Press queries please to Owen O'Shea (Chief Executive)
Tel: +353 (0)87 7870070
15th February 2008 - THE CHIEFTAINS TO PERFORM IN CONCERT AT 2008 BODHRAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
The organisers of the World Bodhrán Championships in Milltown have this week announced that The Chieftains will perform in concert at the festival this year. The festival, now in its third year will play host to the world’s best known traditional Irish music group on Saturday 31st May.
The World Bodhrán Championships has established itself as one of the most exciting new festivals in the cultural calendar and the involvement of The Chieftains in the entertainment programme this year is testament to the high regard in which the event is held.
The festival, which runs from the 30th May to 2nd June over the June Bank Holiday Weekend, will also feature a concert performance by Beoga which includes bodhrán player Eamon Murray, who has been described as ‘the future of bodhrán playing’. Back by popular demand will be the Danish group Moving Cloud who first performed at the festival in 2007 as well as Indian multi-percussionist Sandeep Raval.
Festival Chief Executive Owen O’Shea said “the inclusion of The Chieftains in our concert programme this year is a wonderful boost for our event and takes the festival to a whole new level. The fact that the best known and most renowned Irish music group in the world have agreed to perform at the Championships is an acknowledgement of the investment by our committee and our sponsors in the event over the past three years".
Formed in 1962, six-time Grammy award winners, The Chieftains are widely recognised for bringing Irish traditional music to international attention. It is understood that The Chieftains were very impressed with the aims and objectives of the World Bodhran Championships, which has attracted to perform at the festival this summer.
The bodhrán player with The Chieftains, Kevin Conneffe will join a host of local and international tutors in a range of workshops and masterclasses and the centrepiece of the weekend will be the competitions to find the best bodhrán players in the world, for which a prize money package of €2,500 is on offer.
Tickets for the concerts at the World Bodhrán Championships will go on sale after Easter and full details of the festival can be found at www.worldbodhranchampionships.com.
3rd June 2007 - NEW WORLD CHAMPIONS CROWNED IN MILLTOWN
The new World Bodhrán Champions in all four competition categories have been crowned in Milltown. Following the heats in which the standard was extremely high, adjudicators Tommy Hayes, Mel Mercier and Gino Lupari awarded the prizes to :
Senior
1st Conor Lyons, Dublin
2nd Neill Lyons, Dublin
3rd (Joint) Sean O'Neill, Down & Richard Lyons, Cavan
Solo
1st Conor Lyons, Dublin
2nd Niall Preston, Dublin
3rd Joseph McNulty, Mayo
Under-14
1st Joseph McNulty, Mayo
2nd Aonghus O'Maicín, Mayo
3rd Christian Canty, Kerry
Under-18
1st Niall Preston, Dublin
2nd Daniel O'Loughlin
3rd John O'Connor, Limerick
Well done to all competitors who really raised the bar this year. Keep in touch with this page for more information.
PRESS RELEASE Tuesday, 6th March 2007
WORLD BODHRÁN CHAMPIONSHIPS INVITES COMPETITORS TO MILLTOWN IN JUNE WITH €2,500 IN PRIZE MONEY ON OFFER
The World Bodhrán Championships in Milltown, County Kerry is inviting bodhrán players from around the world to take part in the competitions at the festival in June which will seek to find the best players in the world. The organisers are offering a prize money package of €2,500 for the winners with specially commissioned trophies worth €1,000 being presented to the best performers.
The festival, which is being hosted in the mid-Kerry town for the second time from 1st to 4th June 2007 will feature concerts, workshops, street sessions song and dance but the centrepiece will be the competitions to find the best bodhrán players in the world. In 2006, Neill Lyons from Dublin was crowned Senior Champion and Colm Phelan from Portlaoise was Junior Champion. This year, the Bodhrán Championships is introducing two new categories. An under-14 category is being introduced for younger players and a solo competition for unaccompanied performers is also being staged for the first time. The latter is open to all age groups and will be a stand alone part of the competitions. The adjudicators for the competitions will be a panel of renowned bodhrán players and the competitons will take place on 2nd and 3rd June in Milltown.
The senior winner will be awarded €1,000 and a specially commissioned trophy. Entry forms and more information are available from 066 9765601. Chief Executive of the Festival, Owen O'Shea said ,"We are anticipating very large numbers of competitors in June, particularly with two new categories of competition. The response to the event in 2006 has been hugely positive and we are planning a spectacular repeat on the first weekend in June."
12th January
2007 INTERNATIONAL LINE-UP ANNOUNCED FOR WORLD BODHRÁN CHAMPIONSHIPS 2007
The organisers of the World Bodhrán Championships in Milltown, County Kerry are pleased to announce an international line-up of entertainment for this year's festival which takes place from 1st to 4th June 2007.
This will be the second time the event has been staged in the mid-Kerry town. The event, which showcases the best bodhrán players in the world will include concerts, sessions, street entertainment and competitions to find the World Bodhrán Champion 2007.
Among the acts scheduled to perform this year are Moving Cloud, a Danish traditional group which included bodhrán player, Svend Kjeldsen who will also host a workshop at the festival.
Next Chapter, an American family band who visited the festival in 2006 will return in June to entertain the crowds.
Back by popular demand in June will be Liam O'Maonlai of Hothouse Flowers and Ronan O'Snodaigh of Kila who performed in concert in Milltown in 2006. Their bodhrán and percussion based concert was one of the highlights of the event.
Other concert events will include Kerry traditional music groups Creda and Draiocht.
A series of workshops including bodhrán players and makers from all over the world is also being arranged with players and makers from Australia, the USA, Denmark and Ireland.
The centrepiece of the festival, the competitions to find the best bodhran player in the world will be staged again with a panel of international judges.
Applications for the competitions will open at the end of February. Chief Executive of the World Bodhrán Championships, Owen O'Shea said that this year's event would contain even more entertainment and variety. "We are broadening our line-up of entertainment and drawing in even more visitors from abroad this year. We anticipate large numbers of competitors and participants in the workshops. What is clear is that the World Bodhrán Championships has captured the popular imagination and is going from strength to strength".
5th June 2006
WORLD BODHRÁN CHAMPIONS ANNOUNCED IN MILLTOWN
The first ever World Bodhrán Champions were crowned on Sunday 4th June 2006 in Milltown, County Kerry. At the inaugural event, Neill Lyons from Stoneybatter in Dublin won the senior competition and Colm Phelan of Porlaoise was named Junior World Bodhrán Champion.
Twenty thousand people passed through the mid-Kerry town over the weekend to view the competitions and a range of free street entertainment. There was a range of workshops which were packed to capacity and bodhrán sales rocketed over the weekend.
The competition judges Tommy Hayes and Mel Mercier heard up to fifty competitors on Saturday and they were whittled down to four junior finalists and six senior finalists who performed on stage outdoors in front of thousands of spectators. There were competitors from the US, Germany, the UK and other countries.
Chairman of the World Bodhran Championships Dan Cronin said the weekend was an overwhelming success. "We had outstanding concerts with Liam O'Maonlai, Ronan O'Snodaigh, Mel Mercier and Micheal O'Suilleabhain and a comprehensive range of on-street music and dancing. The standard at the competitions was sublime and the finale which included an Indian percussionist and Brazilian dancers was far beyond anything we expected".
