Gasun Photography : Trim : Meath : Ireland

He who made time made lots of it they say; but toward the end of 2009 I wasn’t able to allocate enough time to keep this blog up to date as I became involved with Trim 2025 which took up all my spare time. However, I did maintain a certain level of productivity in Q4/2009 and this blog is a very quick look at ’some’ of what I had been doing between October and Christmas 2009 - to close out 2009 so to speak.

In short, I had a great shoot with Podge & Niamh Ham Sandwich for their single ‘Out of the Darkness’, Meath’s ONV Magazine very kindly featured me in their Christmas edition (Many thanks to ONV), I handled press/promotion/web site and photography for The Magic Numbers, Ham Sandwich & Guests who played at the launch of Trim 2025 on December 4th, while legendary Glenties fiddler, Vincent Campbell released a wonderful double CD of traditional Donegal fiddle music featuring one of my photographs (taken in Trim) on thee cover of the CD and another in the sleeve. Thats a few of the highlights and now for the pictures to match including Gerry Tully, Tommy Fleming, John Spillane, Don Baker, Harlem Gospel Choir, The Blizzards, The Magic Numbers, Ham Sandwich, Brian Kennedy, Opera Theatre Company, David McWilliams, O’ Carolan Harp Festival (Nobber), Save Louth Hospital Campaign & Feile Na Mi …..

Finally and sadly, on Christmas morning 2009, the people of Longford Town woke to the sight of St. Mels Cathedral in flames. As we all know the building was destroyed and it will take considerable time and resources to restore it to its former glory. If you would like to make a donation to the restoration fund you can do so via post or bank transfer. The details are on the Longford Parish Website. The scale of the damage can be seen on Joe O’ Briens blog link HERE. Below are a few photographs of the Longford County Choir performing in St. Mels at Christmas 2007 as we remember it ….

See You Out There In 2010

Enda Casey

Gasun Photography

Trim - Meath - Ireland

www.gasun.net

Mickey McKenna from Trim, County Meath was a most talented and respected musician, who sadly passed on in 2004. I never had the pleasure of meeting Mickey nor seeing him perform first hand, but each year since his death, those who knew and played music with him have gathered in Trim to commemorate his life through the music he loved. This year, the concerts and music workshops (including Rock Guitar) took place in Trim Library on August 21st and 22nd, with music workshops in Rathcairn Library as well. The event was funded and supported by Meath County Council / Arts Council and organised by Alternative Entertainments. Officially opened by Cllr. Ray Butler (Trim); the legendary Barney McKenna (The Dubliners) and Sean Og McKenna took centre stage alongside Eamonn MacDonnacha (Rathcairn), Patsy Conroy (Trim), Henry McCullough (Antrim) and the famous Glenties fiddlers; Vincent, Jimmy & Peter Campbell, as well as other well-known traditional and bluegrass musicians including Bill Whelan (Fairview), Liam Kennedy (Ballyfermott), Austin Waring (Malahide) and Kevin Ward (Dublin) …. All events were free to attend!

When one reflects on the various music festivals in Ireland, Trim County Meath is an ideal place for a Music Festival with ample facilities across the town, including one of the finest castles in the world! This commemorative event already shares that common bond with some other Irish festivals in that people unite in Music to honour and cherish the memory of a sadly missed friend and musician. Thankfully due to his friends and family, Mickey has been commemorated for five years now, which hopefully will continue for years to come! Nonetheless, as I sat on the floor of the Library in front of the small stage and savoured each sublime performance, I pondered; (I) Could this enjoyable commemoration evolve into a bigger Festival, similar to The Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival or other festival formats too numerous to mention here or (II) Could a Music Festival be developed in Trim if (I) was not possible? Great credit must go to The McKenna family and those who organise the Commemoration, but what a wonderful legacy Mickey would have left the people of Trim if the event were to evolve further and reach out to a wider local and national audience and performers/musicians alike, so exploration of my “Question I” above would be logical, before moving on to cut another cloth so to speak?

Now as we all continue to take off to the O2, The Olympia Theatre and other such venues to see and hear Live Music, there is something extra special about experiencing Live Music on your own doorstep as this event and the recent visits of Christy Moore and Declan Synnott to Knightsbrook Hotel have proven! Having said all this, I believe that the possibilities for a suitable Music Festival / Event / Venue in Trim are endless and as a Music Photographer living in Trim, I would like to see something happen, but that’s just my personal opinion! At the moment, the only show in town is the Mickey McKenna Commemoration Concert and in my respectful opinion, this event should be examined to see if it can be developed further for the future. Would Trim be ready for significant development of this Commemoration or indeed another unrelated Music/Arts Festival? What do you think? I hope the few photographs below conjure up in your minds what prompted these thoughts in mine, as I sat on the Library floor at the weekend enjoying the music. I make final reference to the ever-youthful, Sean Og McKenna, who performed at the weekend in the words of the incredible Christy Moore …….

“as soon as we found Stuggart, we got the wagons in a ring, Sean Og got out the Banjo and Peter played the Mandolin. There were fans there from everywhere, attracted by the sound, the first Fleadh Cheol in Europe, and Joxer passed the flagon round”

- photographs from friday august 21st 2009 -

- photographs from saturday august 22nd 2009 -

more photographs to follow …..