Munster Express Online

Munster Fleadh

We had a large entry of local musicians at the Munster Fleadh in Kenmare last weekend. Our under 12 Grúpa Ceol played so well against stiff competition from the the other Munster counties (same as a Munster hurling Final, Munster Rugby etc) and with only 2 Grúpaís going through out of fourteen entries, it was going to be tight. The well chosen set included a musical version of the song Thógamar Féin an Samradh Linn, a barndance by Clare composer Bill Maley and Among Friends.What was wonderful was after all the practices, they all played so well together. Well done to Aoife Walsh, Niamh Mulally, Joanne Kenny, Katie Walsh, Tom O’Brien, Rachel Keane, Shona Forristal, Tomás O’Dálaigh, Elaine Kenny, Niamh Fleming, Niamh McCann, Clodagh Murphy, Eimer Finnegan and Conor Douris. Thanks to Caroline Douris for getting the loan of a Bodhrán after Tom O’Brien left his at home (Holy God!) Thanks also to all the Mams and Dads for making the journey and lending valuable support. Some news of the other competitions : gold medals for the following : Rebecca McCarthy Kent in the U15 Piano, David Stone in the U18 Uileann Pipes : Jana McCarthy Kent in the U12 Tin Whistle : silver medals for Billy O’Brien and David stone in the U18 duet and a bronze medal for Emer Finnegan in the u12 Fiddle. Well done to all those who took part. A great weekend in the kingdom

 

Caoimhe in India (3)

Our travelling flute player Caoimhe sends us another piece from Calcutta where she is working as a volunteer in the Mother Theresa Hospital:

“On visiting the school, the first place I was taken to see was the study hall. It had no tables, no chairs, and no supervisor. The children (about a hundred in total) were sitting quietly in neat rows on the ground, whispering only to ask about a problem. In the adjoining room children were sitting down in groups of three. One ‘teacher’ to two students. The ‘teachers’ age ten or eleven and the students about six. Because of the short staffing, every day the older children help the younger ones with their studies and they then alternate each day with the children in the study hall so everybody gets, I’m reluctant to say fair, but equal chance to do their work. The obedience of all the children and their obvious delight and willingness to be in school, and the admiration respect and fondness they held for their teachers was astonishing. I remarked on this to my guide. She said yes, in India we do believe in teaching maths, English, geography, technology, but what good is that if you don’t have humanity. For us humanity is the most important subject; without that you are nothing. At this, I fainted. Not because I was so shocked but because I had been ill all week. I fainted right there is the middle of a school for the poorest children in Calcutta. The humanity I was then shown was a lesson I’ll never forget. My own education with tables, chairs, and supervisors was only completed when I went to an Indian school lacking all of the above.”

 

Meitheal Concert in Limerick

We attended an 80 strong traditional orchestra concert in the Milleniun Theatre Limerick last weekend (a warmer up for the Fleadh) with six local musicians taking part. The emphasis of the week long live in school was composition and performance with the newly composed works pushing out the boundaries of traditional music. This orchestra plays a one off concert in the National Concert Hall in August. We will let you know times and dates as we will be running a bus (or even a plane from Waterford Airport…..might be a good idea)