Comhaltas-whats your opinion?

philip kelly

I am new to the Irish Music Scene , but have a heard a mix reaction to Comhaltas and what they do for Irish music in general.
So can somebody enlighten me whats their purpose is please.

Thanks

Phil

dlofnep

Their purpose is to cherish and preserve Irish culture. I think they do a fine job at it too.

philip kelly

Ok thank you for that.
The reason I asked.............
I heard they changed the way Irish music was played in the last 30 years to bring everybody in to line so teaching could be more regimented.
So to learn by ear was not what they wanted?
Is that right or was i miss infromed.
I would love and hope to good enought to learn by ear, and of course be able to read music and write in the future.
I am a complete novice, so I have everything to learn.

Thanks again for the reply?

phil

session savage

Its not that they changed the way music was played more that they offered a more standardised set list and standard style.
Some folks will say that they are responsible for 'killing off' some regional styles as there are prefered styles for the fleadhs....
I know better than to comment on that.
At the end of the day they have done wonders for helping new people get into trad and look at the revival trad is going through, they have had their part to play in that. And for that we should all be gratefull.

philip kelly

Ah right ,
That sounds more plausible than what I understood.
Well if I get up to standard I am sure I will be grateful too of them as they will be my mentors and the people in it for a long time to come hopefully.

Thank you

phil

TheBardWest

I've contacted them for inquiries on workshops and instruction on two separate occasions and have never received a reply. If that's any measure, I'd say they're not too interested in recruiting any new students.

Futurecrook

TheBardWest wrote: »

I've contacted them for inquiries on workshops and instruction on two separate occasions and have never received a reply. If that's any measure, I'd say they're not too interested in recruiting any new students.

Well comhaltas consists of many individual branches. It's the branches that offer classes/music tuition. Who did you contact? You should try looking up your local comhaltas branch and getting in touch with them.

sensibleken

I do lessons in dublin and am getting quite frustrated with it.

there is too much orthodoxy, being told there is a right way and a wrong way to play a tune which is nonsense, you must put your triplet here, you must use an upstroke there etc. Its bollox. The best thing about trad is the variety and lack of rules to it, i find comhaltas suffocating.

the sessions ive been to there have been boring as hell. no body talks to one another and plays from a set list of tunes.

I really have not got much value from the lessons at all so i dont think ill be going back

pog it

It's not my branch but did anyone else hear that Clontarf branch was "expelled" from Comhaltas?

Also, I heard from a friend of mine that a lot of the smaller, local branches are having to close down. It's hard to hear about these things. Does anyone know which branches specifically have been forced to close shop?

Futurecrook

I haven't heard anything about any branches 'closing down'.

And the Clontarf issue is much more complicated than them simply being expelled.

Jim Martin

This was the last I read on the subject of the Clontarf issue:

"Comhaltas is still doing everything it can to prevent discussions taking place to resolve the dispute with the dissolved Clontarf branch. Comhaltas will not engage with Clontarf and won't allow the issues that caused the dispute to be addressed.

Last year Comhaltas and Clontarf were both asked by the team undertaking the official review commissioned by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (DCRGA) to enter into mediation. Clontarf said yes. Comhaltas said no, wrongly insisting their Bunreacht would not allow it. Even Minister Eamonn O Cuiv, when publishing the report last September, called for "a meaningful engagement in relation to the issues…"

It is clear Comhaltas HQ doesn't want to engage because they now can't explain why they summarily dissolved Cluain Tarbh Comhaltas, a hard working branch with nearly 50 years service and over 400 members, without any right of reply or appeal. The official DCRGA report confirmed that the Clasac project, developed by Clontarf, was properly managed and delivered in line with budget projections and that other reasons advanced by Comhaltas at the time for dissolving the branch were totally unfounded.

Clontarf would like to thank everyone, including the huge number of traditional musicians, politicians, people in the local community and so many Comhaltas members and branches for supporting us by not attending the Clasac centre.

We ask you to continue to support justice for Clontarf by not visiting Clasac until the dispute is resolved.

The manner of, and the spurious reasons for, the dissolution of Clontarf should be of concern to everyone in Comhaltas. The lessons from the way Clontarf and its members were treated are clear. It means that every member is vulnerable in an environment where levelling of unfounded allegations and malicious abuse targeted at individual members is sanctioned at the top.

It represents a complete failure of proper governance and a rejection of the most basic standards of fairness by the Ardchomhairle (governing body), the very people charged with protecting the Bunreacht and members rights. The leadership of Comhaltas has continued its campaign against Clontarf even after the branch's unfair dissolution leaving us with no other conclusion but that it is intent on preventing facts emerging that raise very serious questions about the Ardchomhairle's conduct and that of the Ardstiúrthóir.

Comhaltas claims that a motion adopted "unanimously" at the annual congress in May 2008 means that branches supported the actions taken against Clontarf. It is clear from the many branches in contact with Clontarf that such a motion was unknown to many of the delegates at the time, suggesting the motion was taken when very few were present. It is inconceivable that genuine branch delegates who have the interests of the organisation and members at heart can be content to be used in this manner to validate the improper actions of the leadership of Comhaltas.

The way Comhaltas dealt with Clontarf and the failure of governance must also be pursued by the Minister for Arts and Minister for Community, Equality and the Gaeltacht. They provided over €9m in public funding to develop Clasac, which now stands virtually idle, and also contribute substantial annual funding to the running costs of the centre. Ministers have put their trust in Comhaltas, a national body that has as one of its aims to represent what should be good about Irish society and local communities.

Good governance, as practiced by many other national sporting and cultural bodies, must ensure at the very least that members' grievances must be addressed fairly and openly. The members of these organisations demand nothing less from their leadership and governing bodies. It's time that these same standards were demanded of, and delivered by, the leadership of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann.


Issued by Ceoltóirí Chluain Tarbh – 26 April 2010 "

tarbolton

In Dublin the majority of the former Kinsealy branch, unhappy at their treatment by Comhaltas, have left and set up their own organisation Clann'n Cheoil

In Scotland two branches have closed - Michael Coleman and Dundee - in what appear to be highly controversial circumstances!

pog it

I found out that the local branches have to raise the insurance costs themselves to send to HQ, can anyone verify this?

I have to say it is selfish of Labhrás Ó Murchú at his age to be clinging on for dear life as 'Director-General' of the organisation , never mind leveraging it and its popularity for his 'career' in politics.

No politician should be allowed to hold that post.

trad

For the Comhaltas side of Jim Maritns post

http://comhaltas.ie/images/press_room/ClasacStatement28Mar_1.pdf

tarbolton

The following document from the Ceoltóirí Chluain Tarbh website throws an interesting light on the allegations made in the document referred to on the last post
http://www.cluaintarbh.net/docs/response_pkshow.pdf

Futurecrook

Obviously both sides are going to have incredibly biased views on what's been going on. I don't see any point in going into this here. It's been done to death on every other internet forum and in real life.