Recognition - Ottawa Ceili Band

Alf and Elizabeth 

On Saturday 17 March 2017 at our St. Patrick's Day event, we recognized and celebrated the leads of our céilí band, Alf Warnock and Elizabeth Scarlett.

The chair of Ottawa Irish Arts presented to Alf and Elizabeth this appreciation award on behalf of Ottawa Irish Arts for more than 20 years service and dedication to the traditional music community.

Alf Warnock and Elizabeth Scarlett have been involved in local traditional music since at least the 1980s when there was a traditional session at Rasputin’s.  By about 1997 Alf and Elizabeth ran the Rasputin’s session until Rasputin’s was destroyed by fire in 2008. By Elizabeth’s estimate, they played one or two sessions a week from 1984 to 2008.

Elizabeth taught fiddle at the Ottawa Folklore Centre in the 1990s, and had started some Celtic groups that formed the roots of what later became some of the local slow jams. 

Alf and Elizabeth have also been involved in the Ottawa Fiddle Club, and probably any other fiddle group that’s come and gone.

Alf, juggling his schedule, continues to play traditional Irish music with us, while also performing in local jazz ensembles.

For as long as I’ve been involved with this branch of Comhaltas, Alf and Elizabeth have ably and consistently served as leaders of the Comhaltas (now Ottawa Irish Arts) ceili band, more than 10 years, and they rarely, and I mean rarely, miss a gig.

Thank you Alf and Elizabeth!
Go raibh míle maith agat!

C. Hamm
Ottawa Irish Arts, Chairperson || Cathaoirleach 

42nd Scoil Éigse

from http://www.fleadhcheoil.ie/scoil-eigse

Scoil Éigse 2014 Sligo 10th - 15th August

International Summer College of Irish Traditional Music Instrumental – Vocal – Dancing Workshops – Lectures – Sessions – Irish Language 

When: 10 August 2014–15 August 2014, at 3:00 pm (Irish time)

Where: Sligo

Contact: Siobhán ní Chonaráin 

Phone: +(353) 01 2800295

Email: liza@comhaltas.ie or siobhan@comhaltas.ie

Website: http://www.fleadhcheoil.ie/scoil-eigse 

The 42nd Annual Scoil Éigse organised by Comhaltas this year will take place in Sligo, between 10- 15 of August, the week before the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann.


What is the Scoil Éigse? The Scoil Éigse is the official summer school organised by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann where Irish people and students from the Commonwealth (or from anywhere in the world where is a Comhaltas branch) attend to obtain a better and deeper understanding of Irish music and culture.


At the CCÉ’s annual international Summer School, students of all ages register for the various classes offered. The school provides workshops, lectures and sessions the week before the Fleadh and continues each day during the Fleadh. The emphasis of the school is in traditional music, dance, and song during the day with informal céilís and sessions each evening.

For details check the Scoil Éigse descriptive document, and the registration form.

Folk Music Revival

In Ireland and other countries, a folk music revival has been gong on since the beginning of the 20th century. Many musicians have sought to draw on the original sources of folklore traditions as a way of renewing their own art, but this “renewal” is not always geared to preserving traditional culture before its disappearance.

Here is an interesting documentary on how the revitalization of Irish folk music in the 1960’s came about: http://youtu.be/39D0J8SzQMA 

In central Europe, Endre Abkarovits (citation below) wrote a very interesting paper in which he compares both the Irish and Hungarian folk music revival; both countries have covered similar paths in pursuit of “preserving” their musical culture in the latter part of the 20th century.

A video of Hungarian folk dances, shows a musician on stage walking around with a set of elbow pipes, reminiscent of the Irish “píobaí uilleann” (see 05:10 mark). http://youtu.be/BXGovKBEaHo
In you want to explore a plethora of Irish songs in Gaeilge, lyrics in Irish (with English translation) and the audio, check: ‪http://www.songsinirish.com 



Abkarovits, Endre. 2006. Irish Folk Music Revival from a Central European Perspective. Romanian Journal of English Studies, Number 3/2006, pp. 7-16. (the article is in the first 10 pages of the issue).
http://www.litere.uvt.ro/vechi/documente_pdf/RJES/no3_CULTURAL_STUDIES.pdf