Sun Splendour and Psalms Spell Success For Féile
(Courtesy of Dungarvan Observer)

Crotty Gets Away ... "Nobody likes to see the 'Polis' win", wailed the Garda, as the crowd cheered the rescue from the gallows of William Crotty, Highwayman of the Comeraghs. Whether or not Crotty the Robber was the kind of Robin Hood figure he is being made out to be, now that Déise history is being re-written, is quite debatable, but on the basis of last Sunday's script in Grattan Square, the people of Dungarvan were content to clasp him to their collective bosom and forgive him his many trespasses.

The sun beamed down on the swelling crowd, some seated in red chairs, some content to stand at the back or sides and some, the lucky two or three, stood atop the Feile office to direct or film the now annual spectacle which is the street pageant of Féile na nDéise. It was a magnificent performance, with actors strutting their stuff as if on the back lots of MGM, and a horseman galloping Cossack-like through the set, as if straight out of Dr. Zhivago.

The Lord and Lady of the manor were properly disdainful of the riff-raff through whom they had to pass and the executioner was sombre, while the priest was positively funereal. A super cast played a super production and the audience declared it the best yet. Behind it all, the musicians were superb, varying their tone and beat to suit the moment, the cueing precise, the direction crisp. A magnificent team effort, a tribute to experience and practice.

Earlier in the churches, loud applause and standing ovations were commonplace. In the Friary , An tAthair Pádraig O'Dálaigh was telling his congregation of the Irish devotion to the Mass and the words of Doubting Thomas. The choir, musicians and dancers passed the seventy minutes for the full-house and for once, no one left before the end. Micheál O'Halloran was applauded to the lofty ceiling, with a spontaneous second round of applause as the crowd prepared to leave.

In between there were psalms and songs, fast and slow and a caoineadh for the punt in the second basket collection. No one grudged the Volunteer Missionaries though, so long as we didn't have to go to Africa ourselves.

Later, in the Church of Ireland, the Welshmen made the rafters ring and had the ladies hearts aflutter as they delivered of their best. No sign of fatigue after their all-night trip, they were too seasoned from many rugby internationals

Dancing in Grattan Square'In Grattan Square, as the hurlers made heavy weather against Galway, the groans of the crowd were masked by the commentary. Macdara had little good to relate and the crowd had little to cheer. In the end, it was a merciful release. Spared a trip to Tipp until the real thing in June.

Stealing the show by a mile were 'The Ríl Thing' from Mayo, Roscommon and Donegal. Sure, they were grand, aye. They were superb, the rale thing really and the biggest hit with the crowd. They brought brush dancers too, who hopped, skipped and jumped like Olympic champions and with no row about which gear to wear.

Goldfinger peered from his perch and later turned to a snowman, while the golden lady gently tapped shoulders and glided like a ghost in a haunted corridor. Theirs was the youngest visitor, celebrating his fifth day of age, a day he won't remember. In Thurles, it's a day they'll want to forget.

To close, the Aughakillymaude Mummers made their grand entrance. The announcer went to great lengths to pronounce each syllable, but the head mummer was content to refer to their place as 'Aklimade', sounding like a cross between a fizzy drink and a proprietary lotion for heat rash. There's no understanding the Northern tongue this far south. They were resplendant in their straw masks, rags, hats, bonnets, black suits and grain sacks. The ladies who wore the jute gave a whole new meaning to, 'living under canvas'. "Aughakillymaude", their literature says, "is a rural community at peace with itself and her neighbours" and sure, who'd want to make war on mummers anyway.

By evening, the bins were full and the bank machines empty. By midnight the bars were full and the kegs were empty, the story of every festival countrywide.

Another end to another Féile and tomorrow, it all starts again.

Bodhran
Bodhran For over 20 years, local Ballad Group Bodhran have been among the top entertainment acts in South Ireland. In recent years they have staged one concert annually, often to the benefit of local projects. Some of their finest ballads have formed the main part of the band's repertoire. To say they are a local legend may be a cliche but to have survived in popularity in their own place is indeed exceptional. As individual performers, all possess that natural flair and professional approach which has marked them apart. On Friday, in the Ballroom of Lawlors Hotel they will perform. The band are Bernie Power, Christy O'Neill, Sean Gallagher, Matt Fahey, Michael Flynn & Peter Hayes.

Danu
Danu Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw was wrong: 'Youth isn't wasted on the young', not when an Irish band as talented as Danu comes along. Danu perform Irish traditional music with a skill and sizzle that have captured the imagination and loyality of fans worldwide. All under 30, the Waterford - based septet "makes a most exciting and highly musical sound thath stirs the blood and lifts the heart," according to Dublin's Irish Music magazine, which named Danu the "Best Overall Traditional Act" of 1999. On Sunday, in The Pearse Room of Lawlors Hotel the band will play. The members are Tom Doorley, Eamon Doorley, Brendan McCarthy, Jesse Smith, Noel Ryan, Donnchadh Gough, Ciaran O Gealbhan.

Quimantu
Quimantu "Groups like Quimantu here in London are highly professional producing excellent music, extremely melodic and haunting, played on such exotic instruments as the quena, charango, zampona, guiro and bombo..." - John Green Morning Star (UK)

The unique sound of Quimantu brings the traditional music of Latin America striding into the present with an energy and dynamism generated by its clear vision for the future of Latin-America World Music. Stirring the rhythms of its African roots and combining European, Celtic and other musical influences and the group moves effortlessly from vibrant pulse of Cuban Son to the sweet and haunting melodies of Andean pipes. Quimantu will be supporting Danu at Lawlors Hotel on Sunday, 30th April.