Friday 25 April 2008

Fleadh Nua Salutes Frank Custy


Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann will be paying a tribute to Frank Custy, “the doyen of Clare’s Traditional Music teachers”, at the official opening of Fleadh Nua 2008 at the newly refurbished Cois na hAbhna on Sunday, 18th May. Frank played a significant part in the construction and development of Cois na hAbhna in the late 1970s and the early 1980s, while Sharon Shannon, Noel Hill, Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin, Tony Linnane, Siobhán Peoples and the Healy Brothers are just some of the musicians who have learned their craft from the Toonagh tutor. In 2004 Frank was a worthy recipient of Vodafone’s ‘Passion for the World Around Us Award’, since, in the words of the Clare Champion, ‘’he has played a major role in providing the youth of Clare with access to traditional music via his weekly music classes and legendary céilí sessions in the old Toonagh schoolhouse.’

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