WITH Fleadh fever in the air, a North Belfast man is reviving the art of bodhrán making ahead of the mega trad music festival.
Cormac Saunders (27) has teamed up with his cousin Darragh Close, who both learned the craft through their relative and renowned Belfast bodhrán-maker and boxing coach Eamon Maguire.
Ahead of the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann coming to Belfast in August, Cormac is making and taking orders for the instruments, working out of Survivors of Trauma community hub in North Belfast.
Cormac will also be leading workshops at the Ormeau Library and Falls Road Library during the first two days of the Fleadh.
Alongside the workshops, the bodhráns that Cormac and his family have created will also be on sale at a stall in Berry Street Presbyterian Church.
"Making bodhráns is a family tradition. My great-uncle Eamon Maguire taught me and my cousin Darragh how to make them," explained Cormac.
Cormac Saunders
"The ones we are making only take a couple of days. Like anything, it is pretty straight forward once you know what you are doing.
"We are taking orders in the build-up to the Fleadh and will be selling them during the festival as well as doing workshops.
"It is a perfect time with the Fleadh coming to Belfast. The dream is to get our own premises and turn it into a business of teaching and selling the bodhrán."
Cormac’s workshops will take place on the first two days of the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, August 3 and 4, with the instruments for sale in Berry Street Presbyterian Church throughout the entirety of the festival.
