Proinsias Ó Maonaigh
The late Proinsias Ó Maonaigh (Francie Mooney) – right – playing a brass fiddle, with his daughter, fiddle-player and singer Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh of Altan, and grandson fiddle-player Ciarán Ó Maonaigh. Ó Maonaigh, a hugely influential figure in traditional music, died on 28th March in his home in Cois Cladaigh, Gaoth Dobhair, Donegal. A teacher and musician, one of his most famous compositions is the song ‘Gleanntáin Ghlasa Ghaoth Dobhair’.

CMC 20th ANNIVERSARY
The Contemporary Music Centre in Dublin is celebrating twenty years in 2006. As part of the celebrations, William Dowdall (flute) and David Adams (piano) will perform a programme of solo and duo works by Irish composers on Friday 12 May 2006 in The Goethe Institute, 37 Merrion Square, Dublin 2, 6.30pm–7.30pm. Admission is free.

CMC has also received funding from Temple Bar Cultural Trust and Dublin City Council Arts Office to commission three sound installations to mark the anniversary. The works, which will be electro-acoustic in nature, will be installed for the month of June in outdoor locations in Temple Bar. Two will be installed on the streets of the area and one in CMC’s own rear courtyard, providing a trail for visitors which will culminate in a visit to the Centre.

CMC is Ireland’s national archive and resource centre for new music, supporting and developing the work of composers throughout Ireland. For more information, visit www.cmc.ie or contact: Karen Hennessy, CMC, 19 Fishamble Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 8. Tel: 01-673 1922 khennessy [at] cmc.ie

GRACE NOTES
Grace Notes, RTÉ lyric fm’s traditional music programme, broadcast every Tuesday and Friday, is also available to download at www.rte.ie/lyricfm/gracenotes/. Presented by Ellen Cranitch, on Tuesdays this May Grace Notes will be playing highlights from the 2005 Masters of Tradition festival. Artists include Matt Cranitch, Seamus Creagh, Martin Hayes, Máirtín O’Connor, Donal Lunny, Nollaig Casey and Seán McKiernan.

The World Fleadh
The World Fleadh is a pioneering new festival taking place on August 14-20th, staged in a custom-built ‘Fleadh Village’ at Ballybunion, Co. Kerry. Explaining the concept behind TWF, Director Eric Cunningham said: ‘Destinations such as Lorient in France, Glasgow in Scotland, Tønder in Denmark, Cambridge in England and Milwaukee in the US all host major festivals at which many of the world’s best-known Irish performers feature. Comparatively speaking, there is no national festival of such stature and magnitude in Ireland. It is the objective of The World Fleadh to fill this void.’ The festival will coincide with the launch of the new €4 million Tinteán Theatre in Ballybunion, which will be the centre of events. Artists include the Waterboys, La Bottine Souriante, Gipsy Kings, Sharon Shannon, Michael McGoldrick, Capercaillie, Lúnasa, Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, Iarla Ó Lionáird, John Spillane, Zoe Conway, and many more. Visit www.theworldfleadh.com

Northern Irish Music Archive
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland has launched the Northern Ireland Music Archive, a digital database of twentieth and twenty-first century Northern Irish contemporary music, at Belfast Central Library. The computerised archive contains c. 400 classical music recordings from the BBC Northern Ireland archives. A website has also been launched promoting the works of Northern Irish composers. Visit www.northernirelandcomposers.com

Willie Clancy Week
Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy takes place this year from Saturday 1st to Sunday 9th July. As ever, classes and recitals will be given by leading traditional music players, singers and dancers. The Breandán Breathnach Memorial Lecture, given this year by Nicholas Carolan, is entitled ‘I Learned it off the Radio: Irish traditional music on Radio Éireann to 1962’. There will also be a tribute to fiddle-player Paddy Cronin, a seminar on music in the US, and a lecture by Terry Moylan entitled ‘The Establishment of a Tradition: set-dancing in Ireland’. Visit www.setdancingnews.net/wcss/