Every year since 1991 an Irish traditional music festival – Rencontres Musicales Irlandaises de Tocane – has been held in the small rural town of Tocane Saint Apre in the Dordogne region of south-west France, some 140 kilometres east of Bordeaux, and thousands of people have attended it over the last 25 years.  This year Rónán follows in the footsteps of tutors Neilidh Mulligan, Rosie Stewart and others and takes a year out of the early part of the Joe Mooney Summer School in Drumshanbo and joins the tutors in Tocane Saint Apre.  http://www.rencontresmusicalesirlandaisestocane.fr/fr/

This year’s Festival takes place in July from Sunday 17th to Wednesday 20th.  Classes are held for the four days.  The Festival begins on Saturday night 16th, with a gathering for organisers, musicians with their families, and some of the locals, usually in the home of one of the local people. Some food and drink are provided followed by music, song and dance.

The classes start on Sunday and they are held in a local school, starting at 10am sharp and running until 4.30pm with an hour and a half for lunch.  

There will be two concerts; with this years tutors participating; one on Sunday 17th and the other on Wednesday 20th.  This years tutors are:

Fiddle Donal O'Connor

Accompaniment Ruairi Mc Gorman

Flute Martin Meehan

Song Aodan O'Cellaigh

Accordeon Eoin O'Beaglaoich

Sean Nos Dance Rónán Regan

Pipes Sean McKeon

Banjo Theresa O'Grady

Concertina Caitlin Nic Gabhann

Set Dance Sean Kilkenny

Whistle Sheena Vallely

Harp Deirdre Granville