"WE come because we like hanging out here," admitted the fiddler Martin Hayes from the stage on New Year's Eve. Teasing his bow over his fiddle like silk on silk, and working the audience in Ionad Cois Locha, Dunlewey, Co Donegal into a clapping, roaring frenzy was merely anciliary to the partying, he implied.
The fiddler has won a National Entertainment Award two years running, once in his own right, and once as producer of the Tulla Ceili, Band's 50th anniversary album, which has earned the veteran band a tea date with the President, Mrs Robinson on Tuesday.
The Frankie Kennedy Winter School of Traditional Music was set up in December 1994 to commemorate the eponymous flautist with Altan, who died of cancer at the age of 38 in September of that year. The school and the concurrent concerts run by the local Tionscnamh Lughgroup, have turned the north west corner of Donegal into the most exciting place to be in the country between Christmas and New Year's Eve.
The first year the school had all the sadness and all the joy of a wake with musicians such as Liam O Maonlai, Luka Bloom, Shawn Shannone Donal Lunny, Maighread and Triona Ni Dhomhnaill and the other Altan members packing onto stages, playing in hotel lobbies, and sending music fans into ecstasies. Joy now dominates more easily, and many of the stalwarts still come back every year Luka Bloom, who wrote a rap song about Frankie at the first school, and "the best New Year's Eve" of his life, played a gig on New Year's Day this year.
The actor Sean McGinley comes, every year - he cut a very un Charlo like figure hiding his little daughter Roise in his coat, beside a very green looking version of his wife, the actress Marie Mullen, as the boat from a session on Tory Island braved the waves towards the mainland. The trip to Tory was an innovation this year which saw about 50 people battling the cold to see the island in the splendour of a clear winter's day.
Met by the King of Tory Island (a title which is said to predate that of the House Of York), Patsy Dan, they packed into the social club for an afternoon of music, which included songs from the Corn Ui Riada winner, Gearoidin Breathnach and Aoife NiFhearraigh, whose recent CD was produced by Clannad's Maire Ni Bhraondin, as well as local veteran singer Jimmy Mary Bhilly, who interspersed bursts of An Maidrin Rua with impressive leps across the floor. The former King of Tory Pol Mac Ruairi then joined the present king to lead the whole party towards the pier with their two accordions.
A frenzied gig with the barefoot Australian guitarist Steve Cooney, and the demon Kerry accordionist Seamus Begley, brought punk and trad crashing together, as over 300 people fought for dance space on the floor of the Ostan Ghaoth Dobhairon New Year's Eve. Martin Nes whipped out that enchanted fiddle and Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh of Altan, Frankie Kennedy's widow, sang. Altan fiddler Ciaran Tourish and exAltan fiddler Paul O'Shaugknessy also lent their bows to the proceedings.
Paul Brady was there, but didn't take the stage because of a bout of flu he has a special relationship with Altan because his band, the Johnstons, recorded a hymn to the beauties of Donegal, Gleanntan Ghlas Ghaoth Dobhair, which was written by Proinsias O Maonaigh, Mairead's father.
The school now attracts people from all over Europe and the US (and sends some of these into profound culture shock), but few made the sacrifice of Altan's Stateside guitarist, Daithi Sproule, who left his wife Patty in Minnesota as soon as the presents were opened on Christmas Day to get to Dunlewey to open the school.