Áras an Mhuilinn Mullingar recently hosted a training seminar for Comhaltas Adjudicators, under the auspices of Leinster Council of CCÉ.
Amongst the participants was Evgeny Pichugin, a concertina player and traditional music enthusiast, and a member of the Moscow based Comhaltas branch.
Evgeny is one of a number of very active Moscovite Comhaltas members and traditional enthusiasts who also include Yuri Andreichuk, a fluent Irish speaker.
The Moscow Branch of Comhaltas includes traditional musicians, singers, dancers and Irish language speakers and their regular sessions.
Evgeny comes to Ireland as often as possible, continuing to value the enrichment gained from person-to-person interaction within the traditional and Comhaltas community and to consolidate and develop his musicianship further.
Founded in Mullingar in 1951, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, or Comhaltas as it is known by its friends and the Irish traditional community, is Ireland’s premier cultural movement. Today CCÉ is rooted throughout Ireland, Britain, North America and the world over.
Organised through the Irish Communities abroad, many non-Irish friends of Ireland have joined Comhaltas, a central movement amongst the Irish Diaspora worldwide.
Áras an Mhuilinn is the Comhaltas regional centre for Westmeath, Offaly, Laois and Longford. Last week’s seminar, which brought over one hundred Comhaltas members to Mullingar, was well represented by a number of locals, including Cian Farrrelly, Joe Connaire, Enda Seery, Declan Fox and Doreen Masterson-Farrelly.
