HUGE SPIKE IN DEPRESSION AMONGST MUSICIANS LINKED TO ENDING OF WILLIE CLANCY WEEK

A huge increase in depression amongst traditional Irish musicians has been linked to the ending of this year's Willie Clancy Summer School by a pharmaceutical research institute.

'The Bothy Institute' reported that their research showed an annual increase in figures every mid-July which left them baffled. It was only when they went to the Willie Clancy festival themselves that they made the connection.

"Every year we saw the same pattern in our figures and we couldn't for the life of us think of why that was. It was only when we were returning from the Willie Clancy Week ourselves that a lightbulb turned on in our heads. Coming home that Sunday we were inexplicably struck down by the condition."

Their suspicions were confirmed by 'Eli Lilly & Co.' who recorded a 1000% increase in sales of Prozac during this time while the 'Irish Traditional Music Archive noted a similar increase in the number of slow airs played during the same period. 'Radio na Gaeltachta' also said that requests for Andy Irvine's song, 'My Heart's Tonight in Ireland' shot up on the last Sunday of the week.

Andy Irvine: "I can understand why people would request the song as it reminds them of great times had in Miltown Malbay. Depression really is a disease and I would recommend that people take a high dose of my record to help them overcome the post-Miltown slump."

'The Bothy Institute' recommended that people suffering from the disease seek immediate help. They also listed a few things to recreate the experience that may help people through this tough time: find a really damp place to sleep, go to a really crowded pub, eat only crépes and walk down your town's main street and stop and talk to everyone.

Organisers of the Willie Clancy Summer School have set up a special helpline that plays Willie Clancy 24 hours a day and has a specialist 'hupper' to recreate the 'hups' and 'yeows' heard during the festival. The number is 1-8000-I-LUV-WILLIE.