Wolfe Tones in Australia in January
Sham Rock n Roll and the Irish Echo presents The Wolfe Tones in concert in Australia in January.
If there is one concert you can’t afford to miss in 2010, this is it ... so shout yourself to a special Christmas present and order a ticket today! This will be the last ever Australian tour by the world’s most popular Irish folk band - better known as the musical arm of the republican movement. This video clip, recorded in Belfast just a year ago, will give you an idea of what you are in for on this final Australian tour:
The 2010 Wolfe Tones Australian tour includes:
Saturday January 16 - SYDNEY (HORDERN PAVILION)
Friday January 22 - MELBOURNE (FORUM THEATRE)
Saturday January 23 - BRISBANE (THE TIVOLI)
Friday January 29 - PERTH (BURSWOOD THEATRE)
(more dates to be advised)
The Wolfe Tones are Tommy Byrne (lead vocals, guitar and songwriter), Brian Warfield (vocals, five-string banjo, harp, whistles, uillean pipes), and Noel Nagle (whistles, uillean pipes). This trio grew up in the Dublin working class suburb of Inchicore, where the folk music seeds were sown both by their families and by their regular attendance at music sessions in their local traditional music club, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Eireann. They took their name from eighteenth-century Irish Nationalist patriot, Wolfe Tone, one of the leaders of the 1798 Irish Rebellion.
you can listen to the Wolfe Tones sing A Nation Once Again on the Blarney Podcast.
The Wolfe Tones have enjoyed unprecedented success and longevity in their career and are now celebrating 45 years together.
From the moment of their inception, the band forged their reputation for highly charged political folk singing. From their debut single, The Spanish Lady in 1964, they rapidly rose in the folk firmament, playing in the USA’s Carnegie Hall by 1976. In 1973 they had their first No 1 single in the Irish charts with The Helicopter Song, followed by The Streets Of New York in 1981 which stayed at the top of the Irish charts for seven weeks.
It’s hard to believe but in their native Ireland they have sold more records than fellow patriots U2.
Their performances are stuff of legend. Their ballads have brought a tear to the eye of appreciative audiences around the world from Albert Hall in London, to The Paris Olympia. In New York, Los Angeles, Kansas and Philadelphia they have been awarded with the key to the city and had a flag flown over the Capitol building in Washington DC in their honour.
The performances in Australia will run for 2 glorious hours and be accompanied by a stunning slide show. The history, the love songs, the laughter, the emigration and revolutions are all told in their songs. If you have any Irish in you at all or you just want to be informed and entertained, then this show is a must.
If you have not seen the Tones live in concert then this will be one of your last ever opportunities to witness one of the greatest live bands ever to come out of Ireland.
Tickets for all Australian shows are now on sale via www.ticketek.com.au
For more information: www.shamrocknroll.com.au www.wolfetonesofficialsite.com
Brian Kennedy on tour in Australia in February/March
Brian Kennedy, one of Ireland’s most loved and successful ambassadors of music, is returning to Australian shores for an extensive national tour in February and March 2010, including a highly anticipated return to the 2010 Port Fairy Folk Festival.
you can listen to Brian Kennedy sing The Curragh of Kildare from his CD Live in Belfast on the Blarney Podcast
Brian’s tour comes on the back of his 2008 album, Interpretations, and will no doubt follow the now established local tradition with Australian audiences embracing Brian’s previous shows over two highly successful tours.
Tickets are on sale now - go to: www.chuggentertainment.com
Brunswick Music Festival
Australia’s only inner city festival of folk, roots and world music is on again on March 11-21, and the Celts are out in force at the 2010 Brunswick Music Festival.
The 22nd Brunswick Festival presents a top class line up of Celtic, traditional and folk musicians. The international contingent includes, from Ireland - the extraordinary button accordion player Mairtin O’Connor with Cathal Hayden (fiddle and banjo, he of 4 Men and a Dog fame) and Seamie O’Dowd guitar and vocals; and Paddy Keenan, arguably the greatest uilleann piper performing today.
From Scotland, fabulous singers Eddi Reader, Dougie McLean and Scots Singer of the Year 2008/09 Emily Smith - with multi instrumentalist Jamie McClennan. From Canada, the return of Genticorum the extraordinary exponents of Quebecois musical culture.
These are well supported with a full line up of Australian celtic artists - Tony O’Neill Trio, Enda Kenny, Kate Burke & Ruth Hazleton, String Theory and Squeebz. Also appearing in their only Melbourne shows will be John McCutcheon (US), Vin Garbut (UK), Ted Egan & Jan Wositsky in a new show - songs and stories from “North of the Ten Commandments’, Archie Roach, The Pigram Brothers and many more!.
To find out all you need to know about the Brunswick Music Festival, to register for the festival e-newsletter and get early warning for online bookings ... go to the festival website: www.brunswickmusicfestival.com.au
The Brunswick Music Festival booking office opens Monday February 1 on 03 9388 1460, and the Sydney Road Street Party is on Sunday February 28.
Port Fairy Folk Festival - book now!
The Port Fairy Folk Festival, one of the world’s premier folk and roots music festivals, will again transform the beautiful coastal village of Port Fairy along Victoria’s shipwreck coast on March 5-8.
Port Fairy remains one of the great storytelling gatherings in contemporary culture.
The 2010 program is simply amazing, with over 100 national & 22 international acts:
INTERNATIONAL
Vin Garbutt, Genticorum, The Greencards, Nanci Griffith, Colin Hay, Eilen Jewell, Brian Kennedy, Ego Lemos, Dougie Maclean, Eleanor Mc Evoy, John Mc Cutcheon, Narasirato Pan Pipers, Mairtin O’Connor Band, Charlie Parr, Lulo Reinhardt Band, Kim Richey, The Saw Doctors, Chris Smither, Emily Smith & Jamie McClennan, Truckstop Honeymoon, Tenzin Choegyal & The Monks of Tibet, Uncle Earl, Josh White Jr, and the Whitetop Mountaineers
ACOUSTIC ROOTS
Kerrianne Cox, Festival Choir, Shane Howard, Jigzag, Jugularity, Enda Kenny Band, Ashleigh Mannix, Archie Roach, Totally Gourdgeous, Wheeze & Suck Band
ROOTS RHYTHM & ROCK
Bonjah, Brian Cadd, Kim Churchill, Jen Cloher & The Endless Sea, Alanna & Alicia Egan Band, Jaimi Faulkner, Hussy Hicks, The Sky Rockats, The Tealeaves, Kate Vigo & The Underground Orchestra
CELTIC ROOTS
Celtic Fire Featuring Angela Little, Claymore, The Craic, The Fooks, Damian Howard And The Ploughboys, The Message, Saoirse
BLUES, GOSPEL, JAZZ, CROSSROADS
Kelly Auty’s Wild Women, The Badloves, Blue Shaddy, Jim Conway’s Big Wheel, Flap!, Tom Richardson Project, Tank Dilemma, Rick E Vengeance
COUNTRY ROOTS
Troy Cassar-Daley, Dev’lish Mary, Ted Egan, Suzannah Espie And The Last Word, Jim Haynes, Sal Kimber & The Rollin’ Wheel, Louie & The Rustlers, The Pigs, Mick Thomas And The Sure Thing, Van Walker
WORLD ROOTS
Band Of Brothers, The Crooked Fiddle Band, Dereb Desalegn & Lion Of Judah, Ganga Giri, Rafa Godoy, I Viaggiatori, Kavisha Mazzella Trio, Mihirangi, Pigram Brothers, Vulgargrad, Zydeco Jump
On the Blarney Podcast you can listen to Brian Kennedy sing The Curragh of Kildare from his CD Live in Belfast, and Shane Howard sing Light of Day from his album Retrospect
This is one festival not to be missed ... there simply wouldn’t be another place on the planet with such an incredible line-up of musicians!
To find out more about the Port Fairy Folk Festival, to book your tickets, or to volunteer your services, go to the festival website: www.portfairyfolkfestival.com
2010 National Folk Festival
Easter is the “National” holiday, when the National Folk Festival invades Exhibition Park in Canberra from April 1-5.
The National draws together people from all around Australia and the world. They come to share in the songs, dances, tunes, and verse that have flowed through the ages from many communities into Australian folk culture. For five days Exhibition Park becomes a magic place, filled with colour and sound. Hundreds of the world’s best musicians perform daily, in a non-stop flow of entertainment across twenty two fabulous venues. Every day is packed with workshops and sessions, where you can join in the dancing, singing and playing and become part of the celebration. It’s all there for you! Once you’ve bought your ticket and come through the gates you won’t need to leave.
The Concert Program
Over 100 concerts are programmed, an while the line-up is not yet finalised, it will include Chris Smither (USA), Patty Larkin (USA), Vin Garbutt (UK), Apodimi Compania (Greece), Emily Smith & Jamie McClennan (Scot), plus TaikOz, Riley Lee and Jeff Peterson, Keith Potger, The Ballpoint Penguins, Kamerunga, and Sally Dastey, plus the Festival fringe - slightly different but very familiar, community choirs from across Australia, a rather tall Scotsman and his dog, The Stockcamp, The Kids Festival, Instrument Makers Pavilion, and Tradition Bearers.
The world famous Session Bar
The Session Bar at the National simply has to be seen to be believed ... extraordinary!
The Dance Program
There are dance classes all day, with everyone welcome to join in. Each night there are dances and balls with the finest dance bands in the country providing the music. Dance display groups from communities all over Australia come to the Festival to share with the rest of the country.
The Spoken Word
Yarns, storytelling and poetry - including the World Poetry Debate and the come-all-ye Poets’ Breakfasts, a daily heart-starter where all poets, the budding and the already bloomed - and you - can roll out their purple prose over morning coffee and croissants.
National Folk School
If you want extended classes with some of the best instrument and voice teachers, this is for you, for three days before the main festival.
For Kids
The family festival inside the main grounds is a purpose-made area for children’s performances and participation for children only, and professionally supervised child care is also available in the Childcare facility.
Admission
All this is for one Season ticket price, or Day and Evening tickets are available (food and drink is not included, of course). Camping is available with a Season ticket. Early Bird Ticketing operates on-line from December 1. Tickets are available only at the gate after early bird ticketing stops.
Volunteering
We have a large volunteer team committed to enjoying themselves through contributing their time in many areas. If you want to be part of an enthusiastic team who love what they’re doing and want to learn new skills please get in touch with us soon. Places fill up fast.
Tickets are on sale now - so for tickets, to volunteer your services, and to find out everything else you need to know about the 2010 National Folk Festival, go to the festival website now: www.folkfestival.asn.au
There will be a Rebel Songwriters Forum and Concert at the National Folk Festival - so songwriters wishing to participate in the forum should contact macca@blarneybulletin.com and I will keep you updated on details as they come to hand.
THE BLARNEY PERSPECTIVE - Back to the Future
Who would have believed it? Who would have believed the neoconservatives would stage a coup and remove the progressive liberals from control of the Liberal Party so soon after their extreme right-wing policies were so soundly rejected by the people of Australia?
But what would ordinary Australians know anyway?
Back in control are the ultra conservatives Wilson Tuckey, Bronwyn Bishop, Kevin Andrews (who holds such a special place among Territorians), Philip Ruddock, Nick Minchin, and of course Tony Abbott.
Installing Tony Abbott as leader of these ideologicallly-driven zealots is like appointing Dick Cheney to head up the Republicans in the US.
After the Liberal party split down the middle, immediately we witnessed the reintroduction of the old neoconservative strategy of division, fear and hate.
The losers in this last-gasp attempt to step back in time of course are ordinary Australians - particularly our children and our grandchildren.
The neoconservatives are again adopting their ideological opposition to any action to stop global warming. These zealots fought tooth and nail to oppose Kyoto ... denying and delaying for over a decade. Only when they faced electoral defeat in 2007 did they promise to “establish the world’s most comprehensive emissions trading scheme in Australia, commencing no later than 2012” - but of course it was a greenwash.
Now they are back to their true ideologically driven form - denying climate change is caused by human activity. Recently on Four Corners we had Nick Minchin claiming the whole climate change issue was a left wing conspiracy to deindustrialise the western world, and Tony Abbott quoting freely from the factually-discredited Ian Pilmer. These are clearly and simply climate change deniers desparately grasping for any form corroboration, however flimsy, to justify their position.
The unfortunate consequence of all this is that in pursuing their neoconservative strategy of division and fear, these fundamentalist neoconservatives have succeeded in giving the climate change deniers equal media time, and therefore equal status, with the huge majority of researchers who have dedicated years, often decades, researching this issue and then publishing their results and measurements.
It’s the same modus operandi as the neoconservatives and the religious right in the US who legislated to put creationism on an equal footing as evolution.
Respected Australian Barry Jones says that this has created the illusion that a 90/10 (or even 95/5) division of expert opinion on this issue is more like a 50/50 division, and that the question is still an open one. This is the same as giving equal status to those who do not believe that AIDS is transmitted by virus, that smoking causes lung cancer, that life on earth has evolved over millions of years. Does the denial of the Holocaust by David Irving mean that it is still an open question? According to Barry Jones, this is a wilful and gross misreading of the history and philosophy of science, and a distortion of scientific method. This approach is not scepticism but cynicism - its aim is not to ascertain truth but to promote confusion - division and fear.
Of course just because these neoconservative zealots sprout this rubbish does not mean ordinary Australians will fall for it.
After all, these are the same neoconservatives who brought us Workchoices, the Children Overboard lies, the Weapons of Mass Destruction lies, the Saddam Hussein bribe, the Pacific solution, and the hastily conceived Northern Territory intervention to gain traction in the polls ... the very same people who ran down our universities, besieged the ABC, and muzzled researchers and academics whose investigative results did not match their neoconservative ideologies.
Just imagine the disastrous impact of a Abbott neoconservative government on Australia’s great research institutions like the CSIRO and the ANU.
Fortunately, all is not as black as it seems. In seizing control of the Liberal Party, the neoconservatives were only able to attract 42 votes in the party room ... that means another 42 party members did not want to revert to the neoconservative path. The party actually split down the middle on December 1, and only a single informal vote got the neoconservatives across the line.
So don’t expect the progressive liberals in the Liberal Party to sit back and watch the neocons destroy their party.
We certainly are in for a wild ride in 2010 with a huge scare campaign designed to divide our nation once again in order to gain traction in the polls. But the most interesting brawl will be within the Liberal Party itself - as the progressive liberal half of the party take on the neoconservatives to set the future direction of their party. Be prepared for the leaks, the unsourced comments, defections and resignations.
To celebrate Tony Abbott's ascension, you can listen to Shane Howard sing Light of Day from his album Retrospect on the Blarney Podcast
LET the Celtic Tiger ROAR for CHRISTMAS
With Christmas upon us, why not make this a Celtic Christmas with meaningful gifts to those you love.
The Australian Celtic Tiger resource directory is literally ROARING - so you can not only SEE but also HEAR from all those businesses, organisations and individuals who so proudly identify with their Celtic heritage.
The Australian Celtic Tiger has a first class range of goods and services available. So whether it’s a holiday away, genuine crafted jewellery, authentic Irish & Scottish foods, a family history, entertainment, musical instruments, tuition, or business services, let your mouse do the walking to the Australian Celtic Tiger at www.australianceltictiger.com.au
This month Taibreamh Celtic Jewellery, The Drunken Poet, and Personalised Ceramics have all listed on the Tiger. You will find more details of these listings in the Blarney Bulletin and on the Blarney Podcast.
A 12-month listing in the Australian Celtic Tiger (incl audio production) will cost only $275.
Listed on the Australian Celtic Tiger resource directory you will find the likes of Anti-Damp, Australian Institute of Celtic Studies, Australian Migration & Visa Lawyers, Bailey’s Irish Cream, Bears Over There, Celtic Jeweller Donal O’Grady, Cole Clark Guitars, Consulate General of Ireland, Cosmo International, The Drunken Poet, Embassy of Ireland, Emerald Travel, Enterprise Ireland, Ezibinder, Footscray Collision Care Centre, Fraynework Multimedia, Guinness, Highland House, Hotel Shamrock in Bendigo, Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce, Irish Design Shop; Jameson Irish Whiskey, JGB Carpentry, Kerry Ingredients, the Lake School, Lansdowne Club, Moo Media, Kevin Moran - financial planner, Mt Isa Irish Club, O’Sullivan Sibeen Irish Pub, Personalised Ceramics, Pierce Body Works, PJ O’Brien’s Irish Pubs, PJ Gallagher’s Irish Pubs, Primeplan financial services, Quiet Man Irish Pub, Ri Na Mara skin products, Scottish Accessories Shoppe, Sou’West Collectables & Music, Taibreamh Celtic Jewellery, Taste Ireland, Tourism Ireland, Webnation, WhosUrPaddy.com, and Yelp Studio.
So don’t forget to play your part in keeping the Australian Celtic Community alive and well by letting your mouse do the walking to the Australian Celtic Tiger at www.australianceltictiger.com.au
If you want to be listed in the Australian Celtic Tiger resource directory, or if you know somebody who should be listed in the Australian Celtic Tiger resource directory, or if you want to find out more about the Australian Celtic Tiger resource directory, then contact
Kevin McCarthy at the Blarney Bulletin on macca@blarneybulletin.com or 0411
135 418
BLARNEY MUSIC:
Liminality - Angels We Have Heard
Christmas time summons a deep yearning to focus on things that are truly important - family and friends, memories, and experiences shared. It’s a time to pause, to journey into an inner place of silence.
Angels We Have Heard is a Celtic Christmas album which offers a mix of lesser known carols along with the more popular, all played with a respect and sensitivity these beautiful melodies deserve. All tracks are presented in a traditional Celtic setting and present the listener with a peaceful journey - a far cry from the commercial busyness usually associated with the season!
The track list includes It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent / O Come, O Come Emmanuel, Anna’s Prayer, O Holy Night, Farewell to Music, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, The Old Year is Dying Fast Away, Oiche Nollag (Christmas Eve), Away in a Manger, Joachim’s Song, Silent Night, Il Est Né, Angel Gabriel / Bring a Torch Jeannette / Isabella, Once in Royal David’s City, Carolan’s Concerto, and Angels We Have Heard on High.
Angels We Have Heard was arranged and produced by Cath Connolly and Greg Hunt, and recorded, mixed and mastered by Allan Neuendorf at Baker Street Studios in Burwood.
you can listen to Liminality perform Oiche Nollag (Christmas Eve) from their CD Angels We Have Heard on the Blarney Podcast
Liminality is defined as that space where the known merges with the enigmatic ... a threshold place betwixt and between transition and potential. Cath Connelly and Greg Hunt together are Liminality, a Celtic duo with an emphasis on a less commonly performed spiritual sense of Celtic music. Instrumentation is Celtic Harp, violin, mandolin and mandola and the duo offers a rare insight into the delicate spirituality of traditional and original pieces. Liminality's performances have been acclaimed as a fresh and reviving musical experience whenever they play.
For more information about Liminality and their Angels We Have Heard album, go to www.liminality.com.au
WIN: the Blarney Bulletin now has two copies of Liminality’s new CD Angels We Have Heard to give away. To enter the draw, simply email your contact details (name, address & telephone number) to macca@blarneybulletin.com
Blarney Pilgrims’ classic tracks
The Blarney Pilgrims get together from time to time to record various “classic” demo tracks - beginning in 2001 with Duopenilitis (which you will find on the GetUp compilation CD Stand Up & Shout), to:
The Baa National Anthem
The Battle For Bennelong
The Big Fella
Black WAS the Colour
Dirty Old Man
The Great Australian Dream
Kiwi Dreaming
Margie’s Song
Never Gonna Drink Again
A Sign of the Cross
So Near
Song For Australia, and
Your Aussie Wildlife Warrior
You can listen to samples of these tracks here: Blarney Music
and you can listen to the Blarney Pilgrims sing Carty Wants a Drink - their tribute to Lake School legend and DADGAD guitar tutor Tommy Carty, on the Blarney Podcast
If you would like a particular Blarney Pilgrims track to play around the home or at work, or to sing along with, drop an email to macca@blarneybulletin.com
SONGWRITERS:
2009 Rebel Yelp Songwriter Award winner - Greg Champion
I am pleased to announce the 2009 Rebel Yelp Songwriter Award goes to Greg Champion from Victoria, with his song This Was My Town (Marysville).
Congratulations Greg.
You can listen to Greg sing This Was My Town on the Blarney Podcast
Greg Champion: Kevin, this is a big buzz, thank you ... Wow! I'm delighted that the Blarney Bulletin feels this song to be worthy of an award.
We had a favourite holiday cottage in Marysville and my daughter and I stayed there two weeks before the fires.
Overall, we stayed in Marysville maybe twenty times. We adored that town. Maybe Victoria's prettiest town....!
When I heard that virtually everything was gone, I imagined that treasured main street, wiped out.
In this song, I took a drive in my mind around the few key streets. We've been back to Marysville a coupla times since.
God help Marysville.
Greg’s song expresses the shock and the horror most Australians felt following the devastating, tragic bushfires in Victoria in February.
Greg Champion and his song This Was My Town joins a very special group of songwriters who have received this Award in the past - Joe Lynch (Hey Martin 2008), Martin McKenna (Ballad of Eureka 2007), Bob McNeill (Norway Yawl 2006), Angie Browning (You’re Not Here For Me 2005), and Ade Kelly (Amber Shore 2004).
I would like to thank the sponsors of this unique Australian award - Pete Bird from Yelp Studios in Warnambool and Cec Bucello at Australia’s premier folk & roots magazine Trad & Now - and welcome on board our new sponsor in 2010 ... Cole Clark Guitars.
I’d also like to thank the judges - Dennis O’Keeffe (www.waltzingmatilda.com), Maria Ford (www.mariaforde.com), and Pete Bird from Yelp Studios, who face the difficult task each year of choosing one winner from so many great entries ... it’s a task I don’t envy. I know they had a particularly difficult time of it this year, with so many great songs being entered. The 2009 finalists were: Mike Whittle (Last Man From Dunolly), Willow Aliento (Kid in the Backseat), Alex Legg (Guns Bayonets & Whiskey), Candice Casagrande (Behind Closed Doors), Kerrianne Cox (Whad Wrong With You), Dave Bishop (Fall Down), Mark Cryle (Ronald Ryan), Tanya Pettit (9 Months), Peter Johnson (The Liver Lover Song), Denning Isles (Abduction), Luke Wilton (Procrastination Nation), Ernie Van Veen (Flag of Democracy), Greg Champion (This Was My Town), Albert Stanway (Black Saturday), Clare Milesi (Children of the Irish), Dennis Taberner (Song for the Little Man), Polly Boyer (My Pissed Off Song), MJ Woodbridge (Stand), Wyatt Moss-Wellington (The Turncoat), Grace & Juliet Gibson (Soldiers), Amir Ghandar (Shame Burns), Mick McHugh (Blind), Tony King (Billy's Dream), Leon Bobako (I Was Young), Anne McMenamin (Progress?), Drow Smith (Fine), Kieran Glasgow (Singin' Words), Noel Gardner (Armistice Day), Soursob Bob (I've Been Done Over by Telstra), and Geoff McArthur (Free Trade Hill).
Of course I’d like to thank all the songwriters who have entered their songs this year, and over the past six years, and who continue to use their considerable artistic talents to illuminate issues so important to us all. For its part, I hope the Blarney Bulletin & Podcast can continue to play a part, however small, in getting their songs heard across Australia.
2010 Rebel Yelp Songwriter Award
Entry to the 2010 Rebel Yelp Songwriter Award is now open, so keep sending those entries in!
In the finest Australian Celtic tradition, the 2010 Rebel Yelp Award provides a platform for songwriters to stand up and speak out on issues near and dear to them. As you all know, it is not the responsibility of the songwriters to stomp on the cockroaches, but simply to turn on the kitchen light and watch the little critters scurry!
If you have an ORIGINAL UNPUBLISHED REBEL song that you want to share with the world, contact the Blarney Bulletin at macca@blarneybulletin.com
PS: “rebel” is defined broadly as an issue you feel passionately about, and “unpublished” means not available commercially at the time of entry.
The 2010 Rebel Yelp Songwriter Award - Australia’s only songwriting award with a social conscience - is proudly sponsored by Pete Bird’s Yelp Studio, Trad & Now, and Cole Clark Guitars. The 2010 Award winner will receive a four-hour recording session with Yelp Studio and a year’s subscription to Australia’s leading folk & roots magazine, Trad & Now.
Rebel Songwriters Forum & Concert
There will be a Rebel Songwriters Forum and Concert at the National Folk Festival in Canberra over Easter. Songwriters wishing to participate in the forum should contact macca@blarneybulletin.com and I will keep you updated on details as they come to hand.
Thank God for APRA!
The other day I received what every songwriter must wish for - an email from APRA regarding a royalty payment:
From: APRA
Subject: APRA Royalty Payment
Date: 11 December 2009 2:55:47 PM
Dear Member,
We are pleased to advise that your royalty payment for December 2009 has been banked into your nominated account.
Your remittance advice and royalty statement are immediately available online in the secure writers login section on our website.
Please do not hesitate to contact your local Writer Services Office should you have any queries regarding your payment.
Well, you can imagine my feelings ... WOW a cash bonus for christmas ... a trip to Ireland, another car ... the imagination ran wild!
But hang on ... better check the amount before spending too much.
I jumped straight on the net, checked the bank account, and sure enough, there it was:
11-Dec-2009 AU ROYALTY; DIRECT CREDIT; APRA LIMITED $2.34
McCarthy’s Bar
This month, Paddy sees some positives in a future Tony Abbott government.
“Well we could stop worrying about burning in the fires of hell ... because we’d be burning up right here on Earth!”
BLARNEY NEWS
2010 Lake School - enrol now!
Enrolments to the 2010 Lake School of Celtic Music Song & Dance are now open.
It’s time to pack the camping gear, the instruments, the wife/husband/partner and the kids and get down to Koroit for the Lake School of Celtic Music Song and Dance. There is simply no better way to start the new year than among good friends and good music - and celebrating a common heritage. Now in it’s 11th year, the Lake School has developed into Australia’s premier Celtic school attracting students and tutors from across the land. What better way to begin the new year - submerged in the music, dance and the spoken word of our Celtic heritage. You will emerge uplifted and inspired to face the year ahead.
The 2010 tutors include session master Paddy Fitzgerald (an internationally respected button accordionist from Clare), Ewen Baker (returns to lead fiddle and mandolin), Vince Brophy (guitar - fingerpicking and song accompaniment), Maria Forde (singing), Tommy Carty (DADGAD guitar - Irish tune accompaniment), Dennis O’Keeffe (songwriting), Ade Kelly (bodhran & Paddy O’Neill Award), Margie Brophy, Christine Meagher & Gary Egan (Children's Program), Mark McDonnell (Anglo concertina), Jack Brennan (uillean pipes), Marie Brouder (Irish set dance), Lynelle Moran (flute), Mossie Scanlon (Irish language), and Dennis Taberner (banjo sessions).
The Lake School of Celtic Music Song & Dance is in Koroit on January 3-8, 2010. For more information contact Felix Meagher on 0413 801 294 or felix@bushwahzee.com or go to www.lakeschool.bushwahzee.com
and you can listen to Blarney Pilgrims sing their tribute to Lake School legend and DADGAD guitar tutor Tommy Carty on the Blarney Podcast
So I’ll see you in Koroit in January ... don’t forget to come along and say G’day - I’ll be staying in the infamous “House” again at 153 Commercial Road ... just bring your instrument/voice and a drink!
Liam Clancy RIP
Legendary Irish singer Liam Clancy has died aged 74. Liam died in hospital, surrounded by his wife Kim and two of his children, daughters Siobhan and Fiona. He had been ill for some time and was admitted to Bon Secours Hospital in Cork.
A singer and musician, Liam was the last surviving member of the Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem, who were credited with bringing Irish traditional music to a world audience in the 1960s.
[this video link was sent in by the Maldon rebel himself, Mick Coates]
Born in Carrick on Suir, Liam Clancy was the youngest of 11 children. As a young man he dreamed of a life on the stage, but there was music in his blood too. In his late teens he met and travelled Ireland with US song collector Diane Hamilton Guggenheim and eventually travelled to the US with her.
His brothers Paddy and Tom had emigrated before him - and along with renowned Armagh singer Tommy Makem - they began performing in New York. With their trademark Aran jumpers - sent by Mrs Clancy to protect them against the hard US winters - The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem played legendary venues such as the White Horse Tavern in New York. They became international stars following a performance on the Ed Sullivan television show.
The band played a key role in the 60s folk revival - reworking traditional ballads for both an international and an Irish audience. When the Clancy Brothers later went their separate ways, Liam pursued a solo career in Canada, before reuniting with Tommy Makem to form the hugely popular duo Makem and Clancy.
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem did play together again in the 1980s, and in later years Liam - by now living in Co Waterford - maintained a successful solo career.
Liam is survived by his wife Kim and four children.
and you can listen to the Clancy Brothers sing The Parting Glass on the Blarney Podcast ... from their Songs of Ireland album
Slán Liam, Déi Do Bheathe
Tinteán - December edition
The December edition of Tinteán - the magazine of the Australian Irish Heritage Network - is out now and available from good newsagents.
There’s feature articles on Northern Ireland, St Brigids in Western Victoria, reading in tongues, a refection on the Ryan Report, incidental Irish, and a letter from an immigrant by Mairead Sullivan. And as usual, there’s news, letters, what’s on, odds & ends, music, poetry, and reviews.
Keep up to date with what’s happening in Irish Australia.
For more information about Tinteán go to: http://tintean.org.au
Fancy Yourself Fiddling Summer Concert
Melbourne-based fiddle teacher Sean Kenan is presenting a Fancy Yourself Fiddling Summer Concert at the Brunswick Town Hall on Saturday February 6 from 7.30pm:
VIDEO CLIP OF THE YEAR
To end the year on a high note, we might repeat what we consider the best video we have featured in the Blarney Bulletin this year ... what we might call our “video of the year”. It was originally sent to us from Richenda Bridge in Maleny, and it is truly is a masterpiece of sound engineering that gives a whole new meaning to World Music.
The song itself is that classic standard Stand By Me originally released in 1955 by The Staple Singers, and released again in 1961 by the Drifters ... and later again by John Lennon.
This version is a real toe tapper, so turn up the speaker volume, sit back and enjoy!
You can find more inspirational video clips on the Playing for Change - Peace Through Music website: www.playingforchange.com
JAMESON JOKE OF THE MONTH
This month’s joke - domestic cruelty - comes from Vic Jefferies of Baulkham Hills:
Biddy O’Connor had her husband Seamus appear before the court on a charge of cruelty.
The judge inquired as to what form of cruelty Biddy was alleging, and she replied: “Your Honour, he hasn’t spoke a single word to me these past five long years!”
The judge asked Seamus if this was correct, and Seamus replied that it was.
His Honour then inquired: “Mr O’Connor, why haven’t you spoken to your wife for five years?”
Seamus replied: “Well Sir, I don’t like to interrupt her.”
If you have a good joke and want to be a contender for a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey, simply email your joke and contact details (name, address & telephone number) to: macca@blarneybulletin.com The jokes can be in text form, photos, graphics or online video (but not powerpoint presentations), or you can record your joke and send in an audio CD.
Jameson, of course, is Australia’s finest Irish Whiskey - and that’s no joke!
BLARNEY QUOTE OF THE MONTH
We have a couple of interesting quotes this month:
From Dean McCarthy: “To forgive is to remember that we have room in our hearts to begin again, and again, and again.” - author unknown
And from Lillian Helfingers: “Life might not be the party we hoped for, but while we’re here, we might as well dance.” - author unknown
If you have a profound quote you would like to share with our readers/listeners, then please email it to macca@blarneybulletin.com
MOSSIE'S GEMS: a lesson in the Irish language
I was fortunate enough to attend native Irish speaker and Sean Nós singer Mossie Scanlon’s Irish language classes at the Lake School in Koroit last January.... and will be back to heckle the great man in 2010.
The class provides a great introductory overview on the Irish language and lays the foundations for a more serious study. It’s conducted in a laid-back and friendly style, punctuated with stories of life growing up in an Irish-speaking region (Gaeltacht) of Ireland.
If you would like to know more about the Irish language, have a look at www.gaeilgesanastrail.com
You can find out all about Mossie at www.mossiescanlon.com and you can join me at Mossie’s Irish language classes at the 2010 Lake School at www.bushwahzee.com
in the Irish language, you can listen to the Mossie Scanlon singing Ar Éirinn ni Nósfainn Cé hÍ from his Gan Teorainn CD on the Blarney Podcast
Also in the Irish language we have a video clip of Na Casaidigh perform 'Trasna na dTonnta', Gaelic for “across the waves”. The pictures are of Gweedore in the Donegal Gaeltacht. It even has subtitles so you can sing along!
Danscoil 2010
The annual Irish Language Summer School will be held from Sunday January 3 - Sunday January 10 at the Lady Northcote Recreational Camp, Rowsley, in Victoria. Run by Cumann Gaeilge na hAstráile, the Daonscoil welcomes beginners through to advanced speakers of the Irish language.
It’s a fantastic week in which you’ll be amazed at how much you’ll learn in a very short time in great surroundings with an enthusiastic group. In short, the best week of your life! For further information please contact feedback@gaeilgesanastrail.com or phone Deirdre Gillespie on 0423 080 677
REVIEW
Maldon Folk Festival review
This review of the Maldon Folk Festival comes from Bendigo-based musician Simon Dillon:
After spending 12 days in New Zealand I arrived back in Bendigo on the day before the start of the 36th Maldon Folk Festival. I organised my folk festival camping essentials and arrived at Maldon early Friday afternoon to set the tent not far from the main venues at Mount Tarrangower reserve. The camp was mainly occupied by the very fine people of the Geelong Sleepy Hollow blues clubs, so it was not long before we were sitting around having a drink and a session. The session delayed my attendance to the first performance and I was only able to catch the last part of Geoffrey Graham’s “Wool Sweat and Tears” . Following this I able to take in some fine bluegrass by Bluegrass Parkway, then took off to the to session tent to see Melbourne singer songwriter Craig Lee Smith sing a few of his witty and insightful songs. Then it was to the Guinness Tent to see the magnificent local Australian Celtic band, McAlpine Fusiliers. They had the whole tent jumping. It was great to see. Following the Fusiliers, the Go Set took the stage for some invigorating Celtic Rock. Unfortunately, by this time, the combination of a fortnight of travelling and some very fine duty free single malt found me heading to bed.
The next morning, after nearly 9 hours sleep (that is usually two nights of sleep at a folk festival), I went down the Wine Tent to catch the fine performance of “Songs of the Great Ocean Road” presented by Dennis O’Keeffe and Dennis Taberner, then headed into town on the courtesy bus. I able to see a little of Danny Spooner and company before proceeding up to the big market held at the Maldon Primary School. It was here I was able to have a chat Campbell the Swaggie, a great Maldon Folkie stalwart. I then checked out the music and sessions that were happening around town and visited the instrument maker’s display. Later, I headed for a short sojourn in the Maldon Hotel to have a bet on a few slow horses (Maldon on in the middle of the Spring Racing Carnival), before it was off to see Rebel Yelp contributor Jane Harding perform her song Chilligoe Smelter as a finalist in the Roddy Read Song writing contest. Then it was a quick trip back up to Tarrangower Reserve to see one of the folk music icons of not just Australia, but the world, Eric Bogle. I think he should be classified as a national treasure. Following Eric the now Bendigo-based blue grass superstars, the Davison Brothers performed with much gusto. Following a small break I was off to see the Angie Browning Band from Ballarat - always a great group to hear and see. Then there was the fine Brent Parlane, a performer I believe I saw at my very first Maldon Folkie. After Brent, the Wine Bar was entertained by a grand performance of Bluegrass Parkway doing their virtual radio show that included an announcer and even advertising jingles. Not only was the music excellent but the whole presentation was extremely high class and very entertaining. I headed into town again and found myself at the Grand Hotel where a number of lively sessions were going on both inside and out. I got back to the Guinness Tent just to catch the last of Shane Howard and the Plough Boys - then off to the campsite for a very late session to the wee hours of the morning.
On Sunday morning I was woken by the heat in my tent, so up I got for some breakfast and headed down to the Wine Tent to see the Two Denna’s (O’Keeffe and Taberner that is) with their “songs of the Australian Tradition” - a guaranteed sing-along for an Aussie trad fan like myself. I then moseyed across to the Main stage for some Peter Denahy - a great performer and wit. He even sang happy birthday to me, out of tune, even though it was not my birthday (note. I must not heckle in future). Peter is a must see at any festival.
I headed back into town and ran into some friends at the Grand Hotel. It was not long before banjos, accordions and pipes (a joke or two there) were all going with me adding vocals. I knew things were going well when the publican gave me a free drink on proviso I sang another song. I was keeping the eye on the clock so I would not miss the Geoff McArhur band at the Penny School ... and thank goodness I did not. The performance was wonderful - Geoff’s songs are fabulous and his song “Free Trad Hill” sung by Lynnelle Moran was my number one highlight of this years festival (you can actually listen to the performance of this song and others from the day at Geoff’s myspace page www.myspace.com/geoffmcarthur ). Shortly after the concert I ran into Blarney Bulletin Irish language correspondent, Mossie Scanlon, and we headed up the mountain for a feed and took in Chloe and Jason Roweth’s concert at the Wine Tent - a duo who never disappoints. Back into town again for a session out the front of the Grand Hotel, where I caught up with few more friends and had a long yarn with Dave DeHuggard. At closing time it was back up to hill to see the last act for the evening, the Detonators.
As I had work Tuesday morning I decided to pack up and head back to Bendigo on Monday lunch time, so I missed the Monday performances. However I had a wonderful time and I would have to say that Maldon Folkie 2009 has been their best festival for a number of years. I certainly will be back next year.
Irish Woolfest review
This review comes from Boorowa tourism & development manager Barbara Manion:
Despite unbelievable buckets of rain on the day of Country Energy’s Irish Woolfest in Boorowa, thousands (guestimate 10,000) of people turned out to see the Running of the Sheep and the Street Parade at which time, by some miracle, the rain stopped.
The Street Parade was again a great success with 40 floats including the 40 seater bike out from Queanbeyan on it’s second visit to Boorowa, which have been the only times it has ventured out for many years. Also new to the Street Parade were beautiful llamas, guardians of sheep, who roamed the streets with their owners in between. This year we had three pipe bands, the Canobolas Pipe Band, The Canberra Celtic Pipe Band and the Highland Pipes and Drums. And the Kangaroos were back -these performers travel the world but always come back to the Irish Woolfest.
The Street Parade was followed by the Blessing of the Fleece, then some wonderful entertainment on stage and around the streets. Organisers had to wipe down the stage with towels and brooms after the late morning deluge before the performers could safely take to the stage, but luckily the rain stopped in time for Christine Wisharts little dancers. Annalisa Kerrigan and The Enchanted Ireland Tour, including band and Tim Manners outstanding tap performer, were considered to be one of the best performances of the Irish Woolfest over the years, and Luke Dickens, Australian Idol finalist, kept the audience there and was very well received. Many people purchased his single cd that is not out yet and had him sign the cover. Annalisa Kerrigan has since produced a cd called virtuoso which would make a great Christmas present. Our own Boorowa Gym Club kept the crowd enthralled with their athletic antics, and over eighty stalls attended for the day. These were all a great success and local food stalls seemed to do very good business.
Other well received children’s events included the Mobile Climbing Wall, the Animal Farm and Tony Joe’s Amusements. The Billy Cart Derby was back for first time in years and several entrants took part with amazing success. The National Flyball team again returned to Boorowa to take part in team dog competitions. They also took part in the Street Parade with their amazing mix of dogs.
All in all the organisers were very pleased with the event despite reduced numbers due to the weather, and from our surveys we can determine that all our visitors thought the event was an outstanding success. Due to great demand we are bringing the great Irish performer John McNally back to Boorowa for the 2010 Irish Woolfest on October 3.
Wellington Folk Festival review
This review comes from Nic Gardner in New Zealand:
The Wellington Folk Festival, or Wellyfest to the locals, was held over the weekend of 23 October, oddly enough, near Wellington. After a certain amount of confusion meeting up (there is actually more than one public library in Wellington, folks!) Simon Dillon and I headed off to Brookfield Outdoor Education Centre, Wainuiomata, an area of abundant greenery, lots of folkies and no mobile phone signal. The lack of a signal is one of the many great things about Wellyfest - no phones ringing in the audience, no need to remind them to switch their phones off, just no signal. We arrived about an hour before the gates opened, joined the queue of stopped cars (we were in a campervan), sat down and joined the other early-birds in solving the problems of the world over a quiet drink until the gates opened.
The campsite is well laid out, with showers, fireplaces and firewood in abundance - no fire bans here, folks - just don’t take the firewood that is used to heat the water for the showers... In fact, unlike in Australia, our major problem with our campfire was finding something dry to burn. With the serious business of firelighting attended to, the music began. There’s something special about sitting 'round a campfire with strangers-soon-to-be-friends, playing and singing - which we did, right up to the opening concert. The opening concert gave us all a brief sampling of the performances to come, then we retreated back to the warmth of the campfire. Brief note: when you go to Wellyfest, take warm clothes!
I believe it would be fair to say, Wellyfest is session / workshop based. After the opening concert on the Friday, I didn’t actually see another concert 'til Sunday night. Friday night and Saturday morning found us huddled 'round the campfire practising jigs and songs, Saturday afternoon saw a series of dance workshops to involve even the rabid non-dancers (Scottish, Irish, Balkan, Morris and Kentucky Running dancing). The dancing was particularly well attended as there was a power-cut on Saturday, which meant all the concerts were acoustic and moved into smaller venues.
Eyebrows were raised at the choice of songs for the Festival Choir: there’s such a thing as keeping an open mind, but is Let It Rain really an appropriate sentiment for a folk festival, especially in a place as notoriously wet as Wellington? Despite the best efforts of the choir, it did not rain during the festival. The festival regulars assure me that it was the first dry Wellyfest in recorded history.
The Saturday night Homebrew and Singing Session was very well attended, as you’d imagine with free beer on offer. By the time it wound to a reluctant close at around 0430 on Sunday morning, we were very happy, very hoarse and very tired, having covered the world of folk music pretty thoroughly. I remember German, Israeli, Maori, American, French, Italian and Dutch songs cropping up at various times through the night. The miracle is that most of those who saw it through 'til the end were up again in time for the Sunday morning singing session, which started (fairly gently) at 1000 - and the unscheduled session after the closing concert (thanks, Noel).
In summary, Wellyfest is a great festival, with great people, great music and warm campfires. Despite the crossover between the Aussies and the Kiwis, the folk scene in NZ is different enough to be refreshing, while many of the faces are the same. And there were no sheep!
COMMUNITY ACTION
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” - Martin Luther King Jr.
Contemplate 2010
A great way to begin the new year is put your life into some sort of perspective - sometimes the things and the people you feel are so important, so essential in your life are no more than drips in the cosmic ocean.
Recognising and accepting your own fragile place in the grand scheme of things can be a humble experience, and an empowering experience!
Bob Morton in Tasmania sent in this link, apparently originating in Australia:
http://dingo.care-mail.com/cards/flash/5409/galaxy.swf
COMMUNITY EVENTS
The events listed below have specifically invited the Australian Celtic Community to come along and enjoy themselves.
The “not so” Quiet Man
If it is entertainment you are after then the Quiet Man is a must.
Thursday, Friday & Saturday nights from 9pm you can see the best of Melbourne's contemporary Celtic acts. Irish button accordion master Joe Fitzgerald leads the trad music session each Sunday afternoon - from 5.30pm - with Pat Mckernan in the front bar from 9pm - the perfect way to finish off your weekend.
Monday is Set Dancing night, from 8pm.
If it’s good food you desire then you wont be disappointed. There is a great choice on the menu and extended dining hours (to 10pm) on Friday & Saturday nights. Bookings essential.
It’s the warm and friendly atmosphere that makes The Quiet Man Irish pub the place to catch up with old friends and meet new ones.
For more information about what's on at the Quiet Man, 271 Racecourse Road Flemington,
phone (03) 9376 6232, email info@thequietman.com.au or
log onto www.thequietman.com.au
Gymanfa Ganu
The Metropolitan Male Choir of South Australia will be holding their "Gymanfa Ganu", a Welsh Hymn Festival for St David's Day, on Sunday February 28 at Elder Hall Adelaide. The concert begins at 2.00 pm, and tickets, costing $10 each, will be available at the door.
For more information go to www.mmcsa.org
2010 Echuca Moama Celtic Festival
The 2010 Echuca Moama Celtic Festival will be held on the banks of the Mighty Murray River on March 7 and March 12-14. There will be Celtic bands, concerts, pipe bands, dancers, Gathering of the Clans dinner, Celtic heritage workshops, fine food & wines, Celtic religious service, and a spiritual pilgrimage along the Murray. The twin cities of Echuca & Moama are the paddle steamer capital of Australia.
For all you need to know about the 2010 Echuca Moama Celtic Festival go to www.celticfestival.com.au email info@celticfestival.com.au or call 0400 563 399
Welcome Back Cousin Jack
The Cornish Association of Victoria will run a "Welcome Back Cousin Jack" Festival at Eaglehawk (Bendigo) in March 18-21. There will be family history, displays, language class, heritage lectures, Bardic ceremony, Cornish dance class, street procession, festival dinner, and Cornish church service. This event will be part of the Dahlia and Arts Festival. So come along and celebrate your Cornish heritage.
For further information call (03) 98772968 or go to http://home.vicnet.net.au/~caov
Lake Bolac Eel Festival
The 2010 Lake Bolac Eel Festival will be held on the banks of Lake Bolac in Western Victoria on Saturday March 27. This family friendly music and art festival highlights the environment and celebrates indigenous culture and dance. The day commences at 11am with the Environmental Forum “Brolgas and wetlands”, then there’s live music from the Festival stage from 2pm including Neil Murray, Rory Faithfield, Loren, The Stiff Gins and Luke Watt. The Connies, Nick the magician, cartoonist MBJ and a drum circle workshop will add to the informative displays, craft and produce stalls and a selection of healthy food to make for an enjoyable day out. The Twilight Celebration “Brolga Dreaming” will feature the premiere performance of Anne Norman’s Brolga Suite for shakuhachi accompanied by violin, cello, didgeridoo and community choir, with giant Brolga puppets, Indigenous story telling and dancing. BYO festival chairs. Camping is available on the foreshore
For more information go to www.eelfestival.org.au or call (03) 5350 2204
Tullamore Irish Festival
The 7th annual Tullamore Irish festival will enliven the Central West NSW village from the 1st to 4th of April 2010. Tullamore will come alive with the spirited sounds of Irish bands, the lilting strains of Irish singers and the energy of Irish dancing. There will be Irish films, an ecumenical gathering, a Celtic Campfire Concert, poetry recital, a Street Parade, Irish food and drinks, Irish games and competitions, Irish hurdles, a traditional Irish Hooley, wearing of the green, and dare to ride the Irish bike!
Featured entertainers are Jimmy Moore and Claddagh, Eileen McCann and Maria Forde.
Entry is only $20 for adults and $5 for under 18, with no charge to toddlers. The showground offers camping sites with amenities at reasonable prices.
For further information log on to www.tullamoreinc.com.au/irishfestival.php
Man From Snowy River Bush Festival
The 2010 Man from Snowy River Bush Festival on April 8-11 is held in Corryong, Victoria in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains halfway between Melbourne and Sydney. It’s a celebration of bush folklore, skills and traditions based around the icon Jack Riley and all he represented. It’s a unique bush gathering of mountain riders, poets, artists and lovers of the Australian High Country and pioneering spirit. The program includes The Man from Snowy River Challenge, Art and Photography Exhibition, Bush Poetry and Music, The Re Enactment of Banjo's famous poem, Aussie Bush Idol, and Ute Muster. It’s the perfect stopover on your way home from the National Folk Festival over Easter.
For more details, competition entry registration etc, go to www.manfromsnowyriverbushfestival.com.au
2010 International School of Scottish Fiddle
The 7th annual Southern Hemisphere International School of Scottish Fiddle is on April 11-18, 2010 in Camp Kaitoke, Upper Hutt, New Zealand.
For more info go to www.shissf.com or contact co-director Duncan Smith in Melbourne on (03) 9756 7366 or email info@shissf.com
Koroit Irish Festival
The 2010 Koroit Irish Festival will be help on Friday April 30 and Saturday May 1.
The village of Koroit is located in Australia’s Celtic heartland in western Victoria, and home to Micky Bourke’s Pub and the annual Lake School of Celtic Music Song & Dance. So mark the date in your calendar today and keep an eye on the festival website for program and ticketing details:
www.koroitirishfestival.com.au or phone Chas Cleland on 03 5565 9355
BrigidFest
The seventh annual BrigidFest is on Sunday February 7 2010 at the Celtic Club, Melbourne from 12.30 pm.
Two-course lunch, $40 per person, drinks at bar prices.
Guest speaker: Celia Scott - on Humour and early Irish women saints. Guest artists: Catherine Connelly (celtic harp) and Greg Hunt (fiddle).
Enq. & booking: Helen Mohan 03 9670 6472
www.celticclub.com.au
SESSION SCENE
The Session lies at the very heart of Celtic culture - a place
to gather, to listen, to play music, to sing and to dance, to chat
and to enjoy. So if you know of any in your area, please let me know!
NZ Session Scene
Regular Blarney Bulletin contributor and musician Simon Dillon recently visited New Zealand and reports of the session scene:
I was fortunate enough to visit New Zealand in October. Even though I was attending the Wellington Folk festival, I also sought out some sessions.
The first one I attended was at the Bog Irish Pub in Christchurch. This is held every Tuesday night and encourages all to participate with song sheets passed around to the customers. Instruments are very diverse and includes a trumpet player that really can lift some songs.
The other session I attended was at McMorrissey's Irish Pub in Whangarei, north of Auckland. I went along with another Blarney Bulletin correspondent, Nic Gardner. This session is again a mixture of tunes and songs. I had a great time and met some new New Zealand friends. This session is held every Tuesday night but there is also a Friday afternoon session at the same venue.
There seems to be sessions happening all over New Zealand so if you are travelling there make sure you see if there a session happening near where you will be. Kiwi folk website is a good place to start to look: www.kiwifolk.org.nz
And on the Blarney Podcast, you can listen to Buttons & Bows play Inisheer from the CD Dance of the Celts
Melbourne-based fiddle teacher Sean Kenan sent in this link to a very talented Bronwyn De Paor playing an Irish Hornpipe. Bronwyn, from Ennis in Co Clare, took third place in the Under-18 fiddle competition at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2008. The music was recorded in Tullamore, Co Offaly in August 2008.
FEEDBACK
Here’s a sample of the recent feedback from Blarney readers/listeners:
From: Marie Casanova
Subject: hello up there
Date: 12 December 2009 10:05:37 PM
HI Kevin, Hi kerry, great to get the Blarney bulletin still.
HOw are things going in Darwin? You should be just about due for some rain, hope the build-up isn't sending you around the twist. you're probably quite acclimatised by now.
I am back in the South, left Fitzroy Crossing at the end of July after a wonderful year there. I didn't get to catch up with the family you told me about, not that I didn't want to but I was fairly much restricted with where I spent my time, not having a 4wd and having the full time job. It was fabulous country, wonderful people and I miss it very much. I will go back, perhaps for a few months over the winter. Need to spend time with family now, after a fair while out.
We are in Victoria, great to be back in the land of music, festivals and the like.
Are you coming back for the Lake School? I've got to organise a ticket yet, hope to be there.
If you are looking for participants with the songwriting I am willing and able to help out. It's been 3 years since I was in Canberra so will put it on the calendar for 2010.
Hope all is well for you both, looking forward to seeing you again,
best wishes for a happy Xmas, from Marie
From: John Worcester
Subject: Blarney Bulletin give away - A History of Scotland
Date: 1 December 2009 12:18:52 AM
Hi there Macca,
Another good issue of the Blarney Bulletin!
John
From: Nial Fulton
Subject: Irish Australian Film 'The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce' picked up by Channel 4
Date: 3 December 2009 8:43:36 PM
In November, the award winning critically acclaimed Essential Media & Entertainment (EME) film THE LAST CONFESSION OF ALEXANDER PEARCE won an Inside Film Award, an APRA Screen Music Award and received a nomination from the prestigious Australian Film Institute. Now the film has been picked up by leading UK broadcaster Channel 4.
http://alexanderpearce.blogspot.com
Nial
From: Ann Laidlaw
Subject: Re: your November Blarney Bulletin & Podcast is now online
Date: 1 December 2009 9:16:00 PM
Hello Kevin,
How are you doing?
Thanks once again for always being so loyal and sending me the Bulletin which I forward to many folk.
What is the chance of getting the Christmas album of "Angels we have heard" for my radio program on Friday's always looking for special Christmas albums as I do an extra radio program every Christmas day from 9.00 am to 12.00 noon yes as always voluntary have done so now for 15 years love doing this on Christmas morning as their are so many elderly and lonely in nursing homes that don't have the pleasure like so many of us to share Christmas with our loved ones.
Hope you and your family have a wonderful blessed Christmas.
Ann.
From: Wilf Flint
Subject: thanks!
Date: 2 December 2009 6:43:34 AM
Hey Macca
I always enjoy the Blarney Bulletin - thanks for your excellent coverage!
Please add this email address to your e-list - good on ya!
Wilf
From: John Wright
Subject: The Celtic Tearoom of Maleny is open again.
Date: 23 November 2009 12:38:18 AM
Hi,
Just want to let you know that The Celtic Tearoom of Maleny is open and alive again with folk sessions every Sunday afternoon, Performers night (open mike) every third Thursday of the month and concerts one or two a month. Also live music each Friday and Saturday night. The new owners Mick and Jen will give you a genuinely warm welcome. They have refurbished it and have great plans for it. It retains it's old world charm but is even more comfortable than before with an extended outside area. They have an all new menu which is delicious.
WINNERS
The winner of the History of Scotland CD is Leslie & Violet Whittet of Calwell ACT
The Liminality Christmas CD has been held over for another month as I have an additional copy of the CD to give away
Of course you can still enjoy your own copy of these great CDs - just go out and buy one or three
January 3-8
2010 Lake School of Celtic Music Song & Dance
www.lakeschool.bushwahzee.com
January 3-10
Danscoil - the Irish Language Summer School in Rowsley VIC
feedback@gaeilgesanastrail.com or phone Deirdre Gillespie on 0423 080 677.
January 16-29
The Wolfe Tones final Australian tour
www.ticketek.com.au
www.shamrocknroll.com.au
February 6
Fancy Yourself Fiddling Summer Concert Brunswick Town Hall
Sean Kenan 03 9380 5643, 0419 210 043, www.seankenan.com
February 7
Brigidfest Celtic Club Melbourne
Helen Mohan 03 9670 6472 www.celticclub.com.au
February 24 - March 23
Brian Kennedy Australian tour
www.chuggentertainment.com
February 28
Gymanfa Ganu a Welsh Hymn Festival @ Elder Hall Adelaide
For more information go to www.mmcsa.org
February 28
Sydney Road Sreet Party
www.brunswickmusicfestival.com.au
March 5-8
Port Fairy Folk Festival
www.portfairyfolkfestival.com
March 7 & March 12-14
Echuca Moama Celtic Festival
www.celticfestival.com.au info@celticfestival.com.au or 0400 563 399
March 11-21
Brunswick Music Festival in Melbourne
www.brunswickmusicfestival.com.au
March 18-21
Welcome Back Cousin Jack Cornish Festival in Eaglehawk (Bendigo)
(03) 98772968 or http://home.vicnet.net.au/~caov
March 27
Lake Bolac Eel Festival
www.eelfestival.org.au or (03) 5350 2204
April 1-4
Tullamore Irish Festival
www.tullamoreinc.com.au/irishfestival.php
April 1-5
National Folk Festival Exhibition Park Canberra
www.folkfestival.asn.au
April 8-11
Man From Snowy River Bush Festival Corryong
www.manfromsnowyriverbushfestival.com.au
April 11-18
2010 International School of Scottish Fiddle Camp Kaitoke, Upper Hutt, NZ
www.shissf.com (03) 9756 7366 or info@shissf.com
April 30 - May 1
Koroit Irish Festival
www.koroitirishfestival.com.au or phone Chas Cleland on 03 5565 9355