Traditional music in the air at Corofin

OVER 100 session musicians from all over the country and overseas will descend on North Clare this week for the ninth Corofin Traditional Festival.
Among the long list of accomplished musicians performing at the event this year are fiddle player, ,Frankie Gavin, concertina player Noel Hill and Arty McGlynn on guitar.
The festival runs from Monday, March 1, to Sunday, March 7, and promises to be as entertaining as previous years.
Other popular musicians who will entertain audiences include  John Carty, Brian Rooney, Brian McGrath, Seamus Glackin, Catherine McEvoy, Noreen O’Donoghue, Edel Fox, Ronan O’Flaherty, Andrew MacNamara, Mark Donnellan, Jim Corry, PJ King, Méabh O’Hare, Anne-Marie McCormack, Cyril O’Donoghue, Maurice Egan, Alan Byrne, John Rynne, Liam Lewis, Graham Dunne and Chris Droney.
The festival will be officially opened by Kevin Crawford of Lúnasa fame at Teach Ceoil on Monday at 8pm, followed by a recital by the flautist.
Belharbour concertina player Chris Droney will receive a hall of fame presentation on Tuesday night at 8pm and the musician and members of his family will then perform in Teach Ceoil. 
Thursday night will see legendary players Frankie Gavin, Noel Hill and Arty McGlynn take to the stage in a concert sponsored by Mary McGrath, in memory of her late grandmother Kathleen Fogarty from Aglish.
There will be a number of music workshops on Saturday, with enrolment for these sessions in the Corofin Heritage Centre at 10am. Classes will be available in the button accordion, banjo, fiddle, flute and harp. Classes will consist of no more than 10 pupils, to ensure quality tuition for students and some prior competence in a chosen instrument is expected.
Throughout Saturday and Sunday, there will be free sessions in all of the pubs in Corofin, with musicians as well as music lovers and set dancers welcome to attend and join in.
Padraig O’Reilly of the organising committee said that while their budget for the festival is tight this year, they have managed to maintain previous standards in terms of quality acts.
“We know the festival will be as good this year as it has been in the years gone by. We’ve had a very successful format so we really left well enough alone in that respect. The line-up this year is very strong and music lovers are in for a real treat at both the organised concerts and the pub sessions. A big feature of the festival has always been the pub sessions and this year will be no different. Every pub in the village will have sessions, so there will be no shortage of music wherever people opt to go in Corofin,” he commented.