Since innovation is not often a word one associates with the Catskills it must be carefully applied in the case of the Catskills Irish Arts Week where your humble correspondent begins his third year as the Artistic Director on July 9. Ironically, in looking for something a little different for the 12th year, I was struck by some new music being recorded by some “Senior” citizens in Ireland in the past year that seem to marry well with the cross-generational craic we have going on up there at present.

Listening to Fortune Favors the Merry recorded by Peter Horan, 80, and Gerry Harrington (half that) released last year, I was struck by the freshness of the flute and fiddle duets in a gorgeous tempo that suits the aficionados who flock to East Durham. The Venerable Concertina player Chris Droney, 81, also came out with his Down from Bell Harbour CD that marked his homeplace in North Clare and is filled with exuberance and tasty tunes from a man whose music I have been hearing in my own North Clare household since I was in short pants. I have only met him in recent years with the Four Courts Ceili Band so I wanted to be able to present him as a solo talent.

Equally remarkable though a decade younger is fiddle and piano legend Josephine Keegan who lives in County Armagh but has been a welcome visitor to many festivals throughout Ireland and Scotland and too rare a visitor to the U.S. She is arriving shortly with two new recordings in hand which I am looking forward to hearing that are indicative of the spunk and commitment she has shown down through the years with many musical partners, most notably the late Sean Maguire from Belfast. The trio was to be joined by Cavan’s Lilter Seamus Fay and Martin Donohoe and Offaly’s Paddy O’Brien, the accordion whiz living in Minneapolis but their health does not allow them to travel and play at the present time.

Masters like Horan, Droney and Keegan are truly among the most respected musicians in Ireland of any vintage and it is an honor to be able to invite them to join in the Catskills Mountains community where their still-vibrant music can be passed on to many new fans of all generations. It’s what I like about the “Living Tradition”.

The Catskills Irish Arts Week (July 10-15) features over sixty classes for registered students but all the evening concerts, ceilithe and sessions throughout the Greater East Durham area are open to the public along with the day-long festival on Saturday, July 15. Call the Quill Irish Cultural Centre at 1800-434-3378 or www.east-durham.org/irishartsweek for more details.