Musical skins gather for festival weekend

LAST weekend a collection of drummers gathered in Dingle for the Cuisle Chorca Dhuibhne festival.

A common feature of civilisations across the world, animal skin drums have been used to beat out rhythms, from warning alerts to communal celebrations since history began.

At workshops and performances during the festival, drummers of all levels honed their skills and danced until late.

World-class exponent of the Djembe, a rope-tuned goblet-shape drum, Louis César Ewande shared the stage with one of Ireland’s most innovative bodhrán players, Ronán Ó Snodaigh.

Added to the drumming, a poignant performance of the dance “It takes a Village” – an exploration of the challenges faced by people living in Direct Provision Centres – brought some of the audience to tears.

Meanwhile, the merits of the sound produced by the different animal skins were discussed by drumming groups from Cork and Roscommon, with César expressing a preference for goat skin drums.

Speaking with The Kerryman, festival co-organiser Bernard Ó Brádiagh said, “The percussion community in Ireland is not large, but it is growing.

“With Cuisle Chorca Dhuibhne we aim to strengthen and develop the contacts that we have made. We are very grateful for the continuous support of Kerry County Council and the support we received this year from the Leader Programme,” he said.

Photo by Declan Malone Belly dancer Kate O’Shea from Timoleague adding a little eastern – and West Cork – charm to the Underscore Orkestra’s gig in Nellie Fred’s pub on Friday night as part of Cuisle Chorca Dhuibhne.