This article is from page 84 of the 2008-07-22 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 84 JPG
THE Eigse Mrs Crotty festival will be relying on the saying that 13 is lucky for some as the 13th year of the TTA eB Ne sll molocar mee materalhy| ey
The traditional music festival has grown to incorporate music, sing- ing and dancing workshops, open air céili, a Mrs Crotty memorial con- cert, singing sessions, recitals and a vibrant session trail.
Each year the festival welcomes more and more returning visitors to the annual event, which honours one of the town’s best-known daughters.
This year, as had been the trend for the last decade, organisers are hop- ing for even more visitors to the west Clare capital for the five-day festi- Vee
A unique atmosphere can be expe-
rienced in the market town, as the open air céili in the square become the focus on the event. This year “At the Racket” will headline at the Mrs Crotty memorial concert, which will also feature Dympna O’Sullivan and friends, Conor McEvoy and Padraic O’Reilly. The Eigse Session Trail is a new venture added to the festival this year.
The pubs in Kilrush will welcome sessions led by Tom Carey, Eamonn Cotter, John McEvoy and John Wynne, Chris Droney and Jacinta McEvoy, Dympna O’Sullivan, Joe Carey and Des O’Halloran, Paddy O’Donoghue, Mark Donnelan and Cyril O’Donoghue. There will be many other sessions ongoing in town throughout the festival.
Singing has grown to take a central part in the Eigse Mrs Crotty pro- gramme. Tim Dennehy, who is well
known for his classes at the Willie Clancy Festival will bring his sing- ing workshop to the mix and also lead what is considered a very popu- lar singing session in O’Brien’s Bar.
This year the festival will also be adding a sean nos singing workshop with Eamonn O Donnchadh.
The concertina workshops and mas- ter classes have been the backbone of the festival since it began and have been growing since. This year fiddle, flute, traditional and sean nos sing- ing, set dancing and sean nos danc- ing will be part of the line-up.
The open-air céili at the Square are warmly welcomed by the people of Kilrush and visitors to the festival as it hails the opening of the festival on the Wednesday evening. Céili also play an important part of the festi- val right up to the two ceilis on the LUTITOE Me
The five-day festival would not be possible without the hard work of the local committee and the influence of the talented Mrs Crotty.
Born Elizabeth Markham in 1885 near Cooraclare, Mrs Crotty, was the youngest of the large Markham fam- ily. By the time of her death in 1960 she had become recognised as one of Ireland’s foremost exponents of the concertina.
She married Miko Crotty and to- gether they established Crotty’s Pub- lic House in the Square, Kilrush. It was from this House of Music that Elizabeth Crotty’s reputation quietly erew. Ciaran MacMathuna’s first ex- cursion to rural Ireland in 1950s with RTE’s mobile unit was to record her talent for the first time.
The festival celebrating her legacy has grown steadily since the first weekend of music in 1995.