Scoil Gheimhridh Frankie Kennedy ("Frankie Kennedy Winter School") was a traditional music winter school held annually in Gweedore, County Donegal, Ireland starting December 1994 in memory of Belfast flautist Frankie Kennedy (from Irish folk music band Altan) who died on 19 September 1994. The last session ended in January 2014. It has been succeeded by the "Scoil Gheimhridh Ghaoth Dobhair" ("Gweedore Winter School").

Overview

The festival, which ran throughout the end of December until 2 January featured some of Ireland's best known musicians as well as friends of Frankie's from Scotland and further afield. It also presented a unique learning environment for musicians and arrangers. Classes are provided in

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

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, th ...

, uilleann pipes, tin whistle, bodhrán, button accordion, bouzouki,

sean-nós singing Sean-nós singing ( , ; Irish for "old style") is unaccompanied traditional Irish vocal music usually performed in the Irish language. Sean-nós singing usually involves very long melodic phrases with highly ornamented and melismatic melodic ...

, house dancing, and guitar. In 2008, the festival introduced a new class, ''Arranging Irish Music and Song'', which was taught by traditional music veteran Dáithí Sproule. In 2007, the festival brought singers such as

Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh (born 1978) is a musician and singer from County Kerry, Ireland. Until 2016, she was the lead singer for the traditional music group Danú, and from that year on she has been half of the electronica duo Aeons. Biography ...

and

Julie Fowlis Julie Fowlis (born 20 June 1978) is a Scottish folk singer and multi-instrumentalist who sings primarily in Scottish Gaelic. Early life Fowlis grew up on North Uist, an island in the Outer Hebrides, in a Gaelic-speaking community. Her mothe ...

to perform.2007 Festival Brochure
/ref> The final Scoil Gheimhridh took place from Friday 27 December 2013 until Wednesday 1 January 2014.Archived Scoil Gheimhridh Frankie Kennedy homepage
/ref> On this occasion,

Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (; born 26 July 1959) is an Irish fiddler and the lead vocalist for the Irish folk music band Altan, which she co-founded with her late husband Frankie Kennedy in 1987. Today, Mairéad is recognised as a leading exponent ...

(from Irish folk music band Altan), her siblings Anna Ní Mhaonaigh and Gearóid Ó Maonaigh and her nephew Ciarán Ó Maonaigh (Gearóid's son) formed the Irish folk music band

Na Mooneys NA, N.A., Na, nA or n/a may refer to: Chemistry and physics * Sodium, symbol Na, a chemical element * Avogadro constant (''N''A) * Nucleophilic addition, a type of reaction in organic chemistry * Numerical aperture, a number that characterizes a ...

where they performed their first ever show. Na Mooneys released their debut album ''

'' on 6 October 2016. Until the end, the Scoil Gheimhridh Frankie Kennedy was ever-expanding and attendance was still continuing to flourish.

Performers

It has become tradition that Kennedy's old band Altan headline every year at the festival, but other well-known musicians have played at the school: * Liam O'Flynn * Skara Brae * Seán Keane *

Sean Potts Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; anglici ...

* Arty McGlynn *

Téada Téada, an Irish band, plays traditional music. Téada is Irish for "strings". The five members of the band are fiddle player Oisín Mac Diarmada, button accordion player Paul Finn, Damien Stenson performs on flute, Seán Mc Elwain switches be ...

Marcas Ó Murchú Marcas Ó Murchú is an Ireland, Irish woodwind flute player from Belfast, Northern Ireland. In 1997 his album ''Ó Bhéal go Béal'' (CICD 126) was released and in 2013, he became the "Chief Bard of Irish Music". Musical background He became M ...

T with the Maggies T with the Maggies are an Irish traditional supergroup from County Donegal, Ireland. The group first performed together in 2007 at a tribute concert to folk singer and guitarist Mícheál Ó Domhnaill, older brother of Triona and Maighread, and ...

References

{{authority control Annual events in Ireland Culture in Gweedore Music festivals in Ireland Irish folk music Music schools in the Republic of Ireland