About Us
Cnoc na Gaoithe (Windswept Hill), the Tulla Comhaltas Cultural Centre’s mission is to promote, preserve and showcase the rich Irish traditions and culture of Tulla and the East Clare area.
The development of the project has been completed and includes the former convent and primary school buildings which have been developed into a vibrant cultural hub with an archive room, museum, teaching rooms and accommodation in the former convent building. The former school building now hosts a multi- purpose auditorium/theatre, dance hall with stage, balcony, back stage facilities and a bar.
ABOUT US
BACKGROUND
COMHALTAS IN TULLA
Cnoc na Gaoithe the Tulla Comhaltas Cultural Centre, is the 17th Comhaltas Cultural Centre in Ireland. Our mission is to promote, preserve and showcase the rich Irish traditions and culture of the Tulla and the East Clare area. The centre is situated in the heartland of East Clare, on top of the famous Hill of Tulla, an area renowned for traditional Irish music, song and dance.
The name Cnoc na Gaoithe translates in English as the Windswept Hill, made famous by the late Kerry man Bryan MacMahon in his song “Lament for Tommy Daly” in praise of the great Tulla and Clare goalkeeper, Dr. Tommy Daly.
The Sisters of Mercy donated the Tulla Convent and Primary Schoolbuildings to Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann in October 2011. These buildings are being developed into the Cultural Centre, known as Cnoc na Gaoithe.
The Sisters have a long and distinguished association with Tulla since their arrival in 1883. The convent was built for them by the people of Tulla under the supervision of the clergy. The Sisters set up a small school in the conventand in 1885 they built a new Primary School and in 1957 they built a Secondary School which served a large area of East Clare.
The conversion of the Convent building to a Cultural Centre is a fitting tribute to our educators both religious and lay who have contributed to the life and times of the East Clare since 1883. Their work now provides the foundation for a new phase of education that will enhance the life of East Clare and the Irish Diaspora who visit the Centre.
The Tulla Comhaltas Branch was founded in September 1957with a view to hosting Fleadh Cheoil an Chláir in 1958. The Fleadh of ’58 will go down in the annals of folklore as one of the greatest, memorable gatherings of the early years of Comhaltas Ceoltóiri Éireann.
The Clare Champion newspaper of the 9th of August 1958 gave the following description of the occasion:
“Tulla was filled with abandon for two days and in an atmosphere of revelry the streets rang with the music of the piper, the fiddler and the accordionist, the lilts of the ballad singer and the merry tap of the dancer’s feet.
From window and doorway came the strains of stirring airs….”
Tulla branch of Comhaltas has flourished since 1957 nurturing and doing tremendous work to promote Irish music, song, dance and language. The branch has gone from strength to strength in recent years and now boasts of over 250 active members. It hosts the renowned Tulla Traditional Music Festival annually and has numerous well attended weekly activities such as informal music sessions for young and old, set dancing classes, traditional singing and Irish language classes.
First let me thank you for sending a contingent to St. Louis, Missouri for the Comhaltas North American Convention in April. The Convention was an outstanding
Helen Gannon