Ailish's trip to Ireland

My name is Ailish. I’m 16 (year 10) and I live in Wodonga in North East Victoria.

I have been playing traditional Irish music since I was 4. My dad (Jody) was keen to keep his culture alive and knew that, because there were no other musicians in our area, he would be the one who would have teach us.

Tin whistle was my first instrument, and then when I was about 11 I progressed to the concertina and absolutely love it – I have online lessons with Ciarán O’Grady in Melbourne.

This year I turned 16 and really fancied going to Ireland to experience some of the festivals and go to school there for a few weeks. Dad has organised for me to be a student at a few workshops and I have also been accepted to compete in the All Ireland fleadh in Mullingar. This is the first time someone from Australia has competed on concertina. I’m a bit nervous but really excited at the same time.

As you will appreciate, it’s costing a lot of money. The cost of flights have doubled since the pandemic and, although I have been working at our local aged care facility for the past 2 years, it’s going to be a real struggle to have any money left over, especially with the exchange rate between the dollar and euro.

I decided to reach out to the Gaelic Club in Sydney to see if they might consider holding a fundraiser and they have kindly us to hold a concert on Saturday 17th June.

Myself and my brother Pascal (who plays uilleann pipes) will be joined by my dad on banjo, whistle and piano accordian. There will be a raffle too.

I’d be so grateful if you could make it to the concert but if not, I’ve included a link below to an online fundraising page if you might consider giving a donation.

Thanks for reading….keep listening for a couple of tunes..