I remember being in Adaragh one weekend for a friends birthday and there was a fiddle festival on. I spent most of the weekend playing fiddle.

@martyjoe Ardara is a lovely spot for it, right in the heart of Donegal fiddle country. A weekend of playing at a festival there sounds like a great one.

The difference in the regional styles is interesting! We were in Nova Scotia this summer, and I enjoyed the Cape Breton fiddling, which also has Scottish influence. Love those strathspeys, and heard so many great ones besides the few that we play in session!

@NCnotes Cape Breton is a great comparison, since both styles carry that Scottish connection. Strathspeys really shine when they're played well, and a summer of hearing them in Nova Scotia sounds like a treat.

@william how does Donegal style playing go down in the sessions in Dublin?

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Originally posted by JonD

@william how does Donegal style playing go down in the sessions in Dublin?

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Ireland is such a small country (me being Australian). That a lot of rural people com to Dublin to work and study for the week and return home for the weekend. There are styles from all over the place to be heard in Dublin sessions. 

NCnotes - The two places are different, though I'm no expert. Donegal is Irish, although there are some "Ulster Scots", who were mainly from the Lowlands. Its part of Ulster though, with only a small land connection with the rest of the Republic. As William said, the Scottish influence in the music is "put down" to the days when people went to work in Scotland, but I suspect its more complex than that.
Cape Breton is largely Scottish, and the musicians are descended from Scottish Highlanders who migrated in the 18th and especially 19th centuries. Their music is often said to preserve the old style more than in Scotland, (thanks to no J. Scott Skinner?).
So broadly speaking, you might say that the music of Donegal is Scottish influenced, while Cape Breton is actually Scottish, although there is some Irish and even native influence.
As far as regional styles, I think they were once more diverse here in the US than in either of the old countries, and although they've been blurred or obliterated by the modern jam session and festivals, they may currently be becoming more celebrated again.

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Originally posted by DougD

 Their music is often said to preserve the old style more than in Scotland, (thanks to no J. Scott Skinner?).

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That Cape Breton fiddling is more Scottish than modern Scottish fiddling is a fairly common claim, but I don't think it makes much sense to suggest it's due to Skinner not being in Cape Breton. His tunes have been played and recorded there for generations. I have read accounts that make claims that Skinner somehow killed the traditions of Scottish playing by incorporating classical ideas and playing styles and getting everyone in Scotland to play his way, but those stories are extremely misinformed. Skinner was an orchestral player in addition to being a fiddler, but that was quite common in Scotland at the time, and players routinely switched between genres. He was hailed as the "King of Scottish fiddling" in Scotland and over the world, but I think that led to a lot of jealousy from less successful fiddlers. It's still common to hear negative descriptions of him based on anecdotes about his personality, not his playing.

If anything preserved the traditions of Scottish playing, it was the relative isolation of Cape Breton from outside influence. The music was played the same way for generation after generation and the changes that were happening in the rest of the musical world were not felt. The old players talked about their style of music being the only thing they had and not knowing much about the rest of the world until well after the recorded era began.  

I’m noticing now as i travel around a little. A big difference in the composition of instruments. I went to the Roscommon fleadh once and surprised by the amount of girls in all age groups playing concertina. About half of all entries in the competition were concertinas. Here in Westmeath it’s all banjos and a few fiddles, accordions, tin whistles but no flutes. That’s primarily down to who is teaching what in the area. Donegal has always been a fiddle stronghold. Neighbouring Lietrim a mix of fiddle and flute depending on where you are in the county and the Lietrim fiddle style is different to Donegal. Sligo is a flute stronghold. Then and you can hear that the music flows more and picks up a bit more pace (probably because the flute doesn’t really stop). Keep going around to Roscommon and you’ll find flutes and fiddles in equal measure but a lot of accordions in the mix. Roscommon historically was noted for its very fast driving style. Further down the Galway’s style is a little more relaxed. More accordions than flutes and fiddles. Clare is positively relaxed and domain of fiddle , pipes and more concertinas than accordions. When you cross the border to Kerry the music changes entirely. It’s a different world down there. Reels and jigs give way to polkas and slides and they can’t seem to play music without a crowd of people dancing. Over to Cork an it transforms again there are a lot of different sub-cultures within Cork. It is the largest county after all. You could put a map of Ireland on a spinning wheel and wherever the arrow landed you would get a different style and flavour each time.

I had the pleasure of sharing a festival date with Altan...a dream come true meeting them and hanging out...one of my favorite bands in the world... it was a great time.