Comhaltas Archive

e
G
Februaf')' 13, 14
March 26. 27
April 3-5
April 8 - 11
April 8-11
April 14. 15. 16
Apn123-25
April 24. 25
April 24. 25
April 18
May1.2
May7. 8. 9
May 8. 9
May 8. 9
May 7-9
May9
May 7 - 9
May 8. 9
May 14- 16
May15. 16
May 16
May 14-16
May 16
May 15. 16
May 14-16
May 16
May 14. 15
May 23-31
May 29
May 22. 23
June 3-6
June 4 -6
June 4 -6
June 4 - 7
June 4 -6
June 4 - 6
June 4-6
June 13
June 16-20
June 18- 20
June 25-27
June 25- 27
June 25-27
June 26. 27
July 2-4
July9-11
July 16
July 16-18
July 23- 25
August 15-20
August 20-22
September 1 D. 11
Irish
ProVInce of Bntain Convention
Carlow
Roscommon Fleadh
North Amencan Conventlon
Granai'd Traditional Harp Festival
Derry Fleadh
Leltf'lm Fleadh
Kildare Fleadh
Scottish Fleadh
Northern Region Fleadh [UKj
Comha ltas Annual Congress
Mayo Fleadh
Offaly Fleadh
Longford Fleadh
Cork Fleadh
Midland Region Fleadh [UKj
Donegal Fleadh
Dublin Fleadh
Galway Fleadh
Kilkenny Fleadh
Wexford Fleadh
Antnm Fleadh
Louth Fleadh
Meath Fleadh
Tipperary Fleadh
London & Southem Region Ffeadh IUKj
Westmeath Fleadh
Fleadh Nua
Wicklow Fleadh
Mid Atlantic Flead h [USA)
Monaghan Fleadh
Sligo Fleadh
Laols Fleadh
Cavan Fleadh
Llmenck Fleadh
Armagh Fleadh
Waterford Fleadh
Fermanagh Fleadh
Tyrone Ffeadh
Clare Fleadh
Kerry Fleadh
Down Fleadh
Mid West Ffeadh [USAI
All Bntaln Fleadh
Connacht Fleadh
Lelnstcr Fleadh
Scoll Fonn & Amhran
Munster Fleadh
Ulster Fleadh
Scoil Eigse
Floadh Cheoil na hEireann
Tion61 Leo Rowsome
Holiday Inn Elstree. Borehamwood
Lelghlinbndge. Co. Carlow
Ballaghaden-een. Co. Roscommon
Parslpanny. New Jersey. USA
Granard. Co. Longford
Derf')' City. Co. DeN)'
Ballinamore. Co. Leitnm
Kllteel - Eadestown. Co. Kildare
Pollok. Glasgow
Broughton Ha ll, Liverpool
CultUrlann na htlreann. Co. Dublin
Claremorris. Co. Mayo
Edenderf')'. Co. Offaly
Granard. Co. Longford
Sklbereen. Co. Cork
Prmcethorpe College. Warwickshire
Letterkenny. Co. Donegal
St DaVld's School. Artane. Dublin 5
Dunmore. Co. Galway
Freshford. Co. Kilkenny
Bannow, Co. Wexford
Dunloy, Co. Antnm
Dundalk. Co. Louth
Ashboume. Co. Meath
Gael Seall, Tipperary Town. Co. Tipperary
Harrlngey Insh Centre. London
Castlepollard, Co. Westmeath
Ennls, Co. Clare
Tinahely. Co. Wicklow
Pearl River Middle School, Pearl River . NY
Scotstown, Co. Monaghan
Dromore West, Co. Sligo
Mountmollick, Co. Laois
Kilnaleck. Co. Cavan
HOSPital, Co. Limerick
Portm6r. Co. Armagh
Ballyduff Upper, Waterford
Derrygonnelly. Co. Fermanagh
Dun Uladh Regional Resource Centre. Omagh
Kilfenora, Co. Clare
Causeway. Co. Kerry
Wan-enpolnt, Co Down
Village of Forest Park. IL USA
Jordanhlll College of Education. Glasgow
Mohlll. Co. Leitrim
Dunleer. Co. Louth
Kenmare, Co. Kerry
Kenmare. Co. Kerry
Castlewellan, Co. Down
Cavan Town. Co. Cavan
Cavan Town. Co. Cavan
CultUrlann na hElreann, Co. Dublin
Comhaltas Ceolt6irf ~ireann
32 Belgrava Squa .... , Monkstown, Co, Dublin, Ireland. Tel: 00-353-1-2800295
enquiries@comhaltaB.com • www.comhaltas.je

Eagarfhocal
The death of Brian Prior was a severe blow to the Irish traditional
music movement. Brian was a much loved and iconic figure in
Comhaltas. It was he who led the regeneration of the branch music
session. He was an inspiration for all who had the good fortune
to know him. He was dedicated, generous and selfless – one of
nature’s gentlemen.
Brian has left an important cultural legacy in the hugely popular
Foinn Séisiún booklets and CD’s. It was typical of his resolute
character that even in the midst of his illness he was already
working on the next publication in the series.
To Ann and family we express our deepest sympathy and heartfelt
admiration for the man we were proud to call friend.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal …
Clár
Iris Oifigiúil Chomhaltas
Ceoltóirí Éireann
The Book of Traditional Music,
Song and Dance
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
Cearnóg Belgrave
Baile na Manach
Co. Átha Cliath
Ireland
Fón: (+353-1) 280 0295
Fax: (+353-1) 280 3759
E-mail enquiries@comhaltas.com
Webpage http://www.comhaltas.ie
Design Graftrónaic
Clúdach TG4’s Glas Vegas Champion
sean-nós dancer Sibéal Davitt who was
on the 2010 Comhaltas Tour of Britain
(Photo: Ó Mainín)
Iml 42 Uimhir 1 2010 1SS No 790 004X
TREOIR (1SS 790 004X) is published quarterly by
CCÉ, Belgrave Square, Monkstown, Co. Dublin,
Ireland. Single copies e3; Subscription Rates:
Ireland and Europe e12; Britain £9 Stg; Australia
and New Zealand $25; USA and Canada $20
US.USPS 062790. Periodical postage to be paid
at Hillsdale PO and at additional mailing offices.
US POSTMASTER: Please send address changes
to TREOIR Administrator, PO Box 14, Hillsdale, NJ
07642 USA as well as any inquiries about US and
Canadian subscriptions.
2 Sibéal is a Star 3 Cavan all set for Fleadh Extravaganza 4 Cultural
cringe and a hole in the soul 6 DVDs for your Collection; News from
Sardinia 7 Honour for Sligo music legend; The Castlewellan good news
story 8 ComhaltasArchive.ie: A Place of Discovery, Excitement, and Joy
10 Meath celebrate ‘30’ in style; Remembering yesterday, living today;
Corofin news; Congratulations to a noble couple 11 Craobh Naithi a big
hit in America 12 The Johnny Doherty Comhaltas branch celebration
13 As it was in Toureendarby 14 Unpublished poem by Terence
McSwiney; Around the world in 80 ways 15 Innisfree Céilí Band CD;
Maidin i mBéarra; Scottish salute for Irish Diaspora 16 A Musical Maestro
17 An Ghaeilge: Straitéis 20 Bliain 18 One of Wexford’s finest
19 Scoil Fonn agus Amhrán 20 Poems by Mary Guckian 21 The Hounds
of Ulster 22 Noel – The real Longford collector; Bridge of Memories at
Ballinclough 23 Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge; The Galway Fleadh; Janet
the Harpist Supreme 24 Sprideanna 25 Our beautiful Living Tradition
27 Gael-Bhanraíon Mhaigh Eo 28 Tom’s Christmas poem at Special
Christmas Service in Meadowood, Canada 29 RTÉ release Willie Clancy
recordings 33 Sonny Murray – An inspiration to Irish traditional
musicians 34 Seosamh Mac Gabhann 35 Paddy Berry recalls the singing
Olympics at Fleadh ’09 37 Skibbereen celebrate 40 th anniversary
38 Fáilte Uí Cheallaigh 39 Comhaltas presentation to the NI Assembly
Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure; Comhaltas in Moscow; Dundalk’s
Oriel Centre at heart of rich cultural region 40 Meitheal Summer School;
The legendary Pat Finn 41 Brian Prior – A True Gentleman 43 Comhaltas
mourns as Brian Prior is laid to rest; A hive of activity at Cois na hAbhna
44 The Hornpipe Man 45 The Music Man from Derrylaughan
46 Leo Rowsome’s Trip to Tipp 47 The Céilí Bands story 50 Echoes of Erin
– Siar Amach 51 The legacy of Seán Ó Riada 54 Ciarán Mac Mathúna
55 A Joe Clancy moment; Cuimhneachán Ceoil: Pat O’Connor CD launch
56 New international competition for world bodhrán championship
TREOIR
1

SIBÉAL IS A
STAR
Sibéal demonstrates her winning style
accompanied by Johnny Connolly. She
was also on the 2010 Comhaltas Concert
Tour of Britain (Photo: Ó Mainnín)
Sibéal Davitt is from Ranelagh,
Dublin, where she grew up in an
Irish speaking household with
Gaeltacht connections to Tuar
Mhic Éadaigh, Co. Mayo, in the
west of Ireland. She comes from a
musical background and has been
sean-nós dancing and playing
traditional Irish music from an
early age. Her unique style of seannós
dancing, which is heavily
influenced by the Connemara seannós
style, reflects her own passion
for innovation and spontaneity as a
form of expression through dance.
She is a popular performer and
teacher of sean-nós dancing at
venues and festivals throughout
Ireland and abroad. 2009 was a
particularly busy and creative year
for Sibéal having won the All-
Ireland ‘Glas Vegas’ talent
competition on TG4, a prize
which took her on a trip to the
capital of entertainment, Las
Vegas, where she performed as part
of her winning prize. She made a
guest appearance on the lastest
series of Glas Vegas on TG4 as a
judge and mentor among the panel
of judges on the programme
broadcast on 14 th February 2010.
Sibéal has performed on numerous
RTÉ, TG4 and Raidió na
Gaeltachta shows inlcuding
‘The Late Late Show’. A recent
‘Mooney’ radio show with
presenter Aonghus McAnally
featured a live sean-nós dance
performance with Sibéal that had
distinct echoes of Din Joe’s ‘Take
the Floor’ from another era. Other
recent television performances and
venues include TG4’s ‘Steip’,
‘Imeall’ and the ‘Electric Picnic
2009’ show; Celtic Connections
festival in Glasgow, Scotland, Un
Chruinnaght in the Isle of man,
Willie Clancy Festival in Miltown
Malbay as well as Cork Opera
House, Wexford Opera House,
Armagh Theatre & Arts Centre
and the National Concert Hall,
Dublin.
Sibéal has a keen interest in all
dance genres. She studied ballet at
the Doreen Feely School of
Dance, Dublin and contemporary
with Coiscéim Creative Steps
Dance Theatre Company, where
she’s a current member. She
developed her interest in
contemporary, Jazz and traditional
forms of dance through workshops
and stage performances. She won
first prize in Ireland in the creative
dance section of Scléip 2007
sponsored by Foras na Gaeilge and
came second in the sean-nós
dancing section at the Oireachtas
arts festival later that year.
She conducts dance workshops for
adults and young people and is
currently teaching sean-nós
dancing at The Cobblestone,
Dublin and at Comhaltas Ceoltóirí
Éireann’s headquarters, An
Chultúrlann, Monkstown, Dublin.
Sibéal is a student at Trinity
College, Dublin, studying film
media and the Irish language.
E-mail sibeal.davitt@gmail.com
Tel: 086-156 9833
See Sibéal’s winning performance
on Glas Vegas competition
with accordion player Cormac
Ó Murchú, on the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watchv=
GbvCp-aScBY&feature=related
2
TREOIR

CAVAN ALL SET FOR
FLEADH EXTRAVAGANZA
Cavan is leaving no stone
unturned to ensure that Fleadh
Cheoil na hÉireann 2010 next
August will be another milestone
in the Fleadh saga which has
captured the hearts and
imagination of millions of
Fleadhgoers over the last 60 years.
Cavan’s Minister Brendan Smith and Uachtarán an Chomhaltais Séamus Mac Cormaic together
with Cavan’s young musical representatives are all in tune for a great Fleadh
Jack Keyes
Seán Ó Sé
Fleadh Cathaoirleach Jack Keyes,
who is Cavan County Manager,
has provided inspired leadership in
bringing the Fleadh to Cavan after
a 56 year interval since this Ulster
town first hosted the event in its
infant days. In the meantime, the
Fleadh has grown into one of the
biggest cultural events in the
world attracting hundreds of
thousands of followers each year.
As is the norm, the Fleadh will
reflect the cultural traditions of
the host region and Ulster has a
rich store to offer.
The Cork born singing maestro
Seán Ó Sé has been selected as
Ardollamh for the Cavan based
Fleadh. Seán is one of Ireland’s
foremost traditional entertainers
giving a new impetus to the song
tradition in Ireland and England.
He is noted for his musical
association with Seán Ó Riada
and the now legendary ‘Ó Riada sa
Gaeity’ concert. Seán has travelled
nationally and internationally –
including North America and
Russia – with Comhaltas. He is
one of the most popular
entertainers of his generation and
has brought the Irish language
centre stage throughout his fruitful
career. His professionalism and
artistic stagecraft have provided a
model for many up-and-coming
traditional performers.
Having had three wonderful years
at the Fleadh in Tullamore, all eyes
now are on Cavan which will put
its own individual stamp on this
great celebration of what we are.
Danny McKendry Jnr, and Danny McKendry
Snr from CCÉ St James the Great Branch,
Glasgow, Scotland, who competed in the
fiddle slow airs at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann,
Tullamore 2009. (Photo: Anne Finnegan)
TREOIR 3

CULTURAL CRINGE
AND A HOLE IN
THE SOUL
Saeed de Ridder
‘If you don’t like traditional music you’ve got
a hole in your soul!’
‘Cultural identities exist because they
answer to a real need in the soul...’’
Recently our daughter and her
husband were playing at a venue
in Cairns, North Queensland,
called ‘The Tanks’(called this
because the venue consists of 5
tanks that were actually WW1
fuel/oil storage tanks, and have
been converted to music and other
cultural venues). The music night
had a Celtic theme and our
daughter and son-in-law were
actually a supporting act to the
main act, which was the
contemporary rock/fold band
‘Kamarunga’. Duo Mick O’Mara,
Vice-President of our North
Queensland Comhaltas Branch
and Paddy Anderson, also played
a more traditional support act.
Both support acts were very well
received by the audience.
Towards the end of the evening a
Belfast man (who will remain
nameless) came up to me and with
all the vehemence of a
Cromwellian hangman declared
how he loathed and despised
traditional Irish music and went
on to suggest that a nuclear
warhead should be sent to every
venue in which this music was
played. As a lover of the
traditional music of pretty well all
peoples, and a special love for
traditional Irish music, I could feel
my blood warming up. My response
was not long in coming, I told him
of Johnny Lee Hooker’s response to
those who spoke prejoratively of
the Blues: ‘If you don’ like the
Blues you’ve got a hole in your
soul’ said Johnny. For me the same
holds true for the traditional music
of Éire, if you don’t like it, you’ve
got a hole in your soul. Now I
know that this is a biased point
of view, but in the face of a tirade
that went well beyond the
boundaries of bias, and was simply
negative in the extreme, such a
response is surely premissible.
It is true that a person’s musical
affinity will always be a very
subjective thing and that should
be the end of the matter. The
story is however a little more
complicated than that. We can
never preclude the context, i.e.
the environment in which we
were brought up. Most of us never
consider to what extent social
environmental factors shape our
tastes and values.
Paul Keating, an ex-Prime
Minister of Australia, once
reflected on what he referred to as
the phenomenon of ‘Cultural
Cringe’. By this he meant how a
people dominated by tastes and
values of a ruling elite for example,
can make a whole people begin to
feel ashamed of their long treasured
cultural values, language, etc.
Most of us have heard the words
‘Cultural Imperialism’, especially as
regards the influence of dominant
economies such as that of the US.
The term Americanisation has
long been spoken of in Europe,
and I forget who it was who said
we have gone from Colonisation
to ‘Coca-Colonisation’.
The Belfast man who ridiculed the
traditional music of his own
country may well be suffering from
a good dose of Cultural Cringe. He
4
TREOIR

was quick to point out to me that
he had studied music at university;
as if this in itself should make his
condemnation of the traditional
music in some way valid. My own
view is that his studies in music at
university may well have
contributed to the severity of his
judgements on the traditional
music of his country of origin.
Traditional music has a powerfully
intellectual element, but its beauty
is such that it will always defy any
attempts at exhaustive analysis. I
am reminded here of a Chinese
story, probably from the Taoist
tradition: A centipede was once
asked how he knew which one of
his many legs to put forward first.
The centipede began to think on
this, and in so doing found that he
could no longer walk.
Universities are not always the
institutions best placed to learn
about a people’s traditions and
culture. In some cases they fulfill a
role not much better than that of
a museum that houses the remains
of cultures once vibrant but now
dead. It is also worth remembering
that we have had some of our very
worst accounts of peoples and
their traditions from some
anthropologists.
At high school here in Australia
we were taught that our
indigenous people (Australian
Aboriginal people) were still
living in the ‘Stone Age’ and how
lucky we were to have been
discovered by ‘advanced’ people
from across the sea in England.
Governmant policy towards
Aboriginal people clearly reflected
this viewpoint and as a
consequence we had the tradegy of
what has become known in
Australia as ‘The Stolen
Generation’, where indigenous
and part-indigenous children were
forcibly removed from their
parents and placed in institutions
or with white families.
Cultural Imperialism is also a very
insidious thing. It operates by
stealth and can rob a whole people
of their cultural identity without
their even noticing the fact.
The disappearance of languages
worldwide is a pointer to the reality
of cultural imperialism which is
now a global phenomenon.
Aboriginal languages in Australia
once numbered over 500, almost all
of these are now gone.
A point very often overlooked is
that a people is concerned and
that is why wherever a people
have fought to protect and
perpetuate their cultural identity
(an identity nearly always tied up
with land), the fight has always
been an heroic one.
Another point overlooked is the
following: We can simply
substitute one culture for another.
Cultural identities don’t arise in a
vacuum, nor are their formal
structures and differences arbitrarily
arrived at. They exist because they
answer to a real need in the soul of
the people themselves.
Consequently a loss of cultural
identity for a given people is an
impoverishment for all peoples.
The increasing homogenisation of
the world brings with it a
noticeable ‘watering down’ of
values and a ‘blunting’ of
concepts. This in turn has brought
about a ready embracing of ideas
that ultimately commits one to
nothing but the trivial. Quantity
will always smother quality and
make it appear as though quality
has never existed. Within such a
non-framework people everywhere
become easy victims of the
capricious at every turn, to the
whimsical and the fashionable,
and ultimately they easily becaome
creatures of dissaption and
spiritual destitution.
This is what happens when a
traditional culture is lost.
Uniformity is not Unity, and
Arbitrariness is not Liberty.
– Saeed De Ridder, Far North
Queensland Branch, Australia
TREOIR
5

Fleadh Cheoil
na hÉireann 2009
An Tulach Mhór
DVDS
for your
This DVD
captures
almost three
hours of the
atmosphere and
activities of the Fleadhthe
concerts, competitions,
informal sessions and performances by many of the All-Ireland
Champions.
Collection
NEWS FROM
SARDINIA
This August we had great Irish
times between Sardinia and
Ireland. We send you a CD with
3 photos to be published in Treoir
(hopefully!)
Price: e25 (e3.00 P&P Ireland e3.50 P&P Other Destinations)
Note: NCTS Version e30
Italo and Giovanna Siddu with Lúnasa in
Ozieri (centre of Sardinia) on 9th August
Beirt Eile: Físeán Ríncí Beirte – Two
Hand Dances
This is the DVD format re-release of the excellent
production by the late Donnchadh Ó Muineacháin
for CCÉ. Twelve Dances are demonstrated by
Donnchadh with Brenda Hogan – these including
three different versions of the Stack of Barley, The
Peeler and the Goat and a 2-Hand Hornpipe. Filming took place
in Cois na hAbhna in March 2004.
Price: e15 (e3.00 P&P Ireland e3.50 P&P Other Destinations)
Note: NCTS Version 20
Italo and Giovanna Siddu with Gerry
O’Connor in Dublin on 15th August
All-Ireland Céilí Band Champions
Reunion Concert
The All-Ireland Céilí Bands Reunion Concert which
took place during Fleadh Nua 2001 was a
particlarly historic occasion. The event was one of
the highlights of the ‘50 Bliain ag Fás’, the 50 th
Anniversary of the Founding of Comhaltas. This
DVD features upwards on 3 hours film footage of
the entire concert, featuring performances by all of the various
bands and various tributes Filmed at the West County Hotel by
Willie Fogarty the narration is by the late Brian Prior, who played
a central role in this memorable occasion.
Larry Mullin and Joe McGowan of the
Markievicz Committee in Sligo who are
helping Italo Siddu publish in Ireland his new
novel on the Sligo Countess, 14th August
Thanks for your interest in our
branch. It is very important for us
to have these pictures printed.
– Italo & Giovanna
Price: e25 (e3.00 P&P Ireland e3.50 P&P Other Destinations)
Note: NCTS Version e30
6 TREOIR

HONOUR FOR SLIGO
MUSIC LEGEND
The well known Sligo
traditional musician, Peter
Horan, has been honoured for
his legendary contribution to
Irish traditional music by
Galway University. In
December Peter was conferred
with an honorary Doctorate.
Peter Horan is one of the most
revered figures of the Irish
music world and his music has
won the hearts of people
worldwide. During his long music-making life, Peter has been
generous with his time and talents. He provided an informed and
inspired focus for young traditional musicians. He is the master
musician who has helped to bring his own regional style centre stage.
Peter Horan with Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú,
Ardstiúrthóir CCÉ
We all join in congratulating Peter on his new honour and wish him
well with his music career in the future.
THE CASTLEWELLAN
GOOD NEWS STORY
Dún Éigse, Castlewellan
Now celebrating its 40 th year of nurturing
traditional music and culture in this part of
Down, Newcastle/Castlewellan branch of
Comhaltas has around 350 children and adults
being tutored every week making it the largest
branch in Ulster. We are based at the Dún Éigse
Cultural Centre in Castlewellan and this recently renovated building
includes custom-built indoor and outdoor performance areas, practice rooms
and a large reception.
Following the success of the Fleadh Uladh in Castlewellan in 2008 the
branch, once again, hosted this major event in 2009 with the theme
being ‘The hidden history of An Gorta Mór’ in the area. Local schools
helped research the theme with their projects being displayed in the Dún
Éigse building during the Fleadh.
The buildings boundary wall, built in 1847 to
give hope and ‘gainful employment’ to men of
the area during the famine, shelters the
performance garden. The newly landscaped
garden has integrated seating, subtle planting
and a view of the Mourne Mountains provides
the backdrop for the stage area.
The Dun Éigse building has brought drama and
cross community performances to an area of
Co. Down that although rich in Irish traditional music was lacking in the
aforementioned. We would like to think that the vision and the sense of
Irish pride that emanates from President McAleese has inspired all involved.
– Cathal Ó hÍr
GRAPEVINE
We send best wishes to Austin
Dawe of Dundalk who is
recovering from a serious
accident over the Christmas
period. Austin is one of the
foremost fiddle players in Ireland.
He spent a number of years in
Britain and he has toured with
Comhaltas. Austin is looking
forward to playing a full role in
the new Oriel Cultural Centre at
the Old Gaol to which he has a
sentimental attachment: his
grandfather was a republican
prisoner in the Gaol during the
War of Independence.
Comhairle na Mumhan of
Comhaltas has celebrated the
50 th Anniversary of the Provincial
Council. Extensive research was
undertaken to record all those
who served as officers in the
Council, many of whom have
now gone to their Eternal
Reward. The Province is now one
of the most vibrant in the
cultural movement.
Áras an Mhuilinn in Mullingar is
now nearing completion. This is
the last of the Regional Resource
Centres under the Comhaltas
Development Programme. The
building was the Old Tech which
housed some of the County
Council offices. The Council
presented the building to
Comhaltas – via Meitheal an
Mhuileann free gratis. Extensive
work is now being carried out on
the building which will be a
state-of-the-art facility for
Comhaltas which was founded
in Mullingar in 1951.
TREOIR 7

COMHALTASARCHIVE.IE:
A PLACE OF DISCOVERY,
EXCITEMENT, AND JOY
World-wide access to Irish culture through
the Comhaltas Traditional Music Archive
BREANDÁN Ó NUALLTÁIN
On a chilly December night at
Cultúrlann na hÉireann,
Comhaltas President Séamus Mac
Cormaic launched the Comhaltas
Digital Traditional Music Archive,
a revolutionary new platform to
preserve and share our heritage of
Irish traditional music, song, dance
and language. The new Archive
links together the local collections
of the Comhaltas Regional
Resource Centres with the
national collection at Cultúrlann
na hÉireann, making it possible for
people around the world to
experience and contribute to the
Comhaltas collection.
Uachtarán an Chomhaltais was
joined on the night by Ceannaire
Cartlann Séamus Mac Mathúna,
well-known singer and flute player,
and the man who made so much
of the Archive possible over the
years. During his tenure as
Comhaltas’ Timire Cheoil, Séamus
made original field recordings of
some of the most significant Irish
musicians, building the
relationships that ensure the
smooth passage of tunes and songs
and stories from one generation to
the next. These stories and tunes
are now a part of local and family
history, part of the very fabric of
each region. Preserving these
sounds on magnetic tape opened
the door for the next musicians to
peer in, listen and experience Irish
culture in its purest form. Johnny
Doherty, Bobby Casey, Patrick
Kelly, Denis Murphy, Willie
Clancy – immortal names living
through the shared memory of the
Comhaltas Archive.
In addition to Séamus’ tireless
work, the generosity of spirit of
these iconic musicians cannot be
underestimated, and Comhaltas
carries that spirit forward today
with new pathways for access
and sharing, through the
Comhaltas Regional Resource
Centres and on the Internet at
ComhaltasArchive.ie. Musicians
everywhere are invited to visit any
of the eight Regional Resource
Centres to browse and listen to
the collection, where local
Archivists are being trained to
digitise and connect each local
repository, continuing the process
of linking the collections while
8
TREOIR

preserving crucial local curation
and control.
The initial release of the Archive
system included 15,000 audio
items digitised from the tapes of
the Séamus Mac Mathúna Sound
Collection, 4,000 photographs
from the Cultúrlann national
collection and 800 tunes and songs
gleaned from the pages of Treoir.
Archive items from Cultúrlann na
hÉireann, Cois na hAbhna,
Ceoláras Coleman and Dún Uladh
in Omagh have also been added,
and items are now ready to go
from Áras an Mhuilinn, Brú Ború
and CLASAĊ. The ongoing work of
cataloguing, digitising and indexing
will continue to solidify the
importance of the Comhaltas
collection as new material is added
and organised. Many heartfelt
thanks for the work thus far go to
longtime Comhaltas stalwart Dan
Liddy, who has spent years working
through the indexing and digitising
of the Cultúrlann collection.
At the new bi-lingual website
ComhaltasArchive.ie, visitors are
welcome to browse through the
catalogue and play previews of
archive items. For full access,
guests are invited to visit any
Comhaltas Regional Resource
Centre. Signing up for an online
researcher account is simple and
free of charge, and allows guests to
participate in the development of
the Archive by suggesting names
for tunes, identifying performers
and suggesting new keywords.
Guests can also create playlists of
favourite items and share them
with others. As a reference or
teaching tool, the Comhaltas
Archive encourages an active
exploration of related recordings,
documents, images and printed
documents.
The Comhaltas Archive is a living
collection, growing and evolving
with new material every day. In
addition to the ongoing filming
and recording happening in the
Regional Resource Centres,
Comhaltas is making a renewed
push to identify collectors who
would like to share their treasures
with the world through the
Comhaltas Archive. Collectors
who donate material to the
Archive will be provided with new
copies of their tapes, and may elect
to keep the original material if
desired. Of course, collectors will
be properly credited within the
Archive, ensuring that their names
are forever associated with the fruit
of their persistence and knowledge.
Praise has already come in from
around the world for this
important innovation. Thousands
of visitors from Argentina to New
Zealand to have come to browse
the collection virtually, and many
have written to say what an
important tool this will be for the
teaching of Irish music and
culture. Closer to home, teachers
at many Irish schools and
universities have expressed their
enthusiasm for the project.
Archivists from other major
libraries and museums around
the world have written to praise
the innovative nature of the
collection and of the new
management system that houses it.
Connecting people through time
and across continents, introducing
old tunes to new players,
illuminating regional styles and
bringing generations together,
the digital Comhaltas Archive
honours the past while
nourishing the future.
TREOIR
9

REMEMBERING YESTERDAY, LIVING TODAY
This is the title of a wonderful book of reminiscences, anecdotes, folklore and
local history by Roscrea based author John Browne. Terry draws on a rich
love of stories handed down from generation to generation on his own astute
and incisive observations. With the skill of a gifted word crafter and a fertile
imagination, has provided a veritable treasure trove for all to discover. Our
picture shows the author presenting a copy of his work to Uachtarán an
Chomhaltais Séamus Mac Cormaic.
Corofin News
MEATH CELEBRATE
‘30’ IN STYLE
Meath County Board of
Comhaltas recently celebrated
thirty years of service and
dedication to the promotion
of Ireland’s cultural traditions.
It has been one of the foremost
counties in the Comhaltas
movement and a country
that can boast of some of
the country’s leading
traditional musicians.
Corofin CCÉ Co. Galway is in its 26 th year. We have a large membership
of families and juniors in the branch. We run classes for the under 12’s
every week in the local school and we also employ a teacher to look after
the 12-15 age group. We have a session called ‘Rambling House’ every 2
weeks for our younger members (under 12’s). We are currently setting up
a ‘Seisiún’ for the 12-15 age group. Our seniors, many of them away in
college, work etc. are role models for the younger generation. We took
part in the Volvo Ocean Race last year. This was great for all the
participants and it was very well received by the public. We take part in
Fleadh Ceoil na Gaillimhe, Fleadh Connacht and Fleadh na hÉireann. We
have received many trophies through the years and much praise must be
directed to the founder members of our branch as they had foresight to
instil in the young generation a love in Irish culture.
– John Mannion, PRO
Our photo shows (front row) Jim Smith,
Liam Ryan (founder members of Meath
County Board) and Eileen Ryan. Back row
(left to right) Pat Healy, Pádraig Ó Ceallaigh,
Séamus Mac Gabhann, Rory Ó Broin,
Thelma Markham.
The well known artist Mícheál Ó Nualláin (second from left) pictured with Bernard O’Sullivan,
MEP Pat the Cope Gallagher and Francis Geraghty at Cultúrlann na hÉireann on the occasion
of Mícheál’s exhibition of paintings.
Congratulations to a Noble Couple
Comhaltas stalwart and proud Clare man, Jack Whelan and his wife Mae,
recently celebrated their 50 th Wedding Anniversary. They have both played
a significant role in the promotion of Comhaltas in New York and
throughout North America. Mae was central to the extensive circulation of
Treoir on that Continent and Jack is noted for his set dancing prowess and
his love of the Irish Language. Bail ó Dhia ortha beirt agus comhghairdeas.
Our picture shows Jack and Mae with their family.
10 TREOIR

CRAOBH NAITHÍ A BIG
HIT IN AMERICA
I wrote last November advising of Craobh Naithí’s tentative plans to
take a group to the United States and Comhaltas very generously
supported us. I am happy to report that 60 branch members returned
from New York after a busy and successful week of music.
The New York City branch, Craobh Úll Mór, was very supportive of
our trip and worked very closely with me to bring the whole idea to
fruition.
In return for their support, Craobh Naithí presented a 2 hour
fundraising concert in the New York Irish Centre in Long Island City,
Queens, on their behalf.
Craobh Naithí also performed at the Irish Hunger Memorial in Battery
Park City, Manhattan and the performance was filmed by the local
Battery Park TV network. Both events received positive reviews from
the New York based Irish Voice newspaper.
Later in the week, we travelled to Pearl River where we delivered a
number of instrumental and dancing workshops to children from the
Martin Mulvihill/Michael Coleman branches, which was followed by
an evening of music, song and dance at the Rockland County Irish
American Centre.
Martin Gaffney, PRO for Fleadh Cheoil na Éireann in Cavan and a
Craobh Naithí member, also availed of numerous opportunities while
in the New York area to promote next year’s event.
The trip brought together musicians of all age groups from both sides
of the Atlantic who shared music and stories and crated friendships
which I hope will develop and grow.
Mr David Strang, President of Winnepeg Comhaltas, travelled with us
to Pearl River as our guest and participated in the evening’s activities.
To quote from a thank you note received from Mr Strang:
“I had a wonderful time, great tunes and highly appreciated the welcome and
the hospitality. I find this aspect of Comhaltas quite remarkable, especially in
our anxiety and conflict-prone modern world, that we can contact a bunch
of strangers in any given city and we will be welcomed with open arms”.
The above sentiment summarises the spirit of the Comhaltas
movement.
– Derek Johnston
Cathaoirleach Craobh Naithí CCÉ
GRAPEVINE
Mr Tim O’Connor, Secretary
General at Áras an Uachtaráin,
who retired recently was a keen
advocate of Comhaltas. During
his time as Consul General in the
USA, he gave valuable support
and encouragement to
Comhaltas. We wish him a happy
and fruitful retirement.
RTÉ’s Céilí House has broadcast
several programmes from Fleadh
‘09 in Tullamore. These included
programmes from the Céilí Band
Championship and the Scoil
Éigse. Well done to Peter Brown
and Kieran Hanrahan.
Fleadh fans are eagerly awaiting
RTÉ’s television programmes from
Tullamore 2009. Produced by
Forefront Productions, the six
programmes will commence on
RTÉ 1 at 7.30pm on Friday Apirl
9 th . Forefront, who have been
covering the Fleadh for over 14
years, are credited with
capturing the festive atmosphere
of the Fleadh. To Tony and Joe
McCarthy míle buíochas.
TREOIR 11

The Johnny Doherty
Comhaltas Branch Celebration
Scotland’s Johnny Doherty
Branch of Comhaltas were
delighted to celebrate 30
years of music, song and
dance in Lanarkshire. The
branch was formed in 1979
in a small village in Carfin,
Motherwell by a group of
hard working volunteers from
the village. This was also
helped and aided along by
friends in the lcoal Irish
Minstrels branch in Glasgow.
People such as the late Owen
Kelly, the late Jimmy
McHugh and Frank McArdle who attended helping to get the classes
The Johnny Doherty Comhaltas Branch Committee
in Scotland
up and running and provided continuing guidance and assistance to
the branch.
The branch was delighted to have celebrated successfully 30 years of
Irish music in the west of Scotland. The weekend began with a
concert/session on Friday 23 rd October in The Xavier Hall, Carfin.
There were guest musicians and singers from Ireland namely Gary
Lynch, Seana Agnew, Gerard Butler, Dessie Kelliher, Seán Leahy, Ciara
Cullen and Noeleen Coll who entertained us with an evening of music,
song and dance together with some of our local youngsters. A collection
of memorabilia was available on projector and display boards for all to
see of the achievements of the branch over the past 30 years which was
enjoyed by everyone.
On Saturday 24 th October there was a series of workshops which were
given by the above named tutors and which were all well supported.
The finale of the weekend was a Dinner/Céilí in The Xavier Centre,
Carfin. We were delighted to have representation from the Irish
Consulates’s office in Edinburgh and support from our local council.
The weekend brought back past members from our early days and gave
everyone a chance to renew acquaintancees both young and old. We
were treated to music from The Johnny Rocks Céilí Band and The
Johnny Doherty Céilí Band.
The branch continues to grow from strength to strength and this is
all thanks to our peers who started off the branch. We are indebted to
people such as the late Seán Doherty and Mick McGory who worked
hard to produce a Comhaltas branch in Lanarkshire.
– Allison Cullen
Secretary Johnny Doherty, CCÉ
Enclosed photo taken at Fleadh Cheoil na
hÉireann in Listowel 2002.
Left to right: Dan Laverty RIP, Paddy Tunney
RIP and Eddie Mongey.
I was unaware of the
photographer who took this
photo. Paddy Tunney singer, song
collector, writer, tutor and
wonderful entertainer died in
December 2002 RIP. It wasn’t
until the Letterkenny Fleadh in
2005 when I was staying in the
same house that I met Dan
Laverty from Co. Antrim and he
told me he had this photo and he
subsequently sent it to me. This
meeting with Dan was the start of
a friendship that lasted until his
untimely death on 12 th December
2008. He passed away quietly in
his house in Glenariff.
Dan was a great stalwart of
Comhaltas, he was a member of
The Glens of Antrim Branch and
was Vice-Chairman of the Antrim
County Board. He had a very
large collection of recordings LPs,
cassette tapes and CDs and he
made copies of some of his
collection for me, in fact before
he died he was in the process of
copying some of his recordings of
Fred Hanna for me.
He will be fondly remembered by
his many friends. Ar dheis Dé go
raibh a anam uasal.
– Eddie Mongey
12
TREOIR

AS IT WAS IN
TOUREENDARBY
JACK ROCHE
‘Anyone with an interest in good
traditional music will be impressed
by the grand old style of Timmy
O’Connor and it’s high time some
of his music was recorded on CD.
The music of Sliabh Luachra is
what he loves to play and he has a
wealth of it,’ so says Jackie Daly on
the sleeve notes of this new CD.
Timmy O’Conor comes from
Toureendarby, Newmarket, Co.
Cork. His CD ‘As it was in
Toureendarby’ was launched by
Jack Roche in Scully’s Bar
Newmarket on 12 th December
2009. The house was packed to
the rafters for this launch with
over 40 musicians, many of whom
are regulars at the Monday night
sessions at Scully’s, giving an
unforgettable night of music.
Timmy’s love for music started
when he was a small boy in a
home of his neighbour Katie Barry
who would hold a house dance in
her home almost every week in
wintertime. After one of these
dances one of the musicians left
his accordion behind and Timmy
called the following day, picked up
the accordion, started to play and
has been playing every since.
Timmy got most of his music from
his friend and neighbour,
melodeon and concertina player
Johnny Mickie Barry who had got
it from the old blind Sliabh
Luachra fiddle master Tom Billy
Murphy. Timmy’s easy style reflects
the atomosphere and lifestyle of
his own area where music, dancing
and home entertainment have
been part of life. He played at
every opportunity at crossroads,
house dances, with a host of local
musicians whose names may not
be household names in
the traditional music
world, but who made a
major contribution to
preserving the unique
culture and style of
music of their own area.
Their Sliabh Luachra
style music was a
wordless expression of
a people who struggled
with a hostile world, both material
and human. Their many sorrows,
of death, and immigration, was
expressed in a lonely caoineadh
that re-echoed the cry of the
curlew or the banshee‘s wail, but
through poverty and pain their joy
came lilting through in music that
set old feet tapping and young feet
moving in lively dance.
This CD reflects their style with
many of the tunes being played
exactly as they played them, and
many of our young musicians of
today should pick up some of this
distinctive style.
In the sixties Timmy with his
sister Sheila and her husband Jim
Barry (the well-known seanachaí)
formed the Toureendarby Céilí
Band. Timmy later played with
Seán Lynch’s Céilí Band, The
Shandrum Céilí Band, and The
Duhallow Céilí Band with Mick
Williams who used to play on
Raidió Éireann’s popular
programme ‘Take the Floor’ with
TREOIR
13

Din Joe. He performed with a
local group called ‘The Monks of
the Screw’ who produced a
number of cassettes. He was on
the Comhaltas Tour of Ireland in
2001 which he enjoyed very
much. He leads the Seisiún at
Bruach na Carraige in Rockchapel
each summer and is a regular at the
Willie Clancy Summer School, but
his real musical home is Scullys bar
where he continues to lead the
sessions each Monday night which
has been running under his
leadership for over 30 years. He has
been honoured by an invitation to
play his Sliabh Luachra music at
the University of Notre Dame in
Indiana in the United States next
Easter, an event he is eagerly
looking forward to.
The CD which was supported by
IRD Duhallow under the Local
Department Social Inclusion
Programme, was patiently
recorded in Timmy’s own home by
well-known fiddle player Gerry
Harrington and manufactured
by ‘Open Ear Productions’ in
Co. Galway.
Timmy O’Connor continues to
avail of every opportunity to play
his music, in any location, and
with any musicians young or old.
Through his music he has made
many friends throughout the world
as well as making a major
contribution to his own community,
long may he continue to do so.
The CD can be purchases in shops
around Sliabh Luachra or direct
from the Bruach na Carraige
Centre for Traditional Studies,
Rockchapel, Co. Cork.
Tel: 087-220 5566.
E-mail:
bruachnacarraige@hotmail.com
Cost: e15
Unpublished Poem
Written by Terence McSwiney as a young man
(Air) ‘DOWN BY THE GLENSIDE’
Oh my dark Rosaleen by the light of thine eyes
May thy daughters the stranger’s allurements despise
By they purity sweet that flows out from thy heart
May they live but to love thee and be what thou art.
May thy name be their glory, thine honour their pride
May they cling to there closely whatever betide
May they dream of thy greatness tho’ dark are the skies
Be their life’s sweetest harbour to banish thy sighs.
When the false have betrayed thee and the weaklings have fled
May they breathe to thee softly that hope is not dead
May they urge the still faithful to efforts more great
To raise thee my sweet Queen, to they former state
Then my dark Rosaleen will their song be most sweet
In the light of thine eyes when they stand at thy feet
When they sing thy grand triumph, the clouds passed away
The glory of freedom at the Dawn of the Day
Around the World
in 80 ways
The old saying that ‘the world is
a small place’ was proven if
needed at the Fleadh in
Tullamore when Aurora Burd
from Seattle, USA was awarded
2nd place in the Senior Fiddle
Slow-Air competition. Two years
ago Aurora, a geophysics student
doing postgraduate research
work in Argentina noted on the
internet, the establishment of a
Comhaltas branch in Buenos
Aires. Through the Meitheal
office in Gurteen she made
contact with Comhaltas
members in South America and
attended their sessions. She
competed in the Mid-Western
Fleadh in St Louis that year. In
March of last year she met up
with Vince and Mona Hearns at
a session in the Fahy Club in
Buenos Aires and as a result she
joined Comhaltas and travelled
to Tullamore and competed in
the 2008 All-Ireland. In 2009
she again travelled to Ireland
and brought home a treasured
silver medal. The world is indeed
a small place and Comhaltas is
indeed a worldwide family!
14 TREOIR

Innisfree Céilí
Band CD
The North Connacht musical
tradition of Counties Sligo, Leitrim
and Roscommon, and its strong
association with the fiddle and
flute, played a key role in the early
recordings of Irish traditional music
during the early 20 th century.
Emerging from this era, names such
as Coleman, Morrison, Killoran
and McKenna left a stylistic mark
on music throughout Ireland and
the United States, a rich heritage
maintained in subsequent decades
throughout the North Connacht
region by a legion of superb
musicians including Fred Finn and
Peter Horan.
Influenced by the legacy of this
highly-developed musical
environment, the Innisfree Céilí
Band comprises a generation of
musicians who grew up playing
together, fusing individual skill
through a shared impluse, to
produce a distinctive and mature
musical voice. Defined by a rare
sweetness and clarity of tone, the
band succeeds in capturing the
dramatic energy and drive which
is a strong element of both North
Connacht music and the genre of
the céilí band itself.
In 2008, the Innisfree became
the first céilí band from North
Connacht to win the coveted
All-Ireland Senior Céilí Band
competition at Fleadh Cheoil
na hÉireann.
Maidin i mBéarra
Is é mo chaoi gan mise maidin aerach
Amuigh i mBéarra im’ sheasamh ar an dtrá,
Is guth na n-éan am tharraingt thar na sléibhte cois na farraige.
Go Céim an Aitinn mar a mbíonn mo ghrá.
Is obann aoibhinn aiteasach do léimfinn,
Do rithfinn saor ó ana-bhróid an tláis,
Do thabharfainn droim le scamallaibh an tsaoil seo,
Dá bhfaighinn mo léir dhóthain d’amharc
ar mo chaoimhshearc bhán.
Is é mo dhíth bheith ceangailte go faonlag,
Is neart mo chléibh dá hachtadh anso sa tsráid,
An fhaid tá réim na habhann agus gaoth glan na farraige,
Ag glaoch is ag gairm ar an gcroí seo im’ lár.
Is milis bríomhar leathanbhog an t-aer ann,
Is gile ón ngréin go fairsing ar an mbán,
Os ochón a Ríbhean bhanúil na gcraobhfholt
Gan sinne araon i measc an aitinn mar do bhímis tráth.
SCOTTISH SALUTE FOR IRISH DIASPORA
The official launch of IDSA (the Irish Diaspora in Scotland
Association) took place at Holyrood, the Scottish Parliament
in Edinburgh.
The reception itself was hosted
by Michael McMahon MSP and
Clíona Manahan, Consul General
of Ireland to Scotland, in Edinburgh.
The reception was attended by
approximately 25 to 30 MSPs in
Parliament, Speakers Professor Tom
Devine and Dr Joseph Bradley
together with members from the various Diaspora groups in Scotland.
The Chairperson of the Scottish Region, ten youngsters from our 4
branches of Comhaltas in Scotland and I made our way to Edinburgh
for this reception. The ten youngsters from Johnny Doherty, St James
the Great, St Patrick’s and the Irish Minstrels branches of Comhaltas
provided the music for this reception and promoted Comhaltas very
well. There was a display of Irish Dancing from The Haughey
MacAuley School of Irish Dancing and some lovely singing from our
own Gaelic Choir who ended the evening with our National
Anthem. (You could say that this would be a momentous day in the
history of our Irish Culture to have this played and sung in the
Scottish Parliament). All the group’s banners including our own were
displayed well and it made good networking opportunities for all the
organisations present.
– Allison Cullen
TREOIR 15

A MUSICAL
MAESTRO
On a fine July
evening in 1980, staff
and students gathered
at Cultúrlann na
hÉireann,
Monkstown, Co.
Dublin, headquarters
of Comhaltas
Ceoltóirí Éireann, for
the inaugural
weeklong residential
teachers’ course
Teastas Teagaisc
Ceolta Tíre (TTCT)
devised by Mícheál Ó hEidhin. It
was then I came face to face with
Corkonian Martin Power. We
might have met more than a decade
earlier when the Mitchelstown
Branch of CCÉ, of which Martin
was a member, competed in the
All-Ireland Scoraíocht final in the
RDS, Dublin, with the eventual
winner my own Newry Branch.
From our first meeting an instant
friendship was created which has
endured and blossomed ever since.
In the course of the following
week, I was greatly impressed with
Martin’s musicianship, his
organisational flair and his
teaching skills. His confident
tuition and his relaxed rapport
with his pupils marked him out as
a teacher of outstanding merit,
fully deserving the award of the
rare distinction of an honours
advanced diploma.
It came as no surprise when
Mícheál Ó hEidhin invited Martin
to join the TTCT staff as a tutor,
16 TREOIR
SEÁN O’DRISCOLL
The Power family: Martin, Frances, Margaret
and Clare
lecturer and eventually assessor,
roles which he deservedly
continues to play with credit up to
the present day. His assessments of
diploma candidates can be relied
on absolutely for their dispassionate
honesty, an arduous responsibility
when performing standards have
improved so dramatically in the last
thirty years. He also played a
significant role in formulating the
syllabus for the new SCT
examinations devised by Mícheál
Ó hEidhin and for which he has
subsequently served as an examiner.
As a fellow musician with
extensive experience of sessions
and Céilí bands, I was acutely
aware of the prejudicial attitude of
many contemporary traditional
musicians to the piano accordion,
the playing of which was often
insensitively heavy handed.
Martin’s performance dispelled any
reservation I had when I heard his
playing style.
His lyrical, tastefully ornamented
melody coupled with correct
Mícheál Ó hEidhin and Martin
unobtrusive harmonies established
him as a gifted traditional
musician of rare ability.
The numerous successes of his
many pupils is testimony of his
outstanding ability as a teacher.
One has only to listen to the
recording of his pupils as long ago
as 1987 on Ceol na Smól to be
convinced of his talent. Among
his distinguished pupils over the
years are Rosaleen O’Leary,
Caroline Murphy, Marion Collins,
Mary Crowley, Seán Walsh,
Martina French, Aogán Lynch,
Brian McGillicuddy, Mary Tisdall
and Jimmy Morrisson who are now
teachers themselves and passing on
the music to a new generation.
Martin continues to teach with the
VEC Co. Cork School of Music
(CCSM) and is also a presenter of
master classes, locally and
nationally, for example, Scoil Éigse
of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann.
Performing, examining and
teaching, important as they are in
Martins’s musical life, are not his

only accomplishments. Seó
Seandún and Scoraíocht
demonstrate his versatitily as
producer and director and his own
competitive successes in solo and
group performances further show
his adaptability. In 1999 Martin
was the prime mover in founding,
in conjunction with Kathleen
Nesbitt of Loughmore, Co.
Tipperary, the first tarditional
orchestra – Ceol le Chéile. The
orchestra, of which Martin is the
conductor, numbers eighty musicians
and included students from
the Dunmanway and Ballincollig
Music Centres and pupils of cofounder,
Kathleen Nesbitt, from
Loughmore and Cashel.
Over the twenty-nine year span of
the TTCT course another talent
was revealed. Any unusual
incident immediately provoked a
melodic response in the form of an
original composition. The number
of these diverse, euphonious tunes
built up into an impressive,
unedited and unrecorded
collection which Martin was
unduly dilatory in publishing,
much to the annoyance of his
teaching colleagues. I believe I may
be in large measure responsible for
badgering him into print at last.
The accompanying musical
anthology is the result of this
hectoring. Trawling through these
tunes will yield many original
and eminently
playable
compositions
suitable for all
instruments. I
would be greatly
surprised if many
of these do not
find their way
into the
repertoire of good
players who find
the standard
stock stale and
hackneyed.
I had not the slightest hesitation
in responding to Martin’s request
for an introduction to his
published
collection. As a
longstanding friend
and admirer of a
musical maestro, to
have done any less
would have been an
upardonable omission.
In commending this
significant publication
to a discerning
musical public I wish for Martin
the belated appreciation of his
many contemporaries of which
I am privileged to be one.
An Ghaeilge: Straitéis 20 Bliain
Beidh ról tábhachtach ag an earnáil deonach áitiúil ó thaobh forbairt a dhéanamh ar thionscnaimh agus ar
phleananna teanga áitiúla. Tá sé tabhachtach mar sin go dtabharfaí guth agus deis don earnáil le cuidiú le polasaí
ag an leibhéal áitiúil agus go dtabharfaí tacaíocht do ghrúpaí atá ag iarraidh a bheith gafa leis an teanga ag an
leibhéal áitiúil agus ag an leibhéal náisiúnta agus a bheadh ag teacht le haidhmeanna agus ábhar na Straitéise.
Tá an Ghaeilge mar chuid lárnach d’éiteas eagraíochtaí deonacha náisiúnta mar Chumann Lúthchleas Gael agus
Chomhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. Aithníonn an Rialtas an príomhról atá acu ó thaobh chur chun cinn na teanga.
Déanfaidh an Rialtas forbairt agus doimhniú ar a thiomantas do na heagraíochtaí sin ó thaobh chur chun cinn na
teanga. D’fhéadfadh eagraíochtaí deonacha spóirt agus cultúir eile ról lárnach a bheith acu ó thaobh úsáid níos
leithne na Gaeilge lasmuigh don seomra ranga a chur chun cinn. Rachaidh an Rialtas go forghníomhach i gcomhar
leis na heagraíochtaí sin le leas a bhaint as cumas a gcuid gníomhaíochtaí spóirt agus cultúir atá bunaithe sa phobal
le cuidiú go mór leis an Straitéis.
Faoi láthair cuireann an Stát maoiniú ar fáil do chuid mhaith eagraíochtaí Gaeilge éagsúla.
In áiteanna eile beidh ionaid achmhainní atá ann cheana féin, lena n-áirítear ionaid achmhainní réigiúnacha atá
bunaithe ag Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann le cuidiú ó mhaoiniú poiblí agus ionaid a ritheann comhlachtaí forbartha
áitiúla, cultúir agus spóirt eile le comhaontú leis an gcomhlacht a bhíonn i gceist mar ionaid do chur chun cinn agus
do ghníomhaíochtaí Gaeilge.
The Irish language is a central part of the ethos of national voluntary organisations, such as the GAA and Comhaltas
Ceoltóirí Éireann. The Government recognises their key role in promoting the language. The State will develop and
intensify its support for these organisations in promoting our language.
In other areas, existing resource centres, including the regional resources centres established by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí
Éireann with public funding and centres run by other cultural, sporting and local development bodies, will with the
agreement of the body concerned serve as a centre for the Irish language promotion and activities.
TREOIR 17

Ag Déanamh Ceoil
T u n e s s u b m i t t e d b y S i o b h á n N í C h o n a r á i n
A Job of Journeywork
The tunes selected for this issue of Ag Déanamh Ceoil are all tunes which were broadcast by the late
Ciarán Mac Mathúna on his Raidió Éireann ‘A Job of Journeywork’ series. RTÉ (Libraries & Archives)
subsequently published two sets of double cassettes, Ciarán Mac Mathúna intorduces Music from Clare
& Kerry and Ciarán Mac Mathúna intorduces Music from Limerick, Clare & Galway featuring some of
Ciarán’s field-recordings. The selection of reels, The Flax in Bloom & The Chattering Magpie, and The
Kerry Hornpipe selection are transcribed from these RTÉ publications. The Archive Sections of the RTÉ
Raidió Éireann The Rolling Wave (presenter Peter Browne) and RTÉ Raidió Éireann Céilí House
(presenter Kieran Hanrahan) provide currently accessible extracts and relevant material from Ciarán
Mac Mathúna’s broadcasts: visit www.rte.ie/radio1/ceilihouse and www.rte.ie/Radio 1/therollingwave
The following selection of reels (C.f. Track 3 Side 1 Music from Galway) were recorded by and
subsequently broadcast by Ciarán from the playing of fiddler Aggie Whyte and flute-player Eddie
Moloney, both of East Galway, in the 1960s. Aggie Whyte and Stephen Moloney both became members
of the Ballinakill Céilí Band in the 1940s. The first reel, The Chattering Magpie, is often referred to as
‘Aggie Whyte’s reel’ or ‘Aggie Whyte’s Chattering Magpie’ and the tune is often accredited as a
composition of the Aughrim in East Galway fiddler/composer Paddy Kelly. The Flax in Bloom is
included in O’ Neill’s 1001 (no. 633) but the version printed here is that as played by Aggie Whyte and
Eddie Moloney. As happened with other tunes and songs heard on Ciarán’s broadcasts (c.f. A Tribute to
Ciarán Mac Mathúna, Page 55, and current Treoir) this selection of reels were ‘taken up’ and played
‘one into the other’ by musicians nationwide.
The Chattering Magpie (Reel)
(Source: Aggie Whyte & Eddie Moloney)
The Flax in Bloom (Reel)
(Source: Aggie Whyte & Eddie Moloney)

The Kerry Hornpipe
(Source: Denis Murphy)
(Acknowledgement: Nickie McAuliffe)
Ciarán Mac Mathúna recorded the Sliabh Luachra fiddler Denis Murphy
playing this hornpipe at a Feis in Kenmare in 1955 and subsequently broadcast
it on a Job of Journeywork. Published on the cassette Music from Kerry, Side 2
track 5, under the title ‘An Old Hornpipe’ it is often referred to as The Kerry
Hornpipe amongst musicians.
The Killavil Jig
(Source: Fred Finn & Peter Horan)
(Acknowledgement: Transcript Pádraig Ó Riain, CCÉ)
Ciarán Mac Mathúna visited Killavil in Sligo with the Raidió Éireann Mobile
Broadcasting Unit in 1959. Amongst the musicians he recorded on that
occasion were the fiddle and flute duet Fred Finn and Peter Horan who made
a lasting impression on musicians ‘listening in’ to the subsequent ‘A Job of
Journeywork’. Fred and Peter also recorded the reel ‘The Humours of
Ballyconnell’ for Ciarán on the same occasion.
A future issue of Ag Déanamh Ceoil will include tunes from the RTÉ
publication American Job of Journeywork’ (Cassette).

Abair Amhrán
Tá na Páipéir Dhá Shaighneáil
Máire Nic Dhonnchadh
(Treoir Bealtaine 1969 )
Máire Nic Dhonnchadh
as pictured on the cover
of Treoir, May 1969.
Fuair Séamus Mac Mathúna
an leagan seo den amhrán
ón sár-amhránaí Máire Nic
Dhonnchadh ón gCeathrú Rua.
Séamus Mac Mathúna
transcribed this version of
‘Tá na Páipéir Dhá Saighneáil’
from the singing of the much
acclaimed Connemara singer
Máire Nic Dhonnchadh.
Tá na Páipéir dhá Saighneáil
’S tá na páipéir dhá saighneáil
Is tá na saighdiúir a’ dul anonn,
Tá dromadóirí aoibhinn aerach
Clann na nGael a’ dul goTír na Long.
Dá mhéad agam ba dhuit a bhéarfainn
Ó, céad agus dhá mhíle bó,
Ar chúntar thú bheith i t’ fhéirín liom
Go lár Chondae Mhaigeo.
Is nuair eirím ar maidin
Ghním osna a bhíonns’ mór
Is nuair a luighim ins an oíche
’Sí mo phaidir mo dheoir.
Tá gruaig mo chinn a’ tuitim díom
Is ag imeacht mar an gceo,
Is le cúmha mór i do dhiaidh a mhúirnín,
Ní mhairfidh mé ’bhfad beo.
Is nuair eirím amach go huaigneach
’S a fhéachaim uaim ar a’ gcnoc úd thall,
Bím a’ smaoineamh ar do chúilín dualach
A rinne gual dubh do mo chroí i mo lár;
Tá mo chroí istigh ’na leach ’s ’na ghual dubh
Is fear mo thrua níl ach Rí na nGrást
Is pé’ r bith cailín óg a bhéarfas uaim thú,
Go síntear siar í i gcónra cláir.
Ó’s tá fhios ag Dia dílis
Gur iomaí smaoineamh cruaidh deacrach
Atá ‘dhul trasna tré mo chroí ’stigh
Mar gheall ortsa le fada.
Dá mbéadh bliain ar fad san oíche
Bal eat ba mhian liom í chaitheamh,
Ó ’gus díomú na naomh duit
Má ghníonn tú mo mhalairt.
’Siad mo stocaí is mo bhróga
’S tá said stróicthe liom síos.
Tá mo nua-chulaith fosda
Mo bhrón gérar le sníomh.
Tá gine i deatach an óil orm
Is níor ól mé riamh braon
Ach sé mo lean gear a mhíle stóirín
Gan mé ’gus tú óg seal arís.
Díleachtaí bocht cráite mé
A fágadh faoi leatrom,
’S dá mbeadh mo chlú i ndán dom
Ó cé’r cás dhom a bheith folamh,
Ach níl; aon fhear in Éirinn
A dhéanfadh éagóir ar mo mhacasamhail
Nár dheachair dhó a leas a dhéanamh
Ná dhul ar aon chord go na flaithis.

Tá na Páipéir Dhá Shaighneáil
Leagan: Máire Nic Dhonnchadh
Is ón’a sean-mháthair, Bríd Bean Mhic Dhonnchadh, a fuair Máire Nic Dhonnchadha
féin an leagan seo do ‘Tá na Paipéir dhá Saighneáil’. Cuireadh i gcló é, don chéad
uair, i dTreoir sa bhliain 1971.
Máire Nic Dhonnchadh learnt this song from her grandmother Bríd Bean Mhic
Dhonnchadh. It subsequently became one of the many songs that Máire included in
her large repertoire, all of which she was regarded as singing effortlessly and with
complete command of the sean-nós technique. Unlike her namesake Máire Áine Nic
Dhonnchadh, Cnoc na hAille, and of LP Deora Aille fame, Máire Nic Dhonnchadh’s
singing is to be heard on relatively few publications, most notably two Gael Linn
’78s in the early 1960s and two songs on the CCÉ LP Bonnie Kate.
This CCÉ recording was subsequently re-issued by CCÉ on Rogha Órdha and can be
can be heard through accessing the Comhaltas website: www.comhaltas.ie
Eimear Arkins
Tagann an leagan thíosluaite den amhrán seo ón taifeadán a rinne Eimear Arkins, ar
an Dlúthíosca Echoes of Erin 2008. D’fhoghlaim Eimear an t-amhrán ón amhránaí
cáiliúl Nan Tom Teamín De Búrca. The following version of this same song is that
heard sung by Eimear Arkins of Ruan Co. Clare. Eimear learnt it from another of
the great exponents of Connemara sean-nós, Nan Tom Teamín De Búrca.
Tá na páipéir dhá saighneáil
Is tá na saighdiúir(í) ag dul anonn.
Tá an drumadóirín aoibhinn aerach
Clanna Gael ag dul go tír na long
Dá mbeadh agam is duitse a bhéarfainn
Céad is dhá mhíle bó,
’S ar a chuntar tú bheith i d’fhéirín liom
Go Contae Mhaigh Eo.
I mo luí dom ar mo leaba
Is í m’osna a bhíonn ’s mór.
Is ar m’éirí dom ar maidin
Is í mo phaidir mo dheoir.
Tá gruaig mo chinn ag titim
’S ag imeach mar an gceo,
’S le cumha i do dhiaidh, a stóirín,
Ní bheidh mé i bhfad beo.
Nuair a éirím amach go huaigneach
Sea bhreathnaím ar an gcnoc úd thall
Bím ag smaoineamh ar do chúilín dualach
A d’fhág an chrua-arraing trí mo lár.
Tá mo chroí istigh ina leaca gualdubh
Is fear mo thrua níl ach Rí na nGrást,
Is cibé cailín óg a bhéarfas uaim tú
Go síntear suas í i gcónra chláir.
Tá mo stocaí uilig stróicthe
Is tá mo phócaí gan pingin.
Tá mo nuachulaith phósta
Is é mo léan géar fós gan sníomh.
Tá fiacha i dteach an óil orm
Is níor ól mé riamh braon,
Ach is é mo lean gear, a mhíle stóirín,
Gan mé’s tú óg seal arís.
Is nach aoibhinn do na héiníní
A éiríonn go hard,
Is a bhíonn ag ceiliúradh lena chéile
Ar aon chraoibhín lena chéile
Ar aon chraoibhín amháin.
Ní mar sin dom féin
Agus mo chéad mhíle grá,
Mar is fada fairsing óna chéile
A bhíonn ár n-éirí gach lá.
This recording can be heard on the CCÉ Echoes of
Erin 2008 CD and can be can be heard through
accessing the Comhaltas website: www.comhaltas.ie

18
The death of George Furlong of
School Street, Wexford has left a
huge void in the ranks of
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann in
County Wexford. George was in
his eighty-second year and
maintained his interest in our
native music, song and dance since
the first branch of Comhaltas was
founded in Wexford town in 1957.
As an administrator, George had
no equal, with his attention to
detail and his expertise in all
matters relating to the governing
rules and regulations of the
fledgling organisation. Though he
never played a musical instrument
his love of Irish traditional music
knew no bounds, nor did his
involvement in all the activities of
the Wexford branch. George acted
as Fear a’Tí at concerts, céilithe
and he chaired meetings with great
ease, managing to solve and salve
many an argumentative debate and
discussion much to everyone’s
satisfaction. His administrative
talents were soon recognised not
alone at county level but at
provincial and national level
where he held many important
posts and officerships over the
years. It was George who was the
motivator of The Festival Concert
of Irish Music held over twentyfive
years during Wexford’s
International Opera Festival. This
annual concert showcased many of
our top class performers and
practitioners of the traditional arts
and was responsible for
highlighting our Irish traditional
music at the highest level. George
took to the stage with Scoraíocht
and excelled with his recitations,
in particular ‘The Old Wexford
Ships’ by local Wexford poet,
Sahida.
At his funeral the Ó Riada Mass
was sung by members of the
Rathangan Male Voice Choir with
traditional music played prior to
and during the ceremony. Labhrás
TREOIR
ONE OF
WEXFORD’S FINEST
Ó Murchú gave a eulogy praising
George for his lifetime of service to
the music and talked about his
understated qualities and his talent
for peace-making and bringing
people together. He said Ireland
needed more people like George
Furlong. During the Offertory
Procession the music score of
‘George Furlong’s Hornpipe’ was
brought to the altar with several
other symbols of his life. His family
members did the reading. A
poignant rendition of ‘Is ar Éireann
ní nósfhainn cé hí’ was played on
the pipes by Pádraig Sinnott with
organ accompaniment by Cyril
A TRIBUTE TO GEORGE
FURLONG (1926-2008)
LIAM GAUL
Murphy at the Recessional
procession. A long standing
request by George was honoured as
Paddy Berry sang ‘Ballyshannon
Lane’ at the graveside. He is
survived by his beloved daughter,
Angela, in-laws, grandchildren
and great-grandson. Ar dheis Dé
go raibh a anam.
‘They’re gone across
the eternal sea,
Where time will count no more;
They’re sailing in the
old-time ships,
To God’s resplendent shore! –
‘Sahida’
George Furlong’s Hornpipe Composed by Liam Gaul
George Furlong’s Hornpipe’ was composed by Liam Gaul in Honour
of George on the occasion of his 80th birthday

Scoil Fonn
agus Amhrán
TADHG Ó MAOLCATHA
Billy Clifford, with some of his polka and slide-playing pupils at the workshop day at Fleadh na Mumhan 2009 in Ros Cré
Uachtarán of Comhaltas, Séamus
Mac Cormaic joined with parents,
tutors, pupils and Munster
Comhaltas officials at the closing
session of this year’s Scoil Fonn
agus Amhrán which took place in
Ros Cré immediately prior to
Fleadh Cheoil na Mumhan. This
event, organised annually by
Comhairle na Mumhan, was
deemed once again to be an
outstanding success. Over sixty
young musicians and singers
attended the day-long series of
workshops on the playing of slow
airs and traditional singing. In
addition to these there were
specialised workshops on the
playing of slides and polkas.
Scoil Fonn agus Amhrán was
initiated in Munster in 1981 and
has continued on an annual basis
ever since, being held each year in
conjunction with Fleadh Cheoil
na Mumhan. As the provincial
Fleadh rotates between the
counties in Munster, each county
has its opportunity to host Scoil
Fonn agus Amhrán na Mumhan.
Scoil Fonn agus Amhrán consists
of master classes and workshops on
slow air playing as well as
traditional singing in Irish and
English. The event has been a
tremendous success over the years
and has left many fond memories
to those who attended as students
and has given them a much better
appreciation of our beautiful airs
and song tradition.
It was evident in the 1970s, that
although our native music was
making considerable progress and
gaining in popularity, our beautiful
slow airs and traditional songs
were being neglected. Comhairle
na Mumhan under the stewardship
of Mícheál Ó Lochlainn and
Dónal Ó Lideadha recognised the
situation and resolved to put an
action plan in train. They realised
that the standard of air playing
had dropped and that the
repertoire of air players and singers
had narrowed considerably. It was
becoming apparent that jigs and
reels were now dominating
TREOIR
19

Majella Bartley and her slow air playing students
on the fiddles perform in the open session at
the conclusion of Scoil Fonn in Ros Cré
musical occasions, to the almost
complete exclusion of slow airs. It
was also quite clear that airs were
not being taught in many of the
traditional music classes around
the province.
The first Scoil Fonn agus Amhrán
took place over 2 days in
Dunmanway in 1982, just prior to
Fleadh Cheoil na Mumhan. A
scholarship scheme was set up so
as to encourage young people to
attend. First and second prize
winners at the Co. Fleadh in each
of the slow air playing
competitions (fiddle, flute &
whistle) and singing qualified and
received scholarships. This applied
to the 12-15 and 15-18 age groups.
Being a two-day event
accommodation had to be found
and very often families of young
musicians in the locality took in
the Scoil Fonn students and all
benefited from the experience. On
many occasions local B&Bs were
used and hostels were utilised on a
few occasions also.
This continued up to 2004 when
an in-depth assessment was carried
out and a new approach was given
a trial run. Each county was asked
to hold their own one-day Scoil
Fonn agus Amhrán and this would
be followed up by the Munster
Scoil Fonn as a one-day event.
Bringing the tuition to each
county and leaving it open to all
who wished to attend, resulted in
far more people experiencing the
pleasure of the airs and songs.
Comhairle na Mumhan provided
20 TREOIR
funding to the counties so that
tuition fees could be kept to a
minimum.
At the Munster Fleadh of 2007 in
Newcastle West, with the help of
Meitheal funding, Scoil Fonn agus
Amhrán was expanded further
with the third placed prizewinners
in the slow air playing and singing
competitions now qualifying from
each county. It was also opened up
to the under 12s for the first time.
This resulted in a much increased
attendance. Tuition on the píob
uilleann was also introduced.
The influence of Scoil Fonn agus
Amhrán has become more apparent
over the years. There has been
greater participation in slow air
events at county and provincial
Fleadh and the standard has
certainly improved. Thirty years ago
one would hear the same few airs
being played repeatedly at
competitions whereas now there is a
much wider repertoire and many of
the lesser known airs can be heard.
Each year an effort was made to
include airs and songs from the
particular area in which the event
was being held and the tutors
usually selected airs for their fiddle
and flute/whistle classes that were
also airs of an existing song. This
helped to bring home to pupils the
close link that exists between the
songs and airs. Many would claim
that it is essential to have a good
knowledge of the song before
attempting to play the
accompanying air.
Munster has a rich heritage of
song in the Irish language, songs
such as Priosún Chluain Meala,
Seán Ó Duibhir a’ Ghleanna,
Sliabh Geal Gua, Slán le Máigh,
Caith Chéim an Fhia, Mo Ghile
Mear, Amhrán na Leabhar, An
Clár Bog Déil, Bean Dubh a’
Ghleanna, Na Conneries and
many, many others. These, and
beautiful instrumental airs such as
Port na bPúcaí, Lament for Staker
Wallace, Marbhna Luimnigh and
others provide us with a rich
treasury from the past. They are
cultural jewels that young
musicians should be made aware of
and Scoil Fonn agus Amhrán has
helped in a big way over the past
26 years to give a better
appreciation of this aspect of
our cultural inheritance.
Human Spirit
Mary Guckian
Each calamity a nation suffers
brings tragedy and despair
as bombs fall, planes crash,
cataclysmic moments are written
into our history books: broken
bodies are buried, and innocent
families left behind are fragile
and left to suffer, yet through
the voices of children new lives
are forged and we begin again.
The weight of confusion
on every generation causes tension
then panic, yet without moments
like these, we become stagnant:
fail to face our differences,
our pinched prejudices: all
disasters overcome with camraderie
we move forward in togetherness
and the human spirit never dies.
Thunder
Mist moves across fields
and flowers shiver,
while petals turn inwards,
reaching back to buds hiding
from thunder that shakes
buildings around this place.
I feel torn apart but then
the sun shines, new strength
comes from strange sources:
seeds take root, trees grow
to great heights, making me
wonder how I ever doubted
this force, this everlasting
force that moves me on and on.

THE HOUNDS OF ULSTER
GRAPEVINE
Photo: Lucia De Nile
Her Excellency, Mary McAleese, President of Ireland and her husband,
Dr Martin McAleese, visited the ‘Celebrating Cultural Diversity’ Concert
in CLASAĊ a new Regional Resource Centre for Comhaltas in Clontarf,
Co. Dublin when over 300 people were in attendance. Among the chosen
artists were singer and storyteller Seán Ó Sé from Cork; musicologist and
virtuoso concert accordionist, Martin Donohoe from Cavan town; and
The Hounds of Ulster, a flute and drum music group based in County
Antrim playing a mixture of traditional Irish, Scottish and Ulster-Scots
tunes on both wooden and B b flutes. Seán and Martin joined the band for
a roof lifting version of ‘An Poc ar Buille’ and entertained the President
with the song ‘Do Bhí Bean Uasal’ or ‘Carrickfergus’ as it better known.
Included in
photograph with
The Hounds of
Ulster band are
Senator Labhrás
Ó Murchú,
Ardstiúrthóir
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí
Éireann; Séamus
Mac Cormaic
National President
of CCÉ, Seán Ó Sé,
Martin Donohoe,
Nyah/CCÉ; Jim
McAllister,
CLASAĊ.
The Hounds of
Ulster was formed
in 2006 and has over 20 members, some of whom play for other marching
bands across Ulster. However, the band was formed for indoor concert
work, focusing on traditional music rarely associated with the flute band
genre of Ulster. The band is conducted by Brian Welsh, a well-respected
flautist and specialist piccolo player. The shared performance was about
sharing ideas and developing
musical activities which encourage
respect and appreciation of other
cultures. And to develop an
awareness of the variety and
value of different cultural values
and perspectives throughout the
island of Ireland.
The range of music played by the Hounds of Ulster includes jigs, reels,
marches, slow airs and hornpipes. During the short time that the group
has been together it has attained accolades from many influential people
engaged within the Ulster-Scots music and entertainment field. The age
of the group ranges from 6 to
60+ years of age.
Our good friend Yuri in the
Moscow Branch of Comhaltas
has been making quite a name
for himself. A fluent Irish
speaker (some would say with a
Kerry accent!), Yuri attended last
year’s Fleadh in Tullamore. No
sooner was he back in Russia
than he contacted Comhaltas
requesting some artists from
Ireland. Comhaltas responded
promptly and sent six performers:
Seán Ó Sé, Siobhán Ní
Chonaráin, Tara Breen, Pádraig
King, Martino Vacca and Gearóid
Ó Catháin. They performed for a
capacity audience and very much
strengthened the cultural links
between the two countries.
There has been high praise
indeed for the national Set
Dancing Seminar held at
CLASAĊ. It was attended by
representatives from the four
provinces and chaired by An
tUachtarán Séamus Mac
Cormaic. It was a lively and
informative occasion and has
set the tone for future Set Dance
endeavours. It is significant that
it was in Dublin that Comhaltas
provided the first shop window
event for Set Dancing: this was
held in Coláiste Mhuire, Parnell
Square, in the early 1970s.
TREOIR 21

NOEL - THE REAL
LONGFORD
I remember the All-Ireland Fleadh
in Longford in 1958. It was the
first time a small group of us had
come over from Liverpool to play
in competition. In those days Irish
music was everything in Liverpool,
with numerous céilithe at which
we played, sometimes up to five
nights a week.
There were four of us travelling by
train from Dublin to Longford that
weekend – Kit Hodge, Mick
Quinn, Seán Murphy and myself.
When the ticket-inspector came
into our compartment to check
our tickets, he saw our musical
instruments and
expressed
great
interest in
the banjo
which
belonged to
Seán
Murphy. He
took it out
of its case
and, to our
surprise,
started to
play a reel. I
always
remember
the name of
that reel –
The Longford
Collector –
and, of course, the particular
collector checking our tickets was
none other than the well-known
COLLECTOR
TOMÁS Ó CANAINN
banjo-mandolin player Noel
Strange. We had met the real
Longford Collector !
It was the start of a wonderful
friendship and Noel promised to
send me the music of some Irish
céilí tunes. Sure enough, they
turned up in our post a week later
and I got down to playing them. I
was an accordionist in those days,
and only became a piper a few years
later when I came back to Ireland
and took up residence in Cork.
Now, more than fifty years later, I
have resurrected Noel’s
manuscript. It is slightly the worse
for wear, but
you may still
decipher
Noel’s
handwritten
‘With sincere
good wishes’. I
include some
of it here as
a reminder
of early
happy
Comhaltas
and céilíband
days –
a short time
before we
started a
musical
group that
would become very famous
– the Liverpool Céilí Band.
Bridge of
Memories
at Ballinclough
Tom Ryan
By the mossy bridge at the ford
Where tired cattle drink
My folks were all around me there –
Or so I like to think.
Near my mother’s house of old
This lovely spiritual truth,
Oh, joyous, warm abode
Of a dear and distant youth.
Midst the flowers and the scents
Of the summer air
I felt, oh, I felt,
They are still yet there,
My simple folks of the mountain land
By the sparkling waters
On either hand.
We brought the cart to the bridge below
To cool the iron-rimmed wheels,
And a tired old jennet I once loved so
Who’d gifted me a thousand thrills.
We bathed our little childrens’ feet,
Splashed till joyous hours were done,
All day playing in sun and heat
Hearts and heaven in unison.
Midst the flowers and the scents
Of the summer air
I felt, oh, I felt,
They are still yet there,
My simple folks of the mountain land
By the sparkling waters
On either hand.
Where magic through cool water flows,
And foxes, hares run fast and free
Oh, fluttering now my heart it goes
So carefree now in memory.
I felt, I feel, and will not yield,
My people love e’en yet this field;
And we who live and they now gone
Are still, in love, in unison.
And all around me in the air
Hearts that love and hearts that care,
In this sweet place I loved when young
Happy my flesh and blood among.
Midst the flower and the scents
Of the summer air
I felt, oh, I feel,
They are still yet there,
My gentle folks of the mountain land
By the sparkling waters
On either hand.
In memory of my mother, Bridie Ryan,
formerly of The Ford, Ballinaclough,
Nenagh, and my grand-parents,
Mr and Mrs Michael Ryan, formerly
of Shragh, Killeen
22 TREOIR

TEASTAS EORPACH
NA GAEILGE
D’fhógair Éamon Ó Cuív, TD, An
tAire Gnóthaí Pobail, Tuaithe agus
Gaeltachta go bhfuil deontas
e169,500 ceadaithe aige d’Ollscoil
na hÉireann Má Nuad don bhliain
acadúil 2009/10 leis na scrúdaithe a
bhaineann le Teastas Eorpach na
Gaeilge a dhearadh agus oiliúint a
chur ar scrúdaitheoirí.
Tá forbairt á dhéanamh ar Theastas
Eorpach na Gaeilge ag Ionad na
dTeangacha in Ollscoil na hÉireann,
Má Nuad, d’fhonn siollabas
caighdeánach a chruthú
d’fhoghlaimeoirí fásta Gaeilge.
Clúdaíonn sé scrúdaithe atá nascaithe
leis an bhFráma Comónta Eorpach le
haghaidh Measúnú Teanga.
Ag fógairt an deontais, dúirt an
tAire: ‘Is togra an-fhiúntach agus
fíor thábhachtach é seo a leagann
síos córas grádaithe d’fhoghlaim na
Gaeilge chomh maith le spriocanna
soiléire foghlama. Tá áthas orm,
mar sin, go raibh ar chumas mo
Roinne deontas a chur ar fáil le
cinntiú go leanfaí leis.’
THE MUNSTER CONNECTION
Helen Gannon, Cathaoirleach of
Comhaltas in North America, and
Paul Keating, Provincial PRO
both have Munster connections,
Helen with Limerick and Paul
with Clare. Recently when Helen
was a recipient of Gradam an
Chomhaltais at Cultúrlann na
hÉireann, Paul, on behalf of CCÉ
North America, presented Helen
with a very appropriate picture –
that of the Rock of Cashel which
was home to the Kings of Munster.
The Galway Fleadh
The fleadh was held over five days starting on the Wednesday evening
and continuing on until the Sunday. The Wednesday evening consisted
of the Céilí dancing workshop, with two local dancing instructors, for all
children in the local area. There was a lecture on the music of east Galway
given by Joe O’Connor of Ennis. On Thursday evening a sean-nós
dancing workshop by Brian Cunningham had a great turn out. Later that
evening the Comhaltas branch held a Singers’ Circle, with a special guest.
On Friday evening we held the official opening of the fleadh with a
tribute concert to Tom Quinn. Competions were held all day on Saturday,
with a large number of competitors. Later in the evening a traditional
singing workshop took place with a good response. Then, to finish off the
day we had the Fleadh Céilí. Sunday morning started with the Fleadh Mass
in St Brigid’s Hospital. The music and singing competitions started at 2pm
with the Céilí and Set Competitions starting at 1pm. Our branch holds
regular junior music sessions and one of which was held in Hadyens Hotel.
The committee left no stone unturned, as they made sure that competitors
and visitors were catered for. There were many sessions throughout the
town over the weekend, and the closing session was held in Gullane’s
Hotel on Sunday evening with members of Moycullen, Lackagh, Corofin
and Kilnadeema branches, and some from the local branch finished with a
demonstration of a good grúpaí cheoil session. The many competitors and
visitors went home with fond memories of the fleadh.
– Michael Cusack
JANET THE HARPIST SUPREME
Janet Harbison is
one of the foremost
harpists – and
authority on the
instrument – of this
generation. She has
displayed
uniqueness and
innovation in her
playing that has
won accolades
nationally and
internationally. Her compositions and
arrangements have been lauded by the
traditional music world.
Janet generously passes on her skills in the
several classes which she teaches. Our
photos show Janet with some of her pupils
who received special awards at a function
held at Cultúrlann na hÉireann.
The presentations were made by the
Ardstiúrthóir of Comhaltas, Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú, who in turn
also received a special award from Janet!
TREOIR
23

Cúpla lá ó shin tháinig mo
shean-chara Mac Cárthaigh ar
ais ó Éirinn. Chuir sé scairt orm
agus sa chaint dúinn dúirt sé go
bhfaca sé broc ar an mbóthar i
lár an lae, rud nach coitianta.
‘Chonaiceas é díreach san áit a
bhfaca Donncha Rua an sprid
fadó, an gcuimhin leat an áit’
Ba chuimhin go maith. Sa tseanaimsir
bhíodh sprideanna anchoitianta
ar bhóithre na
hÉireann. Bhíodh cáil mhór,
droch-cháil ar uairibh, ar chuid
acu. Bhí Sprid na Mangartan acu
i gCiarraí, Sprid Chnocán an
Phíopa i gCorcaigh agus Sprid
na Bearna i Luimneach mar
shampla. Ghnáthaigh na
sprideanna áiteanna iargúlta. Ní
raibh de ghnó ag cuid acu ach
scanradh a chur ar dhaoine
soineanta ach bhí sórtanna eile
ann freisin. Ag seo síos trí scéal
a bhfuil sórt baint acu lena
chéile faoi sprideanna ban. An
chéad cheann chualas ag mo
sheanathair é; an tarna ceann
fuaireas in ‘Amach as Ucht na
Sliabh’ é; an triú ceann fuarthas
i ‘Seanchas Amhlaoibh Uí
Lúinse’ é.
In Iarthar Chairbre tá áit
uaigneach ar an mbóthar idir an
Carn agus Connanach ar a
dtugtar Ard na Saile. Bhí mo
sheanathair á rá liom go mbíodh
sprid mná le feiscint ar an Ard
sa tsean-aimsir. Chonaic go leor
daoine í. Taréis tamaill ní
rachadh aon duine ach duine a
mbeadh braoinín ar bord aige nó
stróinséar i ngiorracht dhá mhíle
den áit istoíche. An bhean seo
24 TREOIR
Sprideanna
GRAPEVINE
bhíodh gúna bán uirthi agus
gruaig amscaí síos go troigh.
Bhíodh mála thar a gualainn
aici. Stopadh sí daoine a mbíodh
capall acu agus d’iarradh sí
marcaíocht orthu. Níor lig an
t-eagla d’éinne síob a thabhairt
di go dtí aon oíche amháin nuair
a stop sí fear ó Ros Ó gCairbre
agus ghabh trua di é. Trucail agus
capall a bhí ag an bhfear seo.
Cá bhfuil do thriall a bhean
mhaith’ ar sé. ‘Go dtí áit níos
fearr’ ar sí. ‘Téanam ort mar sin’
ar sé, agus léim sí isteach sa
charr. Bhog an fear an srian agus
thug an capall faoi imeacht ach
theip air an trucail a bhogadh.
Thug an fear iarracht den tslat
dó ach ní raibh sé in ann corraí.
Bhí an t-allas ag imeacht den
chapall agus thosnaigh sé ag
crith. Tháinig scanradh ar an
bhfear agus d’fhéach sé anonn
ar an mbean. ‘Cad í an
diabhlaíocht seo ar siúl agat’ ar
sé. ‘Aimsir an Ghorta ghoideas
cúpla bullóg aráin ó chomharsa’
ar sí. ‘Ba pheaca trom é agus
chuir Dia de phionós orm ualach
millteanach a iompar go dtí go
bhfaighinn duine éigin chun
cabhrú liom agus go ndéarfadh
an duine céanna paidir ar mo
shon. Anois, an ndéarfá Ave
thar mo cheann’ ‘Déarfainn
agus fáilte,’ ar sé. Le sin, léim
an bhean amach ar an mbóthar
agus shlog an dorchadas í.
Ní fhacathas ó shin í.
– Barra Ó Donnabháin
Cultúrlann na hÉireann was the
venue for the wedding reception
of two musical sisters Sarah Jane
and Emma Woods. Emma
married dancing supremo, Martin
Dodd, early last year and Sarah
Jane married Aidan Dundon on
the 28 th December. These were
wonderful occasions full of
music, friendship and
camaraderie. Go raibh rath Dé
orthu i gcónaí.
As we go to press we hear
another good news and romantic
story. Two of the musicians who
met on a Comhaltas Tour
of America have become
engaged. Watch this space
for more details!
Comhaltas stalwarts dancer Martin Dodd
and fiddle player Emma Woods, at their
wedding reception last Summer at
Cultúrlann na hÉireann.

OUR BEAUTIFUL
LIVING TRADITION
THOUGHTS FROM THE LEEDS BRANCH 40 TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER
MICK FUREY
When he phoned me,
Michael Tennyson’s bald
statement that all tickets
for the Leeds Branch
40 th anniversary dinner
were sold out had me
gobstruck. How could I
possibly have been so
casual (i.e. sloppy) as to
not reserve my place as soon as the
announcement was made Who
should I hope would fall ill so that
I could take their place
Michael saved me from such dark
thoughts. ‘We saved one for you,
so you’d better hurry and get in
touch with Peggy Sarsfield.’
It’s a good job we were on the
phone; he’d have been
embarrassed by my kissing him.
Afterwards, I felt pleased yet
humbled that they should
apparently think so much of me
that they kept a ticket back. It’s
not as if I’ve ever been an asset to
the branch; I don’t get to Leeds
very often, sometimes not for
years. I don’t even always pay my
subs. Yet I was remembered; and
not just for making a show of
myself. In some ways,
I’m glad I don’t live closer
to Leeds; I might get too
casual about it all. As it is,
there’s always the warmest
of welcomes, so many hands to
shake, so much to catch up with,
so many delighted smiles from me
that only my ears keep my jaw
from falling off.
I first bumped into the Branch in
1972, after hearing that the All-
England Fleadh would be held in
Leeds. That’s only 40 miles so I
decided to give it a visit. I’d heard
of Comhaltas, but had a vague
notion that it was full of sternfaced
people giving out about the
right and the wrong way to sing
and play traditional music. I’ve
been wrong before and since but
was I ever wrong then I left Leeds
reluctantly that Saturday night,
mad to return next day. In a state
verging on shock, I couldn’t wait
to get more of the amazing musical
talent I’d been immersed in. That
was my introduction to the Leeds
branch; an introduction that
turned into a long-lasting
friendship. Many members became
dear personal friends and I’ve
watched their children and
grandchildren grow up and
flourish musically.
It was only later that I learned
that the branch was only three
years old in 1972, yet they staged
such an involved event so well. In
fact it was at their very first
meeting that Pat McNicholas
(RIP), who became my good
friend over the years, proposed
that Leeds should host the All-
England Fleadh. That has been a
feature of the branch; that they
had the confidence, the talent and
– most of all – the commitment to
do it. And the 1972 Fleadh wasn’t
an isolated event; Leeds have
staged many more Fleadheanna as
well as their own musical
productions. They’ve practically
become a fixture at An Fleadh
Nua over the years thanks to John
Ferguson’s wide-eyed enthusiasm
for that event.
During the speeches I noticed that
the side banners said: ‘The Living
Tradition’; the title of a fine
traditional music magazine
published in Scotland. I
occasionally contribute to it so the
association of ideas meant that
TREOIR 25

some of the words of a new song
kept slipping into my head. If I’d
been confident enough that I had
all of the words, I’d have insisted
on singing it later. You see, I’ve
never heard a song that so easily
fits the work that Leeds Branch
have done over their four decades.
Dave Sheridan could have had
them in mind when he wrote Our
Beautiful Tradition:
We wonder how musicians
in the future
will play our music given in the past,
with only old folk knowing
any difference,
wishing tunes and melodies can last.
The future of tradition in
our young hands,
striving to play like some men of old;
always thinking of their
legendary touches,
triplets, cuts and rolls they
made their own.
That’s probably the way we
thought when we were young;
when the traditional music of
Ireland was just recovering from a
very low ebb, scorned as ‘diddlydiddly
stuff’ by people more
ignorant than musical. The
Troubles didn’t help either; even
whistling an Irish tune over here
could get you black looks, or
worse. It’s due to the efforts of the
likes of Leeds that our music has
recovered from the dark times and
taken its rightful place amongst
the best music in the world. It’s a
paradox, but the roots of An
Comhaltas are in its branches.
And Leeds have the strongest
roots of any branch I know.
And all this from ‘mere amateurs’.
The disparaging way that ‘amateur’
is used is a long-term irritation to
me. I hate the notion that
amateurs do things in a halfhearted
or unskilful way. I’ve seen
plenty of professionals make a
hames of things; so professionals
aren’t heroic figures to me. All of
my dictionaries agree that the
word ‘amateur’ comes from the
Latin, ‘amare, to love’. So my
26 TREOIR
heroes are those who battle on in
spite of everything, who play, sing
or dance as well as they are able,
simply because they love what
they’re doing. There’s a golden
thread running through the
history of the Leeds branch, a line
of commitment by so many people
whose names don’t appear in any
list of great musicians, singers or
dancers. They work away in the
background at the unglamorous
work, badgering people like me to
pay our subs, ensuring that events
start and finish nearly enough on
time, and the – to me – mysterious
business of handling the financial
side of things. That so much of
what the Leeds branch do so well
– as amateurs – is a living tribute
to the members.
Many of the official speakers
talked about ‘the generations’, but
at Leeds it’s never been a matter of
one generation succeeding
another. There’s been a seamless
blending from one into another,
without older members stepping or
being pushed aside in favour of
younger ones. From the oldest to
the youngest, they’ve all been as
deeply involved as each other and
had equal voices. It’s common
enough to talk about organisations
as ‘families’ but Leeds is the
biggest and most extended family
I’ve ever known. Members visit
from all over Britain; those who
did the reverse-migration route
regularly return from Ireland for
events like this. Leeds isn’t just a
branch; it’s an institution, wellknown
and well-regarded
throughout An Comhaltas and the
wider Irish community.
Of course, at all such events,
there’s always what my mother
called ‘the little sorrow’; those
lingering ashes of grief that ensure
we remember with lasting
affection those we knew and
loved, that little tug at the heart
from time to time. The celebratory
booklet, along with so many
pictures from the past, has a page
not just commemorating, but
naming deceased members. So
many well-known names, so many
fond memories...
When I finally caught up with
John Ferguson, he insisted that we
had to meet the Gillards again.
That was like a procession; like
accompanying a political candidate
on walkabout; a lap of honour for
himself. John’s so popular that it
would have been hard to go
straight to your own mother with
the sheer number of people he had
to greet and talk with. At times I
feared the night would be over
before we ever reached the Gillard
family. We finally got to talk with
our old friends; pillars of the
branch in bygone days. I know my
face is unmistakeable – for all the
wrong reasons – but for so many
of the Gillards to remember my
name with such real friendliness
amazed me.
When the call came for the
members of the original Leeds
Junior Céilí Band to reunite on
the stage, I felt my age pressing
down on me yet again. I knew
them as kids, for pity’s sake, not as
these men and women with grown
families of their own. I knew
they’d still treat me with the same
age-defying, friendly equality as

they did decades ago. They didn’t
call me ‘Mister’ then; and why
would they Aren’t we all equal
when it comes to loving what we
do; don’t we all have the same
regard for each other As John
Ferguson said when I once
commented that his young son,
Cíarán, treated me as an equal:
‘That’s because you treat him as an
equal.’ If he’d added, ‘You fool!’ I
wouldn’t have argued with him.
Why should I or anyone else
demand respect unless we’ve earned
it Wisdom doesn’t always come
with age; I’m living proof of that.
On my way outside for a breath of
carbon monoxide and nicotine, I
noticed a silver head with a face
that I couldn’t quite put a name
to. Someone I remembered from
years back but was never really
familiar with He made no great
fuss, so I didn’t pester him. On my
second trip I was halfway up the
steps when the penny dropped and
a great light flashed in my brain. I
flew back down the steps and
threw my arms around my old
friend, Martin Jordan.
‘You wouldn’t have passed me a
third time;’ he growled, ‘I’d have
hooked the legs from under you
with my stick.’ That really
sounded like Martin; a gruff voice
but a warm heart. How could I
possibly not recognise my old
partner-in-crime from so many
sessions in The Regent, so many
trips to Provincial Council
meetings I spent so long talking
with Martin and Liz, inside and
outside the Irish Centre, that I
missed the last drink. Any other
time that would be a tragedy, but
I’d never begrudge missing a drink
while in good company like that.
When the time came for the final
session, I was elated to be once
more playing amongst such fine
musicians. I don’t know who set
the tempo but it was fierce fast. At
one stage a trickle of sweat was
actually scalding my top lip in spite
of the hairy filter that lives there.
But I wasn’t going to mop it till the
set was finished; not for anyone.
This was too good to miss, I needed
the exercise and I was enjoying
myself. For a miserable old dog like
me, that takes some doing.
All through writing this, the
spellchecker has been telling me
off for referring to the Leeds
branch in the plural, as in ‘Leeds
have’ when spell-check insists it
should be ‘Leeds has’. Well, I don’t
care what spell-check says; to me,
Leeds has always been plural. It’s
always been that the members
matter more than the branch. It’s
members that make a branch, not
the other way round. In Leeds’
case it’s proof that the whole is
greater, much greater, than the
sum of the parts.
It’s not often I’ll let anyone have
the last word but this just once I’ll
give way to Dave Sheridan and his
chorus from Our Beautiful Tradition:
Live and breathe our beautiful
tradition,
spread it to all nations and be proud
of souls that left this earth with one
ambition,
dreaming of a day to please a crowd.
Leeds Comhaltas have had 14 600
days – not counting leap year days
– to do just that. They’ve
succeeded too. (There now, I had
the last word after all; just can’t
keep my gob shut.)
(Quotations from Our Beautiful
Tradition, featured on the CD,
Sheridan’s Guest House, (c) 2006
Dave Sheridan. Thanks for letting
me quote you, Dave.)
Gael-Bhanraíon Mhaigh Eo
Pádhraic Ó Láimhín
Seo dán a chum mé do Cháit Bean Uí Éanacháin chun a gradam
‘Gaeilgeoir na Bliana’ (Rehab) a fháil i gCaisleán a’ Bharraigh
27ú Samhain 2009
Comhghairdeas, a Cháit, a chroí (Craobh Chois Muaidhe, CCÉ)
Is tú Cáit Bean Uí Éanacháin
An t-aon chailín, máthair, baintreach amháin
Aniar as Iorrus, Gaoth Sáile
Nár ghlac pingin rua mar tháille
Ar gach a rinne tú don teanga
Le mealladh, moladh is meanga
Ag gríosadh óg is aosta
Go raibh tú iomlán sásta
Lena gcanadh, damhsa is ceol.
Tú ar gach féile is fleadh ár dtíre
Is níl rud ar bith níos fíre
Ná beannachtaí do chairde
A ghuíonn gach rath is ádh ort
Don chuid eile de do shaol.
Seasaimíd i d’ ghaobhar
Mar aithneachtáil dod’ shaothar
Is do dhílseacht thar na cianta
Go mba fada buan do bhlianta
Mar tá ár seasamh ort.
Níos luachmhaire duit ná táinte
Tá do ghradam agat faighte
Anocht ólaimíd do shláinte
A Ghael-bhanríon Mhaigh Eo!
TREOIR 27

TOM’S CHRISTMAS POEM AT
SPECIAL CHRISTMAS SERVICE IN MEADOWOOD, CANADA
A town in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada was in spiritual
harmony this Christmas with Thurles, Co. Tipperary –
thanks to the publication of a Christmas poem in the
Comhaltas magazine ‘Treoir’. The poem ‘To absent ones
at Christmas’ was written by Thurles poet and freelance
journalist, Tom Ryan, Rahealty, in memory of his late
mother and father, Bridie and John Joe Ryan, formerly of
11 Fianna Road, Thurles and of his former neighbours
now departed. Tom Ryan said ‘the poem is my
acknowledgement of my parents’ role in providing me
with a happy childhood and many wonderful memories
which I have written about in my books, about the
Watery Mall in Thurles. Every Christmas is a happy one
for me because of those memories. I guess what I am
saying is that if you have love you have everything. And
that nothing is more important than to love and be
loved and this does not stop at the grave.’
He added: ‘Reverend Shelly Manley-Tannis of the
United Church in Meadowood, in Winnipeg, Manitoba,
felt this poem would be appropriate for a special
Christmas Service they were having at Christmas for
people who are grieving a loved one or for whom
Christmas is difficult in other ways. Reverend Shelley
Manley-Tannis, a Minister in the United Church in
Dakota Street, Meadowood, wrote to me asking my
permission to share the poem at Christmas on the
occasion of their special ‘Longest Night’ service.
She wrote: ‘I recently came across your poem, ‘To Absent
Ones at Christmastime’ in the Comhaltas magazine that
I as a member receive here in Canada! I wondered if I
could have your permission to share this poem at
Christmas. I just thought your poem was so beautiful and
helpful. I imagined reading the poem during the Service
and possibly giving each person a copy giving you full
credit, of course.’
The Rev. Shelley Manley-Tannis and her husband were
in Dingle on holiday recently and just love it, though
they didn’t get to Tipperary. They are looking forward
to their next trip including a return visit to Dingle.
The Christmas poem which has been published also
in the ‘Irish Examiner’, ‘Kilkenny People’ and ‘The
Nationalist’, Clonmel, is one of many poems about
life in general in Tom Ryan’s book, ‘Cherry Blossoms –
Poems of a simple life’ which was, incidentally, launched
in Hayes Hotel, Thurles by Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú,
a good friend of Tom over many years since Tom was
involved with CCÉ.
Tom said: ‘I appreciate the kind remarks of Rev. Shelly
Manley-Tannis and, of course, I am happy like any poet
to share my thoughts and feelings. If those few words of
mine can be of assistance to anybody I am doubly happy.
It’s what life is all about. I am conscious of course of the
feelings of those folks in Meadowood to which the
Reverend Minister refers. My own and my wife’s family
have known grief in the recent past as have many other
poor souls of our acquaintance. But to me our dear
departed loved ones are our friends in Heaven and only a
thought away. As the old Irish saying or sean-fhocal goes
‘Is giorra cabhair Dé ná an doras (God’s help is nearer
than the door)’. Therefore, I know I shall have a happy
Christmas as always and wish the same to everybody else
joy, peace and happiness to you all – whether in
Meadowood, Canada, Thurles or Cashel, Co. Tipperary,
or, indeed, anywhere else on earth.
To absent ones at Christmas
Tom Ryan
We shall not in drawing up to the red-coaled fire
In a profusion of spirits in the hollied room
Your presence dishonour with forgetfullness,
But rather shall we in music and wine
And in the memory of another place and happy time
Toast you, our absent ones.
Nor as the carols reach to the Christmas stars
In praise of the glorious grandeur of the world,
Nor as childrens’ voices herald a new awakening
Shall we forget the warmth
Of a time of togetherness,
But in a quiet prayer, pure as snow crystals
Give thanks for what you were to our hearts
For what you’ll ever be
Unto the last Yuletide.
So, in a good spirit,
Glad for the plenty and the peace,
Joyous for our family and our friends.
With all the people of the earth
And in our merriment and mirth
We do remember you, our dear and absent ones.
– Tom Ryan ‘Iona’, Rahealty, Thurles, Co. Tipperary
28
TREOIR

RTÉ RELEASE
WILLIE CLANCY
RECORDINGS
RTÉ and RMG Chart have released a double CD made up of 65
recordings of Willie Clancy from the RTÉ Libraries and Archives
entitled Willie Clancy: The Gold Ring
The tracks on Willie Clancy: The
Gold Ring were selected by RTÉ
radio presenter and producer Peter
Browne and come from the RTÉ
Libraries and Archives as well as
number of other organisations and
private collectors. This double CD
is a most comprehensive collection
of Willie Clancy’s piping from a
period of over twenty years. It
brings together recordings from
many different places, times and
sources and provides the
opportunity to hear over two and a
half hours of his playing.
RTÉ Radio 1 presenter Peter
Browne comments: ‘As well as
paying homage to one of the
country’s most talented musicians
this production gives the listener
the chance to experience the
wealth of material in the RTÉ
Libraries and Archives.’
Willie Clancy was one of the
world’s finest uilleann pipers and
hearing the beauty of his playing
with his distinctive skills and
repertoire will leave no lover of
Irish traditional music unmoved.
The CDs are accompanied by a 32
page illustrated booklet giving a
history of Willie Clancy’s life, the
influences in his music, his learning
of the pipes and also a detailed
history of the various tunes. This
release will be regarded as one of
the most important of recent times
in the world of traditional music.
The CD notes provide an informed
insight into Willie Clancy the
man, his music and his influences:
Willie Clancy was an openminded,
avid listener and a deep
thinker about traditional music.
Many influences can be heard in
his playing which came from other
musicians and singers whose styles
and tunes made an impression on
him. At the same time, his playing
was highly personal and individual.
It had depth, emotion, passion,
humour, inventiveness, taste,
technique and tradition in
abundance.
Early Years
Willie Clancy was born in his
parents’ home just outside
Miltown Malbay in West Co.
Clare on Christmas Eve, 1918.
There was music on both sides of
his family: his mother, Ellen
Killeen, was a singer and
concertina player from a musical
family in Ennistymon and his
father was Gilbert Clancy, a singer
and flute player from Islandbawn,
a townland about four miles
outside Miltown Malbay.
The Clancys (Mac Fhlannchadha)
were an important family in this
area over generations. Poets and
musicians visited the family home
including, notably, the famous
travelling blind piper from Inagh,
Garret Barry. So strong was the
influence of Garret Barry on
Gilbert Clancy that much of his
music and valuable tradition
became available, through Gilbert,
to Willie Clancy even though
Willie was born years after Garret
Barry’s death at the very start of
the 1900s.
Around the age of five, Willie
learned his first tune on the tin
whistle, a double jig called Father
O’Flynn. He then took up the
flute on which by all accounts he
was a fine player. Indeed, before
ever taking up the uilleann pipes,
he was deeply immersed in
traditional music, having also
learned some fiddle playing and
dancing from Thady Casey of
Annagh. Willie was known as a
good dancer and one observer, a
good friend of his, Peter
O’Loughlin of Kilmayley, noted
that Willie’s steps on the dance
floor mirrored his fingered
phrasing on pipes and whistle.
Willie was also a fine lilter and
singer and all of these abilites
together with his openness and
enthusiasm for traditional music
must have had a bearing on how
he developed as such a complete
and rounded musician.
TREOIR
29

Influences on his music and
learning the pipes
One of the strong influences on
Willie Clancy was from Garret
Barry, the travelling piper who was
said to have been born in 1847,
the year of the Great Famine in
Ireland and who was much
respected by Willie’s father Gilbert
Clancy. Willie once said that his
father ‘…could never speak
unemotionally about Garret Barry
… he was everything my father felt
was great in Irish music.’ Having
earlier known Garret well, Gilbert
went to the United States of
America in 1890 and returned in
1899 at a time when Garret had
only a year to live. Willie’s sister,
Bridget Clancy, remembered
hearing that when Garret did pass
away, Gilbert made a coffin and
transported the remains home from
Ennistymon to be buried in Inagh.
The Leo Rowsome Pipes Quartet with Leo
Rowsome and his son Leon (front), Seán
Seery and Willie Clancy (back) pictured in
Leo’s home at 9 Belton Park Road,
Donnycarney, Dublin during a rehearsal
for a radio broadcast in the early 1950s.
(Courtesy: Helena Rowsome)
Some very distintive tunes and a
style of playing came to Willie
Clancy, through his father Gilbert
from Garret Barry. It must have
been unusual, before the era of
electronically recorded sound, to
learn music from a player whom
one has never seen or heard but this
30 TREOIR
undoubtedly did happen and a
substantial group of tunes and
elements of a particular style of
playing associated with Garret Barry
have been preserved in this way.
Another major influence certainly
came from the celebrated
travelling piper, Johnny Doran,
and surprisingly, this was the first
piper Willie Clancy every heard,
when he and his friend and fellow
musician, Martin Talty, heard
Johnny Doran playing at the
Miltown Malbay races in 1936.
Willie was instantly captivated by
Johnny Doran’s music and it
became a habit for the two young
enthusiasts to follow Johnny
around and listen to him playing
at different locations in Co. Clare.
They became friendly and on one
occasion when one of Johnny’s
horses put a foot through Willie
and Martin’s tent, Johnny invited
them to spend the rest of the night
in his caravan rather than be at
the mercy of the weather in the
open air.
Elements of Johnny Doran’s
playing are clearly to be heard in
Willie Clancy’s piping and Willie
once said of Johnny Doran: ‘…he
made the greatest impact on me –
it was the pure beauty of his music
that impressed me. In Johnny
Doran, feeling was all important:
‘Willie also reported that Johnny
had ‘…a shower of fingers…’ and
that ‘…he was put into the world
to discourage other pipers!’
Another big influence on Willie’s
music was surely all he was hearing
and dancing to as he grew up, in
particular the Casey family of
Annagh; fiddle player and dancing
master Thady Casey, fiddle player
John ‘Scully’ Casey of whom Willie
said: ‘…he was a first rate player
and made almost as great an
impression on me as Johnny Doran’
and Scully’s son Bobby, also an
excellent fiddle player and a very
good friend of Willie over the years
in Clare, Dublin and London.
Other influences were from pipers
Leo Rowsome, John Potts and
Séamus Ennis in Dublin and also
musicians he met during his time
in London, particularly his good
friend, Sligo flute player Roger
Sherlock. He also had an
acquaintance with some of the
traditional music recorded on
78rpm discs in America in the
early 1900s.
At the age of twenty, Willie
secured a practice set of uilleann
pipes from Felix Doran, a
celebrated piper who was a brother
of Johnny Doran. Willie compared
this experience to winning the
Sweepstake and said ‘I was the
richest man in the world that
night.’ He quickly became an
accomplished player and in 1947
travelled to Dublin in the company
of Seán Reid, an important figure
in traditional music in Co. Clare as
well as nationally, and Willie won
the Oireachtas piping competition
of that year. When Séamus Ennis
was working for Raidió Éireann, he
travelled to Co. Clare and Willie
Clancy was one of the musicians he
recorded for a feature programme
titled Behind the Cliffs of Moher.
At this time he was for a short
while a member of the Tulla Céilí
Band in their early years together,
playing uilleann pipes and
occasionally concert flute. At Féile
na Mumhan in Limerick in 1948, a
combination of himself playing
flute along with Bobby Casey
(fiddle) and Paddy O’Donoghue
(pipes) won the trio competition.
All three also played in the Tulla
band which was victorious that
year in the céilí band competition
at the same gathering.
Willie had followed his father into
the trade of carpentry and in 1951
he went to work in Dublin. At
this time he knew and learned

from Leo Rowsome whom he
described as ‘one of the finest
players I have known’ and he was
a member of Leo’s pipes quartet
who were frequent broadcasters on
Raidió Éireann at that time.
While in Dublin he travelled in
the company of other musicians,
singers and dancers including
fiddle player Pádraig Ó Mathúna
to Brittany in July 1951 as part of
the Irish delegation to An
Chomhdháil Cheilteach.
In 1953 he emigrated to London
where some musician friends of his
including Bobby Casey were now
living. This was an important
period in his life; it brought him
new musical experiences in a city
where construction work was
plentiful for the Irish. However,
much as he may have enjoyed
being there, he clearly never saw
England as a likely place of
permanent residence.
Roger Sherlock, the well known
Sligo flute player, shared a room in
Camden Town for a couple of
years with Willie, Galway fiddle
player Máirtín Byrnes and one
other Irish worker. Roger
remembers this accommodation as
being cramped, primitive and so
expensive that Willie strongly
resented having to pay a weekly
rent of thirty shillings.
It was a time when traditional
Irish music was growing in
popularity in London and some
very fine players from different
parts of Ireland were living and
working there. They were part of
the large wave of Irish emigration
which took place in the 1950s,
brought about by the post war
building boom in Britain and there
were legendary music sessions
taking place in pubs such as The
Bedford Arms and The Laurel Tree
(a pub in Camden Town which has
given its name to a fine reel and
was the place where Willie first met
Willie Clancy during a street recording for a television programme at the Fleadh Cheoil in Kilrush
in 1963 with (from left) Seán Ó Murchú (presenter), Joe Leary (fiddle), Seán ’ac Donncha (singer)
and Des O’Connor (flute player). (Copyright: RTÉ)
the famous Conamara traditional
singer Seosamh Ó hÉanaí).
Traditional Irish music in London
was an exclusively Irish,
underground scene and the music
historian Reg Hall recalls that it
was so unusual for English people to
be interested in traditional Irish
music that he and a couple of
English friends who used to
frequent the pub sessions were
sometimes introduced – in the heart
of London – as ‘the English boys’!
Another musician in London with
whom Willie played was fiddle
player and composer Michael
Gorman and it was through
Gorman that he met Ewan
McColl, the famous singer,
songwriter and broadcaster. He
recorded music with Gorman,
singer Margaret Barry and his
friend from Co. Clare, Bobby
Casey. However, he always made
frequent visits home to Co. Clare
and when his father, Gilbert, died
in 1957, it was the occasion for
Willie to return for good to
Miltown Malbay. He started steady
work, married Doreen Healy and
lived a settled life in the town for
what was to be the last fifteen
years of his life.
His Music
Many things can be heard in
Willie’s playing including the
influences already mentioned. It
has been said that when he was
playing tunes which he had learned
from particular musicians, that he
would think of these people as he
was playing and incorporate some
of their style and variations in his
rendering of the tune. His playing
was highly distinctive and personal
and a synthesis of all he had heard,
together with his own skills and sense
of how best to express the tune.
He had plenty of piping skills;
rolls, cranning, cutting, popping
and the ability to sensitively
choose and use open or closed
sequences of notes. His variations
and use of ornamentation were
particularly good – often
adventurous while remaining
tasteful. His sound could be
plaintive or strong and he knew
how to colour a note to good effect.
Slow airs were a favourite of his
and he is recognised as having
been a superb air player. He loved
to play them and his abilities as a
good singer must have had a
bearing on how well he was able
to capture and express the feeling
and mood of an air.
TREOIR
31

In both airs and dance music –
he was always at one with his
performance – never detached. His
playing was spontaneous and yet
he was always thinking about what
he could put into a tune by way of
variation and ornamentation to
achieve a more pleasing and
interesting effect for the listener
and for himself. His choices of
tunes also reflected his interest in
exploring the available range of
traditional music and he had a
large, varied and tastefully chosen
repertoire.
Willie Clancy and the Irish
Language
Willie could be light hearted,
humorous and playful at times –
he loved jokes, stories, wit and
wordplay. He also thought deeply
about his own piping and
traditional music in general.
Perhaps due to his ancestry, he had
a love for all aspects of Irish
culture with a particular regard for
the Irish language and a longing to
be able to speak it fluently. He had
a high regard for traditional singing
in Irish and definitely transferred
some of what he heard from seannós
singers into his piping.
He said in an interview published
in Dal gCais magazine in Co.
Clare that he felt a knowledge of
the Irish language to be essential
‘If one is to express the true spirit
of the music’ and in an interniew
on RTÉ Radio, when
complimented on his piping skills,
he replied that he ‘would give
it all to have the language!’
How much Irish he actually had
is an interesting question. Fiddle
player Pádraig Ó Mathúna, who
was a member, along with Willie,
of a group of Irish people who
travelled to Brittany in 1951,
remembers that Irish was the
only language spoken on the trip.
When RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta
came on the air in 1972, Willie
was a constant listener.
Piper Liam Ó Floinn who was
close to him over a long period
said he always felt that Willie had
more Irish than he was willing to
‘let on’ and that he certainly
understood Irish and in particular
the essentials of sean-nós singing.
His friend and fellow Clare
musician, Peter O’Loughlin,
commented that he should
disagree with Willie’s wish to
exchange his musical abilities for a
competence in Irish, stating that
while anyone could learn a
language, no one could every learn
Willie’s piping!
Final Years
The years after 1957 when Willie
returned to Co. Clare were happy
ones for him and he was musically
active. He recorded some ground
breaking 78 rpm records for Gael
Linn in the very early 1960s and
playing with the Laichtín Naofa
Céilí Band.
His piping was now frequently
heard in Miltown pubs such as
Friel’s, Quelly’s and Marrinan’s
and as interest in traditional music
accelerated there were pilgrimages
to Miltown by music enthusiasts,
particularly pipers, for the purpose
of meeting and hearing him. On
these occasions, there was much
music, good conversation and
banter – e.g. a friend of Willie’s
was John Moroney, known locally
as ‘The Farmer’ and Willie and he
used to act out fantasies whereby
unsuspecting visitors were told
that ‘The Farmer’ had to sell half
his farm in order to raise money
to send his brother Willie to
Milan to have his voice trained!
During this time Willie recorded a
good deal of music for Ciarán Mac
Mathúna of RTÉ Radio and
attended the early Fleadhanna
Cheoil and Tionóil of Na Píobairí
Uilleann. Liam Ó Floinn recalls a
mood of expectation that Willie
would bring with him some special
tune for them to learn which they
would not have heard before. One
tune introduced by Willie in this
way was his fine version of the
four part jig The Humours of
Ballyloughlin.
Every expectation was that Willie
would enjoy many more years as a
respected and honoured elder
statesman of uilleann piping in an
era when there was a strong
growth in the popularity of the
instrument. However, early in
1973, he suffered a heart attack
and having been hospitalised in
Ennis, and later Galway, he died
on 24th January of that year. He
was aged just over 54 years.
His funeral was a momentous
happening in the traditional music
world – a sad occasion with a large
attendance on a day of very heavy
rain. As the cortège moved slowly
from St Joseph’s Church to the
Ballard Cemetery in Miltown
Malbay, small rivers of rainwater
flowed back down the slope of the
Ballard Road, suitably matching the
mood of the day. Afterwards in the
pubs of the town, some extraordinary
music was played and every year on
the opening Sunday afternoon of
Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy which is
the annual summer music school
which has been held in his memory
for many years, some music is always
played at his graveside.
His influence on individual pipers
and other musicians and on ways
of interpreting and playing
traditional Irish music can be
widely heard today long after his
passing, and this comprehensive
set of recordings is a valuable
tribute to the memory on one of
our great traditional musicians.
– Peter Browne, Dublin, July 2009
32
TREOIR

SONNY MURRAY –
AN INSPIRATION TO IRISH
TRADITIONAL MUSICIANS
BRIAN PRIOR
This lovely piece was written by
Brian while he himself was very ill.
He passed to his eternal reward the
following month. This tribute to
Sonny Murray echoes Brian Prior’s
modesty, compassion and
appreciation for others. Ar dheis Dé
go raibh a anam uasal ceolmhar.
On Saturday, 14 th November 2009
the traditional music world lost
one of its greatest musical
personalities when Clare
concertina player, Sonny
(Stephen) Murray went to his
eternal reward.
I personally found Sonny’s funeral
Mass in a packed Ennis Cathedral
to be highly significant and
relevant to all involved with
traditional music, as well as being
a very moving event. The Mass
was concelebrated by a number
of priests from the Parish. Fr Joe
McMahon, President of St
Flannan’s College and a native
of Miltown Malbay, was the chief
concelebrant. Fr Joe plays
traditional music and has, down
through the years actively participated
in many of the traditional
activities (organising events such
as Fleadh Nua, etc) where Sonny
would also be involved.
Fr Joe commenced the ceremony
with a brief profile of Sonny who
was born in December 1920 in
Knockalough, Kilmihil, in West
Clare. Back in those early years
Sonny regularly played his
concertina for house dances which
often didn’t finish until the early
hours of the morning. In fact it
was coming home from one such
event that Sonny first met his
beloved Frances and gave her a lift
home on the bar of his bike. The
couple got married and emigrated
to Cricklewood, a district in
London much favoured by Irish
emigrants at the time. Irish
traditional music was going through
a halcyon period in the 1950s with
so many great musicians and Sonny
became totally immersed in this
rich cultural scene. However, the
draw of home became too much for
him and he returned to the Banner
County some few short years later
to settle in Ennis with Frances and
daughter, Helen.
Sonny got a job as a carpenter
with Clare County Council and it
wasn’t long until he became
deeply involved with traditional
music in the County with the likes
of legends such as Joe Cooley and
Seán Reid. Along with these
musicians he also became involved
with the setting up of Comhaltas
in Clare and as they say ‘the rest
is now history’.
Getting back to the mass, not only
did the Cathedral congregation
contain a veritable ‘who’s who’ of
musicians from the County but
most of the Kilfenora Céilí Band
along with Kieran Hanrahan and
Paul Roche of Stockton’s Wing
had brought along their
instruments. The first piece was
appropriately a lovely concertina
duet from Edel Fox and Timmie
Collins. This was followed by all
the musicians with Sonny Murray’s
Hornpipe, a favourite of his which
he always played along with Home
Ruler and Kitty’s Wedding. During
one of the quieter parts of the
Mass, the strains of the beautiful
slow air, Mná na hÉireann on
whistle echoed through the
Cathedral which again was very
appropriate as Sonny was also a
highly talented player on this
instrument. The funeral Mass
concluded with all musicians
present in an unforgettable
rendition of the Maid Behind the
Bar followed by Ed Reavey’s The
Hunter’s House, another two tunes
from Sonny’s repertoire.
A moving tribute to Sonny on
behalf of Comhaltas was delivered
by the Chairman of Cois na
hAbhna, Frank Whelan. Frank, a
long time friend of Sonny’s, spoke
TREOIR
33

of some of his unique
characteristics where he was just as
happy playing for a small group of
overseas visitors in a hotel lobby
in Ennis as he would be playing on
Tour Concerts – Sonny took part
in six Comhaltas Tours, including
the American Bicentennial in
1976 in Washington DC - or at
prestigious venues such as the Glór
Irish Music Centre. In addition to
his enormous musical contribution
such as anchor man at Fleadh Nua
sessions, etc. Sonny never had a
problem with rolling up his sleeves
when circumstances required this.
Not only could he be found
building outdoor stages for
fleadhanna but he was the man
who built the wooden floor in the
Cois na hAbhna cultural centre
something set dancers have
enjoyed down through the years to
present times. Finally Frank spoke
of Sonny’s ‘open house’ approach
for musicians throughout his
lifetime and in particular his
support and encouragement for
the younger musicians. Paul
Roche, who later went on to
marry his daughter Helen, and
Kieran Hanrahan were two typical
examples of musicians who
benefited from Sonny’s mentoring.
It shouldn’t be forgotten that
Sonny also had a great interest in
coursing. He was a regular
participant at Clare meetings
where he won many cups down
through the years for his
greyhounds.
Why was Sonny special Here
was a man born and brought up
in rural Ireland, who was totally
un-self conscious of his talents and
abilities from an early age, who
just immersed himself in the
music. Sonny was a modest but
very happy man who would be
totally unaware and intolerant of
‘musical pecking order’ but rather
revelled in the joys and beauty
of the music.
An inspiration – unfortunately we
will not see the likes of Sonny
again, but we can all take example
from him by making the best of
our talents and showing the
utmost respect for the music and
also for all other musicians.
Go raibh míle maith agat Sonny!
Sonny is survived and sadly missed
by his son Kevin; daughter Helen;
son-in-law Paul; grandchildren,
Eli, Dylan, Aaran and Jordan.
Seosamh Mac Gabhann
Cilmóibhí
There was a profound sense
of sadness in Kilmovee
following the untimely death
of Seosamh Mac Gabhann.
Seosamh was born in Straide
into a musical family, his late
father being a noted fiddle
player, a talent which brushed
off on him and his immediate siblings. He received his
early education at the local National School followed by
secondary education in St Gerald’s College in Castlebar,
graduating with a distinction and received a call to
teacher training at St Patrick’s Training College, Dublin.
After successfully completing his course, he obtained his
first teaching appointment at Glenhest National School.
Some years later he was appointed as Principal of
Clooniron National School.
It was during this time that Seosamh began teaching
music to his pupils, he himself a musical scholar playing
the fiddle. With the emergence of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí
Éireann, his enthusiasm blossomed. In 1973, he formed
an Under-11 Céilí Band. Within a short period of time,
Seosamh had five Céilí Bands under his direction – U-11,
U-14, U-16 and U-18 Céilí Bands and the Kilmovee
Senior Céilí Band. In 1976, the U-11 and U-14 Céilí
Bands won the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil in Buncrana
and again in 1984, the U-11 Céilí Band won the All-
Ireland Band Competition in Listowel.
Seosamh was a founder member of the Kilmovee CCÉ
branch founded in February 1977 and held the post of
Chairperson for many years. He was also a competent
actor and well-known playwright and producer. As
producer, he was in popular demand, not only in the
field of drama but also in the field of music. He was
producer of the All-Ireland Celebratory Concerts for the
All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil for three years in Sligo and two
years in Ballina which were successfully applauded. He
was a dedicated teacher, very generous with his time
and skills. He was also a community worker and a family
man. It is no wonder that he was named ‘Mayo man of
the Year’ in 1976 – a fitting tribute to a man who has
given so much to the presentation and promotion of
the traditional arts.
Seosamh served as Mayo County Chairperson of
Comhaltas and spent a like term as Connaught
Chairperson of CCÉ. He was appointed President of
the Connaught Council of CCÉ in 2004 and held this
post until his untimely death in October 2008. To
acknowledge the rich legacy that he gave us, we
rename our CCÉ Branch in his memory. Ní bheidh
a leithéad arís ann go deo. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a
anam dílis.
– Ann Marie Rooney
Chairperson, Craobh Sheosaimh Mhic Ghabhainn CCÉ
34 TREOIR

PADDY BERRY RECALLS THE
SINGING OLYMPICS
AT FLEADH ’09
Tadhg Ó Meachair All-Ireland singing champion 2009
A sudden shower of rain hurried
me along to St Joseph’s school ‘to
the singing’. The dash sobered me
up to realise the importance of the
event about to take place there a
short time later. ‘This must be the
place’ I noted, as the gravelly
voiced ‘stachmo’ from another
idiom famously remarked in the
film ‘High Society’, when entering
a room of famous singing
luminaries. Later the entranced
audience of this less famous venue
was to discover that this was
indeed ‘the place’.
Semi-circles of singing enthusiasts
and seasoned listeners, along with
first time attendees settled down
to hear old ballads sung by senior
men in the All-Ireland final of the
ballad competition at Fleadh
Cheoil na hÉireann, Tullamore,
Co. Offaly 2009. This competition
is for unaccompanied singing of
old style traditional Irish Ballads.
The contestants sing in front of an
enlightened audience, find their
own note and sing their ballads to
impress two competent
adjudicators. They are obliged to
sing one slow song and one lively
song. This was no place
for chaps, as they say in
south Wexford. ‘Men at
work’ was the
appropriate notice and
well they met our
expectation of them as
the competition
unfolded.
The MC for the event
was a gragarious veteran making us
all feel happy and comfortable for
the big event. He reminded us
continously to silence our phones,
which became an hour and a half
later like a nursery rhyme jingle.
‘I’ll say it again, turn off your
phones, ring-ting-a-ling-a dido’.
The jingle worked and the phones
remained silent. As the
competition got underway the
audience was also silenced by the
performances of the qualified
contestants. Now in its 60 th year,
the songs in English, men over 18
competition was about to begin.
The nervousness of the singers was
apparent from early on and their
faithful companion ‘the bottle of
water’ was a coolant for racing
hearts and dry throats.
The early singers set the standard
and the bar was continually being
raised as the competition edged
on. A ’98 song, ‘In 98’, was sung
by a ’98 song enthusiast who stuck
us to our seats with historic
nostalgia. This was no kid’s stuff,
the Olympics of men singing was
on here. Tipperary and Sligo
people were out in force both on
and off the stage. The famous
ballad ‘John Mitchell’ put down
an early marker. The singer – a
man about town, popular and
proud pleased the audience. He
sang in the Tipperary style that we
have become to know so well over
the years, straight, strong and
measured. This song was full of
moving historical content also. His
second song allowed us to sit back
in our seats and enjoy the lighthearted
‘Bullock Fair in Nenagh’.
The Sligo contestant later
appeared on stage, a youth of
tender years. A grown man
though, singing grown up songs. A
buzz of excitement enveloped the
audience. A swig of water between
the serious and the lively prepared
him for his trip home through the
fields with ‘Tumbling in the Hay’.
Joy bubbled. Next up was an exile,
another youth singing about the
‘Bonnán Buí’, a poor bird, who
searched in vain for water through
the frozen ice only to catch his
death from thirst. Cathal Buí
McGiolla Ghunna’s masterpiece,
set to an air that would tear your
heart out. The stylising of the old
ballad by the east coast singer gave
the impression, if we closed our
eyes, that we were seated on
Connemara commonage. It was
haunting. Then, appropriately, a
sip of water ready at hand, unlike
the poor bittern, to wet his lips for
his contrasting song.
TREOIR 35

Tadhg Maher (center), winner of the senior
mens English singing 2007, pictured with
two of his All-Ireland winning pupils Cian
Hanamy (left) and Martin Debney (right)
The reigning champion from Co.
Meath performed another ‘fowl’
ballad, telling the sad story of the
murder of ‘Nell Flatherty’s Drake’.
No amount of beverage, water or
otherwise could drown the sorrows
of the unfortunate poulterer,
whose bird was so cruelly killed.
This was strong stuff ‘it hath the
primal curse upon it’. The buzz
now got busier. ‘Who’ll win this’
muttered my neighbour. No-one
knew. At this point it was only an
issue for the adjudicators. The
packed hall smiled in satisfaction
for this ballad contest was worth
coming a long way to hear. All the
singers here were winners.
The doorman, a local volunteer,
shepherded in his flock with due
courtesy, sometimes from without
more times from within ‘his’ door.
As the last contestant offered his
list of eight ballads to the judges
for their selection, the doorman
was overheard telling the
latecomers ‘only standing room
now’, it didn’t matter. The last
singer had sung his two ballads
and all settled back to await the
final judgement. The audience
were also engaged in their own
adjudication of the nine singers
who had competed for the Daly
Shield. ‘Who would it be’
The MC stood up, ‘there’s a recall’
he said. ‘What!’ Was that a pin or
a penny I heard drop to the floor
We had indeed heard right, a
recall of two contestants for the
title. The judges wanted to hear
more. This was too close to call.
One ballad each in its entirety was
the adjudicator’s advice. The big
Tipp man was first up, his
selection was Siggerson Clifford’s
famous ballad ‘The Boys of Barr na
Sráide’. A ballad I first heard at
the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil in
Enniscorthy in 1967 when I was in
the company of Dolly McMahon
and the legendary Willie Clancy,
the piper, who sang the song. Not
having heard it before I asked him
to write it out for me. It was sent
to me before the week was out, for
which I was most grateful. The
Tipp man’s singing was a
measured, rounded Tipperary style,
annunciated with honed precision,
not given to unnecessary
ornamentation. He sang in perfect
pitch my father used to say and
would, according to the smart
people in the room, edge it.
The Sligo youth next appeared
gulping a sip from the water bottle
and straight into ‘The
Kilnamartyra Exile’, pins and
pennies again and many open
mouths of wonderment from the
packed and privileged audience.
The ballad was composed by John
Browne from Kilnamartyra, Co.
Cork who passed away in the
1970’s. This was a big song
appropriate for singing on big
occasions. In contrast we heard a
musical voice with a vivid
interpretation of the emigrant
ballad. This youth dropped a curl
of grace notes on the first syllable
starting the final verse.
‘Sweet Boyhood Recollections
they will ever fondly bind me’.
It was a magic moment. This was
indeed a serious performance.
Mnemosyne, the muse of memory,
assisted him on this occasion
however, having being AWOL for
his earlier offerings. I learned later
this man is a seasoned campaigner
both in ballad singing and music.
It showed. The competition was
now over, a decision was reached
by two competent adjudicators,
who knew the difference.
1st Prize: Tadhg Ó Meachair,
Ros Cré, Co. Thiobraid Árann
2nd Prize: Cian Ó Ciaráin,
Baile an Mhóta, Co. Sligigh
3rd Prize: Pádraig Ó Cionnaith,
Baile Mór, Co. na hIarMhí
Out in the humming streets and
Inn’s songs and ballads could be
heard. Impromptu sessions would
start up at the drop of a hat.
Organised sessions at the singing
clubs, especially at the Court
Hotel gave a platform to the Irish
traditional singers of the world.
Never at any Fleadh of the fifty
I have attended on the trot was
there such a number of songs sung
and if Tullamore were slow to
react to the huge numbers of
singers over the previous two
years, this was its finest hour.
Traditional singing in English as
we have come to know it over the
decades has, like all forms of
music, spread out in all directions
to influence other genre of song in
its ever increasing exposure to a
more diverse community. Its core,
however, is still rock hard and
stubbornly immovable. Listening
to their own accompaniment was a
36
TREOIR

pleasure indeed. Taking a
philosphical view, one is content
in the fact that they are in safe
hands and ready to be handed
onto generations yet to come.
Many of the well anchored big
ballads were given a good airing
over the week and some notable
performances stood out. The
Saturday morning coffee break at
Jenny’s Coffee Shop in the
shopping mall off William Street
was a good start for a group of
singers cobbled together off the
streets. Two or three rounds of
songs brought the best out of
Jenny, who served a
complimentary round of coffee as a
thank you. It was a lovely gesture.
A passerby remarked ‘This is a real
Fleadh’. Cameras captured the
group for posterity and the tape
recorders clicked too. Rita
Gallagher from Donegal was at her
best all weekend and her singing
of the famous, if seldom heard,
‘The Blackbird’ was joy beyond
pleasure to hear. Her warbling
ornamentation along with her
strong, voluminous, prolonged and
craftily nasalised lower register notes
mesmerised her many admirers.
Another regular Fleadh and
session singer Seán Breen from
Ballybunion, Co. Kerry was in great
voice too and his singing of ‘John
Twiss from Castleisland’ left one in
no doubt that this was as authentic
as it gets. The drone of his unusual
nasal sound gives richness to this
old style ballad singing we seldom
hear nowadays. No affectation
here. Would that I lived in Kerry!
Frances Rodgers from
Downpatrick, Co. Down had good
songs for every call, mostly big
songs. The ‘Farmer Michael Hayes’
chase around Ireland by the
landlord’s posse, sung in the Court
Hotel session ended suddenly
when he absconded to America
from Castlebar, giving everyone
the slip. Frances’ air to this story
was unusual for the southern
Ireland audience. The story didn’t
change though. Later in Joe Lee’s
other bar she sang ‘Laurel Hill’.
This was a quality performance.
A Fleadh marker. A Coleraine, Co.
Derry ballad telling about a soldier
coming home from Waterloo and
meeting again his lover who
waited patiently for him. An old
song indeed, ‘The joy bells of Erin
did ring and be merry’.
In the same venue on Monday
afternoon, Dominick Kelly from
Dungiven, Co. Derry while singing
about his own ‘Banks of the Roe’
added some nuances to his singing.
His pronunciation of ‘D’ ending
words, shaping a droning ‘M’
sound by nasalising and
prolonging the music to link to
the next line was noticable. It’s an
old device and is probably done
subconsciously. It had that
difference though, which sets his
style apart.
There were 100’s of other singers
who sang some remarkable ballads
and whose contribution over the
years has advanced the tradition
immeasurably and saved thousands
of old songs and ballads from being
forgotten forever. From the north
we heard pleasant songs, plaintive
from the south, racy from the east
and florid from the west, all
contributing to the patchwork
heritage of our traditional arts.
‘Tullamore of the thousand songs’
Tony Monaghan triumphantly
cheered as Tommy Dunne, himself
and the commander-in-chief, the
newly crowned champion Tadhg
Ó Meachair sipped coffee on
Monday evening recounting the
positive contribution they had
made to this world event.
We owe a debt of gratitude to
these people and their friends for
organising these sessions.
Thank you all very much.
SKIBBEREEN CELEBRATE 40 TH ANNIVERSARY
Skibbereen Comhaltas recently celebrated the foundation of their
branch in 1969. A special weekend of activities was organised to
celebrate the occasion including a gala dinner and céilí, an archival
display, a youth session and a traditional mass.
Guest of honour at the dinner was the last surviving member of
Skibbereen branch Pat Moloney and his daughter Ann from Bantry.
It was recounted how Pat having attended Comhaltas sessions in
neighbouring areas initiated Skibbereen branch along with his fellow
musicians Joe O’Sullivan, Mick Hussey and Carthach Ó Cuilleanáin
all who have since gone to their eternal reward.
Pictured: Uachtarán of Skibbereen Comhaltas, Kester Kelly presenting the
last surviving founder member of Skibereen branch Pat Moloney (centre) and his daughter Ann (right) with a special
presentation on the occasion of the branch’s 40 th anniversary recently.
TREOIR
37

Fáilte Uí Cheallaigh
Is gnáthach ar ócáidí mar Fhleadhanna agus mórchruinnithe
eile go mbíonn duine uasal éigin ag
fearradh fáilte agus céad míle fáilte roimh an slua. Pé
ar bith é an ‘Ceallach’ san, is cosúil go raibh ainm na
flaithiúlachta air. Mar codarsna ar sin, ní dócha go
gcuirfidh an duine céanna fáilte roimh an tinnrimh le
‘Fáile an duine dofeallaigh’ a théann mar seo:
‘Suigh, mar a bhfuil deifir ort,
Ach ar ndóigh, tá,
Ná hith an t-arán briste,
Is ná bris an t-arán slán.
Dá mbeinn-se i do thigse
Mar atáir-se i mo thig-se, rachainn abhaile,
Ach mar sin féin, fan go lá.’
Loosely translated ‘The welcoming of the unwelcome
person’ goes something like this:
‘Sit, if you’re not in a hurry,
But of course you are,
Don’t eat the broken bread,
And don’t break the unbroken,
If I were in your house, as you are in my house,
I’d go home.
But all the same, wait till day (break).’
Wherever that person lived, he certainly did not come
from Ceapach Mór na Féile.
In response to an article of mine ‘Níl Gaeilge agam’
published in 1999 Clár na Fleidhe sa Cheapach Mhór,
and reprinted in Treoir, No. 3, Nov. ’99, I received
a most interesting reply from Mr James Gill, Staten
Island, New York.
The letter from this ‘exile from Éirinn’ contains
so many examples of Irish words still living in his
memory, that I suggest that it be reproduced in full
without alteration. James also sent a cutting from his
local newspaper the ‘Staten Island Sunday Advance’,
in which a committee raised a ‘slew’ of pointless
questions. This word slew is, of course, the Irish word
‘sluagh’ / ‘slua’ meaning a ‘crowd’, as in Ballinasloe –
Béal Átha na Sluagh – which town is still crowded for
its famous Horse Fair.
Tá an Ghaeilge beo fós, fiú i Nua Eabhrach.
– Piaras Mac Siacuis
Seo mar a bhí sa litir:
I read your article in ‘Treoir’, No. 3, Nov ’99 ‘Níl
Gaeilge Agam’ with interest. The story that I heard of
the cow was that the cow was overjoyed at having
survived March that she ran around and jumped for
joy ‘Cos in airde’, and while doing so, her horns got
stuck in the bog or brushes and the cold weather
killed her. The moral of the story I think is ‘don’t
count your chickens until the eggs are hatched.’
A name for this time of year is ‘Gearaveen’ which
came from ‘Gairbhín na gcuach’ or ‘Garbh mí na
gcuach’, either the rough weather of the cuckoo or the
rough month of the cuckoo.
Common words used here are galore: go leor –
abundance; lackey: lacaí – companion; kibosh: caip
báis – death mask (shroud); smithereens: smidiríní –
fragments; slew: sluagh – a crowd; gligín: a silly girl;
giobal: a rag; piscín: a kitten; meas: respect; spairt: a
damp sod of turf; ciarán: a basket used on a donkey
to take turf out of the bog; gearrach: small bird or
nestling; piseog: superstition; ciotóg: left-handed
person; gabhlóg: a fork in a tree; flúirseach:
extravagant; márla: play-dough; meigeal: a goatee;
sciortán: a tic; ciaróg: a beetle; gob: beak, as in shut
your gob; gabhairín rua: a bird that make a sound like
a goat heard near rivers especially in the evening
hours; spailpín: a labourer; gaiscíoch: said to someone
who was boastful; cábóg: a rustic country fellow;
taoibhín: a small neat patch that shoemakers put on
shoe uppers; cochán: an effeminate man; souirín: a
nice bitter-tasting broadleaf plant we used to eat;
práitíniúrachán: a small potato the size of a hazel nut
that grew under a white flower; bainnicín: a plant that
had a milky substance when crushed, crush a bag of it
at a ford in a small stream and it would suffocate the
trout in the pool below; geosadán: the buachallán buí:
they call it a weed and a weed it may be, but not to
the fairies.
– James Gill, Staten Island, New York
Clár na Fleidhe, Co. Luimní
38 TREOIR

Comhaltas presentation to the
NI Assembly Committee
for Culture, Arts and Leisure
During the summer of
2009 Comhaltas Ceoltóirí
Éireann welcomed an
invitation from the
Committee for Culture,
Arts and Leisure to meet
with the group in
November of the same
year. The purpose of the
meeting was for
Comhaltas to orally brief the committee on the work and goals of the
organisation. This was also seen as a first step to formal recognition by the
Northern Ireland Assembly of Comhaltas and their work.
The delegation from Comhaltas who attended the meeting were
Uachtarán CCÉ Séamus Mac Cormaic, Ardrúnaí Tomás Ó Maoldomhnaigh
and Reachtaire Brendan McAleer.
The committee acknowledged the role of Comhaltas in the promotion of
Irish music and the other aspects of Irish culture it services. The majority of
the committee also acknowledged Comhaltas’ community activities and
the tourism benefits Comhaltas delivers.
The committee acknowledged the high level of volunteerism within the
organisation, the professional administration and the fact that the
organisation has grown to almost 50,000 members. The committee also
recognised the recent work completed with regard to the Development
Programme.
In conclusion, this has been a very positive and constructive first meeting
with the committee and has sent Comhaltas on a road to governmental
recognition for its work. Mura gcuirfidh tú san earrach ní bhainfidh tú san
fhómhar. (If you do not sow in the spring, you will not reap in the autumn)
COMHALTAS IN
MOSCOW
Dundalk’s Oriel Centre at heart
of Rich Cultural Region
Peadar Ó Ruairc
The new Oriel Centre of Comhaltas
Ceoltóirí Éireann in Dundalk is at the
heart of a richly endowed cultural
region. In the dark era of the penal laws
renowned poets such as Séamus Dall
Mac Cuarta, Peadar Ó Dornáin and
Art MacCooey enliven in the Dundalk
hinterland. But even as far as north
Meath in Turlough O’Carolan’s native
area a fascinating poet tradition in
Irish and English flourished far into the
19 th century.
Colourful poets such as Hugh
McDonnell and Paddy Reilly of
Drumconrath, Michael Clarke, Peter
Coalrake and Philip Thornton of Nobber,
Peter Gallegan of Ardamagh, Paul
O’Brien of Kilmainham Wood, James
Tevlan of Moynalty, Peter Daly of
Camaross, Liam Kearns of Oristown and
numerous others give striking expression
to the teaming life of pre-famine Ireland.
With humour and passion they respond
to the issues of their times. The realities
of love and war, nature and famine,
poverty, exile and a deep sense of native
place and religion all come vividly alive
in their verse.
In the wake of the ruinous penal laws
Ireland’s cultural identity became
fragmented. However Fr Paul O’Brien the
schoolmaster poet of Kilmainham Wood
bore the torch of Gaelic learning from
the Meath hedgeschools into the new
college of Maynooth where he became
the first professor of Irish in 1804.
Fr O’Brien was also active in the Gaelic
Society of Dublin in 1807 and the
Iberno Celtic Society in 1819, two of
the forerunners of the Gaelic League.
He have vital help to Edward O’Reilly
who wrote a pioneering book ‘Irish
writers’ 1820. Likewise in Ulster the
poet and scholar Hugh McDonnell of
Drumconrath and the notable scribe
Peter Gallegan of Ardamagh,
Kilmainham Wood both worked in
Belfast compiling Irish records for the
renowned Robert McAdam. McAdam
was a liberal Presbyterian businessman
with a passionate concern for Gaelic
heritage who has been termed ‘the first
Gaelic leader.’ Hence Meath poet
scholars were active north and south in
the key role of transmitting knowledge
of Irish Celtic past and giving a grasp of
the true culture of the ordinary people,
these were vital ingredients for the
nationalist thinkers and poilitical leaders
who were to forge a new Irish identity
in English in the 19 th and 20 th centuries.
– Irish News
TREOIR 39

MEITHEAL
SUMMER SCHOOL
of high competence is required to
keep up with the level of activity
involved and grasp the various
innovations. Applicants usually
send a recording of themselves
with their application in order to
help stream them into classes.
Contacts
To apply for Meitheal, one
downloads the application form
from www.tradweek.com or write
to Garry Shannon, Ruan,
Co. Clare for information.
Tel: 087-670 4465. E-mail:
meitheal2@eircom.net
NB Closing date is 12 th Marth.
The Legendary Pat Finn
Meitheal Summer School started
out in 2004 as an experiment
based on Folkworks residential
Summer School in Durham in
the North of England. The idea of
bringing large numbers of people
together for trad workshops is not
new. However the notion of a
5-day lockup in a boarding school,
constantly exploring diverse and
new ways of approaching Irish
traditional music did capture the
imagination. The idea of coupling
this with the presentation of
awards and opportunities to appear
at other events and festivals
proved an interesting innovation.
Meitheal has become a fixture on
the Comhaltas calendar and many
young artists trace the origin of
their music addiction right back to
their sojourn at Villiers in July.
Oisín Mac Diarmada
The tutors for 2010 include Cora
Smyth, and Oisín Mac Diarmada
on fiddle, on flute Brian Finnegan
and Kieran Munnelly, Karen Tweed
on piano accordion, on harp
Michelle Mulcahy, Luke Daniels on
button box, Dessie Kelliher on
banjo, Jack Talty on concertina,
and finally returning for the 2nd
year in a row Tom Doorley to work
with the orchestra.
For further information on the
tutors both past and present, visit
the website on www.tradweek.com
Obsession!
This Summer School is not for
everyone. There is a warning on
the website www.tradweek.com:
Don’t come unless you have a trad
obsession! Certainly, a prior level
Pat Finn of Roscommon who died
recently was one of the best loved
traditional musicians of all time.
His genial disposition, his love of
Ireland and her culture and his
encouragement of young
musicians are legendary.
Pat was a regular performer at
Fleadhanna Ceoil and Fleadh Nua.
He spent many years in Britain
and played a central role in the
musicmaking there. With his wife
Roisín he was a tireless worker
in Comhaltas.
Our photo shows Pat encouraging
a young musician. Young people
flocked to him for advice and help
with their musicmaking.
Ar Dheis Dé go raibh a anam
uasal ceolmhar.
40
TREOIR

BRIAN PRIOR
A TRUE GENTLEMAN
COMHALTAS MOURNS
THE PASSING OF
PROJECTS OFFICER
BRIAN PRIOR
BREANDÁN Ó NUALLTÁIN
Teach me half the gladness
That thy brain must know–
Such harmonious madness
From my lips would flow,
The world should listen then,
as I am listening now!
– P. B. Shelley, ‘To a Skylark’,
The Golden Treasury. 1875.
Francis T. Palgrave, ed.
‘Brian always made you feel as if
he’d been waiting for you to arrive
and had kept you a seat. And
then made you feel as if the night
just wouldn’t have been nearly as
good if you hadn’t turned up.’
Enda Cloke.
Those words describe my friend,
Brian Prior, a Comhaltas colleague
who tragically passed away on the
14th of December, 2009. He was a
great man, Brian, in the way that
great men often are: self-effacing
and civil, but a Celtic Tiger
himself when roused. His politics
were strong but didn’t come
between him and his music. His
opinions on the social issues of
contemporary Ireland were always
worth a listen, leaning against the
counter in the Comhaltas kitchen.
His religion was deep-rooted and
he felt the Spirit keenly. This is
one way we know our great men
of music: when we know their
convictions in no uncertain
terms, but have never heard them
come to an argument over them.
Not when there were tunes to
be played.
I first met Brian, of course, in a
session. Knowing almost nothing
about Irish traditional music, I was
recommended to come to a place
called Cultúrlann na hÉireann in
Monkstown for the ‘slow Tuesday
session’. Arriving nervously with a
new, inexpensive flute and very
little in the way of knowledge, the
bearded, genial fiddler invited me
into the circle and explained that
the group would be working
through some standard tunes at a
moderate tempo. The tunes came
out of ‘Foinn Seisiún’, a tunebook
available at the bar. As it
happened, I didn’t have the e10
for the book with me, but Brian
brought me one from behind the
bar to use, failing throughout the
conversation to mention that he
TREOIR
41

had developed the books in
question. I began my tentative
warbling with the group, and at
the conclusion of the night Brian
told me that he was impressed
with how quickly I picked up the
tunes. I was hooked. What a truly
marvellous thing, to sit down
with strangers (or perhaps, with
‘friends you just haven’t happened
to meet yet’) and share some
music and craic.
For the next several years, I spent
every Tuesday (and then every
Wednesday) sitting in the
Cultúrlann bar next to Brian,
listening to him play tirelessly
through a core repertoire of tunes.
Brian’s sessions were wonderfully
relaxed affairs. He liked to keep
things on track, but always singled
out visitors and regulars alike to
share a special party piece, a solo
or a song. And as one session
banjo player noted, ‘If you only
had two tunes, Brian would sit
there and play your tunes, even if
they’d been played twice already
that night.’ Another said, ‘If you
had three notes, Brian would sit
there and play with you until you
had six. And he’d be delighted
with you.’
When Brian wanted to make a
CD of the Foinn Seisiún book,
I jumped in to help. These
recording sessions were unique.
Brian would invite almost
everyone to show up, and we spent
months meeting every Thursday
night for a couple of hours to
rehearse and record. But Brian
insisted that what we needed
wasn’t technical perfection, but
the true feeling of a moderately
paced session. He wanted each
person to contribute, and asked
me not to single out any particular
instrument in the ensemble.
Sometimes Brian would invite so
many people that we had too
many instruments to make a clean
recording, but
that was just
part of the fun.
The Foinn
Seisiún series,
now with three
books and
accompanying
CDs, is now
used by
thousands
around the
world as an
introduction to
Irish traditional
session playing. Orders still come
in every day from New York and
Boston, France and Tokyo.
Brian’s online persona,
Bannerman, carried to the
Internet the sense of rightness
which he brought to his sessions.
On thesession.org, a popular
Internet discussion site started by
Clare man Jeremy Keith,
Bannerman kept his cool, letting
his natural good manners carry
through into the sometimes
heated discussions of tune
provenance, competition, music
exams and Comhaltas itself. His
good-natured voice came through
as he made his points gently and
without rancour. Even those who
disagreed with him respected his
opinions and his knowledge, as
shown in the dozens of heartfelt
comments posted following his
passing.
In a 2004 article in the New York
Times, editor Karen Freeman made
a note of Brian’s ethos: ‘The goal
is to help aspiring players learn
enough on their own to handle
the give and take of informal
social sessions.’ Brian said. That
was Brian’s ethos, and his reason
for doing what he did.
As an expatriate in Bedford in the
UK, Brian was involved with
organising his local Comhaltas
branches. While there he taught
Brian at one of his legendary Cultúrlann sessions
himself Irish using the Buntús
Cainte series of books from An
Gúm. He returned to Ireland,
settling in Ennis, Co. Clare, where
he quickly became an indispensable
part of the music scene. All of his
children followed him into
Comhaltas, and John, Anna and
Aisling Prior all worked stints in
Cultúrlann na hÉireann.
His funeral Mass was held in Ennis
on December 17, 2009, presided
over by the priest who brought
Brian onto the Fleadh Nua
committee. As was entirely
appropriate, with many of the
luminaries of Irish traditional
music in attendance, music for the
Mass was provided by members of
his regular session group, and by
his friends Eimear Arkins and
Frank Whelan.
Brian is survived by his wife,
Anne, and his children John,
Anna and Aisling. We at
Comhaltas would like to thank his
family in particular for sharing
Brian with us over the years. He
chose to use his natural gifts in a
way that would bring joy and
comfort to so many others, and his
memory remains an example and a
challenge for us all.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
42
TREOIR

Comhaltas mourns as
Brian Prior is laid to rest
Monday December 14 th 2009 was a
very sad day in Comhaltas circles, as
it was the day that Brian Prior
passed away peacefully at Milford
Hospice in Limerick.
Brian was born in Knox, Ballinamore,
Co. Leitrim, and at the age of eleven
he emigrated, with his parents and
family, to Birmingham in the UK. It
was here that he first joined
Comhaltas where he was actively
involved in the branch in Bedford.
Having finished school, he started
work with British Telecom as a
technician and this is where he met
his wife Ann, who also worked for
BT.A conscientious worker, he rose.
through the ranks to supervisor and
when an opportunity of early
retirement arose in 1993 he happily
took it up and returned with Ann
and their three children, John, Anna
and Aisling, to live in Clare.
In 1998 Brian began working for
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann as a
Projects Officer, and among the
many things he will be remembered
for were his organisational skills,
particularly at Fleadh Nua and at
Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann. A
friendly and welcoming face at
every Comhaltas session, most of
Brian’s work went largely unnoticed,
like the annual Seisiún programme,
and the numerous concerts he
produced at the Cultúrlann,
particularly the tribute ones at the
annual Tionól Leo Rowsome.
At the Funeral Mass at St Joseph’s
Church in Ennis, where the
congregation was a veritable who’s
who in the Irish Traditional Music
World, Fr Joe McMahon, Chief
Celebrant, spoke in his homily of
Brian living in an almost magical
world of idealism, gentleness and
courage. He said, ‘We sometimes
love those who are not admirable,
and we admire those who are not
loveable, but Brian was both
admirable and loveable’.
It was fitting too that Brian’s friends
and session colleagues provided the
music for the funeral mass, all of
which came from Brian’s ‘Foinn
Seisiún’ books. Eimear Arkins,
Sorcha Curtin, and I performed
solo pieces at the mass, while Tony
O’Loughlin sang a beautiful
traditional song, as the large
congregation filed past the coffin
and sympathised with the family.
The Ard-Stiúrthóir of Comhaltas
Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú spoke of
Brian’s inspiration to all who encountered
him and went on to describe
Brian as a wonderful person of deep
faith, who loved his family and was
loyal to the nation. He was gentle
and unassuming, yet he was a
powerful force for Comhaltas.
During a tribute on Clare FM’s
Wheels of the World traditional
music programme with Pat Costello,
Joe O’Connor, Reachtaire an
Chomhaltais, described Brian as a
most generous person, whose coolheaded
approach added balance to
any discussion.
Pat Costello added that Brian had a
deep understanding of, and an
undying commitment to, the promotion
of Irish Traditional Music, he
went on to say that he was always
fascinated by Brian’s ability to search
out the odd and unusual tunes.
Brian was a regular contributor to
‘thesession.org’ discussion site on
the internet. In the days that
followed his death the site was
flooded with tributes to him from all
over the world. One of the many
contributors was Helena Rowsome,
who described Brian as a gentleman
of many talents whose enthusiasm
and congeniality endeared him to all.
Brian’s heart and soul were in
Comhaltas. He could always be
counted on when a dignified
response was required to some
erroneous statement, or less than
reasonable comment regarding
traditional music or its promotion.
His energy and positive attitude
were infectious, which accounts
for his highly successful session
groups at Cultúrlann na hÉireann
in Monkstown and at Cois na
hAbhna in Ennis.
I counted Brian among my closest
friends, we met almost every
weekend mainly to play a few
tunes, but there was always that
required discussion on Fleadh Nua. I
think we resolved more issues at our
sessions than we did at the regular
Fleadh Nua meetings. Brian was a
gentle soul who gave of his time
and talent freely, expecting nothing
in return. I will miss his comradeship,
his music and his wise counsel.
Ar Dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal.
– Frank Whelan, Cois na hAbhna
A Hive of Activity at Cois na nAbhna
Cois na hAbhna, the Comhaltas Regional Resource Centre for the
mid-west, has quickly established itself as a Mecca for Ireland’s
cultural traditions. Under the direction of Doreen Norris, the centre is
a hive of activity with a full programme of education and performance.
Since it was officially opened last year by Minister Éamon Ó Cuiv,
Cois na hAbhna is now extensively used by many community groups.
Our picture shows Niall Ó Donnchú (third from left), Assistant
Secretary General of the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism which
provided generous grant-aid for the centre. Included in the picture are
Pádraig Ó Lideadha, Seosamh Ó Conchubhair, Doreen Norris, Tomás
Ó Maoldomhnaigh, Eibhlín Uí Mhaoldomhnaigh, Rory Casey,
Liam Jones and the late Brian Prior.
TREOIR 43

THE
HORNPIPE MAN
Another year and another stalwart
of traditional music has gone to
his eternal rest. It was on the 13 th
of September that a large crowd,
from all parts of the country,
gathered to pay their last respects
to a fine musician, Jimmy Herron.
Jimmy was an accomplished
button accordion player coming
from Drummurrer near the banks
of storied Lough Neagh in County
Tyrone. This is an area steeped in
history and a bastion of traditional
music – Jimmy Herron fitted well
into that tradition.
I first met Jimmy at a Fleadh
Cheoil na hÉireann in Listowel
many years ago and an immediate
friendship developed, Jimmy was
that sort of person. He was
amiable with a great sense of
humour and was always a welcome
visitor at Fleadh or seisiún.
There was a plethora of talented
musicians in that caravan park at
that time: Antóin Mac Gabhann,
Dinny McLoughlin and the Judge
family to name just a few. I recall
Jimmy saying that we didn’t need
to go up the town at all – the
music was that good in the field.
Jimmy had a nice relaxed style of
playing, steady and unrushed and
his excellent timing was often
commented upon. He was very
fond of hornpipes, so much so that
he acquired the affectionate title
of the ‘Hornpipe man’. He also
possessed a fine singing voice and
often gave a grand rendering of
his favourite song ‘The Old
Dungarvan Oak’.
Jimmy was a dedicated Comhaltas
man travelling far and wide to
attend functions, seisiún and
Fleadhanna, even during his long
protracted illenss. He was
chairperson of the Coalisland/
Clonoe Branch for eight years and
visitors were always made very
welcome. His daughter Madonna,
a fine flute player, carries on the
musical tradition, having
competed in many All-Ireland
competitions, a fact of which he
was immensely proud.
Jimmy died on the 11 th
September, not all that long after
attending the Tullamore Fleadh at
the end of August. The
determinaton of the man was
indomitable for he had to be
physically supported by his wife
Mary and family when I met him.
The last words he spoke to me
were, ‘I just had to get to the
Fleadh, Michael, to see my
friends,’ that to me exemplified
Jimmy Herron.
Fr Benidict Fee officiated at the
requiem mass and paid tribute to
the talents Jimmy possessed and
reflected on the loyalty he had for
his family and dedication towards
his religious duties. At the graveside
musicians played a last farewell –
among them Tommy John Quinn
himself terminally ill and shortly to
follow his long time friend to that
big seisiún above. Jimmy will be
sadly missed by his many friends.
Our heartfelt sympathy to his dear
wife Mary and family.
Go ndéana Dia trócaire ar do
anam uasal.
– MJ McCullough
(Left to right) Liam Ó Cuinneagáin, Oifigeach Comórtas,
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, Mary McBride, Cathaoirleach
Melbourne Branch CCÉ, with Lt General Dermot Earley,
Chief of Staff of the Irish Defence Forces, who officially
opened the Keadue (Co. Roscommon) International
Comhaltas Harp Festival in August 2009.
General Earley was a star footballer with Co. Roscommon
in the 70s & 80s. Mary McBride is a native of Co. Mayo.
44 TREOIR

THE MUSIC MAN FROM
DERRYLAUGHAN
The seisiún is over and the music
man has gone to his eternal rest.
No one deserves the title of music
man better than the man from
Derrylaughan on the shores of
Lough Neagh in Co. Tyrone.
Traditional music was the imbibing
passion of Tommy John Quinn –
he loved his music and he lived his
music, travelling far and wide to
attend seisiún or Fleadh.
For well over half a century he
manifested his musical talents and
was one of the most recognisable
accordionists in the country. He
was the personification of the
traditional musician as exemplified
by his appearance so often in the
Comhaltas magazine Treoir. The
photographers knew they had the
perfect picture in Tommy John
Quinn. He was a street troubadour
preferring the open-air seisiún to
the crowded atmosphere of the
public house, he always sought the
comfort of a sheltered street corner
or a vacant shop doorway for a
tune. Tommy John once told me
that the best listeners were on the
street, for they gave their undivided
attention to the music and the
musicians. He had a great repertoire
of tunes – someone only had to
mention a tune and Tommy John
would oblige – and maybe give two
versions of it! He would often add,
‘it’s hard to beat the old tunes!’
Tommy John played with a number
of céilí bands in his day and indeed
played with the Ardmore Céilí
Band up until recently.
His son John, a talanted flute
player himself, related how he and
his father, as late as 2007, attended
the Smithsonian Festival in the
USA to give a demonstration on
eel fishing. Nothing daunted the
music man from Derrlaughan. An
abiding memory I have of Tommy
John was at the 2009 Ulster
Fleadh in Castlewellan. While
most other musicians had left for
home on Sunday evening, Tommy
John, in the fading light, in his
wheelchair was having a last tune
with a lone guitar player. Nothing
daunted the music man from
Derrylaughan.
A large crowd of musicians were in
attendance at the requiem mass at
which Fr Benedict Fee officiated.
He paid a moving tribute to the
devoted family man, and a man
devoted to his religious duties.
Fr Fee recounted that on one
occasion he paid a visit to the
Quinn home expecting to find
Tommy John ill in bed, instead he
found him sitting with accordion
on his knee learning a new tune.
Indeed nothing daunted the music
man from Derrylaughan.
Fr Fee, in his closing homily,
related that of all the medals that
Tommy John had accumulated,
the one of which he was most
proud was his gold pioneer badge
which was pinned to his chest as
he lay in the coffin. Tribute must
be paid to his devoted family for
the love and attention
administered to Tommy John right
up to the last. They ensured that
he got to his Fleadh in Tullamore,
a few months before he died. He
was immensely proud of his family
and proud of the fact that his
grandchildren are carrying on the
Tommy John passing on his music to the
next generation
tradition he loved – one now
playing the flute, one the
concertina and, of course one
playing the accordion.
Our condolences to his dear wife
Lena and family.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
– Michael J McCullough
The Accordion Man
The seisiún is over
The accordion man is gone
The Bosca Ceoil is laid to rest
It awaits another dawn
No more at Seisiún or Fleadh Ceoil
Jig or reel he’ll play
The accordion man has left
the stage
And put his music box away
No more on Lough Neagh’s
billowing waves
He will cast his hook and line
To harvest the silver eel
That too is past its time
But the pleasure of his company
And the music that he gave
Will linger with his many friends
Far, far beyond the grave
For though the jigs and reels
have ceased
And the accordion man is gone
His memory will never fade
God rest you Tommy John.
TREOIR 45

LEO ROWSOME’S
TRIP TO TIPP
ANN HAVERTY
When Sean and I first got to know
the young Helena Rowsome, the
daughter of Leo, it was sometime
in the early 1960’s. Helena, like
ourselves, had joined the newly
founded Clontarf Branch of
Comhaltas. A couple of years later,
Craobh Seán Treacy was formed
and Helena affiliated with us and
became an active member. During
this time, Leo Rowsome attended
our Session whenever it was
possible for him to do so. He was a
delightful gentleman with a jovial
sense of humour and Seán derived
great pleasure from calling to see
him at home and chatting about
traditional music. Leo had some
years previously met Seán’s
brother Paddy, himself a Fiddler
and Leader of the Killimor Céilí
Band, Galway.
I was born and reared in
Donnycarney, Dublin, of Tipperary
parents and while I was growing
up I was very much aware of the
Rowsome family tradition and
remember seeing the family on
their way to Mass on Sundays and
particularly notice the little twin
girls who were always dressed
alike. Mrs Rowsome was well
known in the area also, being a
very elegant lady who was to be
seen on her way home from her
teaching job, invariably humming
a song.
I spent my summer holidays as a
youngster and teenager in Co.
Tipperary where
Leo Rowsome
was revered. I
remember an
old man once
saying to me…
‘I would go up
and sit at your
front window for
a week if I
thought I would see Leo Rowsome
pass by…’
Well, in the late 1960’s, Leo
Rowsome did Seán and me an
enormous favour when he agreed
to pay a visit to my uncle’s home
in Tipperary to meet the locals. I
remember Leo, Mrs Rowsome,
Sean and I setting out from Dublin
on a Sunday morning, getting
Mass in the Oblate Church in
Inchicore on the way and arriving
in George’s Park Gortnahoe at
lunch time. The house was packed
with the selected guests and I can
honestly say that the Pope would
not have received a better
welcome. Those local people were
only short of kneeling to welcome
Leo Rowsome, and, Leo, in his
own inimitable and gracious
manner planted a kiss on the
cheek of each lady present.
After lunch in the parlour, Leo
entertained the full house with his
pipe playing for a couple of hours.
Mrs Rowsome contributed to the
party with her singing and many of
the local musicians present did
their bit. It was a most enjoyable
evening, and Leo himself
commented… ‘These are my kind
of people.’
There have, and will be, many
tributes paid to Leo Rowsome, a
prince amongst men, but we have
an abiding memory of that ‘Trip
toTipp’ by the King of the Pipers.
Ann Haverty wrote this piece for
Helena Rowsome when she was
preparing her book of her father’s
music which was published by
Walton’s in 2003 to commemorate
the centenary of his birth.
Ann (formerly Ann Stapleton) and
Seán Haverty are well known longtime
members and founder members
of Craobh Seán Treacy.
46 TREOIR

THE CÉILÍ
BANDS STORY
DÓMHNALL DE BARRA
The Siamsa Céilí Band
The Kilfenora
Céilí Band
Above all other groupings in the
traditional music scene, the céilí
band holds a special fascination for
lovers of Irish music. This is borne
out by the interest in the
competition at the All-Ireland
Fleadh every year. People do not
mind queuing for a long time to
get a good seat and will sit for four
or five hours listening to the
performers.
My early memories of céilí bands
suggest that there is a vast
difference in the sound of the
bands of yore and the well tuned
ensembles of today. The first band
I can recall was the Austin Stack
Céilí Band. It could be heard in
the early days of Raidió Éireann
along with the Garda Céilí Band.
They were very similar in sound;
every band in those days featured a
strong piccolo player. The music,
to me, lacked vitality and balance
but we must not forget that
recording techniques were a bit
primitive at the time.
There were many céilí bands
throughout the country at the
time and into the sixties. This was
the era of the small dance halls
where most of the dancers
demanded the local sets as well as
more formal céilí dances. In my
own area we had the ‘Western Star
Céilí Band’ led by Patie Enright.
Most of the musicians were from
Athea with five of them living
within a mile of each other. The
bass player was the late Timmy
O’Keeffe who later featured with
Patie in ‘The Boys in Blue’ and
went on to form his own band
until his untimely death a few
years ago. The ‘Glenside Céilí
Band’ were mainly from Ardagh,
featuring the Mullins family and
other local musicians. Just across
the Kerry border the ‘Brosna Céilí
Band’ held sway. Dónal O’Connor
was the leader and at one stage
they were joined by the great
Mícheál Ó hEidhin, Galway; who
was a student at UCC at the time.
They were fantastic musicians
and later went on to win the
All-Ireland with a line-up that
included Mick Mulcahy, the
famous box player, and the
renowned Nicky and Ann
McAuliffe. In Castleisland, the
Desmond Céilí Band featuring the
O’Callaghan family had another
fantastic sound and have a great
traditional rhythm. Just across the
Cork border in Newtown
Shandrum a group of musicians
got together and formed the
‘Shandrum Céilí Band’. They were
very popular playing for dances in
County Limerick through the
‘sixties’. Another band that was
formed at that time was the ‘Star
of Munster’. It featured among
others the great Denis ‘the
Weaver’ Murphy and his sister
Julia Clifford from Gneeveguilla,
Julia’s husband Johnny Clifford on
piano accordion and son Billy on
the flute, Noreen O’Connell,
Abbeyfeale, and my own teacher,
TREOIR 47

Liam Moloney from Devon Road
on the button box. They didn’t
play for many dances but they
made some great recordings
Some bands travelled long
distances throughout the country
to play for céilithe as the halls got
bigger. This was before the GAA
removed the ban on ‘foreign
music’ for their dances and there
was plenty of work for travelling
bands. Tom Tobin’s Hall in
Abbeyfeale was a great venue for
céilithe. I remember the ‘Assaroe’,
the ‘Four Crosses’, ‘Kieran Kelly’
and the ‘Richie Fitzgerald’ céilí
bands all playing there. What a
journey it was for Richie Fitzgerald
all the way from Bundoran
48 TREOIR
The Táin Céilí Band
The Tulla Céilí Band
considering the state of the roads
at the time. Richie’s band became
famous when it was chosen by
popular vote to be the resident
band on the Mitchelstown
Creamery sponsored programme
which was broadcast on Radio
Éireann once a week.
There were other bands who
played a different style of céilí
music. The most famous of those
was the ‘Gallowglass Céilí Band’
led by Pat McGarr. In the South,
Donal Ring had a similar band.
They relied on a dominant
accordion and played music at a
perfect pace for dances from the
Rince Fóirne collection. They
were note perfect and used little or
no ornamentation but they were
very professional in their approach
and had a distinctive sound. In
contrast Clare produced two great
bands the ‘Tulla’ and the
‘Kilfenora’. These came to
national prominence through the
Oireachtas competition and of
course ‘Céilí House’ and Ciarán
Mac Mathúna’s programmes. Their
music was not as regimented and
allowed individual players to
express themselves while
producing a life and rhythm that is
unequalled to the present day. I
well remember a visit by the
Kilfenora to West Limerick in the
late ‘fifties’. About fifteen
musicians turned up, some wearing
wellington boots having come
straight from the meadow or the
bog! What a night of music they
produced. The first céilí band I
played with was my own! I was
based in Coventry and put the
band together out of the
Comhaltas sessions. It was called
the ‘Shannonside Céilí band’ and
my right-hand man was the great
box player and adjudicator from
Cavan, Vincent Tighe. (He was
also my ‘right-hand man’ on the
day I married). We competed in
the Fleadhanna and had the
distinction of coming a close
second to the great ‘Bridge Céilí
Band’ at one of the early All-
Ireland’s in Listowel. Towards the
end of the sixties I played for a
while with the ‘Birmingham Céilí
Band’. I played the flute with them
when we competed at the All-
Ireland in Cashel in ’69. This band
had a very strong line-up with
musicians like the Lawries, the
Boyles, Frank Jordon, a mighty
flute player from Roscommon and
Paddy Ryan who has gone on to be
one of the great Comhaltas leaders.
At the end of the sixties I moved
to Liverpool and joined the
Liverpool Céilí Band. My stay in
Liverpool was the most enjoyable

of my life so far and the
experience of playing with one of
the greatest bands of all time will
always stand out in my mind. The
band members loved music and
would perform anywhere at the
drop of a hat. Their enjoyment of
the music was infectious and
moved many a gathering. Their
status was such that they
performed in ‘Sunday Night at the
Palladium’ on BBC Television. We
still keep in touch and I really
enjoyed the reunion at the
Liverpool Comhaltas 50 th
celebrations last year.
October ’72 saw me returning to
Ireland to take up full-time
employment with Comhaltas and I
soon had a céilí band called
‘Ceoiltóirí Luimnigh’ on the road.
Our debut was in the Premier
Ballroom Thurles, where Pat
Buckley drove a big nail into the
stage to stop the drum from
sliding! We travelled in a Cortina
that was leaking water from the
radiator so we had to top up every
so often – what a night! During
the seventies we played all over
Munster and beyond and we had a
whale of a time.
Sadly, there were great changes in
Ireland as modern music took over
and the céilithe all but
disappeared. If it wasn’t for the
growth of Comhaltas and the
growing popularity of the band
competition I think the céilí band
as we know it would have been
lost. Things are better now with
the emergence of the set dancing
seminars and the many dances all
over the country.
I think there are three main
categories of céilí bands: the céilí
dance band, the set dance band
and the competition band. They
differ greatly in the type of music
they produce. The céilí dance
bands play music like the
Gallowglass used to do with the
emphasis on rigid rhythm and
little ornamentation. The set
dance bands play with great life
and at a fast tempo using
ornamentation and variation to
good effect while the competition
bands produce a uniform ‘squeaky
clean’ sound that is calculated to
gain marks from adjudicators who,
perhaps unwittingly, have been
the cause of creating the current
sound through rigid interpretation
of the rules. To my mind, the
greatest bands of all, the Tulla,
Kilfenora and Liverpool, would
not be placed in today’s
competitions. I am not having a
go at the current bands; they are
fantastic musicians and produce a
great sound but I fear the rigid
interpretation of competition rules
puts constraints on the individual
players in the quest for overall
uniformity. They lack the carefree
approach of bands of yore which
gave us that ‘something special’,
lifting our hearts in the process.
Maybe it is just my age, looking
back with a nostalgic eye but I feel
we have to look at the céilí band
competition and try and rekindle
the spirit of the great bands of
yore. In the meantime I will
continue to enjoy the bands of
today and look forward to even
better times to come.
– Fleadh Cheoil Luimní Programme
TREOIR 49

For upwards on four decades the
annual Comhaltas Ceoltóirí
Éireann Concert Tours of North
America established and
consolidated the relationship
between the Irish Diaspora in
North America and Ireland.
Whereas the most significant
memory of a concert-tour is the
impact it makes on its audiences
and hosts the concert-tours have
also been documented through
the accompanying CCÉ
recording. Over the years the
format of the publications
changed accordingly from vinyl
to cassettes to the digital format
in use today. In recent years
tracks from various Echoes of
Erin CDs have been made
available through the Comhaltas
website. The CCÉ tour
recordings have contributed to
the enrichment of Irish
traditional music and song in
many ways. They provided many
young artists with what was often
their first opportunity to record
their music/song while the tour
compilation provided a
retrospective insight of the music
and musicianship of the time.
‘Tour albums’, as these CCÉ
publications were often referred
to, also provide audiences with a
meaningful memento of the
concert.
Siar Amach Echoes of Erin 2009
(CL 69) comprises 21 tracks of
music and song from the 2009
tour-group. This album differs
from previous CCÉ tourrecordings
in that it features six
tracks that were recorded live
during the Radio Éireann Céilí
House broadcast at Cultúrlann
na hÉireann that February. Two
of the Seán Ó Sé’s six songs on
the album were recorded during
that live broadcast Sliabh na
mBan and The Old Boreen as were
the selection of reels (Gillespie’s
& Sheila Coyle’s) which echoes
the dancers’ footsteps on the
Cultúrlann flagstones. The
variety of the album was further
enhanced by the addition of two
tracks recorded by Pádraig
Sinnott and Darren Breslin at
FM and Clogheen Studios
respectively. Siar Amach includes
songs in the Irish language,
English language and macaronic
tradition in addition to a wide
musical repertoire of reels, jigs,
slow airs, polkas and slides. Solo
performances on many
instruments (harp, pipes, fiddle,
button accordion, concertina,
banjo and flute) are combined
with group performances and the
tunes are a mix of old and new
and the material performed
reflects the many and varied
means of musical expression
offered to traditional performers.
The accompanying 20-page
booklet provides information on
the various tunes and songs that
offer an insight into their history
and/or contextual information.
The following artists are featured;
Seán Ó Sé, Pádraig Sinnott,
Darren Breslin, Caitríona Sears,
Niamh Denmead, James Duggan,
Humphrey Murphy, Eoin
O’Sullivan, Aisling Mc Mahon,
Claire Quinn, Christina Dolphin
and Oisín Morrisson. Paul
O’Reilly, Gerry McMahon &
Deirdre O’Reilly accompany on
Tracks 17 and 3 respectively.
Audio Acknowledgements: RTÉ
Radio 1 Céilí House; producer-
Peter Browne, presenter Kieran
Hanrahan, sound-Mick
McLoughlin & Kevin Fowley and
RTÉ Libraries and Archives;
Peter Staunton – CCÉ recording
and album production, Seán Ó
Sé (singing advisor) and Siobhán
Ní Chonaráin (producer).
Extended track details,
acknowledgements etc. are
included on the CD insert).
Siar Amach Echoes of Erin 2009
is available from Cultúrlann
na hÉireann
enquiries@comhaltas.com
Tel: +353-1-280 0295
50 TREOIR

The Legacy
of Seán
Ó Riada
SEÁN Ó SÉ
Seán Ó Riada died at the King’s
College Hospital in London on 3 rd
October, 1971, at the early age of
forty years. His death at the time
made the front pages of all the
Irish dailies. Well over a thousand
people gathered at Cork Airport to
welcome his mortal remains back
to Cork. As the funeral cortège
made its lonesome journey along
the Lee Valley towards Macroom
people congregated at every
crossroads to pay their respects.
The crowds grew larger as the long
cavalcade of cars passed by the
Sullane River. We remembered his
wonderfully evocative
arrangement of that fine air, ‘The
Banks of Sullane’. Then we
reached his beloved adopted home
place, Cúil Aodha. It seemed as if
the entire populate had turned up
to grieve at his passing, to salute
and celebrate his life and also of
course to comfort his wife, Ruth,
and their young family. They came
too to sympathise with his elderly
mother, one of their own, Julia
Mary Creedon from Cill na
Martra, and with his father Seán
Reidy, from Kilmihil in Co. Clare.
They mourned him as a clan
would mourn a fallen Chieftain,
in truth he was their laoch, their
Gile Mear.
The following few days would
confirm the grief and sense of loss,
felt not only by the people of
Múscraí, but by the nation as a
whole. It is three miles from the
Church in Cúil Aodha to Reilig
Ghobnatan. His coffin was
shouldered every inch of the way,
a gesture that spoke volumes of
the respect and affection young
and old had for him. Why this
respect, why this affection
bordering at times on worship
TREOIR 51

Seán Ó Riada and family
I think John Kelly, the legendary
fiddler, explained it in a few well
chosen words, gently whispered
into Julia Mary Creedon’s ear as
they both left the graveyard
‘M’am’ he said ‘he lifted us all up’.
Perhaps John was referring to Irish
traditional musicians, but he could
indeed be speaking about Clanna
Gael the people of Ireland.
So let us examine briefly how
Seán Ó Riada ‘lifted us all up’
as I for one believe he did.
He first came to the notice of the
Irish public in general through his
film music for the George
Morrison documentary dealing
with the 1916 Rebellion, ‘Mise
Éire’, produced by Gael-Linn. His
earlier orchestral arrangements of
airs such as ‘Slán le Máighe’ and
his work as musical director of the
Abbey Theatre gave notice of
what was to come. His score for
‘Míse Éire’, comprising original
music and arrangements of
traditional airs, introduced our
native music to those who would
not have previously been attracted
to it. It also appealed greatly to
traditional music people
who recognised that Seán
had remained faithful to
the tradition through
using a classical orchestral
idiom. They would have
recognised the integrity of
his treatment of ‘Róisín
Dubh’, while those
previously mentioned
would be under the
impression it was an
original composition.
The film and its music
contributed to our
understanding of
ourselves, and helped
build our confidence as
we still struggled to shake
off the relics of our
colonial past. His mother
told me that she recognised
the popularity of Seán’s
score when she heard one of
Cork’s famous Echo boys whistling
Roisín Dubh as he sold his papers.
I mentioned previously that Seán
was director of music at the Abbey
theatre, where he conducted the
pit orchestra. His work involved
arranging and composing
incidental music for various
dramas. At the same time he had
gathered round him some
traditional musicians who met
informally for sessions in the
basement of his home in
Galloping Green, Stillorgan. They
included among many others
Sonny Brogan, John Kelly, Seán
Potts, and a great friend of Seán’s
whom he met through his interest
in shooting and fishing, Éamon de
Buitléar. To these four were added
Michael Tubridy, Paddy Moloney,
Martin Fay (a classically trained
violinist from the Abbey
Orchestra), and a member of the
Abbey backstage staff, Ronnie
McShane. Ronnie quickly mastered
the bones and became the life and
soul of Seán’s new band Ceoltóiri
Chualann. In the early days Seán
himself played the bodhrán.
Initially Seán arranged music for
the group for a Bryan McMahon
play which was staged at the
Abbey. Then followed a radio series
called Reachaireacht an Riadaigh.
This programme featured more
arrangements of traditional music
with comment by Seán himself and
some songs from Darach Ó
Catháin, the noted sean-nós singer
in the Connemara style, although
he lived in Rath Chairn. Then
came the immensely popular radio
series ‘Fleadh Cheoil an Radio’
which featured Éamonn Kelly.
Perhaps the most important radio
series was ‘Our Musical Heritage’
Seán’s most comprehensive
statement on how he understood
the Irish musical tradition. The
accompanying LP and booklet are
still widely consulted and quoted
even to this day. Recordings,
nearly all for the Gael-Linn label,
came thick and fast ‘Reacaireacht
an Riadaigh’ ‘The Playboy of the
Western World’ (film soundtrack)
‘Ceol na nUasal’ ‘Ding Dong’ and
of course ‘An Poc ar Buille’.
There were also live concerts, the
most famous of which was Ó Riada
sa Gaiety on Sunday 30 th March
1969. That night at the Gaiety
Theatre in Dublin Seán and the
Ceoltóirí reached the pinnacle of
their musical adventure. The
occasion can still be enjoyed today
through that iconic live album
‘Ó Riada sa Gaiety’.
Seán disbanded the band in 1970
following a last concert in Cork
City Hall. So what was the
importance of Ceoltóirí Chualann
and what is their legacy
In the sleeve notes to a Seán Ó
Riada album Seán Mac Réamoinn
observed that, through the
Ceoltóirí Chualann, Seán Ó Riada
had created a style of ensemble
playing where Irish traditional
52 TREOIR

Peadar Ó Riada ag seinm ar an mbosca cheoil
musicians could play together and
still find ample opportunity to
express themselves individually.
This he said was based on the style
of the New Orleans Jazz bands. I
am certain Ó Riada would have
read these notes prior to
publication, thereby giving them
his imprimatur. The result of that
is that practically every group
playing Irish music today is to a
greater or lesser degree, still
influenced by this groundbreaking
innovation of Ó Riada’s. That is
not to take in any way from the
onward progress of the playing of
Irish traditional music since. In
recent years I myself had the
privilege of touring with
Comhaltas groups, I met young –
and not so young – musicians of
the very highest calibre, most of
whom learned their music within
Comhaltas structures. For me this
marked the fusion of Seán’s genius
and the great work of Comhaltas
over the years. To me it felt like
revisiting familiar territory. I had
come full circle.
Cór Chúill Aodha, a male voice
choir for men and boys founded by
Seán, was the vehicle chosen by
him for his Aifreann Chúil Aodha.
It is without doubt the most widely
performed Mass by any Irish
composer; all the more remarkable
because it is in Irish, which sadly
in this country is a minority
language. There is not a Catholic
church in this country or wherever
the Irish Diaspora worship that has
not heard at least ‘Ag Críost an
Síol’, if not indeed the entire Mass.
The celebration of the liturgy
benefits hugely, but so also does
our music and our language.
Space does not permit
consideration of his many other
contributions. He was a writer, a
poet, filmmaker, a family man, a
community man, a visionary and a
great friend to all who knew him.
For my own part it was an
immense privilege to work for
him, to get to know him and to
learn so much from him. He
certainly raised me up and I thank
him for that. A Sheáin Uí Riada,
tá ár mbuíochas tuillte agat, ní
dhéanfar dearmad ort chomh fada
is a bheidh ár gceol féinig le clos
ar fud Chríocha Fáil.
Seán Ó Sé (Photo: James Mounsey)
TREOIR 53

CIARÁN
MAC MATHÚNA
(1925-2009)
D’fhág Ciarán Mac Mathúna
oidhreacht faoi leith do shaol
chultúrtha na hÉireann –
oidhreacht atá cuimsithe anois i
gcroílár ceoil, amhránaíochta agus
teanga dúchais na tíre seo agus i
measc comhphobail na
hÉireannaigh thar lear. D’fhág sé
oidhreacht mar scoláire, stairí,
thráchtaire soisialta, theangeolaí,
bhailitheoir, fhear-liteartha,
oideachasóir agus dár ndóigh mar
chraoltóir. Ba fhear an-chumasach
agus oillte a bhí ann, fear a bhí
ábalta an mór-phictiúir a chur san
áireamh in éineacht leis na sonraí
laistigh den chreatlach céanna.
Bhí tréithí pearsanta aige a chuir
go mór lena chur chuige agus é i
mbun a chuid oibre; d’oibrigh sé le
comhsheasmhacht agus le
díograsacht. Le linn saol proifisiúnta
agus príobháideach Chiaráin bhí
sé intuigthe agus soléir go raibh
tuiscint agus ard-mheas bunúsach
ag an bhfear lách seo ar gach gné
de shaol chultúrtha na nGael.
Underlying the late Ciarán Mac
Mathúna’s unique contribution to
Irish cultural life was his
fundamental understanding and
respect for both the multi-faceted
subject itself and the people, in
Ireland and abroad, who embodied
it. His many areas of scholarship
combined to comprise a unique
contribution to Irish cultural life, a
contribution that during the later
years of Ciarán’s life was marked
by various awards, including
doctorates. Ciarán Mac Mathúna
left a very complete personal
legacy as a scholar,
historian, social
commentator (in
the context of our
musical and
literary traditions),
a linguist, a collector, and a
literary man, an educator and, of
course, as one of the most
significant broadcasters in the
history of the Irish nation. His
work with Raidió Éireann, a body
which should also be credited for
supporting such initiatives, began
in 1954 and during the following
five decades Ciarán’s many
broadcasts (A Job of Journeywork,
American Journeywork, Ceolta Tíre,
The Humours of Donnybrook & Mo
Cheol Thú) reflected his
consistent professionalism and
personal integrity.
During the 1950s and 1960s local
musicians, singers and even dancers
in Clare, Kerry, Limerick, Galway,
Cork and Sligo were delighted that
the gentlemanly Ciarán,
accompanied by a Raidió Éireann
sound engineer, thought highly
enough of their performances to
record and broadcast their music
and songs. These artists in turn
listened to other musicians and
singers on the radio and thus
Ciarán Mac Mathúna’s role as a
most significant collector and
nurturer of Irish traditional music
and song at a critical period was
consolidated. Personal and local
styles and repertoires were given a
national ‘hearing’ while
simultaneously also being preserved.
Gael-Linn CEF 064
Over the ensuing decades Ciarán
Mac Mathúna became a central
figure in the world of Irish
traditional musical life. He had an
unforgettable presence and a rich,
easy listening but simultaneously
reflective but gently commanding
voice. His intellect was innately
obvious but never obtrusive. These
characteristics, amongst many
more, contributed to the fact that
Ciarán Mac Mathúna, when
encountered in the person or
when being listened to during a
broadcast, made a lasting
impression on so many people.
However it was his sincerity,
courteousness, respectfulness and
generosity of spirit towards all
people who in any way
contributed to our Irish culture
that earned Ciarán Mac Mathúna
a most special place in this
‘traditional Irish’ community.
During the concert to mark
Ciarán’s Mathúna’s 50 years of
broadcasting the late Paddy Canny
commented to Kieran Hanrahan
that ‘(Ciarán) was never out of
form… and was everybody’s
friend’. This description typified
Ciarán Mac Mathúna’s
relationship with traditional
54 TREOIR

musicians and their followers.
Towards the end of his final radio
broadcast (Mo Cheol Thú
November 27 th 2005) Ciarán Mac
Mathúna illustrated his continued
enthusiasm for, and joy in, his
work when, on thanking all those
who had supported him, he
reflected that ‘(we) had great times
together’. Those ‘times’, real-life
experiences of so many aspects to
‘being Irish’, will be documented as
Ciarán Mac Mathúna’s unique and
hugely substantial legacy to Irish
cultural life.
Mar léargas ar a ghrá don Ghaeilge
chríochnaigh Ciarán Mac
Mathúna a chuid omóis i rith a
chláir raidió deirneach leis an nath
cainte ábharthach ‘fágfaimid siúd
mar atá sé’ nath cainte atá mar
fhocail scoir don alt seo. Is i stór
ceoil, amhránaíochta, filíochta
agus teanga dúchais na hÉireann
agus iad le cloisint go beo i measc
comhphobail traidisiúnta na nGael
atá an t-omós is mó d’oidhreacht
an fhir lách seo, Ciarán Mac
Mathúna 1925-2009. Ar dheis Dé
go raibh a ainm dílis.
A Joe Cooley Moment
Chicago probably 1961, Lake Michigan
This story is about the launching of a
boat, built in his garage by Manus
O’Donnell based on a style used in
Arranmore Island off Donegal’s western
shores. This was a maiden voyage to test
the boats buoyancy and durability. The
new boat was to be sailed at a later date
to Beaver Island near the Northern
entrance to lake Michigan.
Beaver Island was noted for supplying
pilots to navigate shipping on the lake.
Most of these pilots were descended
from Arran more Island stock, hence the
voyage.
Invited along for the maiden voyage by
Manus were:
Left to Right: Seán Reid, Jack Cooley, J. Devanney,
Tony McMahon and Joe Cooley
Paddy Coyne of Galway, ‘Billy the Hare’
Aherne of Cork, Joe Cooley of Peterswell, Galway, Maidhc (Dainín) O’Shea from West Kerry,
Brendan O’Shea from West Kerry and ‘One other’ who shall remain nameless.
The boat was launched without problem and it was being powered by a small outboard
motor operated by Manus O’ Donnell. Joe and Mike took their positions on the seat near the
bow, each having an accordion of course. Paddy Coyne, Bill Aherne, ‘one other’ and I sat
around the middle area of the boat. It was early on a Sunday afternoon and a good time
was being had by all. The sun was high in the sky and summer was upon us. Music and
conversation was the order of the day.
Manus our captain handed over the tiller to ‘him who shall be nameless’ with astounding
results. You see he had actually gone to the wrong church that morning and the spirits within
him were of the wrong type. Nearby a sailor was actually sailing an Eskimo kayak on which he
somehow had rigged a sail. Suddenly we realised our boat was headed straight for him,
courtesy of our new navigator. Pandemonium set is as the kayak sailor was furiously trying to
steer clear. Manus our captain lunged across and knocked ‘nameless’ to the floor, grabbed the
tiller and violently changed direction, missing the kayak and its wide-eyed occupant by the
proverbial inch.
Our fate was not so lucky, the boat lurched violently causing all to lose their balance and
horror of horrors, Joe Cooley’s Paolo Soprani went right in to Lake Michigan. He retrieved it
slowly over the side, the accordion stretched to its full extension, dripping wet. I would have
loved to capture the pained expression on his face then. It did not stay for long.
That episode put an end to our outing. Sadly we returned to shore. I do not remember if the
accordion was repairable or not. Certainly the music continued.
In loving memory of Joe Cooley
– Brendan O’Shea
Edited by Martin Gaffney
CUIMHNEACHÁN CEOIL: PAT O CONNOR CD LAUNCH
Nóta: ‘Ag Déanamh Ceoil’ in this
issue of Treoir includes transcripts
of tunes recorded and subsequently
broadcast by Ciarán Mac Mathúna,
Raidió Éireann.
October 9 th 2009 saw a unique event take place in CLASAĊ the Comhaltas Regional
Centre, on the Alfie Byrne Road in Dublin. After many years of dedicated hard work,
perseverance and persistence paid off when Pat O’Connor launched Cuimhneachán
Ceoil’ the CD and Book, mostly of her own compositions.
Pat is a well know figure throughout the Traditional music world in Ireland but
particularly in the Comhaltas family. For many years she has taught traditional music
to children who may not be up to the rough and tumble of a Comhaltas branch class.
Her success in this field is recognised by all who know her as one of Pat’s major
achievements in her musical life. On the Concert night in CLASAĊ, these young people
took to the stage and playing mostly Pat’s own compositions gave a performance
second to none. Anyone entering the hall and seeing these accomplished young
musicians would think they were born on the stage.
Like many other labours of love, Pat’s CD and book could only come about with the
assistance of a number of equally dedicated people. While its impossible to name all
of them (it was a LARGE undertaking) I’m sure that if the names of Fintan McManus,
Brian O’Connor, Eoghan Stapelton, Lucy Costello and in particular Peter Denmeade
were mentioned, none of the others would mind too much!
CUIMHNEACHÁN CEOIL is available for purchase from Cultúrlann na hÉireann,
32 Belgrave Square, Monkstown, Co. Dublin.
TREOIR 55

NEW INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION FOR
WORLD BODHRÁN CHAMPIONSHIP
The World Bodhrán Championship,
which take place on the June Bank
Holiday Weekend as always this
year (the 4 th to the 7 th of June) in
Milltown Co. Kerry, are introducing
a new element to the competition
to cater for overseas entrants. An
International category is being
added to the competition listing this
year, which will only be open to
entrants living outside of the island
of Ireland. The winner of the
international competition will
automatically qualify as a finalist for
the World Bodhrán Champion title,
bringing to four the number of
finalists to compete for the overall
title of World Bodhrán Champion.
Announcing the additional
category, Festival PRO Seán de
Buitléar said that he hoped this
international competition would
encourage many more overseas
entrants to come to Milltown for the
Festival in 2010. He said that having
listened to the feedback of entrants
over the past number of years, some
international entrants felt that the
standard in the senior competition
was very high and that they did not
really have a chance of competing
against the best of the Irish
competitors. ‘Many overseas entrants
would only have the opportunity to
play once or twice a month while
many of the Irish competitors would
be playing five or six nights a week’
Seán said. This clearly gives them an
advantage in the overall competition
and we felt that given it is the fifth
year of the festival, the time is right
to expand the competitions to
ensure our overseas entrants are
properly catered for, he added.
Competitions Officer Pádraig
Buckley said that the new
international competition will be
confined to those competing at the
senior level only. He said that he
hoped this new competition would
encourage many more overseas
entrants to make the journey to
Milltown to compete for the title of
56 TREOIR
World Bodhrán Champion 2010.
In relation to the competitions
overall, Pádraig also announced that
there will be a number of rule
changes this year for the event. The
main rule change relates to the
future opportunity for the winner of
the overall competition to re-enter
the event. He said that the new rule
states that the winner of the senior
competition can defend the title the
following year but should they again
win the title, they will not be
allowed to re-enter the competition
again the following year.
Commenting on the rule change
Pádraig said that again the
committee felt that some people
were being put off entering the
competition as they felt they had
little chance of success. ‘We hope
again that this rule change will
encourage all those who have an
interest in playing the bodhrán in
the senior competition to enter and
be in with the chance to become
World Champion’ Pádraig added.
Meanwhile plans are at an advanced
stage for this year’s festival
programme. Festival Committee
chairman Dan Cronin said that
following the huge success last year,
the festival would again be opened
on the Friday night by a parade
through the town. ‘Last year was the
first one in which we ran the parade
on the opening night and it proved
to be a huge success in bringing
large crowds of people to the town
on the opening night. Therefore we
hope to expand greatly on the
parade this year and bring in
community and music groups from
all parts of the county to Milltown
on the Friday night’ Dan added.
The parade will be followed by live
entertainment on the Gig Rig in the
town as well as the funfair for the
younger family members Dan said.
Another aspect of the festival that
proved to be very popular last year
was the introduction of the Festival
Club. This afforded musicians of all
Séamus O’Kane on bodhrán with Mark
Mohan on banjo
levels to get together for impromptu
music sessions in a relaxed
atmosphere and was welcomed by
all. Dan confirmed that the Festival
Club will again run this year and it
is planned to expand this element of
the festival greatly also.
A full programme of free street
entertainment is also in place for
both Saturday and Sunday in
Milltown, which will culminate as
always with the finals of the World
Bodhrán Championships
competitions on the Gig Rig on the
Sunday evening. ‘This is main
attraction of the weekend and a
huge crowd is again expected in the
square on Sunday night’ Seán de
Buitléar said. He said that Sunday is
again family day with a wide
selection of events planned to suit
family members of all ages.
‘We are also looking at running a
special event during the course of
the weekend featuring a well known
individual’ Seán added. Given that
this is the fifth year of the festival
we hope to make this occasion with
this event he said but would not be
drawn on the nature of the event of
who would be involved saying that
an announcement will be made on
this in the near future.
People who are interested in
entering the competitions are asked
to go to the World Bodhrán
Championship website
www.worldbodhranchampionships.com
or send an e-mail to
bodhranchampionship@eircom.net
for full details.
For further information please contact:
Seán de Buitléar: 087 7663472
e-mail: sean_buitlear@yahoo.co.uk

MANCHESTER - FM 19th Feb
IMsh World HeMtage Centre,
10 Queens Road, Cheetham Hill
rwHC 0161 2054007/ 0161 202 1515
GLASGOW - Sat 20th Feb
CoupeI' Institute, 86 Clarkston Road, Ga.thca.r1.
MolI'a Ca.Uaghan 0141 5862862
Alllson Cullen 0189 8834325
TYNESIDE - Mon 22nd Feb
Tyneslde Irish Centre,
43·49 Ga.llowgate, Newcastle Upon Tyne
The IMsh Centre 0191 2610384
TOUI'lst Info" Market St: 0191 2778000
BIRMINGHAM - Tues 23rd Feb
BlI'mlngham Irish Club,
14·20 IDgh St, Derltend, Dlgbeth
Birmingham IrIsh Club 0121 822 2314
Mlchael Green 0795 8288587
Ted Sheehan 0121 4594379
Vince Jordan 0778 8880912
LEEDS - Wed 24th Feb
Leeds IMsh Centre, York Road, Leeds
The IMsh Centre 0113 2480887
Faggy Sarsneld 01132 637600
LUTON - Thurs 26th Feb
Cardinal Newman School, Warden Hill Road
Comhaltas Office 0207 9168727
LONDON - FM 26th Fab
The London IMsh Centre,
50·62 Ga.mden Square
The IMsh Centre 0207 9188727
Mlchael Nevin 07931 730321
NEWPORT, South Wales - Sat 27th Feb
The Dolman Theatre, Kingswa,y, Newport
Noreen Johnstone 01633 276349
WIllIe Cowan 01291 425880
Martin Palmer·Smlth 02920 619678
THE TALENTED PEB.I'ORMERS SELECTED
:FOR THIS TOUR:
Joe Arkins (Co. Clare) - Fear a' Ti
Eimsar Arkins (Co. Clare) - Fiddle/Singer
Siofra McHugh (Co. Ma,yo) - Fiddle
Paul McMahon (Co. Louth) - Piano Accordion
Eibhlia Ni Shiillleabhain (Co. Cork) - Flute
Conal 6 hiarn.li.n (Co. Galwa,y) - Banjo
Oisin 6 hiarn.li.n (Co. Galwa,y) - Button Accor(i1on
Martino Vacca (ItaJ,y) - Uilleann Pipes
Niamh O'Sullivan (Co. Dublln) - Concertina
Oisin Morrison - (Co. Dublln) - Harpist
Sibeal Davitt (Co. Dublin) - Dancer
Seamus 0 Rourke (Co. LlmeMck) - Dancer
Theres a Sheehan (Leeds/ Co. Limerick) - Dancer
Vincent Rearns (Co. Sltgo) - Tour Manager

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