Hosting the world-renowned Willie Clancy School - Tionól Cheoil Montréal

Willie Clancy was Ireland’s most celebrated traditional piper. When he died in 1973, his cohorts decided to create an international summer school as a living monument to commemorate his legacy. For over fifty years, the Willie Clancy Summer School has convened every July in Miltown Malbay and has grown into Europe’s largest school of traditional music. From humble beginnings, it now attracts thousands of musicians, singers and dancers from all over the world who come to West Clare to learn from world-class scholars, performers, linguists and historians.

The School of Irish Studies has sent students and faculty to the Willie Clancy School for over a decade. Now in association with Schulich School of Music at McGill University, we will host the first ever visit of the Willie Clancy School to North America in April 17-18, 2026.

This visit, or tionól, will include lectures, workshops (on uilleann pipes, fiddle, flute and whistle), and a transatlantic concert featuring Irish and Québécois musicians, singers and dancers. Details will be published online early in 2026, and will also be available from the Siamsa Montreal School of Irish Music and Na Píobairí Uilleann, Québec.