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Celebrate St Patrick’s Day in Skibbereen!

This year’s St Patrick’s Day Parade in Skibbereen is themed – “The Wild Atlantic Way” and schools, clubs and businesses throughout the community are encouraged to participate in this ever popular family event.  Businesses can get involved straight away by dressing their windows and turning Skibbereen “green” for the festival of events.

Festivities in Skibbereen get underway with the Comhaltas Féile Cheoil weekend from Friday March 13-15 with a full programme of music and cultural events to suit all – please find full details here

St Patrick’s Day Church services take place in Abbestrewery at 10 am and in St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 9 am and 11:30 am.

singing at paradeThe annual parade then starts at 2:30pm, from the playground in Skibbereen and follows its traditional route before finishing at the Old Mart Car Park on Bridge St.  The Julia Hickey Memorial Shield will once again be presented to the overall winner on the day and there will be runner up prizes too, as well as a special prize for the best little leprechaun!

The fun doesn’t stop there as between 4 and 6pm in Abbeystrewery Hall the Gaelscoil are holding a fundraiser with teas and coffees, face painting and many more fun activities for all.

 

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Comhaltas Féile Cheoil programme for St Patrick’s Weekend 2015

Festivities for St Patrick’s weekend in Skibbereen get underway with the Comhaltas Féile Cheoil from Friday March 13-15 with a programme of Irish traditional music and cultural events to suit all.

Feile Cheoil 2015

On Friday, March 13th at 8pm a Concert/Irish Night takes place in the West Cork Hotel and on the next day, Saturday, March 14th workshops will be held in brush dancing, whistling and lilting in the GAA Pavilion, followed that evening by an Aifreann Tradisiúnta in the Cathedral at 6.30pm.  Sunday, March 15th sees Féile Cheoil day of competitions in Rossa College.

Please download a brochure for the full programme of events here : Feile Cheoil Brochure (1)

 

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Mick Flannery and Martin Stephenson among musicians to perform at Skibbereen Arts Festival

Cork singer songwriter Mick Flannery, who has just released his fourth album, will perform his best known songs in the acoustic surrounds of Abbeystrewry Church, Skibbereen, on Saturday August 2nd.

Martin Stephenson will be playing in Baby Hannah’s Beer Garden on Thursday July 31st. The British musician, whose career spans over thirty years, has gained critical acclaim alongside his band ‘The Daintees’, and has a discography amounting to an impressive 40 albums.

Other music events to take place in the festival include ‘The Annual Canon Goodman Concert’, which will be held on Sunday 27th July. The concert which is held every year in recognition of influential Irish piper and music historian Canon James Goodman, will see musicians Liam O’Flynn, Paddy Glackin, and Alexander Suarez Mendez play their mastered instruments.

Uileann Pipe player Liam O’Flynn is seen as one of Ireland’s leading musicians. O’Flynn has played with the likes of Irish folk group, Planxty, whose members consist of Christy Moore and Andy Irvine, and the National Symphony Orchestra.

Paddy Glackin is Ireland’s leading fiddle player. The Dubliner was the first fiddle player in the traditional music group, The Bothy Band whose original line-up included Matt Molloy and Tony McMahon.

Cuban Galician Pipe player, Alexander Suarez Mendez will be playing along on The Sunday night. Alexander’s passion for uileann pipes began in 2011, after Gay McKeon from Na Píobairí Uileann held workshops in Havana.  The 23 year old musician now teaches the uileann pipes and tin whistle back in his home town.

A Sean Nós session will bring the craic agus ceol to the festival on Friday August 1st at Abbeystrewry Church with music from Nell Ní  Chróinín, Caoimhín Ó Feargahil and The Sean Gnóstics. The Vespertine Quintet are set to bring a flare of Chamber Music to the Festival on Friday August 1st, at Liss Ard. While four part acapella group, The Cork Sacred Harp singers are back to perform again this year at the Abbeystrewry Hall on Saturday August 2nd.

For more information on the festival, its events and bookings, please check out the Skibbereen Arts Festival website at www.skibbereenartsfestival.com, or for ticket information please call 087 126 0327.

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2014 County Cork Fleadh Cheoil comes to Skibbereen

Officers of the Cork County Board of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann met last autumn with the organisation’s Skibbereen branch, Craobh an Sciobairín, which is to host the Cork County Fleadh Cheoil next May 8th to 11th.  The annual festival of music, song and Irish language is to take place in Skibbereen with up to 1,500 competitors set to take part in more than 40 categories and thousands more visitors expected to throng the town over the Fleadh weekend.

The Fleadh Cheoil is a weekend festival comprised of céilí dancing, music sessions, street entertainment and competitions in music, singing, comhrá and storytelling. Under 12 and 12/15 competitions will take place on Saturday May 10th, while 15/18 and Senior competitions will take place in Sunday, May 11th. Two qualifiers from each competition will go forward to represent Cork in the Munster Fleadh Cheoil in Killarney in July 2014.

The local branch aims to promote the Irish language and our traditions during the Fleadh and lectures, sessions and Céilí planned, as well as an outdoor traditional music ‘gig rig’ with an Open Air Céilí on Sunday afternoon at the Bridge in the centre of town.
Con McCarthy, chairman of the Cork County Board of Comhaltas and vice-chairman of the Skibbereen branch, warmly welcomes the decision to hold the Fleadh in Skibbereen for the 8th time. Skibbereen Branch is an extremely active Branch, with over 400 members, with a great tradition of song, music and dance and of course the Irish language. There is a growing interest in all aspects of our tradition.  Nuala Ní Bhriain, chairperson of Skibbereen’s Fleadh committee, says that this will be a shop window for Skibbereen and for our culture. A lot of hard work will be involved but it is a golden opportunity to showcase the locality. As a Branch it’s also an opportunity to promote what is done, and hopefully it will inspire local people to get involved in Comhaltas.

County Fleadh Skibbereen