Willie week 2024

Trad Irish Music
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Last night the men from Cuil Aodha sang Mo Ghile Mear and it was all over for another year. I was’on duty’, so to speak, taking photos at the recitals and lectures in the hall, from the daily Lunchtime piping recitals to the night events. Long days, but I got to hear an awful lot of great music.

This morning I emptied the memory cards onto the laptop and I am now reviewing, roughly, what I got. Here are a few, fairly random picks :

Liz and Yvonne Kane:

Eimhear Flannery:

Frankie Gavin:

Aoife Granville, playing wren tunes at Willie Clancy’s grave:

Maire ní Chathasaigh:

Pat Lynch and Charlie Harris at the wonderful tribute to the Tulla Ceiliband:

Pat O’Connor, also at the Tulla afternoon event:

Mick O’Connor:

Harry Bradley and Patsy Hanly:

Before the accordion concert, the ‘Boxroom’, with Johnny Og Connolly, Conor Connolly, Martin Donohue, Bryan O’Leary, Joe Searson, Jackie Daly, Ann Conroy-Burke, Nuala Hehir, Christy McNamara, Michael Searson, Josephine Marsh, Timmy O’Connor & Pat Fleming

Bobby Gardiner:

The bold Nell ní Chróinín:

Kevin Conneff:

For now I’ll leave it at that, maybe more later.

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Great photos!

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Thanks, but at this point I am still reviewing what’s there and throwing out a few only edited for size to post online. I have barely touched on the fiddles and flutes and haven’t been through pipes, accordion, dancers, singers, concertina or the final concert in any detail. It’s very much a work in progress.

But here are a few more, as I am going along:

From Monday’s Fiddle concert:

Breda Keville :

Connie Connell:

From the Tuesday night Flute and Whistle concert,
Marian Curtin:

Eibhlinn de Paor:

Mick Crehan:

Francis O’Connor:

A bit of piping interest, all old flat sets. It was overall a good year for flat sets.

Eanna Drury playing his Covid find in C#, with new Wooff chanter. He played them beautifully:

Jimmy O’Brien-Moran playing the same set in the green room (a few of us had a go) after the lunchtime recital:

Cormac Cannon playing the Friday Lunchtime on his Egan C# He played beautiful settings, very tasty stuff. (note how he holds the bass bar, I have never seen anybody do that but when I asked he said it was more comfortable):

And last, for now, from the Wednesday night main piping recital, Mickie Smyth playing Tommy Reck’s Kenna B and both pipes and piper were going extraordinary well. It was great to hear the set played again (I played it myself for an hour or so 35 years ago):

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Very nice photos Peter!

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More great photos!

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Great photos , as always, Peter. Hoping for next year.
Isn’t Kevin Conneff looking a bit like Paul McCartney these days ? :slight_smile:

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I thought exactly the same, Kenny.

Don’t stay away too long, the longer away the more changes you have to cope with in one go.

Check the aul PMs too, while you are here :wink:

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A few more, for the craic :tomato:

At a concert for Raidió na Gaeltachta, early in the week. Shaskeen (Tom Cussen, Katie Theasby, David Sanders, Mary Liddy, Eamonn Cotter, Patsy McDonagh, John Donnellan, the guitar player’s name unfortunately escapes me at the moment) :

A Monday afternoon (I think that is what it was anyway) in Friel’s :

Fiddlers three, Roisín O’Connor, Aoife & Máire O’Keeffe:

Laoise Kelly:

A quick tune in the Hall’s café, including Eileen O’Brien, Ann Conroy-Burke and others:

Martin Hayes & Mark Donnellan:

Jackie Daly & Ann Conroy-Burke:

One of the players at the harmonica recital. Embarrassing enough I can’t think of her last name right now but she had just finished a breathtaking rendition of the Coleman version of Lord Gordon. Superb playing.:

Aoife Kelly:

A late Saturday afternoon session in one of the pop up shops. Maeve Donnelly and Jackie Daly:

I could keep this up for another while but it’s probably best to call it quits while I am ahead. So I’ll leave it at that but, if we survive another winter, I will probably do it all over again next year

Cór Cuil Aodha can have the last word:

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Pauline Callinan. Gave a repeat performance at a session at the Bellbridge later that evening, really fun player.

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Yes, I got as far as ‘Pauline’ but the last name was covered in fog.

Was good to see you there, by the way.

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Hard to recognize you without the handkerchief over your head!

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Wonderful, Peter. Thank you!

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Hi Peter

Just spotted this thread now.

Wonderful stuff as usual.

Keep up the good work my friend.

John