Christmas Shepherds' Play

The Camphill Community in Dingle put on the Christmas Shepherd’s Play for the second time this year. This is a musical play with 18 songs and I was asked to do the music. I invited some session friends, Gordon and Rose Saunders to play with me. We are used to playing Irish music in the key of “G” or “D.” These songs are mostly in “F” “Bb” and one in “Eb” which was a bit challenging but with a little practice, we got the hang of it.










A.C.Harwood who translated the plays into English gives a background in his preface. The Shepherds’ Play is one of three plays that were found sometime around 1845 by Karl Julius Schroer on the little island of Oberufer on the Danube River near Pressburg in Austria. Schroer was one of Rudolf Steiner’s teachers. Sometime in the sixteenth or early seventeenth century a group of German people moved there from Lake Constance and brought with them the cycle of religious plays which they had received from their ancestors. The peasants of Oberufer had preserved the plays, both the text and the tradition of acting, unaltered down through the generations.

Through Steiner, the plays were brought to the Waldorf Schools and it has become a tradition that the teachers put on the plays at Christmas time as a gift to their students. Camphill follows the same tradition.


Camphill
Dingle

Christmas Swim in Dingle

There is a tradition here for people to take a swim in Dingle Bay on Christmas Day to raise funds for the care of the coast. Usually forty to fifty brave souls show up with an equal number looking on. Here is a short video of this year's event.







Dingle Festivals
Christmas Swim

John Benny's Pub Session

John Benny Moriarty's Pub, generally referred to as John Benny’s, is located on Strand Street in Dingle. They serve food all day and have self catering accommodation. It is one of the primary locations for traditional Irish music in town.

John Benny, a very good West Kerry style box player, frequently leads the session himself. And, if you are in Dingle on a Wednesday night, don’t miss his wife Eilis Kennedy. She plays whistle and timber flute and she has a beautiful voice with a texture that is unique. Eilis has her own website with biographical information, performance schedules and you can listen to selections from her CD’s.

Seán Briggs & Cillian O'Briain

There is a session every night during the season and on weekends and some evenings during the off-season. John Benny's also offers an opportunity to experience Irish set dancing every Monday night. All sessions begin at 9:30 pm.

Pub Session Dingle

Paudie's Bar Session #2

Aina, Eoin and myself
Last night I dropped into Paudie’s to find Eoin Knightly on box, Aina Davis on fiddle and Michael Smurthwaite on guitar in a session and the place was hopping. These guys have a vibrancy that is contagious. Often, they were unable to retain their seats and were up and dancing while playing.

Michael Smurthwaite
The audience was largely American and loved every minute of it. I played along with my harmonicas and with the bones. There was a great interest in the bones and several people wanted to examine them and try them out.


Box and Fiddle


We concluded the night by taking the music around the room with everybody joining in the singing.


Bones Dingle Pub Session

Paudie’s Bar Session

Dingle Bay Hotel

A very friendly and social session can be found at Paudie’s bar in Dingle. There is traditional music most nights during the season and occasionally there is an Elvis evening. Paudie’s Bar is located within the Dingle Bay Hotel on Strand Street.

Rose, Gordon & Tomás

I particularly like Tuesdays and Fridays with Tomás Flahive, Gordon and Rose Saunders. This little group creates a warm, friendly and inclusive session. Tomás is a local box player with a very lyrical style. Gordon plays guitar and banjo and is the singer of the group. This session does have more singing than most others. Rose plays an assortment of instruments.

On Mondays and Thursdays there is a very lively session with Aina Davis, Eoin Knightly and Rob Lowther. The musicians themselves are half dancing as they play.

Eoin Duignan, uilleann piper, usually plays on Sundays. Eoin also runs the concerts at St. James’ Church.

Sessions usually begin at 9:30 pm.

Dingle Music Sessions Pub Sessions

Folk Concert at St. James' Church

At St. James’ Church, Main Street, Dingle, in a quiet setting with good acoustics, you can hear many musicians that play in the pub sessions. Performances are every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Tickets at the door cost €15. Due to limited seating it is recommended to get advance tickets which are also less expensive from the Tourist Office, music shops in town or at Murphys Ice Cream.

The event is put on by Eoin Duignan, uilleann piper, low whistle player and composer. Eoin usually takes to the stage at some point in the evening himself. Eoin was a member of the well-known traditional Irish music group The Wild Geese that toured Europe throughout the 1970’s. He has been living in Dingle for the past 20 years. For more information on Eoin and his recorded music go to his website. You can listen to Eoin playing at St. James' and view some great Dingle scenery at this You Tube link.

At St. James’s you will have an opportunity to hear some of the best traditional Irish musicians in the locality. Also, Eoin attracts talented musicians from other parts of the country. The presentations are intimate and the standard is very high.

St. James’ Church is a small and simple structure built in the year 1807. It is said that the original church on the same site was built by the Spanish. After the reformation it was taken over by Church of Ireland. As mentioned in my previous blog entry, Dingle has a long historical connection with Spain and with Santiago de Compostella and was one of the starting points for pilgrims.

Dingle Eoin Duignan St. James' Church

Féile na Bealtaine (Beltane Festival)

The Celtic year starts with Samhain at the beginning of November followed by Imbolc in February, Beltane in May and Lughnasadh in August. These are the main Celtic festivals and they fall half way between the more usual festivals celebrated in March, June, September and December. In Ireland, spring begins with Imbolc, summer begins with Beltane, Autumn with Lughnasadh and winter with Samhain. We celebrate festivals at all of these times here.

The Beltane Festival in Dingle/An Daingean goes on for a whole week with art exhibits, book launchings, poetry and of course music. There is a theme each year and this year it is the relationship between Dingle and Santiageo de Compostela. Dingle was one of the main starting points for pilgrims going to Compostela going back to the 16^th century. It is with great pleasure that the connection is being re-established this year with the sailing of the Tall Ship Jeanie Johnston on May 1^st. with 29 pilgrims plus crew.

The Jeanie Johnston is a replica of a well-known famine ship. Check out the link for a full description of the ship and its history. It is hoped that this trip will not be just a one-time affair but rather that the tradition of Dingle as a starting point for the pilgrimage will be re-established.

The Spanish Ambassador to Ireland, His Excellency Senor Jose de Carvajal Salido was present to cut the ribbon for a plaque commemorating the long tradition between Dingle and Santiago de Compostela.
Music for the opening event was provided by the Dingle Marching Band and by Mark Crickard and Maurice Mc Kenna.
There is an extensive program of events for the week including performers such as Aslan, Mary Black, David KittJodavino, Rojda & Her Band, Moya Brennan and many others.


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