Dónal Donohoe

                                                                                                                © Irene Lundgaard

The hills of Wicklow have turned from green to gold and the drive to Dublin has become a feast for the eyes. In a week or two most of the trees will have lost their leaves, all except that is the evergreens but at the moment the beech trees in particular are spectacular in their autumnal display. The weather has been unnaturally warm for this time of year, with little or no frost at night so far and outdoor daytime activities here on the hill still conducted without a jacket. But the apples have been picked from the fruit trees and almost everything that needs to be is battened down, ready for the rain and gales and anything else that the winter might throw at us.

On the music front the dust is still settling following the release of ‘Ceol ’s Rann’ which has elicited some response and reaction from various quarters. The first review was mostly positive and hopefully there will be more. As for radio play it’s hard to say at this stage if it will receive any amid the boy bands and other acts that have a major record label and thus a big publicity machine behind them, but the fingers are crossed. Although the music business is in a state of turmoil at the moment and has been for some time, it’s good to know that the music itself will never change. There will always be those who sing, play and write music and those who enjoy listening to it.