This article is from page 12 of the 2006-08-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
THE 12th annual Éigse Mrs Crotty traditional music festival saw upwards of 10,000 visitors dancing on the streets of Kilrush over the week.
Attendance figures for daily concertina classes were up on previous years, while the ‘ceili in the square’ remained one of the most popular features of this growing arts festival.
Mrs Crotty, a native of Cooraclare, was one of the most respected exponents of the concertina in West Clare. For many years she ran a bar in Kilrush Square – Crotty’s – with her husband Micho. While Micho ran the bar, his wife could be found sitting in a corner, teaching students from far and wide the intricacies of the concertina.
After her death in 1960, several attempts were made to hold a commemorative event to mark her contribution to traditional music, but it wasn’t until 1994 that concrete plans were put in place.
Outlining the importance of the festival, local councillor, Liam O’Looney said that from a business point of view, it’s one of the focal points of the summer season. “It’s an important way for us to attract tourists to town for the weekend. If they come one year, they always seem to return, we get great repeat business and I think that’s a testament to the event.”
In advance of the festival, there was some concern that the staging of the World Fleadh in Ballybunion would adversely affect numbers in Kilrush. Yet the opposite seems to have been the case, with many foreign visitors taking in both events.
“There was some concern that the World Fleadh would have an affect,” said Cllr O’ Looney, “We had 1,500 every day at the sessions in the square alone and we seem to be have had our busiest year. Certainly we have a larger foreign contingent, they may have been disappointed with Ballybunion and decided to head down here for the weekend.”
During the festival, Crotty’s Bar staged a nightly concertina club, where members of the Kilfenora Ceili Band orchestrated proceedings, while the local primary school doubled as a concert hall for the likes of Andy Irvine, Clare native Chris Droney and the Five Counties Ceili Band.
“The festival was spurred on by the local community,” said Crotty’s proprietor, Rebecca Brew, “there was a feeling it was there to be done. The concertina is linked with this area, having arrived here in the middle of the last century on the tall ships, it was a very affordable instrument, only costing a shilling, and women have always been associated with it mainly because of its size. The festival has gone from strength to strength in recent years and we are delighted with the response”.