Bringing it all back home

GATHERINGS may be all the rage for 2013, but the concept is old hat to Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, which has been gathering together musicians from across the Irish diaspora for over 60 years.

And this is not only the year of The Gathering. It’s also Bliain na Gaeilge and the year in which Comhaltas celebrates its global reach with its own ‘Bliain na Cruinne’.

So it’s with a sense of the apposite that the first non-Irish-born president of this quintessentially traditional Irish organisation approaches his attendance at a Gaeltacht fleadh cheoil.