R - Comhaltas Archive

....'....=Eo-r-..-"-..A Heritage of all the PeopleThe Chai rperson and a delegation from Newry and Mourne Distri ct Councilcame to the Flead h in 1999 and very much liked w hat they saw andexperienced . They were there in support of bringing the Fl eadh north of theborder for the first time ever in 2001 - the 50 th annive rsary of the found ing ofComhaltas.The delegation met thestanding committee ofComhaltas and expressed theimportance of having theFl eadh in the North . Theysaw the event as ce lebratinga heritage of all the peopleand they were veryimpressed with th e fratern alinclusive spirit w hichprevai led at the Fl eadh inEnniscorthy.The delegation indicated thestrong support which wouldbe ava ilabl e if the Fleadhcame to their area. Manypeople would view it as anCamhaltas representativesevent w hich would attractfavourable worl d attention. Itwould have a positive and co-operative impact in Ulster w here traditionalmusic, song and dance have always had a large cross-community follOWing.Sweet Sounds Down SouthMembers of Irish Music Traditions, the Atlanta, Georgia branch of Comhaltas areshown at one of their regular Monday evening sess ions at The Fad6, in thehistori c Buckhead area of the city. The Branch is spearheaded by KathleenDonohue, a traditional singer from County Cavan and Jim Pogge, a digitalsystems engineer who pl ays a variety of musica l instruments. North Ameri caSecretary Jack Pendergast and hi s wife Vicki recently vi sited one of the sessionsand report that these folks in Atl anta rea lly know thei r jigs and reels, and aregrowing the Irish tradition in the South. Many of the musicians indiated that theyare looking forward to joining the rest of Comhaltas North America in a grandsess ion at the April 2000 Millennium Convention in Washington, DC.Granard Harp CompetitionsGranard, Co. LongfordOver thirty competitors from all overIreland and overseas took part in theHarp competitions held in theCommunity Centre, Granard onAugust 7 th . Th is year the emphas iswas on the Harp Competitions.The competitions were organised andrun by a ded icated committee of sixmembers who worked hard over sixmonths to have everything in order.Cormac De Barra proved a verypopular adjudicator w ith everyoneand the atmosphere was friendly andsociable. The top pri ze 'The Ca nonGilfinnan Cup' plus a cheque for£500 went to Ms Marie Wambergue,Brittany/France. Th is is the fi rst timein a number of years the cup hasgone abroad.Josie O' Rourke,Competitions SecretaryA Millennium FleadhRecord?At the UlsterFleadh Cheoil inCootehill, did KateMarquis establisha new all timeComhaltas recordby qualifying torepresent herProvince in 14seniorcompetitions at Kate Marquis,the All IrelandCa rrickmacrossFleadh Cheoil?with the JohnIn Enniscorthy, South wellneither the varied Memorial Trophylocation of the for Senior Concertvenues, nor the Flute in Ulstersteepness of thehills proved to be an obstacle forKate, as she succeeded incompeting in all 14 competitions!Kate won 1 st place on the Mandolin,2 nd place on the Melodeon, 2 ndplace on the Tin Whistle Airs and3 rd place on the Concert Flute Airs.It was indeed a wonderfulachievement for Kate in her LeavingCert year and a year in which shewas part of the Echoes of Erin,Comhaltas Concert Tour of Ireland.i6