Martin Hayes tells his audiences a story sometimes about the correct way to say "Feakle". He grew up listening to his father and other older people pronounce it "Faykle", like there was a fada on the first e.

But by and by, Hayes jnr went out into the world and took to saying it the way outsiders do, to rhyme with "treacle".

This was not a problem in Ireland, where some recognition of the place name can be assumed. The difficulty was in the US, the fiddle player's adopted home. Noting the unease with which Americans learned of his origins in a place apparently called "Faecal", he finally learned to appreciate the phonetic wisdom of his ancestors.

Whatever we call the east Clare village, Hayes has helped to put it on the map. So has the Feakle Festival, the latest instalment of which starts today.

Now 20 years old, the event showcases the east Clare style of music that its most famous export has brought to a worldwide audience. But it does a lot more than that, too.

Indeed, Feakle provides yet another example of that well-known Irish phenomenon: festival inflation. It started out in the 1980s as a mere weekend, then spread to five days, and this year stretches to seven, as the organisers strive to squeeze in more and more events. The demand was obvious, explains chief organiser Gary Pepper: "We had people coming from all over the world to be here and when the festival was over, they didn't want to go away."

He expects 6,000 or 7,000 people to attend this year: a big challenge for a place that comprises two shops, four pubs, a community hall and a church.

Although the event keeps growing, Feakle's infrastructure does not. In fact, the village currently lacks the hotel it once had. But at least the pubs are holding their own here; and Pepper's, Bohan's, Moloney's, and Shortt's will all be central to the week's events. Elsewhere, even the church has been pressed into service. It hosts Friday night's recital by performers including Eleanor Shanley and of course Hayes, with his long-time collaborator Dennis Cahill.

Beyond that, the problem is accommodation. As during "Willie Week" - the annual Haj for traditional musicians, held in west Clare's Miltown Malbay - the search for rooms ripples far beyond the host village. But many locals now open their houses for the week, says Pepper, and visitors who return year after year usually know where to go.

Within traditional music circles, Feakle did not need a festival or an internationally acclaimed son to put it on the map. This is the very heartland of the music, thanks in part to teachers like Mary McNamara - who hosts a concert of young musicians tomorrow - and Vincent Griffin. Even when the festival is not on, you'll hear music sessions in the village four or five nights a week.

But Hayes has certainly raised consciousness of the local playing style: slower and more melancholic than in other parts of the country: even west Clare, where the tone is lighter and jauntier.

That said, there is a big difference between music played for listeners - like Friday's church recital - and music played for dance, when concepts such as rhythm and "lift" become more important. The accent will be on the latter genre at many of the week's events, especially on Monday, which will see old-style dancing at the crossroads outside Pepper's (or inside, in a marquee, if it rains).

Festival highlights also include Saturday's gala concert, with Vincent Griffin and many others; while Sunday sees a "grand céilí", in which Martin Hayes takes his place in that legendary ensemble known as the Tulla Céilí Band.

The last day of the week - Tuesday 14th - is earmarked only for "informal sessions". And for those who don't want to go away even then, Feakle's regular sessions start again on Wednesday.