www.tg4.tv and www.FleadhCheoil.ie

Fleadh Live will see the world’s best traditional Irish musicians perform in a series of shows broadcast live and direct from the Fleadh Cheoil in Derry from Wednesday, August 14th – Sunday 18th, daily on TG4, www.tg4.tv and FleadhCheoil.ie

Fleadh Live will include performances from some of the biggest names on the international world/folk music scene, interspersed with impromptu music lifted off the street by visiting musicians and winners of Fleadh competitions.
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September 12th–15th, 2013

www.dingletradfest.com

Dingle Tradfest kicks–off on September 12th and will run until September 15th. Marking its third year, the festival will host a series of concerts, a themed session trail and outdoor events, including Tom Crean’s Expedition and session on Cnoc a’ Cairn.

Dingle Tradfest promotes Irish traditional music in an innovative way, emphasising especially the creativity of young traditional musicians on the scene today. Up and coming super groups Moxie Music, The Full Set and The Low Tone Trio will perform at various venues throughout the weekend. The Annual Trad Disco with uber–cool DJ, Conor Crimmins will take place at Club HTWO on Saturday night. The festival will also host a Tribute to renowned songwriter and songster, Tony Small which will be curated and presented by Pauline Scanlon.

Dingle Tradfest will certainly be the place to be in September with a host of concerts, free session trail and lots lots more. More guests to be announced shortly. Bígí Linn!!

All enquiries to: Deirdre Granville at Email: dingletradfest@gmail.com or visit the website www.dingletradfest.com

September 13th–15th, 2013

www.gerrywhelanweekend.com

Cootehill, County Cavan is again looking forward to an event– packed weekend of traditional music, song and dance as the 9th Annual Gerry Whelan Memorial Weekend fast approaches. The popular annual festival, which will see local musicians and some of the top names in the music and singing tradition taking part in events to pay tribute to the late Gerry Whelan, who was actively involved with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann since the organisation was founded in 1951.
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September 26th – 29th, 2013

www.johnnydohertyfestival.com or www.ardara.ie

Celebrating its 5th Anniversary, this festival is going from strength– to–strength. It all kicks–off this year on Thursday, September 26th with the unveiling, at the Diamond, Main Street, Ardara, of a sculpture dedicated to the fiddle legend Johnny Doherty. This stunning sculpture was commissioned by the Ardara Comhaltas branch and was sculpted by Redmond Herrity.

Already confirmed for the weekend are the ever popular Irish/ American group Cherish The Ladies who make a welcome return to the festival. Also appearing will be the very talented Friel Sisters from Glasgow and award winning group at Celtic Connections, Gria. The Campbell Family, Denise Boyle, Martin McGinley, Derek McGinley, Tara Connaghan, Aidan O’Donnell, Jim Byrne, Fiona Heywood and Donna Harkin are just some of the musicians who will feature throughout the weekend.
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October 2nd–6th, 2013

Oulu, Finland

www.irkku.fi

The 8th annual Irish Festival of Oulu takes place from October 2th– 6th, 2013 in Oulu, Finland. This 5–day event in the very North of Europe showcases the best of Irish culture in signature style, attracting audiences from near and far.

Described by fans as “versatile, full of craic, welcoming, and intimate”, the 2013 festival has a world–class programme showcasing all artforms, including storytelling for grown–ups and children with Eamonn Keenan, music workshops with top tutors and dance classes for everyone from beginner to advanced competition level.

Irish Film Week is a mini–film festival within the festival, boasting a programme packed with award–winning films including Men at Lunch (Lón Sa Spéir) with director Seán Ó Cualáin attending a live Q&A session. Theatre is a hugely popular part of the festival programme, this year featuring Joyced!, written by Donal O’Kelly and performed by daughter Katie O’Kelly, taking us on a tour of Joycean Dublin in 1904. Irish poet John Montague adds his name to the impressive line of eminent Irish poets who have read their poetry at the festival. In visual arts, the festival hosts the world premiere of The Light of Other Days, an exhibition by Jim Maginn, displaying a photographic archive of traditional Irish musicians from 1985–2012. Complementing the concert programme, multiple daily sessions make for a long weekend full of opportunities for musicians to meet and enjoy the best of the Irish music tradition.
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Patrick O’Keeffe Remembered 50 years on

October 25th–28th, 2013

www.patrickokeeffe.net

This year’s, Castleisland, Co. Kerry based Patrick O’Keeffe Traditional Music Festival will come of age and celebrate its annual outing and 21st birthday in one. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the death of the man it honours. There was a special gathering at Kilmurry Cemetery on Friday evening, February 22nd last and in several warmer places in Castleisland afterwards.

Historically special in that it was the 50th anniversary of the death of Patrick O’Keeffe and the 30 or so hardy souls who gathered there braved a biting, easterly breeze. The event was attended by the oldest surviving pupil of the great man, Paddy Cronin and probably the youngest, Paddy Jones. Both spoke about the man they remember – the man most of the rest of us there only heard of and read about. While Paddy Cronin rightly observed that the late Patrick O’Keeffe wouldn’t delay the drops of whiskey, which Cormac O’Mahony filled for the attendance on the evening, the same could be said for those at his graveside as the bitter cold sunk in. Paddy Jones remembered his fiddle teacher as ‘A grand old gentleman’ and a man who made a huge contribution to the music of Sliabh Luachra.

Paddy’s observations on his teacher can be backed by a paragraph from the late Con Houlihan’s ‘Tributaries’ column in the Evening Press from Wednesday, October 20th, 1993: “Of course Patrick liked a drink but I never saw him the worse for it; he was never less than a gentleman; among his many attributes was an intense dislike of bad language.” “He passed away on a Friday afternoon; I got onto Andreas O’ Gallchoir in RTE; his passing was on the six o’clock news.There was a huge attendance at the removal on Saturday evening; the funeral next day was even bigger; admirers came from all parts of Munster and beyond.”
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November 7th – 10th, 2013

www.irishfestival.dk

Copenhagen Irish Festival is a yearly treat for Irish music enthusiasts, presenting the legends, the hip and the up–and–coming bands and all during one weekend in November.  Over the years Copenhagen Irish Festival has helped launch many Irish bands start an international career.

Bands such as Altan, Dervish, Danú, Gráda and Caladh Nua all had some of their first concerts abroad at the festival.  Also the well–established play a prominent part of the festival program, like last year Sharon Shannon and Paul Brady. This year the festival marks its 35th anniversary. There will be concerts from Thursday through Saturday as well as the popular jam sessions and the ever growing Sunday Céilí.
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September 10th–18th, 2013
www.musicnetwork.ie
Featuring: Liam O’Connor, fiddle, viola, Caoimhín Ó Fearghail, uilleann pipes, flute, guitar, vocals, Noel Hill, concertina.

“Breathtaking… a young musician who is essentially standing on the shoulders of giants, but who has worked his way through these influences and created something of his own.” Dermot McLaughlin, Journal of Music in Ireland, on Liam O’Connor.

“Here we have a stylist who has taken his instrument to new heights… Noel shapes each tune as a finely sculpted piece of intricate musical art, delicacy and beauty.” P.J. Curtis on Noel Hill.
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The Online Academy of Irish Music
www.oaim.ie

OAIM proudly presents its very first harp tutorials taught by Harpist Lisa Canny. This course is titled Intermediate Harp Technique, and in it Lisa teaches twelve tunes specifically chosen to help improve and master different techniques on the harp. She examines and demonstrates fundamental techniques such as hand position, through to more complex ones such as ornamentation and variation.  Jigs, Reels, Waltz, Slip Jigs, Barndances, Flings, Polkas and an Air are all included, covering a wide spectrum of tune types that are appropriate to learning various techniques on the instrument. By the end of the course the student can expect to have a broader repertoire of tunes that sit particularly well on the harp, and improved technique that will ultimately help in playing with greater speed,  stronger tone and clearer ornamentation.

Join OAIM’s global community of Irish musicians, log on to www.oaim.ie  and sign up today!

www.IrishTradFiddle.com/ www.thefiddlecenter.com

Learn to Play Irish Trad Fiddle by Tom Morley offers students of all ages a fun, new approach to learning 50 classic tunes in the Irish Trad repertoire combined with concepts, proper bowings and fingerings, and tips to help improve playing technique in any style. As Martin Hayes noted, fiddlers should go to the core of the music, and this book does that, focusing on learning the beauty of the melody and knowing the tune before trying to add the ornamentation.
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