Sliabh Luachra Summer School 2015 at Rockchapel 3-8 August

The Sliabh Luachra Summer School will take in Bruach Na Carraige Rockchapel from the 3rd to 8th August 2015.

The traditional music master classes which will be directed by Nicholas McAuliffe who is a leading authority on traditional music will focus on the recently discovered manuscripts in the National Traditional Music Archives in Dublin which came from Dan Curtin of Stagmount, Rockchapel and date back to the 1850, and manuscripts discovered in Elsberry,Missouri, in the United States and were compiled by Dave Dan Curtin and by David Leahy from Seocandgloss Mountcollins with music dating back to the 1700s.
These manuscripts give a historical glimpse of an older layer of Sliabh Luachra music that predates the polkas and slides that now characterize the area. They also illustrate the richness of the music at the time of the compiling of the manuscripts, and the contribution made by the area to the music of Sliabh Luachra over the last 200 years.

One of the most interesting items is a unique version of “Allisdrums March” and a related tune “Church Hill”. Both form part of a suite of tunes that commemorated the Battle of Knocknanus in 1647.These were once popular throughout Munster, but have vanished from the tradition
.The master classes will run from Monday 3rd to Friday the 7th of August from 10am to2pm with a fee of €50. On the same days there will be Traditional Dancing and Sean Os Dancing workshops from2.30pm to 5.30pm directed by Maurice O Keeffe.
On Thursday 6th of August there will be a singing night with songs from Sliabh Luachra.The week continues with The Scully Fest at the renowned Scullys bar in Newmarket.On Saturday at 2pm there will be a visit to the to the Padraig O’Keeffe monument at Glountane Cross.

The weekly Seisiun continues in Bruach Na Carraige each Tuesday night starting at 9pm.
Further information 087 2205566 Email bruachnacarraige @hotmail.com