Dan Worrall Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 (edited) Just a head's up. Oidhreacht an Chláir, a community-based cultural group in County Clare, is hosting a Concertina Cruinniú - a three day concertina gathering - in early February. There is a posting about it on their website, here: http://update.oac.ie/concertinacruinniu The idea is a celebration of the concertina in Clare, perhaps beginning an annual event. There will be a grand mix of things, including appearances by old Clare masters, Noel Hill will host an afternoon, there will be a showcase of younger Clare concertina talent, a concert, a repair session by Stephen Chambers - and yours truly will give a little talk on the social history of the Irish concertina. Sounds like a great celebration of our favorite instrument! Thought many of you would appreciate an early warning; I'm sure there will be a formal announcement at some stage with more details. For now, check out the Oidhreacht an Chláir website. Cheers, Dan Edited September 28, 2012 by Dan Worrall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce McCaskey Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 I like the notion of an annual event, looks to be an interesting and engaging time with the experts and masters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrence Reeves Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Amazing, and might be on my calendar. The fact that it is a very focused event impresses me. A void in concertina centric festivals since the demise of the Mrs. Crotty Weekend might be filled. I am truly inspired that older players from the region will be involved. I am guessing Gerald Haugh to be one of the crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelly0312 Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 What a good excuse for an Irish tour. If I promised not to speak--do you think they would let me sit in the back of the room with my EC?? shelly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Wooff Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 (edited) What a good excuse for an Irish tour. If I promised not to speak--do you think they would let me sit in the back of the room with my EC?? shelly Two points Shelly; firstly the Weather is almost 100% garanteed to be 'HORRIBLE'.. in February ... so perhaps not an ideal time of year for 'The Tour'. Secondly; I lived around Miltown Malbay for 16 years and played the EC and nobody was nasty to me about that... so don't worry on that score. Geoff. Edited September 29, 2012 by Geoff Wooff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael sam wild Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Thanks for the nod Dan and a good excuse to stay indoors playing without getting the bellows wet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Worrall Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 What a good excuse for an Irish tour. If I promised not to speak--do you think they would let me sit in the back of the room with my EC?? shelly Two points Shelly; firstly the Weather is almost 100% garanteed to be 'HORRIBLE'.. in February ... so perhaps not an ideal time of year for 'The Tour'. Secondly; I lived around Miltown Malbay for 16 years and played the EC and nobody was nasty to me about that... so don't worry on that score. Geoff. Maybe its just me, but Irish music seems better played near a fireplace in a room when it is dark outside, with howling winds and horizontal rain. Preferably a turf fire, but coal will do in a pinch. And of course, there are many fewer hordes of tourists in the towns. Also, from experience from several winter visits to my wife's family there over the years, February weather can actually be ok! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael sam wild Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Once upon a time I'd have added a bottle of the amber liquid but will settle for a pot of tay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Once upon a time I'd have added a bottle of the amber liquid but will settle for a pot of tay! A bit of the amber can add some nice color and flavor to the tay, as well as add to the ambience. (I wonder, do those two words share a common root? ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 What a good excuse for an Irish tour. ...the Weather is almost 100% garanteed to be 'HORRIBLE'.. in February ... so perhaps not an ideal time of year for 'The Tour'. Everything is relative. Compared to minus forty degrees (the same in both Fahrenheit and Centigrade) with more than a meter of snow in west-central Sweden, it's likely to seem absolutely balmy. (And I'm quite aware of the double meaning. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Laban Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 I would guess Geoff was more referring to the wind, the lack of light, the horizontal rain and hail. Possibly you need to sit out a few winters here to fully grasp it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Wooff Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 (edited) What a good excuse for an Irish tour. ...the Weather is almost 100% garanteed to be 'HORRIBLE'.. in February ... so perhaps not an ideal time of year for 'The Tour'. Everything is relative. Compared to minus forty degrees (the same in both Fahrenheit and Centigrade) with more than a meter of snow in west-central Sweden, it's likely to seem absolutely balmy. (And I'm quite aware of the double meaning. ) Perhaps it is because I can choose where I live, up to a point, that I have moved away from the west coast of County Clare. I like quiet places and reasonable weather, having lived in London and various parts of Australia I now reside in one of the quietest regions of France. I don't suppose I would choose to visit Sweden in February either. Edited October 1, 2012 by Geoff Wooff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Worrall Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 I would guess Geoff was more referring to the wind, the lack of light, the horizontal rain and hail. Possibly you need to sit out a few winters here to fully grasp it. Peter, I understand. You'd have to wonder about our long, very hot and humid summers here in Texas to understand that some folks like to (occasionally) experience cold and extreme weather. We were married many years ago in Dundalk in the early Spring, and the night before the wedding, there was darkness, heavy gale winds, and horizontal rain that stung the skin (and made it hard to shut the door). My horrified future sister in law (from that town) took charge, and buried a statue of the Infant of Prague, upside down in the garden. Problem solved - next day, the sun shone in a calm sky on the big day! My wife's father was a fifth generation lighthouse keeper, and he knew some great old stories of extreme weather on the lights off the west coast of Donegal, Mayo, Kerry and the like. Imagine weather so bad that waves crested over the top of the lighthouse (I think it was Tory Island), snuffing out the light! Yikes, that weather will build character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Laban Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 It's probably hard to explain Dan. The big winds and the huge waves, they're exciting. Nothing like going out to the ocean, watch and soak up the salt and feel you're alive. It's the slow creeping dampness, cold and darkness, the always present wind, that will eventually turn people drink or anti-depressants. When visiting Geoff in France at the end of May I realised the full extend of it. We were taking a walk through the fields on our second night there, it was pleasantly warm and my body went into a state of relaxed being I realised it hasn't reached ever in Clare. A weight off my shoulders, literally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Worrall Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 It's probably hard to explain Dan. The big winds and the huge waves, they're exciting. Nothing like going out to the ocean, watch and soak up the salt and feel you're alive. It's the slow creeping dampness, cold and darkness, the always present wind, that will eventually turn people drink or anti-depressants. When visiting Geoff in France at the end of May I realised the full extend of it. We were taking a walk through the fields on our second night there, it was pleasantly warm and my body went into a state of relaxed being I realised it hasn't reached ever in Clare. A weight off my shoulders, literally. Good point, Peter. Back in the 90s we lived four years in a coastal part of the Netherlands, below sea level, with incessant fog and damp... not a lifetime of it, but a good sample. Hard to imagine how it must have been in the old days in those old stone cabins in the west of Ireland, before anyone learned how to protect the foundations from damp, and before central heating or even decent metal fireplaces. My grandmother in Inagh grew up in one of those two room cabins along with eight siblings back in the 1880s. It must have been incredible. The new bungalows in the west may not look as charming, but they certainly are more comfortable! Of course, here in the Great Plains areas, the old settlers lived in sod houses (a.k.a. dirt walls) without glass windows, and many women, stuck at home, slowly went mad with the constant wind. But you haven't talked me out of visiting. A warm fire, good conversation and some great music wins, at least for a visitor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Laban Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 Visiting is fine, it takes a few years before serotonin levels get low enough to really feel the effects. After another non-summer I dread going into winter again. Coastal parts of the Netherlands don't even begin to compare, believe me. It's not all bad though, a good day, few as they come, is always a great boost. Last year's Oidreacht an Cháir concertina classes took place the first weekend of February and while it was cold, dark and windy they were a welcome break from all things wintry. Looking forward to the coming goings on. First we'll have International Uilleann Pipes Day to deal with though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felix castro Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Visiting is fine, it takes a few years before serotonin levels get low enough to really feel the effects. After another non-summer I dread going into winter again. Coastal parts of the Netherlands don't even begin to compare, believe me. It's not all bad though, a good day, few as they come, is always a great boost. Last year's Oidreacht an Cháir concertina classes took place the first weekend of February and while it was cold, dark and windy they were a welcome break from all things wintry. Looking forward to the coming goings on. First we'll have International Uilleann Pipes Day to deal with though. I have never went to a concertina meeting, although I have played it for 13 years now, as I am very far from the concertina scene, it is a pity!. Perhaps one day. I haven't find really any concertinist in person by now for sharing since I began playing the concertina. I was twice in Ireland, on august and september of 1993 and 1994, but I didn't realize that I would be playing the concertina some years after, I heard to some concertinists in County Clare but I didn't even imagine that, I was then focused in the uilleann pipes, as I know that Peter and Geoff also play. I played the galician bagpipes and for me playing the uilleann pipes was the "natural" step. Years later when I wanted to play a free red instrument and focuse myself more in the galician music it was when I bought my first concertina. I know of the wonderful photographs by Peter and the wonderful pipes made by Geoff. I have a half set made by Eugene Lambe but it is a pity that I almost don't play it now only from time to time, and my brother usually plays with flutes made by Hammy Hamilton. We have nice friends there. I am focused more now in galician music played in the concertina, but I enjoy playing, and more hearing, irish music some times. I live in a rainy country, although it used to rain much more years ago when we were for months dailly with the umbrella, but surely I know what you mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Laban Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 The concertina meeting should be nice, never mind the weather (the past few weeks have been pretty decent). Arás Oidreacht an Chláir hosted a local event for International Uilleann Pipes Day on saturday which was pleasant. streaming live music through Na Piobairi Uilleann tv and all. I didn't see many concertina players in though. Lisdoonvarna has the Micilín Conlon weekend next week, in case anyone is in the area. He definitely WAS a concertina player of note. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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