West bound

With a good few month of organising under our belts and mere hours left to October Sies we are preparing to head west. We have the equipment packed in the van, our happy faces on, a few tricks up our sleeves and are ready for an unforgettable weekend of music, entertainment and great craic.

looking forward to seeing you all.

 

Bríd & Jamie

Press Release

OctoberSeis is a fund raising weekend of music, entertainment and crack held every year in October. This year all money raised goes to Rock Rose House - Mayo Cancer Support Association. OctoberSeis will be held on the bank holiday weekend 22nd-24th October in Westport, Co. Mayo.

Friday 22nd; John's Bar, from 9pm.

Saturday 23rd; The Wyatt Hotel, from 8pm.

(Tickets €10 available in Schu-it, James St., Westport or on the door).

Sunday 24th; Westport Country Lodge Hotel, from 6pm.

Beginning in 2005, OctoberSeis started as a way for the O’Neill family of Athy, Co. Kildare to pay tribute to their father Joe O’Neill, a gifted musician and dedicated band leader of the Stardust Orchestra which brought his particular brand of music to almost every dance venue in Ireland from the early 1940’s to the 1960’s.
Joe founded the CBS Brass and Reed Orchestra in Athy which is still going strong today.

OctoberSeis first started in Naas when this gifted family got together with friends and initiated what has proven to be a very enjoyable musical extravaganza of many genres of music. The festival moves annually to areas where members of the O'Neill family live or have strong connections.

2005 – Naas

2006 – Cavan

2007 – Tewkesbury

2008 – New York

2009 – Kildare

2010 - Westport

This talented family brings music, entertainment and good crack to the locals while helping raise money for worthy and local charities. This year the group is raising money for Rock Rose House the home of Mayo Cancer Support Association.

Friday 22nd of October kicks off the sixth OctoberSeis in Johns Bar, Peter Street, Westport at 9pm and will be a night for musicians and music lovers alike to meet up.

The main night of the seis is on Saturday 23rd in the Wyatt Hotel Starting at 8pm. Tickets are €10 available from Schu-it, Westport with 100% of the money raised going to the charity. On the night there will be a raffle with lots of great prizes such as tickets to go see 'Cinderella' JEDWARD's Panto at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin.

Bringing the weekend to a close on Sunday 24th in the Westport Country Lodge Hotel from 6pm, where locals will be invited to join the OctoberSeis gang on stage.

This years’ Seis plays host to more than forty musicians including locals and members and friends of the O’Neill family.

We guarantee a fun weekend of entertainment and music for all.

Beaches in Mayo

While in Mayo take some time to visit  any of the many blue flag beaches.

Directions to Westport Country Lodge Hotel

On Sunday 24th, OctoberSeis will be in The Westport Country lodge hotel. Music will start at 6pm all welcome to join in. We will be fundraising for Mayo Cancer Support Association, donations accepted.
Directions:
Entering Westport from Castlebar, take a left turn at the first lights on to distillery road. Take the first exit off the next roundabout, on the Ballinrobe road. Drive straight for 3 km and turn right (Sign for Westport Country Lodge Hotel visible on road) drive 200 metres and gates to hotel are in front of you.

Destination Westport

Directions to Westport

Directions from Dublin 

Leave Dublin heading west onto the Motorway M4. At the end of the motorway continue forward onto the N4. Go straight through two roundabouts bypassing Edgeworthstown. Continue straight. At the next roundabout take the 1st exit onto the R393, signposted for the town centre. Continue forward onto the R393. You are now in Longford. Head towards N5, signposted for Westport. At Strokes town take the first exit on roundabout. Continue forward going through the towns of Termonbarry and Frenchpark. In Ballaghaderreen go through town The road will verge left, take the next right. Continue forward onto the N5to Castlebar. Follow signs to Westport for approx 10 miles. When you get into Westport town, drive up Bridge Street in the right lane (the town clock is at the top of Bridge St). Turn right on to Shop Street and get into the left lane you will arrive at a tall pillar monument. The hotel is located beside this monument. The Wyatt Hotel is nestled on The Octagon.

Directions from Knock airport
From Knock Airport, head for the N17. Turn left onto the N17. After 5.5 km, turn left onto the N5. Follow directions from Dublin.

Directions from Galway 

 Leaving Galway city and follow the R866 to Headford. You must then bear right onto the N84 signposted for Castlebar. You will pass through the towns of Shrule & Kilmaine. Once you reach the town of Ballinrobe again look for the signs for Castlebar. Once you reach the village of Partry turn Left onto the R330 following the signs to Westport. Continue for 18 miles until you come to Westport. When you get to Westport drive along Mill Street, passed the town clock on your left and onto Shop Street. Stay in the left lane you will arrive at a tall pillar monument. The hotel is located beside this monument. The Wyatt Hotel is nestled on The Octagon

Directions from Sligo
Leaving Sligo by the N4 route until the roundabout at Colloney. At the second roundabout take the 2nd exit signposted for Galway & Westport. You will pass throught the towns of Tubbercurry, Curry & Charlestown. At Charlestown turn right onto the N5 signposted for Castlebar & Westport. Continue forward onto the N5. Arrive at Castlebar. Follow signs to Westport for approx 10 miles. When you get into Westport town, drive up Bridge Street in the right lane (the town clock is at the top of Bridge St). Turn right on to Shop Street and get into the left lane you will arrive at a tall pillar monument. The hotel is located beside this monument. The Wyatt Hotel is nestled on The Octagon.

A Sneak Peak

The Roving Crows will be performing at OctoberSeis. Here is a video of them from the Cheltnam Races.

Tickets on Sale

Tickets are on sale now in Schu-it, James St, Westport. Purchase early to avoid disappointment!

Rock Rose Garden Event

On the 17th of September we played in the gardens of Rock Rose House to all the patrons and friends of the organisation. The day was a huge success with BBQ and desert supplied for all there.

We were joined by local musicians who helped make the day more enjoyable, the Costello family from Castlebar and Frank Gannon from Breaffy.

A great day was had by all with everyone looking forward to the OctoberSeis and the weekend of fun and music.

Joe O’Neill - Stardust Orchestra, Athy, Co. Kildare

Joe O’Neill was acknowledged as one of the most versatile and accomplished musicians of his day. He brought his particular brand of music to almost every dance venue in Ireland from the early 1940’s to the 1960’s. At its peak the Stardust Orchestra competed with the leading big bands of the day i.e. Mick Delahunty and Maurice Mulcahy as headline acts around the country.
Joe was also an accomplished music teacher and was founder and music director of St. Josephs Boys Band and subsequently founded the CBS Brass and Reed Orchestra which is still going strong today.

Generations of Athy children learned the craft from Joe and grey haired adults now owe their musical talent to Joe’s patient and careful tuition.

As a multi-instrumentalist Joe was adept on piano, saxophone and bagpipes but his favourite form of musical expression was with the accordion.

Amidst all of the above Joe and his wife, May, Managed to rear a big family and as can be imagined almost all of them play musical instruments.

Joe passed away in 1989 but his family still kept up the tradition of music and although they are spread far and wide around the globe, when they meet its music, music, music.

A number of years ago the O’Neill’s decided that some organisation or charity should benefit from this musical entertainment.

As Joe O’Neill was born in October (10th) it was agreed that October should be the time of year and this also fitted in with the school break everywhere. Thus Octoberseis was born. Our first Octoberseis was held in Naas, Co. Kildare, where Joe’s two sons Kevin and Anthony live. That was in 2005 where all funds raised went to the care of the elderly. Since then:

2006 – Cavan (Maureen)
2007 – Tewkesbury, U.K.(Martin)
2008 – New York, U.S.A(Seán)
2009 – Naas, Co.Kildare (John Dooley, family friend)
2010 – Westport, Co. Mayo (Jamie, Grandson)

Yes, this occasion has now become a fixed event in the O’Neill calendar and will remain so as Joe’s grandchildren have now taken it to their hearts and become a regular feature of ‘The Octoberseis’ as have close family friends such as John Dooley etc. So while the O’Neill family meet and play music and remember Joe O’Neill the real winners are the local charities which benefit from funds raised in his memory.

T-shirt designs

Hi all,

We are now taking pre-orders for t-shirts. Please let us know what design you would like and size.

There are 3 designs available: regular tee, long sleeve and tank top.

You can let us know what you think by leaving a comment on this post or emailing us at octoberseis@gmail.com

*designs may vary

Sunday Seis as Westport Country Lodge Hotel

We have confirmed our venue for the Sunday Seis as Westport Country Lodge Hotel located in Aughagower, the hotel is located about 2.5km from the village and 5km from Westport Town.

This beautiful property maintains the tradition of a Country House combined with contemporary luxury and breathtaking views of Croagh Patrick. The hotel is surrounded by a 9-hole golf course, set amidst the celebrated beauty of the Mayo Countryside, nestled in 36 acres of manicured landscape.

Aughagower a historic village has a well preserved tenth century round tower, with the exception of its topmost section and capstone. The tower was built between 973 and 1013. According to legend, the capstone was struck by lightning, and landed half a mile away on the hill of Tavenish. A local woman is said to have carried the heavy cap stone in her apron to the church where it still remains today!

Tóchar Phádraig from Ballintubber Abbey to Croagh Patrick passes through Aughagower where there is a round tower, a holy well, St Patrick’s Bed and his ‘Bath’. Soil from the base of the sacred tree by the bath is said to have curative powers. The road from Ballintubber was cleared by local initiative — in the process, a number of stone flags came to light, which must have belonged to the Tóchar Phádraig. At Lankill, (where Bríd is from) a raised stone altar with a small cross-inscribed stone on top of it and an adjacent pillar stone probably date from the Early Christian Era. A nearby holy well is attributed to St Brendan.

Further information about the route is available from Ballintubber Abbey. Phone +353 94 30934

Update - 4 months to go!

Well with 4 months to go to the October Seis, it’s time to get things rolling. We have sussed out some of the other venues in Westport. We are in the process of confirming the venue for the Friday night and Sunday evening into night and not forgetting about the golfers either!

We have been speaking to businesses in regards to sponsorship and spot prizes for the main event. At the moment Schu-it are on board and many other businesses to follow.

Posters are being designed and we have our marketing caps on.

Rooms in the Wyatt Hotel are nearly booked out for the weekend, so if haven’t already secured a place get in contact asap. You can also see a list of other accommodation in the town here.

Update

Hi all just to let you know that we are working away on organising October Seis 2010. We have booked out our first 15 rooms in the Wyatt Hotel and they are offering any further rooms at €169.00 p/ps for the 3nights (fri/sat/sun) B&B with one evening meal and complementary access to Westport LeisurePark, just state that you are there as part of the October Seis.

October Seis 2010

Hi All,

October Seis 2010 will be our 6th seis. So far we have played to crowds in Naas, Cavan, Tewkesbury and New York. Last year we returned to Naas and played in conjunction with the Myles Fancy's 20th anniversary of the Tuesday Night Session, to raise money for the Faraja Centre in Tanzania which helps children who have been orphaned by AIDS.

This year we have chosen to give our help and support to Rock Rose House. This is the home of the Mayo Cancer Support Association formed in August 1999. It was formed by a group of volunteers who recognised the need for the service through personal experience and working with persons diagnosed with cancer. Due to the growing demand for these services and with the help and support of the people of Mayo, on the 14th Aptil, 2003, the service moved to its own premises at Rock Rose House at 32 St. Patrick's Avenue, Castlebar.

This years October Seis will take place in the Wyatt Hotel Westport and we would like to thank them for their time and support. The line up so far consists of the Roving Crowes from Gloustershire, the junior Town House Gang from Naas, The Tewkesbury O's from England, Waterhen One from New York and the October Seis Gang.

Looking forward to seeing everyone there.

Bríd & Jamie

Accommodation

Hotels

The Wyatt Hotel 098 25027
Westoport Country Lodge 098 56030
The Castlecourt Hotel 098 55088
Westport Plaza Hotel 098 51166
Atlantic Coast Hotel 098 29200
The Mill Times Hotel 098 29200
Hotel Westport 098 25122
Knockranny House Hotel 098 28600
Westport Woods Hotel 098 25811

Holiday Homes & Appartments

Atlantic Coast Holiday Homes 098 27711
The Harbour Mill Appartments 098 28555

Bed & Breakfast

Rockville B&B 098 28949
Waterside B&B 098 29603
Hazel Brook B&B 098 26865
Adare House 098 26102
Seapoint House 098 41254
Clooneen House 098 25361
McCarthy's Lodge 098 27052
Glenderan B&B 098 26585
Quay West Guest House 098 27863

Hostels

Old Mill Holiday Hostel 098 27045
Abbeywood House 098 25496
Club Atlantic Holiday Hostel 098 26644