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Frankie Kennedy
Frankie Kennedy (30 September 1955 – 19 September 1994) was a flute and tin whistle player born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was also the co-founder of the band Altan, formed with his wife Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh. The popular ''Frankie Kennedy Winter Music School'' was founded in 1994 in his honour. Biography Early life He had three sisters and one brother. Kennedy's uncle was married to the daughter of Robert Cinnamond, a singer from Glenavy, County Antrim, who was a frequent visitor in his family home. Kennedy became interested in Irish traditional music when he was 18 years old, through the music of Horslips, Planxty, The Chieftains, and The Boys of the Lough. He learned his Irish as a young man in Belfast's Cumann Chluain Árd and travelled frequently to Donegal to perform at local sessions in Gweedore with Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh. Marriage When Kennedy was eighteen he took a sixth form summer trip to the Gaeltacht of Gweedore in County Donegal. He went to a sessi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom and the second-largest in Ireland. It had a population of 345,418 . By the early 19th century, Belfast was a major port. It played an important role in the Industrial Revolution in Ireland, briefly becoming the biggest linen-producer in the world, earning it the nickname "Linenopolis". By the time it was granted city status in 1888, it was a major centre of Irish linen production, tobacco-processing and rope-making. Shipbuilding was also a key industry; the Harland and Wolff shipyard, which built the , was the world's largest shipyard. Industrialisation, and the resulting inward migration, made Belfast one of Ireland's biggest cities. Following the partition of Ireland in 1921, Belfast became the seat of government for Northern Ireland ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horslips
Horslips are an Irish Celtic rock band that compose, arrange and perform songs frequently inspired by traditional Irish airs, jigs and Reel (dance), reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of traditional Irish music with rock music and went on to inspire many local and international acts. They formed in 1970 and 'retired' in 1980 for an extended period. The name originated from a spoonerism on Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse which became "The Four Poxmen of The Horslypse". Although Horslips had limited commercial success when the band was playing in the 70s, there was a revival of interest in their music in the late 1990s and they came to be regarded as one of the defining bands of the Celtic rock genre. There have since been small scale reunions including appearances on ''The Late Late Show (Irish talk show), The Late Late Show'' and RTÉ's ''Other Voices (Irish TV series), Other Voices''. The ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enya
Enya Patricia Brennan (; ga, Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961), known professionally by the mononym Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo artist in history and the second-best-selling overall artist in Ireland after U2. Born into a musical family and raised in the Irish-speaking area of Gweedore, County Donegal, Enya began her music career in 1980 when she joined her family's Celtic folk band, Clannad, playing keyboards and singing. She left the group in 1982 to pursue a solo career with Clannad's manager and producer Nicky Ryan and Ryan's wife Roma Ryan as her lyricist. Over the following four years, Enya began to develop her sound with multitracked vocals and keyboards containing elements of Celtic, classical, church, new age, world, pop, and Irish folk music. Enya's first projects as a solo artist included soundtrack work for ''The Frog Prince'' (1984) and the 1986 BBC doc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eponym
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''eponym'' functions in multiple related ways, all based on an explicit relationship between two named things. A person, place, or thing named after a particular person share an eponymous relationship. In this way, Elizabeth I of England is the eponym of the Elizabethan era. When Henry Ford is referred to as "the ''eponymous'' founder of the Ford Motor Company", his surname "Ford" serves as the eponym. The term also refers to the title character of a fictional work (such as Rocky Balboa of the Rocky film series, ''Rocky'' film series), as well as to ''self-titled'' works named after their creators (such as the album The Doors (album), ''The Doors'' by the band the Doors). Walt Disney created the eponymous The Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney Com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proinsias Ó Maonaigh
Proinsias Ó Maonaigh () or Francie Mooney (28 April 1922 – 28 March 2006) was a fiddler from Gweedore (Gaoth Dobhair), County Donegal, Ireland. He is known for his distinguished fiddle playing and his unique and vast contribution to Irish music and culture. He is the father of Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (fiddle player, lead vocalist and cofounder of Irish folk music band Altan) and grandfather of fiddle player Ciarán Ó Maonaigh. Early life Born in Gaoth Dobhair in 1922 as the youngest of eight children, he was a son of a famous musician from the area Róise Mhór who would have played with An Píobaire Mór ("The Great Piper") Tarlach Mac Suibhne. It was an Irish speaking household and traditional music was nurtured within the home and they were taught many Irish songs. Life and career In 1954, he married a Gaoth Dobhair woman, Kitty Ní Ghallchóir, and they have three children: Gearóid Ó Maonaigh, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and Áine Ní Mhaonaigh (or Anna Mooney). Francie is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fiddle
A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, the style of the music played may determine specific construction differences between fiddles and classical violins. For example, fiddles may optionally be set up with a bridge with a flatter arch to reduce the range of bow-arm motion needed for techniques such as the double shuffle, a form of bariolage involving rapid alternation between pairs of adjacent strings. To produce a "brighter" tone than the deep tones of gut or synthetic core strings, fiddlers often use steel strings. The fiddle is part of many traditional (folk) styles, which are typically aural traditions—taught " by ear" rather than via written music. Fiddling is the act of playing the fiddle, and fiddlers are musicians that play it. Among musical styles, fiddling tends to p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish Traditional Music Session
Irish traditional music sessions are mostly informal gatherings at which people play Irish traditional music. The Irish language word for "session" is ''seisiún''. This article discusses tune-playing, although "session" can also refer to a singing session or a mixed session (tunes and songs). Barry Foy's ''Field Guide to the Irish Music Session'' defines a session as: ''...a gathering of Irish traditional musicians for the purpose of celebrating their common interest in the music by playing it together in a relaxed, informal setting, while in the process generally beefing up the mystical cultural mantra that hums along uninterruptedly beneath all manifestations of Irishness worldwide.'' Social and cultural aspects The general session scheme is that someone starts a tune, and those who know it join in. Good session etiquette requires not playing if one does not know the tune (or at least quietly playing an accompaniment part) and waiting until a tune one knows comes along. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
County Donegal
County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconnell (), after the historic territory of the same name, on which it was based. Donegal County Council is the local council and Lifford the county town. The population was 166,321 at the 2022 census. Name County Donegal is named after the town of Donegal () in the south of the county. It has also been known by the alternative name County Tyrconnell, Tirconnell or Tirconaill (, meaning 'Land of Conall'). The latter was its official name between 1922 and 1927. This is in reference to the kingdom of Tír Chonaill and the earldom that succeeded it, which the county was based on. History County Donegal was the home of the once-mighty Clann Dálaigh, whose best-known branch was the Clann Ó Domhnaill, better known in English as the O'Don ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaeltacht
( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially recognised during the 1920s in the early years of the Irish Free State, following the Gaelic Revival, as part of a government policy aimed at restoring the Irish language. The Gaeltacht is threatened by serious language decline. Research published in 2015 showed that Irish is spoken on a daily basis by two-thirds or more of the population in only 21 of the 155 electoral divisions in the Gaeltacht. Daily language use by two-thirds or more of the population is regarded by some academics as a tipping point for language survival. RTÉ News Report of Friday 29 May 2015 History In 1926, the official Gaeltacht was designated as a result of the report of the first Gaeltacht Commission ''Coimisiún na Gaeltachta''. The exact boundaries were not de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sixth Form
In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-level or equivalent examinations like the IB or Pre-U. In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the term Key Stage 5 has the same meaning. It only refers to academic education and not to vocational education. England and Wales ''Sixth Form'' describes the two school years which are called by many schools the ''Lower Sixth'' (L6) and ''Upper Sixth'' (U6). The term survives from earlier naming conventions used both in the state maintained and independent school systems. In the state-maintained sector for England and Wales, pupils in the first five years of secondary schooling were divided into cohorts determined by age, known as ''forms'' (these referring historically to the long backless benches on which rows of pupils sat in the classr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gweedore
Gweedore ( ; officially known by its Irish language name, ) is an Irish-speaking district and parish located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. Gweedore stretches some from Glasserchoo in the north to Crolly in the south and around from Dunlewey in the east to Magheraclogher in the west, and is one of Europe's most densely populated rural areas. It is the largest Irish-speaking parish in Ireland with a population of around 4,065, and is also the home of the northwest regional studios of the Irish-language radio service RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, as well as an external campus of NUI Galway, National University of Ireland, Galway. Gweedore includes the villages Bunbeg, Derrybeg, Dunlewey, Crolly and Brinlack, and sits in the shade of County Donegal's highest peak, Errigal. Gweedore is known for being a cradle of culture of Ireland, Irish culture, with old Irish customs, traditional music, theatre, Gaelic games and the Irish lan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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