sligo for all-ireland? - Comhaltas Archive

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PATRICK McENTEEBrian S. b M6rdhaComhaltas Ceoltoid Eireann inCo. Cavan suffered a grievious losson the 21st July, 1985, whenPaddy McEntee, our County Chairman,died after a long and patientlyendured illness. At short notice weasked that well-known Cavan Gael,Brian S. b Mordha, to deliver afuneral oration at Paddy's gravesideon the day of the burial and this hedid, giving a very moving accountof Paddy's life and of his splendidwork for that which he loved sowell, ceol traidisiunta '" dtire. Wealso hoped that Brian would write ashort account of Paddy's life andwork which could be published inTreoir but, unfortunately, Brianhimself was suddenly stricken witha very serious illness which necessitatedhospital treatment and it isonly now that he has been able toget working again. We are indeedvery grateful to the editor of Treoirfor, even at this late stage, allottingus space to put on public record ashort account of the life and workof one who devoted all his leisuretime to fostering a love for Irishmusic, song and dance.Seosarnh Baxter,Cathaoirleach Coiste Co. anChabMin.In the introduction to the Irish version of The Imitation of Christ it is statedthat "ni fhuil se ro-mhail an mhaith a dheanamh am ar bith" - it is never too lateto do a good thing. That is a very true statement indeed and, therefore, it iscertainly a very good thing even more than a year after his death to place on publicrecord some account of what Paddy McEntee did for Irish music and Irish culturegenerally in Co. Cavan.In 1948 I was working as a teacher ofGaeilge and what were then termed"General Subjects" in the Vocationalschool in Cootehill and part of my dutywas to take at least one 'night' or 'evening'class each week for adults andyoung people generally, somewhere inthe school area. I had already tried onedistrict without much success- because,of course, emigration was then rife andyoung people were few in number, as indeedthey soon will be in this era too,when someone casually remarked tome that I should try Maudabawn, arather undefined rural area lying somefour or five miles East of Cootehill; it is,generally speaking, the rural part ofDrumgobn parish. I organised my classvery successfully there becauseMaudabawn was then-as indeed it stillis- a very closely knit community with adeep pride not only in its present, as itsfine community centre and new footballpitch show, but in its past as well. Avery fine group of young boys and girlsattended each class to learn Irish, manyPADDY McENTEEof whom still remain my personalfriends. The type of Irish class we weresupposed to try to teach in those simpleunsophisticated days was as follows : (a)a lesson in Irish first ; (b) claisceadal, orcommunity singing, in Irish using suchsongs as Ora 'se do bheatha abhaile (byPadraig Mac Piarais, of course) and (c)ceilf dancing which need I say, was avery popular part of the class. Thequestion immediately arose then as towhere we could get music for our dancingas portable radios, tapes, etc., werethen things of the future. Somebodycasually mentioned to me that there wasa 'young fellow' of their own age groupliving in the townland of Corragarrywho was very interested in traditionalIrish music and was 'a very good fiddler'.Some class members contacted thisyoung lad and so I fust met Paddy McEntee. He was then, despite his youthhewas born in 1939 in Corragarry- oneof nature's gentlemen; good mannersand courtesy came naturally to him; hewas to be trusted in all things. If hepromised tG- do something then it wassure to be done and done excellently.He promised to play for our class and hewas there for every seisiun, come hail,rain or snow and he joined in the preliminarysections of the class with enthusiasmalso because he loved allaspects of our traditional culture. Eventhen it was obvious that he was a talentedmusician who had a very large repertoireof reels, jigs, hornpipes and traditionalslow airs. He had, however, noknowledge of ceili dancing or of therhythm required for it as it was then notreally known in the area ; at countrydances old-time waltzing, quick steps,etc. has supplanted almost entirely thesets, etc. It was with a certain feeling ofpride that I heard him say that it was Iwho first gave him an understanding ofaf a part of our CUlture which he grewto love and which he so willingly helpedto promote in his native county.I need not have been surprised at thefact that Paddy McEntee was such a29
and culture and who accompanied himto almost all his coirmeacha ceoil, hisceilithe, his seisiuin, etc. To her weoffer our deepest sympathy. If Paddy'sdeath hurt us all so much what a blow itmust have been to her. Grasta b Dhia 'ort, a Mhaire.Perhaps the best way for me to endthis tribute to Paddy McEntee is toquote some lines from a beautiful littlepoem written by that great Irish patriot,Brian na Banban, Brian O'Higgins. Theyare:The tears will fall, tho' it is vain to weepthee;One called thee Home to Him - and Heknows best;No bond of human love on earth couldkeep thee-Great soul, dear friend, true guide, Godgive thee rest.The "Mountain Lark" producer BRIANEUSTACE (centre) with his production teamduring a film ing session.{{THE MOUNTAIN LARK"MAYFLY TO AMERICAAs the "Mountain Lark" series oftraditional music programmes continues,the production team has nowvisited the four provinces and Britainfor rehearsals. Many well known facesand some up-and-coming stars have appearedon the series. It is understoodthat the audience reaction to the seriesto date has been exceptionally good andseveral new programmes are already inthe can for transmission.The setting for the "Mountain Lark"is Culturlann na hEireann and theartistes for each programme workthroughout the day and into the night.Brian Eustace, the Producer of the serieswhich is a co-production with Comhaltas,has expressed himself very pleasedwith the standard of talent available inIreland and abroad. Further visits areplanned to Britain in the near future.One question now exercising theminds of the production team is when avisit to North America- can be undertaken.There is a vast reservoir of talentavailable on that Continent and this,coupled with the unique role played bythe Irish community in North Americain the preservation and promotion oftraditional music throughout thiscentury makes a visit there inevitable.The success of North Americanmusicians at this year's Fleadh Cheoil inListowel adds a further claim to theirpriority for recognition. Such plumchampionships as Senior Fiddle (BrianConway, New York); Senior Accordeon(Billy McComiskey, New York); andSenior Grupai Cheoil (St. James's GateGroup, San Antonio) went to theUnited States.It is known that RTF: executives arefavourably disposed to covering the traditionalmusic scene in North Americabut there are many technicalities whichwould have to be resolved before such amajor venture could be undertaken.Meanwhile, the 20-strong Comhaltasgroup from Ireland will have travelled20,000 miles to give 17 concerts on the15th annual Concert Tour of NorthAmerica and the musical links betweenthe two countries will have been furtherstrengthened.31
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Page 7 and 8: PADDY KILLORANtives and friends was
Page 9 and 10: FLUTE SESSION IN LiSTOWEL:BRENDAN M
Page 11 and 12: ST. PATRICK'S NIGHTAg Deanamh Ceotl
Page 13 and 14: 12-151st. Donna McRory, Donegal.2nd
Page 15 and 16: RAYMOND ROLANDANARTIST AND A CRAFTS
Page 17: LUTON EXTRAVAGANZARoy BushbyFor the
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Page 24 and 25: The Port Talbot (Wales) Branch ofCo
Page 26 and 27: A TRIBUTE TO MATT KIERNANKevin Spen
Page 28 and 29: BOGUSBLUNDEROn the 28 August the "E
Page 30 and 31: SEOSAMH O'hEANAI REMEMBEREDBy Peada
Page 32 and 33: BALLYCASTLE FLEADHON BBCIn a sun dr
Page 34 and 35: JOHN WHELAN'S REELPHIL CUNNINGHAM'S
Page 36 and 37: Fir (agus mm!!) ag obair.The Thatch
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Page 40 and 41: The Gift of Music and ProphesyTHE F
Page 42 and 43: SLIGO FOR ALL-IRELAND?Sligo Town fo
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