Back in Doolin after a nice session in Miltown Malbay. Concertinas, pipes, flutes, fiddle, box in the Central. A nice warmup before the madness. We looked in the NPU shop, not many people - quite a few showers of rain today. Met a lady flute player from Washington D.C., didn’t catch her name. Said hello to Joe Doyle and Terry Moylan. We’ll go in again tomorrow - Sean og Potts is playing the midday piping recital
Went to the Willie Clancy festival last year. I also stayed in Doolin. Loved the pubs! McGanns was was favorite. Do have a pint or two for me and make sure you drive on the left after those few pints.
I bet the lady from D.C. is Rosemary. Tall, brown hare and plays a blackwood Olwell. If you see her again, tell her Brendan and Josh said hi.
Nice one 
Wrassically flute player, I bet… 
Arbo
Maybe this is why we haven’t seen Rosemary at a session here lately. The pubs in DC won’t let her bring her rabbit in with her. Standards in Ireland are so much different, aren’t they?
“I dreeeeam of Jeannie, she’s a light-brown hare…”
B.B.
Aye the description fits - Rosemary it is, good player, nice person. Didn’t see her yesterday or today. Had some nice sessions. Plenty of people in Miltown and the weather was very good today, didn’t rain at all, sun shining. Met up with David Levine who is selling flutes and tinas in a little shop on main street, good to see him, he has a nice keyless Olwell for sale by the way and a Murray and a keyed Olwell plus other stuff such as a very nice Jefferies anglo, a beauty. Went to the Cathal McConnal tribute today. Nice event with music and song from Cathal & his brothers, Rosie Stewart and others. Met up with Peter & Gus Laban & Jimmy O’Brien Moran, good to see him.
Good stuff Steampacket, keep the news coming. I remember when I was at the festival in 2001, 2002 and 2003, had great times there. It’s very busy and kind of hard to find quiet spots with good music, but I’d like to go back for the craic, it would be more like a social event next time I go.
“Good stuff Steampacket, keep the news coming. I remember when I was at the festival in 2001, 2002 and 2003, had great times there. It’s very busy and kind of hard to find quiet spots with good music, but I’d like to go back for the craic, it would be more like a social event next time I go.” Azalin.
Aye, as there are fewer pubs for the music we are happy to get one decent session a day. Yesterday we had a nice session with Silverspear and a few musicians in the Players. It worked out best to start a session rather than squeeze into an already crowded place. We three started playing and gradually others drifted in, turned out well. In the evening we drove out to Ennistymon to a session in Marriams. A great little pub, thanks David. Had a nice talk with the owner who turned out to be a box player. Said he was rusty and didn’t play but I suspect he’s probably been an All Ireland champion. We’ll go in for one last session today in Miltown then leave for Hackney, London. Weathers still fine
Ok, back in Hackney, “murder mile”. Yesterday, Thursday was good - packing up the tent in Doolin we talked with Peter Forwood who turned up on his “around the world Harley” Nice man, cool bike.
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/forwood/
Left Doolin and drove into Miltown to listen to Pat Mitchell piping on his Dinny Deleany-Willie Rowsome/Kiernan set. Always good to hear Pat play, he has a personal lyrical “old” style of piping, I imagine like the “old” pipers back in the day. Pat’s pipes were well in tune, and going well. We were supposed to join in on the session.org session in Tom Malones, but got talking to Peter Laban outside the pub and that’s always interesting as Peter is there in the center, the heart of it all. Peter’s looking well and told us amongst other things about a Kitty Hayes tribute concert that was coming up. My better half wanted another kind of session, sorry Silverspear, and food, before we had to prepare for the trip to Shannon, so we ended up in Cleary´s where a fine session was going on in the front room.
We had a listen but didn’t play, then we heard som mighty flute playing enamating from the back room. It could only be from the half-man, half-steam engine I thought, and yes it was Conal O’Grada & Catherine McEnvoy, together with another couple of flute players creating a mighty sound from what looked to be a Hamilton, two R&R’s and didn’t get the other flutes identity. So we spent the rest of the afternoon there just listening to them. After a couple of hours in that small space our ears were ringing I must admit. Catherine´s flute, I think it was her R&R?, was a match for Conal’s Hamilton as regards honkability. Forget about dainty and genteel, this was raw, powerful, take no prisoners, type flute playing. After an hour or so John Wynne turned up!!! So five flutes were honking out tunes, reels, jigs & polkas. I don’t know what flute John was playing, a Grinter perhaps? Didn’t recognise the other two players either, a man and a woman, very good musicans, the man wore specs and had a Rudall. An overdose of flute playing was a fitting end to our Willie Week visit. We left reluctantly, got some hash brownies (fried potatos) and bread rolls and a copy of the new music magasine from the NPU shop, “The journal of music: intelligent writing on musical life” launched April 2009 http://journalofmusic.com/
Willie Week did seem a bit quieter than usual, although it´s hard to say if there was/is (it’s still going on, last day tomorrow) a significant drop in the number of visitors/pupils. both Tuesday and Wednesday we went into the Blondes around 1.30 pm and it was totally empty. The first time we thought it must be the recession, but sessions started up shortly after. The Cathal McConnal tribute was full and there were many musicians down from the north about the town so prehaps it was as usual regarding the numbers of students etc. The weather was very good, which meant people were prehaps down at the beach or surfing in Lahinch instead of packed into the pubs. Friels was packed, even the back room. Apparantly there was a big fight on the Sunday night and the guards had to be called, but otherwise it didn´t seem too wild. Some bad news though, the lady we used to visit to camp in her garden, Bride, passed away in November. She was a special person and will be missed. At Shannon we were surprised to see American soldiers all over the place, troops returning from Irak we heard. I’m always surprised as to how young they seem, but that’s how it always has been of course.
Flute player with the specs was Niall Kenny.
and I think someone told me that Aoife Granville was in that session, so she may have been the other lady.
You’re right Aoife Granville & Niall Kenny it was - googled their names and checked the photos. Good players.