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BELLS TOLL | 0:00:02 | 0:00:05 | |
CELTIC MUSIC | 0:00:14 | 0:00:18 | |
This is the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann, | 0:00:30 | 0:00:33 | |
the largest gathering of Irish traditional musicians in the world. | 0:00:33 | 0:00:38 | |
For every one of them, | 0:00:41 | 0:00:43 | |
an All-Ireland medal is the ultimate prize. | 0:00:43 | 0:00:47 | |
For these young musicians and their families, | 0:00:47 | 0:00:49 | |
the journey to Derry/Londonderry, the UK City of Culture, | 0:00:49 | 0:00:52 | |
has been years in the making. | 0:00:52 | 0:00:54 | |
Throughout the summer, | 0:01:15 | 0:01:17 | |
qualifying events take place in every county in Ireland. | 0:01:17 | 0:01:21 | |
Here in Tyrone, 278 musicians of all ages compete against their peers, | 0:01:21 | 0:01:27 | |
hoping to win through to the next stage - the provincial final. | 0:01:27 | 0:01:30 | |
They are all members of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann, | 0:01:37 | 0:01:40 | |
the organisation founded in 1957 to preserve a musical tradition | 0:01:40 | 0:01:43 | |
that was almost lost. | 0:01:43 | 0:01:45 | |
The county final is a chance to build confidence | 0:01:48 | 0:01:51 | |
and musical friendships, but for the McKenna family | 0:01:51 | 0:01:54 | |
and many like them, the road to Derry starts here. | 0:01:54 | 0:01:57 | |
James, Sinead and Peter, | 0:01:59 | 0:02:00 | |
for the last four years they've been competing in trio. | 0:02:00 | 0:02:04 | |
Last year it really came together, | 0:02:06 | 0:02:08 | |
they were first-place winners in the Under-15 All Ireland. | 0:02:08 | 0:02:14 | |
It's a nice sense of achievement for them, | 0:02:14 | 0:02:15 | |
given that Peter was 11 and Sinead was 12. | 0:02:15 | 0:02:18 | |
If the McKennas are to defend their title in Derry, | 0:02:21 | 0:02:24 | |
they must win through in first or second place. | 0:02:24 | 0:02:27 | |
Nerves can derail even the most experienced competitor. | 0:02:34 | 0:02:38 | |
Nervous now. I always get nervous in competitions. | 0:02:38 | 0:02:41 | |
I didn't know at the start of the day if I was going to play or not. | 0:02:41 | 0:02:44 | |
I've been in competitions now since I was 11 years of age, and I thought | 0:02:44 | 0:02:48 | |
I might give it a miss for a year, but my father had other ideas. | 0:02:48 | 0:02:51 | |
Keeping me practising was probably the worst thing, | 0:02:54 | 0:02:57 | |
after all the fights and arguments through the years. | 0:02:57 | 0:03:00 | |
After all the years of playing now I do thank him, | 0:03:00 | 0:03:03 | |
for keeping me going when I didn't want to. | 0:03:03 | 0:03:05 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:03:05 | 0:03:06 | |
12-year-old Una Campbell's chosen instrument is not one usually | 0:03:08 | 0:03:12 | |
associated with traditional music. | 0:03:12 | 0:03:14 | |
I always played traditional music on the tin whistle. | 0:03:36 | 0:03:38 | |
The notes are kind of the same on the tin whistle, | 0:03:40 | 0:03:42 | |
like, the same as the saxophone. | 0:03:42 | 0:03:44 | |
I brought some notes onto the saxophone and started fiddling about | 0:03:45 | 0:03:48 | |
with things, and then Mummy actually taught me a tune on the saxophone. | 0:03:48 | 0:03:52 | |
Then that year we entered the Miscellaneous | 0:03:58 | 0:04:00 | |
and got through the All-Ireland and won the All-Ireland, | 0:04:00 | 0:04:03 | |
so then, just come back this year again and see how I do. | 0:04:03 | 0:04:08 | |
And I give first place to Una, well done. | 0:04:08 | 0:04:12 | |
And the best of luck in Ulster. | 0:04:12 | 0:04:14 | |
And in first place is Tomas Quinn, well done. | 0:04:15 | 0:04:18 | |
In first place, James and Sinead McKenna. | 0:04:20 | 0:04:22 | |
Glad it's all over! | 0:04:25 | 0:04:27 | |
But success in their county Fleadh is only the beginning. | 0:04:30 | 0:04:33 | |
Now these young musicians must face the best in Ulster | 0:04:33 | 0:04:35 | |
at the provincial finals | 0:04:35 | 0:04:37 | |
if they are to realise the dream of competing for the All-Ireland. | 0:04:37 | 0:04:41 | |
And this year, for the first time | 0:04:41 | 0:04:42 | |
since this festival of music began, | 0:04:42 | 0:04:45 | |
the Fleadh will cross the border, to this year's City of Culture, | 0:04:45 | 0:04:48 | |
a city that has always been steeped in music. | 0:04:48 | 0:04:52 | |
HE SINGS IN IRISH | 0:04:56 | 0:05:00 | |
Another musician with his sights firmly set on | 0:05:04 | 0:05:07 | |
this year's Fleadh is singer and composer Lorcan MacMathuna. | 0:05:07 | 0:05:12 | |
Steeped in the tradition of song known as Sean-nos, | 0:05:12 | 0:05:15 | |
he is part of a generation of young musicians taking | 0:05:15 | 0:05:18 | |
traditional music into the 21st century. | 0:05:18 | 0:05:20 | |
Throughout this summer he will work with different | 0:05:29 | 0:05:32 | |
communities from across Derry, as he searches for both words | 0:05:32 | 0:05:35 | |
and musicians to help him create a unique new work which will be | 0:05:35 | 0:05:38 | |
performed as part of the grand opening of this year's Fleadh. | 0:05:38 | 0:05:42 | |
I've been asked to write a cycle of songs which will open the Fleadh. | 0:05:45 | 0:05:49 | |
So this is why I want to talk to you people, | 0:05:50 | 0:05:52 | |
I want you to be part of writing a new song. | 0:05:52 | 0:05:55 | |
'What colour is the Foyle?' | 0:05:58 | 0:06:01 | |
Foyle is red, yellow, pink, blue, orange, purple and green. | 0:06:01 | 0:06:05 | |
I see the Foyle River and it teases me. | 0:06:05 | 0:06:10 | |
I hear the sounds of traffic in the distance, | 0:06:10 | 0:06:12 | |
I smell smoke from houses and cigarette butts, I see | 0:06:12 | 0:06:16 | |
tall, compact buildings reaching towards the permanently grey sky. | 0:06:16 | 0:06:20 | |
Where does the River Foyle go to? | 0:06:20 | 0:06:23 | |
The River Foyle goes to the end of the world. | 0:06:23 | 0:06:26 | |
HE SPEAKS IRISH | 0:06:27 | 0:06:30 | |
CHILDREN SPEAK IRISH | 0:06:32 | 0:06:36 | |
It knows the colour or subject to change, nothing lasts forever. | 0:06:38 | 0:06:42 | |
I'm sure you can't put your hand in the same river twice, but | 0:06:42 | 0:06:45 | |
you can definitely put both hands in the same river at least once. | 0:06:45 | 0:06:48 | |
Everybody has something to say about the river, | 0:06:50 | 0:06:52 | |
nobody's left blank with that one. | 0:06:52 | 0:06:55 | |
It certainly has a... It's perceived anyway, | 0:06:55 | 0:06:58 | |
to have a life and a personality. | 0:06:58 | 0:07:00 | |
So later on this month I'll be coming back with lyrics and a melody | 0:07:02 | 0:07:05 | |
and teaching it to everybody. | 0:07:05 | 0:07:06 | |
Everyone that wants to be part of it. | 0:07:06 | 0:07:08 | |
I didn't actually think the workshops would draw such strong teams for me. | 0:07:11 | 0:07:15 | |
I thought I would be getting a million different stories | 0:07:15 | 0:07:18 | |
and fitting them all together. | 0:07:18 | 0:07:19 | |
What I'm actually finding is that there's a million different | 0:07:19 | 0:07:22 | |
perceptions and stories, all right, but it is the story of one city. | 0:07:22 | 0:07:26 | |
And a river runs through it as well. | 0:07:27 | 0:07:29 | |
This year, London is the venue for the 50th annual All-Britain Fleadh. | 0:07:43 | 0:07:48 | |
Over 400 finalists from Comhaltas branches all over England, Scotland | 0:07:48 | 0:07:53 | |
and Wales will compete for a chance to perform in Derry. | 0:07:53 | 0:07:56 | |
These sons and daughters | 0:07:58 | 0:07:59 | |
of Irish immigrants are part of a vibrant musical tradition overseas, | 0:07:59 | 0:08:03 | |
a tradition that Justin Quinn from Leeds is rediscovering. | 0:08:03 | 0:08:07 | |
'I started playing music, I think, when I was about nine.' | 0:08:08 | 0:08:12 | |
Parents were from Pomeroy in Tyrone and my granda used to play fiddle. | 0:08:14 | 0:08:19 | |
When I was growing up in Leeds the Irish community was a | 0:08:21 | 0:08:24 | |
really big community. | 0:08:24 | 0:08:26 | |
The music was a massive part of Irish culture. | 0:08:26 | 0:08:31 | |
I won the All-Ireland when I was 14, in the 12-15s, and it was... | 0:08:31 | 0:08:36 | |
I think that was the second year I'd entered the Fleadh. | 0:08:36 | 0:08:40 | |
I didn't really understand what I'd achieved... | 0:08:40 | 0:08:43 | |
at that time. | 0:08:43 | 0:08:45 | |
I think I was probably too young to appreciate what winning | 0:08:45 | 0:08:48 | |
the All-Ireland meant. | 0:08:48 | 0:08:49 | |
I think I put the accordion down when I went to university, | 0:08:52 | 0:08:55 | |
and I don't think I picked it up for nearly 20 years. | 0:08:55 | 0:09:00 | |
Coming back to Leeds, having lived abroad in Thailand, | 0:09:03 | 0:09:06 | |
and bumping into Paddy there, who, similar story with the fiddle. | 0:09:06 | 0:09:10 | |
So, Paddy and I kind of egging each other to get back involved. | 0:09:10 | 0:09:13 | |
This is something that was always there and was lacking, | 0:09:18 | 0:09:21 | |
and needs putting back into my life really. | 0:09:21 | 0:09:23 | |
The best way to do that - enter the Fleadh, | 0:09:25 | 0:09:27 | |
cos you've no choice then but to learn some tunes. | 0:09:27 | 0:09:30 | |
Not so much to win the competition, | 0:09:30 | 0:09:31 | |
just not to completely humiliate yourself. | 0:09:31 | 0:09:35 | |
And, erm, that's kind of where we are today. | 0:09:35 | 0:09:38 | |
-PADDY: -Sounds good. | 0:09:38 | 0:09:39 | |
I'm a bit long in the tooth for entering a competition, | 0:09:51 | 0:09:54 | |
but in another way it's managed to drag Paddy and myself back... | 0:09:54 | 0:09:59 | |
actively to music. | 0:09:59 | 0:10:01 | |
APPLAUSE Justin Quinn. | 0:10:01 | 0:10:03 | |
Once I bought this accordion on eBay I was like, | 0:10:24 | 0:10:27 | |
"Oh, I'm going to have to learn how to play again." | 0:10:27 | 0:10:30 | |
I kind of realised that, | 0:10:33 | 0:10:34 | |
in the 20 years I'd not picked up an accordion, | 0:10:34 | 0:10:36 | |
I'd regularly sat with my fingers drumming, actually playing tunes. | 0:10:36 | 0:10:41 | |
Not just tapping them out | 0:10:43 | 0:10:45 | |
but playing the tunes in quite a stylised way | 0:10:45 | 0:10:48 | |
and I guess interpreting them and still developing as a musician. | 0:10:48 | 0:10:52 | |
'20 years, but nerves, I don't remember nerves being quite so bad. | 0:11:06 | 0:11:11 | |
'I was an indestructible child.' | 0:11:11 | 0:11:14 | |
Second place I give to Justin Quinn. | 0:11:14 | 0:11:16 | |
APPLAUSE | 0:11:16 | 0:11:18 | |
Yep, on the way to Derry, | 0:11:20 | 0:11:22 | |
and the lesson is "do a bit more homework", I think. | 0:11:22 | 0:11:25 | |
The climax of every Fleadh is also its most competitive event - | 0:11:31 | 0:11:34 | |
the Senior Ceili Band Competition. | 0:11:34 | 0:11:37 | |
Hoping to return to the All-Ireland finals are Britain's reigning champions | 0:11:44 | 0:11:47 | |
- the St Roch's Ceili Band from Glasgow. | 0:11:47 | 0:11:50 | |
For Paddy Callaghan, a successful solo artist | 0:11:52 | 0:11:54 | |
and BBC Scotland's Young Traditional Musician of the Year, | 0:11:54 | 0:11:58 | |
the band is a huge part of his life. | 0:11:58 | 0:12:00 | |
'I got involved because my dad had taken me up to classes. | 0:12:02 | 0:12:05 | |
'My older sisters had been already attending those, | 0:12:05 | 0:12:08 | |
'and I knew that by the time I got to four or five | 0:12:08 | 0:12:11 | |
'I would be given a penny whistle | 0:12:11 | 0:12:13 | |
'and go up to the local Comhaltas branch, the Irish Minstrels branch.' | 0:12:13 | 0:12:17 | |
It's hugely important, | 0:12:18 | 0:12:19 | |
particularly to a community | 0:12:19 | 0:12:21 | |
like the one I'm in in Glasgow, | 0:12:21 | 0:12:23 | |
where there's very few ways in which you can express your Irish culture. | 0:12:23 | 0:12:29 | |
'So it's great that the one thing that is accepted is music.' | 0:12:29 | 0:12:33 | |
St Roch's, Irish Minstrels. | 0:12:34 | 0:12:37 | |
So, if they could start making their way to the stage please. | 0:12:37 | 0:12:41 | |
St Roch's Ceili Band is an institution. | 0:12:41 | 0:12:43 | |
I started going out playing ceilis when I was 12 and 13. | 0:12:44 | 0:12:48 | |
It's the most amazing education you can ever get in music. | 0:12:49 | 0:12:53 | |
Going out at that age, performing on a weekly basis... | 0:13:00 | 0:13:04 | |
I mean, you might be playing to 100 women in their eighties, but it's | 0:13:04 | 0:13:09 | |
the experience of doing that and the discipline that it teaches you. | 0:13:09 | 0:13:13 | |
You can put five or six different generations of band on a stage, | 0:13:21 | 0:13:25 | |
never played together before, and they'll start exactly the time | 0:13:25 | 0:13:29 | |
and play the same tunes, any dead stops or variations, | 0:13:29 | 0:13:32 | |
and it'll sound great. | 0:13:32 | 0:13:34 | |
CHEERING | 0:13:37 | 0:13:40 | |
Four points to the Leeds Ceili Band. | 0:13:44 | 0:13:46 | |
'It was a close one at the All-Britain this year, | 0:13:46 | 0:13:49 | |
'it went right down to the last adjudicator.' | 0:13:49 | 0:13:52 | |
Five points to Ceol Agus Craic. | 0:13:52 | 0:13:54 | |
Seven points to St Roch's. | 0:13:57 | 0:13:59 | |
-BAND MEMBERS: -Woohoo! | 0:13:59 | 0:14:02 | |
That's us through to Derry, so...absolutely delighted. | 0:14:02 | 0:14:05 | |
Yeah, looking forward to it. | 0:14:05 | 0:14:07 | |
DRUMMING | 0:14:13 | 0:14:15 | |
Another musician is hoping his band will qualify for Derry. | 0:14:19 | 0:14:23 | |
Kieran Leonard is already an All-Ireland champion in bodhran | 0:14:23 | 0:14:26 | |
and in drumming. | 0:14:26 | 0:14:27 | |
His band have come close before, | 0:14:27 | 0:14:29 | |
but so far the All-Ireland trophy has eluded them. | 0:14:29 | 0:14:33 | |
Kieran is hoping that this year in Derry it will be their turn. | 0:14:33 | 0:14:37 | |
I suppose going to the first Fleadh I really fell in love with it, | 0:14:37 | 0:14:40 | |
I got hooked on it. | 0:14:40 | 0:14:41 | |
You just start planning your life around what's going on at a Fleadh. | 0:14:42 | 0:14:46 | |
Now this year, I've no solo competitions, and it's | 0:14:52 | 0:14:56 | |
almost like I can really enjoy everything until we get to the bands. | 0:14:56 | 0:15:00 | |
I love the ceili band, it really does mean a lot to me, you know. | 0:15:02 | 0:15:04 | |
I'm lucky in the sense that there's ten of us in that band, | 0:15:07 | 0:15:09 | |
and we're all friends. | 0:15:09 | 0:15:11 | |
Maggie Maguire is a fiddle player in the band, | 0:15:13 | 0:15:15 | |
and she kind of runs it, and her brother Chris is on accordion, | 0:15:15 | 0:15:18 | |
her sister's on flute, | 0:15:18 | 0:15:20 | |
so straightaway you've got a family environment there. | 0:15:20 | 0:15:22 | |
There's a closeness already, | 0:15:22 | 0:15:25 | |
we can rely on every single person in that band. | 0:15:25 | 0:15:28 | |
You practise all year, and your goal is to go to the Fleadh | 0:15:33 | 0:15:35 | |
- this year it's in Derry - | 0:15:35 | 0:15:37 | |
our goal is to go to the Fleadh, | 0:15:37 | 0:15:38 | |
give it a real good shot, and win lose or draw the ten of us | 0:15:38 | 0:15:41 | |
will still be together at the end of it. | 0:15:41 | 0:15:43 | |
With just over a month before the Fleadh begins, | 0:15:53 | 0:15:56 | |
Lorcan is back in Derry with the finished song, | 0:15:56 | 0:15:58 | |
and looking for an orchestra of volunteers. | 0:15:58 | 0:16:00 | |
Well, I went off and took your transcripts | 0:16:02 | 0:16:04 | |
and transcripts from other places as well, and pieced together | 0:16:04 | 0:16:07 | |
what I think is an ode to the city and an ode to the river itself. | 0:16:07 | 0:16:11 | |
It's called I Am the Foyle. | 0:16:12 | 0:16:14 | |
# I have carried many streams | 0:16:16 | 0:16:22 | |
# My streams have carried many people | 0:16:23 | 0:16:28 | |
# I have wrested stories from the twisted plain... # | 0:16:30 | 0:16:36 | |
Working with all of those little snatches I had of people's minds | 0:16:37 | 0:16:40 | |
and trying to get phrases I thought would reveal something about them, | 0:16:40 | 0:16:46 | |
and finding themes within it all that tied together quite well. | 0:16:46 | 0:16:50 | |
So "I am the Foyle" became sort of, the statement of that aim, you know. | 0:16:51 | 0:16:57 | |
# I am memories | 0:16:57 | 0:17:02 | |
# I am an ocean... # | 0:17:02 | 0:17:06 | |
Once I was doing that, the feeling of an anthem came out | 0:17:06 | 0:17:11 | |
very strongly in it. | 0:17:11 | 0:17:12 | |
# I am laden with the rust of history | 0:17:12 | 0:17:18 | |
# I am 1,000 colours | 0:17:19 | 0:17:25 | |
# My depths are bronze and green | 0:17:25 | 0:17:30 | |
# The murky home of man and land | 0:17:30 | 0:17:34 | |
# I am the colours of the sky | 0:17:34 | 0:17:39 | |
# Of greys and purple, of rain and shadow | 0:17:40 | 0:17:47 | |
# Of blues and endless clarity. # | 0:17:50 | 0:17:55 | |
ACCORDION PLAYS | 0:17:59 | 0:18:01 | |
For the McKenna family, this summer | 0:18:09 | 0:18:11 | |
- and every summer - belongs to music. | 0:18:11 | 0:18:13 | |
Myself and Martin both have a great interest in Irish music, we were | 0:18:18 | 0:18:21 | |
never competitive in Irish music but we had a great interest in it. | 0:18:21 | 0:18:24 | |
We're guided by what they like to do, | 0:18:29 | 0:18:31 | |
and when they show an interest in something. | 0:18:31 | 0:18:33 | |
That really has very much brought us on our journey, | 0:18:36 | 0:18:39 | |
in terms of what we do over the summertime. | 0:18:39 | 0:18:42 | |
Peter is moderately deaf, it's called low-tone deafness. | 0:18:49 | 0:18:52 | |
Low tones, he can't hear them, but he can hear very high sounds, so I think | 0:18:52 | 0:18:56 | |
Peter has adapted himself within music to the pitch of instruments. | 0:18:56 | 0:19:00 | |
So he has picked the pipes and the whistle because he knows he can | 0:19:00 | 0:19:04 | |
get the loud tones out of those instruments and the high tones. | 0:19:04 | 0:19:06 | |
The trio started out as really an encouragement arena for Peter. | 0:19:14 | 0:19:19 | |
We can see the music breaking down the barriers for Peter, | 0:19:21 | 0:19:24 | |
because he can feel a sense of achievement by playing | 0:19:24 | 0:19:27 | |
the music and being on the same level playing field | 0:19:27 | 0:19:29 | |
as everybody else in the family. | 0:19:29 | 0:19:31 | |
It's a busy time for Mary and Martin, with six of their seven | 0:19:36 | 0:19:40 | |
children hoping to qualify from the Ulster provincial final. | 0:19:40 | 0:19:44 | |
Well, first of all, my concert flute at 10.00. | 0:19:44 | 0:19:50 | |
There's another competition you're in at number one as well. | 0:19:50 | 0:19:55 | |
It's not 10.00, it's at half 11. | 0:19:55 | 0:19:56 | |
The very best musicians from the | 0:20:07 | 0:20:09 | |
nine counties of Ulster are here, all 2,971 of them. | 0:20:09 | 0:20:14 | |
Throughout this weekend, in competition after competition, | 0:20:14 | 0:20:17 | |
they will play in front of the public | 0:20:17 | 0:20:19 | |
and their peers as the judges choose the winners. | 0:20:19 | 0:20:23 | |
And only those placed in first | 0:20:23 | 0:20:24 | |
and second will get the coveted ticket to Derry. | 0:20:24 | 0:20:27 | |
Over the course of Saturday | 0:20:28 | 0:20:30 | |
and Sunday we have six children competing in... | 0:20:30 | 0:20:34 | |
I think it's 23 competitions in total. | 0:20:34 | 0:20:36 | |
Really and truly I think Sinead doesn't mind how you | 0:20:38 | 0:20:42 | |
get on in the competition, it's, "Let's give it a go." | 0:20:42 | 0:20:44 | |
Sinead likes to play various instruments | 0:20:46 | 0:20:48 | |
and she's exploring various competitions at the moment | 0:20:48 | 0:20:52 | |
in the Fleadh, so it's a case of being organised and prepared | 0:20:52 | 0:20:55 | |
to abide by the Fleadh rules, and be in five places at the one time. | 0:20:55 | 0:20:59 | |
-You got first place in the fiddle. -Oh! | 0:21:01 | 0:21:05 | |
Erm, duet, you got first place in the duet. So...congratulations! | 0:21:05 | 0:21:11 | |
In first place and also going to the All-Ireland Fleadh in Derry - | 0:21:22 | 0:21:25 | |
Una Campbell, from Pomeroy. APPLAUSE | 0:21:25 | 0:21:28 | |
Another popular winner in the Senior Button Accordion Competition | 0:21:31 | 0:21:34 | |
is Christopher Maguire. | 0:21:34 | 0:21:36 | |
Went in and played the tunes as well as I could play them. | 0:21:40 | 0:21:43 | |
I was very happy with how I performed, but going through | 0:21:43 | 0:21:46 | |
to the All-Ireland, it's another day out for me. | 0:21:46 | 0:21:48 | |
For the next three weeks I'll be locked in a room | 0:21:50 | 0:21:53 | |
practising four tunes. | 0:21:53 | 0:21:54 | |
See where I can add variation, rolls, nothing too loud, | 0:21:54 | 0:21:58 | |
too soft, you know. | 0:21:58 | 0:21:59 | |
'Very nervous, eh? I'll be happy when I get it over.' | 0:22:07 | 0:22:10 | |
I suppose the older you get the harder it is to keep | 0:22:12 | 0:22:15 | |
going into competitions. | 0:22:15 | 0:22:17 | |
After a few years you get fed up with competing. | 0:22:18 | 0:22:21 | |
Whatever happens. | 0:22:23 | 0:22:25 | |
I've managed to get him in so far every year, | 0:22:28 | 0:22:31 | |
but I think this'll be the last. | 0:22:31 | 0:22:32 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:22:32 | 0:22:33 | |
You'd think I'd be used to it by now. I'm getting worse. | 0:22:36 | 0:22:40 | |
As long as I play well, I'll be happy. | 0:22:45 | 0:22:47 | |
I don't care about places, as long as I play well. | 0:22:47 | 0:22:49 | |
Number four in the programme is Tomas Quinn. | 0:22:49 | 0:22:52 | |
Well, if you sort of get into your own zone | 0:23:02 | 0:23:04 | |
and don't think about anything else, you'll be grand. | 0:23:04 | 0:23:07 | |
But it was still nerve-racking. | 0:23:07 | 0:23:09 | |
In fairness, expect you to get first all the time. | 0:23:15 | 0:23:18 | |
That's all the parents, me included. | 0:23:18 | 0:23:21 | |
I think he's good enough to be up there with the best of them, | 0:23:24 | 0:23:27 | |
so I'd still like him to continue until he wins the All-Ireland. | 0:23:27 | 0:23:31 | |
But as well as dealing with the pressure of competition, Peter has | 0:23:33 | 0:23:37 | |
just discovered that his drones are faulty, | 0:23:37 | 0:23:39 | |
and with no time to fix the problem, he must perform anyway. | 0:23:39 | 0:23:43 | |
I could have done better if I had the drones, | 0:23:58 | 0:24:00 | |
but I'm still lucky to come second place. | 0:24:00 | 0:24:03 | |
It means I've sort of got a second chance, because | 0:24:03 | 0:24:06 | |
if I didn't get second I wouldn't be through to the All-Ireland. | 0:24:06 | 0:24:09 | |
This year has just been one lucky year. | 0:24:11 | 0:24:13 | |
Well, it was a great day, a great Ulster Fleadh, | 0:24:19 | 0:24:21 | |
wonderful standard, in the competitions I could see anyway, | 0:24:21 | 0:24:24 | |
and the children had great success in some of the competitions. | 0:24:24 | 0:24:28 | |
First place today, beautiful performance | 0:24:29 | 0:24:32 | |
- James, Sinead and Peter McKenna. | 0:24:32 | 0:24:33 | |
APPLAUSE | 0:24:33 | 0:24:35 | |
Good stuff, excellent, best of luck in the All-Ireland. | 0:24:35 | 0:24:38 | |
'The big focus after today will be going to Derry for the | 0:24:39 | 0:24:42 | |
'big events, so the caravan will be on the roll again.' | 0:24:42 | 0:24:46 | |
We are waiting at the Ceili Band Competition, first band's on, | 0:24:57 | 0:25:00 | |
second band's pulled out, so we are up next. | 0:25:00 | 0:25:04 | |
So I'm actually ringing the band to let them | 0:25:04 | 0:25:06 | |
know we need to get here sharpish. | 0:25:06 | 0:25:08 | |
Rhona, I'll meet you up the side of the stage, you coming with me? | 0:25:13 | 0:25:16 | |
All eyes will be on the Knockmore Ceili Band. | 0:25:16 | 0:25:18 | |
As reigning champions, they are the ones to beat, | 0:25:18 | 0:25:21 | |
and the competition today has been fierce. | 0:25:21 | 0:25:24 | |
-MC: -The Knockmore Ceili Band... | 0:25:24 | 0:25:26 | |
CHEERING | 0:25:26 | 0:25:27 | |
At the Seniors you have four tunes, | 0:25:31 | 0:25:33 | |
and there is a serious buzz off them. | 0:25:33 | 0:25:35 | |
Whenever you change tune, | 0:25:41 | 0:25:43 | |
cos you have to do a set of jigs or a set of reels, | 0:25:43 | 0:25:45 | |
once you do that and you hear the hop in the crowd, | 0:25:45 | 0:25:47 | |
when people get excited when you're changing tune, | 0:25:47 | 0:25:50 | |
the hair stands on the back of your neck. | 0:25:50 | 0:25:52 | |
You have to believe you're going to get there, | 0:25:56 | 0:25:58 | |
you have to believe you're going to get through your province. | 0:25:58 | 0:26:02 | |
Our aim is to get to Derry, to get to the All-Ireland. | 0:26:04 | 0:26:07 | |
Whether we're first or second today is not the issue, | 0:26:07 | 0:26:11 | |
we just want to be in Derry. | 0:26:11 | 0:26:12 | |
In second place... | 0:26:18 | 0:26:21 | |
And the winner - Knockmore Ceili Band from Botha. | 0:26:25 | 0:26:28 | |
All yours, Mikey. Come on, let's hear it. | 0:26:33 | 0:26:36 | |
Great, we're through, that's the main thing. | 0:26:39 | 0:26:42 | |
We're through now and we'll see how we get on for Derry. | 0:26:43 | 0:26:45 | |
With just one day left, Lorcan's final preparations are under way. | 0:26:51 | 0:26:55 | |
But getting people together to | 0:26:55 | 0:26:57 | |
rehearse during the summer has been a real problem, | 0:26:57 | 0:27:00 | |
and a number of places in the orchestra have yet to be filled. | 0:27:00 | 0:27:03 | |
And there's a chance that his ambitious plan cannot be | 0:27:03 | 0:27:06 | |
realised in time for tomorrow night's premiere. | 0:27:06 | 0:27:09 | |
All the workshops that went into it beforehand, | 0:27:09 | 0:27:12 | |
they were really about giving all those people | 0:27:12 | 0:27:15 | |
and communities a chance to be part of it. | 0:27:15 | 0:27:19 | |
So right from the start, | 0:27:19 | 0:27:21 | |
getting them involved in the creation of the words, and then, when those | 0:27:21 | 0:27:25 | |
words become music, getting them involved in the expression of it. | 0:27:25 | 0:27:27 | |
I knew very well, you're dealing with all sorts of capabilities, | 0:27:30 | 0:27:33 | |
and larger numbers as well. | 0:27:33 | 0:27:34 | |
You just don't know who's turning up and who's not | 0:27:37 | 0:27:40 | |
and what's here and what's that, | 0:27:40 | 0:27:42 | |
so even with the arrangement there's bits being altered all the time | 0:27:42 | 0:27:47 | |
and bits being changed, and we don't have a harp player, | 0:27:47 | 0:27:49 | |
so will the electric guitar do that? | 0:27:49 | 0:27:51 | |
And all the rest of it. | 0:27:51 | 0:27:52 | |
So it's one of those crazy things where it's still in motion, | 0:27:52 | 0:27:55 | |
as it were, the arrangement process. | 0:27:55 | 0:27:57 | |
It doesn't seem to be ever finished, | 0:27:57 | 0:27:59 | |
it'll be finished after tomorrow night. | 0:27:59 | 0:28:01 | |
I've been chatting to Martin on different occasions | 0:28:04 | 0:28:06 | |
and he just said, "Do you want to be a part of it?" | 0:28:06 | 0:28:08 | |
And I thought, "Brilliant, it's in Derry, the Fleadh's here, | 0:28:08 | 0:28:11 | |
"so why not be a part of something really special and unique?" | 0:28:11 | 0:28:14 | |
I suppose today is the day before the concert, | 0:28:15 | 0:28:18 | |
so this is my first day listening to it, seeing where everything is. | 0:28:18 | 0:28:22 | |
One of the things about the Fleadh and this whole project, | 0:28:24 | 0:28:27 | |
is it's about inclusion. | 0:28:27 | 0:28:30 | |
Irish music, the whole ethos, it's bringing everybody | 0:28:30 | 0:28:34 | |
and welcoming everybody into the process. | 0:28:34 | 0:28:37 | |
People are getting the chance to | 0:28:37 | 0:28:38 | |
play in an orchestra for the very first time. | 0:28:38 | 0:28:40 | |
I hope that just being there, hearing that, in a cathedral, | 0:28:43 | 0:28:48 | |
in that space, will really get them going. | 0:28:48 | 0:28:51 | |
You don't need a pep talk at that stage. | 0:28:55 | 0:28:57 | |
MAN SPEAKS IRISH OVER PA SYSTEM | 0:29:05 | 0:29:08 | |
Indeed, enjoy the Fleadh, enjoy the weather, | 0:29:12 | 0:29:15 | |
thank you and God bless. | 0:29:15 | 0:29:17 | |
Paddy Callaghan... | 0:29:32 | 0:29:34 | |
SHE TRANSLATES INTO IRISH | 0:29:34 | 0:29:35 | |
And what about the Fleadh experience when you were growing up, Paddy? | 0:29:35 | 0:29:39 | |
The Fleadh was always an amazing weekend, | 0:29:39 | 0:29:41 | |
so many great musicians being in the one place for what is without | 0:29:41 | 0:29:45 | |
doubt the biggest party in the world. | 0:29:45 | 0:29:47 | |
CHEERING | 0:29:47 | 0:29:49 | |
My mum was born just six or seven miles down the road and for | 0:29:51 | 0:29:56 | |
every holiday, every chance we could possibly get to come over | 0:29:56 | 0:30:00 | |
to Ireland, it was always spent in Derry. | 0:30:00 | 0:30:03 | |
All my aunts and uncles are dotted around. | 0:30:05 | 0:30:08 | |
And a lot of my family have never been able to see me play. | 0:30:08 | 0:30:10 | |
It's lovely for me to be able to come and play. | 0:30:10 | 0:30:13 | |
To be honest, I never thought I would have seen a Fleadh in Derry, | 0:30:14 | 0:30:17 | |
but it's great to be a part of it. | 0:30:17 | 0:30:19 | |
With Ireland's biggest street party well under way, | 0:30:27 | 0:30:30 | |
a great last-minute effort has gathered the musicians needed | 0:30:30 | 0:30:33 | |
to achieve Lorcan's dream for an orchestra of volunteers. | 0:30:33 | 0:30:36 | |
SPEAKS GAELIC | 0:30:39 | 0:30:42 | |
Harpists, brass players and, most importantly, | 0:30:43 | 0:30:46 | |
a choir arrive just before the performance. | 0:30:46 | 0:30:49 | |
This is a grand plan. | 0:30:53 | 0:30:56 | |
It's a big undertaking to try and get something like that going. | 0:30:56 | 0:31:00 | |
You have to be certain that you're able to do it | 0:31:00 | 0:31:02 | |
before you even start it, you know? | 0:31:02 | 0:31:04 | |
I think this is the first time somebody has actually | 0:31:04 | 0:31:07 | |
commissioned someone to launch a Fleadh. | 0:31:07 | 0:31:09 | |
I'm delighted it was me. | 0:31:09 | 0:31:10 | |
CHOIR SING IN GAELIC | 0:31:10 | 0:31:13 | |
# I am laden with the rust of histories | 0:31:22 | 0:31:28 | |
# I am a thousand colours | 0:31:29 | 0:31:33 | |
# My depths are bronze and green | 0:31:36 | 0:31:40 | |
# The murky home of Mananan... # | 0:31:40 | 0:31:44 | |
The most important thing is that they feel that they | 0:31:44 | 0:31:48 | |
took part in the creation of something, you know? | 0:31:48 | 0:31:50 | |
And that they can feel quite proud of. And they made it start to shine. | 0:31:50 | 0:31:54 | |
# ..the greys and purples of rain and shadow... # | 0:31:54 | 0:32:00 | |
To open it with something that really was composed by everybody, | 0:32:00 | 0:32:04 | |
and, you know, was contributed so much by everybody | 0:32:04 | 0:32:07 | |
and everybody's personalities, that is the Fleadh. | 0:32:07 | 0:32:10 | |
It's completely spontaneous and completely full of fun. | 0:32:10 | 0:32:14 | |
And, you know, everybody making everything work, no matter what. | 0:32:14 | 0:32:18 | |
THE CHOIR SING | 0:32:18 | 0:32:21 | |
It's one of these things that people will look back on in ten years | 0:32:39 | 0:32:43 | |
and say, "I was there, do you remember that?" | 0:32:43 | 0:32:45 | |
This unique occasion. | 0:32:45 | 0:32:47 | |
So, it's fantastic. I'm really happy I'm a part of it. | 0:32:47 | 0:32:49 | |
# Come swing with me | 0:32:52 | 0:32:58 | |
# Don't come to me | 0:33:01 | 0:33:07 | |
# In sorrow. # | 0:33:07 | 0:33:12 | |
APPLAUSE | 0:33:16 | 0:33:18 | |
I feel very proud of everybody here | 0:33:22 | 0:33:24 | |
because I've been with them for a while now. | 0:33:24 | 0:33:27 | |
To see everybody grasp the nettle and go with it | 0:33:27 | 0:33:30 | |
and make something really spectacular out of it, I'm really proud. | 0:33:30 | 0:33:35 | |
APPLAUSE | 0:33:35 | 0:33:38 | |
The applause for this new anthem to Derry spills out into the city. | 0:33:41 | 0:33:46 | |
Another part of a soundscape which fills the streets | 0:33:46 | 0:33:49 | |
as one tune gives way to another. | 0:33:49 | 0:33:51 | |
The Fleadh is mainly about community. | 0:33:55 | 0:33:58 | |
It's about gathering people who enjoy that music together | 0:33:58 | 0:34:01 | |
and letting them play amongst each other. | 0:34:01 | 0:34:03 | |
My father was involved in Comhaltas at the start | 0:34:06 | 0:34:08 | |
when there was a real danger the old traditional music was going | 0:34:08 | 0:34:13 | |
to vanish because it was associated with poverty and backwardness. | 0:34:13 | 0:34:16 | |
He told us we had to go to the first Fleadh with him. | 0:34:16 | 0:34:18 | |
He couldn't believe that there was people playing in the street, | 0:34:18 | 0:34:21 | |
expressing that thing that was their own, a sort of sense of daring. | 0:34:21 | 0:34:25 | |
It's your competition time, Peter. Come on! | 0:34:40 | 0:34:43 | |
-Peter, are you tired? -Aye. | 0:34:53 | 0:34:55 | |
After the drones broke, we got the drones fixed. | 0:34:55 | 0:34:59 | |
I'm happy about the competition. | 0:35:00 | 0:35:02 | |
It'll probably be a very high standard. | 0:35:02 | 0:35:04 | |
I've met a few people that are against me from America. | 0:35:04 | 0:35:09 | |
And Cork and all of them places. | 0:35:09 | 0:35:12 | |
They're probably better than me, like. | 0:35:13 | 0:35:15 | |
I'm a wee bit nervous but, like, I have to keep my focus | 0:35:18 | 0:35:22 | |
and I'm sure I'll be all right. | 0:35:22 | 0:35:25 | |
Breakfast's being served. | 0:35:25 | 0:35:26 | |
Just to... | 0:35:28 | 0:35:29 | |
..get up there and relax and play as if I was playing at home. | 0:35:30 | 0:35:34 | |
And not worry about it, I suppose. | 0:35:35 | 0:35:38 | |
This weekend, 5,000 musicians from a dozen different countries | 0:35:46 | 0:35:50 | |
will play in over 180 competitions. | 0:35:50 | 0:35:53 | |
All with one goal in mind - | 0:35:53 | 0:35:55 | |
to come home with an All-Ireland medal. | 0:35:55 | 0:35:57 | |
It has taken years of practice and determination just to get here. | 0:35:59 | 0:36:02 | |
And now it all comes down to just a few short minutes. | 0:36:02 | 0:36:05 | |
We have, all the way from Auckland, New Zealand, Siomha Higgins, | 0:36:05 | 0:36:09 | |
a big round of applause for her. | 0:36:09 | 0:36:12 | |
Sinead McKenna from CCE, Clogher Valley, County Tyrone. | 0:36:21 | 0:36:25 | |
Our first prize-winner, congratulations, | 0:36:28 | 0:36:30 | |
Senan O Morain from Portarlington, Contae Laoise. | 0:36:30 | 0:36:33 | |
Smile for the camera. | 0:36:33 | 0:36:35 | |
The pipes are hard to tune at the best of times, | 0:36:49 | 0:36:53 | |
but now the heat in this venue is interfering with Peter's drones. | 0:36:53 | 0:36:57 | |
This almost derailed his performance at the Ulster final. | 0:36:57 | 0:37:00 | |
And he's up next. | 0:37:00 | 0:37:01 | |
This is the best you're going to get now, son. | 0:37:05 | 0:37:07 | |
SMATTERING OF APPLAUSE | 0:37:09 | 0:37:11 | |
I suppose everybody has a certain amount of expectation | 0:37:11 | 0:37:14 | |
when you get into a final. | 0:37:14 | 0:37:16 | |
Peter McKenna from Clogher Valley. | 0:37:16 | 0:37:18 | |
You always hope that going into the competition, | 0:37:20 | 0:37:23 | |
if they sit down, they'll be relaxed, | 0:37:23 | 0:37:25 | |
and that they'll play and enjoy the competition. | 0:37:25 | 0:37:27 | |
There's always that nice sense in all of them of achievement | 0:37:58 | 0:38:02 | |
and the enjoyment of going to compete | 0:38:02 | 0:38:05 | |
on the big stage of the All-Ireland. | 0:38:05 | 0:38:06 | |
Like, all within themselves have an element of hope | 0:38:08 | 0:38:11 | |
that they can take it one step further. | 0:38:11 | 0:38:14 | |
Peter would be very confident and hopeful that maybe, you know, | 0:38:24 | 0:38:28 | |
the adjudicator might think that their style might be good enough. | 0:38:28 | 0:38:32 | |
You just don't know how it goes on the day. We've all had them | 0:38:34 | 0:38:36 | |
experiences before where anything can happen in a competition. | 0:38:36 | 0:38:39 | |
So enjoy the moment. | 0:38:39 | 0:38:41 | |
In the top place today, Peter McKenna from County Tyrone. | 0:39:16 | 0:39:19 | |
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE | 0:39:19 | 0:39:21 | |
SPEECH DROWNED OUT BY APPLAUSE | 0:39:21 | 0:39:26 | |
These moments don't come very often, it's once-in-a-lifetime, | 0:39:35 | 0:39:38 | |
it's a fantastic achievement. | 0:39:38 | 0:39:40 | |
-Really proud of Peter. -Good stuff. At last! | 0:39:40 | 0:39:44 | |
The competition, it was an excuse, really. | 0:39:52 | 0:39:55 | |
It was more about showing the children that music can take | 0:39:55 | 0:39:59 | |
you places, and you meet people, and it's fun. | 0:39:59 | 0:40:02 | |
I want them to do it because of what it has meant to me over the years. | 0:40:05 | 0:40:10 | |
Let them listen to fantastic music, let them hear what it should | 0:40:10 | 0:40:13 | |
sound like, gently encourage, and make it fun and a social thing. | 0:40:13 | 0:40:17 | |
And, hopefully, another 25 years, they'll be doing the same. | 0:40:18 | 0:40:22 | |
Number five, Justin Quinn. | 0:40:22 | 0:40:24 | |
OK, thank you. | 0:40:25 | 0:40:27 | |
The competition itself is awful. | 0:40:32 | 0:40:35 | |
That, about having everything relying on five minutes, | 0:40:35 | 0:40:39 | |
whether you forget the tune halfway through | 0:40:39 | 0:40:41 | |
and start playing a different tune in the middle. | 0:40:41 | 0:40:43 | |
It's kind of like running down a hill | 0:40:45 | 0:40:47 | |
faster than you feel comfortable doing it. | 0:40:47 | 0:40:49 | |
It was what it always is. | 0:41:11 | 0:41:14 | |
A painful task. | 0:41:14 | 0:41:15 | |
But, you know, I enjoyed it. | 0:41:15 | 0:41:18 | |
The purpose of it was to bring us to the Fleadh, really. | 0:41:19 | 0:41:23 | |
They've got a taste for it now. | 0:41:23 | 0:41:25 | |
Those five fiddles that are sitting in the house should be | 0:41:25 | 0:41:28 | |
getting picked up when we get home. | 0:41:28 | 0:41:30 | |
We really enjoyed the performance, | 0:42:00 | 0:42:03 | |
so, this year's 2013 All-Ireland Senior Banjo Champion is Tomas Quinn. | 0:42:03 | 0:42:09 | |
WILD CHEERING AND APPLAUSE | 0:42:09 | 0:42:11 | |
I'm over the moon, absolutely delighted. | 0:42:17 | 0:42:20 | |
Good feeling, relief, all the hard work put in has paid off. | 0:42:20 | 0:42:24 | |
I'm thinking about leaving now. That's me. | 0:42:24 | 0:42:26 | |
I've been waiting for that for a long, long time. | 0:42:26 | 0:42:28 | |
I think that'll do me now. I've got an All-Ireland, I'm happy now. | 0:42:30 | 0:42:33 | |
The ceili band competition actually started, | 0:42:49 | 0:42:52 | |
half an hour in there at the moment. | 0:42:52 | 0:42:53 | |
Most of them are up there at the moment. | 0:42:53 | 0:42:55 | |
We are the last to finish after the duet, so... | 0:42:55 | 0:42:58 | |
All right, we're going now. | 0:42:58 | 0:42:59 | |
Heart? Hundred mile an hour job. | 0:43:01 | 0:43:05 | |
I think I've never heard a performance that blew me away | 0:43:15 | 0:43:17 | |
as much as the winner of this competition today. | 0:43:17 | 0:43:19 | |
Flawless performance, especially on a saxophone. | 0:43:19 | 0:43:22 | |
Una Campbell. | 0:43:22 | 0:43:24 | |
I was very nervous for her. | 0:43:41 | 0:43:42 | |
I know how it feels because I used to play in the All-Ireland, | 0:43:42 | 0:43:45 | |
but I was never lucky enough to win a medal. | 0:43:45 | 0:43:47 | |
Have they just started? Have the ceili bands just started? | 0:43:56 | 0:43:59 | |
It says they started at eight o'clock. | 0:43:59 | 0:44:02 | |
Well, if they are number ten, they won't get... | 0:44:02 | 0:44:05 | |
With the Ceili Band competition having overrun, | 0:44:05 | 0:44:08 | |
the McKennas have only just made it back in time | 0:44:08 | 0:44:10 | |
to defend their All-Ireland title in the Trios event. | 0:44:10 | 0:44:15 | |
APPLAUSE | 0:44:15 | 0:44:16 | |
When you go into a competition | 0:44:20 | 0:44:22 | |
it's not about taking home a winner's medal, it's about the taking part. | 0:44:22 | 0:44:26 | |
It's about going in there and enjoying it. | 0:44:26 | 0:44:28 | |
Win, lose or draw, you're still the same musician | 0:44:28 | 0:44:31 | |
going in through the doors as coming out. | 0:44:31 | 0:44:33 | |
Our first prize-winner is the winner of the Trios 12-15, | 0:44:54 | 0:44:58 | |
this year are Amy Ni Mhurchu... | 0:44:58 | 0:45:01 | |
CHEERING | 0:45:01 | 0:45:03 | |
Fleadhs can go one way or the other. | 0:45:05 | 0:45:08 | |
At the end of the day you come home and play your music | 0:45:08 | 0:45:11 | |
and that's what it's all about. | 0:45:11 | 0:45:12 | |
I'm sure they're disappointed, obviously, | 0:45:17 | 0:45:20 | |
but they've got second in the Ceili Band 15-18, | 0:45:20 | 0:45:23 | |
and Peter has won the day, | 0:45:23 | 0:45:24 | |
so they've taken a lot of positives out of it as well. | 0:45:24 | 0:45:27 | |
-Congratulations. -Thank you. | 0:45:28 | 0:45:31 | |
Number 9 in your programme, Christopher Maguire from Fermanagh. | 0:46:01 | 0:46:05 | |
I've been going to Fleadh these last couple of years. | 0:46:07 | 0:46:10 | |
I've got a couple of seconds, to great accordion players. | 0:46:10 | 0:46:13 | |
Just have to go in and play your four tunes as well as you can. | 0:46:15 | 0:46:18 | |
All the competitors, everyone's at a high standard, | 0:46:18 | 0:46:22 | |
so everybody's looking for the All-Ireland title. | 0:46:22 | 0:46:24 | |
You're in this big, massive room and there's people just watching you. | 0:46:26 | 0:46:30 | |
They're like policemen for music, you know? They're just watching, | 0:46:30 | 0:46:33 | |
and you just have to perform your best, like. | 0:46:33 | 0:46:36 | |
HE PLAYS ACCORDION | 0:46:36 | 0:46:38 | |
You're pulling and pushing buttons and each button is two notes. | 0:47:11 | 0:47:15 | |
Once you learn it at a young age, you'll always have it. | 0:47:15 | 0:47:18 | |
When you're a senior player, you're still learning, at my age, like. | 0:47:20 | 0:47:23 | |
You have to know the song. | 0:47:39 | 0:47:41 | |
You have to put a feeling into the tune. | 0:47:41 | 0:47:43 | |
You have to imagine that you're singing it, in the accordion. | 0:47:43 | 0:47:45 | |
Reel playing, I put down here, was just excellent. | 0:48:24 | 0:48:28 | |
An excellent performance. | 0:48:28 | 0:48:30 | |
First place and this year's All-Ireland Champion | 0:48:30 | 0:48:32 | |
is Christopher Maguire. | 0:48:32 | 0:48:34 | |
APPLAUSE AND CHEERING | 0:48:34 | 0:48:35 | |
I know what this has meant to him for the last year. | 0:48:41 | 0:48:44 | |
It's been absolutely amazing. | 0:48:44 | 0:48:45 | |
I started crying as soon as they called it out and I couldn't stop. | 0:48:45 | 0:48:49 | |
You can really see it as a huge weight lifting off his shoulders | 0:48:51 | 0:48:54 | |
when he had finished the last note. | 0:48:54 | 0:48:56 | |
Yes! | 0:48:56 | 0:48:57 | |
APPLAUSE AND CHEERING | 0:48:57 | 0:49:00 | |
When I heard my name called out I was at the top balcony | 0:49:00 | 0:49:03 | |
and oh, I jumped, nearly four foot. I was over the moon. | 0:49:03 | 0:49:07 | |
I've been knocking on the door for a long time, | 0:49:07 | 0:49:11 | |
I've had three seconds, and I thought, "I have to do it this year." | 0:49:11 | 0:49:14 | |
It's going to be an emotional band whenever he's sitting on stage now! | 0:49:15 | 0:49:20 | |
It's not often a band has got the Senior All-Ireland box champion, | 0:49:20 | 0:49:23 | |
so, eh, I hope that's going to give us a great boost. | 0:49:23 | 0:49:26 | |
MUSIC PLAYS | 0:49:28 | 0:49:30 | |
MUFFLED TANNOY ANNOUNCEMENT | 0:49:30 | 0:49:32 | |
The official estimate of the attendance at the Fleadh this year | 0:49:41 | 0:49:48 | |
is the record, staggering 430,000 people. | 0:49:48 | 0:49:55 | |
APPLAUSE AND CHEERING | 0:49:55 | 0:49:56 | |
I welcome each and every one, including our guests, | 0:50:01 | 0:50:04 | |
to the Senior Ceili Band competition. | 0:50:04 | 0:50:06 | |
CEILI BAND PLAYS | 0:50:06 | 0:50:08 | |
This is the event that crowns and closes the Fleadh every year. | 0:50:11 | 0:50:15 | |
The one the crowds flock to. | 0:50:15 | 0:50:17 | |
The Senior Ceili Band competition. | 0:50:17 | 0:50:19 | |
See once you hit the All-Ireland bands, there's not a bad band in it. | 0:50:30 | 0:50:34 | |
They're all savage bands. | 0:50:34 | 0:50:37 | |
It is completely down to the five adjudicators what they want to do. | 0:50:37 | 0:50:41 | |
MUFFLED CHATTER | 0:50:44 | 0:50:46 | |
There is a good wee rivalry between all of us. | 0:50:46 | 0:50:49 | |
It is kind of cut-throat when it comes down to it. | 0:50:49 | 0:50:51 | |
Friendships and relationships can be put aside for an hour or two. | 0:50:51 | 0:50:55 | |
I always think back to the first year | 0:50:57 | 0:50:59 | |
I competed in the Senior All-Ireland competition. | 0:50:59 | 0:51:02 | |
It was the first time we'd really played in a venue that size | 0:51:02 | 0:51:05 | |
with the TV cameras on you and everything. | 0:51:05 | 0:51:08 | |
Now, have we St Roch's Ceili Band all the way from Glasgow? | 0:51:08 | 0:51:12 | |
We got on stage, started playing, couldn't hear a thing. | 0:51:12 | 0:51:15 | |
I couldn't hear myself, couldn't hear any of the rest of the band. | 0:51:15 | 0:51:19 | |
It was awful. | 0:51:19 | 0:51:20 | |
And now this is my eighth in a row. | 0:51:20 | 0:51:23 | |
Last year I let the emotion get to me. | 0:51:23 | 0:51:27 | |
Because it was the first time I thought the band | 0:51:27 | 0:51:30 | |
had really done itself justice at that level. | 0:51:30 | 0:51:34 | |
I started crying after the jigs. I came off in floods of tears. | 0:51:34 | 0:51:39 | |
I'm going to try and keep my emotions in check this year. | 0:51:40 | 0:51:44 | |
The competition itself is unlike anything else you can think of. | 0:51:51 | 0:51:55 | |
Everyone that's in the competition is there | 0:51:55 | 0:51:58 | |
because they want to be Senior Ceili Band champions. | 0:51:58 | 0:52:01 | |
Many won't admit it, | 0:52:01 | 0:52:02 | |
but that's definitely the goal at the start of the year. | 0:52:02 | 0:52:05 | |
Our version of the tradition | 0:52:20 | 0:52:21 | |
isn't the same as you would get here in Derry | 0:52:21 | 0:52:24 | |
or in other regions of the country. | 0:52:24 | 0:52:26 | |
We've got our own kind of style on it. | 0:52:26 | 0:52:28 | |
Scottish music's huge where we're from, | 0:52:42 | 0:52:44 | |
and it's inevitable that there'll be wee bits of it that'll creep in. | 0:52:44 | 0:52:48 | |
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE | 0:52:52 | 0:52:54 | |
For us, we are custodians of a tradition overseas, I suppose. | 0:52:56 | 0:52:59 | |
Thank you. | 0:53:02 | 0:53:03 | |
I think it went quite well. | 0:53:07 | 0:53:09 | |
Pretty pleased. | 0:53:09 | 0:53:10 | |
No-one's in tears, so that's a good sign. | 0:53:10 | 0:53:12 | |
Thank you. | 0:53:15 | 0:53:17 | |
Now could we have Knockmore Ceili Band, | 0:53:17 | 0:53:20 | |
Fermanagh, please? | 0:53:20 | 0:53:22 | |
The last couple of years we went into the All Ireland, | 0:53:22 | 0:53:25 | |
we gave a really good account of ourselves. | 0:53:25 | 0:53:27 | |
There will be pressure, of course, | 0:53:27 | 0:53:29 | |
cos there's going to be 2,000 people watching you. | 0:53:29 | 0:53:32 | |
You have four tunes, and I start them. | 0:53:32 | 0:53:35 | |
I'm the one that gives the intro to the taps | 0:53:35 | 0:53:37 | |
and starts the band off, so that's a wee bit of pressure. | 0:53:37 | 0:53:40 | |
OK. | 0:53:42 | 0:53:43 | |
See once you play the first one, the rest of it falls into place. | 0:53:52 | 0:53:55 | |
We do it for each other. | 0:54:10 | 0:54:12 | |
That's it, I suppose. First and foremost, | 0:54:12 | 0:54:15 | |
it's for the ten of us in that band. | 0:54:15 | 0:54:17 | |
We do it for each of us. | 0:54:17 | 0:54:18 | |
The Senior Ceili Bands, it is the Holy Grail. | 0:54:31 | 0:54:34 | |
If you look at the All Ireland Fleadh, the Ceili Bands, | 0:54:34 | 0:54:37 | |
the Senior Ceili Bands is the most competition of anyone | 0:54:37 | 0:54:40 | |
out of the whole Fleadh. | 0:54:40 | 0:54:41 | |
You'd love to be standing on the stage at the end of the night | 0:54:56 | 0:54:59 | |
with that trophy, you know? | 0:54:59 | 0:55:00 | |
But at the end of the day, it's all down to who's sitting at the table. | 0:55:02 | 0:55:05 | |
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE | 0:55:11 | 0:55:14 | |
Thank you, Fermanagh. | 0:55:20 | 0:55:21 | |
A wee bit quick, like. That's down to me, too. | 0:55:23 | 0:55:25 | |
I started it and everything else took off. | 0:55:25 | 0:55:27 | |
I probably started it a fraction quick, | 0:55:27 | 0:55:29 | |
and it just went...it went on. | 0:55:29 | 0:55:31 | |
But saying that, I know it was fast, but we held it together very well. | 0:55:31 | 0:55:34 | |
It probably wouldn't be our best performance, | 0:55:34 | 0:55:36 | |
but in the end it's just on the day, isn't it? | 0:55:36 | 0:55:38 | |
We have a recall. | 0:55:42 | 0:55:45 | |
This is a very rare occurrence - two bands have tied. | 0:55:45 | 0:55:48 | |
Moylurg and Knockmore. | 0:55:48 | 0:55:50 | |
CHEERING | 0:55:50 | 0:55:52 | |
Now both bands must go head-to-head. | 0:55:52 | 0:55:55 | |
One tune is all that stands between them and All-Ireland glory. | 0:55:55 | 0:55:59 | |
CHEERING | 0:56:12 | 0:56:14 | |
CHEERING | 0:56:19 | 0:56:20 | |
Thank you. Thank you, Ros Comain. | 0:56:20 | 0:56:23 | |
Now if we can have Knockmore on stage, please. | 0:56:23 | 0:56:27 | |
CHEERING | 0:56:27 | 0:56:28 | |
CHEERING | 0:56:49 | 0:56:51 | |
And in second place we have Knockmore. | 0:57:03 | 0:57:06 | |
You know the winners now, in first place, | 0:57:09 | 0:57:13 | |
2013 Ceili Band Winners, Moylurg. | 0:57:13 | 0:57:17 | |
CHEERING | 0:57:17 | 0:57:19 | |
Second band, come on stage. | 0:57:22 | 0:57:24 | |
I really, really wanted it. | 0:57:30 | 0:57:31 | |
You know, I'd been there or thereabouts the last couple of years, | 0:57:31 | 0:57:34 | |
and I really wanted it. | 0:57:34 | 0:57:36 | |
One, two, three... | 0:57:36 | 0:57:38 | |
CHEERING | 0:57:38 | 0:57:39 | |
We said, you know, we've gave it a good shot, we've played our best. | 0:57:40 | 0:57:43 | |
If that's enough, it is. If not, we'll try again. | 0:57:43 | 0:57:46 | |
Thanks for cheering. | 0:57:48 | 0:57:50 | |
It's more the music that binds everyone, not the competition. | 0:57:55 | 0:57:59 | |
Obviously the competition is music and it's got a part in it, | 0:57:59 | 0:58:01 | |
but it's more as a chance to see these people - | 0:58:01 | 0:58:04 | |
people that want to play tunes. | 0:58:04 | 0:58:06 | |
They just want to play music. | 0:58:06 | 0:58:08 | |
And they'll do it all again next year. | 0:58:12 | 0:58:15 | |
Derry's Fleadh is almost over. | 0:58:15 | 0:58:17 | |
Next summer belongs to Sligo. | 0:58:17 | 0:58:19 | |
But the city and all who came here will never forget. | 0:58:19 | 0:58:23 | |
The journey for the competitors and their families is over for now, | 0:58:23 | 0:58:27 | |
but the friendships and the music will endure. | 0:58:27 | 0:58:30 | |
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd | 0:58:33 | 0:58:36 |