PADRAIG Mac an ULTAIGH o f Mayo, winnerof the Irish and English sinh>ing championships(12- 15), receiving his trophy from <strong>Comhaltas</strong>Officers.COGAR na bhFEAR: MICHAEL NOONAN,Minister for Defense, sha!es a joke with, theBishop of Kerry, An Dr. 0 SUILLEABHAIN;the Parish Priest of Listowel, Mons. Leahy;and Cathaoirleach na Fleidhe MICHAELDOWLlNG.Testing the wares of the street vendor.TOMMY FLYNN and KATIE BRENNANwith MICHEAL b LOCHLAINN andLABHRAS b MURCHUAN CHOMHAIRLE: A welcome word ofadvice for LABHRAS () MURCHU from theillustrious BRY AN McMAHON.13
of poverty which was none of our ownmaking, of shame and starvation anddeath in the darkest days of our history ;here, on stage before the eyes of theworld was the very spirit of Ireland andthe Irish nation, bounding with youthfulenergy , afire with life and passionand dash . Here was the mercurial, theunconquered Gael, as proud and freeand merry as ever in histo ry . And here,too, was the delicacy and beauty of theart of an ancient and cultured race .The Danes are not normally ademonstrative people, but it was plainto see that they were movedprofoundly.It might seem, and perhaps is, unfairto make special mention of any individualin what was a magnificent group,but the solo slip-j ig of the gifted youngDavzd Rea was a performance thatwo uld exhaust the superlatives of themo st eloquent. The talents of thisyo ung man might be compared with thefe ats of the Red Branch warrior oflegend, Cuchullen, when he faced thearmy of Queen Maeve. And hasn't historya strange way of repeating itself?For Cuchullen was also suffering fromexhaustion due to lack of sleep -though let it be said for differentreasons! But insufficient contact withthe pillow didn't stop the dauntlessUlsterman - nor did it stop the boldKerryman either! Ach, but youth musthave its fling .....The performance ended in a greatburst of dance and music, charged withlife and fire , in a thunder of applause .One Danish woman, almost in tearssaid: "I have never seen such a perfor-mance. It is an experience I shall neverforget. It is beyond words. It's - it'sFantastisk! "And 'fantastisk' it was and thoughthis event is not a competition, therewas no doubt that the Tralee SeisiunGroup had run away with all thehonours. It was no wonder that theyproudly followed the Tricolour offstage, awash upon wave after wave ofcheering, for they had covered themselvesin glory.While the group were mopping theirbrows and being showered withcongratulations, the typical kind ofreply one heard was: "Well thank you,. Lm glad you enjoyed it. It wasn't sobad I suppose."! !! The Danes raisedeyes and hands to Heaven in astonishmen t ·~ " It wasn't so bad I suppose!!??But then how could they. understandthe Kerry gift of understatement .....One of the highlights of the visit toDenmark was an invitation to the residenceof H E. Mr. Liam .Rigney.Ambassador of Ireland and Mrs. R igney.to a reception given in honour of thegroup.In a farewell dinner-party given bythe hosts, the Lyngby Folk Dancers,Ambassador Rigney, in an after-dinnerspeech said: "The Irish are a happypeople, and these fine young men andwomen from Tralee have proved beyonddoubt that we are also a people of immensetalent, who cherish and preserveour ancient traditions."In a moving speech Mr. O'Connorthanked all who helped. "The financialhelp given by the Cultural RelationsCommittee was invaluable; as was theassistance of Allied Irish Banks", and hewent on to thank other friends and supporters.He also very specially thankedthe hosts for the warmth of their hospitality.And, said he, "We have madefirm, and I'm sure, lasting friendships."On behalf of the Tralee Urban DistrictCouncil, Mr. O'Connor presentedthe Chairperson of the Lyngby FolkDancers, Mrs. Karen MikkZesen. andAmbassador Rigney with a plaquedepicting the Tralee Coat of Arms. Mrs.Mikklesen replied, saying that it was anhonour and a pleasure to have "thesetalented, happy and smiling people fromTralee as guests", and hoped that inturn the Danish dancers might find anopportunity to visit Ireland. She thenpresented Ambassador Rigney and eachmember of the Group with an engravedglass to mark the occasion. One youngKerryman whispered : " The Danes plunderedIreland in the ancient Times. ButI think we'll send them a telegram -'Come back, all is forgiven'! So theVikings might return ......The tables were pulled back, mst.rumentstuned, and Dane and Gael tookthe floor together in a veritable Clontarfof dancing. A fitting conclusion to awonderful and memorable visit.There can be little doubt that theKerry Seisiun Group will go on tofurther glories. But whatever happensin the future , they can always say intheir lovely musical accents - "We haveseen the days" ....P.S. the writer of this piece is not aKerryman!CAPTION CLUESLike all competitions at FleadhCheoil na hEireann, the concertinacompetition was packed to capacity.Not to be deprived of their musicaltreat, these avid supporters found anovel way of overcoming their exclusion.Perhaps a good subject for acaption?A number of LPs will be awarded tothe best entries received by January 30,1988.Our address is TREOIR, 32 Ceam6gBelgrave , Baile na Manach, Co. AthaCliath, Eire.15
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