2024 could quite easily be termed the Year of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann in Scotland with the formation of two new branches in Ayr and Edinburgh either side of St Roch’s Marching Band’s stunning win at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Wexford.
The addition of these two new branches—which has grown the organisation here by a third—is something that has delighted the Operations Manager of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann in Britain, Paddy Callaghan, who works tirelessly to promote Comhaltas within the Irish community and beyond.
“It’s great to see branches popping up in new areas in Scotland,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming for Edinburgh in particular, an area with a huge history of Irish music. We hope that the establishment of two branches in Scotland in the last year can act as a springboard for other places too.”
A lovely Ayr
The first of the two new branches was founded in January of this year, in the seaside town of Ayr after Fabian Greenan—a schoolteacher from County Monaghan living and working in South Ayrshire—put a plan in place to join the organisation and share his love of Irish music with others.
“There’s always been loads of Irish music in Glasgow,” Fabian said. “But it was more than an hour to get there, and it always seemed that little bit out of reach in terms of travelling there and back for a night out. So, I decided to start thinking about a Comhaltas branch. Myself and a friend from Tyrone, Ruaire Glackin—who I played music with—agreed that we’d call a meeting and see if anyone was interested. We thought if we could get a few people playing Irish music here it would be a result.”
Fabian and Ruaire got the outcome they desired and then some with upwards of 20 people often attending Monday night sessions in Queen Margaret Academy, from all ages, skill levels and backgrounds. Buoyed by the support from Paddy Callaghan, Fabian and his fellow musicians have also entertained crowds in Mulligans Bar in the town and he has also endeavoured to forge links with other branches throughout the country, inviting them down the coast for sessions.
“With the new branch in Edinburgh, I'm hoping that there'll be some night in Glasgow, somewhere where we can have a meet-in-the-middle kind of session,” Fabian said “I’m going to propose to some of the other branches to put a date in place that we can then put to our members and it’ll be a day where we’ve got musicians from Ayr to Edinburgh through to Glasgow playing traditional music together. It would be great hopefully to have some sort of a regular session here eventually too, with musicians from Glasgow, Edinburgh or wherever coming down to play, so that people have even more of an opportunity to meet fellow musicians and make new connections.”
Fabian has made connections with Comhaltas branches in Ireland too, while the branch also recently held their AGM, as he focuses on growing the branch and—inspired by the successes of St Roch’s and others—he hopes that one day soon they’ll be playing competitively alongside other branches.
“St Roch’s winning the marching band competition was a source of great pride for us all,” he said. “The footage was fantastic; they have some really phenomenal musicians and its great to see Scottish branches being celebrated and being successful at fleadhs. They’ve also been a brilliant go-to in terms of resources.”
“We’ve spoken about competing too and have been looking at the dates of competitions,” he added. “I said to our members that I’d be happy to enter individually, just so Ayr is represented, but I added that we could enter as a duo, or as a trio, or even as a wee group. I received some good feedback so maybe, once we get the dates, it’s something we can work towards.”
Ceol in the capital
Meanwhile, in the capital, Edinburgh Comhaltas, held its inaugural meeting (above), which was described as a ‘roaring success,’ with more than 30 musicians in attendance in the Lower Hall of St Michael’s Parish Church. The branch has since played at the Consulate’s Irish Cultural and Heritage Day at the Grange Cricket Club, as well as the Causeway: Ireland Scotland Business Exchange Awards in the city’s Assembly Rooms.
The idea for the Edinburgh branch was first conceived when Chair David Lennon and Vice-Chair Finn O’Neill met Paddy Callaghan at the Consulate’s 2024 St Patrick’s Day reception. Over a pint, discussions turned to Comhaltas and whether there was an appetite for a branch in Edinburgh. Given Edinburgh’s vibrant traditional music scene, prominent Irish community, and the two men’s own experience in playing and teaching traditional music, they were certain that a branch would be of interest to the wider community in Edinburgh, and so it proved.
“When I moved to Edinburgh seven years ago, I was surprised to find that there wasn’t a Comhaltas branch here,” David Lennon said “Ever since, it’s been a personal goal to bring one to the city, and I’m thrilled to see Edinburgh CCÉ finally take shape. The appetite for traditional Irish music in Edinburgh is incredible, and it’s wonderful to bring musicians together under Comhaltas. I’m excited to see how the branch grows and enriches our vibrant community.”
Edinburgh Comhaltas aims to offer monthly tune teaching, allowing people to learn the music or expand their repertoire, followed by a traditional music session. Its goal is to promote Irish traditional music, dance and language to people of all ages through friendly and relaxed teaching and sessions. The board want their branch to be a space that is open and welcoming to everyone, whether they are seasoned musicians or brand new to the musical community.
“Traditional music is a central part of the community here in Edinburgh, so it has been really exciting to start the Comhaltas branch in Edinburgh,” Finn O’Neill said. “I look forward to watching the branch and the music grow here in Edinburgh, and I hope that Edinburgh CCÉ can bring traditional music to a new audience.”
Enhancing culture
Founded as an organisation in 1951, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann was established in Ireland by passionate traditional musicians with the aim of teaching and promoting the music of Ireland, and its network of branches grew at a rapid pace. Six years later, Glasgow boasted having the first branch established outside of Ireland.
Comhaltas now has a global reach and a presence in 22 countries. It has forged strong links with the Irish diaspora, as well as promoted a positive image of Ireland and its rich cultural heritage on the international stage. The fact that Scotland now has two new branches to assist in enhancing Ireland’s vibrant living culture is something that has greatly pleased Consul General of Ireland in Scotland, Jerry O’Donovan.
“2024 has seen an explosion of activity and development within the traditional Irish music scene in Scotland and Comhaltas has been at the heart of this,” he enthused. “In August, we saw St Roch’s Marching Band from Glasgow making history at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann as the first overseas band to win the Senior Miscellaneous title. This victory was testament to the incredible work being done across Scotland by organisations such as Comhaltas to support Irish music.
“The landscape is a very healthy one at present, with two new Comhaltas branches opening in the last year in Ayr and Edinburgh. We were delighted that members of Comhaltas from across Scotland could join us this year as the main entertainment at our official St Patrick’s Day reception and it was incredible to hear the panel of talented musicians and teachers speak about the role that Irish music plays in their lives and within the wider Irish community.”
Both new branches—Ayr CCÉ and Edinburgh Comhaltas—have Facebook pages or you can contact them via e-mail: ayr@comhaltas.co.uk and edinburgh@comhaltas.co.uk for more information
Yorumlar