Various venues, Miltown Malbay, Co Clare, Sat 3rd-Sun 11th setdancingnews.net/wcss

If, for reasons of recession or stamina, you find your trad calendar limited to a single outing this summer, it’s advisable to set the compass for the southwest: Miltown Malbay. This year’s 38th Willie Clancy Summer School will be the year’s largest gathering of traditional music, song and dance gurus, bar none.

For those who crave a chance to hear Martin Hayes raise a tune at the back of a snug, catch Cathal McConnell joust with a song or slow air, or share a session with Mary Bergin on stage or off, then Clare’s the only destination worth considering.

Willie Week, as it’s affectionately known, is trad music’s elixir of youth, where all-night sessions are sloughed off in the foam of the wide Atlantic by way of Spanish Point. Balm for the casual listener and dogged musician alike.