August 16th – 22nd, 2010
www.fleadh2010.ie

A Simple Entertainments guide to The FleadhEvents, Gigs - Ceoil agus Craic

Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2010 gets underway in Cavan on August 16th
with Scoil Éigse workshops for adults and children. The serious end
of the Fleadh is at the weekend with hundreds of competitions in
Irish culture for all ages concluding with The All-Ireland Céilí Band
‘play off’ in the Quinn Direct Dome on Sunday night. The week will be
filled with events and classes ‘as Gaeilge’.
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October 21st – 25th, 2010
www.scoilsheamuisennis.com

‘The Return to Fingal’ is celebrating its fifteenth year this
October. Established in 1994 by Scoil Sheamuis Ennis, the festival
was the brainchild of two local traditional musicians Ger Griffin and
Sean MacPhilibin. The festival is based in the rural hinterland of
Fingal (the traditional name for North County Dublin) taking in the
villages of Naul, Ballyboughal and Oldtown. The programming mix has
always tried to strike a balance between formal recitals and concerts
and a lively informal session scene. Many of the great names in
traditional music have played the festival down the years, including:
Liam O’Flynn, Billy McComiskey, Martin Hayes, Noel Hill, John Carty
to name but a few. This years festival will be slightly smaller than
previous years reflecting the restrictions in local authority and
Arts Council funding, but will have all the ingredients of previous
years; ceilithe sessions, workshops, concerts and recitals.

Full information will be available on the Scoil Sheamuis Ennis
website www.scoilsheamuisennis.com

September 23rd – 26th, 2010
www.johnnykeenan.com

The year 2010 marks 10 years since the untimely death of Irish multi-
instrumentalist, Johnny Keenan. It also marks the 9th year of the
Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival in Longford.
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September 10th – 12th, 2010
www.tullatradfestival.com

The 4th Annual Tulla Traditional Music Fesitval will take place from
September 10th – 12th, 2010. Special guest is Seamus Tansey, who is
one of the most colourful musicians in the traditional Irish music
scene today, a native of Sligo he is a wonderful flute player who has
influenced a whole generation of musicians. Seamus can be enjoyed in
concert at the Festival Concert in the Courthouse on Saturday 11th at
8.30pm, seating is limited in this venue, so early booking is
strongly recommended. Seamus will also tutor at the Flute workshop.
This is a wonderful opportunity for young flute players to avail of a
music workshop with such a master of the art.
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www.oldblinddogs.co.uk www.compassrecords.com

Where Ever Ye May Be is the title of the new Old Blind Dogs album which is due for release in September. The album will be released on Compass Records and will feature the band’s piper Ali Hutton for the first time on disc. Recorded at Gran’s House Studio in Lamington, Scotland, the album includes six new songs, a mixture of traditional and contemporary and penned by the likes of Davy Steele and Andy M. Stewart.
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www.tunepal.org/tunepal/index.php

If you have an iPhone and are in a session there’s new Irish App to help you “name that tune”. It’s called Tunepal, and the inventor claims it can identify as many as 13,000 traditional tunes. DIT lecturer, Dr. Bryan Duggan has devised this bit of software to detect the name of a tune played on a variety of instruments, so is ideal to find a tune name in the middle of a busy session. For only ?4.99 you can download Tunepal from the iTunes App Store.
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www.musicnetwork.ie

Music Network presents Jackie Daly (accordion), Matt Cranitch (fiddle) and John Faulkner (guitar, bouzouki, songs).
Describing what’s on offer, Music Network CEO, Deirdre McCrea explains, “Our Autumn Season 2010 is very much a celebration of home-grown talent, with a sprinkling of overseas stars thrown in for good measure! We kick off the new season with a spell-binding session that delves into the musical trove of the Sliabh Luachra region, with squeezebox maestro Jackie Daly and famed fiddler Matt Cranitch joined by the much-lauded singer and composer John Faulkner.”
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The 12th Gathering Traditional Festival, Gleneagle Hotel,
Killarney, March 2nd – 6th, 2011
www.thegathering.ie

The 2011 Gathering Traditional Festival, which takes place at The Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney from March 2nd – 6th, 2011 will present a series of Showcase gigs where new and established Irish traditional music acts will be afforded the opportunity to perform in front of an audience of festival organisers and bookers from throughout Ireland and Europe.
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Bantry 10 - 15 August
www.westcorkmusic.ie

“Frankie Gavin’s fiddle playing is technically complex, unabashedly brilliant, and has a pronounced, driving swing which harks back to the sound of the 1920s.”
Philippe Varlet

West Cork Music can announce that one of the legends of the Irish traditional music world, fiddle player Frankie Gavin will be performing at the Masters of Tradition which takes place in Bantry from 10 - 15 August.
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www.fleadh2010.ie

Nyah Fringe shows, Friday 20th August, Town Hall Theatre Friday 4pm and late
show in Cavan Crystal Hotel 11pm

With Fleadh 2010 in Cavan already promising an unprecedented, action-packed
feast of hi-octane shows and innovative events, the news that Beoga - the
pop stars of trad music - are coming to town has to be the icing on the
cake, for younger audiences especially.
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