Dan Worrall Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 Here is an article in the Clare Champion about Chris Droney's Gradam Cheoil Lifetime Achievement Award, to be given to him on Saturday April 12 (the same weekend that he officially opens the concertina weekend in Ennis). http://www.clarechampion.ie/chris-scores-a-gradam-award/ A well-deserved honor for the Dean of Irish concertina players. His brilliant style of playing - rich in rhythm and octaves, and lean on ornaments - was passed down from his grandfather and father, and honed in innumerable dances at which the Droneys played from the 1850s to the present. It was a pleasure to host his daughter Ann at our Palestine workshop last week, and to see that his style of playing is in very good shape for the future, with Ann (and reportedly her brother Francis) playing a lot like him. A great family. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Laban Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 (edited) Chris Droney is getting the Gradam Saoil (I know, it's only a matter of nuance) I made a similar post in a previous thread, linking to yet another Clare Champion article. Was going to post a pic of three generations of Droney playing (Chris, Ann, Francis and children) but can't find it straight away. Never mind. Edited April 8, 2014 by Peter Laban Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Chambers Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 A richly deserved award for a truly traditional player! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Laban Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 (edited) Surely deserved. Chris is no stranger to tributes and awards and doesn't give the impression he takes them too seriously. and I found the photo with three generations of Droneys: Edited April 8, 2014 by Peter Laban Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Worrall Posted April 8, 2014 Author Share Posted April 8, 2014 (edited) Chris Droney is getting the Gradam Saoil (I know, it's only a matter of nuance) Peter, Perhaps too nuanced for the Clare Champion article that I referenced: "An independent panel of adjudicators selects the recipients of the TG4 Gradam Ceoil each year." Gradam Saoil means lifetime achievement award, which is of course what he is getting....but it is given at the (by the?) Gradam Ceoil (Music Awards), according to that Champion article, which is what I meant when I mentioned his "Gradam Cheoil Lifetime Achievement Award". BTW, I stuck an unneeded h in there (Cheoil) which I think might be ok as an alternate spelling of Ceoil....but then my Irish is completely nonexistent! When you mentioned the photo of three generations of Droneys, I thought you meant the one included here, which is a generation older! http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/music/heartland_clare_concertina/dialects_players.htm Cheers, Dan Edited April 8, 2014 by Dan Worrall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Laban Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 (edited) Well, I did say it was only a matter of nuance I updated to the present three generations. Edited April 8, 2014 by Peter Laban Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Chambers Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 Surely deserved. Chris is no stranger to tributes and awards and doesn't give the impression he takes them too seriously. He may well find such things embarassing, as many of the older musicians do, but it's good for the tradition to give him status in the eyes of younger musicians, who might have listened only to some of the higher-profile players who haven't been around as long, or played for dancing so much... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Worrall Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share Posted April 14, 2014 Here is a nice pair of videos of Chris talking about his life, and playing the first tunes he learned. http://clarelibrary.blogspot.com/2014/03/chris-droney-gradam-saoil-2014-tg4.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_mchale Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Surely deserved. Chris is no stranger to tributes and awards and doesn't give the impression he takes them too seriously. Which helps prove that he deserves the awards and it is good to see him receive the recognition while he is around to enjoy it. -- Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Laban Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 He was being interviewed on ClareFM last week. He was doing his usual set pieces about the first tunes he learned from his father in 1932, The Clare Dragoons etc. The interviewr asked him if it wasn't very difficult to learn the concertina. Ah, says Chris, once you know where the notes are and you play for a while it's not too bad, it gets easier as you play longer. And then he clinched it with 'I have been playing them for 82 years now'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Worrall Posted April 27, 2014 Author Share Posted April 27, 2014 Here is a link to a video podcast of the Award ceremony. Chris comes on at about 18:10 to 29:20, and at the very end. There is a lot of excellent music elsewhere on this program as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceemonster Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 omigosh, this irreplaceable gentleman not only plays, he gets up and takes a turn with a partner, and really cuts a rug. seeing this is a great way to start the week... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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