Traditional Irish music students holding Ceol ó Chroí concert
Class tutor Mossie Martin. Pic. David Knight
A one of its kind music course will culminate in a very special concert being held next month to raise monies for a number of local charities.
The Drumshanbo Traditional Irish Music Course will host its charity music concert, Ceol ó Chroí - Music from the Heart, in The Mayflower, Drumshanbo, County Leitrim on March 8th at 8 p.m..
Funds raised from the concert will go to supporting St Vincent de Paul, Drumshanbo, North West STOP, Sligo Cancer Support Centre and The Capuchin Day Centre. The annual concert has been taking place since 2007 with well-known musician Mossie Martin, class tutor, teaching the students since 2006.
The course was established in 1997 and is the only course of its kind in the country. It was established on foot of the success of the Joe Mooney Summer School, which provides a week of tuition, concerts, céilís and music sessions every July.
The organisers of the summer school and the principal of the secondary school joined forces to establish a new, full-time Level 5 PLC course in Traditional Irish Music.
The course welcomes students of all ages, of all abilities including complete beginners and with all instruments. It is administered and funded by the Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim Education and Training Board (MSLETB) and students receive funding through the VTOS scheme.
The course is the embodiment of “Is é an Ceol an Saol” - Music is Life. It promotes the culture of our musical heritage while providing a community where participants of all ages, from all backgrounds and with any musical instrument are welcomed, encouraged and supported.
The shared interests and experience of playing music and singing together promotes self-confidence and well-being.
It is a full-time VTOS course that students participate in for two years (September – May). Leading to a QQI Level 5 Music Award, the course includes modules in Irish Music, Music Theory, Music Performance, Music Industry Studies, Event Production, Communications and Work Experience. Students are encouraged to learn an instrument of their choice and to practice every day, a core element of the course being the transmission of Irish music in the traditional manner - by ear.
This year there are 15 students on the course including students from Carlow, Clare, Limerick, Belgium, England, Donegal, Dublin, Roscommon and Leitrim. They are learning tin whistle, fiddle, flute, banjo, concertina, button accordion and guitar accompaniment.
Three of them now hope to bring music into the community by visiting active age groups and nursing homes. The music will be accompanied by images taken by local photographer David Knight.
A local fiddle player, Mossie Martin, from Keadue has been teaching the course since 2006. He is a member of the Sligo-based Dartry Céilí Band (All-Ireland winners 2009) and has performed and recorded with Lúnasa, Dervish and a semi-solo album with his family ‘The Humours of Derrynacoosan’ (2019).
Among the students is Aoife Duignan, a singer and tin whistle player from Arigna. A cousin of the well-known flute player, Packie Duignan (1922 – 1992), Aoife is 21 years of age and has had lots of success in singing competitions. She performs regularly in the northwest and is about to launch a single called ‘Arigna’, a song that was written for her by a classmate, Michael McKenna, last year. Aoife went to school in Drumshanbo is one of the heirs of a musical tradition in Arigna that includes the highly influential John McKenna, a flute player whose recordings in the 1920s and 30s still set standards and inspire modern flute players. She hopes to carve a musical career singing and performing.
Another student Rhianne Kennedy grew up in Liverpool in an Irish family and moved with her family to Leitrim a few years ago. Aged 37, Rhianne learned classical flute as a child and is now learning the Irish wooden flute, banjo and tin whistle.
The group is also looking forward to a two-week trip to Vienna, Austria funded by Erasmus+ in May 2024! If you’d like to play a tune or sing a song with them, all musicians singers, dancers and listeners are welcome to their monthly Hooley in the Mayflower. For further information check out ‘Drumshanbo Irish Music course’ on Facebook, ‘Mossie Martin’ on YouTube or contact the tutor Mossie Martin at mossiemartin@msletb.ie Tickets for the concert on March 8th in the Mayflower are €10, children are free, and can be bought via Eventbrite or at the door.
