A hidden jewel in the West of Ireland

If you were expecting a travel blog, this is not the place. Instead this is about a are radio station, that through it's programming, keeps the tradition alive. The station is Clare FM, based in Ennis, County Clare. Each weeknight they have a two hour show focusing on Traditional Irish Music. Each night there is a different host, each with his/her own style and personality.

For Set Dancers traveling to Ireland, they announce locations,festivals and classes that will occur throughout County Clare.

Last fall, Clare FM did an eight week series, "The Kitchen Sessions", that originated in homes and pubs throughout County Clare.

Paula Carroll did an incredible job in bringing the flavor of a rural home seisun to a worldwide audience.

From the kitchen of Pat & Peggy O'Reilly, Rath, Corofin

Each show featured live music performed by local musicians, set dancing, interviews with the host and hostess, as well as some of the musicians andset dancers.

Clare FM has kept all 8 Kitchen Sessions on line for everyone to enjoy.

My favorite was the Session 7 held at Chris Droney's house in Belle Harbor. Chris is one of the all time great Concertina players and usually plays with the Four Courts Ceili Band.

His whole multi-generational family participated.

Cillian, David and James Droney play with their grandfather Chris

They were able to convince Chris to do a few steps.

(My goal in life is to be able to dance like Chris when I too am

in my Mid 80's)

There were Set Dancers and Sean Nos dancers who added a distinct comfort feeling to the show. Aidan Vaughn, Four Courts Drummer, and a frequent visitor to Boston, and Gussie McMahon, did a Sean Nos duet.

(Keiran Jordan is producing a video based on Aidan's Sean Nos dancing.)

I was fortunate to have met Gussie when I stayed at his Bed and Breakfast in Doolin the last time I was in Ireland.

Chris's brother John runs Set Dancing classes in Glastonbury CT and is a good friend of my aunt.

During the show they had a few call-ins from the Droney clan in Simsbury CT, giving the show an international audience.

If you enjoy great Traditional Music and want to know where to Set Dance in County Clare, Clare FM is the perfect choice.

For those technology buffs, they leave each show on the web for a week.

You can either listen or download to your IPOD.

Pictures provided from the Clare FM website

not set dancing, but great news for set dancers

Some very exciting news -- read the press release:
Irish band Dervish to bring the spirit of Irish music "sessions" to American airwaves for the first time "Irish Heartbeat with Dervish" weekly public radio program to launch late 2008

The Irish music "session" – regularly connected with the great pubs of Ireland and the wild beauty of the west of Ireland – is now set to take a new path on American airwaves.





Renowned Irish traditional band Dervish will bring the sounds of a spirited Irish session to American public radio audiences through a weekly radio program, "Irish Heartbeat with Dervish." The program goes into production this month at the band's Sligo studios in the West of Ireland.

Hosted by Dervish's charismatic lead singer Cathy Jordan, the program will feature guests from among Ireland and America's top traditional and roots musicians, as well as noted figures from Ireland's literary and wider arts world. Already confirmed are Matt Molloy (of The Chieftains) with John Carty, Moya Brennan of Clannad, The Celtic Tenors, Irish rock band The Saw Doctors, singer Susan McKeown, fiddler
Frankie Gavin (De Dannan), and leading traditional groups Danú and Téada.
Many others are in discussion.

Spellbinding music, exciting collaborations and engaging conversations with guests will all be part of "Irish Heartbeat with Dervish."

Listeners will get a true sense of sitting close in a music session at a pub or party in Ireland—a memorable experience with lively instrumental tunes traded back and forth, moving songs, chat, laughter, and always a great sense of fun, or as the Irish say, "craic" (prounounced crack).

"Irish Heartbeat with Dervish" will launch initially on flagship station WCMU-FM (an NPR-affiliate in Michigan) and its seven-station network later this year, and will be offered to over 800 public radio stations across the country. A Christmas special is in the works,
with plans for a St Patrick's Day show as well as broadcasts from some of Ireland's major festivals and landmarks. The program's website irishheartbeat.ie has just been launched, and will be regularly updated with program and guest information, audio clips, and more.
(For now, information can be found at the band's website, http://www.dervish.ie

Kerry Fleadh ad on Set Dancing causing controvvery

Uproar in Kerry as fleadh goes 'sets mad'

By Anne Lucey

Wednesday July 16 2008

"We are sets mad down here". There'll be "straight sets, illicit sets, wild sets, casual sets, gay sets, unprotected sets -- whatever turns you on!'

So goes a radio advert for the normally conservative Munster Fleadh Cheoil.

The advertisement has caused uproar in Kerry, where some listeners claim the ad has left them confused.

The advertisement's creator is Nick Ryan, honorary public relations officer for the fleadh. Some 30 years ago he created the 'Just One Cornetto' ice cream jingle, one of the most popular ever.

Now living in Kenmare, Mr Ryan, who plays traditional music locally, said he tried to liven up news of the Fleadh Cheoil na Mumhan 2008.

Amusing

"At the end of the day it was just an amusing way to present a fleadh, rather than just the usual 'diddle-da' advertisement," he said.

John Greene, a presenter with Radio Kerry, says the radio has had "an unmerciful amount" of text messages and calls about the advertisement, but only about half are complaints. Other calls are defending it and seeing it as a bit of a laugh. Radio Kerry is to continue running the ad.

- Anne Lucey

Boston Comhaltas Fundraiser for trip to Ireland to help defray costs of musicians attending Fleadh Cheoil Na hEireann

A packed house was on hand Friday August 8 at the Canadian American club for the Boston Comhaltas fundraiser to help defray some of the costs for Boston's participants the Fleadh Cheoil Na hEireann being held in later in August at Tullamore, Co. Offaly.
The Boston Comhaltas Music school Ceili band joined with the Boston Comhaltas band in providing exhilarating music throughout the night.
There are three Boston area participants, Caroline, Catherine and Roger who will represent Boston. There were large donations of food and raffle prizes resulting in over $1000 raised for the young musicians.
Caroline and Catherine each performed their specialty, Caroline on the tin whistle and Catherine with a Sean Nos song. They also combined their efforts in duet, where Catherine played the fiddle.
The dance floor was completely full all evening, with a mixture of Set Dances, Ceili Dances and Old Time Waltzes.
Larry, as usual, did a fabulous job as Emcee for the evening.
The proud parents were very appreciative for the amount of effort it took to make this a fantastic success both monetarily and socially.

The Festival of Lughnasadh

For thousands of years our ancestors have marked the significant moments of the year with seasonal festivals. Lughnasadh (pronounced loon-assah) is a festival of the first fruits of harvest, marking the beginning of the harvest season. In Ireland, it was a time of digging up the first of the potatoes. In the Irish language, the word for the month of August is 'Lunasa', named after the Celtic pagan god Lugh.

(photo from the 1998 movie with Meryl Streep "Dancing at Lughnasa")

The cheerful gatherings in observance of the festival included dancing “to observe and conform with the powerful rhythms of nature and cosmos.” [Celebrate the Solstice.]

Traditionally, small local groups gathered together in a larger cultural unit to celebrate; that provided much of the cohesive force that bound clan to clan. Like the people who have celebrated Lughnasadh through the years, the local groups of set and ceili dancers, musicians, and the Irish community in the Greater Boston and New England area are gathering in August to recall and be part of this traditional festival. The celebration with music, dance and refreshments, takes place at the Irish Cultural Center in Canton, Massachusetts, on August 23, 2008, at 7PM.

Organizers Frank Bane, the president of Ceol Trad, and Maureen McNally are working with a number of well-known Irish organizations who are combining efforts to celebrate Lughnasadh: the Irish Cultural Centre of New England, C.A.R.E. The Eire Society of Boston, the Irish Pastoral Centre (IPC Boston: "a parish without boundaries" - see details of bus trip to the Centre), and The Irish Immigration Centre. The Ceol Traidisiunta na h'Eireann band has been asked to help play the music for the ceili. [Catch these musicians playing for a monthly ceili on the third Sunday of the month at the Hibernian Hall in Watertown (MA).] However, with such a diverse group sponsoring the ceili, they welcome others to play with them that evening! Join in the fun and dance the night away to the sounds of live traditional Irish music.

Contact Frank Bane at (617) 926-8847 or by email at FrankMaryB (at) aol.com for more information. Venue Phone number: 781-821-8291.