The musical magic of Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy
I came to the Willie Clancy festival for the first time in 2010. I had heard so much about the festival and was always listening to the broadcasts on Raidió na Gaeltachta every year on Meaití Jó Shéamuis Ó Fátharta's (RIP) programme Lán a' Mhála. Meaití had been coming to the festival from the very first gathering and indeed had known and recorded Willie for RnaG in 1972. Along with the live broadcasts, the recitals were recorded, and the music was heard during the year on the music programmes. I was excited and a bit nervous to take over from Meaití in 2010.
Listen: Ceiliúradh Ceoil live from Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy
The first broadcasts for Ceol Binn ó na Beanna were in 2010. It was a bit daunting that first year because I was not used to outside broadcasts and the programme had only been on air since January of that year, so this was the first major outside broadcast for the programme. The friendly atmosphere and the willingness of everybody to come to the Ródaí (Raidió na Gaeltachta's roadcaster) and play their tunes live on air was wonderful, and it was also great to interact with the musicians and get to know them on a more personal level.
The festival has evolved and now has more students than ever, but as the classes are spread out between Miltown Malbay itself and the surrounding nearby villages like Quilty, Mullagh and Spanish Point you don't get the sense of an overpacked festival. The recitals are sometimes the only events where you will get a sense of the amount of people attending the festival when the hall is packed to capacity and parking spaces become like golddust!
Listen: Céilí House live from Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy
The atmosphere in the Ródaí is always vibrant and exciting during the festival. The Ródaí is a familiar sight outside the hall and it is always lovely to have the budding young musicians come in and play a few tunes on the various programmes. Seeing the young musicians playing alongside the older musicians is lovely and it is such a privilege for those youngsters to get to know people who they might have heard of but never seen in person. The banter between the musical guests is always great and everybody is in a very relaxed mood - it is like one big musical party all week.
It is great to invite the young musicians into the Ródaí. It is a very exciting event for them to come to the Ródaí and their first airplay, and it is always great to see the big smiles as they head off with their Raidió na Gaeltachta hats. The great thing about being in the centre of town with the Ródaí is that the youngsters come to see for themselves that Raidió na Gaeltachta and the programme Ceol Binn ó na Beanna is a platform for them to use to promote their music and to gain confidence. Many of them will return year after year to play for the programme and it is great to see the development in their music and styles. Over the years we have had full céilí bands play for the programme and that is quite a feat!
Listen: The Rolling Wave previews this year's Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy
The amount of young people that have become top class players since I started on Ceol Binn ó na Beanna is unbelievable. I remember in 2010 meeting some of the top players of today and it was lovely to see their development during their teenage years and seeing them now launching their own recordings and making their music a career. People like Elaine Reilly, Dáithí Gromley, Eimear Coughlan, Francis Cunningham, Órlaith & Brogan McAuliffe, Ademar O'Connor, Keelan McGrath, Róisín Broderick, Dylan Foley, Sorcha Costello, Catherine McHugh and many many more have appeared on Ceol Binn ó na Beanna as young teenagers and now are fast becoming the stars of Irish traditional music. It is particularly lovely to see Andrew Caden from Bethesda Maryland and Conor McDonagh from Sligo release their lovely new album Across the Atlantic at the Willie Clancy week this year. Conor and Andrew would have met through their shared passion for Irish Traditional Music and it's wonderful to see them produce their first album on Racket Records while this so young and they both got their first airplay on Ceol Binn ó na Beanna.
We also have musicians from a lot of foreign places calling into the Ródaí to play. We've had musicians from Moscow, Brazil, Germany, Japan, France as well as American and English musicians and everybody is welcome to share their tunes! The relaxed friendly atmosphere is lovely. This may be because there is no competitive element during the Willie Clancy Week. All musicians come to teach, to learn or just to play and enjoy making new friends without the pressure of competitions. Everybody is welcome to join into the many, many sessions around the town and the surrounding towns and it is a great place to play or just to listen.
Watch, via ITMA: Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy – A Reflection
I have some lovely memories of playing a few sessions with Ben Lennon, Johnny Connolly, Seán Conway & Éamon Flynn, all now having sadly passed away, RIP, in the small room in the Central. Zoe Conway, Séamus Sands, Bobby Gardiner and many others were regulars in that tiny room - it was so homely and just the perfect atmosphere for a tune.
My biggest tip for first-time visitors would be to just enjoy and soak up the atmosphere and don't be afraid to share your music, song or dance if the mood takes you!
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It was a bit daunting that first year because I was not used to outside broadcasts and the programme had only been on air since January of that year, so this was the first major outside broadcast for the programme. The friendly atmosphere and the willingness of everybody to come to the Ródaí (Raidió na Gaeltachta's roadcaster) and play their tunes live on air was wonderful, and it was also great to interact with the musicians and get to know them on a more personal level. The festival has evolved and now has more students than ever, but as the classes are spread out between Miltown Malbay itself and the surrounding nearby villages like Quilty, Mullagh and Spanish Point you don't get the sense of an overpacked festival. The recitals are sometimes the only events where you will get a sense of the amount of people attending the festival when the hall is packed to capacity and parking spaces become like golddust! Listen: Céilí House live from Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy The atmosphere in the Ródaí is always vibrant and exciting during the festival. The Ródaí is a familiar sight outside the hall and it is always lovely to have the budding young musicians come in and play a few tunes on the various programmes. Seeing the young musicians playing alongside the older musicians is lovely and it is such a privilege for those youngsters to get to know people who they might have heard of but never seen in person. The banter between the musical guests is always great and everybody is in a very relaxed mood - it is like one big musical party all week. It is great to invite the young musicians into the Ródaí. It is a very exciting event for them to come to the Ródaí and their first airplay, and it is always great to see the big smiles as they head off with their Raidió na Gaeltachta hats. 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While instrumental classes were confined to pipes, whistle, flute and fiddle in the first years, this has now expanded to include harp, banjo, button accordion and harmonica, with hundreds of students travelling from around the world to participate. The school has developed and expanded considerably and is now the largest folk music summer school in the world. Supported by the Arts Council Strategic Funding and Clare County Council, it is a testament to the dedication of the local voluntary committee as well as the community of Miltown Malbay and the surrounding area, that the Summer School has been able to expand so much. Homes are given over for classes and accommodation and musicians are welcomed with open arms to the town for the week. I doubt it could happen anywhere else. Ó RTÉ Radio 1's Beo Are Éigean 2018, tuairisc ó Áine agus Siún ag Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy (cé nach bhfuil oiread agus nóta acu) The amount of local volunteers working on the festival now is really quite incredible and those volunteers are led by a stalwart steering committee of Harry Hughes, Eamon McGivney, Séamus Ó Rócháin, Deirdre Comber and Maureen Kilduff. The committee were recently awarded the MÓR Glór award in Ennis and it is well deserved as the festival enters its 53rd year. In 2010, the Gradam Ceoil Comaoine award was given to Muiris Ó Róchain who, until his untimely passing in 2011, really speer-headed the Summer School with tremendous energy and enthusiasm. Having been born in the house across the road from me in Dingle, and captain of the Sráid Eoin Wren for decades, Muiris was really my first connection to Willie Clancy and the summer school. We are indebted to him for the opportunities he and the Summer School have given me, and my sister Deirdre, over the years and, indeed the friendships we have made. My Own Place, Paddy Glackin's 1983 documentary about Willie Clancy Summer School co-founder Muiris Ó Róchain Like many other traditional musicians, the Scoil Samhraidh has played a huge part in my musical journey. When I first went there as a student in my early teens, we were dropped off on a Sunday evening and collected the following Sunday and Muiris made sure to keep an eye on us through the week. We learned that having the fry in the morning meant we really had a good run at the day and did not need more food until heading to the Dolphin chipper that evening. Yes, every evening! Inbetween classes and recitals, we got to know where to look for sessions to listen to, with guidance from Muiris. Running down to the back of the Blonde's to try and get a listen to the session in the kitchen was and is always on the list. The family's own kitchen is opened for the week for musicians. I have a vivid memory of seeing my now great friend, Lorraine O'Brien, being put sitting on the sink as a child in the kitchen so she could join in a session alongside the musicians there. Every space is utilised during Willie Clancy week. From RTÉ Radio 1's Rolling Wave, preview of this year's Willie Clancy Summer School I've tutored flute now at the Summer School for many years and really relish it. I feel greatly privileged to be a part of the teaching team there, alongside some of my favourite people and players. I cannot wait to get back and meet some of the wonderful locals whom I have got to know over the years. They include Pauline Fitzgerald, who gives over her sitting room for our classes and always has a great welcome; the McCarthy sisters who are always so full of glamour, craic and music; the brilliant Bríd and the O'Brien family who keep the party going always and Teresa and all the wonderful volunteers. Then there are the stalwarts of the School and, indeed the tradition, people like Mick O'Connor, Dublin flute player and guru for many of us musicians; piper Peter Browne as well as Cork's fiddler composer Connie O'Connell and family and the Kelly family and McKeowns from Dublin. All are so generous with their music and friendship - it really is a wonderful community. My favourite spot, which will come as no surprise to anyone that knows me, is the fantastic Friel's pub. I cannot wait to park my car on Saturday evening and be greeted by Mickey at the front door. The pub, run now by Mickey's son Johnny, houses five to six sessions constantly through the week. When we are lucky enough to get a space to sit down and play there, Johnny supplies us with quarter sandwiches to keep us going. Sitting with the likes of Tara and Dermie Diamond, Harry Bradley, the McGrattans and Lorraine and Deirdre. There is no place else I would rather be than in the sweet Miltown Malbay where the music runs so free.
