This article is from page 37 of the 2009-04-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 37 JPG
LATER this month, Kilfenora will erupt in an explosion of traditional music as the village celebrates it’s greatest ever export – the Kilfenora Céili Band.
The world famous band, which cel- ebrates it’s centenary this year, has both it’s past and it’s present deeply rooted in the hills of north Clare.
The festival is being put together by the newly formed Comhaltas Cuillf- hionnurach, and will take place from April 23 to 26. It will celebrate the last hundred years of the band but it will also celebrate the rich music heritage that has always been in this
area.
“It’s really unique. When you think about how many orchestras or groups who have been around for more than 100 years and there is really noth- ing else to match. You could scour the whole world and come up with maybe a handful of groups with this kind of history,” said Andy Lambert of Comhaltas Cillfhionntrach.
“We have families here who have connection with the music going back for centuries. Indeed there are very few family names here in the locality who don’t have a name in the ceili band or in the brass and reed band going back over the last hundred years.”
The festival will include a number of performances from the current and past members of the Kilfenora Ceili Band as well as a performance from the great rivals, The Tulla Céili Band, a lecture by Garry Shannon on the history of the band and a re- cital by some of Kilfenora’s talented younger musicians.
The majority of events are being offered free while a small cover charge will apply to some events. The festival will also see the launch of the first ever permanent exhibition of artifacts relating to the Kilfenora Céili Band.
“We will have a section of the Bur- ren Centre dedicated to the Kilfeno-
ra Céili Band and music generally in the area,” continued Andy
“We will have a lot of text and photographs to start with and after a while we would hope to build up a collection of music as we go on. It 1s the first time that a permanent record of the band has ever been on display and the idea is that it is something that can keep growing and growing as we go on.”
The weekend will also features per- formances by Tommy and Siobhan People, Michael Sexton, PJ Murrihy and a host of other top musicians.”
For more information on the festi- val contact kilfenoracelebrations@h otmail.com.