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TRADITIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL TICKETS AVAILABLE BY MODERN MEANS It may be necessarily and soundly rooted in the past but the Patrick O’Keeffe Traditional Music Festival committee is not averse to stepping boldly into the future. Armed with the technology of the day the committee now offers its patrons the opportunity to purchase concert tickets online from the website – address given below. The concert aspect of the festival has evolved well over the years and it found a new and ideal home at the Ivy Leaf Art Centre last year. The line-up is as awe inspiring as ever. Talking to chairman, Cormac O’Mahony and music liaison officer, Mike Kenny over the weekend, the names of highly respected musicians just trip off their tongues to form an impressive list.
Paudie O’Connor, The full list of both Saturday and Sunday night’s concerts and pub trail will be posted on the site during the week.
Popular and all as the concerts have become,
they form just a part of the picture of a
great weekend long of music and
entertainment here. From its launch at about Because of the intimate nature of the Ivy Leaf, tickets are slightly more rationed that other years and therefore the genuine advice is to book early. For those who don’t have access to the internet a telephone number is available for booking purposes also: 066 71 42555. Local man, Willie O’Connell is this year’s recipient of the festival award for outstanding service to the music of the Sliabh Luachra area. Better known for his long musical association with the recently departed Jer Collins, RIP, Mr. O’Connell has served the musical legacy of his area with great distinction over many decades. Peter Browne recorded Willie and Jer during a field trip down here in the early 1990s. He played excerpts from that work on his Rolling Wave programme on RTE Radio 1on last Wednesday night by way of a tribute to Jer and a salute to Willie. Mr. O’Connell will be presented with his award by Mr. Browne during the concert at the Ivy Leaf on the Saturday night. Fans
of the ever popular, Saturday afternoon
singing session will be glad to know that it
returns to Brennan’s Bar on the The Patrick O’Keeffe Traditional Music Festival has been held here in Castleisland every October bank holiday weekend since it was founded in 1993. Great music, singing, dancing, poetry, book and CD launches are the staple fare on offer annually at this lively gathering of free spirits from all corners of the globe and beyond – imagine that! This
year the event runs from Friday, October 24
to the following Monday 27. In its
relatively short history the festival has
established itself as one of the most highly
respected of its kind in The festival was founded in 1993 after a hint from RTE Radio 1 producer, Peter Browne. Mr. Browne had just finished a documentary on the life and times of The Last of the Great Fiddle Masters to coincide with the 30th anniversary of his death. The four part radio documentary has just been repeated over the four Wednesday nights of August. From its inception in 1993 the festival has adopted a nurturing approach to the Sliabh Luachra style of music and playing; a style which Patrick O’Keeffe is widely credited with harbouring and imparting through the bad years - years before it became all the go. There has been greater emphasis, in more recent times, on the educational aspects of the festival with classes on the traditional instruments of the Sliabh Luachra area being brought increasingly into focus each year. "The ambience and size of Castleisland has been described by many visitors as ideal for the staging of this great celebration of what ails us most in this part of the world. Weather rarely plays a part – good or bad – in the running of events here. The small town / big village atmosphere here in Castleisland has made the festival what it is today and the organising committee enjoys the unwavering support of the local business community,” said festival chairman, Cormac O’Mahony For the benefit of patrons: a pocket sized booklet will be available in all pubs and venues on the eve of the outbreak. These will outline the events of the weekend and list all accommodation and food centres available to local and visitor. The
festival website will also be updated with
these details as the week wears on. For
this, accommodation details and booking
facilities – check out:
www.patrickokeeffe.com
07 FESTIVAL ONE OF THE BEST IN YEARS By: John Reidy / The Kerryman 31-10-2007
At this early stage the general consensus is that this year’s Patrick O’Keeffe Traditional Music Festival has been one of the best in recent times. The weather was mixed but the music and the atmosphere more than compensated. The gamble of using the Ivy Leaf Art Centre for concerts worked wonderfully well and was hailed a home by patrons and musicians alike. This is our weekend for losing the run of ourselves – with a little help from our friends from all over the country and beyond. This is the time of year when phones, keys, instruments, coats, earrings and teeth are lost in action. They usually turn up safe and sound in one quarter or another. The singing session at the Half Barrel was outstanding and went on far beyond its allotted few hours between 3 and 6pm. When the invited guests like: Niamh Parsons, Dessie O’Halloran, Tim Dennehy and Andrew Murray were finished and moved on to other obligations the locals kept the show on the road. Lovely Brosna singer, Evelyn O’Connell and a few more of us lamented the fact that such days of magic only happen once a year. We wondered aloud if we should move around the hills and valley with an organised singing session on a monthly basis. Anyone with suggestions is most welcome to make them known. We honoured Maurice O’Keeffe and remembered our lost friend from Co. Meath, Felim O’Reilly who passed away unexpectedly last December. Felim found my camera bag in the River Island Hotel after a hectic night at last year’s festival. He put it away under lock and key for safe keeping and I can only tell the whole story away from the attention of young or innocent eyes and ears. May God be good to him. Maurice O’Keeffe is blessed with the kind of good health that keeps him playing music with the zip and zest of a 16-year-old. The 88 year-old Kiskeam native was genuinely moved after being presented with the Patrick O’Keeffe Traditional Music Festival award for his contribution to the music of the Sliabh Luachra area. In making the presentation festival founder, Peter Browne told of Maurice’s legendary generosity with the music he passed on to so many players who made the journey to his home for that purpose. During his appraisal of Maurice’s worth to the area Mr. Browne played a piece of crystal clear fiddle music from a recording made with Maurice at Dan O’Connell’s Pub in Knocknagree in 1992. We were then treated to a solo from Maurice before he and his fellow musicians, Emma O’Leary, Gerry Harrington, Paddy Jones, Mick Culloty, Eileen O’Keeffe (granddaughter) and Aoife Desmond lit the place with the selection of polkas and hornpipes. After the presentation, while holding aloft his well earned statuette, Mr. O’Keeffe thanked the audience and the festival organisers for thinking of him. “This is something I’ll treasure for the rest of my life,” he said to a standing ovation from the packed theatre. Crowds are up on recent years and visitor feedback on the quality of the music is positive in the extreme. It all bodes well for the future of the festival and we’re bound to say thanks to all who support it in any way. Though the state of mind in the valley here differs radically from our more tourism oriented neighbours - those in the front line cover themselves in glory each year. We hear of publicans and B&B owners pushing out the boats to make people feel at home for the few days. Anyone wishing to make suggestions or offer their thoughts on anything to do with the festival is welcome to post them on www.patrickokeeffe.com
John Reidy 22/10/2007 HATCHES OPEN FOR A GREAT WEEKEND OF MUSIC Castleisland and its environs are preparing for the annual influx of visitors who converge on the valley religiously since 1993 for the Patrick O’Keeffe Traditional Music Festival. All corners of the world have had representatives here over the past fourteen years. The usual Friday night gathering around Máire Begley O’Shea and Mary Conroy and their Radio Kerry Kingdom Céilí has become increasingly like a convention of the United Nations. They return to get proceedings on the road with their time honoured flamboyance from 8pm in Con’s Bar on this Friday night and the World and her partner are invited to share in the fun. I told you last week here that Kiskeam native, Maurice O’Keeffe is to be presented with the festival award for his dedication and services to the music of Sliabh Luachra. I inadvertently told you that Mr. O’Keeffe was to receive the award at the River Island Hotel. Change that to the Ivy Leaf Art Centre on Sunday night during the ‘Grand Concert’ which starts at 8pm. There is also a concert on Saturday night at the same venue and with the same starting time. Booking for both of these concerts is advised on 066 71 42555. Set dancers will have the River Island Hotel all to themselves on Monday afternoon for a Céilí Mór and they’ll take the floor there at 3pm. The organisers have put an attractive feast of music together for the various venues over the weekend with many of the old favourites returning to mingle with the rising stars of the Irish traditional music scene. The Saturday afternoon singing session will be held this year at the top of the town at The Half Barrel and it promises to be one of the best in many years. That usually gets underway around 3pm and has proved almost impossible to stop on several occasions. While the charted sessions may be all found in the pocket book guide to the weekend the festival retains its persistent beauty of the unplanned or the impromptu. These are often provided by people not on the official list but by those who just ‘land on’ and give freely of their gift and talents. Those who love the spoken word will enjoy another festival favourite, Gabriel Fitzmaurice and his poetry session from 3pm on Sunday at Castleisland Rugby Clubhouse.
Press Updates 2006 17/01/2006 CASTLEISLAND PREPARES FOR MUSIC FESTIVAL 2006 Held over the October Bank Holiday weekend, since it was established in 1993 in Castleisland, the Patrick O’Keeffe Traditional Music Festival has attracted some of the biggest names on the traditional music scene in this country and the 2006 line-up looks no different. Running from Friday, October 27 to Monday 30 this year’s menu is peppered with top class music, poetry, singing, set dancing and socialising with the many friends from all corners of the world who make the annual pilgrimage down this way. Friday night is the traditional opening of the festival and the organisers are delighted to welcome old friends, Máire Begley O'Shea and Mary Conroy Knipper on their Radio Kerry / Kingdom Ceili come-back to launch the festival. They will broadcast live in their old 8pm to 10pm slot on opening night, Friday, October 27. Then it’s on to the pub trail where organised sessions may be seen and heard in any of the participating pubs throughout the town. Cormac O’Mahony, as festival chairman, has brought the fiddle right the core of the weekend. He has invited some of the finest and most respected exponents of the Sliabh Luachra style of playing the instrument to pass on their gift to those willing to learn. Classes have been organised with local and well known teachers, Nicky McAuliffe, Paddy Jones and Emma O’Leary invited to take part. The presence of many fine, local musicians like: Denis McMahon, Jack and Celia Regan, Paddy Jones, Ned O’Connor, Nicky and Anne McAuliffe and Sliabh Luachra legends, Maurice O’Keeffe and the late Johnny O’Leary have been hugely supportive of the festival down through the years. For the Saturday afternoon singing session alone people like: Sean Keane, Tim Dennehy, Dessie O’Halloran, Andrew Murray, Johnny Moynihan and many more have joined locals at Tom McCarthy’s, Fagin’s, Brennan’s, The Poet’s Inn and Kearney’s bars for the Saturday afternoon sessions. This year the singing session moves back up town when it will be staged at Fagin’s on the Limerick Road Corner from 3pm. This has proved one of the most popular aspects of the festival to date and it draws the bulk of positive reaction towards the event from visitors and natives. Tim Dennehy and guests, which will include: Dessie O’Halloran and Niamh Parsons will be joined by many locals for what should prove to be another memorable afternoon. Poetry lovers are also being catered for up the road at Castleisland Rugby Club on Sunday afternoon. At 2pm Tralee poet Tommy Frank O’Connor will launch his latest collection of work. Then, Moyvane native, poet and writer, Gabriel Fitzmaurice will read from some of his own work as well as inviting guest to do likewise. This will be followed by an open mic session where people who feel like performing their favourite pieces will be encouraged to do so. Sunday will also see the revival of the tour of Sliabh Luachra. In a merger of the festival committee with the recently formed Castleisland and District Cultural and Historical Society a bus journey around area will include musicians and guide with a few well-planned stops along the way for music and refreshments. The tour leaves Castleisland at 1pm and organiser, Mike Kenny advises that booking is essential on: 087 2409026. On Sunday night during the show-piece concert, Mikey Duggan of Scartaglin is to receive the 2006 Patrick O’Keeffe Traditional Music Festival Award. The award is presented every year to someone who has served the music of the Sliabh Luachra area over a lifetime. Mr. Duggan will join the flame keepers’ gallery with the likes of: Paddy Cronin, Peter Browne, Dan O’Connell, Ciaran Mac Mathuna and the late Johnny O’Leary and Jerry McCarthy who have all been honoured over festivals past. Mikey will be presented with his award during the Sunday night concert. Though not yet complete, the line-up of musicians looks like an exciting one if all the calls come home to roost. An outstanding feature of Monday’s programme of events is the presentation by Nicky McAuliffe of a lecture on the music of the area. This is punctuated by little interludes of live and recorded music from Nicky’s repertoire and library. He is joined by Donal O’Connor and guests for this informative and relaxing afternoon from 3 pm At The Crown Hotel. From its inception in 1993 the festival has adopted a nurturing approach to the Sliabh Luachra style of music and playing; a style which Patrick O’Keeffe is widely credited with harbouring and imparting through the bad years - years before it became all the go. There has been greater emphasis, in more recent times, on the educational aspects of the festival with classes on the traditional instruments of the Sliabh Luachra area being brought increasingly into focus each year. It was after he had done the groundwork on the life and times of the legendary fiddle player and teacher in 1992 and ‘93 that Peter Browne first mooted his idea for a festival in Castleisland to pay tribute to Patrick O’Keeffe and his contribution to the musical heritage of the area. The result of his deliberations around the countryside locally were broadcast in a four-part RTE Radio 1 documentary in November 1993. There is the usual involvement of a dozen or so of the local bars and the close proximity of these to each other is another of the blessings which Castleisland can count on. There, sessions can break out at any time of the day or night. In fact the scene in Castleisland has been described as ‘one long session of a weekend.’ Patrons can pick up a detailed pub trail programme for the weekend and this will be available in bars throughout the town as the weekend dawns. However, the organisers advise that these programmes are, by nature, provisional guides and subject to change. Even so, they have been a little more than reasonably accurate over the past events. Seasoned festival goers will understand that it is always a good idea to keep an ear to the ground for the best, impromptu sessions. These unscheduled outbreaks have been a delightful feature of many of the previous festivals and the spontaneity which ignites them lives on in the memory long after the final, mercurial notes have fallen on appreciative ears.
5/10/2006 MIKEY DUGGAN TO BE HONOURED AT FESTIVAL 2006
Mikey Duggan of Scartaglin is to receive the 2006 Patrick O’Keeffe Traditional Music Festival Award. The award is presented every year to someone who has served the music of the Sliabh Luachra area well over a lifetime. Mr. Duggan will join the flame keepers’ gallery with the likes of: Paddy Cronin, Peter Browne, Dan O’Connell, Ciaran Mac Mathuna and the late Johnny O’Leary and Jerry McCarthy who have all been honoured over festivals past. Mikey will be presented with his award at the Saturday night concert. Though not yet complete, the line-up of musicians looks like an exciting one if all the calls come home to roost. Local and visiting musicians combine to make this one of the most highly regarded, weekend traditional music festivals in Ireland. Details will be relayed here and in all local media as the programme hardens up and the time approaches. The festival website here will also be decorated with information in the run up to the October bank holiday weekend and the event will run from Friday 27 to Monday 30 inclusive. There will be a badly needed day of rest before it’s back to the racket with the town’s annual November 1 Horse Fair.
Click to enlarge
11/09/2006
The A.G.M.OF The Patrick O’ Keeffe
Traditional Music Festival took place in the
River Island Hotel on Fri 08 September 2006,
there was a large crowd in attendance and
the mood of the meeting was very positive.
The following officers were elected.
Click to enlarge
For contact details of any of the committee email
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