Folk Centre: The Detainees

I was appalled to read of Christy Moore’s (pictured) detention for two hours by British police at Holyhead under anti-terrorism legislation. In a statement released afterwards, he described the incident as “threatening and frightening”, and said he was questioned about lyrics in his songs, the contents of his briefcase, his family, his children and his home. Jaysus, and we thought it was bad when the Americans accused Cat Stevens of being a terrorist ....

Niall Ó Callanáin of the Traditional/Folk section of the Musicians Union of Ireland has requested that we print the following statement in regard to the Arts Council document ‘Towards A Policy For The Traditional Arts’, about which I’ve written extensively in the last couple of issues. Here it is:
“We, members of the Traditional and Folk Committee of the Musicians Union of Ireland (MUI), would like to welcome the recent launch by Minister John O’Donoghue TD of the far-sighted document ‘Towards A Policy For The Traditional Arts’. For the first time, traditional music is recognised as a legitimate art form that merits parity of esteem with other art forms in the shape of funding and development. The professional traditional musician is finally taken seriously as a contributing member of the workforce, which benefits the tourism sector and the exchequer in general.
“For many years, in many cases, musicians have been used merely as a tool to encourage the increased purchase of alcohol in licensed premises. Our working conditions and remuneration have diminished dramatically, which has a knock-on effect on the quality of the music and which discourages talented musicians from pursuing a career in the industry. We have been the subject of patronising lip service by politicians and state agencies on how the tradition is thriving in Ireland.
“This report addresses many of the issues that we have been attempting to tackle: the lack of exposure for the working traditional/folk musician on both National and independent broadcasting stations; the lack of appropriate playing environments; the imbalance in funding which has favoured high-brow art forms; the perceived attempts by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann of securing a monopoly on any funding of traditional music. While we recognise the total legitimacy of and hard work done by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann at grass roots level, our concern is for the working professional (or semi professional) traditional/folk musician, equally legitimate, and we feel that all practitioners of the living tradition should be acknowledged.
“Our one concern with the report is that while “the financial assistance provided to the traditional arts should be brought ... to the level where the traditional arts are among the top four art forms funded by the Arts Council,” no mention is made of where the funding is to come from. We would be totally opposed to the reduction in funding of any other art form. Are we seeing the beginning of an era of more investment by the exchequer into arts in general and traditional arts in particular?
“This report, to be of any value, must be implemented. We see this as the beginning of a process which will lead to better conditions, recognition and respect of the working traditional/folk musician.
“We look forward to the appointment of a Traditional Music Officer in the Arts Council. We would also like to acknowledge the support of Minister John O’Donoghue for this initiative and in the interest of continuity, welcome his reappointment as Minister for Arts.”
In fairness, I ought to point out (in relation to the MUI’s concern about the funding of other art forms being reduced) that the report does in fact recommend “that the Arts Council seek a commitment from Government that would assist it in achieving this aim without damaging or affecting the funding to other art forms.” Let’s hope they’re successful.
The New York-based ballad-rock band Black 47 are due on this side of the pond shortly. Accompanied as usual by a loyal cohort of fans who’ve travelled over from the States to support them, they’ll be touring Ireland from November 17-23. More info on the band can be found at www.celtictv.com.
The award-winning Scots folk band Malinky has announced the retirement from the group of members Karine Polwart and Leo McCann. After six years, founder member Karine is moving on to pursue new opportunities as a songwriter, with support from an independent publishing company, following on her nomination for Best Original Song in the 2003 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Leo and his wife Linda are expecting their first child in early November; he’ll continue performing music on a freelance basis and also hopes to pursue his long-postponed career in social work. The remaining members of the band – Steve Byrne (vocals, guitar, bouzouki), Mark Dunlop (vocals, bodhrán and whistles) and Jon Bews (fiddle, vocals) – will make an announcement shortly regarding a new lineup, to be showcased at celebratory farewell concerts for the present lineup in Glasgow and Edinburgh in early 2005. For more info, see .
The 11th William Kennedy Piping Festival takes place in Armagh from November 16-21. Started in 1994 to commemorate the blind 18th century pipe maker from Tandragee, Co. Armagh, the festival has grown to become one of the biggest of its kind. This year’s lineup features pipers from Galicia, Brittany, Sardinia, Hungary, Cape Breton, England, Scotland and Ireland. Festival highlights will include rare Irish performances from Davy Spillane, Carlos Nuñez, the Kathryn Tickell Band and Patrick Molard. The festival will also highlight local talent with performances by current World Pipe Band Champions the Field Marshall Montgomery Pipe Band and BBC Radio 2 Young Musician of the Year Jarlath Henderson. There will also be sessions, workshops, a céilí, a festival club, CD and book launches, a range of activities for schoolchildren and much more. For information, ring +44 (0)28 3751 1248/1249 or visit www.wkpf.org.
Kíla are launching their Live In Dublin album with a 12-date nationwide tour, finishing up in Clonmel on November 11. They’ll be back in Dublin on December 19 for their annual Christmas show at the Olympia. The band has been busy this past year with concerts in 14 countries on four continents, including appearances at WOMAD festivals in Australia, Italy, England, and Spain – where they played to an audience of 40,000. In Japan, they made an appearance on the network television show ‘News 23’, which has a viewership of 40 million. For more information, as well as tour dates and venues, see www.kila.ie.

Musicians and singers with news to share can e-mail Sarah on [email protected]