Inaugural East Clare Fiddle Festival lined up for Feakle

East Clare is to benefit from a new traditional music festival this year as renowned guitarist and fiddle player Ged Foley sets the wheels in motion for the inaugural East Clare Fiddle Festival from June 30 to July 3.

The musician set about creating a festival specifically designed for fiddle players in the heart of East Clare.
Sandwiched between the P Joe Hayes in May and the Feakle Traditional Music Festival in August, it will be the third such event to take place in the East Clare village this year.
The festival is intended to provide the ideal learning environment, with top-class tutors teaching small classes aimed at people who already have some degree of proficiency on the fiddle. That said, the festival will have plenty of sessions, a concert and ceilí to offer.
Foley is well-known as one of Irish music’s most gifted guitarists. He was a member of Scotland’s Battlefield Band, a founder of England’s House Band and was a key part in Irish super group Patrick Street. Speaking about the venture, he explains how the idea came about.
“It’s something I’d been thinking about for a long time. The guitar is my job and the fiddle is my love and obsession so that’s why I chose to develop a fiddle festival. Historically, Feakle is a big area for fiddle playing and I did some research, which showed that two generations ago there were so many fiddle players.
“However, times have changed. So I would hope this festival will try to increase people’s interest in the fiddle festival. I’m currently doing the MA in Irish Traditional Music Performance in UL and as part of that, I have to do a vocational project, so I thought I’d combine the two. The festival has only been in the pipeline since the end of January so it is all a little last-minute,” he said.
With a number of established festivals already in place in East Clare and in the county, Foley believes this four-day event has something new to offer and will also help boost the local economy.
“Naturally, anything that will bring people in to the area will be an added help. Times are tough in the small villages so anything to bring people in to eat in the local places has got to be good for the area.
“The festival itself will mainly be a teaching festival for advanced players and we have got some great teachers lined up. Of course there will also be concerts and sessions, which will include both the teachers and students.
“Festivals like this are usually held in the schools and what’s different about this is we are going to use the bars in Feakle, which is also where the sessions will be. The classes will be just for the fiddle but that’s not to say that other instruments won’t arrive on the scene for the evening sessions. It’s different from the Feakle Festival in that teaching is not their main focus and I’m trying to focus on the fiddle itself and learning the fiddle,” he added.
The location lends itself by its historic association with fiddle playing to such a festival and Foley believes that it is important to nurture the area’s connection with the fiddle.
“There’s a great appreciation in the area for music historically and even for people who don’t play here, there is an enjoyment of the music, it’s a great area for listening.
We have got great support locally and from the bars and we’re now in the process of finalising details. The way it’s going to work is we will have classes from 10.30am until 12.30pm and then from 2pm to 4pm and so the participants will get a lot of exposure and on Saturday we will have a masterclass with James Kelly. I’m limiting the classes to eight to 10 students, which I feel will help people get a more valuable experience and will provide a better learning environment so that students will get more out of it,” he said.
Hopes are high for the festival and Foley expects that it may become an annual event, all going well this year.
“If I still have my shirt by July 1 would love to carry it on again year on year,” he concluded.
With the limited places available, the organiser is advising those interested to book early. The festival’s website has just gone live and booking details are expected to be set up on the site by the end of the week. For more information, visit www.eastclarefiddlefestival.com