I’m considering going to Willie Clancy Week this year and was wondering what you all thought of the size of it. (And it in general, of course). Are there too many people there to make it worth while or does that contribute to the whole thing?
Thank you for your input,
Erik
Attendance has gone down a bit and while it may get a bit hectic around the second weekend the past two years weren’t as mad as some past ones. If you haven’t been it’s still more than worth it.
There’s music of all sorts in the street if the weather’s fine.
Thanks, Peter. At this point I’m looking for some fair weather. Today’s high so far is -44. Seeing sun on their shoulders just about makes me cry.
I’m planning on leaving here the 30th and coming home the 14th, since flights from here to Frankfurt leave/return once a week. I figure that I can get a cheap Ryan Air flight once I get to Frankfurt. Of course, this is all assuming that Grandma can come and take care of the kiddos.
Erik
Hm, fair weather isn’t guaranteed, during the Willie week usually the warm sea mist lands for at least some days. Distracted by the music you don’t pay attention only to find by the end of the week the potatoblight has turned the spuds in the garden to pulp. Stinking pulp. :roll:
Also, pubs open around noon..
And close about an hour before that… 
Slan,
D.
Grow earlies and second earlies, Peter. You’ll also avoid the worst of those global-warming lovers, the slugs. 
Cheers!
Steve
I do actually now, don’t like spraying. Don’t get me started on slugs though. Millions if we don’t get any significant frost which usually we don’t. :roll:
When I first read this I thought that you were calling me a slug… well, I did just get up from a nap, but that’s no reason to call me a slug. I was just trying to get up the energy for a string of birthday parties that my kiddos have been invited to this afternoon.
So, at this point I’m not hearing a whole lot of rousing support for the week. Nobody coming on to say, “It changed my life - you gotta go!”. I thought that at least Azalin would chime in. Thus far I’ve heard:
Erik
ROTFLMAO!!! 
Though I do have to correct you slightly, Erik: the pubs are only open for 23 hours a day, according to Dubhlinn at least. 
Cheers!
Steve
I went to Willie Week this past summer and while I enjoyed it, I don’t know that I would go back.
The main part may have to do with my expectations. I did not expect the number of young adults that seemed to be there just for the drinking party. Miltown-Malbay’s (a nice town by the way) main street is taken over by the vendors and can get a bit ‘ripe’ by the end of a warm day.
If you take away the ‘county fair’ aspect of it and just look at the school program itself, I found the instruction and the music to be heard very good. They have a ‘lunch time concert’ by a different teacher(s) each day which displayed some excellent piping. The evening concerts (a different instrument each night) were also excellent. And the school programs were well run…the tea at the morning break is also a nice custom.
Since I was already in Ireland for two weeks on holiday, it was a unique opportunity to spend a few days at the ‘mecca’ of piping…Willie Clancy week..besides escaping from my wife’s family for 3 days! We circled the entire country from Dublin, to Enniskillen, Giants Causeway, Sligo, Westport, MM, Dingle, Cork, Waterford, and back to Dublin.
I don’t know that I would recommend someone spend the money to travel to Ireland just for WCW, if you are there for other reasons and can schedule it back to back with WCW..then it would be worth it.
There are many Tionols and schools that are a bit closer to home where you can also get good quality instruction and hear some great music.
One very nice thing was being able to enjoy a pint of Guinness with lunch every day. I had the best irish stew of the vacation in Miltown-Malbay…something about that combination really makes a day go well. That and listening to some great sessions while enjoying another pint or two in the afternoon!
Thank you for that perspective, snoogie. That makes a lot of sense.
I actually like the festival idea. I’ve always enjoyed that kind of thing. However, I could do without the drinking party. If that is the main emphasis, then it really doesn’t appeal to me. I thought of Willie Week for a couple of reasons. First, I’m intersted in the teaching. Second, Ireland is a wonderful place and I’ve not been to Miltown yet. Since I’d have a few days on either side of the festival it seemed like a good fit.
My goals are to make a few friends, play some good music, learn how to make better music and then go home to my family refreshed. (Unfortunately, my family won’t be joining me this time).
I’d be open to recommendations for festivals closer to home. I thought about Friday Harbor, WA, but it’s too soon. I can’t go until this summer of fall. The interesting thing is that if it’s not on the West Coast it costs the same to go to Ireland. It would actually cost the same to go to Atlanta, for example, as it does to go to Ireland.
I had actually considered Pat Higgins’ announcement regarding the New Zealand school. That sounded fun, but the plane ticket alone is $3000. (The bonus would be getting to tour some of the Lord of the Rings sites - yes, I’m one of those )
Anyway, I’d be open to hearing your ideas of top notch festivals in the States or mainland Europe.
I think you should keep an eye on what you get outside the curriculum: the fact that you get players from all over Ireland, including the very best ones, who are out to play music for fun with their friends. To an extend you c an get a glimpse of how the music functions in it’s homeplace, you get to see all the players who may not be bothered to get famous but are worth hearing, you get the old guys from the country coming in for a pint and to listen to a nice tune, you get the locals who come in maybe to dance afew steps. I think that whole atmosphere is very much part of the experience and it is something you will never ever come close to at festivals away.
Yes, you get the mobile chippers, the drunks, the travellers trying to flog mobile phone covers, antiques and rip-off designer shirts, you get the daily traffic jam along mainstreet and the anarchic parking on the Ennis Road, the suburban sprawl of new houses that is eating up the open country side. But you get the good with the bad and afterall, it’s part of Ireland’s society, you can run away to get a sanitised version, Bord Failte approved wearing an emerald jumper or an aran sweater but you can just go and experience the whole package, the thing itself.
I remember the first time I went, 1980, staying in the B&B out of town, getting a lift with the farmer next door who wentto the creamery evey morning, the chats and his always dead on weather predictions, the walks back out in the evening, the chats with the old guys working their gardens along the road, some of them pulling out a whistle to play a few phrases, or just telling a few stories ofhow it was when Johnny Doran came to town. There was the postoffice where the old postmisstress wouldn’t sell you stamps before you played a few tunes, she’d come out behind the counter and dance a few steps on the flags and then let you go.
It’s all that you’re going to the week for as well, what makes you appreciate the music in a different light. Walk the road to White Strand, sit by the ocean, walk round to Spanish Point, sing ‘the West Coast of Clare’ in your mind and wonder where music was played and how it looked like before the holiday cottages. All that stuff, and great music all the time, if you look in the right spots. You can’t get it anywhere else.
I think, Peter, some of these folks would never go anyways, and those that do aren’t on a computer!
But, quite right Miltown is a very special event, from the beginning of “Willie”
week to todays music schools it’s a wee bit of everything from everywhere, and so there’s always something for everybody.
BTW I am listening to the mighty WC right now playing a few tunes on the TW.
That’s the side of things that I’m hoping to see and the reason that I thought of WCW first. I was just waiting to hear someone wax poetic about it If I end up going, I’ll have to get the name of that B&B from you.
Best,
Erik
The Willie Week probably did change my life, Erik. I first went in 1980, and have travelled over from Scotland to it on , I think , 13 occasions now. If you want to read some opinions on it, log onto the “session” website. Several contributers to that site went last year, and there was some discussion about it soon after, mostly positive as I recall.
If you want to contact me through this site, I’ll end you some recordings of the flute/whistle recitals from previous years, and also some of the session music.
In 1984, I think, I found myself sitting opposite Miko Russell in a session. He heard my accent and leaned across and said, "I’ll play this tune for the Scotsman - it’s called “Dark Lochnagar” - and he did. Moments like that are precious beyond belief.
I’d say “Give it a try at least once”.
One note of warning - you need to decide quite soon, because accomodation can become a problem, and the longer you leave it , the more difficult it will get. Good luck, and maybe see you there.
Love your summary, Erik.
I think the only reason Jack (MurphyStout) and Az haven’t chimed in is that they must not have seen this thread yet. A bunch of us went in 2003 and had a great time. Azalin nearly lost his life due to careless airborne beverages, Jack and Eldarion hitchhiked with famous flute players, Martin bought a fiddle that had shrunk in the wash, and I got a part time job hawking whistles to passers-by and seeing 8 year olds try out the wares with talent that put me to shame several times a day. Azalin chased after a girl at the ceili, Eld learned how to ride a bike, Jack and Martin practised synchronised steak-eating, and I got to meet (and room with) Teacha Bo Bia, who enjoyed playing her fiddle to cows.
So I’ll say it - you gotta go! I’m already planning on going back this year, and so is Martin, so including Peter that’s three people that you’d get to meet!
PS - it isn’t all a drinking emphasis. Neither Jack nor I drink but we still had a great time.
I was trying to cut & paste the various things that Peter was saying… but I couldn’t do it justice by doing that.
Willie Week is so much more than classes. When I went in 1997 (the 25th year) I was surprised to find out on the first day that classes began at about 10AM, broke for a cuppa at 11:15 or so, resumed and went on until the 1:00 piping recital at the school. “Gee, that’s a short day,” I thought.
But the day was just beginning. You could go off on your own and listen to the tape of your class, you could get some great pub food, and just relax, or get some help with reeds and such in the school… and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
The best session that week that I ever heard was one I take credit for “starting”… without playing a single note of music. A young piper came into Cleary’s, and I asked him who’d made his pipes, could I see them, was he there for the classes? As he took them out, I asked him if he knew how a certain tune went (one that we were learning in class). He started to play it, and within a minute there was a young girl, maybe 16 or 17, with a concertina… and then there was another young guy with a fiddle, and off they went, for nearly 2 straight hours. As soon as it began, I backed away, went and found a comfortable spot at the bar and enjoyed the music. I’ll never forget this… a man from Cavan who comes to Milltown Malbay each year for the WCW (to listen) says to me, “Jaysus, this is mighty… and look at them - all of them young ones… how did you know they were all here and wanted to play?”
I just shrugged my shoulders and said that I’d only asked a question of the guy with the case that looked like it might have pipes inside.
Bear in mind that this was 7 1/2 years ago, and I remember that one session the best of all. (I also remember the incredibly fine weather we had… I don’t think it rained all week).
The musicians I saw while there, to name a few:
Paddy Keenan, playing in the concert at week’s end.
Robbie Hannan, playing in the recital on Friday.
Mikie Smith, playing in the concert.
Sean Og Potts, playing in the concert.
Ciaran O’Maille, (my instructor) playing in the concert.
Mick Moloney, on Friday night, seen carrying his guitar case on Main street, looking for a session.
There were others, but you get the idea, I hope… where else would you find such talent all in one place?
And Peter’s right - if you tire of Milltown Malbay, there’s Quilty just down the road for all the dancing your feet could handle… or out at Spanish Point, the same thing.
Oh - and if you’re a golfer, the beautiful and challenging Lahinch is 5 miles north… and the sun doesn’t set until about 9:30 PM … no excuse for not starting a round at 5:00 PM.
It’s all there, all week long.
Between Peter, Beth, Kenny and Brian, I’m sold. Sign me up. It sounds just my speed. (And Brian says that it will be sunny - though only until 9:30 )
So now I need recommendations for accomodations and the best way to think about that (feel free to e-mail me if you don’t want to make any public recommendations). Will I need a rental car? Where should I fly into?
Since it’ll just be me, I can be extreemly flexible. I’m not sure if I remember how to go on a vacation by myself. Actually, my wife and I have been dating since highschool so I don’t know if I’ve ever gone on a vacation by myself. I can’t think of one. Hey, I might be able to travel with only one bag! Now THAT’S revolutionary.
Anyway, I’d sure appreciate any advice that you’re willing to give. If I’m able to make it, it looks like I’ll get to meet a lot of you!
Erik
Hi Erik -
You won’t need a rental car for the festival week, but you might want one if you are sticking around for a significant period of time afterward. Me, I prefer Bus Eireann, though I recall it was impossible to get a bus OUT of Miltown, and got a taxi instead.
You could either fly into Shannon or Dublin and take a bus or car from there to Miltown. I’d check with the locals on further details for that.
I spent the summer of 2003 in Ireland, you’re welcome to email me questions on logistics if you like, and if I can help out I will. Look forward to meeting you in July!