Harvest dancer hooks up with Galway family

The Hartigan family were joined by dancer Michael McGilligan as they played on Pearse Street on the Wednesday evening of the fleadh. Anne (8), Kate (11), Aoibheann (12) and Lynn (14), from Ahascragh in Galway, were accompanied by their father, Patrick Hartigan.

The children have been playing traditional Irish instruments since they were eight. They enjoy having sessions on the streets of Mullingar during the fleadh. “We only come for the day; we don’t compete or anything,” their mother Veronica told the Westmeath Examiner.

“We were here on the Saturday last year. They really enjoyed it so we came back again… It’s brilliant… the atmosphere is very good. The weather makes it too,” added Veronica.

Michael McGilligan from Limerick performed what’s known as the Harvest Dance, and is famous in his “part of the world”.

He hadn’t met the Hartigan family before Wednesday evening.

“I was just wandering down the street now and they were playing nice music so I came over,” said Michael, who has attended fleadhanna all over Ireland.

Every day, Michael spends two or three hours walking down the town and another two or three hours walking back up, stopping to dance along the way, wherever the music takes him.

“I’ll spend half an hour with them… I meet all the different counties,” said Michael, who has a grá for “meeting interesting people” as well as for the ceol.

Asked if he was enjoying this year’s fleadh, Michael replied, “Ah, the fleadh is fine, yeah.”