Cream of céilí crop for Willie Clancy ’10

THE Kilfenora and Tulla Céilí bands have been confirmed as participants of the 2010 Willie Clancy Festival and Summer School in Miltown Malbay. The annual event takes place from Saturday, July 3, to Sunday, July 11.
The Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy is Ireland’s largest traditional music summer school, held annually since 1973 in memory of the piper Willie Clancy. During the week, nearly a thousand students from every part of the world attend daily classes taught by experts in Irish music and dance. In addition, a full program of lectures, recitals, céilithe and exhibitions are run by the summer school.
There will also be language courses in Irish and Scot’s Gaelic.
The school gets underway on July 3 with enrolment at the community hall from 2 to 6pm.  The hall will host this year’s Breandán Breathnach Memorial Lecture, entitled The Traditional Arts and the National Economy and will be hosted by Philip King, musician, broadcaster and filmmaker.
Among the other highlights of this year’s Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy will be a lecture on The Music of Kerry: A Wider Landscape by Nicholas McAuliffe, musician and music tutor. Ceolchoirm Mhór, a traditional concert with leading traditional artists will be held at Miltown Malbay community hall on Saturday, July 10, while the usual musical tribute will take place at Willie Clancy’s grave.