Renowned fiddle player John Doherty. Photo: Eamonn O’Doherty.
A CELEBRATION of the strong tradition of Irish music in the Bluestack Mountains will take place this weekend near Glenties.
The seventh annual Ceol na gCruacha will be held in and around the Glen Tavern in the Glen of Glenties and will be officially opened tomorrow night (Friday) by well-known local fiddlers, the Campbell brothers.
The festival will include fiddle and Sean nós dancing classes as well as a bus tour of Na Cruacha Gorma (The Croaghs) where visitors can see the old houses where many famous tunes were first sang and played.
On Saturday when there will be special evening dedicated to the life and times of renowned Donegal travelling fiddler, John ‘Simi’ Doherty.
The event will start at approximately 6.30 pm in the Glen Tavern and will recount the meeting of Doherty and American folk singer, Pete Seeger, in 1964.
John Simi was born into a family of travelling tinsmiths and musicians in Ardara in February, 1900.
He spent many a night in the Croaghs and in the Glen of Glenties and, indeed, it was from him that the Campbell brothers learned many of the tunes they play today.
For information on Ceol na gCruacha, which is sponsored by Ealainn na Gaeltachta and the Arts Council, contact Mary Quinn on 074 95 51170.