Achill Island, County Mayo

July 25th – August 1st 2015 www.scoilacla.com

Now in its 30th year – the annual Scoil Acla summer school takes place on Achill Island, Co. Mayo.

Scoil Acla is Ireland’s oldest summer school, originally founded in 1910 and re–launched in 1985.

Scoil Acla follows the usual format of daily music classes which run from Monday to Saturday on the following instruments, accordion, banjo, flute, concertina, fiddle, harp, tin whistle, uilleann pipes and bodhrán with beginners, intermediate and advanced students being catered for on all instruments. Other workshops available are in Art, creative writing, basket weaving, dancing and a course on Gaeilg’ Acla, the Achill dialect of Irish. Throughout the week we have recitals, poetry readings, creative writing readings, indoor and outdoor concerts, sessions, walks, talks, exhibitions and much more.

Scoil Acla invites a musician in residence each year to attend the summer school. Previous musicians in residence include John E Lavelle, Joe Burke and Ann Conroy Burke, Liam O’Connor, John Carty, Mary Bergin, Laoise Kelly, Catherine McEvoy, Michael O’Raghallaigh, Mick O’Brien, Treasa Ní Cheannabhain, Brenndán Ó Beaglaoich, Eileen O’Brien and Kieran Hanrahan, many of whom have joined us as tutors. Why not join them on Ireland’s largest island for a summer school of music, culture, history agus gaeilge. Is iad ár dTeanga is ár gceol ár nDúchas.

‘Ó nach breá a bheith ag siúl na trá, is ag fánaíocht faoin spéir,

Faoi dhraíocht ag cur na mara ann, is a cheol i ndeireadh lae,

In Acaill aoibhinn álainn glas is binne glór na n-éan, Ó gabh i leith, tabhair cuairt gan teip, ar a muintir Ghaelach shéimh’ (Brian Ó Baoill 2010)

Keep a close eye on events at the website www.scoilacla.com  our Twitter or Facebook profiles or Email: info@scoilacla.com