Top trad acts for Nobber Festival

Well-known traditional music accordionist Máirtín O'Connor, accompanied by fiddle player Cathal Hayden and Seamie O'Dowd on guitar, will headline this year's O'Carolan Harp, Heritage and Cultural Festival in Nobber which will be held from Thursday 30th September till Sunday 3rd October. The Máirtín O'Connor band will play on Saturday 2nd October in O'Carolan College at 8pm. The trio have successfully played gigs in Ireland, Britain, mainland Europe and Australia where they played as part of the Masters of The Irish Tradition concert along with Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill, Steve Cooney, Iarla O'Lionáird and piper David Power. The concert sold out two nights in the Sydney Opera House and received a rapturous reception. On Friday 1st October, as part of the O'Carolan Festival, harpists Gráinne Hambly and William Jackson will play in O'Carolan College. The Rosemary Caine Trio, which includes Sean McMahon and Jay Witbeck, will also perform on Friday. This gig begins at 8pm. Gráinne Hambly and William Jackson are two of the foremost harpers of Ireland and Scotland, combining their extraordinary talents on harp as well as concertina, tin whistle and bouzouki. Since touring extensively throughout the United States for the past eight years, Gráinne Hambly has not only garnered an ever-growing following of devoted harp enthusiasts but has managed to cross over and capture the Irish music fan with the taste for the fast, driving reels and jigs of traditional music. William Jackson from Glasgow has been at the forefront of Scottish traditional music for nearly 30 years. In addition to his stature as one of the leading harpers and multi- instrumentalists in Scotland, he has gained an international reputation as a composer. His 'Land of Light' won the international competition in 1999 as the new song for Scotland, announced on the eve of that Parliament convening for the first time in 300 years. As with every year, the Meath Harp Orchestra and Meath Harp Ensemble under the direction of Dearbhail Finnegan will play. On the Friday night, the Meath Harp Orchestra will play before the main acts, Rosemary Caine Trio and harpists Gráinne Hambly & William Jackson. The Meath Harp Ensemble also will play at the festival on Saturday in O'Carolan College before the Mairtin O'Connor band. The Meath Harp Ensemble was formed in 2003, which was a very exciting time as the Meath Harp Academy (formally the Meath Harp School) was taking another step to expanding its teaching syllabus and was now offering students the opportunity to play in an ensemble setting. The group has changed its membership over the years as students graduate. Current members are: Aedin McConnell, Áine Flanagan, Ciara Taaffe, Deirdre Caulfield, Grace Crilly, Jennifer Leahy, Katie Kerley, Michael O'Neill, Shane Taaffe, Cait O'Reilly and Dearbhail Finnegan, director. The annual tour of O'Carolan Country will be given by Padraig Lewis on Saturday 2nd October at 11am, which covers historical sites in the Nobber and surrounding area. On Saturday, a harp maintenance workshop will be held by William Hornby. There will be a harp-makers' exhibition on Friday and Saturday in O'Carolan College by Salvi Harps Ltd, Cardiff. Workshops in harp and various instruments will also be held as part of the festival, with enrolement at 9.15am on Saturday. Harp tutors are Gráinne Hambly, Cormac de Barra and Kim Fleming. Instrumental workshops will also be held. Harp competitions will be held on the Saturday from 2pm in O'Carolan College. On Thursday night, 30th September, the night before the official opening of the O'Carolan Harp Festival, a film premiere of the documentary 'History Of A Nation' will be shown in Nobber Communinty Hall at 7pm, Admission is €10. It was filmed in Ireland in 33 locations, including Nobber, about the true history of Ireland from Cromwell to the present day There will be music sessions from 10pm in Dee Local on Friday and Keogan's on Saturday. On Sunday, the traditional Mass will be held in St John the Baptist Church at 11am. Following Mass, attendees are invited to follow piper Rory Summers as he leads the way to take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the village's life-size monument of blind harpist Turlough O'Carolan, in whose honour the festival is held annually. Refreshments will be available in Nobber Community Hall afterwards. Later on Sunday, a lecture by Noel French of Trim Heritage Centre will be delivered in the community hall at 3pm, on the 'Houses of Nobber and North Meath'. Later that night, the festival will conclude with a ceili in the hall with music by Davey Joe Fallon at 7pm.