Drawing of Martin Hayes by Joao Valente Ribeiro Lopes.

Following on from a concertina master class conducted by Noel Hill in February, Martin Hayes is next up in the new Áras Oidhreacht an Chláir (OaC) series. This class, on the weekend 23 – 25 March, is aimed at advanced level students, with a focus, according to Hayes, on ‘phrasing, rhythms, variations and interpretations of tunes … alongside discussion, which can cover many other areas of the music.’

Hayes will play a solo concert in the Market House, Milltown Malbay on Friday, 23, free to all students registered for the master class. Tuition itself is on Saturday from 10am to 1.30pm, and on Sunday from 10.30am to 1.00pm.

On Saturday afternoon fiddle player Pat O’Connor will give a presentation on the history, repair and maintenance of fiddles, and Barry Taylor, traditional music historian, will give a talk on West Clare fiddle playing illustrated by recordings from the archives of OaC. Later in the evening the students will give an informal performance for family and friends with Hayes as host.

These master class weekends are part of a broader educational programme currently being developed by OaC, which will incorporate local folklore, history, genealogy and literature. The recent commemorative weekend devoted to local man, Tomás O hAodha, which featured an exhibition and lecture on his work as a cartographer, Gaelic League activist, dramatist and poet, exemplifies the type of projects OaC will promote.The exhibition of O hAodha memorabilia continues and the restored manuscript map of Ireland, with placenames in Irish, is on permanent display at Áras OaC.

oac.ie