NYAH - Cavan's Trad Festival

As Cavan prepares to move centre stage on the Irish traditional music, song and dance calendar later this year when it hosts the All-Ireland Fleadh, what better way to get in the mood than with annual NYAH Festival (March 10-28). The NYAH Traditional Arts Festival has in its own way been bringing towns around Cavan to the centre of the traditional roots music and arts scene for some time. Now in the seventh year, the festival celebrates the traditional music, song, dance and culture of Cavan, placing a strong emphasis on the county's musical style within the Ulster tradition. Top of the list in an all-star cast of top artists this year is button accordion legend Joe Burke, who heads a gala concert at the Farnham Hotel on Saturday, March 13. Featuring talented performers, many who have great futures ahead of them in the music, this concert, compered by Kieran Hanrahan of RTE's Ceili House, will celebrate the election of Cavan's champion lilter Seamus Fay as All-Ireland Fleadh president 2010. Admission €15; booking at 086-2342270 or at the Farnham Arms. Other features over the two and a half weeks of NYAH 2010 include concerts celebrating the musicians of old as well as saluting the up-and-coming performers of the future. The Celebration of the Music of Eddie Clarke at the Ramor Theatre, Virginia on Friday, March 19, will pay a well-deserved tribute to the traditional harmonica music of the late, great Eamonn (Eddie) Clarke of Virginia, featuring fellow harmonica virtuosos like 12-time all-Ireland champ Noel Battle of Mullingar and Mick Kinsella from Clare, who is also a great exponent of the concertina. This event, hosted by Cavan fiddle king Antóin MacGabhann, will also mark the launch of a four-CD compilation of Eddie's tunes and songs (adm €16 and €14, tickets at Ramor box office 049-8547074). A special Meitheal Summer School 2009 concert in the Farnham Hotel on Friday, March 12, hosted by Martin Donohoe, will highlight the talents of younger musicians. If this year's NYAH festival is a forerunner for the Fleadh, it nonetheless boasts an extensive programme of events around the county, including sessions in venues like The Widow's, Belturbet, Smith and Wilson's and the Farnham in Cavan town and Boylan's of Kilnaleck, and shows like the Dr. Brian Galligan Memorial Concert in Kilnaleck on Thursday, March 25 and the 41st Annual Mullahoran Concert on Sunday, March 28. On Tuesday, March 23, the NYAH spreads its wings to Dublin for the second time in two months, when A Wild Night of Cavan NYAH hits the Button Factory in Temple Bar. The cream of the county's singers and players will be there, as the old guard Antóin Mac Gabhann and Seamus Fay leads the way in a Fleadh-year celebration of all things Cavan hosted by Martin Donohoe. The NYAH Festival draws directly on the word nyah (pronounced neeyah), a term that describes an Irish music performance that comes from the depths of the heart. It refers to the very expression of the tradition and to the soul and feeling that makes it unique... it's about the lift the music can give to the hardest heart! NYAH is about the core of the tradition and the NYAH Festival is an immediate and celebratory way to show how the traditional arts touch and transform lives. The festival is a wonderful community event scattered around the county that uses the pure drop as a magnet to attract musicians and followers to different areas. So let's remember to dance and sing, perform, and share our culture for the sheer fun of it... and to say we are here! NYAH 7 is subsidised by the Arts Council Ireland, Cavan Co. Council Arts Office, Farnham Arms Hotel Cavan, USA Folk Award festival funding, Lynchprint Cavan, Riverfront Hotel Virginia, Wranglers, Peace III, Cavan County Museum, Comhaltas, Smith and Wilson's bar Cavan, Widow's Bar Belturbet, Shannonside Northern Sound and Sean Tarpey. The organisers wish to thank everyone who has sent some of their hard earned euro and their donations and support are appreciated. "We welcome any and all donations to help us keep the NYAH not-for-profit cultural festival thriving," said the organisers. "With your support we will carry on. We especially want to reach outside of the arts community to all of the patrons and supporters of the arts in Co. Cavan and beyond." Let Cavan surprise you this year.