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The Frankie Kennedy Winter School for Irish traditional music has been held annually in Gaoth Dobhair in north-west Co Donegal since 1994, spanning the last days of December and the first days of January. The School was founded by family and friends in memory of the Belfast flute player Frankie Kennedy (1955–1994), co-founder with his wife Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh of the world-renowned group Altan, and it has always had a strong international dimension.
The School comprises a wide range of classes, sessions, concerts, lectures, and workshops, all open to the general public, and with a special emphasis on the traditional music of Donegal and its transmission to the younger generation. The Irish Traditional Music Archive has carried out audio and video field recording at the School since 2004–2005, and it continued its documentation work there again this year, 2011–2012, at the 18th School.
Reproduced above, courtesy of the School and its presenters, is a selection of music, song and speech from ITMA videos recorded at workshops organised for this year’s event. Featured are Donegal fiddle player Danny Meehan, Irish-American singer and musician Tim O’Brien, and Irish-Australian musician Steve Cooney.
With thanks to Danny Meehan, Tim O’Brien, Steve Cooney, and to the organisers of the Frankie Kennedy Winter School/ Scoil Gheimhridh Frankie Kennedy, for permission to publish these recordings. All FKWS recordings are available to the public for reference access and study in ITMA.
Nicholas Carolan & Danny Diamond, 1 February 2012
