In common with other parts of
Over a three-day period at the start of the festival, a glance through the reports yielded ‘A night of Irish virtuosi’, Louise Mulcahy, Brian MacConmara on the Uilleann pipes, Irish dancing troupe Derrada; the group O’Stravaganza played Vivaldi on Irish instruments in packed venues. Three Irish pipe bands including the St. Patrick’s band from Co. Cork vied with Breton and Galician bands for the Beamish International Championship which involved Bobby Flannigan and Dicky Le as judges. Scattered throughout Ouest France were photographs of Irish soloists and groups, names such as Shaun Davey, Liam Og O’Flynn and Eddie McGuire.
Not content with welcoming Irish artistes to their festivals, the Bretons have also developed the habit of appropriating Irish music and adopting it to their local repertoire. Stepping ashore in Port Navalo on our return from a day-trip to the