Baltimore Fiddle Fair

This weekend has seen the annual Fiddle Fair taking place in Baltimore, West Cork.

Recognised world-wide as one of the very best traditional and folk music festivals, for over fifteen years, it has drawn in reknowned players for gigs in various locations throughout the village. Impromptu sessions also take place in the bars and it was one such session I attended this afternoon.

Just as the rest of the weekend, the weather has been pretty atrocious with wind, rain and even hail, all giving what it had to send the Guinness-drinking audience, scurrying for cover. Thankfully, this particular group had already settled themselves into the corner of one of the bars, ensuring their instruments wouldn't succomb to the tuning difficulties of the damp conditions.

The photograph I have selected sums up the essence of the session.