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Hitting
the right note in Roslea
By Daniel O'Connor
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In February,
Roslea Comhaltas from County Fermanagh twinned with our local
branch of Birmingham Comhaltas. This was an initiative designed
to combine the talents of both branches and create a cultural
relationship between them.
First, a group of musicians and singers from Roslea came to Birmingham for a
weekend in February. This was a great success and everyone had a fantastic time!
This resulted in a return visit on 24th September 2004 when 10 Brummies packed
their bags for a weekend of music, song and dance.
When arriving at Belfast City Airport on Friday evening a local minibus carried
us to the small town of Roslea. After a quick ‘tune’ on the bus
we arrived at the Roslea Arms for introductions and a session.
Even though we were all extremely tired we managed to play music well into the
early hours of Saturday morning and enjoy the company of the Roslea crowd.
After the session we retired to the country cottages the branch had provided
for us.
Rising to the sound of music again on Saturday there was a cooked breakfast
prepared by Birmingham Chefs, Anthony Moore, Vince Jordan, and Anna-Marie Jordan.
This consisted of (rather burnt) sausages, bacon, eggs and toast! At this point
Tommy Boyle from Birmingham announced, “It doesn’t get any better
than this!”
During the day we visited local sites including the town of Roslea and the Heritage
centre. Sessions were held again during the day at the Roslea Arms.
After mass we all departed for Clones, Co.Monaghan where we were treated very
kindly to dinner at ‘An cúil Darach.’ After a very tasty
and filling meal, we all sat down to a session. Once again music was played
well into the early hours.
On Sunday there was enough time for a visit to Fivemiletown, Co.Tyrone before
a quick session back at the Cottages. Everyone then got together to watch the
Gaelic final before embarking on the journey back to Birmingham.
We all thoroughly enjoyed our stay and express our thanks to Roslea Comhaltas
who treated us exceptionally well throughout the entire weekend!
A Celebration Ceili will take place at Birmingham Irish Club, on Saturday 6th
November 2004. Music will be provided by the St. Roch’s Ceili Band from
Glasgow. Dancing 8 till late. Tickets on the door. For more information phone
the Irish Forum on 0121 622 4102 or email info@irishforum.co.uk.
Sessions are held every other Monday at the Horse and Jockey, Freeford, and The
Spotted Dog, Deritend. You will find us every Wednesday at the Royal Oak, Marsh
Lane, Erdington from 9pm. Make sure you come along to join in!
For any more information don’t hesitate to contact us either by phone
0121 622 4102 (Irish Forum) or by email daniel@wibbleh.com. Alternatively you
can visit our
website www.birmingham
comhaltas.org.uk |
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PHONE MAST PROTEST
A public
meeting in Borris, Carlow strongly condemned the erection of
another mobile phone mask in the town. Mobile phone-company,
Vodafone, had applied to Carlow County Council to erect a 15metre
telecommunications mask in the area. A group of 70 locals along
with supporters from Kilkenny who had been successful in a
battle against O2, another mobile company, also lent their
support. The objection is based on health grounds, as the mask
is in close proximity to both primary and secondary schools,
and a number of houses in the area. Non ionising radiation
is emitted from the masts, which is absorbed at a higher rate
in children so that health is of paramount importance. |
THE IRISH HAVE GONE TEXT
MAD
A report published recently states “with a million
text messages a day from mobiles”, to date, for business
or fun, the Irish are now one of the highest texting nations
on earth, some 73% of the customers said they would be
lost without their mobile phones! The downloading of ringtones,
sports results is big business for the networks. It seems
that text messaging has gained ground on traditional forms
of advertising. God bless the mobile phone. |
FREE LEGAL AID FOR THE DUBLIN BUS DRIVER
Kenneth
Henvey, a Dublin bus driver involved in a tragic crash back
in February of this year, was awarded free legal aid. The
48 year old father of three from Clondakin, Dublin was involved
in the accident where five people died when the bus he was
driving went out of control and mounted the pavement on Wellington
Quay. Henvey was remanded on bail of £5,000,
and will appear in Dublin District court on November 5 2004. |
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