowels of Yorkshire, is able toconverse quite comfortably in Gaelic,compared to people who have a strongbrogue, but little if any Gaelic. It is thelanguage more than anything else thatdistinguishes us as a people, as Dr Hydesaid so long ago, 'Tir gan teanga, tir gananam'.The attempt to destroy ouridentity as a people during the colonialphase of our history was undertakenmainly through the prohibition of AnGhaeilge; it almost succeeded. To totallyregain our sense of being Irish is torevive our language and that by using itat every opportunity as is just now thepractice in West Belfast and other partsof the north of Ireland. If the people ofIsrael can do it after almost twothousand years of oppression, whatprevents us now that we are governorsof our own destiny?In the photograph, Deirdre UiShioniin, a muinteoir na Gaeilge,presents Donnchadh with his GCSEin Irish during a function in the IrishDemocratic League Club, Bradford.KillianSchiifer(age /0),Veidh/ead6ir,Mid/eton,Co. Cork27

IrelandTwice now have I given my back to you,First for four springs and second for near a score.Though leaving was best done, there's more that's true;Within my mind I hold your hills and glittering shore;I store your early smell and though I've long since grownTo love where I am now, you are always in my bone.And all of mine before me lie sleeping in your soilAnd add their silent bond, as though to let me knowYour soft pull is unending no matter what the spoilOf other countries beauty and the riches they bestow.Time and distance do not ease your grip upon my soul,So that breathing other air somehow leaves me less than whole.Green dampness and gray skies; soft soil and salty shore,Lush fields, black bogs and rolling hills set in a gentle rain;Memory's recall sweetens these and adds beauty even moreBy fading out all faults to leave an aching painFor vanished youth and happiness linked to a distant land,In a misty dream of yearning only exiles understand.The mariti mer in the west bears losses just the same,The prairie-born obsesses at the tight confining hillsAnd mountain folk who mountains leave are equally displacedAnd look upon their flat surround with bitter, sad distaste.We have but one short life to live, of years three score and then,How often do we have to ask "What would I do again?"Please find enclosed a submission for the CCE Treoir magazine. It is areflection on Ireland, from the perspective of an emigrant now living inCanada. The author has given me permission to submit this work, but prefersnot to have his name published.Thank you for your time,Esme Forsythe (CCE Ottawa Branch, Canada)40 Splinter Cres.Ottawa, ONCanada K2B I B21-61 3 726-7265WICKLOWCELEBRATE THE '50'In conjunction with the CCE's 50 thanniversary celebrations, the WicklowCounty Board of Comhaltas ran a verysuccessful weekend of music workshopson February 17 th and 18 th in the AbbeyCommunity College in Wicklow Town.Musicians, young and old, from all overCounty Wicklow and surroundingcounties, attended these workshops whichran over two days, Saturday and Sunday.The weekend began on Saturday withworkshops in fiddle, tin-whistle,bodhnin, accordion and flute. Theclasses also continued on the Sunday.The main objective of the weekend wasto allow the musicians to experiencedifferent styles of playing throughproductive and enjoyable classes withtutors from all over the country: RobThornburg, Mayo (fiddle); MaireadO'Sullivan,Wexford (fiddle);AoifeMcDermott, Dublin (accordion); MajellaO 'Byrne, Dublin (flute); Mattie Fahy,Waterford (tin whistle); PatriciaO 'Connor, Dublin (tin whistle); LizCassidy,Wexford (tin whistle); HelenMcLoughlin, Wexford (bodhnin). Thisobjective was certainly achieved and allparticipants agreed that the event washighly beneficial and enjoyable. Everyonethen gathered on Saturday night, tutors,pupils and other local musicians, for ceolagus craic in Wicklow's St. Patrick'sGAA Club hall. This was the first timethe County Board organised musicworkshops in Wicklow, and judging bythe positive support and commentsreceived, the hope now is that theweekend will be made an annual event.These workshops were part of aprogramme of events organised by theWicklow County Board for the 50 yearscelebrations of CCE. These celebratoryevents kicked off with a very productiveteacher's seminar last November, givenby Attracta Brady from Offaly. A bigpicnic and open-air session for allmusicians and music lovers from thecounty is also planned for July inGlendalough.A sincere word of thanks isextended to the County Board and itssub-committees for their time, effort anddedication in organising these specialevents. It is much appreciated by all.Martina Cregg (Wicklow Town CCE)and Catriona O'Brien (Anne DevlinCCE).29

TREOIRJOHN McCLUSKER. ULSTER HERALDArthur Kearney, one of founders ofComhaltas Ceolt6iri Eireann in Tyronewas honoured during a night of Irishculture to mark his 80 th birthday inthe Dun Uladh Centre in Omagh.Leave me a memory of Ireland,Of springtime in County Tyrone;The mist over valley and mireland,And a cottage that once was my own.Let me picture the old town ofOmagh,Where I as a boy went to school;And the Lovers Retreat where fondsweethearts still meet,By the whispering River Strule.The chorus of The Whispering RiverStrule was appropriately chosen tointroduce a night of celebration tomark Arthur Kearney's 80 th birthday.Penned by Arthur's father, Felix, it wasa fitting choice to mark a lifetime ofcontribution to Irish culture in Tyrone.Friends and family who gathered inDun Uladh were treated to a night ofIrish entertainment as recollections ofthe octogenarian's lifetime wererecounted.And those present were taken on amusical and anecdotal journeyaccompanied by a feast of traditionalmusic, song and dance.A member of a family steeped in Irishtradition,Arthur was born in 'themountain house' at Cavanacaw onMarch 23 rd , 1921.Recounting his early years, he recallswalking the three miles from hishome to attend Culmore PrimarySchool where the master at the timewas Patrick Friel, father of acclaimeddramatist, Brian Friel.Although he didn't particularly cherishhis school-days,Arthur left with asound education and his writing stylebears testament to the high standardshe reached."I was mystified by algebra. I couldn'tmake head or tail of it," hereminisced this week. "I enjoyedEnglish composition and alwaysenjoyed learning new words. "I likedMaster Friel. He was very strict andhad no patience with those he called'duffers'. But I longed for the daywhen I was 14 to get away out of theclassroom."School also taught Arthur a love forand a flair for poetry and song. Hismusical education was also greatlyenriched by the fact that his fatherwas always singing and had a wealthof songs.For as long as he can rememberthere was s fiddle and bow hangingon the wall above the fireplace. Hisbrother, Felix, showed a particularaptitude for this instrument and wenton to become a highly acclaimedfiddle player known far and wide.On leaving school,Arthur was hiredto a local farmer for six months forthe princely sum of £6. During thisperiod, he was forced to draw 10/- tobuy a pair of boots - eating into hiswagepacket and leaving him with just£5.10.0 to collect at the end of theterm."The work was hard and the hourswere very long," he remembered. "Ihad to clean out the byre, help at themilking, wash potatoes, carry waterfrom a well in the glen, feed the hensand calves and keep the farmyardswept clean."I soon discovered that school hadn'tbeen all that bad."The following winter,Arthur got a jobin a flax mill owned by the lateDominic McCrossan. His first week'spay amounted to £ 1.1 O. "Lord, I was ayoung millionaire," he exclaimed.In 1940, as Paddy Tunney in his owninimitable style puts it, "they receiveda scholarship to Belfast." There,through the prompting of people likeSean Gallagher,Arthur was introducedto the Irish language. Not only did hebecome a fluent speaker, but he alsobegan to learn songs in Irish."Beautiful words and still morebeautiful airs ... they have been mylife's companions, especially thebeautiful airs and they are still to methe soul of Irish music;' is how Arthurso eloquently and poetically reminiscesabout that period in his life.During the I 940s,he worked in thewest of Ireland, in Belmullet, Westportand Galway and recalls beingemployed at Ballybrit Racecourse. InApril 1950 he married his wife, Molly,in Belmullet.In Mayo there was more Irish,especially from the Lavelles, a family31

Gerard Moloney (Winner of the 1989 SeniorAll-Ireland championship on Piano Accordion)The piano accordion is probably theleast respected instrument in theTraditional Irish Music world and withsome justification as when placed inthe wrong hands it can provecatastrophic to a good session. What Iwill endeavour to achieve in this shortpiece, is my own explanation for whyquite a lot of good musicians cringe atthe Sight of the dreaded JCB!When Bouton invented the pianoaccordion in 1852 in Paris, I suspect hecouldn't have envisaged the effect theinstrument would have on traditionalmusic in general. Improvements madeto the accordion in the I 920s pavedthe way for the introduction ofaccordion music into dance bands,particularly those bands of the I 940sand 1950s. Even accordion bandsbecame' the norm around this time inAmerica, the North of Ireland andespecially Scotland (personally Ishudder at the thought of listening to20 or 30 'maccordionists' all whackingit out!). Indeed the adopted home ofthe piano accordion is Scotland whereit takes pride of place alongside thebagpipes and the fiddle. Scotland hasproduced many accomplishedaccordionists none better than PhilCunningham, who has been partlyresponsible for improving the image ofthe piano accordion.In this country we also have peoplewho can actually play the instrumentsuch as Alan Kelly, Ciar;in Galvin,Declan Payne and Oliver Loughlin toname a few. In their capable hands,the piano accordion is a joy to listento. With these people, playing theaccordion is a very personal thing inthat it requires a lot of sensitivity,feeling, individualism and dexterity, acombination of which can be verydifficult to achieve on an instrumentwith very limited versatility andcapability (more on this a littlefurther on). Thus the very rigid natureof the piano accordion can be verydifficult to overcome - a facet of theinstrument which does not lend itselfto traditional music, but moreso tothe strict confines of classical music.Once a player can appreciate that alot more effort is required to playgood traditional music on a pianoaccordion than on any otherconventional traditional instrument,then there is no reason (besides lackof natural talent) why more peoplecan't excel on the instrument.The basic configuration of the pianoaccordion as you would view it sittingon one's lap in the playing positioncan be broken down as follows: onthe extreme left hand side we havethe bass buttons which can be usedto give a chording to accompany themelody (NOTE: these bass notesshould only be used sparsely as33

TREOIRCLONMEL HITTHE HIGH NOTEAodhan 6 Faolain, The NationalistComhaltas Ceolt6irf Eireann's fiftyyears of dedication to the promotionof Irish traditional music and culturehas been honoured in the form of acivic reception by ClonmelCorporation.The group was honoured by themembers of the local authority at theTown Hall last week, to mark boththeir 50 th anniversary and thetremendous work that organisationhas done in Clonmel and further afield.The Mayor of Clonmel Cllr BrianO 'Oonnell said that the Corporationwas honoured to give this group,which had done so much to promoteIrishness the world over, a fo rmalreception.At a local level both the Clonmel andPowerstown/Lisronagh branches haddone a lot of good work over theyears. He praised the efforts of OesOelahunty and Tommy Barrett fortheir involvement in the localbranches of Comhaltas Ceolt6iri.He referred to the organisation'shumble beginnings at a meeting inMullingar in 1951 . He also spoke athow the organisation had expandedand thrived, not just in Ireland, but allover the world in the interveningyears.The group was set up to promoteIrish music, song and dance at a timewhen those in sophisticated andintellectual circles tended to scoff atthose traditions.The group had been highly successful.Following on from the successes ofearly Fleadhs, branches of ComhaltasCeolt6iri sprangup all over theworld.Theinfluence it hadon Irish exileswas also a greatachievement.In recent t imesthe three f1eadhcheoils that tookPictured at a MayoralReception fro cct in theTown Hall, Clonmel, BrianO'Oonnell, Mayor: SenatorLabhras 6 Murchu, OirectorGeneral cc£, RoryCunningham, ChairmanClonmel Branch, PatLoughman, Chairman countyBoard, Bridie O'Oonnell, ChrisSheehan, ChairmanPowerstownlUsronaghComhaltas. place in Clonmel were tremendousfor the town. Hopefully it would notbe too long before the Fleadh Cheoilwould be back in Clonmel.Alderman Seamus Healy said thatthanks to Comhaltas Ceolt6iriEireann Irish traditional music, songand dance is seen as something good.They had done great work inClonmel and all over Ireland.''This is an historic occasion.Everyone knows about the Comhaltascommitment to things that are Irish.The group's influence all over theworld is huge," said Alderman TomAmbrose.Cllr Tommy Norris said thatComhaltas Ceolt6iri could also standfor craic, continuity andentertainment. They have done somuch good work locally andnationally in the last 50 years and theCouncillor wished them furthersuccess in the future."You have been great ambassadors forIreland," said Cllr Ted Boyle whoadded that many people have comeback to the town over the years as aresult of the three f1eadhs that tookplace in Clonmel,37Cllr Vera Hewitt said that ComhaltasCeolt6iri deserved great credit dueto their efforts to foster an interestin music in young people.Cllr Billy Shoer added that theirinfluence had attracted many touriststo come out and seek the realIreland. They had done as much forthe country economically as a multinational.In response Comhaltas Ceolt6iriEireann General Secretary andSenator Labhras 6 Murchu said thatit was wonderful being honoured andrecognised by your own.He had many fond memories of thetown from the days that he workedwith South Tipperary Co. Council andorganised ceili dances, including onein the town's Courthouse."It is important that people are notashamed of their Irishness," said theSenator who added that it issomething that has been one of thegroup's core principles.The organisation had attractedmembership from many hundredsof non-Irish in places as diverse asMoscow, Tokyo and Budapest, citiesnot noted fo r having strong linkswith Ireland.He also referred to the fact thatthere are 50 branches in NorthAmerica. Their members are a mixof Irish and non-Irish and are drawnfrom places such as Seattle andNashville.Music and culture are very powerfuland have helped bring peopletogether both in Ireland and abroad.On one occasion, through ComhaltasCeolt6irf, a group of North and SouthKoreans met in the same room wellbefore the two nations were talkingto each other.He also hit out at those who claimtraditional Irish culture is isolationistor bigoted. Bands from the Orangetradition in the North haveparticipated in events involvingComhaltas Ceolt6iri.Comhaltas Ceolt6irf's CountyTipperary Chairman, Mr PatLoughman, thanked the Corporationfor honouring the organisation.

TREOIREarle Hitchner, 'Irish Echo'In 1957 at Fleadh Cheoil na hEireannin Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, the TullaCeilf Band, led by fiddler P.J . Hayes,finally overtook their main rival, theKilfenora CeiH Band, to win first prizein the senior ceilf band competition.The Kilfenora had won the previousthree straight years, making the Tulla'svictory in this perennial clash of Claretitans all the sweeter after so manyrunner-up finishes.In March 1958, the Tulla came to theU.S. for a two-week tour as reigningAll-Ireland champions, and one oftheir performances was at New York'sCarnegie Hall. Also on the bill wereIrish-American songstress CarmelQuinn and Pat Boone, then a hugelypopular American singer in whitebuckshoes who had amassed morethan 50 hit singles and had his ownnetwork TV show from 1957 to 1960."Pat Boone was dressed to the ninesand really looked like a star," recalledEyrecourt, Co. Galway-born buttonaccordionist Martin Mulhaire, whohad played with the Tulla on thatstateside tour. "I was very impressed,having just arrived in this country, andI said to P.J. "Gee, I cannot believe thatthe Tulla will be on the same stage asthe famous Pat Boone".And P.J. said,"Who's Pat Boone?" And I said, "P.J .,you never heard of Pat Boone?" Andhe said, "I haven't a clue who he is."Then I said, "I can't believe that," andP.J. replied, "Well, I'll tell you one thing- I'll bet he never heard of me either."Over the phone from his home inQueens, N.Y Mulhaire lets out aripple of laughter at the memory. "P.J.had a very wry sense of humor andcould be quite witty and droll ," hesaid of his former friend andbandleader, who died at age 80 fromcomplications of Parkinson's diseaseat his home in Maghera, Caher, Co.Clare just before noon on May 6.A 55-year commitmentA founding member of the Tulla CeilfBand in 1946, P.J. Hayes was theirleader from 1952 onward, takingthem to All-Ireland senior titles in1957 and 1960. (After 1962 theyretired from competition). Thisextraordinary half-century of serviceand dedication kept the Tulla afloatwhen many other ceilf bands hadstruggled or sunk from Sight."Even if the Tulla had never entered acompetition, they would haveachieved the same amount of fame",believes Mulhaire. "It was P.J .'sgUidance that made the band last. Hehad a very diplomatic way of dealingwith things. He got the job done, butyou never realized he was doing it."That was as true in 1996-97 as it wasin 1958. The Tulla Ceilf Band hadrecorded "A Celebration of 50 Years"(Green Linnet, 1996), marking theirgolden anniversary, and in November1996 they performed at the GreenLinnet Irish Music Party weekend inMonticello, N.Y. The following May, theband made an unforgettableappearance at the Washington, D.e.,Irish Festival in Wolf Trap,Vienna,Va.Joining them on stage were twodistinguished alumni: Martin Mulhaireand flutist Mike Preston, who wasborn in Ballymote, Co. Sligo, but laterlived in Crusheen, Co. Clare."I was never as happy as when Ijoined the Tulla again in the Catskillsand at Wolf Trap," Preston said byphone from his home in the Bronx.He was a member of the band from1952-62, the year he immigrated toAmerica. "P.J. was a great leader, verydecent and kind."Mulhaire's recollection of that WolfTrap appearance is as warm asPreston's. "When we were picking outtunes to play together, P.J. would askeverybody if they were happy withthem. Somehow you never felt he wasthe leader or the boss, even thoughhe was. At WolfTrap, I thanked himfor keeping the band alive, especiallywith all the people who came throughit over the years. He just smiled at meand said, "Why do you think my hairis so white?"In his liner notes to "A Celebration of50 Years", P.J.'s son, Martin, wrote thatthe Tulla "was the first example ofparticipatory democracy I had everencountered. Nothing was done andno choices made that went againstthe wishes of any individual musician.Everything ... required collectiveagreement."Peadar O'Loughlin, a flutist whoplayed in the Tulla from about 1957-65, also emphasized the diplomacyand kindness of P.J. Hayes. "He never39

OF WISDOMBeside the Electricity GeneratingStation at Bellacorrick there is astone Bridge which is known as "TheMusical Bridge". It was built oncontract by a well-to-do family whowere stone-builders from Lackaduaghsome miles west of Bellacorrick. Thestones had to be drawn from aboutforty miles away by horse and cart.Sometimes it was only possible tocarry two stones at a time accordingto their size and weight. However,when the bridge was about half-builtthe contractor ran out of moneyand the penalty in those days forbreach of contract was deportation.To avoid being deported the familyleft the area overnight as there wasno one to help them out, but beforeleaving the mother went down onher knees and cursed whoever wouldfinish the bridge.An engineer was later engaged tofinish the bridge, but before the laststone was placed he died suddenly.Alocal man then took the contract ofpointing the bridge but every man heemployed suffered some disaster,some became disabled while othersdied. The contractor himself becameseriously ill for a long time but heeventually recovered.The last stone has never been put onthe bridge nor has the pointing beendone leaving it purely a stone bridge,so that when you run a stone alongthe top of the wall you get a musicalsound, hence the name ''The MusicalBridge" which is of great interesttoday to tourists. Nobody todaywould dare to try to put the lastfinish to "The Musical Bridge" atBellacorrick.The old people had great skill inpredicting the weather. When mygrandmother looks out of thewindow and says, "There's a mist ontop of Sliabh a'Chuirricin" (amountain some distance away) shemeans there is going to be rain.Whenever there's a fog with oldmoon, she uses the saying "Nf raibhtart ar sean geallach ariamh".She also tells me people who livenear the sea are very good weatherexperts. They can judge by thedifferent sounds of the sea. She sayswhen she lived near the sea therewas a small island known as "Fidfn"on which a Taidbhse was supposed tolive and the old people of those dayswould say "We'll have bad weather.Taidbhse Fidfn was roaring today". Itwas always accurate but the fact was,that what was really making the noiseor "roar" was a buoy out at sea andwhen the wind blew a certaindirection, it made this peculiar soundwhich people believed was beingmade by the Taidbhse.41

'15TREOIR

TREOIRRecalling old times, the two surVlvmgfounders of Comhaltas, Paddy McElvaney(Monaghan) and Willie Reynolds (Westmeath),pictured in Mullingar, 200 I.Muimhneachain unveiling the plaque,uil/eann piper POdraig Donlon provided the musicThe Comhaltas delegation from Britainwho attended the Mullingar event:POdraig MacSuibhne, Uachtaran,Jim Teevan,JoanBurke,joe and Deirdre Sheeran.Aint6in MacGabhann agus Bobby Gardinerag seinm ag an ocaid chuimhneachainar an Muileann gCearr.By the middle of the last century,it became apparent to many in traditionalmusic circles that our uniqueIrish cultural heritage had reached aparticularly low ebb and that its veryexistence was in jeopardy. In order tocombat this serious threat, the needfor urgent action to redress the situationwas agreed. In 1951 , representativesof the Pipers' Club, along withother traditional music enthusiastsfrom the Midlands convened a meetingin Mullingar at which they decidedto set up an organisation to promoteIrish traditional music and also organ­Ise· a great annual festival · of traditionalmusic, song and dance. The organ i-Buiochas ... Senator Labhras Murchu,Ardstiurth6ir an Chomhaltais, thanking SenatorComil/us Glynn and Senator Donie Cassidy (Leader of Seanad Breann) for their assi~tance and attendance. Seamus De Brun, Trustee, is a former Senator.sation became known as ComhaltasCeolt6iri Eireann while the festivalwas the fore-runner of Fleadh Cheoilna hE:ireann, now the premier eventon Ireland's traditional music calendar.Branches of Comhaltas sprung up allover Ireland, organising classes, concertsand sessions at local level.Comhaltas now has more than 400branches, established in every IrishCounty, in Britain, the US, Canada, andworldwide in places such as Japan,Pddroig Mac Subhne, Uachtaran anChomhaltiJis, with Colman 0 MuimhneachOin.making a presentation toCamhaltas founder Willie Reynolds.Hungary. Sardinia, and Australia.The Mullingar weekend' was thesecond in the series of special eventsplanned for year 2001 (the first wasthe unveiling of a commemorativeplaque on 26 January at 14 ThomasStreet, Dublin, site of the formerPipers' Club - the body that spearheadedthe founding of the Comhaltasmovement) to 'mark the 50th anniversaryof the birth of Comhaltas.Bbhlin Og O'Brien-Minogue, granddaughterofComhaltas Stalwart, the lateJim SeefY., pictured in Mullingar.47

TREOIRKathleen HughesIn the mid fifties Eoin Kelly purchasedthe 'Anglo Celt' every week. Being agreat follower of the Cavan footballteam, he not only wanted to know allthere was to know about the teambut also about what was happening inCavan. Increasingly, he noticed articlesabout the great steps being taken inpromoting traditional music.Much of this was due to the foundingof Comhaltas Ceolt6iri Eireann inIreland. Eoin discussed the rise ofCCE with his friend, Jimmy McHugh,himself a well-known and wellrespectedfiddler, and the two ofthem decided to look into the matterwhich ended up in the forming of theIrish Minstrels Branch in January 1957- the first branch of CCE to beformed outside Ireland. Jimmyencouraged other Glasgow-Irishmusicians to join, notably PatMcNulty, and the first meeting wasset up at which the followingcommittee was elected:Jimmy McHughDonal BoyleAnnie McGrathEoin KellyAnne McHugh- Chairman- Vice Chairman- Secretary- Treasurer-AssistantSecretaryChristy Darby, Pat McCusker and PatHetherson were also present at thatfirst meeting. Pat McNulty and LiamMcCabe were involved very early inthe branch, followed shortlyafterwards by Lena Tierney. Rose Frielput in an early appearance in the firstconcert held by the branch and wasinvolved for many years after. Indeed,now in her eighties, she still managesto give us a song well-sung when sheattends one of our functions.'Round the fires' were held everyweek in the early months in a smallhall near the Gorbals and movedwithin a few months to the AO.H.halls in Royston Road. In addition topromoting traditional music and balladsinging, ceilithe were held regularly.On the 6 th of October 1957 the IrishMinstrels held their first annualconcert in the Govan Town Hall withsome leading visiting artistes: SeanO'Siochain (Cork), Margaret O'Reilly(Cavan), Martin Mulhare (Galway),Sean Seery (Dublin), RobertMcMahon (Clare), John J. Sheridan andour own Jimmy McHugh (fiddle) whowent on to win All-Ireland honours,Paddy Carr (accordion), Rose Friel(ballad singer) and Pat McNulty(Uilleann pipes). Dancing displayswere provided by the Charlie KellySchool of Irish Dancing.Ceili dancing was very popular at thistime in Glasgow and was promotedby the Fianna Fail Branch in Glasgow(again the only branch outsideIreland) under the enthusiasticorganisation of Fred Sweeney (nowScottish Regional Chairman of CCEand Chairman of the Glasgow FeisCommittee which will be celebratingits centenary in the year 2002).Incidentally, we do not know of anyother existing feis which hascelebrated its centenary. Knowingthat ceili dancing was safe in thehands of 'Big Fred', the Irish Minstrelsfocus sed their attention on thepromotion of music and singing,moving venues as the branch grew inpopularity.When Jimmy McHugh won the AllIreland fiddle in Dungarvan the branchcelebrated! A very well-deservedhonour for Jimmy! Then, in Longford,the folloWing year Eoin Kelly camesecond in the men's ballad competitionwith his now well-known 'Bonny WhiteHare'. Eoin has many tales to tell ofthat first fleadh he attended but wewill not waste time relating these - hisversions are far more entertaining ...ask him yourself at the All-BritainFleadh in June! Wild horses will notkeep him away from a fleadh!Despite difficulties in those early, leanyears, the branch held their first AII­Britain Fleadh in the Partick BurghHalls in 1964. Three branches entered: London, Birmingham and Glasgow.The fleadh programme makesinteresting reading!!f9

TREOIRThomas O'Sullivan, Milltown CCE"How delightful to standon the Hills of KilderryWhen the sun in the west shedits rays over this sceneAnd the boatmen of Lurriga*are crossing the ferryAnd casting their nets in therushy Tureen*"(from Hills of Kilderryby Robert Turner Eager)(Lurriga and Tureen areplacenamesalong the River Maine - favourite fishinggrounds of fishermen from Callinafercy)The Milltown/Listry ComhaltasCeolt6irf Eireann Branch proudlydisplay the Hanafin Brothers, Michael(1875-1970) and William (1885-1924)on their crest - taken from 0 Neill's100 I Tunes (or the Irish TraditionalMusic Bible).They were born on a farm 'coisfarraige' in Callinafercy or 'Caladh naFeirste' near Milltown, County Kerry.Their house became a second hometo the travelling pipers, fiddlers anddancing masters - none other thanDick Stephenson, who on more thanone occasion fell into 'bad drinkingcompany' in Milltown, never reachinghis musical destination in Callinafercy.Another musician was Mike Hurleyfrom neighbouring Keel - "overMaine" - a talented fiddler, making abig impression on young Hanafin whotook up position behind the fiddlemaster'schair. Michael got whistle anddancing lessons from a FlorenceHartnett and soon learned to play theKerry sets on the flute but nothingcould quench his thirst for the fiddle.His youthful exuberance oftenambushed the fiddler Hurley alongthe way to the Hanafin homestead toplay "The Pidgeon" on the gate, "Starof Munster" and the double jig -"Apples in the Winter" - whichincidentally O'Neill gives MichaelHanafin credit for in 0 Neill's 1800Tunes Collection.The first we hear of the Hanafin inBoston Massachusetts is October1889 when he befriended the famousDan Sullivan. They instantly becamebest friends, playing duets and later tobe joined by fluter Daniel Moroneywho came from Kilderry. They playedthe length and breath of music hallsacross the United States. with theShamrock Band with hits such as"Good-bye Mick, Good-bye Pat andGood-bye Kate & Mary" . Theyrecorded with at least three recordingcompanies and had their own weeklyradio show on WNAC in the 1930's.Michael also won a gold medal at theBoston Feis 1906 in Dancing.Billy Hanafin got the call for theuilleann pipes from the visitor to theHanafin homestead - DickStephenson. He then befriended JohnHarney in Boston and acquired a bag,bellows and chanter. As the story hasit, he was practicing his scales in hisroom one night when a guest stayingin the nearby Saint Leon Hotel heardthe familiar sounds of the chanter andreed. The mystery guest was noneother than Patsy Tuohy, the acclaimedpiper who took Billy under his wingand any time in the Boston vicinitygave him a lesson into the intricaciesof the "Maid in the Cherry Tree" andother jigs and sets. Billy died in 1924and Michael at the ripe old age of 95in 1970. Go dtuga Dia suaimhneassioraf d6ibh."yet wherever I wander I'll thinkof KilderryThrough the waves of the oceanbetween us do dwellSo I'll now bid adieu to thisKingdom of KerryAnd charming Kilderryforever farewell"(from "Hills of Kilderry"by Robert Turner Eager)To celebrate the memory and thecontribution of those talentedemigrants from the Callinafercy areawho took with them to the UnitedStates of America the tunes, lyrics andsteps of Ireland it has been proposedto erect a memorial on a site in thetown - a fitting tribute. TheMilltown/Listry CCE Branch inviteanyone interested in contributing orholding events in aid of the memorialto contact: Dan Cronin, Chairman,AnChraobh Baile an Mhuilin,lLios a Tri,Comhaltas Ceolt6irf Eireann,Milltown, County Kerry, Ireland.Telephone: 087 685054251

Following on from the highly successful re-introduction of SEISIUN in the year 2000, grant-aid from the Department. ofArts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands has enabled Comhaltas Ceolt6iri Eireann to organise SEISIUN once again in theyear 2001. SEISIUN 2001 was officially launched by Minister SHe de Valera, TO at Fleadh Nua in Ennis on Sunday, 27 May.At SEISIUN you can be assured of a lively and colourful display of traditional music, song, dance and storytelling.Below is a list of SEISIUN 2001 venues; this is your invitation to follow the exciting music trail through Ireland.PLACE VENUE NIGHTAbbeyleix, Co. LaoisBallina, Co. Mayolallyduff, Co. Waterford'rr, Co. Offaly~ (.,?shel, Co. TipperaryCorofin, Co. ClareCourtown Harbour, Co. WexfordDrogheda, Co. LouthDublin (Monkstown)Dungarvan, Co. WaterfordEnnis, Co. ClareGurteen, Co. SligoKilleagh, Co. CorkListowel, Co. KerryMoate, Co. WestmeathMonaghanMurroe, Co. LimerickNew Ross, Co. WexfordRiith Cairn, Co. MeathRenvyle, Co. GalwayRockchapel, Co. CorkSligoSligoTempleglantine, Co. LimerickTralee, Co. KerryTullamore, Co. OffalyWaterfordYoughal, Co. CorkManor HotelMerry Monk, Killala Roadst. Michael's HallThe County Arms HotelBru Boru (Note 1)Teach CeilidheBayview HotelWestcourt Hotel, West StreetCulturlann na hEireann (Note 1)Park Hotel & Cui na Smear HallCois na hAbhna, Gort RoadCeolaras Coleman Heritage CentreBrowne's Country RestaurantKerry Literary & Cultural CentreDun na Sf Teach CheoilHillgrove HotelKilmurry Lodge Hotel, CastletroyBrandon House HotelAras PobailRenvyle, Teach CheoilBruach na Carraige Teach CheoilHawkswell TheatreTower HotelDevon Inn, TempleglantineDuchas, Cultural Centre, Edward St.Bridge House HotelDooley's Hotel, The QuayWaiter Raleigh HotelWednesdayThursdayWednesdayThursdayTuesday to SaturdayThursdayThursdayThursdayMonday to ThursdayTuesday & SundayTuesday & SaturdayWednesday & SaturdayThursdayTuesday & ThursdayFridayThursdayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayTuesdayTuesdayTuesday (from 2'fth July)MondayThursdayThursdayTuesdayThursdayMondayNotesAdmission charge for all venues will be £5 with the exception of Culturlann na hEireann, Dublin and Bru Boru, Cashelwhere it will be £6 and £9 respectively.

TREOIRComhairle Chontae na h-IarmhiAddress of Recognition accorded by the Chairman and Members of Westmeath County Council to ComhaltasCeoltairf Eireann, to mark the 50 th Anniversary of its foundation, on Saturday, 24 th February, 200 I.Is mar an chuis onair I don Chathaoirleach agus Baill Chomhairle Chondae na hlarmhl failte cathartha a chur gofoirmiuil roimh Comhaltas Ceoltairf Eireann ar an acaid seo, agus iad ag ceiliuradh an caoga bliain a bunaiodh aneagras. Is mian linn a aithint an pairt mar a ghlac an eagras i bhforbairt soisialta, culturtha agus oideachasuil nahEireann thar an caoga bliain sin.Fifty years ago in the Midland Hotel, Mullingar, representatives of the Uileann Pipers Club of Thomas Street, Dublinmet with members of the local committee of the GAA, Conradh na Gaeilge and Feis Lar na hEireann.Amongstthose visionary people were Kathleen and Eamonn Moynihan, Philip Mullally, Mlcheal MacCarthaidh, Rev.josephDermody, Brother Redmond, Garda Superintendent Phil Sullivan, Tom and Leo Rowsome, jim Seery, PaddyMcElvaney, P.j. Maunsell and Willie Reynolds (of the Walderstown Pipers' Club). At that meeting, a decision wastaken to form a broad based organisation to promote all traditional music and musicians. This decision led to theformal establishment of Comhaltas Ceoltoirf Eireann and the aims and objectives of the organisation were topromote Irish traditional music in all its forms, to promote Irish traditional dancing, to foster and promote theIrish language, to cooperate with all bodies working for the restoration of Irish culture and to create a closer bondamong all lovers of Irish traditional music.From that first meeting, agreement was reached to run what can be regarded as the first National Fleadh Ceoilwhich was held in St. Mary's Hall, Bishopsgate Street, Mullingar during Whit Weekend in 1951. This was amomentous and ground breaking event which has subsequently led to the great Fleadhanna of today at county,provincial and All Ireland level. Others who attended one or more of the Organising Meetings include Rev. BrotherDunne,j. Gilroy, Ned Gorman (piper), j. Fagan (County Councillor), L. Boyhan (Dublin),vv. Mea and c.j. Harwood.When this great cultural movement was founded, the mission was to pass on to future generations our culturaltraditions and to ensure their survival and enhancement. The popularity of Ireland's cultural traditions today is atribute to those ambitious and committed people fifty years ago and to the many other dedicated people whohave helped to propagate and invigorate these traditions in the intervening years.The 400 branches of Comhaltas worldwide are the hallmark of the great success of the movement. These brancheshave been formed and cultivated by selfless service on the part of many and their achievements at local andinternational level are a Significant contribution to the cultural life of Ireland today and to the promotion of ourculture abroad.We, the Members of Westmeath County Council, on behalf of the people of Westmeath, wish to thank ComhaltasCeoltoirf Eireann for returning to Mullingar to celebrate and mark the foundation of the organisation fifty yearsago.Ag bronnadh an Oraid Aitheantais seo, is mian linn ar mbulochas, agus buiochas mhuintir na hEireann, a chlaru gofoirmiuil don pairt a ghlac Comhaltas Ceoltairf Eireann i bhforbairt saisialta agus culturtha na tire seo sna caogabliain ati thart agus gUlmid rath ar an eagras don chead caoga bliain eile.Given under the Seal of Westmeath County Council.Signed:Signed:P. j. O'Shaughnessy,ChairmanGeorge LambdenCounty SecretaryDated this 24 th day of February, 200 I48

TREOIRTobarnaGluaiseachtaAspecial Ardchomhairle meetingof Comhaltas CeoltoiriEireann was held in BelvedereHouse, Mull ingar on 24 February tocommemorate the founding of theComhaltas movement in that town in1951 . This meeting was attended bytwo of the only surviving foundermembers of Comhaltas, Paddy McEIvaneyan d W illie Reynolds. Delegateswho attended included representativesfrom each Province in Ireland,from North America and fro m Britain.The meeting was just one facet of aweekend of celebrations - otherevents in cl uded a Civic Receptio n,Celebrity Concert, Ceili, Exhibitions,Sessions, RTE Ceili House, etc. - tomark t his momentous juncture in thehistory of Comhaltas.The plaque to commemorate thefounding of Comhaltas in M ullingar. Itwas designed by Billy Boylan.He/en Gannon, St. Louis, North AmericanPRO, who attended the "50"weekend inMu llingar.Paddy McElvaney making a presentation toCo/man 6 Muimh reachain, Cathaoirleachof the organising committee.Aodan 6 Muimhneachain and his daughterplaying at the 50 Bliain ag Fas eventin Mullingar. Aodan is son of Comha/tasFounder Cait Bean Ui Mhuimhneachain.POdraig Mac Suibhne, Uachtaran, AnChomhaitais, making a presentatioll toComhaltas Founde r, Paddy McElvaney.Old friends meet: Accordionist FrankGavigan greets uilleann piper WillieReyno/ds.Ardchomhairle members, founders and friends .46

TREOIRJoe Flaherty an old "Seanachai" wholived here in "Erris St." and died lastyear always claimed that when thewind comes roaring up Poll Gorm(which is a swallow-hole in the riveroutside the town) you can look outfor rain and that this same applieswhen Cabhiarsliabh is covered to theground in mist, or if there's fog onNephin (mountains in theCrossmolina area) but that ifTrista isclear you can go to your work.People and animals have a greatatmospheric sense and mygrandmother says she knew peoplewho suffered from headaches anddysentry whenever thunder andlightning were near and she herselfalways suffers from aching bonesbefore rain.She has her own weather guide,which is simply a I Ib jam jar filledabout two-thirds with water, with asmall baby Power bottle turneddownwards in same, so that the neckof the bottle reaches the water. Infine weather the water moves up intothe neck of the jar, but when rain isnear the water level drops again. Thisis always dead accurate as it operateson high and low pressure.She says some signs of rain are: if thecat sits with his back to the fire; if thehens are picking themselves orgathered together in a "Cruinneacin"around the door; if soot is falling; ifthe birds, particularly swallows, flylow; if the sun sets very red; if fliesbother the cattle a lot; if smoke blowsfrom the south; if sea-gulls comeinland around the houses; if thedistant mountains look near.Here I will mention some good and illomens: Some babies are born with alittle white skin "cap" on their heads.In the olden days this was known asthe "Caipin Sonais" and children bornwith it were considered very luckyand thought to have a very brightfuture in store for them.It was considered great luck to findthe four-leafed shamrock growing inthe ground, cut it with a black-handleknife and place it in the corner ofyour handkerchief fo r good luck.New clothes were put on inside outfirst before wearing out, for the firsttime. This was for luck.A penny wasalso placed in the pocket so that thewearer might never be without money.A pair of new boots or shoes werenever left on the table afterpurchase, they were always supposedto be placed on the floor only beforebeing worn.It was considered a ve ry bad omen ifthere was a remains in the churchwhere a couple were getting married,and two of the same family wouldnever marry within the same yearunless on the same day.A goose would never be hatched in abarn where a mare was being stabled.Soil would never be touched or waterdrawn from the well after sunset.If a person drowned and the bodycould not be found, three sheaves ofoaten straw would be thrown intothe water and they were supposed tofloat over where the body was.A type of cactus called "T 6irpin" wasusually set to grow under the thatchnear the eaves of houses. This wasconsidered a great "protection".If a person dropped a knife, fork, orspoon they believed they were goingto have visitors.It was very unlucky to kill a spider orto open an umbrella in the house.Breaking a mirror was supposed tobring seven years' bad luck and if amirror o r picture fell from off thewall , it was supposed to denote adeath in the family.It was never considered lucky to turnback when you started out on ajourney even if you forgot something.It was considered very unsafe tobathe or swim at Whitsuntide.The ragworth weed was fairyproperty and people or even animalsshould never be struck with it.If a person spilt salt they werethought "to be in for adisappointment". This could becounteracted by throwing a grain ofsalt over your shoulder. If a child fell agrain of salt would be placed on itstongue to keep the fairies away.This strange story was told to me bymy Grandfather and his twin sister.When my Grandfather was a youngboy, himself and his twin-sister werestanding in their own yard in thevillage of Fairfield, when they saw upin the sky a coach or horse-drawnhearse driven by a coachman andbearing a coffin. It continued on itscourse until it came over the"Maygownagh" grave-yard where itseemed to descend and disappear. Itwas also seen by other people in theVillage and caused much awe andspeculation.On the following day news arrived inthe village that a young man fromFairfield who had emigrated a shorttime previously, had been killed inAmerica and his death has ever sincebeen connected with this strangephenomenon.On a night in the early months of1939 the sky over many parts ofIreland turned red and remained so,for many hours. Many people werevery frightened, some thought theend of the world had come whileothers thought they were "The Warclouds" which were sometimessupposed to be seen before theoutbreak of a war. My grandmotherremembers that many people wereconvinced of this when "World War11" broke out later that year.Finally a tip from a very old woman.Wash your hands in the Maymorning dew if you want to bedexterous and your face in same ifyou want to be beautiful.42

TREOIRdid anything mean; he didn't knowhow," the 7 I-year old musician saidfrom his home in Kilmaley, Co. Clare."It was a good bunch of lads in theTulla . They were on time, and theydid what they should, all because ofhim. P. Joe believed he was part of thebest band in the world."Preston mentioned another. moreprivate side of Hayes - his spirituality."When we got in the car for a trip to,say, Dublin, we'd say the rosary. You hadto bring your rosary beads with youwhen you went with the Tulla on a longjourney. We said it aloud in the car:'Money was never a priority for bandmembers back then. "We used to geta pound a person," Preston said."Then it came up to two pounds, andif we went to Sligo, we might getabout three pounds ten." Thedistribution of money was asegalitarian as the band itself. "If P. Joegot a penny for playing the night,"O 'Loughlin recalled, "you got thesame thing."2 Seminal RecordingsDuring their swing through New YorkCity in the winter of 1958, the TullaCeili Band cut an album, "Echoes ofErin". Originally released by DublinRecords, it was done in just fourhours. "We had to get out of thestudio because a rock-and-roll bandwas due in after us," Preston said.Among the dozen tracks on the LPwas one solo:"Cottage Groves/SallyGardens" by Martin Mulhaire onbutton accordion. "For whateverreason, the record company neededthree more minutes of music, andbecause the band had already goneback to Ireland, they stuck me inthere with a drummer and pianoplayer," said Mulhaire. "I remembernervously watching the minute handon a big studio clock going around:'Mulhaire, who had decided to stay inNew York City, couldn't listen past thefirst track of the LP when it came out."It tore the heart out of me," he said."My life had taken a whole new turn."For those lucky enough to owncopies of the Dublin LP orsubsequent Shamrock release, themusic performed by Tulla touringmembers Mulhaire, Hayes, Preston,Seamus Cooley, John Reid, JohnO 'Shaughnessy, and Dr. Bill Loughnanerepresented ceili-band music at itspinnacle. It remains a coveted classicand collectible.The late P J. Hayes performs with his sonMartin at the 1996 Green Unnet Irish MusicParty in Monticel/o, N. Y.A year later, fiddler P.J. Hayes andfellow Tulla Ceili Band membersPaddy Canny on fiddle and PeadarO 'Loughlin on flute joined BridieLafferty on piano to record in Dublin.That pioneering LP was entitled "AII­Ireland Champions - Violin: MeetPaddy Canny & P.J. Hayes" (DublinRecord), and O'Loughlin remembersthe difficult circumstances underwhich it was made."We were unrehearsed, we knewvery little about recording, and wehad one hour to do the whole thing,"he said. "Then we had to leave beforefinishing, so the next day we had tofind another studio in Dublin tocomplete the record. We made it forthe big sum of 40 pounds. That's 10pounds each."It's regarded as one of the greatestalbums of Irish traditionalinstrumental music ever made. "Thatrecording will always be abenchmark," said Ennis-based buttonaccordionist Paul Brock, who knewHayes since the early 1950s. "Itexposed people to the beauty of EastClare music, to the gorgeous tuneselections on it, and to themusicianship of those four playersin full flight and in total sympathy withone another. It was a defining momentin Irish music.Lasting Legacy"A real slice of history has gone,"observed Boston button accordionistJoe Derrane after hearing of Hayes'spassing. Derrane had met him andhis wife, Peggy, twice in New York'sCatskills. "It's a very big loss to themusic."Besides the three recordingsmentioned earlier, Hayes has left uswith other Tulla Ceili Band albums, a1990 duet with his son Martin called"The Shores of Lough Graney", andguest appearances on solo releases byMartin and East Clare concertinistMary McNamara. There's also "TheIrish Folk Fest from WolfTrap", avideo-cassette and CD soundtrackproduced in 1998 by PBS-TV affiliateWUw, Long Island, N.Y., that spotlightsthe Tulla at the 1997 D.e. festival.The legacy of Hayes is inextricablybound up with the wide influence heexerted as gentleman, fiddler, andbandleader. Only in recent months didillness finally prevent the octogenarianfrom performing with the Tulla and atsessions in Peppers Pub, Feakle."We don't stop playing because weget old. We get old because we stopplaying." Those words were spokenmore than half a century ago by adifferent cultural icon, Americanbaseball pitcher Satchel Paige. P.J.Hayes would have understood.On May 8, a funeral Mass was said forhim in St. Mary's Church in Killanena,near Maghera, after which he wasburied in Kilclaren Cemetery. TheTulla Ceili Band played at both thechurch and the gravesite. Hayes issurvived by his wife, Peggy, his sonsMartin and Pat, and his daughtersAnne-Marie and Helen.'+0

TREOIR38

TREOIRA CELEBRATION OFCULTURAL HERITAGEJimmy Deenihan, TDThe Kerry Literary and CulturalCentre in Listowel opened in May ofthis year, celebrates both theextraordinary literary achievements ofour Kerry writers, and the music, songand dance of the area.According to playwright, ThomasKilroy,"Regional literature, like that ofNorth Kerry, is exceptional ratherthan typical of our times. That is partof the reason why we cherish it. Wealso value it because the mode of lifethat it celebrates is changing rapidlyunder the pressure of modernisationand may now disappear altogether.Readers from the great modernurban centres, then, turn to thewriters of North Kerry with a senseof relief and freedom from the lifeabout them. They find there certainvalues that have been underminedelsewhere."Listowel and its hinterland have aunique literary and cultural tradition,going back for generations. The FourMasters, for instance, in the year 1568,lamenting the death of the thenO'Connor Kerry Chief of Carrigafoyle,describes him as "the living fire brand ofhis race and tribe . .. the sustaining pillarof learned poets, and of respectableprofessors of the different arts."In the "Kerry Pastoral" which takes theform of three poems, which waspublished in 1719, the poet MurroughO'Connor of Ballyline, Ballylongford,displays a deep knowledge of theEnglish language, at a time when theeveryday language of North Kerry wasalmost exclusively Irish. The late John F.McMahon referred to the "KerryPastoral" in the following glowingterms "This work is in excellentEnglish, the metre,rhyme and rhythm areextraordinarily goodand pure and itabounds in lines ofsuch flawlessness andlyricism, as'My well strungharp shall passaway the nightWhene'er the rooks do homewardsbend their flight,There we can talk of battles wonand lost,Desmond invaded by a Danish host:The literary tradition of North Kerrycontinued to flourish throughout the18 th and 19 th Centuries. The areaproduced distinguished poets likePadraig Liath 6 Conchubhair, Lisselton;Sean 6 Braonain,Abbeydorney; and D.C. Hennessey, Listowel. The 20 thCentury witnessed the flowing of anextraordinary literary and intellectualendeavour in North Kerry with theemergence of some of the greatestwriters Ireland has ever produced,including George Fitzmaurice, John B.Keane, Brendan Kennelly, BryanMcMahon and Maurice Walsh, allnationally and internationally knownand respected figures. The Centre alsohonours the Blasket and Sliabh Luachrawriters such as Peig Sayers, Tomas 6Criomthian, Aoghain 6 Rathaille andEoin Rua 6 Suilleabhain.The rich musical tradition of the areawill also be celebrated in the Centre.In "The Kerry Pastoral" we find anumber of references to music, whichhas always featured very prominently inthe lives of Kerry people right down tothe present day. Since 1970 thirteenAll-Ireland Fleadhanna Cheoil havebeen held in Listowel.As far back asthe 16 th Century North Kerryproduced renowned musicians. In theCork Archaeological Magazine, Volume9, we find an interesting reference to adistinguished harpist from Rattoo,Ballyduff,~~!~II~~~fl "As to the harp-playing,Ithe said Country couldwell brag of having thechiefest master of thatinstrument in the Kingdomat that time, NicholasPierce of Clanmaurice, notonly for his singularcapacity of composinglamentations, funeraladditions and elevations,ete., and also by completingsaid instrument with morewires than ever before thistime were used:'The favourite instrumentswere the harp and the bagpipes. In1843 the editor of "The KerryPastoral", T. Brofton-Broker,commenting on the harp "upon thisfamous instrument at the period whenthese lines were written {Le. "KerryPastoral"} almost everyone played." Wealso learn in a Royal Irish AcademyManuscript that in the late 17thCentury, Eoin McEoin, a visiting Ulsterharpist to North Kerry, was thesubject of many satires on his style ofplaying such was the level ofconfidence and pride in their localharpists: one of the bitterest being byTadhg 0 Conchubhair, a local poet.Mention must also be made of ThomasCarthy, Ballybunion, who died in 1904,at the age of 102 years, and who wasregarded as the most accomplishedplayer of the Uilleann Pipes thatIraghticonnor ever produced {Article -Irish Independent, 26 th January, I 972}.There was always a close associationbetween music and poetry in NorthKerry.As John F. McMahon said, "Likethe old Greek Chorus, poetry andmusic always went hand-in-hand, eachenhancing and heightening the value ofthe other:' We hope that this synergybetween music and literature proves tobe one of the real dynamics of the newCentre.36

TREOIRoveruse or heavy playing of the basswill invariable destroy the overalltraditional sound coming from theinstrument); in the centre of theaccordion we have bellows, which asthe name suggests creates the twowayair flow required to make asound .. . ; to the right of the bellows(where the name of the accordion isusually found) we have the reeds,usually in blocks of two or three -these are brass reeds which vibrate asthe air is pushed or pulled through,thus creating notes; then on theextreme right we have fingerboardwhich resembles the keyboard of apiano - once one of these keys isdepressed, it allows air to be suckedthrough the corresponding reed.The physical makeup of the instrumentin its design as a chromatic reedinstrument only allows for one singlenote to be heard from anyone key, nomatter what direction you push or pullthe bellows. This is the single greatestdifference to that of the buttonaccordion which is diatonic instructure (i.e. you have two separatenotes for each key on the buttonaccordion depending on the directionof the bellows movement). In this waythere is a regular change in bellowsdirection on the button accordionwhich creates a natural rhythm asopposed to the piano accordionwhere bellows action goes in longone-directional movements. A lotmore work is required on the pianoaccordion to create a rhythm andtherefore it is much easier to create atraditional sound on a buttonaccordion than on the pianoaccordion. This fact coupled with themisuse of heavy bass playing is thereason for all the bad press receivedby the "piano-accordionestablishment" (the majority of it wellfounded!) .In summing up, now that I've explainedwhy the piano-accordion is such aterrible instrument and given reasonwhy it should never be allowed in atraditional session, one thing is all Iask - when you see a young lad orlassie dragging in this massive box intothe session, have a bit of sympathy andunderstanding for the mountainhe/she must climb in order to fit inwith the rest of the fiddles, flutes,concertinas, banjos, button accordionsand pipes ... but when that goal hasbeen achieved by them, the look inyour eye should change to that ofrespect - for in the capable hands of agifted and sensitive player, the pianoaccordion is truly a "beauty" and itsplace in the Traditional Irish Musicworld is surely secure!- Fleadh Luimnf ProgrammeThe IrishRamblingHouse"Come back withus to the flags ofthe old kitchenfloor"r - .,I Fleodh , Cheoil no II hEireonn 2001I~Guinness Gig RigBookingslI Groups who wish to perform onI the Gig Rig should contact: IMiche"e BuckleyI Tel : 068-22970E-mail: Lmbuckley@eircom.netTheIrishRamblingHouseSummer Shows in LimerickJ urys Hotel, LimerickWoodlands Hotel A dareCourtney LodgeN ewcastlewest3rd Tour of Britain(Dct 17th - 21st 2001)"30 Mighty Entertainers"Back by Popular DemandBolton, ManchesterGaltymore, LondonCoventry & LiverpoolCatalogue of videos, includingAmerican format, available fromIrish Rambling House Recordings,Lyreacrompane, Co. KerryPhone: 00353 (0)68 48353email: ramblinghouse@eircom.netWeb: www.kerrymusic.com34

TREOIRof native speakers originally fromInniskea North.And Arthur also cameto know and appreciate the poetryand song of the great Mayo Gaelicpoet. Richard Barret.He later teamed up with his brotherin-law.Michael McMenamin where hepicked up the rudiments of carpentryand joinery which were to stand byhim throughout the rest of hisworking life.On his return to Omagh in 1950 helived for a while with his father inCannondale before moving to hispresent home in Centenary Park.From 1959 until 1972 he wasemployed by Pat O'Neill and workedat Campbell's Castle in Killyclogher asit was transformed into Knock-na­Moe Castle Hotel.After 1972 he was self-employed fora spell before taking up the positionof clerk of works with the newlyformedHousing Executive. He latertransferred to the MaintenanceDepartment and went on to becomeSenior Maintenance Officer.During the early I 960s.Arthur. hisbrother Felix and others helped toform a branch of Comhaltas Ceolt6iriEireann in Tyrone. This was shortlyafter CCE was established during theprevious decade. In later years. hebecame extremely active in theCappagh/Badoney branch passing onhis talents to others.As well as earning a reputation as anexcellent solo performer.Arthur alsoenjoyed prominence as a member ofhighly acclaimed bands like the Prideof Erin. the Strule O~ili Band and theCamowen Ceili Band. He is alsohighly regarded as a teacher of musicand his many former pupils in Omagh.Fintona. Clogher. Clanabogan.Drumquin. Cappagh and Badoney areproof positive of his talents andexpertise.Arthur retired from the HousingExecutive in 1986 and has sinceunfortunately had two encounterswith cancer. Five years ago doctorstreated him for cancer of the colonand three years ago he lost hisContinued on page 30GLEANN GEALCORBRAi AN tSEINPadraig 6 CearbhaillFonn: Gleanntan Airglinn AoibhinnMo bheannacht a chuirim le duthrachtAr G/eann Gael Corbrai an tSein.'S ar a mhuintir mhaireann go sach subhachCois Sionna sa cheantar deas meith.Ta na crainn sna coil/te go buachachMar (hoscadh ag cair na nean,Na cnoic le brat glas c/udaitheCois G/eann Geal Corbrai an tSein.Mo ghreidhin go deo iad ar sinsirThui/l C/U agus cail daibh rein,Ag cosaint creidimh is tire.'S ag sothru filiochta is leinn.Go maire ansud go sitheachAr muintir ghramhar dhil rein.Gan buairt na bran orthu coicheI nG/eann Geal Corbrai an tSein.Ta an tSionna go haoibhinn alainnIna lui go maorga buanLe baid is longa ar a barr geal'S lucht aermaiochta anso's ansud.Bionn sruth na Corbrai ag crananAg mea/lodh an tsaoil chun suain.Pagann sruth agus abhainn a cheileI nG/eann Geal Corbrai cois cuainThe above song. "Gleann Geal Corbrai an tSein" was a prizewinner atWriters' Week. Listowel. 1980.Padraig 6 Cearbhaill was a writer of poetry and prose in Irish and Englishand spent both his youth and retirement in Glin. Co. Limerick. He was also ahistorian. folklorist and a promoter of all things Gaelic. He founded "G16ragus Ceol an Ghleanna" in 1981. a branch of Comhaltas incorporating"G16r na nGael" and as everybody knows this organisation is stillflourishing in Glin. He spent his whole working life within the County ofLimerick working as a teacher of Irish.Glin now has its own Community Centre comprising a hall of 70ft x 42ft.The Seomra Cuartaiochta (visiting or rambling) a room of 44ft x 18ft.kitchen. toilets etc .. etc. Padraig would have welcomed this and would havebeen pleased at the involvement of Glin Comhaltas in the project. It ishoped in the near future to name The Seomra Cuartaiochta' after him inhis honour and it would be called Seomra Phadraig. Similarly. another greatnative son. Martin Mulvihill. will be honoured by naming the hall after him.Martin. as many know. was a great fiddle player and teacher of fiddle musicin America until his death in 1987.- Clar, Fleadh Luimni 200032

FOR COMHAL TAS TOURCONCERTAs a Comhaltas Ceolt6iri Eireann fiftyyear anniversary highlight, theComhaltas North American TourGroup will be performing on OctoberS, 200 I at the University of NotreDame located in northern Indiana,USA Comhaltas Director GeneralSen. Labhnis 6 Murchu and PeteMurphy are shown discussing thearrangements at the recent CCENorth American Convention inToronto, Canada. Pete, a member ofthe CCE Mulligan-Quinn Branch inMineola, NY is a 1961 graduate ofNotre Dame and the sparkplug formaking this tour stop happen.Notre Dame is a university of tenthousand students, strong in spirit,tradition and heritage. Its founding isFrench, its tradition Catholic and itsheritage Irish. It was founded by Fr.Edward Sorin CSC and six brothersof the Holy Cross religious ordercame to America from Le Havre,France. They dedicated the universityto the Blessed Mother whose statuestands in gold atop the dome of itsmain building.In the early nineteen hundreds, NotreDame became well-known among theimmigrant Irish Catholic communityas an affordable school of higherlearning. In the I 920s its now famousfootball teams lead all USA collegesunder the banner "The Fighting Irish".Notre Dame is loved by thousands ofalumni and friends throughout theworld. It has a sense of place. TheComhaltas Tour Group willexperience an excitement and spiritof "Irish" hospitality that they willnever forget. The Notre Dame familylooks forward to the groupperforming before 12,000 fans at thepep rally on October S th, the eveningprior to the football game with theUniversity of Pittsburgh.On October 6 th , the CCE group willjoin the other 80,000 fans to enjoythe game and then go on for aperformance that evening inneighboring South Bend, Indiana. Thisevent will take place in Saint Patrick'schurch on Taylor St. and will besponsored by the Celtic HeritageSociety.The Notre Dame chant "Here Comesthe Irish" will have new meaning thisOctober S th weekend.Continued from page 32voicebox to the 'same demon'."Still, life is still very pleasant," headds.His eightieth birthday celebrationswere organised by the Omagh andCappagh/Badoney CCE brancheswith Brendan Harkin acting as Fearan Ti.Members of the Ulster Council ofCCE were in attendance, as wereArthur's family, his son Padraig,daughters Valerie, Mary, Deirdre andLaura and his sisters Rosaleen,Eileen and Rita. His deceased sisters,Mary and Nessa and his brotherFelix were also remembered.Musicians, singers, dancers andreciters paid tribute to Arthur withall that is best in Irish entertainmentand the night was voted atremendous success by all.Additional information provided byBrendan Harkin30

TREOIRTWENTY YEARSA' REELIN'MAUREEN MULVEY-O'LEARYSt Albans Church, Amherst Island, August 1997. From left to right Maggie Qark (~ddle) , Robin Moon(vocals, guitar), Shirley Baird (hammered duldmer), Dan Ambrey (vocals, mandolin),Anna-Marie Wilson(vocals),jack Hickman (bodhran, tin whistle), Dennis Wilson (vocals, guitar, banjo)Kingston, Ontario, Canada is a musicaltown with deep Irish roots. 200 Imarks the 20 th anniversary of theKingston Ceili Band, and hence it is asuitable time to recognize its founder,Jack Hickman.Jack was born in Winnipeg, on theedge of the Canadian prairies, andspent his teenage years in BritishColumbia. He worked in lumbercamps, and eventually joined theMounties. In 1975, he moved toKingston and took up a position asChief of Correctional Security for theRegion of Ontario. The positionserved his musical interests well, andthe image of another great Irishmusical police chief, Francis O 'Neil,comes to mind.Jack recalls how in the late I 970s thebest of Irish entertainment wasavailable at Muldoons and Finnegans,two pubs run by the McConnells inKingston. The Comhaltas tour cameto town in 1981 and provided thefinal impetus to form a local band.Jack, along with Nancy Ossenberg,Monica Gubbins, Sue Callan-Balkey,Frank Blakey, and Alien Andersonwere among the founding members. Itwas closely linked to the KingstonComhaltas branch, that was foundedin the same year by Anne McConnel1.The band quickly developed a widefollowing, and in 1985 was selected to'Folkore' 1982: From left to right NancyOssenberg (~ddle) , Allen Anderson (whistle),jackHickman (bodhran)represent Ontario at the CanadianHeritage Festival in Prince EdwardIsland. Shortly thereafter it recordedits first and only album. Today, theKingston Ceilf Band is a well-knownsymbol of Kingston, and is regularlycalled upon to play for conferencesand events of civic significance e.g. the"First Nights Celebration" for theamalgamated city in 1997; theLieutenant-Governor of Ontario'sLevee in 1999; and Kingston'scelebration of the new millennium in2000. The band frequently "flies theIrish flag" performing on cruise shipsthrough the famous Thousand Islandson the upper Saint Lawrence. BonnieDawson, the rising young composerand accordion player with "NightSun" began her career with the CeilfBand, as have many other folkmusicians from Kingston. The CeiliBand continues to play for ceilis forthe Comhaltas branch and for theKingston Irish Folk Club, and topromote Irish music, dance andculture throughout the region.The long-term success of the Ceiliband is largely due to Jack's efforts. Itis an understatement to say that therewould be no Ceilf Band without him.In addition to his musical talents(bodhr.in, tin whistle and harmonica),Jack has supplied the "vision" of theband, and an infectious love for Irelandand its music. While the Celtic Tiger ispreventing Ireland's young musiciansfrom immigrating to Canada, Irishtraditional music continues to flourishbecause of people like Jack Hickmanand his band.28

TREOIRS' mo Bhean an RogaireAmhranSi mo Bhean an Rogaire is a pleasant, lively song which the late Sean 6Siochain used to sing on radio programmes back in the 1950's. The twoopening lines are used as a chorus, with the couplets - as given below - beingsung to the high part of the tune. (Bars 9-16)'Si mo bhean an rogaire, 'si mo bhean an cladhaire,'Si mo bhean an rogaire is cuireann si le faill me.Chuir me sceal isteach chuici go gceannoinn macha bo dhi,Chuir si sceal amach chugam gurb olc an sas a seoladh i.Chuir me sceal isteach chuici go gceannoinn ribin siod' di,Chuir si sceal amach chugam go ndeanfadh sugan tui i.Chuir me sceal isteach chuici go gceannoinn leaba chluimh di,Chuir si sceal amach chugam go nceanfadh sop sa chuinne i.Chuir me sceal isteach chuici go gceannoinn jaunting car di,Chuir si sceal amach chugam go ndeanfadh maide clair i.Chuir me sceal isteach chuici go gceannoinn slipper shoes di,Chuir si sceal amach chugam go ndeanfadh button boots i." ...Si mo bhean an r6gaire, sf mo bhean an cladhaire. r k ~ ~.1rlChuir me sceal isteach chuici, go gceannoin leaba c!uimh dfChuir 51 sceal amach chugham go ndeanfadh sop sa chuinn' i.R6@)

TREOIRThe Ballinafad PolkaThis unusual tune was recorded from the McDonagh brothers of Ballinafad, Co.Sligo. Larry (191 1-1984) played the flute and Michael Joe (1904-1988) played thefiddle. They had a very distinctive "old" style of playing which has nowdisappeared completely. They also had an extensive repertoire of tunes, mostlyrare tunes, which they inherited from previous generations of musicians in thearea. This tune can be heard on the CD entitled: The McDonaghs of Ballinafadand Friends, issued by CCE IN 1988.,-! r 001 i3 PI JJ El n Efl rFrr 001mi3 PI JJ JJI J 11,- E1E!IEfdfli3£JlttGtrrrrE[[rli3JQI&1Jj3j:JJ I,111:fUijl r- ~I F Q I r· bf I i3 Qt I Ef W I r V-I ~ r :11Jim Donoghue's ReelJIM DONOGHUE'S REEL was composed by Jim Donoghue (1910-1990), whowas born, and lived all his life in Drumacoo, Monasteraden, on theRoscommon/Sligo border between Ballaghaderreen and Gurteen. Another greatmusician who lived in the same townland was Jim Coleman, an outstanding fiddlerfrom all accounts and older brother of the legendary Michael Coleman. In theiryounger days Jim Coleman and Jim Donoghue, who played flute, a popular duetfor playing at local house dances. In his later years, Jim Donoghue confinedhimself to playing the Clar ke "c whistle, on which he had a unique, interestingstyle. The tune has been recorded by various musicians over the years. Thissetting was noted from the playing of Father James McDonagh, a flute player andnative of Bunninadden, Co. Sligo. It is on a CD titled "The Mountain Road ", whichfeatures musicians and tunes from South Sligo and North Roscommon, publishedby the Coleman Heritage Society, Gurteen, Co. Sligo.,-. e ~IJJ]PJ JIJ) J]JJJIJ J) J]JJUJJJ J.~IJ) J!J JIJ) J tEEfl,I. F (lE c wlffl J. :11) I r Ft F rti rEE r JJ]31 EE£F t CFI F er EEfrI,-. lEEt F rtilEcr JJJ31 tEEf FrEflJffl rll

Cait Bean Ui Mhuineachain1951 -52Eamonn 6 Muiri1952-56Briain 6 Gialagain1956-59Padraig 6 hEidhin1959-61Sailbheastar Mac Conmhaigh196/-64Micheal 6 Ceallachain1964-67Labhras 6 Murchu1967-70Seam us De Brun1970-73Labhras 6 Murchu1973-76Mairtin Mac Cabha1976-79D6nal De Barra1979-82Seamus Mac Amhlaoibh1982-85Micheal 6 Lochlainn1985-88D6nal De Barra1988-91Diarmuid 6 Cathain1991 -1994Padraig 6 Ceallaigh1994-1997Clement Mac Suibhne1997-2000Padraig Mac Suibhne2000-

TREOIRCANBERRACOMHALTASSTAN CRONINAn Taoiseach Bertie Ahern with membersof Canberra Branch CCE. in Canberramembers for their efforts during theyear. He also thanked the CanberraIrish Club for their financial and otherassistance, and The Irish AmbassadorRichard O 'Brien and his staff for theirassistance during the year.The following Committee memberswere elected for the year 200 I :Pictured in Canberra Stan Cronin (left) and IrishTaoiseach Bertie AhernBrian Hungerford on pipes at CCE. (Canberra)party for chairman's 70th birthday atSecretary's residenceThe second Annual General Meetingof the Canberra Branch of Comhaltastook place at the home of Julie andStan Cronin. Sixteen members andsome family members attended. TheIrish Ambassador, His ExcellencyRichard O 'Brien, Patron of theBranch, sent his apologies, as he wasout of town on business.The Chairman, Stan Cronin, thankedthose in attendance, and those whohad helped Comhaltas in its secondyear of operation. He gave specificthanks to those who had given of theirtime freely to help with the BloomsdayKeith Clark with accordian .the AGM of C b and A/dan Moore atan erra Branch of cctDinner,the Book of Kells Promotion and toteach, and to perform at our Siam saCeoil. Those include Jon Millard, BrianHungerford, The Tullys, CathyTrenholme Irish Dancing School, BillTaoiseach Bertie Ahern with julia Cronin, wife ofChairman of Canberra branch of CCE. (StanCronin), during Taoiseach's visit to CanberraArnett and the Celtic Choir led byJulie Hesse. He also thanked thosewho had made their home available forclasses and meetings i.e. Mary andPeter Harrington, Julie Cronin for theBodhran and tin whistle classes andmeetings respectively, Gladys and KeithClark, Glyns and John Leyne,AnnetteCronin. He thanked all the committeeChairVice-ChairSecretaryTreasurerMembership Sec.Publicity OfficerStan CroninBill MotherwayAnnette CroninPatricia MulcahyPeter HarringtonKenn McDonaldCommitteeKeith Clark, Peter Harrington,Aidan Moore, Bruce Lemin,Brian Hungerford, John Leyne,Frank Meany, Jeannette andAlbert White.It was agreed that, in the next year,we would again attempt to startclasses in guitar, fiddle, flute, uilleannpipes, concertina, harp, buttonaccordion, singing, Irish dancing foradults and harmonica.After the meeting a barbecue washeld followed by a musical sessionwith contributions from Aidan Mooreon the harmonica and buttonaccordion, Brian Hungerford andBruce Lemin on the harp,accompanied by some of the musicgroup with various and varyingrenditions of many Irish favouritesongs and attempts to assist by thebodhran group.24

TREOIRThe cottage at Fernagh with new born inforegroundFernagh session was maintained."They came from Armagh, Donegaland Fermanagh,From the Lough Shore as well,singing like Geordie Hanna,From Kildare, Co. Meath, DublinTown and fore-bye,With Cavan and Leitrim folk, joy in .their eye."Theinternationalstars like CharlieLandsborough orthe blues singerfrom Alabamagot the samef;iilte as thelocalseancaidhe orthe young childon the tinwhistle. JohnMontague gotequal respectfor his versesas the localballad-makerwith his firstpublicappearance.Many newperformerscut theirteeth herein the friendly atmospherebefore going on to success in thefield of radio and publicentertainment. Radio andtelevision producers frequentedOwen's cottageand got theconducted tour,the story and theentertainmentjust as naturallyas if they werepart of theeveryday scene."The French cameand sang, Basquemen with guitars,Canadian females,they yodelled likestars.Yank singers anddancers, theymoved through the crush,And Tom Sweeney sang with a voicelike a thrush.""We had Portuguese guests whosure took the house down,Their bodhrans were squareandtheypassedthemfriends incommand."session wasreaching its peak Owen was in hiselement. He took up a position in theright-hand corner, with his back tothe fire. Equipped with aset of bones, he beat outthe time with thedelicate rhythms of theexpert. As the musicswung and lifted Owenbeamed contentedly,knowing that he had hisfinger on the pulse of anancient culture, where hecould play an importantpart in its promotion andevolution. A shy man atheart, he came alive withthe house session whenthe poetry, music andsong carried us off toanother plane, farremoved from the mundane things ofthis world.Towards the end of the eveningOwen might be prevailed upon to tellthe story of the cottage for the firsttime visitors. He would recall itspurchase, reconstruction section bysection, and how tradesmen andfriends worked with him on thislabour of love. Each part had a tale totell, from the flags on the floor, thepine furniture, the plates on thedresser, to the very slates on theroof. The deals, the transactions, thebartering and swopping were allrecalled with pleasure, particularlywhen the outcome was enjoyed byso many.Whenever the friends of Fernaghassemble they will recall Owen's deepresonant voice, his strong Tyroneaccent with hints of Donegal echoinground the quietened cottage. He willlive on in the minds of those whowere privileged to be present onthose special occasions. The thoughtsof many are with Kate, his sorrowingwife and family who will feel most theloss of Owen. He was truly a uniqueand wonderful person, whose likes wewill seldom see again.Go ndeanaigh Dia tr6caire ar a anamuasal.22

TREOIRBill McEvoy (President of North American CCf.)and John Pendergast (North AmericanSecretary) in jovial mood at Toronto 'soutstanding ConventionCeol na mban: Ena O'Brien, Minister Mary Coughlan and Anne McConnell (Canadian Chairperson)3 am Ena O'Brien, Mike Rafferty, FelixDolan, and flutist Pat O'Gorman, aformer member of Rare Air andcurrent member of Windbags, wereamong the musicians playing for theceilLOutside the main ballroom, sessionssurfaced everywhere: two inside thelobby pub, one right outside it, threeothers elsewhere on the lobby floor,and two in the downstairs hallwayleading to Sean Gorman's Pub, whichhad yet another one percolatinginside. Hospitality suites higher in thehotel had their own musicmaking,while other musicians traded tuneson stairs and sills, in corners andempty meeting rooms.PQdraig Mac Suibhne receiving a presentationfrom He/en Gannon (St Louis) watched by StanO'Donohue (Chairman of Convention 200 I)The pulse of all this playing continuedon into Sunday, when RTE's "CeilfHouse" arranged for different bandsand musicians to record on tape inSean Gorman's Pub. Inishowenperformed as eight set dancersmoved in a tight figure on the pubfloor. They were followed by banjoistJoe Molloy and pianist Julie Schryerpaired together, then by buttonaccordionist Patty Furlong, pianistFelix Dolan, and fiddler Denis Liddy,who gave rousing renditions of "Den isMurphy's Polkas" and "Boys ofMalin/Boyne Hunt".Toronto's Langan-Gorman Branch (oneof 44 CCE branches in North Americaalone) and its convention committeeof Stan O'Donohoe, EamonnO'Loghlin, and others made this"Musical Odyssey" memorable for all.By the time I boarded my plane forNew York late Sunday afternoon, I felta little like Alice in Wonderland, exceptthe rabbit hole I had tumbled into waslined with Irish music and dance forthree days and two nights. It was oneof the happiest falls I ever made.Next year's North Americanconvention for CCE shifts to St. Louisfrom April 4-6. (Go to www.slia.orgfor details).What can you expect?Well, it is the "Show Me" state, andthe convention's theme is "The Spiritof St. Louis". Remember whatLindbergh did in a plane of thesame name?Ceol beirte ag an gComhdhOilThe author of this article Earle Hitchner withNorth American Chairman Frank KennedyThe inimitable Henry Gerraghty (Galway) andex-TorontoLarry Reynolds, Mick O'Connor, Brian Prior,Anne McConnell and Paul Keating20

TREOIRRTE's Peter Browne and Kieran Hanrahan atConvention 200 I in TorontoMinister Mary Coughlan sharing a joke withMicheal 6 hEidhin who attended theConvention to announce details of theRIAMICCE traditional music examinationsPadraig Mac Suibhne andNorth American Chairman Frank Kennedydiscuss progress at Convention 200 IPcJdraig Mac Suibhne (Uachtaran CCE), SenatorLabhras 6 MurchU,Journalist Don Meade (whoreceived a '50' award at the Convention andFrank Kennedy.RTE's Kieran Hanrahan interviewing andrecording Ena O'Brien, Mike Rafferty and LarryReynoldsJohn and Briege Roarty, formerly of Donegal,having a chat with Donegal's Minister MaryCoughlanA gentle giant among men: Stan O'Donoghue,who chaired a brilliant Convention 2001 inToronto, welcoming guests to the eventChris Meek (Saskatoon) and Debbie Quigley(Toronto) at Convention 200 IDancers who performed in the exhilaratingshow at the Convention Banquet18

HANDCRAFTEDVIOLINSRestored Older ViolinsQuality repairs to:Violins, Violas & CellosEfficient Bow Rehairin~Service,Bows, Cases, Strin~s &Fittin~s,All other strin~instrument repairsKevin Sykes.Killeen.Keelogues.Ballyvary.Castlebar.Co. Mayo.

TREOIRMai Whelan (Killoran-C/ancy Branch CCE).Manager ofTreoir in North America. receiving apresentation from Minister Mary Coughlan atConvention 200 I in TorontoHaymakers Jig. the Bridge of Athlone.Walls of Limerick. Sixteen Hand Reel.and Sweets of May were rememberedor learned by many. The attendancewas growing and some youngerpeople came along to join in. Theteachers of the ceilf dances includedPaul Keating. Kevin Westley. andConnie Ryan .In the 80·s. the name Clancy wasadded to the title of the branch by avote of the membership. The clubofficially became known as theKilloran-Clancy Branch of CCE. WillieClancy was a noted piper fromMiltown Malbay. Co. Clare.Regional Boards were established tocoordinate the variety of activitiessponsored by all the branches. Eachbranch had official representation onthe Regional Board. The firstconvention was held in Chicago in1983 and was well attended. A total ofsix people from the Killoran-Clancybranch attended. Over the years. tripsto other branches were planned. mostnotably. a visit to the John BoyleO 'Reilly Club in Massachusetts.In 1988. the Hall of Fame for musicianswas established. The branches took anactive role in nominating candidatesfor the honour. Those who wereultimately selected were honoured at aceiH m6r and given a plaque.The names of the musicians whocame to the sessions were: BetsySweeney (Longford); John Conlon(Monaghan). Tom McGreary(Donegal). John Fitzpatrick (Queens.NY). Lois Quinn (Armagh).TomConnolly (Galway). Bill McEvoy(Laois). John Mulligan (Leitrim). DanMcSweeney (Sligo). Jim Gallagher(Donegal). Maureen Whelan (Queens.NY). Kevin Killeen (Bedford Hills.NY). Ed Hummel (Brooklyn. NY). JimTighe (Brooklyn. NY).Anne MarieAcosta (Queens. NY). Liam Shanahan(Clare). Mike Preston (Sligo).VincentHarrison (Sligo). Martin Wynne (Sligo).Chris Barry (Clare). Hugh Rubin(Queens. NY). Jean Treanor (Bronx.NY) . Suzanne Corrigan (Brooklyn.NY). Bill Black (Boston. MA). GinaTlamsa (Manhattan. NY). Pat Dunne(Meath). Con Cronin (Cork).JoeColeman (Sligo). Martin Pendergast(Clare).Tom Milton (Leitrim). Pat Kelly(Kilkenny). Tom Dargan (Laois). JohnLavin (Roscommon). Owen Thomas(Donegal). Tom Doherty (Donegal).Frank Tully (Dublin). and Ed McKenna(Long Island. NY).One of the main features of thesessions was singing at the break inEnglish and Gaelic. Some of thesingers were Theresa Walker (Cork).James Martin (Queens. NY). RitaDarcy (Clare). Barney Jordan (Mayo).Hannah McManus (Cork). MikeMcGurn (Fermanagh). Pat Hardiman(Queens. NY) . Mike Brady (Tyrone).Mary Noesel (Galway). Sean 6Faolain (Clare). Pat Kelly (Kilkenny)and Chris Barry (Clare). There wasalso solo ceili dancing by HughDoohan (Yonkers). Lily McEvoy(Kerry) and Theresa Walker (Cork).Many people and their talentscontributed to evenings of enjoyment.Some stalwarts of the Branch includeTheresa Walker. Jean Traenor. CathleenHughes (RIP) and Mae Whelan(present Treoir manager. USA). Wehappily report the resumption of themusic sessions at the Breffni Inn (40Street. Queens Blvd .. Queens)beginning in April 200 I.In 1987. the branch hosted the AnnualNorth American Convention and agreat time was had by all. There wasan increased interest in Comhaltasafter the convention and very soonafter the convention classes werestarted to teach ceili and set dancing.In 1993. the Irish American HeritageCommittee of New York honouredthe Killoran-Clancy branch as one ofthe leading promoters of Irish musicand dancing during a reception held atCity Hall. The branch was also a cosponsorof the United Irish CountiesFeis held annually in New York. Thebranch also sponsored many of theAnnual Comhaltas Tours. and had thehonour of sponsoring the Tulla CeilfBand and the Disirt Tola Ceilf Band.Another notable occasion was tohonour one of our staunchestsupporters. Joe Coleman. on his 94 thbirthday. His daughter stated hisgreatest enjoyment was coming to thesession to join the other musicians.In 2000. the present Chairman. JohnMcGurrin. was interviewed by areporter from the New York Timeswith regard to the increasingpopularity of ceiH and set dancing inthe metropolitan area. He was able toinform them of the origins and namesof the dances as well as have himselfphotographed showing a few steps.We are happy to be a part of 50Bliain Ag Fas and look forward to thenext 50. Thanks to all whocontributed photographs or assistedwith this article in any way. Specialthanks to Bill McEvoy. Tom Standeven.and John McGurrin for their help withthis article.The enjoyment of being a member ofsuch a sociable. dynamic. and friendlybranch is one of the greatest gifts Ihave been blessed with and I hope itcontinues for another 50 years.Pt

TREOIRAccordeon supremoJoe Burke picturedwith Padraig MacSuibhne and hiswife MargaretTelling it as it is! Joe Burke with Bill McEvoyand Labhras 6 MurchU12Oiflgeach cheoil Padraig 6 Riain (formerprovincial Chairman in Britain) and Labhras 6MurchU pictured with some of the dynamicladies at the Leeds '50' celebrations.

StompsofApprovalComholtos Ceolt6iri €ireonn hos seen its50th onniversory morked b)' four stomps.'Che stomps show some of the musical instruments whichhove been to the forefront in recent lrish troditionolmusic, the uilleonn pipes, bodhran, fiddle ond flute.Also ocknowledged is the vocoldimension of troditionol music.L\ 30p stomp shows 0 womon plo)'ing uilleonn pipes ondonother portro),s 0 mon plo)'ing the bodhran, while 045p stomp shows 0 girl plo)'ing the fiddle with on lrishdoncer in the bockground. A second 45p stomp feotureso )'oung lrish singer with 0 floutist in the foreground.As well os the stomps, 0 speciol collector's First Do), Coverenvelope, feoturing the CC€ onniversory logo, is ovoiloblefrom moin post offices ond lrish Stomp, An Post, GPO.'eel 705 7400

Barra 6 DonnabhainChaitheas cupla la suaimhneasach ledeanaf sna Catskills i dteannta MikeMcHale agus a bhean Kathleen. Dobamhlaidh a bhfos ag iarraidh pfosa achur le cheile ar stair an cheoilthraidisiunta i Nua Eabhrac 0 1950 ileith.Ta an-chur amach ag Mike ar andtreimhse sin.Ar ndoigh is cuid denstair sin e fein. Ta breis is deichmbliana feichead caite anois ag Mikeagus Cait i measc sleibhte maorga naCatskills. Nfor thaitin na cathrachariam leo.I dTuilsce, Co. Ros Comain a rugadhMike McHale. Is ceantar stairiuil e. SaChaislean Riabhach taobh le Tuilsce asaolafodh Dubhghlas de hide. Gar donait bhfodh rath ag Meadhb agus Ailillar Cruachain, de reir na sean scealta.Ag Rath na dTarbh a fearadh an troidufasach mhiotasach idir FinnBeannach, tarbh Mheidhbe, agus DonnCualinge, tarbh na nUltach. Muinteoirscoile ab ea Bill McHale athair Mikeagus bhf meas mor aige ar an stairagus ar an gceol traidisiunta. Bacheoltoir le dealramh ar an CD boscae fein . Bhunaigh se craobh de CCE idTuilsce i 1956. Teach mor ceoil ab eaan teach agus bhfodh an chistin lan godoras le ceoltoirf go minic. Bhf antioncharag pfobairf airithe aghnathaigh an teach ar cheol Mike,leitheidf Pat Lavin agus Miko Padian asConor Fleming, David O'Brien, Brian O'ConnelJ(Doora-Barefield, CCE) ag seinm i dTorontoRos Comain agus Mike Rainey,pfobaire taistil on nGaillimh.Faoin am a bhf Mike se bliana d'aoisbhf an-chuid ceoil ina cheann aige.Ara sheu breithla tharla aintfn leis, darbhainm Woods, ar cuairt on dTuaim agusbhronn sf feadog stain (Clarke C) air.Ba ghearr go raibh se ag seinm ar ashuaimhneas LAch ma bhf fein nfraibh cead aige fos pairt a ghlacadhsna seisiuin. Na laethanta san nf raibhaon mheas ag ceoltoirf traidisiunta aran bhfeadog bhocht. Breagan ab f, darleo. Bhf an dearcadh san le hathrunfos deanaf agus bhf lamh ag Mike sanathru san. Bhfodh an fhead6g inaph6ca aige i gc6naf agus ofche amhainnuair nach raibh na ceolt6irf in annsmaoineamh ar fhonn airithe,tharraing se amach an fhead6g agussheinn se d6ibh e. Bhf leis as sanamach. Fuair se fliuit 6 jimmy Farrellnuair a bhf se dha bhliain deag.Theadh se go Sligeach agus 'onGhaillimh ar th6ir cheoil. Bhf leitheidfAggie White, muintir Mulhaire,joeDowd, Martin Dempsey agus PatKearney agus go leor ceolt6irf maitheeile le cloisint sa timpeallacht. I 1958bhuaigh Mike Craobh Cheannais nahEireann ar an bhfead6g. Sa bhliaincheanna chuir se tus leis an Killina CeilfBand. I 1959 thainig fonn taistil air agusd'fhag se slan ag Tuilsce agus a chairdeagus thug a aghaidh siar ar Boston.Nf raibh se i bhfad i mBoston nuair acasadh Sean McGlynn air. Nf raibhaithne acu ar a cheile in Eirinn.Lasmuigh den State Ballroom abhuaileadar lena cheile ofche, dechinniuint. Chaitheadar an ofche agpie cursaf ceoil agus nfor bhacadarleis an ndamhsa. D'oscail anCiarrafoch Bill Fuller an StateBallroom sna caogaidf agus gachSatharn chruinnfodh na sluaiteEireannach ann. Ceol nua-aimsearachden chuid is m6 a bhfodh a sheinnann ach bhfodh cupla dreas den cheoltraidisiunta le cloisint nuair a ghlacadhan cheolfhoireann mh6r sos fichen6imead. Paddy Cronin a bhfodh agseinm ag na heatraimh sea nuair achead chuaigh Mike ann. Bhaintimpiste do Paddy ina dhiaidh sin aguschuaigh Mike, Sean McGlynn, GeorgeShanley, Eamon Flynn agus Des Reaganag seinm ann. Nuair a thainig Paddy arais chuaigh se lea agus thugadar anState Ballroom Ceilf Band orthu fein.D'fhanadar le cheile 6 1959 go dtf1962. Nuair a d'oscail Fuller ait iChicago thug se an fhoireann amachchun an halla nua a bhaisteadh. Bhf anaeileamh orthu ag bainiseacha agusceilithe timpeall Boston.Is maith is cuimhin le Mike f6s anchead turas a thug se fein agus beirtcharad ar Nua Eabhrac. D'fhag Mike,Sean McGlynn agus Mary DevaneyBoston timpeall an mhean ofche chuncuairt a thabhairt ar cheoilt6irf an UillMh6ir. Nf rabhadhar i bhfad ar anmbus nuair a tharraingfodar amach nagleasanna ceoil agus ba ghearr goraibh na paisineirf ag rinnce saphasaiste agus ag amhranafocht. Bhfbean amhain, amh, nar thaitin an ceollei, dfreach laistiar den tiomanaL D'iarrsf air deireadh a chur leis an gcliotarcleatar laithreach. Nf duirt se faic achstop se ag an gcead leataobh eile agusd'oscail se an doras. "Bfodh do roghaagat anois," ar se leis an mbean, 'bf ido thost n6 amach leat.' D'fhan sf aran mbus. Le linn an turais sea bhuailMike le jack Coen, Paddy 6 Brien,6.'

TREOIRTHE CULTURLANN:"THIS AMAZING PLACE"Val Hennessy, Daily MailWhen it comes to traditional livemusic, high-steps and nifty footwork,Dublin is where it's at. ThinkRiverdance and how the new-lookIrish dancing took the world by storm.Think of delicious Michael Flatley withoiled pectorals gleaming through hisunbuttoned shirt and the electrifyingthunder of SO pairs of synchronisedtap shoes, and then picture me clipcloppingaway in my trainers at theCulturlann, Dublin's Irish Dancing AndMusic Centre in Monkstown.This amazing place, the ComhaltasCeolt6irf Eireann, isopen to anyone eagerto participate. You pay£ 1.50 and enter a vast,comfortable basementand bar where people ofall ages are playingwhistles, flutes, fiddles,squeeze boxes anddrums.Two men in a corner areplaying the Uillean pipes (a bit likeScottish bagpipes but easier on theear), three women twang banjos,another sings a song in Gaelic.Joey Doyle, a IS-year old flute playertipped as the new James Galway,brings tears to the eyes, while his palsbelt out some pacy bluegrass.I admit, I exaggerated about clipcloppingaway in my trainers - I had ago, but after five minutes, one doubleshuffle, a heel kick and a few step-hoptoe-and-heels,the balls of my feetwere in spasm. The physical andmental effort was immense. I collapsedon to a chair as a group of nimblegirls and one boy learned how toperform steps of astounding intricacy.The pluck of the Irish: Dublin swings to thesound of traditional musicMore up my street was the bodhranclass run by the brilliant HelenMcLoughlin, Ireland's only full-timebodhran teachers. The bodhran(pronounced 'bow-rawn') is a onesideddrum made from goatskin.It began as a tray used forstraining peat in the bogs.Twenty of us sat in a circle, ourbodhrans in position, rattlingour sticks or 'tippers' with awrist-flicking motion to theaccompaniment of Helen'sIrish jig tapes.I was going pretty well until I. lost my grip on my tipperBodhran beat:Val gets gOing which flew up and wallopedme in the nostril. On one side, a tenyearold boy twirled his tipper in theair and caught it between beats, andon the other, a taxi-driver called Ronintroduced himself.'I'm 63 but feel 26; he said. 'Myambition is to be shot through theheart when I am 80 by a jealoushusband.'Helen, hugging me to her ample bosom,said I was a natural and gave me abodhran and tipper to take home. I wasso chuffed I nearly exploded.After the class, everyone congregatedupstairs for tea and scones and atumultuous knees-up ceilidh (like abarn dance) with a great band thatplayed jigs and reels till midnight.