An Eye for the Music at Willie Clancy Summer School

AN Eye for the Music is the title of the Breandán Breathnach memorial lecture by Tony Kearns at the 39th annual Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy, which opens on Saturday, July 2.
Tony has been photographing events and people at the Willie Clancy festival for two decades and he is in a unique position to offer some interesting perspectives on the social and personal interactions between musicians and photographers during the 20th century, from the more formalised encounters of the early decades to the casual presentations of later years.
While he will be using examples from his own extensive stock of material, including some already published in his book Music and Light/Ceol & Solas 2008, Tony will also be illustrating his talk with examples of rare photos of influential Clare musicians from the ’20s and ’30s, as well as material from the Liam McNulty collection.
Liam McNulty took most of the photos at the Willie Clancy Week in the 1970s when, with Breandán Breathnach, he was the key organiser of the then fledgling pipers’ organisation, Na Píobairí Uilleann.
During the week, Oidhreacht an Chláir (OAC) will promote an exhibition of Tony Kearns’ work at the traditional music archive, Áras Oidhreacht an Chláir, on the Flag Road, Miltown Malbay. The exhibition is free and open to the public and all are welcome.
This year, the official opening will be performed by Seán Keane, renowned traditional fiddler and member of the world famous group, The Chieftains. From a musical background, his father from Clare and mother from Longford were musicians, Seán was identified at an early age as a major talent and became a member of the Castle Céilí Band while a teenager. He impressed Seán Ó Riada, who brought him into Ceoltóiri Chualann. In the 1970s, he taught many young Dublin musicians at the Pipers’ Club and formed the Pipers Club Céilí Band. Seán is married to Ennistymon woman, Marie Keneally.
Encouraging young musicians has always been part of the Willie Clancy objective and providing scholarships to attend the school is one very practical way of doing this. Tigh Coili in Galway sponsored five scholarships to the 2011 school and the selection process was coordinated by Claire Keville through her traditional music programme on Clare FM. The winners were: Fionnuala Fahey, Kilbeacanty (fiddle); Aoibhín Queally, Kilmaley (concertina, flute, pipes); Noel Hayes, Moy (accordion); David Lynch, Kilmaley (banjo) and Turlough Kennedy, Scariff (pipes).
The school benefits from continued support from the Arts Council and Clare County Council since 1975. Sponsorship from public bodies including Fáilte Ireland, Shannon Development, Raidió na Gaeltachta, TG4, Colmcille, Foras na Gaeilge and IMRO ensures that the school can provide a comprehensive programme at competitive rates, which is an important consideration in the current economic circumstances.