No getting away from music in Castleisland
There was no getting away from music in Castleisland last weekend.
We evoked memories of those passed and celebrated the moment with glasses filled to the brim at the launch of the 26th annual Patrick O’Keeffe Traditional Music Festival.
On my way down town on Friday night a full moon, with a small sup out of it, declared itself from behind an ominous looking cloud. But, God is good and the night held its cool, breezy composure and ran itself well into Saturday that way.
We had a lovely launch and Minister for Sport and Tourism Brendan Griffin was introduced by festival chairman Cormac O’Mahony. And Danny Healy Rae, TD dropped in to express his support for the event.
Minister Griffin reassured us that we are on the right path as far as the policy of his department and his portfolio are concerned.
Preserving what’s under your feet and presenting it to visitors as a sustainable and viable tourism attraction is a most suitable vehicle for funding from his point of view.
Minister Griffin, who was accompanied by his party colleague, Cllr. Bobby O’Connell, also pointed out that it is a sign of the strength of community that mass on the Sunday morning is celebrated for passed festival committee members and supporters.
In conclusion, he encouraged the committee to mind its own area, keep doing what it’s doing and he promised that he’d look at how the festival could benefit from grants under various headings.
And, like you’d write away for it, right under our gazes, visitors from up-state New York, from throughout the UK and Japan mixed with musicians from all over Ireland as the event gathered momentum.
Incidentally, the New Yorkers, Beverly Kosak and Dan Simmons were here on the recommendation of Killarney Road native, Joe Keane. The diaspora working well in a good cause.
Cormac then introduced Eoin Stan O’Sullivan the just appointed Cork/Kerry/Limerick County Council Musician in Residence.Eoin had already lashed into a session while he was waiting and was aided and abetted in this by PJ Teahan, Kathy Cook, Forbes Robertson, Paddy Jones and Mick Culloty.
Eoin outlined what his role entails and spoke of the vibrancy of the area in his watch over the next twelve months.
We lifted glasses in varying degrees of volume and, invoking our first chairman, Mike Kenny’s ‘All Sails Aloft’ – his favourite saying when things were purring – we left the 2018 festival off down the slipway.
And it sailed merrily on over the weekend and all of us on board and the meeting and sitting down and sipping with old friends from all over the world is the making of it.
On Sunday night at the concert at the River Island Hotel, Timmy O’Connor from Newmarket was joined by his neighbours, Raymond O’Sullivan and his son, Eoin Stan and their mutual friend Jackie Daly for a few lively tunes.
As Jackie put it, a bit of music to bring people to their senses. Timmy was presented with the festival award for his dedication to the music of Sliabh Luachra.
Master of ceremonies, Tim Dennehy then called Peter Browne back to the stage with festival chairman, Cormac O’Mahony for a presentation to mark his retirement from RTÉ and also for his enormous contribution to the festival he founded in 1993.
A delegation of a dozen or more Japanese musicians joined us this year with visitors from all across the UK, America and Holland.
An interesting event came to light in the course of the weekend when Katie and John Howson from Suffolk in the UK revealed that they are planning a celebration of the life and music of Julia Clifford over there in April.
The ‘I Looked East and I Looked West’ event will be held in Stowmarket from April 26th to 28th and there seemed to be quite a bit of interest from locals in travelling to attend it.
A woman came into Kearney’s on Sunday and said that briquettes were only €4 a bale below at Aldi and she was going down to fill the boot of her car with them – ‘don’t they be all gone on me’ she added. And then we started talking about John Sheahan and The Dubliners and The Marino Waltz.
There was no getting away from music in Castleisland last weekend.