Music
There is a long tradition of Irish music in Rahan. There had been an active branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Eireann in the parish in the 1950s. In fact, some of the original members were involved in the setting up of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Eireann. The original Rahan branch had been led by the famous fiddle player Dan Cleary of the Ballinamere Céilí Band, so it was fitting that on that first night back in 1995 Dan led a lively session bringing together the old and the new members.
Here we have Dan Cleary (centre) who was a founding member of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Eireann and who also formed the orignal Rahan branch in 1952. Playing with Dan are Michael Lynam and Eric Mitchell, both also members of the original branch.
The talented musicians in Rahan Comhaltas play accordians, fiddles, flutes, tin whistles, guitars, banjos, bodhrans, mandolins and keyboards. Classes for beginners, intermediate and advanced musicians are held during the winter months. Keep an eye on our notice board for details.
Dance
Many people today have been introduced to Irish dance through stage productions such as Riverdance or Lord of the Dance. They are unaware that this demanding step dancing performance they are seeing is only one form of Irish dance. Irish dance combines a range of solo and group dance forms, including solo step dances and set step dances, céilí dances, set dances and even waltzes and other couples dances such as ‘Shoe-the-Donkey’ and the ‘Stack of Barley’.
Our senior and junior dancers perform excitingly choreographed solo and group dances at our shows and we host set dancing classes and workshops from September to May. Watch our notice board for details of upcoming events. This picture is from the year 2000 fleadh hosted by Rahan Comhaltas in Killina.
Song
We have a number of singers in Rahan Comhaltas each with their own style and flair. Singing is an important part of our shows and the many competitions we enter.
Shown here is one of our regular singers, Karen, who delights audiences with songs such as “Hard Times” and “The Skillett Pot”. Other singers’ favourite songs include “Padraigin Og mo Chroi” and “The Maid of Sweet Killeagh”.
Story Telling
Most Rahan Comhaltas shows are punctuated with story telling. Stories generally fall into one of three categories, recitations which are basically stories that rhyme and traditional stories which are stories told by seanchai. In the past we were renowned for short stories and jokes that were generally told by the late great Joe Monaghan who sadly is no longer with us but who has left us with great memories.
Some live recordings from various sesiúns
Tom Nolan and Michael Lynam lead in the group with Óró, sé do bheatha ‘bhaile into The Mouse in the Mug, The Connaughtman’s Rambles and finally t’Athair Jack Walsh
Some studio recordings from our various CD’s
Here are a selection of audio clips from our “What’s next lads” CD
Track 1
Track 3
Track 8
Track 9
Educational resource
Here is a selection of tunes which we enjoy playing these days, please feel free to download using the link below