Donegal culture and traditions gain a platform to shine in Germany

Donegal culture and traditions were on full display in Germany for St Patrick’s weekend.

The town of Rudolstadt, twinned with Letterkenny since 2018, became a home away from home for the Letterkenny delegation who visited for the town’s festivities.

Letterkenny band Bellows and Beats took part in the music festival and showcased the town’s accordion tradition. Bellows and Beats came together in 2017 under the name The Wild Rovers before assuming their new identity last year. Many of the band members got their start in the Letterkenny Town Band, and are now a tight-knit group of friends.

The nine-piece band includes accordion players Deirdre Crossan, Katherine 'Kiki' Crossan McGrath, Siobhan McCafferty Bates, Triona Callaghan and Clare Kelly, Jackie Quill on tin whistle and glockenspiel, drummers PJ Doherty and Patrick 'Paddy' Doherty, and Siobhan’s husband George Bates, who looks after the band’s social media.

PJ said the group had an “absolutely fantastic” time and they would “come back in a heartbeat”.

“This was our first year ever going out to Rudolstadt to represent Letterkenny and it was an absolute honour,” he said. “We always play for the Rudolstadt delegation when they come to Letterkenny.

“To be honest, we didn’t really know what to expect when we got out there but the people of Rudolstadt couldn’t do enough for us. Nothing was a bother to them.”

Bellows and Beats performing in the town square on the first day of the St Patrick's weekend festival in Rudolstadt

Bellows and Beats performed a couple of times over the weekend and received an enthusiastic response from locals.

“Once we started playing on Friday evening down at the square, the response that we were getting from the German contingency was absolutely amazing,” said PJ. “We think we celebrate St Patrick’s Day in Letterkenny or at home in Ireland as a whole, but the spin that the Germans put on it for that St Patrick’s weekend in Rudolstadt, it’s second to none.”

READ NEXT: Letterkenny and Rudolstadt: ‘One of the best twinnings we’ve ever done in Donegal’

Another highlight of the weekend was a special whiskey tasting experience hosted by Carol Meenan and Kieran Davis of Crolly Distillery and The Yellow Pepper Restaurant in Letterkenny. The event was held in the Letterkenny Irish Pub, owned by Letterkenny man Karol Kerrane. He has been living in Rudolstadt for over a decade and was a leading figure in establishing the official twinning.

Letterkenny fiddle player Domnhall Mac Fhionnlaoich joined the event and accompanied each whiskey with a special tune.

“That was enjoyable, I had to think of a few tunes on the fly which was good,” said Domnhall. “It worked out well given the idea behind it, so it was a very enjoyable and interesting notion to pick a tune to match a whiskey flavour.

Domnhall Mac Fhionnlaoich playing at the Crolly Distillery whisky tasting event

“Part of it was simply the association with the wood. Once or twice because of the flavour, but really because of the origin of the wood and picking tunes that match nicely. There’s so many tunes, you’ll always have something that will have the correct connotation.”

Domnhall first came to Rudolstadt in 2012 and enjoyed performing again during the festival this year.

READ NEXT: Donegal musicians go down a treat at St Patrick’s weekend festival in Germany

“It’s always been very well supported and I think it gets better over time,” he said. “They get more used to it and it’s nice for the town and great for the people visiting.

“It was really very enjoyable and full of music. It was good to see lots of my friends who I haven’t played together with since last year, so it was good to see them and good to see new people. I did play lots of Donegal music.”