Dún Laoghaire Poetry Fringe

[Cogsey]

Good afternoon

 

Just to let you know that The Nine PM Project (which is essentially Aifric Boylan on fiddle and myself on Concertina (Dipper C/G))will be playing as part of the Poetry Fringe at the Mountains to Sea Festival in Dun Laoghaire Co.Dublin on Wednesday 5th at 9pm.

 

The event is taking place in the Maritime Museum (the old Mariners Church)so it should be acoustically very enjoyable. It's a mix of quality poets and music from us and Northlight with no doubt a few maritime themed pieces thrown in.

 

Aifric and I will play English and Irish Folk music as well as some contemporary folk compositions of our own and the likes of the great John Dipper (Oh that he could join us!).

 

Tickets are €5 on the door so if you're in the vicinity and or know interested friends who are, please pass this on.

 

I will try and video it and get a few clips on to Youtube (in the coming weeks).

 

Ciarán O'Grady

[Cogsey]

Me again

 

The evening in Dún Laoghaire went really well (we could do with a little more practice but two full time jobs and a family mean we rarely play before the late evening - hence the 9pm project!). I set up a small DVD camera and managed to record some (unfortunately not all) of the music. The venue was an old mariners church and the acoustics were splendid. We played on the steps of the altar and the altar itself is now home to a huge lighthouse optic from Howth Lighthouse -capable of generating 2,000,000 candlelight. Thankfully it wasn't on full power but it was revolving during the performance and gave a magical atmosphere to the maritime-themed pieces. We hope to play there again some day soon. It's a lovely little museum if any of you visit that part of County Dublin.

 

Now - to business: I would be grateful for any advise on the follwing:

1. How do I transfer the mini-DVD recording to a format that can be uploaded to You-tube?

2. what tool/programme is easy to use to edit it down to 2-3 minute chunks before I upload it?

3. Bear in mind we have a rubbish acer laptop

 

One of the organisers ,Yvonne Cullen, recorded half a piece on her Iphone, a bit of an air played by Aifric and accompanied by me. The air is Amhrán na Leabhar (compsed by Thomas Rua O'Súilleabháin). I understand he was transporting his priceless collection of boks in the 17th century and they sank enroute to their destination. Apparently he is now buried opposite the spot where they sank. Because the we were lit from the back, the visual quality isn't great but you should get the atmosphere of the Lighthouse optic. Hopefully this link will work:

 

 

With help, I'll try and upload some of the dvd recording.

 

Best regards

 

Ciarán