Festivals and Entertainment
Virtually every village and town in Ireland seems to have
a festival of some kind or other each year. Whatever the pretext for the
celebration, it's usually also an excuse for serious partying.
Well-established ones like the Cork Jazz Festival and the Wexford Opera
Festival are major international events, and getting tickets for top
performances can be well nigh impossible without advance planning. The
very word "festival" seems to act as a magnet for all sorts of
musicians, and many events are wonderfully overwhelming. No matter the
size of the town, there's rarely enough room for all that's happening,
with music and dancing bursting out of the official venues into
surrounding streets and bars. The biggest of the annual events are
listed here, but pick up a calendar of events at any major tourist
office and you'll soon get a picture of the huge range of celebrations
Music
Apart from their sheer exuberance, the most enjoyable
aspect of Irish festivals is, without doubt, the traditional music. Many
festivals (the Irish for festival is Fleadh - pronounced fla) are
devoted almost exclusively to this: the biggest of them is the Fleadh
Cheoil na hÉireann , which includes the finals of the All Ireland
music and dance contests.
However, if you can't make it to a festival, there's usually plenty
going on in the pubs and bars, especially in high season in the popular
tourist spots. Music in Irish pubs is legendary, and there's lots on
offer, though only a relatively small proportion of it is "traditional".
The national hybrid form of country and western, country and Irish, is
extremely popular with a host of regular gigs around the island. You'll
still find that Irish staple, the showband, too, and there's a myriad of
middle-of-the-road pop bands lurking in country areas. Ballads are
another well-developed Irish music form though the term "ballad" is a
bit of a catch-all and open to countless interpretations - it's
generally some form of dull crooning, often accompanied by just a guitar
and monotonous beatbox. Brace yourself for the worst, and from time to
time you'll be very pleasantly surprised.
The
cream of pub music, however, has to be the traditional sessions
of fiddles, flutes, accordions, bodhrán (a drum) and, occasionally,
singing. Interest from abroad and the tourist industry has much to do
with the resurgence of this musical culture - but this hardly matters,
since the music can be phenomenal. The west coast (especially around
Clare, Donegal and Galway) has the best of the traditional scene.
There's plenty in all the major cities, and pointers to the best
sessions are given in the text. However, venues may change for all
manner of reasons and it's wise to ask around and keep your ears open
for local tips.
Traditionally Sunday evening was the night for sessions, and in rural
areas this is often still the case (a throwback to restrictions on holy
days that meant partying on Saturdays had to stop at midnight), but
increasingly Friday and Saturday have become just as important, and, in
summer, you may find something happening any night of the week. Things
generally don't get going till late, and a bar that's still empty at
10pm may be a riot of music by half-past. While it's all extremely
convivial and relaxed, if you're a musician yourself and want to join
in, then do so tactfully. The first thing to do is sit and listen for a
while - to make sure you can play to a high enough standard and are
familiar with the repertoire - and then work out who the leader is and
ask. If you're not playing, don't crowd the musicians; the empty seats
around them are reserved for others who may arrive later.
Comhaltas Ceoltóiri Éireann is an organization that exists purely to
promote traditional music and culture, and evenings organized by them
(not always in bars), though by their nature not spontaneous, are well
worth looking out for. They are run by real enthusiasts, and the
standard of playing is usually pretty high
Ireland
