40 years of Fleadh Nua

THIS year marks the 40th Fleadh Nua in Ennis with a wide and varied programme of events to mark the milestone, including five nights of céilithe, six evening concerts, five lunchtime concerts and sessions.

 

The fleadh also boasts Comórtas Rince Náisiúnta, sean nós dancing, singing sessions, storytelling, set-dancing workshops, Irish language coffee mornings, a documentary on the legendary Robbie McMahon and a photography and local artists’ exhibitions.

The official opening takes place on Sunday at 7.30pm at Cois na hAbhna. It will be followed by a tribute concert with Ennistymon CCÉ at 8.30pm and by the Fleadh Club at 10pm.

Each weekday at 11am, a ciorcal comhrá will be held at local cafés, while at 1pm a free lunchtime concert will be held at the County Museum, as part of the Riches of Clare series.

This year’s festival will feature a programme of evening concerts at venues across Ennis, including The West County Hotel, Glór, Cois na hAbhna and The Old Ground Hotel.

Kicking off next Tuesday the first of these concerts, the Meeting of Bulgarian and Irish Traditions, takes place in Cois na hAbhna at 8pm. Members of the Shiroka Laka Music School in southern Bulgaria will perform music and dances from their region. Performers from the local Denis Liddy School of Music will also contribute to the concert.

On Thursday, May 23, the Ceol na mBan concert takes place in The Old Ground Hotel from 7.30pm. This has been deemed the ladies’ night of the Fleadh Nua and showcases the music of Joan Hanrahan, Bríd O’Gorman, Geraldine Cotter, Paula O’Regan, Alisha McMahon and Eimear Coughlan, as well as the ex-Solas singer Deirdre Scanlan. Special guests include concertina player Edel Fox and Galway fiddle playing sisters, Liz and Yvonne Kane.

The evening concerts continue on Friday, May 24, with Four Men and a Dog at the West County Hotel, when the internationally acclaimed group will pay a rare visit to Clare. Support will be provided by the Niamh Ní Charra Band.

The Fleadh Nua hosts a voice and fiddle recital on Saturday, May 25, in the Old Ground Hotel from 7pm, which will feature two very talented and respected performers.

The collaboration will be given by fiddle player and Slide member Daire Ó Breacáin and Lorcán MacMathúna, who is responsible for the album Northern Lights, an exciting and unique work contrasting traditional music and Ireland’s oldest singing style against Scandinavian musical traditions and singing styles.

For the past four years, Daire and Lorcán have been exploring how the fiddle can combine with the voice in Irish music. Inspired by oral dance meters, medieval Irish poetry and a massive chain dance by the people of New Ross on the building of the town’s walls, they have defined new possibilities of rhythm and harmony in the partnership of voice and fiddle.

As the Fleadh Nua is also a Gathering event this year, a Gathering Concert will be staged in the West County Hotel on Saturday, May 25, at 8pm.

This concert celebrates the richness and strength of Irish traditional music in Britain and pays tribute to the many musicians who play and promote it. In particular, it will pay tribute to musician and teacher  Brendan Mulkere. A host of musicians from London and Ireland will perform on the night, including Brendan Mulkere, John Carty, James Carty, Niall Keegan, John Bowe, Terence O’Flaherty, Sinéad Egan, The Whelton Family and many others.

The Kilfenora Céilí Band come to Glór on Sunday, May 26 to close the concert programme with a performance of their new show, Spraoí, which celebrates The Gathering. Also joining the band will be singer Don Stiffe from Galway and the West Clare Set Dancers. This event kicks off at 8pm and booking details for concerts are available from the venues, Custy’s Music Shop or Glór.

Singing sessions will begin on Friday, May 24 with Roscommon singer Anne Marie Fitzgerald at 9.30pm in the Old Ground Hotel.

On Saturday, May 25, North Cork singer Elle Marie O’Dwyer will hold a singing session at 9.30pm at a venue yet to be confirmed, while John (The Miller) Power will be in the Old Ground Hotel on May 26.

From next Monday until Friday, May 24, a series of Foinn Seisiún workshops will be held in the Old Ground Hotel. Running from 3pm to 5pm, the workshops are directed at musicians who enjoy a slow session and will be led by Frank Custy.

They will also feature selections from the Foinn Seisiún Books, devised and edited by the late Brian Prior and published by Comhaltas. The workshop next Tuesday will run from 2pm to 4pm.

Fleadh Nua will also screen the film Last Night As I Lay Dreaming at The Cloister Restaurant, Abbey Street on Saturday, May 25 at 2pm. The film explores the life and songs of the late Robbie McMahon from Spancilhill. It charts the huge contribution the East Clare singer made to the world of singing, both with his compositions and unique interpretation of traditional songs.

The fleadh wouldn’t be complete without a few céilithe and there are plenty to choose from, with six scheduled over the course of the week.

Setting the pace are the Tulla Céilí Band at Cois na hAbhna on Thursday, May 22 at 10pm.
The following night, John Reidy will also be in Cois na hAbhna at 10pm; on Saturday, May 25, the Abbey Céilí Band take to the same stage for the third consecutive céilí; while on Sunday at the same time and venue, The Star of Munster will perform.

Two ceilithe take place on Monday, May 27, the first at the Old Ground Hotel when Michael Sexton will provide the music at 11am and that evening at Cois na hAbhna the Four Courts Céilí band perform at 9.30pm.

Fleadh Nua master classes will be held on Saturday, May 25, from 10am to 2pm with tutors Dermot Byrne on button accordion; Kevin Crawford on flute; Tony Linnane and John Carty on fiddle; Edel Fox on the concertina and Deirdre Scanlan will tutor the singing workshops.

The instrumental classes cater for players of various abilities but are not suitable for beginners. Participants do need to have a number of years of experience as well as being able to play reels, jigs and hornpipes at dance tempo.

Workshops are limited to 12 people and participants are accepted on a first-come-first-served basis. Those interesting in finding out more and where the classes take place are asked to email their details to ceoltrad@eircom.net quoting ‘master class’ in the subject line.

For those who enjoy music with their cuppa in the morning, a series of Café Music Sessions will also be held.

The sessions will be held at 11am on Monday, May 20 at Café Aroma, Bank Place; on Tuesday, May 21 at Food Heaven, The Market; on Wednesday, May 22 at The Rowan Tree Café, Club Bridge; on Thursday, May 23 at Ocras, O’Connell Street; on Friday, May 24 at the Town Hall, Old Ground Hotel and on Saturday, May 25 at O’Brien’s, Salthouse Lane.

For a full programme of events or further information about the Fleadh Nua visit www.fleadhnua.com.