MUSIC Swinford hosts two festivals over bank holiday weekend

Swinford hosts two festivals over October bank holiday weekend


Local Scene
Henry McGlade

The October bank holiday weekend is shaping up to be pretty busy in Swinford. Two different festivals are taking place, each celebrating very different kinds of music, but both highlighting the town’s heritage.  
Swinford’s Féile na Samhna (October 26-28) will celebrate the rich heritage of traditional song and dance in the area and surrounding parishes over the weekend, while the John Feeney Tenor Festival (October 25) will celebrate the life of a Swinford tenor who was an idol for millions of Irish Americans in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s.

Féile na Samhna
The first Féile na Samhna, organised by the local Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCÉ), was held in 2011 to mark the 50th anniversary of Swinford’s hosting of Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann. The event was such a success that it was decided to make it an annual affair. This year, the festival’s theme is ‘the old-fashioned house dance’.
The féile starts with the official opening on Saturday, October 26, at 3pm in O’Connor’s, Main Street, with Vince Hearns of CCÉ and musician Alan Morrisroe, who will share their  insights into the place of the house dance in rural history. At 8pm that night a singing club will be held in Mellett’s Emporium.
Sunday’s events include a marching-bands display at 12.45pm on Main Street, followed by a Session na nÓg at 3pm (venue to be confirmed). On Sunday night, a house dance will be reinacted at the Gateway Hotel, with singers, storytellers and recitations reviving the old tradition.
A historical walk with local historian Michael Comer will take place around the streets of Swinford on the Monday morning, with anyone interested invited to gather at The Gateway at 11am. The organisers also hope there will be music sessions in all pubs around the town during the weekend.

John Feeney Tenor Festival
The night before the Féile na Swinford activities start, The John Feeney Tenor Festival will take centre stage.  
Born in Swinford over 100 years ago, John Feeney, widely known as Jack, was the embodiment of the emigrant success story. He arrived in New York in 1928 after working as a builder in London for several years. As he toiled through his days he nurtured a dream. Someday, he promised himself, he would stand on the stage at Carnegie Hall and sing.
This he would ultimately do, and during the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s, he regularly sold out the famous venue. Feeney’s voice would also become instantly recognisable to huge numbers of Irish immigrants in the New York area through his starring role in the Schaefer Beer radio show.
Feeney’s voice was described as easy, warm and relaxed. His repertoire included Irish favourites, such as ‘Galway Bay’ and ‘Moonlight In Mayo’, as well as recitals of Mozart, Handel and Schubert lieder. His vocal abilities prompted comparison with the great John McCormack, the man who had stamped the image of the Irish tenor on the popular American imagination.
Feeney returned to Ireland in 1964, but his fame dimmed in the years after his untimely death in 1967.
Feeney’s widow, Maura, bequeathed the entire collection of the tenor’s life works to radio producer Harry Bradshaw, who remastered the old recordings. ‘An Intimate evening with Harry Bradshaw’ will be held in the The Gateway Hotel on Friday night, during which Bradshaw will give a talk on and play some of Feeney’s music.

For more details on Féile na Samhna events, contact Maria on 086 8448726.