Sean's trip to Ireland

Sean enrolled in the 2009 TTCT Traditional Music Teachers Course run by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann at their Dublin headquarters. This course focuses on teaching methodology and has been running since 1980. There have been 32 courses run so far and 700 students have graduated and many of these students have come from overseas to participate. Students are selected by audition and must have had at least 3 years teaching experience to qualify. Accomodation and meals were provided and some of the big names in traditional music presented lectures. Steve Cooney, Charlie Lennon, Tomás Ó Canainn and Johnny Connolly all lectured and played their instruments for the students. Sean is the first Australian to have completed the course. There were 6 fiddlers in the 2009 course including Sean and other students played concertina, accordion, uilleann pipes, flute and whistle. This was a one week full time course with classes starting at 10am, finishing in the evening. There was a three hour written exam on the final day. Come and have a look at the photos below.