sligo for all-ireland? - Comhaltas Archive

THE GILLESPIE LEGENDJ oe McGarrigleIf Hugh Gillespie's fiddle playing is out of this world it could well be because heheard fairy music when he was a young boy tending sheep on his uncle's farm in aremote countryside near Brockagh. "I could hear the most beautiful fiddlingcoming from a wee knowe and I listened spellbound. Then I crawled over to seewho was playing and there was nobody there", he told me. When Hugh ran homeand told his uncle of his experience he was told "it was the fairies you heard andyou have been touched by it" . Well whatever the source of Hugh's great talent hecertainly has the power to hold an audience spellbound when he performs.Perhaps perform is not the rightword to use in this context for HughGillespie when he is playing is totallyunaware of those around him; he iscompletely engulfed in a world wherehis music is an expression of his culture,his sensitivity, his absolute involvement ·with an inborn tradition. It must havebeen these qualities that attracted thegreat Michael Coleman to him early intheir acquaintance and made him decideto take Hugh under his wing.Hugh Gillespie was born in Drennanin Ballybofey, 80 years ago . When hewas only three years old he was takenon an outing to see his grandfather,Hugh McElwee who lived in Brockagh.That visit was to be a long one for Hughfor he was to stay there, go to school inthe district, and live with his grandfatheruntil he emigrated to the Statesalmost twenty years later. He got hisfust lesson on the fiddle when he wasonly seven years old "my cousin EddieMcMonagle who was working in Scotlandbrought home a fiddle with himwhen he came on holidays and it wasmy plaything from that moment".He obviously treated it as more thanjust a plaything for in a short time hewas actually playing for dancers incountry house "big nights". "I mustadmit that I only had two or three tunesand I kept playing these all night" . Ijust changed the tempo to suit thedance", he explained.In his early years life was uneventfulin the remote mountain area in whichhe lived : Sheep farming, attendingfairs, and following the usual pattern ofrural life in those days. His fringe involvementwith politics while he wasstill at school was perhaps the onlybreak in this pattern. Being called onto deliver important messages to "boys"on the run gave him an importance thathis other schoolmates did not enjoy,and there was a certain spice of adventurein it too. When he grew older hebecame much more involved in the fightfor independence when he became amember of the I.R.A.He recalls with some humour anoccasion when he was delivering arms toa local unit and he had to pass througha village where there was often a spotcheckby the Tans ~ He sought the helpof a local fish pedlar and they loadedthe arms ID boxes and placed a layer offish over them. They then wentthrough the village calling out "FreshFish" , presumably offering their waresfor sale. In this way they were able topass the road block because the fishdealer was a well known character.In 1928 Hugh set sail for America.He sailed on the Athenia from Moville.HUGH GILLESPIE as he looked when he wasentertaining in the U.S.A.On board he met a man from Derry whohad been a member of a flying columnand often stayed in Hugh's area. Theybecame companions on the trip. Whenthe ship put into Hailfax to take on suppliesHugh and his travelling companiondecided to slip ashore for a drink. Theyslipped over the side on a rope ladderdown to the quayside. When they madeenquiries as to the nearest saloon theywere directed to a sheebeen. The drinkwas cheap and the crack was good andso time slipped by. It was several hourslater when they returned to the ship.They found that it was much easier toget off the ship undetected than getaboard again. They were refused permissionto board and it was only aftermuch haggling and pleading that theywere eventually allowed to embark.Hugh's arrival in the States coincidedwith the approach of what was to be thecountry's greatest ever economic upheaval.In a matter of months wouldcome the Wall Street crash that broughtfinancial empires crumbling down andthrew millions onto the breadline. Despitethis Hugh with the help of rela-10