IT SEEMS like the festive tunes started this year earlier than ever as Christmas and New Year get ever closer. It is a great time to look back on some of the highlights from the year that is soon to pass.
Just like in any other year in Glasgow, it feels like the kick-off for the season is the Celtic Connections festival. January saw the 30th edition of the festival and for me it felt bigger than ever.
Each year the festival pulls a few rabbits out of the hat and in years gone by that has been a mixture of venues and artists, but in 2024 for me it was all about venues and it was amazing to take in two gigs at the world-famous Barrowland Ballroom as part of the festival.
Just to be clear, this was far from my first visit to the iconic venue. I’ve seen umpteen artists perform there, but this was different. Sell out audiences for trad music in the Barrowlands? 15-year-old me would have thought this would never happen and it is a sign of just how mainstream and popular traditional music has become.
Such was the success of the Celtic gigs in the Barrowlands that the venue is set to host four concerts at the 2025 edition of the festival—I for one can’t wait!
In February, we saw another festival celebrate its latest edition namely the 122nd year of the Glasgow Feis—and no that number is not a misprint!
The feis was established in 1902 to foster and promote Irish music, dance, song and language and it has been going strong ever since.
Across two huge weekends, hundreds of competitors from the young to the not very young come together to demonstrate their Irish culture in what is a huge celebration. Watching literally hundreds of musicians under the age of 12 taking part was a massive highlight for me and underlines the achievements of all those who work hard on a voluntary basis to pass on their talents and wisdom to younger learners.
As the spring beckoned, we once again welcomed the St Patrick’s season with two huge festivals taking place in Coatbridge and Glasgow.
Many people actually take for granted how successful these events are, but they only happen due to the huge effort of a dedicated team to put on events that are enjoyed by the wider Irish community. I’m sure we all look forward to more St Patrick’s events taking place this March.
Moving further through the year, fleadh season was in full swing, but with a slightly different flavour than normal. Through the corridors of a fleadh venue, the sound of whistles, accordions and drums is to be expected. But Glockenspiels, tambourines and cymbals? Oh yeah, that’ll be St Roch’s Marching Band!
For me—being a proud member of the band—the experience was absolutely incredible. A group of 41 people, many of whom would be well acquainted to most, but not all in the band, with a range of abilities and experience, and— lets face it—zero knowledge of what a marching band should be like, the whole thing was a community success story.
However, there was an undercurrent of pride involved too. While this was something to do for a bit of a change, there was always the drive we had to also put on a good show and do ourselves justice.
What was not expected, however, was that the band would go on to lift the All-Ireland title in August when up against seasoned marchers and that’s when news of the band went turbo with messages of support and congratulations coming from all over the world.
The band has been so successful that they will be performing at their very own headline Celtic Connections concert on Sunday January 26. I guarantee no-one had this on their New Year’s sweepstake!
Summer also saw the second installment of The Reeling Festival in Rouken Glen Park. Yet again, it was the type of festival we’re all used to—big park, big stages—but the entertainment is all trad? It's quite hard to fathom how far we’ve come.
Oh and, of course, the last event of the year is also a rather big one—Hoolie in the Hydro—with no fewer than five born and bred Comhaltas musicians on stage featuring Talisk and Rura. That’s got to be a highlight.
The past few months, however, have been bittersweet in the traditional music world, the joy of watching Edinburgh CCÉ taking their first steps at the Irish Culture and Heritage Day in September was a real high, but the traditional music world was brought right back to earth with the passing of two young musicians—Louise Boyle (née Osborne) and Eamonn Nugent.
I guess with any year there are highs and lows, and it’s important to embrace and appreciate both. As we look forward to another culturally rich 2025, I’d like to wish all our readers a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy—Traddy—New Year!
Paddy Callaghan is the Scottish Region Development Officer for Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. You can follow him on Twitter: @paddy_box and Instagram: paddy_box and contact him via e-mail at: paddy@comhaltas.co.uk
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