Ireland: Box Players

One of the best nights we had in Ireland was when we found a local folk festival in the tiniest of towns, Scartaglin. It was comprised of five things: one church, one gas station, the folk center, and two pubs. Earlier in the day, we had stopped in the cutest coffee shop in Dingle for cappuccinos by the fire, and looked through the local paper. Among such gems as a page-wide article on how almost the entire town of Dingle was rooting for one American Idol contestant (because she was distantly related to someone in the town), was a small mention of a folk fest nearby. After a fruitless internet cafe search, and a couple frustrating phone calls, we still weren’t sure how to get there – the town was so small even our trusty GPS could not find it! As we drove around the Peninsula, I finally found it on a map, and then the GPS and we were on our way.

We got there a bit early and the woman behind the ticket table told us we should walk up to the pub for a drink while we waited. After watching a football match in the bar and drinking some Guinness and cider, we headed back. I was expecting some live music and maybe a dance performance, so I was a little uneasy when we walked into what looked like a high school gymnasium with a stage attached. There were seats, but they were forming two rows along two sides of the room, exposing the entire center. When Irishmen started asking us if we were dancing or not, I knew this was not going to be a normal concert. Sarah and I scored seats in the middle of the second row as everyone was pouring on to the dance floor.

Soon two men took to the raised platform and started playing and everyone was suddenly in perfect formation, twirling and stepping. We had thought that after watching for a bit we would try to join in, but after watching for a few seconds it became clear that this was not a dance you could pick up as you went along. If we had known the few basic steps they were built on, maybe, but sadly we did not and had to turn down a few delightful old Irishmen. It was amazing to watch them, no one ever announced anything, with every new song, everyone just knew exactly the routine to go with it.

After a few hours, the dancing was wearing down, and we headed back over to the pub where an impromptu music session was taking place. When we saw live music, it was usually like this, a musicians table where people who had their instruments would come to sit and drink and play, leave to smoke a cigarette or get another drink, and then come back and join in mid-song. At this bar, two boys were sitting at the table with just-their-size accordions, trying to keep up. It was wonderful to watch them get confused and upset and struggle and in moments, finally get it as the grown-up accordion player popped over to guide them along. I love this photo for the looks on their faces, like I was doing alright but HOW THE HECK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THAT?