The 53rd Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy, Ireland’s premier traditional music summer school, will take place from 5 to 13 July 2025 in Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare, promising a vibrant week of music, dance, and cultural exchange. Known affectionately as “Willie Week,” this annual event honours the legacy of the renowned uilleann piper Willie Clancy and draws musicians, dancers, and enthusiasts from across the globe to the heart of West Clare.
The 2025 programme offers an extensive array of classes, recitals, concerts, and workshops, running from Monday to Saturday. Daily classes from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM will cover traditional instruments including uilleann pipes, fiddle, flute, whistle, concertina, button accordion, banjo, harmonica, and harp, alongside set dancing, step dancing, and sean-nós dancing. Specialist courses include traditional singing workshops led by Brian Mullen and Ciarán Ó Gealbháin, with additional sessions by Jerry O’Reilly and Máire Ní Chéileachair. A University of Limerick-accredited course, Dúchas an Cheoil/Scope of Irish Music, delivered by Cathal Goan and Paddy Glackin, will explore the cultural roots of Irish music, while Dr Liz Doherty’s Read Music the Trad Way, in partnership with the Royal Irish Academy of Music, will run Monday to Friday. Afternoon Irish-language conversational classes will also be available.
The week kicks off on Saturday, 5 July, with an opening address by harper and author Kathleen Loughnane, followed by the Breandán Breathnach Memorial Lecture at 8:30 PM, titled “In Safe Hands: The Role of Clare Musicians in Dublin’s Traditional Music Legacy,” presented by Mick O’Connor. Evening recitals begin on Monday, 7 July, showcasing leading musicians: Gráinne Hambly (harp) at the Mill Marquee at 5:00 PM, John Kelly (fiddle) at the Community Centre at 8:00 PM, Majella O’Beirne and Paul McGrattan (whistle and flute) on 8 July, Muireann Banks and Theresa O’Grady (banjo) on 9 July, and Anne Conroy Burke and Jackie Daly (button accordion and melodeon) on 10 July. An uilleann piping recital, featuring performers selected by Na Píobairí Uilleann, will take place on Wednesday evening, and a step, set, and sean-nós dance exhibition led by Mary Friel is scheduled for Thursday at 8:00 PM.
Three major concerts will anchor the week. On Sunday, 6 July, a concert featuring TG4 Gradam Ceoil recipients will be broadcast live on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta. On Tuesday, 8 July, Clann is Cáirde / Family and Friends, a concert showcasing family groups, replaces the previously planned international concert at the Mill Marquee from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. On Thursday, 10 July, Óige Iarthar an Chláir / the Youth of West Clare will highlight local young talent, presented by Therese McInerney and Marian Curtin. The week concludes on Saturday, 12 July, with the Ceolchoirm Chuimhneacháin Mhuiris Uí Rócháin, a memorial concert for former director Muiris Ó Rócháin, presented by Muireann Ní Dhuigneáin at the Community Centre.
Céilís, featuring bands such as the Kilfenora and Tulla Céilí Bands, will take place nightly at the Mill Marquee, with spontaneous sessions in local pubs adding to the festival’s lively atmosphere. Registration for instrument classes is closed, but dance classes remain open. Enrolment fees of €150 cover all classes, workshops, lectures, and recitals, with reduced admission to céilís for registered students.
Willie Clancy
Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy was established in 1973, following the untimely death of Miltown Malbay’s celebrated uilleann piper, Willie Clancy, at age 54.
Born in 1918 into a musical family, Clancy was immersed in the oral tradition from a young age. His father, Gilbert, a flute player and singer influenced by blind piper Garret Barry, passed down a rich repertoire. Clancy began playing the tin whistle at five, later mastering the flute and uilleann pipes, inspired by travelling piper Johnny Doran and luminaries like Leo Rowsome and Séamus Ennis. A 1947 Oireachtas competition winner, Clancy’s virtuosity and deep connection to Clare’s musical heritage made him a revered figure. Unable to sustain a living solely through music, he worked as a carpenter in London but remained a cultural ambassador for Irish tradition.
The summer school was conceived by Clancy himself in 1972 during discussions with friends, including Muiris Ó Rócháin, Martin Talty, Junior Crehan, and Séamus Mac Mathúna of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. Following Clancy’s death in January 1973, these collaborators, joined by local musicians and later Harry Hughes and Éamon McGivney, established the school to honour his legacy. Now in its 53rd year, it remains a cornerstone of Irish traditional music, blending formal instruction with the oral/aural tradition and fostering a global community of musicians.
Muiris Ó Rócháin
Muiris Ó Rócháin, a Dingle-born schoolteacher who settled in Spanish Point, Co. Clare, was instrumental in transforming Clancy’s vision into reality. As the summer school’s founding director, Ó Rócháin’s organisational acumen and passion for Irish culture shaped the event’s ethos. Collaborating with Comhaltas and local musicians, he established a structure that balanced rigorous tuition with the spontaneity of sessions, ensuring the school’s accessibility to all levels. His leadership until his passing in 2011 earned him the 2010 Gradam Ceoil Comaoine award, and the annual Muiris Ó Rócháin Memorial Concert reflects his enduring influence.
The 2025 MÓRglór award, bestowed upon the school, further honours Ó Rócháin’s legacy, with a celebratory concert held on 17 May at glór in Ennis.
With its blend of education, performance, and community, Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy remains a beacon for traditional music lovers. As organiser Séamus Ó Rócháin, Muiris’s son, notes, the school has grown but retains its commitment to unaccompanied performance and the traditions of older musicians. For more details or to register, visit www.scoilsamhraidhwillieclancy.com.
