Annual festival to honour Nell Galvin

PREPARATIONS are ongoing for the 2013 Nell Galvin Festival, which will run from September 6 to 8.

 

At 8pm on September 6, there will be a session with Frank Custy, Teresa Custy, Patrick O’Loughlan, Flan Murtagh and friends. The official opening will be performed at 9.30pm by Joe Taylor, which will be followed by sessions with Vincent Griffin, Seamus Walshe, Soracha Curtain, Paul Smyth, Des Caferky, Sean O’Malley, Tony Patten, Sinéad Walsh, Jessie McNamara, John Joe Tuttle, James O’Halloran and the KFM Group.
The night will close with a céilí, followed by the Four Courts Céilí Band.

On Saturday, there will be free music classes in Garrihy’s Bar of Moyasta. There will be a class for beginners on the tin whistle and flute at noon, followed by classes at 1pm for improvers. From 1pm to 2pm, there will be brush dancing classes for beginners and improvers. All taking part are asked to bring their own brush.

There will also be concertina, accordion and sean-nós dancing classes. At 4.30pm, there will be a visit to the green, weather permitting, with a short prayer there and a music session. There will be various sessions throughout the afternoon and evening.

Sunday morning will see mass in Lisdeen at 9.30am, followed by a visit to the graves of Nell Galvin and Peadar Crotty.

A number of musicians will take part in sessions in the afternoon from 3pm, while Five Counties will play from 7pm to 10pm. There will also be sessions featuring Le Chéile, Tommy Mahony, Peter Haugh, Murt Collins, Angela Crotty, Tom Clohessy, Tony O’Loughan, Michael Crowley, Bernard Eustace, Jessie McNamara, Des Mulkere, Astrid Adler, Jerome Bos, Bríd Latham and Michael O’Brian.

Nell Galvin (née McCarthy) was born in 1887 and learned to play the concertina and fiddle at a young age, being taught by Garret Barry. At the age of 14, she started entering competitions and enjoyed great success.

In 1937, she was given a radio audition in Dublin and successfully broadcast on a number of occasions on Radio Éireann, which was then known as 2RN.

She married Patrick Galvin of Moyasta and was a mother of three sons and two daughters. She died in 1961, at the age of 74.