musical memories of chris langan - Comhaltas Archive

Iml 25 Uimhir 3 1993 41SSN0790 004XIris Oifigiuil Ch0mhaltas Ceolt6iri Eireann The Book of Traditional Music, Song and Dance1. EAGARFHOCAL2. SETS OF TWO3. FLEADH FEVER IN THE BRONX4. AONACH PADDY O' BRIEN SET TO GROW ANDFLOURISH5. MUSICAL MEMORIES OF CHRIS LANGAN7. LIFE TO BF ENJOYED RATHER THAN ~NDURED8. COSAINT UR AR SH EADCHOMHARTAIA HEALTHY ATMOSPH ERE9. JAM ES HILL THE HORNPIPE KING11. GALWAY'S NEW CATHEDRAL12. BRi; BORi; FOR AMERICAN TELEVISION14. WORKING FOR IRELAND15. BRIGHTNESS OF BRIGHTNESS20. BIRR PRESENTATION21. JAPANESE JOTTINGS22. JERRY FOR TOUR23. SCAOIL AMACH E24. A GLIMPSE BEHIND THE SCENESA MUSICAL VOY AGEAG DEANAMH CHEOILTREOIR (41SSN 0790 004X) is published quarterly by CCE.,Belgrave Square, Monkstown, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Single copies£1: Subscription Rates: Ireland and Britain £6: USA and Canada$15: Australia and New Zealand £14: Orders in the U.S A. to beforwarded to Treoir, 244 Wardwell Road, Mineola, New York11501. Second Class' Postage paid to Mineola P.O., U.S.P.S.2315. Orders in Canada to be forwarded to Ms. Sally Carroll,891 Cox well Ave., Toronto M4C 361.25. THE CALL OF CLONMEL26. AG CUIMHNEAMH AR DH6NALL27. PASSING THE CRICKET TEST28 . A WAR OF WORDS?29. THE PIED PIPER OF PERTH30. WHISTLE-STOP TOUR OF AMERICA34. STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION35. SPANNING THE ATLANTIC36. EGYPTIAN AMBASSADOR AT BRi; BORi;37. GROSSE ILE - AND END OF A SORROWFULPILGRIMAGE40. FLEADH FOCUS41. FLEADH NUA '9342. AMHRAN FAOI SHEAN 6 TREASAIGH43. "AN CAILiN DONN" AGUS AN TE A CHEAP E44. WH ERE THE LINNETS SING45 . A TASTE OF IRELAND IN SYRACUSE47. VERY REV. M. F. CANONCLANCY48. RAMBLINGCLUDACH: Flautist MICHEAL b hALMHAINformerly of Dublin and now living on the Aran Islands.cornbaLtos ceoLtolRf elRearlrlCea rn,"g Belgravl" Baile /l a ,\1 a nach. Co. Bh ai le ;\tha Cliath. Irela nd I'i,n 2 1l 00295 . I'a :-. : 28 03759EagarfhocalTITHE CHEOIL is the title by which Comhaltascultural centres throughout the country are known.Three of the four provinces can now boast of at leastone teach cheoil and indications are that the remainingprovince will also have a teach cheoil in the near future.The teach cheoil can be a powerhouse for our nativetraditions; a focus for the heritage of a locality. Thistangible symbol of a nation's identity in a fast-changingworld is a source of encouragement and permanancy.The teach cheoil is a constant reminder of how thehomes of Ireland were the foundation on which oursurvival was secured.A number of the tithe cheoil have now been selectedto house the regional archives of Comhaltas. Thismaterial will include tapes, videos, books, manuscriptsand photographs. This is a very worthwhile function indeveloping an appreciation and knowledge of our nativetraditions and the personalities who nurtured andsustained them.The teach cheoil, in addition to housing an entertainmentprogramme, is also the venue for music andother classes. Children from a young age, therefore, frequentthe teach cheoil and identify with it throughouttheir lives.We salute those who had the vision to establish ateach cheoil in their region and recommend to othersthat they would consider doing likewise. While it is amajor undertaking, it can also have far-reaching advantagesfor our native culture.

FLEADH FEVER IN THE BRONXDon Meade, Irish VoiceOn June 5 and 6, traditionalmusicians and set dancers from all overthe East Coast and Canada gathered atManhattan College in the Bronx for ­the Mid-Atlantic Region Fleadh Cheoil.In Irish, Fleadh cheoil (pronouncedflah kyoal) means "feast of music," anapt name for a multi-course banquetof formal and informal music anddance organised by ComhaltasCeoltoiri Eireann, the traditional Irishmusic association.The Bronx fleadh, like those held inChicago, Britain, and the four provincesof Ireland, was a preliminary eventfor instrumentalists, singers and setdancers seeking to compete at FleadhCheoil na hEireann, the All-Irelandfleadh , which will be held August 27-29 in Clonmel, Co . Tipperary. TheAll-Ireland fleadh is a mammoth annualfestival attracting thousands of particpants,but regional fleadhs are alsoimportant gatherings for traditionalmusicians and a chance to check outup-and-coming talent.SET -DANCE FEVERManhattan College's Smith Auditoriumwas thronged Saturday night forthe set dancing competitions that launchedthe fleadh week-end. Competitionsin set dancing, as opposed tosolo step dancing, are a relatively newphonomenon and are a product of themassive resurgence of interest in oldfashionedIrish social dancing. Adozen eight-member teams competed,with dancers from Boston's Hanafin­Cooley Comhaltas branch winning forthe second straight year. After thecompetition, the winning team joinedhundreds of other set dance enthusiastsfor a ceiIi mor, stepping out tothe music of fiddler Brian Conway andbutton accordionist John Nolanbacked by pianist Felix Dolan anddrummer Jimmie Kelly.The number of entrants in the musicalcompetition the following daywas well below the high point reachedin the late 1970s, when hundreds ofcontestants took part. The loss of theleading traditional music teachers ofthose years, Maureen Glynn now livingin Ireland) and the late Martin Mulvi-* ANDY McGANN (New York) andJOSEPH VESEY (philadelphia).hill, account for some of the decline ,but the demographics of immigrationare also to blame. Most fleadh competitorsare the children of immigrants,and barriers to Irish immigration in the79s and 80s severely reduced the numberof first-generation Irish Americanteenagers learning to play the flute,fiddle or accordion, a situation thatmay improve as the children of theMorrison visa generation mature.YOUNG TALENTIf the numbers are down, the qualityof the music played is still veryhigh. New York fleadh winners havedone very well over the years in Irishcompetitions and 1993 may produce anew crop of New York born 'All-IrelandChampions.' The most hotly contestedevent at the Bronx fleadh was ashowdown between four excellentteenage fiddlers, only two of whomcould be awarded the chance to go onto compete in Clonmel. Jesse Smithof Baltimore, Tina Lech of Providence,Marie Reilly of Queens, and Matt Mancusoof Brooklyn each played verywell and in very different styles. Afterrecalling three of the competitors torepeat their reels, jigs and hornpipes,adjudicator Dan CoIlins gave TinaLech first place and Marie Reillysecond, though any of these talentedyoung fiddlers would be a worthy representativeat the All-Ireland fleadh.Another impressive young competitorwas button accordionist Colm Cannonof Boston, who got the nod fromadjudicator James Keane, a wellknownDublin musician who took severalAll-Ireland button accordion titleshimself in the 1960's. Keane also lavishedpraise on the duet competitionwinners, fiddler Matt Mancuso andNew Jersey flute player Roisin McLoughlin, comparing their old-timesound to that of Co . Clare fiddle andflute greats Paddy Canny and PeadarO'Loughlin.Congratulations to all the winners,and to all the folks from Comhaltaswho combined to organise an enjoyableweekend of traditional music anddance.3

MUSICAL MEMORIES OFCHRIS LANGANDebbie QuigleyCHRIS LANGANThe sweet air is thinnedThe void will not be filledOlder than some music.He played, kinder thanTime he gave kindly.Friend of the beginnerSounding board to the skilledSongs, and airs willcontinue to fleshThe memory of thisBard of Beauty and life.The sweet air is thinnedThe Void will not be filled.K. O'Shea* CHRlS LANGAN (right) and MlCHAELO'KELLY(photo: Will Henry)The late Chris Langan would havebeen pleased at the success of the recentChris Langan Traditional Music Weekend.Chris passed away in May last, atthe age of 77, a great loss to the Irishmusic community of which he was suchan integral part. A maker, player andteacher of the uilleann pipes, Chris wasa founding member of the DowntownToronto Comhaltas Branch, whosemembers recently voted to change thename to the Chris Langan Branch. Chriswas a humble man and was always surprisedat the effect he had on people.An example of his influence was thefounding of the annual Chris LanganTraditional Music Week-end. Originallythis was a Concert and Celli held twoyears ago in his honour. So great wasthe success of the event, featuring theperformances of so many fine players,with such good fellowship , that it wasdecided to make it an annual event.This year it was a full week-end,comprised of concerts and sessions aswell as workshops on the uilleann pipes,reed-making, traditional singing, set* KATE CROSSAN( Photo: Brian Hicks)* CATHERINE CROWE and MARTINGOULD(photo: Brian Hicks)5

LIFE TO BE ENJOYEDRATHER THAN ENDURED'THE STONE FIDDLE', and 'WhereSongs Do Thunder,' by Paddy Tunney,published by Appletree Press.Ireland has entered an era, manyclaim, of grouchers and begrudgers, ofgrasping materialists and hollow humanism.Our recent literature is plaguedby the fallacy that to say something importantone must be negative, cynicaland even perverse. What a pleasure it isthen to come across not one but twopearls of wisdom that are as far fromthis pervading jaded view of contemporarylife as Mother Teresa is from Hollywood.Paddy Tunney's two books are notbiography in the usual sense . Yes 'TheStone Fiddle' starts with him as a youngchild and 'Where Songs Do Thunder'takes matters up to the early 1980s butthe material is not arranged chronologicallyand is not meant to be an orderedaccount of the author's life. Interestingly,the books don't suffer as a result;they present themselves as tapestries inwhich time, personalities, music andcraic are interwoven to produce an ohso rich and wonderful picture of oneman's happy life.They recount with colour andhumour many gatherings of our greatestperformers. Indeed, most of the greatsare here, musicians such as Hughie Gillespie,John Kelly and Seamus Ennis,singers like Geordie Hanna and J oe Heaneyand collectors like Sean MacReamoinand Cianin MacMathuna andeverywhere there are stories.WONDERFUL ANECDOTESMany of the anecdotes are not, however,for the prim or prudish and areracy, colourful stories of rural Irelandwith its poverty, roughness and superstitionson show. Overall though it'sthe sheer joy of living that comes across,the celebration of ordinary life with allits joys and sorrows, its meetings, festivitiesand alas, partings.As an added bonus Tunney has theeye of a poet and the writing oftentranscends mere prose. Take for examplethe following short paragraphthat serves as an introduction to how helearned "As I Roved Out" from hismother."It was the time of the long brightevenings coming into the month of themowing. Meadow mane rippled withcorncrakes and scythe steel sang towhetstone. The air ached with the painand joy of living. "From The Stone Fiddle I enjoyedin particular the chapter on the trackingdown, for recording purposes, of Donegal'sown Johnnie Doherty, that princeamong fiddle players. In Where SongsDo Thunder the author's travels takehim much further afield and my choiceof favourite chapter would probably fallon the recounting of a trip to theUnited States in 1976 for that country'sbicentennial celebrations. The accounthere of a Jumbo Jet Ceil{ and of aviolent electric storm in Washingtonthat sent set-dancers scurrying for theirrosary-beads in the expectation that theend of the world had come are verymemorable.In short both books are to be highlyrecommended. Together they make anexcellent companion to Paddy Tunney'srecordings and indeed provide a plethoraof insight into the work of ahost of other traditional singers, musiciansand story-tellers. Keep them byyour bedside as a reminder that life issomething to be enjoyed rather thanendured.-PAT Mc ART, Derry JournalTHE INDIAN CONNECTIONc/o 55 Ballyloughlin Road,Ballyginney, NewcastleCo. DownThe young lady in the photograph,Siobhan McGrath is a music teacherfrom Newcastle who went to India justover a year ago to do voluntary work.Junior members of the NewcastleComhaltas branch presented her with anumber of tin whistles when she wasleaving and as you can see, she has beenmaking very good use of them.All the young boys in this tin whistleclass are victims of polio but are makinggood progress.We wish them every success in thisnew venture.Nancy RodgersViolinsoffine tonalQualit)·.Hand Made throughout.alsoSome RcrllloishcdGalway Violins17 High Sl, Galway,Rep. Ireland.lel.: (091) 66433London by Appt.7

JAMES HILLTHE HORNPIPE KINGKevin McCann, NewfoundlandWhenever a group of traditional musiciansget together for a session andplay hornpipes it is on the rare occasionindeed that one or more of James Hill'scompositions are not played. A few ofthe tunes which come to mind would be"The High Level Bridge", "The LowLevel Bridge", "The Beeswing", "TheHawk", "The Steamboat" hornpipesand many others, all of the highestquality. I believe that a history of thistalented fiddler and composer will be ofinterest to all players of and listeners totraditional music.Before I begin the story of this intriguingcharacter some information regardingthe hornpipe is in order.The hornpipe was a primitive doublereed instrument dating from around the13th century. The dance and its relatedmusic came to have its maritime associationsaround the middle of the 18thcentury.As many ships companies carried aresident fiddler , music was readily availablefor dancing, thus providing a muchneeded form of daily exercise.Much of the even-rhythmical passageworkcoincided with the style of thereel, but the dotted rhymic characteristicof so many hornpipes were alater mid-19th century innovation andbecame extremely popular in Ireland.There is a marked differentiation intempo between even and unevenrhythm hornpipes. The former, usuallyplayed in Scotland are generally playedat .J - 104 - 11 2 whereas the latterplayed mainly in Ireland tend to themore relaxed .J - 69 - 76.When perusing any collection of Irishtraditional music one is immediatelystruck by the extremely high quality ofthe hundreds of hornpipes therein e.g. inO'Neill's or Cole's Collections.One wonders who the composerswere who produced such marvelloustunes. Were they pipers, harpers orfiddlers? Whoever they were they weremusic men of unusual ability for there isan exquisite melodic quality in manyAn unknown Tyneside fiddler c. 1860 from the archives of P. M. Lows & Son, photographersNewcastle upon Tyne. Could this be James Hill?hornpipes that can equal many airs,classical or traditional.Who could beat, or even equal suchgreat tunes as "The Belfast", "TheDerry", "Chief O'Neill's Favourite","Dwyers", and many others far toonumerous to name here.For every composer of hornpipesknown to us there are scores of greathornpipe composers totally and foreverunknown to us whose melodies will bewith us as long as a hornpipe is playedor danced.Composers of fine hornpipes knownto us are Ed Reavy , Sean Ryan, JamesScott Skinner, Paddy Kelly, PaddyFahey and last but not least James Hillof Newcastle, Northumbria, aboutwhom a fair amount is known and manyof whose compositions have lasted tothis day and can still hold their ownwith the best of them.JAMES HILLJames Hill was one of the foremostfiddlers on Tyneside during the mid-19th century. He is also celebrated asthe composer of numerous tunes,mostly hornpipes of which I will givemore details later on.By looking through the list of tunesit can be seen that many are named9

Line" hornpipe; (ii) "The Locomotive";(iii) "The High Level", Railway bridgeover the Tyne.G) Racehorses: (i) "Underhand'.:won Northumberland Plate 1857; (ii)"Beeswing": a famouse Racehorse inEngland, won all over in 1830's and1840's and won 51 races including 25Gold Cups. Two new variations to thishornpipe have been added by fiddlerSean McGuire ; (iii) "The Flying Dutchman":was almost as famous as Beeswingand sired one of Beeswing's foals.(k) Sports: Roving: "The Champion"hornpipe for Harry Clasper who wonnumerous Rowing Races.Most readers would be curious aboutthe status of traditional music in generalin Northumbria and Newcastle in particulartoday and it is pleasant to saythat the music is going strong there andneedless to say the hornpipe is thefavourite tune played there.The best known group is "The HighLevel Ranters", a group of 4 who meetweekly at the Bridge Hotel in Newcastleand play traditional music and singsongs in great style and have produced 4finely arranged L.P's.Alisdair Anderson -Northumbrian pipes.English concertina andALASDAIR ANDERSONThe best known member of thegorup is Alasdair Anderson who playsEnglish concertina and Northumbrianpipes, Colin Ross, who plays fiddle andpipes, Johnny Handle, accordion, piano,4 string guitar and Tom Gilfellow,guitar and cittern.The 4 have a huge repertoire of tunesfrom Ireland, Scotland and North~astEngland and are in my opinion the bestall English group there is.Another musician from the area,better known to Irish enthusiasts isKathryn Tickell, a star Northumbrianpiper and fiddler and played in Dublinat a pipers' convention some years ago .To end this article on J ames Hill, Iwill quote a few lines from a poem writtenabout him by a contemporary poet,Lewis Proudfoot.Time canna kill oo'r Jamie Hill,His lilting tune south shoreStill gars my feet, age cramper fast beat,Gude time upon the floor.An' when I hear his _h!>rnpipe clearHis Bottle Bank and Cage,His Barber's Pole, these warm my soulAn' gi'es new strength to age.GALWAY'S NeW CATHEDRALBy ex-prisoner of Galway JailWhere once I pined in prison, when Iwas but a boy,A shrine divine has 'risen in faith andhope and joy,Its bell will ring, its choirs will sing,Its incense fill the air,A den of tears, for many years,Is now a shrine of prayer.Its bells will chime across the lake,Will peal across the bay,Will echo from the mountains,That men may pause and pray.That men may pause and pray for those,Who suffered and who died,For freedom, faith and fatherland,That grim gray jail inside.F or those true dauntless rebel bands,Who died but did not fail,Since Galway's new Cathedral stands,Where once stood Galway Jail.For Pearse who chose a quicklime tombTo dissipate the fog,For gentle Father Griffin whomThey butchered in a bog,It was they who stretched forth lifeless. handsTo tear that prison downTo build the shrine which proudlystandsToday in Galway Town.Their martyred bones its corner stones,Their blood its walls sustain,Our country's pride, for this they died,Nor have they died in vain.Its blazoned cross is mounted high,Above its towering dome,To bless the land and sea and sky,To guide the traveller home.To prove to those from many landsThat true men will prevail,Since Galway's new Cathedral standsWhere once stood Galway Jail.That grim gray jail is rubble now,Though built with blood and tears,With bursting heart and burning browMidst tyrants' taunts and jeers,No tyrant's lash, no sullen screws,No spyhole in the door,The trap door's crash and the hangingnooseAre gone for ever more.And in their place this shrine of grace,Guards dear old Galway bay,How very odd, that I, thank God,Should live to see the day.My hands are free unshackled now,No bars, no bolts, no keys,To thank my God I humbly bow,Upon my bended knees.For this gracious gift, from His sacredhands,That nothing can assail,Since Galway's new Cathedral standsWhere once stood Galway Jail.11

* TOMMY MAKEM playing with some members of Bru Boru for an American televisionprogramme* MARY CONROY, ANNE McCONNELL, STEPHEN CONROY, JACK PEN­DERGAST and JOHN CONROY.* TOMMY MAKEM pictured with BOBBYGARDINER during the making of anAmerican television programme at BruBoru.Anne McConnell, Chairlady of Comhaltas Canada and Jack Pendergast, Chairmanof the North East Region of Comhaltas USA, stopped by Mount Rath, Co.Laois, to present Stephen Conroy, with a souvenir T-shirt of the 1993 NorthAmerican Convention held in Syracuse, NY, USA. Step hen helped build Comhaltasinterest in Syracuse with Concert venue stops in 1990 and 1991. Theannual Canada/USA Concert Tour has been such a catalyst for the growth ofComhaltas in North America, that the hosts always think of the artists and tourmanagers from Ireland as part of the family. Ann and Jack also report that MaryConroy's lunch was great and recommend a stop in Mount Rath at the "Shop"and a chat with Stephen's father and mother.13

BRIGHTNESS OF BRIGHTNESS#AN ACCOUNT OF AOGAIN O'RAHILL YUinsin O'DonovanWhen a traveller reaches the longglens of Kerry - and especially ifhe has come from the noise andcontention and vain dust ofDublin - his spirit bathes inquietude and is refreshed. Perhaps herecalls the lines, half jest, half earnest,that were made about this country ofthe far south-west, by two bards:Iveragh ugly, where grey dragonsabound; Clancarthy, where wheatcan't be grown in the ground; AndDesmond, with bleak empty hills tothe west - Three places that neverSaint Patrick blessed.Iveragh, ever illustrious Land, Clanearthy,where wheat would growwild on the strand And Desmond,with high kingly hills for the rest;Sure, Patrick left these unto God tobe blessed!!When he comes in the evening to Killarney,the innermost glory of thatcountry, it seems too beautiful to bereal. Through gold-flecked granite wallshe goes, while the air is full of fine rainfalllike powdered diamonds, to beholdsuddenly the wide lough and the woodsof the Eagle's Nest high in the sun. Acastle, blurred by age, is by the water,to recall the nobles who lived here once,of MacCarthy or O'Sullivan lineage , andthe gillies who brought back the reddeer from the hill. On the travellergoes, greeted on the way by those giganticmen (clerics and laymen), the sonsof Kerry till he reaches Muckross , andthe walks through parkland to theabbey: and here , most of all, he is awed•15

tation of Ulster ended the last IrishPrincipalities.In Cromwell's time, the sons of princesand the Catholic gentry of the Palerose again, but were defeated; and thenthe Puritan terror re-enacted the desolationof forty years earlier. Towns wereemptied by slaughter and every Catholicchurch or cathedral or abbey, wassilenced. Yet a third time, by the Williamitewar, which took place in ourpoet's boyhood, rapine spread far andwide, even into the ends of the island;and Ireland was a three-times strickendesert, when the new Planters tookpossession.What we have read of, with horror, inown days, the devastation of Europe,the driving of populations, the enslavementof masses, the burning or starvingof cities, and the whitening of the veryearth under invasion: these terrors,which seemed almost unimaginable untilthey were verified before us: thesethings were Ireland's fate three times ina century. Such grief it cost, to subduethe olden nation and with such hatredwas it hated.Egan O'Rahilly, as we have said, wasa lad when the last of those wars waswaged. He was born, about 1678 somewherein the country east of Killarney,the son of a well-to-do countryman whodied while the boy was young. It isstated in several books that O'Rahilly'sfather really was an O'Reilly fromUlster, who went to Kerry to seek preliminaryeducation for the priesthood,for it was a common thing in those daysto study the classics in the Kerryschools before going to theclericalcolleges on the Continent. ThisO'Reilly, in a fight with some landlord'sbuck, killed his man and, therefore, hadto abandon his hope of ordination: hesettled in Kerry, married there and thepeople instinctively changed 6Raghallaigh to b Rathaille . This tale isprobably mere legend though a line inEgan's verse seems to claim Northernblood.Thepoet, it is understood, wasnamed Egan after his mother whowas of the MacEgan family; afamily ever illustrious in scholarship.As men of genius so often owetheir distinction to their mothers, itmay be that Egan O'Rahilly owed his tothe MacEgan blood. His motherwrought well for her two orphan sons.She "owned at one time half of thetownland of Scrahanaveal; which, however,under the stress of circumstances,she relinquished, and came to dwell atCnoc' an Chorrfhiaidh, also called Stagmount,a little to the south -west of Meetogues."Egan seems to have been designedfor a learned calling; his brother,O'CAROLANMorgan O'Rahilly, though the younger,farmed the land.Of Egan's youth, nothing is told.Somewhere in Kerry's famous schoolshe gained a classical education; andfrom Gaelic scholars he received thebardic tradition. He speaks of hispeople as followers of MacCarthy Mor.They had held this rank immemoriallyaccording to his claim (but he may havehad the MacEgans rather than theO'Rahillys in mind), when he describedthe MacCarthys as the princes my forbearsserved before Christ died.He evidently hoped to be a poet,genealogist, historian to the chief, inthe manner of the bards down the centuries.For that he had preparedhimself in mastering the literary arts.Plainly, then, as a young man, he didnot realise that the day of the bards andthe princes or chiefs was over forever.He did not know, what is so plain to us,that after the Boyne and Aughrim andthe fall of Limerick and the flight of theWild Geese, the old Gaelic world wasstricken to death.SUCH WAS GAELDOMNow there was a very good reasonfor the slowness with which strickenGaeldom knew that its doom was uponit. That reason was, that the Gaelicsocial order possessed an intense localvitality. Every Gaelic community wasa little kingdom, feeding itself, makingits own clothing and having its ownmasons, smiths, weavers, carpenters andother craftsmen, as well as its own menof letters and teachers, even its harpers:so that it could live on, and maintain thefull cycle of customary ways, even whenit was isolated. From Kerry, awayacross Connacht and the Antrim Glens,to the Scottish Highlands and the Isles,cells of Gaelic life continued in being, inO'Rahilly's lifetime, though the Stuartkingship which had been their bond ofunion, was stricken and soon would begone, like the soul from the body.17

In my heart and my mind it seemedto me, that the dead long deadwas yet living by the feasting ofyouths on meat and wine, punchdrinkingand brandy: flesh on thespits, fowl from the water, withmusic and singing and drinkinghealths; kennels of beagles bayingA company going, and a companycoming; and a company sweetly entertainingthe corners; a company,too, praying on the bare flags, gentlymelting the heavens;(And so it seemed) till I learnt fromone of the place that 'twas Warner,the princely, the gentle, honest andfaithful, who now was in this famedold lime-white dwelling a prince notgrudging to the traveller:'Tis God who made all things: Hewho has sent a noble one in place ofthe noble who is gone; one who givesto the people, to the clerics, to scholars,a true knight, great-hearted.A POET OF PRINCESDid Warner know that he had beenimmortalised (for nothing else is knownof him and he would be forgotten longsince but for his generosity of a day -or did he see no more in great Aodhaganthan a passing country bard in homespun?The poet certainly was valuedin his time, by many hosts ofconsequence. Turlough O'Carolan,most famous if not most racial of ourharpers was his contemporary (born inthe same year, by some accounts), andwas welcome in the houses of new Galland old Gael, throughout the land. Justas the economy of country life kept theBig House in being, the customary placeof bard and harper remained for a time.So we find Egan O'Rahilly makingceremonial poems for various notables,and for some Anglo-Irish as well as Gaelicnobles. Finghin 0 Donnchadha ofthe Glen is saluted, buaincheap cosnairnhda thir go tn!an, "firm stake ofdefence to his country": this was thepatriot chief most feared by the foreignerin Kerry. For Viscount Kenmare,the poet makes a marriage song, delicatelylovely: telling of joy among thebird flocks and the leaping fish of thestreams, of trees flowering in winter, ofquiet seas and comeliness upon the land.The Kenmare family were Catholics,but not of Irish stock. Did they valuearight this richest of their Irish possessions- a poem by Ua Rathaille in theirhonour?Lamentations, too, the poet madefor his patrons; for that was anhonourable duty of the bard. For Diarmuid0 Laoghaire of Cillin, he made, asearly as 1696, the lamentation that isconsidered by Dr. Dinneen to be hisbest; and what a galaxy of sublime epithetshe uses, to commemorate Gerald,son of the Knight of Glin:What is this depression on the chiefsof Ireland . what is this that has dimmedthe very sunlight?- what butthat very prince of Grecian stock liesin the grave, without life or movement?Hawl.of Munster, Hawk ofthe Glen, hawk of the Shannon! -phoenix pearl of Castlemartyr, pearlof the Suir, pearl of Limerick! candleof knowledge, rose of the poets,vinetree of Callan .. . . .On goes the poem, litany-like, recitingthe qualities of the dead man and thesorrow that has been laid on the land.What pride there must have been in thehouses of Munster, when O'RahiJlyspoke thus, in his throbbbing, fullvowelled,chiming lines, of the fallenones: how sorrow must have been liftedto a plane of dignity , in which it ennobledthe living with the dead!,Not always was the poet well received.Twice O'RahiJly made poems forLord Kenmare and evidently was rewarded;a third time he went to himwith verses, but now he was turnedaway . This seems to have happened inthe poet's old age. He broke forthextempore (so runs the tradition) inlines that give unenviable notoriety tothe churlish act: swift, artless lines inwhich the Gaelic indignation burstsforth, and see how the poet's scorn ishammered home:The chill that's on my heart, that'shard and old. Since Conn's highkingdom now the strangers hold.And the clouded sun as Munster'slight goes down - 'Tis these thatbring me to visit you, ValentineBrown!Great Cashel void: no clerics there,nor guest: O'Brien's turreted castleon otter's nest: Dunhallow with noking to wear our crown - 'Tis thesethat bring me to visit you, ValentineBrown!The deer have left the hill: thehunter's loss: The alien raven roostsin the woods of Ross: The fish fromthe rivers are gone: the heavensfrown - And so I come to visit you,Valentine Brown!Darinsih no more the home of theEarls we knew. Since overwave ourHawk to Hamburg flew: Old eyesgrow dim with endless tears theydrown - An I grope my way to visit- a Valentine Brown!INDIGNATIONFor although O'RahiJly, like O'Carolan,might find many good hosts, it wasgrowing clear that the old order wasstricken. We can see the knowledgedawning in the poet's mind. There is histerrific poem on "The ruin that befellthe great families of Ireland" - whereinhe speaks of Ireland as "a land strippednaked," and "a land of fetters," and -significant saying: "A land where thepoor cannot get justice" for such wasthe sum of the Glorious Revolution, asit was experienced by honest folk in all19

JAPANESE JOTTINGSThe Tokyo Branch of Comhaltasis making quite a name for itselfin Japanese circles. The branchpublishes a most informative newsletterfrom which we have gleanedthe following information.The current membership of thebranch is 35 and the officers are:Eamon () Caoimh - Chairperson;Rieko Yamashita - Vice-Chairperson;Hideki Mimura - Secretary;Genie Medrano Endo - Treasurer;Steven Sprouse - Co-Events Co-·Ordinator; Koko Miyazawa - Co­Events Co-Ordinator; and BrendanWeight man - Newsletter Editor.Womad '92 YokohamaWOMAD (World of Music, Artsand Dance) was held on 5 and 6September 1992. De Danann playedat the Seaside Park at the YokohamaMinato Mirai 21. A group ofCCE Japan members went specificallyfor the De Danann concert.The music was excellent and membersof the dance class and otherIrish music lovers took to dancingimpromptu on a four foot widestrip of concrete behind the openair stage, despite the danger ofdropping into the moat betweenthemselves and the band. Their.' efforts did not go unnoticed.The October edition of theNagoya Caledonia Tsushin reported:"On the grass (?) behind De Danannseveral Irish-looking men andseven or eight Japanese womenwere dancing quite skilfully in timewith the performance. They seemedto have a little trouble dancingto the Bach number, but all thesame Frankie seemed suitably impressed."CCE DANCE CLASS BIRTHDAYCEILtThe first anniversary of the CCEDance Class was celebrated on Sunday,6 September 1992. TonyGraham gave out green chopsticksto commemorate the birthday ofthe class he has fostered now forover a year and a half. He also gavespecial gifts to some of the peoplewho have helped him in particular.Among the presents was a China* The Japan Setmug, oops, jigsaw puzzle for RiekoYamashita.CHRISTMAS CEILtOur first ever Christmas Ceillwas held on 13 December 1992.To create a festive spirit we organiseddoor prizes. The prizes werepurchased by Genie on behalf ofthe committee with rather unexpectedresults. The prizes rangedfrom Irish music CDs to manurescentedperfume! We also gave outsample bottles of Irish liquers asconsolation prizes. As usual, themusic was live and everybody appearedto have a good time.EMERALD BALLA charity ball was held to celebrateSt. Patrick's Day C early) onFriday 12 March this year. Amongthe performers were MasumiSakaue, our harp teacher, EamonSaunders, a war-piper from Limerick,Ti na nOg, a Japanese trio,Phil Coulter, a world-renownedIrish singer-songwriter, WhiskeyBusiness, two of whose membersare in CCE and last but not leastour very own CCE Dancers. Theevent received a lot of Japanesepress coverage due to the attendanceof members of the Japaneseroyal family . The Emperor'ssecond son is particularly interestedin Celtic music.ST. PATRICK'S DAY SPORTSDAYCCE Japan participated in theorganisation of the INJ Sports Dayagain this year. The Sports Daywas held at Veno Gakuen on Saturday13 March. Events included asoccer tournament, a hurlingmatch, superstars Ca team pentathlon),and compromise rules Cacross between Gaelic football andAustralian rules).CCE Japan ran a cake stall andsold Irish coffees, which went downreally well because it had beensnowing the day before and thewind was still blowing in from Siberia.The CCE stall was organisedby Steven Sprouse and KokoMiyazawa. Eamon organised thewhiskey and all the food sold out ataround the right time. The committeewould like to extend itsthanks to Fn!d, Kanako, Yoko,Takako, Tomoko Sasaki, TomokoIwamoto, Heather and Massayo .A suggestion has been put forwardthat provisions be made forsome dance activities at next year'sSports Day. Opinions and sugges·tions from other members would bewelcome.21

SCAOIL AMACH EA SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL INITIATIVEStudents of Tarbert ComprehensiveSchool, Co. Kerry, recorded a first,when they launched a cassette of traditionalmusic at the school's annual"Achievement Awards Night" last May."Scaoil Amach E", roughly translated asLet it rip 1 is a very apt title for thecassette which features 15 tracks of thebest of traditional fare. All themusicians featured are students (andstaff) of Tarbert Comprehensive 8I\dalso members of Comhaltas in Tarbertitself and Glin, Co. Limerick. Under thedirection of staff member Claire Burks,the musicians offer selections of reels,jigs, hornpipes and a song (accompaniedby music teacher, Mary Quirke), somesolo tracks, other lively groupselections.The 17-member group had been rehearsingfor about 3 months - mostlyduring lunch-breaks - to the surpriseand interest of other students! The factthat most of the group play regularlytogether made the task in hand easier.Already they have represented theschool in 3 successive All-Ireland finalsof Sl6gadh, and others have achieved individualhonours in fleadhanna cheoil,up to All-Ireland level. Most recent ofthese was Pa Foley's winning performanceat this year's Ceol an Gheimh-ridh in the reed section. Others whohave made it to All-Ireland levels successfully,include Michael Collins (accordeon),Maurice Egan (accordeon),Deirdre Dillane (tin whistle) and ClaireBurke (flute) who has a number of All­Ireland titles to her credit: also EllenCarraig, Thomas Dillane (flute andfiddle respectively). The cassette wasofficially launched by Diarmaid 0Cathain, Uachtanin an Chomhaltais. Inhis speech, Diarmaid referred to thelong and rich tradition of music inNorth Kerry and West Limerick. Heencouraged other schools to follow theexample set by Tarbert Comprehensive.Seeing as recording facilities are nowmore and more accessible, the potentialto capture musical talent is so muchgreater.The 17 member group are: Fiddles:Daniel O'Brien, Katherine Kiely,Diarmaid O'Brien, • Thomas Dillane;Accordeons: Michael Co llins , MauriceEgan, Pa Foley. Flutes: Marie O'Brien,Caroline O'Brien, Ellen Carrig, ClaireBurke; Concertina: Tony O'Connell;Mandolin: Deirdre Dillane; Banjo: MatthewReidy; Piano: Barbara Scanlon,Mary Quirke (with vocalist); Vocals:Amanda Friel.The cassette was recorded at Pat'sTracs Studio, in Causeway, Co. Kerry.With the advice of sound engineer PatDonegan (whose additional backingtracks added to the tape so much), thegroup completed recording over 2 days.According to Claire Burke, the mostimportant aspect of the tape is that itgives a stage to younger talent, whereencouragement and recognition is veryimportant. These young musicians arethe life blood of music and should beseen as such. Very often, they tend tobe overlooked. "Scaoil Amach E" hasredressed this imbalance. The standardof music is second to none and as statedon the sleeve-notes "Foot tapping guaranteed!"* Any inquiries re "Scaoil Amach E"to Claire Burke. Tel. (068) 36186 or(068) 22758 (after 5 p.m.) or MichaelLanigan (068) 36126.* Back Row (I-r) ELLEN CARRIG,CAROLlNE O'BRIEN, KATHERINEKIELY, DAVID O'BRIEN, THOMASDILLANE, DIARMAID O'BRIEN,MARIE O'BRIEN. (Centre): AMANDAFRIEL, TOMAS MacEOIN (school princi·pal), CLAIRE BURKE (producer) DIAR­MAID 0 CATHA IN (Uachtanin an ChomhaItais);MARY QUIRKE (music department,Tarbert Comp.); BARBARA SCAN­LON, DEIRDRE DILLANE; (front row):TONY O'CONNELL, MARICE EGAN,MICHAEL COLLlNS, PA FOLEY, MAT­THEW REIDY.23

AgDeanamh Ceotl(Mikie)COlS ABHANN NA SEADCOlS ABHANN NA SEAD: Chloisfeaan t-amhran brea sea i Muscraf. UfFhloinn. Ta leagan de ag tvHire Bean UfChrualaoi (N f Cheochliin) agus ag EilfsN f Shuilleabhain. Id bhearsai abhfonn acu de gnath, ach ta cuplabhearsa breise sa leabhar 'An Gra inAmhrain na nDaoine' le Sean b Iuama.Cois abhann na sead a1'uairibh a' Iae, is me'g imeacht fe dhein mo shlciinte.- ~~ J·hl:1t rtv F Lt )P~n ) :JJJ1l=~.~lar a mbidis caora is cno bui ar gheagaibh is mil bheach 'Ha sYaod ar bhantaibh, rn ~---SJJE& ~ ~ IvV~ Li~ :t!!a,p ,~-JD-$b:~Do Iabhradar na h-ein, do Iasadar na speartha bIll an fharrmge 11a trean IUlsne Ian suas.COlS ABHANN NA SEADCo is abhann na sead ar uairibh a' laeIs me 'g imeacht fe dhein mo shlainte.Mar a mbidis caora is cn6 buf ar gheagaibhIs mil bheach 'na slaod ar bhantaibhDo labhradar na h-ein , do lasadar na spearthaBhi an fharraige ' na trean luisne lan suasDo mhusgail an ghrian bhi le sealad fe chiachAgud d'eirig an t-iasc 'na lan rith.Annsud ar d tuis in imeallaibh ciumhaiseCoille cumhra do tharlaAn fhinne-bhean fhionn gur binne liom a tiuinNa an fidil , an fhliuit, na an chlairseach.Ba r6-dheas a sui!, 's a mala chaol chumtha's a leaca bhi mar chumhar na tra 'muighBa gh ile a pfb na an eala ar a linnIs do lion mo chroi le gra dhi.Nuair a dhearcas f annsud mar a bhiAn ainnir ba chaoine 's ba bhreaghthaBhi sca il na gcaor na leacain reidhAgus fatha binn 'na gaireMean a cuim do chraidh me im chroi~e taithneamh da gnaoi's da gai reo bhaitheas go bonn bhi a ciabh lei go tromIs a cuI bui go casta fainneachMo chreach agus mo chas gan mise 'gus mo ghraAr leaba go la 'n-ar n-aonarGo ciuin is go tlath roimh Aifreann do raIs gan cead ag ar namhad teacht taobh !innA shuairc-bhean bhrea na leabhar-chrobh ab'aileo d'fhagais m'intinn buarthaIs r6 mh6r go mbfhearr lem chroi 'stigh tu fhailNa riocht is e fhail mar dhualgas.

In this issue Ag Deanamh Ceoil weinclude 4 jigs taken down by Seanb Drisceoil of Newry, a man who hasgiven outstanding service to CCE atvarious levels down the years. Seanlists the name of the musician fromwhom he got the tune in each case.McMAHON'S JIG - from Eddie Ruddy4~-s=~~kiit_~~N=-~1~[fPlT=i=AI~ .. - ---- - -~-f--t=l~-m~~~~·-=~ J~:r-=r=~- ·-r-~~~ - -- :l =~rn ·~-~ -~~ -- - ~·· I(- ---- -~~l= ~~~- = - -.-~--= =~ - =-~~-===-~±~-=~·- J :l ---~R~*--~-.- --. - - - - - =- ..... --tt'- :u: : -~--.-_ _. -- :=-- ".... - _- ~- ~--=~---~=- .._- . -::.. -=-~t=~~-' --- ----- -----' --------------... - ----~- - -~ ~]I-- -- - --- --_.._. . . - - . --- .. .. ". ----- ------_.__- . - -- --,..•-- - - _.-- --

THE CALL OF CLONMELTom CorrAfter the outstanding success ofClonmel's first ever Fleadh Cheoil nahEireann last year, the town has beenselected by Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireannto host Ireland's premier traditionalmusic festival again this August, a pressreception in Dublin was told.The Co. Tipperary town will increaseits population tenfold, as it bids amusical Cead Mile Failte to morethan 100,000 visitors expected forFleadh weekend, August 27-29.The three days of festivities, worth£7 million in revenue to the host region,will bringlO,OOO traditional Irish musiciansand performers into the locality.They will include 3,000 competitorswho will be vieing for honours in the140 different events that make up whatis effectively the Comhaltas worldchampionships in Irish music and song.Announcing details of this year'sFleadh, Fleadh chairman Des FlDelahuntysaid that 25,000 bednights werebeing organised in the Clonmel area tocater for the influx of Fleadh visitors."The accommodation enquiries arestarting to come in thick and fast fromAmerica and Britain. Our visitors , particularlythose from overseas , are stilltalking about the marvellous welcomeand hospitality that were the hallmarkof the Clonmel Fleadh last year. . Theycouldn't get over how well behaved andpeaceful it was for a major festival cateringfor large numbers of people.Because Clobmel's first Fleadh prBecause Clonmel's first Fleadh provedso successful we are anticipating evenbigger numbers at this year's event,"said Mr. Delahunty.SHOWCASE OF CULTUREThe Fleadh is being run inassociation with Guinness, the majorsponsor, and Mr. Delahunty paid tributeto all the sponsors for their financialsupport for this great internationalshowcase of Irish music and culture.Labhras b Murchu, Director Generalof Comhaltas, said that the Fleadh wasnow more than 40 years old. He des ·scribed it as an unique national institutionwhich spanned the generations,created bridges between communitiesand reminded us all of the ri ch heritage* A selection of the huge crowd which enjoyed Fleadh '92 in Clonmel.* Pictured at Fleadh '92 in Clonmel (l-r)MARY McANDREW (Britain); HELENGANNON (St. Louis); JOHN WHELAN(New York); Cllr. VERA HEWITT (CIon·mel); and TOM CORR (Fleadh P.R.O.)which we possessed - the envy of theworld at large ."The Fleadh musicians require nocoaxing to open their instrument cases.Their enthusiasm is infectious. Theywill talk about their music to the casuallistener or curious passerby with all theintegrity and urgency of the hedgeschoolmaster. The audience is relaxedin the company of these musicmakersand the movement of a chair or theclatter of a teapot goes unnoticed. It isthis type of musicmaking which allowsfor and cultivates the many moodswhich are to be found at Fleadh Cheoilna hEireann," said Labhras.He said that Clonmel and the Fleadhwere comfortable with each other andmany were the tales told of the friendshipand hospitality which prevailed in1992. This year would be another milestonein this inspiring story.Speaking at the reception, Mr. P. J.McAllister, Divisional SponsorshipManager, Guinness, complimented thepeople of Clonmel on bringing theFleadh back to the town this year."The fact that the Fleadh is to be heldin Clonmel again in 1993 is the ultimateconfirmation of the success of lastyear's event. It is a great tribute to thetownspeople that they staged last year'sevent so well that Comhaltas Ceolt6iriEireann have decided to hold it in Clonmelagain this year."Mr. McAllister said that of all thefestivals Guinness sponsored each yearthe Fleadh Cheoil stood out interms of the excellent ethnic entertainmentwhich it provided.Enquiries about Fleadh accommodationshould be directed to FleadhCheoil na hEireann office, NelsonStreet, Clonmel, Co . Tipperary. Tel.052-26555 .25

Where's the harm?" "Ah no! Ah no!"declared the mightily offended Pat."When it comes to tha point, when aman's mates ates his tools, it's time tago! "I was driving north from London inthe car. It was early morning and rainingslightly - which accounted for mybeing able to get the Irish radio intelligibly.It was a hard time crossing thePennines and the rain somehow seemsto keep the radio waves down a bit."D'fhuair D6nall MacAmhlaigh basinne ...."It hit me like a hammer. Ihad to pull in to a lay by for I couldn'tsee the road suddenly and I had a lumpthe size of a fist in my throat. Ar dheisDe go raibh a anam. Ni bheidh a leitheidaris ann.CAOIMHGHIN 0 BROLCHAINrecently won the prestigious IrishPost Journalism Competition at ListowelWriters' Week. Caoimghin,who lives in Britain, is a regularcontributor to TREOIR and hishumorour and sensitive articleshave won him a large and appreciativeaudience.THANK YOUCatherine Clarke,78 Neilson Road,Stillwater,N.Y. 12170Thank you for all the wonderfulissues of TREOIR we have received, fortheir inside look at the traditional worldof Irish music, dance, culture andpeople. F or people like ourselves atsuch a distance from you, the magazineis always a pleasure to have. It's especiallytouching to see photos of friendsand acquaintances I have met in Ireland-neighbours and friends of my cousins,etc. - photos of people whose music Ihave admired; and all the fine articles.Catherine ClarkePassing the cricket testWHEN an Asian baby of fiftccnmonths was found abandoncdin Southall, Middlcsex, justafter Christmas. the police and hospitalauthorities made a point of emphasisingthat the child didn't understandEnglish.Having worked among the Asiancommunity in Southall for four yearsthis was no surprise to me. Thcyoungest of children can bc heard in thcshops and on thc streets conversingamong themselves in thcir nativelanguage. It is the samc among theolder rcsidents. It is at school that theseyoungsters first hear English spokcnand, while they come to acquire localaceents, it is obvious that throughouttheir lives English remains their seeondlanguage.Norman Tebbit, an extremeright-wing firebrand of the Tory party,has called this "failing to pass thecricket test", by which he meant, as anexample. that thcse Asians, eventhough born in Britain, continue tochcer the country of their forefathers incricket against England. I have nevcrhcard this denicd by Asianspokcspeople when challenged by themedia, although some are pragmaticenough to emphasise that they arc gladto cheer England against any otheropposition.Wouldn't it be nice if we Irish hadmanaged to retain our language in thesame way? History blames the Dritishfor imposing their language on us, butthe Indians and Pakistanis wereinvaded and dominated too, so thatexcuse doesn't entirely exonerate us.I have met many fine Irish pcoplewho absolutely detcsted our language,mainly because they never bothcred tolearn it. In their twcntics they wouldproudly declare that they had forgottencvery word of Irish that they had heardat school. The money in the pocket waswhat counted, you would hear, as if aknowledge of Irish would be a financialhandicap. That baby in Southall, nowreunited with her mother in theMidlands, may well emulate some ofher eompatriots and make a fortuneover here - who knows? - but onecertainty is thai she will be lluent in herown language before she ever koows aword of English and, when the timecomes, she will pass on the mothertongue to her own offspring. Anotherone to fail the ericket test but a proudstatistic for her own community all thesame.Fortunately, we Irish can have an, occasional proud day too in this respect.When actress Sinead Cusaek openedthe Green Ink Dookfair in London lastyear she spoke in Irish - not just thetoken few words but at length - to theassembled gathering of highbrowliterary figures. I'm sure she won manynew admirers for doing so, even amongthose who hadn't the faintest idea ofwh at she was saying and she may alsohave convinced a few people that theIrish language was not something to becast into the litter bin on leaving school.It is people of her calibre who can savethe language, since all attempts to startwith the young seem to have failed.IHAD an enlightening experience acouple of years ago when, at anIrish Post Community Awardsfunction, I met an eminent Londonsurgeon who had just completed acourse in Irish conducted byCorkwoman Siobhan Ui Neill. Siobhanwas receiving an award for her work onbehalf of the Irish language in Dritainand the surgeon was one of her guests.He had decided to study Irish becauseonc of his grandmothers had been Irishand he was by now lluent enough toparticipate fully in the cricket test butwe weren't talking cricket that nightanyway. The important thing was thatthis cultured man would have beenequally at home in West Kerry orConnemara or Donegal and he wasproud of it.FLUTESGanley Wooden Concert FlutesIrish made to a high standard at reasonable prices.A Free wooden whistle (key of D)with every concert flute purchased.Enquiries/lnfonnation: BASIL McDONNELLMarket Street, Swinford, Co. Mayo, Ireland. Tel. (094) 51193/51769.BOXESWooden cases for instrumentsin stock or made tomeasureTommy Shiels - 041-5125527

THE PIED PIPER OF PERTHDiarmuid 0 CathainMany years have passed since SeanDoherty left his native Charlestown, Co.Mayo and sailed as an exile to England.In Leicester he numbered among hisfriends well known ComhaItas personality- Seam us Coleman. In Leicesterhe also met and married local girl -Margaret and in 1968, they set out for anew land and settled in Perth, Australia.Sean and Margaret were my hosts onmy recent visit down under and this wascertainly home from home. TheDohertys live in a bungalow, built bySean on a four acre holding in CanningVale - a suburb of Perth and not farfrom famed Freemantle. It is a lovelypeaceful setting far removed from thehustle and bustle of the big cities, with apony grazing peacefully in the distance:a flock of hens marshalled by a roosternearby and several varieties of birds, includingparrots wafting their notes in asultry thirty degrees centigrade. Seanadmits he would like to have more timefor farming, but apart from his job,every spare moment is devoted to Comhaltas and traditional music. He teachespupils on Thursday night, Friday night,Saturday afternoon and before theweekly session each Monday night inthe Irish Club in Subiaco. He plays andteaches a variety of instruments, but thefiddle is his first love . His wife Margaretmay have been born in Leicester, but ofher it can be truthfully said that she is"more Irish than the Irish themselves."An excellent Branch Runai, she is adepton the bodhran, entertains the pupilsand their parents, and supervises thecatering at the Monday night sessions.She is also very involved with set dancingand is looking forward to attendingthe Scoil Eigse Willie Clancy in July,and, indeed, the Scoil Eigse at FJeadhCheoil na hEireann in Clonme!. Scanmust be the best known Irishman inPerth, a beautiful city of one million inhabitants.He is ever at the ready whencalled upon by the G.A.A. or anycharitable organisation and where Seanand Margaret go , - just like the piedpiper of old - the others follow.Among other Comhaltas stalwars I metin Perth are Tommy and KathleenKearns from Ballymote, Co . Sligo.Tommy is a grand traditional singerwith a vast repertoire of local songs and* "HELL,O CHUM", says DIARMUID 0CATHAIN, Uachtanin to a new Comhaltasmember in Perth!his rendering of "Down by LoughArrow's Side" is a rare gem. They lastvisited Ireland in 1991 , when theyattended the Fleadh Nua in Ennis.Their fifteen year old daughter -Dympna is a product of the SeanDoherty School and is an excellent tinwhistle player and singer. Even at hertender age she is a Jeading member ofa professional group - though ComhaJtasrequirements always come first.Paddy and Vera Larkin from Dublinown the Blarney Castle Bar and Restaurant,one of the most popular venuesin the city. Vera is an excellent and inventivecook, while Paddy - when timepermits - is a master at recitations andincludes in his repertoire some favouritesof our own John McCracken lOrmond Og Waters was born in Australia,and is an excellent concertina player.Briseann an duchas, Brendan Doherty, ason of Sean and Margaret, is a morethan useful banjo player and othermembers of Sean's class include OrlaDoyle, Triona Walsh, and Siobhan Col­Iins, whose father John hails from Galway.Ray Deely comes from Donegaland excels on the conert flute while hiswife - Mary is a well known dance teacher.Kevin Saunders was born in Eng-land and is a very versatile performer,who plays the banjo and fiddle equallywell and also plays a button accordion,tuned to D and G. Another musicianwhom I met at the weekly session onthe Monday night was fiddler LukeAdams. On that occasion I counted atotal of seventeen musicians playing together.Maybe we should now re-phrasethe words of a well known song andtitle to "If we only had Australia overhere! "IRISH FAMILY DAYBefore leaving Perth, one has topraise the G.A.A. for its concept of atruly Irish Family Day on the Sunday.This was their launching pad for the1993 season and the programme includeda hurling game, a camogie game, atug-of-war competition and a footballtournament. In the final of this tour-- nament the winning team wascomposed of players all of whom wereborn in Ireland and their opponentswere all born in Australia. The gameended in a draw, but the Irish team wereawarded the game as they had forcedmore "fifties" during the game. Whileall this activity was taking place on thepitch, Se an Doherty and his merry men29

visited the Culturlann and hopes tomake another call in 1993., prior tochanging domicile to China, where she isscheduled to do a course. At thesessions I also met two lovely singers -Connie Enright from Sixmilebridge, Co.Clare whose father is a native of Clahane,Ballyduff, Co. Kerry and Australianborn Kathryn Clements, who travels theforty mile journey from her home inGeelong and whom I first met at FleadhCheoil na hEireann in Clonmel . .. Thestory telling tradition is also strong inMelbourne with Tralee born EddieHayes, now mine host of the MollyBloom's Hotel in Port Melbourne andBelfast born Louis McManus, whosewife Nora was for many years the Runaiof the Melbourne Branch. On thedancing scene I was delighted to renewacquaintance with Eileen Mu1cahy, ofMallow, whose family are synonymouswith Irish dancing. There too, wasMaria Broder, born in Nenagh, reared inDublin and sister of long serving Leixlipbranch runai - Breda Cody. Maria is awell respected dance teacher in her newsurroundings. Another brilliant youngdancer at the session in Gaelic Park onthe Sunday was Conor Hayes, who haswon a number of titles - ni nachionadh! Frank McEnroe with Mayoand Cavan connections and his Cavanborn wife Kitty, are still to the fore andpromoting Irish culture remains theirpastime. All the family were competentmusicians, but apart from one - all havenow flown the nest and are settled inother parts of the continent . Incidentally,the Sunday programme at GaelicPark in Melbourne was similar to Perthwith football and hurling games and anopen air entertainment stage, and theevening finished with an indoor musicand dancing session that lasted until9.00 p.m. The G.A.A. in Melbourneown their own pitch and clubhouse.Before leaving one must pay a welldeserved tribute to Phyllis McGrathfrom Drogheda, who with some helpersoperate the Irish Welfare Bureau. Theirsis a labour of love that has benefittedmany less fortunate people - and notonly Irish people.SYDNEYSydney is generally regarded as themost beautiful city on the Australiancontinent and few could cavil with this.Sydney Harbour Bridge and the nearbyOpera House must surely be two of themost picturesque sights in any city andsurely the most photographed. If oneneeds natural scenery at its best , Blackheathin the Blue Mountains is somefifty miles away. Mona Vale, sometwelve miles from Sydney is the homeof long time Comhaltas stalwart -* EILEEN CRONIN- O'SULLlV AN; DIAR­MUID b CATHAIN and MARY"FERGIE" CRONIN.* BILLY MORAN, Carrandulla, Tuam atMolly Blooms.Michael Cleary. A native of Ennistymon,Co. Clare, Michael was in the fortiesa member of the Clare football teamand manned the goals in 1949, whenClare caused the upset of the decade bydefeating Kerry in the Munster championship.His wife Mina comes fromBallycastle, Co. Mayo and is also a Comhaltasfanatic, as are most of the family.Like Melbourne, Sydney boasts a populationof four and a half million people,and the mUSICIans are scatteredthroughout the city and the surroundings.Sessions are held periodically inthe Gaelic Club as well as in the ThurlesCastle , where Kevin Doyle holds sway.Jim Connors is a reputable fiddler, whohails from Gort, Co . Galway and specialisesin tunes made popular by the lateJoe Cooley. Paul Cleary comes fromDublin and is a dab hand on the banjo.Kerry Murphy left his native Knocknagosheland settled in Australia someforty-three years ago. Deeply involvedin the G.A.A. as well as in the organisingof the Rose of Tralee, he is nowthe best known Kerryman in Australiaand yet finds time to play the tunes helearned back in Co . Kerry on his PaoloSoprani accordion. P. J. McGrath hailsfrom Clarina, Co . Limerick and is agreat performer on the mouth organ.Not all the musicians in Australia areIrish born. Native Australians havetaken to Irish music like the proverbial'duck to water.' This is especially trueof uilleann pipers. At a session in Guilford,I met Australian born Bill Harte31

add) and is making progress on thebanjo. His interest in culture cannot bedoubted as he is the current chairman ofthe thriving Irish Club in the city centre,and while his car has the individual registration'J. Fry,' his wife's car bearsthe registration 'CEOL!' Maurice Cumminswas born on the Waterford side ofCarrick-on-Suir and is probably the bestorganiser in the state of South Australia.Not alone is he the organiser of the IrishFestival in Adelaide, he also organisesthe popular Kapunda Festival - somefifty miles from Adelaide. Mr. & Mrs.Sean Boyle hail from Roscommon andthe library in the Irish Club is theirpride and joy. And so well might it bewith a huge stock of books, cassettesand videos. Veteran Mullingar accordionplayer Tom F'inn is another very activemember of the Irish Club, whoseexpertise at selling tickets is well recorded.Betty Hannigan is deeply involvedin everything Irish, though her workrate was recently reduced followingan unscheduled clash with an errant cyclist!Betty's daughter is married toClare Co. Board P.R.O. - Frank Whelan.Joan Lynch was one time runa{ of theAdelaide Comhaltas Branch which eventuallylapsed. What intrigued me wasthe fact that people such as Jim Fry andBetty Hannigan among others, wereblissfully unaware of the existence ofsuch branch. Joan and her husband Bobare now involved with the Irish AustralianSociety. Jack Brennan is an Australianborn uilleann piper and is chairmanof the Adelaide Irish Musicians. Ata get-together in the Irish Centre, a totalof sixteen people indicated they werewilling to become members of a revivedComhaltas Branch. Most people on thenight seemed reluctant to accept officeand it was decided to postpone the formationof the Branch to a later date.Among other people whom I met in myshort visit to Adelaide were Tom Keyesof Dublin, a prominent member of thecommittee of the Irish Club ; MaryO'Callaghan of Ennismore, Listowel andher husband Michael Mulvihill of Ballybunion,Pat Sheehy, formerly of Lixnaw.. Dorothy O'Donnell who is doing athesis on Irish music, Pat Jordan ofDublin, General Manager of the WestlakeShopping Centre and John Mc­Cull urn , Entertainments Manager of thesame complex.In my three weeks, I met many emigrantsfrom Ireland and all were unanimousthat Australia is a great countryfor those lucky enough to have employment.No doubt but some feel thepinch of the world wide recession butall admit that the social service; aresecond to none. These were theopinions of such as accordion playerPaddy McCormack of Galboola, Thurles,former Cork football star StephenSullivan of Beara, Seamus O'Connor,Sligo, whose mother is the former MaryPrendeville of Lixnaw, Co. Kerry andmany others. The culture of Ireland isstrong, vibrant and assured of a greatfuture in sunny Australia.* WHISTLE- STOP TOUR: Seven members of the 17-strong groupwho will tour North America with CCE from the 5th to the 24thOctober; seated: piper Thomas Martin (Dublin); harpist MaryK elly (Kilkenny; standing (l-r) fiddler foe Toolan (Dublin); singerNiamh Nic MhathUna (Dublin); dancers: Caoimhe Kilmurray,Denise Flynn and Niall 0 'Leary (Dublin/,WHISTLE·STOP TOUR OF AMERICAThe annual Comhaltas Concert Tour of North America presents the best ofIrish traditional talent from the villages, towns and cities of Ireland. It is oneof the longest running cultural exchange programmes between Ireland andNorth America. The Comhaltas Ceolt6ir{ Eireann (Ireland's cultural movement)Concert Tour of North America has been held annually, without abreak, for the last 22 years.The Tour has played a major role in the development of Comhaltas inNorth America where there are now 36 branches of the traditional musicmovement. Last April over 1,000 representatives from all over the UnitedStates and Canada assembled in Syracuse for the North American Conventionof Comhaltas.The 1993 Concert Tour is from October 4 to October 26. The cream ofIrish traditional musicians, singers and dancers will give 19 Concerts in Mineola,Islip, Yonkers, South Orange, Waltham, Atlanta, Pt. Lauderdale, St.Louis, Chicago (2), Detroit, Cleveland, Brampton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal,Johnson City, Troy and New Haven.. The artists selected for the 22nd Tour are Daisy Kearney, Storyteller (Limenck);Joe Toolan, fiddle (Dublin); Aine Nic Ghabhan, fiddle (Meath); Mary~elly, harp (Kilkenny); Brian Duke, flute (Roscommon), Thomas Martin,uille~nn pipes (Dublin); Bernadette Dunne, 2-row accordeon (Offaly);D~mlen ~cKee, 2-.row ~ccordion (Antrim; Damien Molloy, singer (Tyrone);~lamh NIC Mhathuna, smger (Dublin); NialI O'Leary, (Dublin); Jerry MulvihIlI,(New York) and Conrad McAuley, (Derry). The Manager is MartinForristal (Waterford) and Sound Technician John McElligott (Kerry).The Tour is sponsored by BUDWEISER and is also assisted by the CulturalRelations Committee of the Department of Foreign Affairs and WaterfordCrystal.The gr~up of Champion performers will give a Farewell Concert at Culturlan?na hEireann, Monkstown, Co. Dublin on Sunday, October 3 prior totheIr departure for the whistle-stop Tour of North America.33

SPANNING THE ATLANTICTeddy Fennelly, The Leinster ExpressBill McEvoy, is a Laoisman and isproud of it. He is also an Irishman -and even more proud of that. Thoughliving in the US for almost 40 years hestill retains strong bonds with the homeland."Physically I left Ireland in 1954,but spiritually I remain there", he explainedon a recent trip home.It was his 71st such trip. Yes, youare reading that right - 71 trips acrossthe broad Atlantic. That's almost anaverage of two per year. Actually inrecent years the average is five trips peryear.Irish music, song and dance is prosperingin North America thanks mainlyto the trojan work and inspiration ofthe Laoisman, and others of a similarmould, who guided the emergence of anorganisation that brought together traditionalenthusiasts from all over theNorth American continent which culminatedin the founding of a Comhaltasgroup there over 20 years ago . The formationof a Provincial Council of NorthAmerica last year in Montreal was animportant development. Bill is Chairmanof this illustrious group and representstheir interests on the governingbody of Comhaltas in Ireland, theirCentral Council.Bill, who is a native of Kilcoke,Ballybrophy, is a lover of all things Irish,but especially its music, dance and song.His love for Irish culture comes from hischildhood days and is inherited from hisparents. His father, Bill, played the fiddleand the melodian and was a notedtraditional singer. His mother, formerlyMargaret Byrne, from Bawnogue,Timahoe, also loved traditional songsand music. Bill sm., had a wide repertoireof songs mostly collected while inprison during the "trouble times" fromother fellow Old IRA prisoners fromvarious parts of the country. He tookmany of these to the grave with him.Bill jm. continued his love for thetraditional stuff into manhood. Whenhe went to work in Dublin in the midfortieshe became a member of Cumannna bPiobairi Uilleann, which had itsaddress at 14 Thomas Street. He wassecretary for two years. Out of thisgathering came Comhaltas Ceolt6iri* BILL McEVOY (fiddle) playing withDONNCHA 0 BRIEN (son of the latePADDY O'BRlENbireann, which was founded in Mullingarin 1951.MANY MUSICIANSThe Kilcoke man had married in1950 and was by then working with theESB in Kerry. His wife, Lily was fromListowel and was the step dancingchampion of North Kerry. They hadthree children when they emigrated toLong Island in 1954. This grew to nineand all were keen step dancers whiletheir son, Kieran, was New York Statejunior and intermediate champion onthe fiddle in the 1960s.Bill retained his interest in Irishmusic and was connected with the IMA(Irish Musicians of America) from thetime of his arrival until 1972. Therewere many accomplished musicians inthe US such as fiddle players Paddy Kil-loran and Martin Wynne, and Mike FIynn,on the flute , all from Sligo . Therewere four different clubs in New York -the Paddy Killoran Club on 48th St..the Michael Coleman Club (another superbfiddle player from Sligo), the Ed.Reevy Club)Ed. was a great composerof Irish music), and the Martin MulvihillClub. There were 27 other Irishslubs spread across the US in such placesas Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, RhodeIsland and Brooklyn.FONDEST MEMORYOne of his fondest memories was theannual boat ride up the Hudson Riverwhen all the clubs would join togetherand play music all the way up to theBear Mountain National Park in UpperNew York State. They would play allday in the Park and the strains of Irish35

GROSSE ILE - AN END OF ASORROWFUL PILGRIMAGEMaureen Maher, Ottawa Branch of CCBAs a young girl growing up in a smallCanadian Irish Community calledShannon, Quebec, I heard many storiesof Grosse lIe from my father a native ofLahinch, Co. Clare. At that time my interestwas limited to the tales toldaround the kitchen table, but in lateryears I became more interested andthanks to Marianna O'Gallagher, anauthor and historian, visited this historicalisland in 1989. This was a sp ecialvisit to mark the 80th Anniversary ofthe building of the 40 foot Celtic Crossthat stands atop Telegraph Hill on theisland.Our Irish Ambassador the HonourableEdward Brennan accompanied thegroup of about 300 people who madethe trip. Grosse Ile is a small island locatedin the St. Lawrence river.Marianna calls it the "Gateway toCanada", which is the title of a bookshe wrote on it. In 1832, it became thefocus of administrative attention as attemptswere made to prevent the entryof cholera epidemic into North America.It was chosen because of its location inthe river below Quebec City and its positionin the middle of the channels thatcarried the summer fleets of sailing vesselsfull of immigrants. It became aplace for the inspection of ships comingup the river and a quarantine for anycholera victims. It was hoped that thiswould keep the dread disease out of thecolony.A hospital was built to give the sickshelter and care. Soldiers, doctors andnurses cared for them, an endless line .So sudden and so great was the onslaughtof the disease that the island wassoon over-crowded with sick, dying andthe dead .The second important role Grosse Ileplayed in history was the tragedy of1847 Once again the island became astopping place for immigration.Records show that only ships from Irishports and Liverpool were detained atGrosse Ile. Many immigrants neverwent any further in the new world thanthe island. Hundreds of orphans wereadopted by French Canadian familiesbut always reminded of their Irish Heritage. Many grew up with Irish namesnot able to speak any English, onlyFrench. Thousands more were buriedon the island, many where they fell.That the Irish should be the ones toraise the largest monument on Gross Ileto honour the immigrants is not surprisingconsidering that the majority of immigrantsin the first half of the nineteenthcentury were Irish.The Ancient Order of Hibernianserected a celtic Cross in August, 1909.The inscription the three sides offer thesame message in Gaelic, in English andin French:"Sacred to the memory of thousandsof Irish emigrants, who, to preservethat faith, suffered hunger and exilein 1847-48 and stricken with feverended here their sorrowful pilgrimageerected by the ancient order ofHibernians in America and dedicatedfeast of the Assumption 1909.Thousands of the children of the Gailwere lost on this island while fleeingfrom foreign tyrannical laws and anartificial famine in the years 1847-37

this aspect , however, the comparisonwas ugly. It must never be forgottenthat the Canadian people for the day -doctors, priest, soldiers, nursing attendants,all tried with might and main tohelp people. It is not at their feet thatthe scapegoat nor the whipping boy forinjustices perpertrated on the other sideof the ocean.POSTCARD CAMPAIGNSUnfortunately, many of the originalprotests do not offer or contain an alternativeto the original plan. Someorganisms have simply condemned theplan outright. Postcard campaigns havebeen conducted in Canada, in the U.S.and Ireland to block the development ofthe historic park. People have been invitedto write the Prime Minister.A recent card, however, issued fromthe Montreal group is a reasonable andtimely request to the Prime Minister tointervene in the dossier to insure thatthe Irish aspect of the island's history befeatured properly.There have been other positive resultsfrom public protest and the outburstof interest:The long-awaited acknowledgementthat the island exists and attention to itsIrish connection, have finally reachedall parts of Canada.Parks Canada's officials have recognisedthat this development plan does touch alot of sensitive hearts across the country,and sense that late as it is, Gross lie'stime has come.Parks Canada historians are poringover both sides of the present debate betweentraditional and revisionist opinionson the causes of the Famine.Whether the results of this study will begood in the eyes of the protestersremains to be seen.The alternative to having ParksCanada acquire the island was to let itfall within the scope of the local MunicipalRegional Council, which at the beginningof the 1980s with all the goodwill in the world, was not in a positionto recognise and respect the historic aspect,the only aspect of true value onthe island.Visits to Grosse lie are made allsummer long, from the end of May tothe beginning of September, by individualsand by groups. All are charmedby the quiet of the island. All are impressedby the first thing that they seethe Celtic Cross from afar as they approachby boat and the 1847 cemetery,almost immediately upon landing.After a couple of hours of walking orriding on the island, past the French­Canadian village that was home to thefamilies that worked at the quarantinestation, past the twentieth centurylaboratories, the visit ends at the easternend of the island with a view of the oldestbuilding; a hospital shed of 1847.Short of blowing up the monument,bulldozing the cemetery and burningdown the old wooden hospital, nothingwill take away the Irish soul of Gross He.Since the publishing of this articlethe Government are taking another look1oear Friends of GroSs e lie:-..-­...-.., ......,",'''''--ACTION GRdOIS. ~~.I'~~2M 4E4rt Willow • ,18 Tlgo,lIIY eou , 9 I tax: 416_895-9416416_221-978Go ralbh mile meith 8g B \. thank you for your partiC\Pe.~~~n ::On behalf of Act,lon G~~;~ g:n:\an Parks Service ~:\~~~~~rment ' onlyrecent public heaf;~~or ~\ the work since last ::~ined effortS.congrat~~~~~~gs In TorontO because of our resented ~agreed Id ""elf proud. ann. cone Irish Centre,, asrWat this situation and hopefully with theprayers of all Irish people everywherethey will do the ,right thing and ensurethat the mass graves on Grosse Ile areproperly acknowledged and perpetuatedin the National Historic Site.* Information copied from article appearingin Connections December1992. By Mariana O'Gallagher.the Qntano Genealog~::V 'resentaWBS of the entiI' clearly lm-gtn at purpoM wh~ Is the~ ~e CherbOnne8U, for :~~rlo lnteffortsthey ware astonished hOW su~:; =~~~n~ln~ the Insh commu;:kS SeNlC8 wIU analyse th:::~_ments the)I re;::~ r8 However, theY haV~ks abOut GrOSSe lieAS you probably ~n~ ~~s~~~ promised to re~:!a:. t~"rlng Inmu=: ~ .... y, wtI8t the Irish comm .nd united on thla lMue... ...... nt then tnl1. we ,tay atrong pose 8 ..... n to ensure1t la unpo'" itt want to pro ...- .We \n the ActIon Gr:..:c:r:~adequatety to our concerns i1SOO n)that CanadIan ParksWe sugge{your county asSOC1at1~~ ~~~~:::es 01 the\le's central position · the main theme of the Na847 be perpetUated as ent monument to theGrosse lie and as a pen;:'ber of your group to actt1ona\\ Canada" and select oneInsh contnbutl~o~ with Action Grosse liemmunlty to reese Il8Ison pethat we are ready as a CO r\(S servlCB returns11"IlS WIll, we ~~p=~ety when the eanadlan Pe=~ ~~ \ater this yearyourslluly,J~~.rson . Chair39

* Waiting their tun to show their paces.* A secluded session at the Fleadh Nua* DANNV MAGNER, Castletownroche* JOHN MURPHV, Mallow* MICHAEL RV AN of Murroe who hasled the Cultural Parade at the Fleadh Nuasince its inception.FLEADH NUA '93TORTHAiCLANNTRAI1 st Queally Family, Ennis2nd Rynne Family, Clare3rd O'Leary Family, Clare* Recalling the past at the Fleadh N uaPLEARACHA (Junior)1st Murroe/Cappamore, Co. Luimi2nd Castleconnell/ Ahane/Herbertstown,Co. Luimni3rd Leeds, BritainPLEARACHA (Senior)1stTeampall a' Ghleanntain, Co.Luimni2nd Liverpool3rd LeedsSCORAIOCHT (Junior)1 st Teampall a' Ghleanntain, Co.Luimni2nd Lios Vi Chathasaigh, Co. ClareSCORAioCHT (Senior):1st Ormond, Co . Thiobraid Arann2nd Killeigh/Rhode, Co. Vibhfaili3rd. Leeds41

Deallraionn se go raibh an Ghaeilge aige6 dhUchas. I ndiaidh d6 cailiochtmuinteora a bhaint amach ceapadh emar oide i Scoil na mBuachailli i mBealAtha P6irin i dtus na 1890ai. RinneadhArdmhaistir de cupla bliain dar gcionnagus chaith se dachad bliain i mbun anphoist san suI ma dheachaigh se amachar phinsean. D'eag se i mi na Sarnhna,1943, agus ta se curtha i ngar doI?hriomhdhoras an tseipeil i reilig BhealAtha P6irin. Maireann a sliocht agussliocht a sleachta i gc6nai sa sraidbhaile- gura fada buan iad!Thug MicheaI de Nea gra a chro 'donteanga agus scriobh se altanna agusdanta do "Misneach" agus irisi Gaeilge·eile. Faraoir gear, m1 teacht anois araon cheo d'ar scriobh se ces moite de"A Threasaigh CMidh". Bhi ardmheasaige riamh ar Shean b Treasaigh agusseans gurbhe a arnhrain siud an cheadrud a cuireadh ar par faoin laoch 6g.Thuill Micheal de Nea clu agus cailmar mhuinteoir Gaeilge i mBeal AthaP6irin. Thug an Piarsach cuairt ar an aitroinnt bheag bliana roirnh 1916, agusmhol se Beal Atha P6irin go hard naspeire mar cheann de na haiteannaab'fhearr sa tir 6 thaobh mhuineadh na,"AN CAILIN DONN" AGUSAN lE A CHEAP ELe Dr. Diannaid '0 MuiritheGaeilge de. Ni hiontas e go raibh anGhaeilge ar bMrr a dteangacha agbuachailli na haite, 6ir bhi togha muinteoraacu!Roinnt mionna 6 shin bhios ag caintle sean;chara liom, gaol liom fein, imBeal Atha P6irin a rinne freastal arscoil Mhichil de Nea breis agus tri sc6rbliain 6 shin. Ta an Ghaeilge a d'fhoghlaimse an trath ud aige f6s, ar nd6igh. ·Ach an rud ba mh6 a chuir iontas ormfein na an chaoi a raibh se in ann giotaifada staire a aithris i nGaeilge alainn nanDeise direach mar a d'fhoghlairn se iadfad6 .Seamas M6r0 Muimhneachain abainm don saor cIoiche a th6g an tigh inarsaolaiodh m'athair, a athair siud, agus aathair siud aris, ar an Rath, i ndeisceartBhaile Bhuirne. AI Gort Vi Rathaille,taobh leis an Rath, a saolaiodh Seamasagus ce go bhfuil rian a lamb le feiscint ara hin foirgnearnh i mBaile Bhuirne, is marfhile a bhain se a chill ba mh6 amach. Godeimhin fein , mhair na harnhrain a cheapse go dti le deanai, go dti gur irnigh antathag as pe Gaeilge a d'fhan beo inadhuthaigh.Feirmeoiri ab ea a mhuintir agusdhealr6dh se gur rugadh Seamas tirnpeallna bliana 1775. Ceathrar mac a bhi sachlann; d'imigh duine acu le sagart6ireachtach b'eigean d6 filleadh abhaile 6ngcolaiste i Salamanca nuair a caitheadh aathair amach 6na ghabhaItas. Is leir gpraibh se ar intinn ag Eoghan 0MuirnhneacMin, an t-athair, Seamas achur thar lear, leis, ach chuir andishealbhu deireadh le is an sceal sin.D'aistrigh an chlann 6 dheas go hVibhLaoghaire, agus is ann a chuaigh Seamasle saoirseacht.Deireadh na seandaoine gur amhlaidh afuair Seamas amach go raibh bua nafIliochta aige nuair a thosaigh se agcumadh arnhran mar fhreagra orthusan ftchumadh fIle darbh ainm Diarmaid 0Conchuir, a bhiodh ag obair ina fhochair.Duirt Conchur () Muimhneachain inaleabhairin a chur se ar fail faoi Sheamasfad6 - leabhar ata as cI6 le 40 bliain, moleir - gur fiafraiodh de Dhiarmaid ()Conchuir tnith ce acu ab fhearr d'fhile efein n6 Seamas. "Is amhlaidh mar ata ansceal againn, " ar seisean, "gabhairn-setirnpeall ·chun na bearnan, ach leirneannSeam as an cIai". .Nil puinn eolais againn i dtaobh abheatha. Ta a fhios againn go raibh baintaige le damhscoil a bhi faoi cheannasmhuintir larlaithe i mBaile Bhuirne; taa fhios againn gur ph6s se agus gur chaithse deireadh a shaoil [ena mhac Eoghan,a chuaigh mar chliamhain isteach agLoingseach ar Ladhar na Gaoithe. Niraibh de chlann ag Eoghan ach aon inionarnhain, Caitiin, a bhi p6sta le fear demhuintir Loingsigh 6 Ghort na gCros,agus is lionmhar iad a sliocht inniu.File agus saor. Ba e Seamus M6r 6MuirnhneacMin a th6g an falla ata tirneallna reilige ina bhfuil Sean 6 Riordain agusSean 6 Riada agus an oiread san dem 'mhuintir fein sa chre ; agus nach iontachgo deo an t-eileamh sea ar iocaiocht agheall bean de na Colthursts do as falla achur ar an reilig:A staid-bhean cheannais, 6 b'annamhliom scriobh chugatsa,M6 chas duit canairn agus braithirn doshaoithiulacht,Mas gearan le cariad mo cheasna domhiniu dhuitMo pM le fada ar an sagart gan diolliumsa.Tar eis raithe fada do chaithearnhirn priosunachAI garda ag faire na marbh a bhispiuntaAr bharr an tailimh ag an ngasra mi­iompair-Cranta is bainbh a dtarrac anioschuchu.Do dheanfainn falla do mhairfeadhfeadh tri gluine,Pail an gheata agus straa ar angCill rumpa-Trath do stadas, is mheasas gan'dhunadh,Acht i bpairt an tsagairt do gheallaissediollium-sa.Fuair se a chuid airgid , de reircosulachta. Seo anois arnhran gra a chuman saor cIoiche sea 6 Ghort Vi Rathaille.Ba mhaith liom, la eigin, an Lionardach6g 6n mbaile fearainn ceanna a chloisinta ra, de gheall ar an seanarnhuintir!An Cailin DODnAg deanarnh smaointe do bhios irn aonar,Areir go deanach is me co is abhann,Gan speis i laoithibh na suirn i saoltacht,Im Iui go treith tuirseach creathach fann,Go ceasta caointeach ag snai mo sceirnhe,De shior ag dearaibh ag teacht go trom,Gur shuigfi sios taobh liom an ri-bheanmhaorgaDar linn go nglaonn siad an Cailin Donn.A craobh-fholt ciortha go frinseachfaoniag,A dlaoi-fholt dreirnreach lei ar fad gobonnSt Mary's College BelfastA RESOURCE FOR MUSIC TEACHERS%e'Iraditiona{ 9v( usict£ducation Pact(containing• Video of Traditional Instruments• Audio Cassette of Musical Examples• Teacher's Notes Booklet• Book for Background Reading• Set of Worksheet masters andOHP TransparenciesSpecially prepared for N. Ireland schools with additionalnotes for teachers elsewhere. Supplementary materials inpreparation on tradrtional song and dance.Order from : The Resources Centre, St Mary's College,191 Falls Rd, Benast BT12 6FE. (0232-327678)£30 incl P&P (£35 outside UK)43

A TASTE OF IRELANDIN SYRACUSEOVER 1,000 ATIEND NORTH AMERICANCONVENTION WEEK-ENDHelen Gannon P.R.O.A taste of Ireland seems an appropriatetitle for the success of the 2ndAnnual Provincial Meeting of Comhaltasin North America on April 16, 17th and18th. Our home for the week-end wasthe Sheraton Liverpool Inn ConventionCentre where the staff actually becamemore Irish than the Irish themselves.The entire Hotel of 277 rooms plusrooms in adjoining hotels were filled tocapacity.Syracuse, The Salt City , was originallyhome to the Onondaga Nation ofthe Iroquois Confederacy. In 1656 theJesuits founded a Mission and a Fortcalled Fort Ste Marie on the shore ofOnondaga Lake . The city eventuallygrew around this area. After the revolutionarywar the land was given ingrants to veterans of George Washington'sArmy. In 1788 the new settlersbegan making a business of boiling saltwhich the native Americans and theFrench had also used. At one time mostof the salt used in the United States wasmade in Syracuse. The Irish were prominentamong the salt boilers,merchants and distributors.The descendants of the Irish nolonger live at Salt Point but manyneighbourhoods retain their Irishcharacter. The most well known being"Tipperary Hill" which boasts of theonly traffic light in the U.S. where thegreen in on top!BRING YOUR OWN DANCE FLOOR!At about 1 p.m. on Friday excitementwas in the air as those of us whocame early watched the 3000 squarefeet of dance floor being unloaded andinstalled. The rental company inquiredfrom Vicki Pendergast "Are you sureyou know how much floor that is"never before had such a request fordance floor been made . By early* A CONVENTION SESSION* HELEN GANNON (St. Louis); TOM McSWIGGAN (Ottawa); DIARMAID bCATHA IN (Uachtanin); BILL McEVOY(New York) and LABHRAS b MURCHU(Ardstiurth6ir).45

VERY REV. M. F. CANONCLANCYAN APPRECIA TlONrather rrank is gone, and Irishtraditional music's loss is Heaven'sgain.rather (Canon) Clancy's dedicationto our culture and music wasan inspiration. He great love of ourtraditions and all things Irish inspiredall with whom he came incontact.From the beginnings of ComhaltasCeoltoirf Eireann in Co .Wexford, of which he was afounder and inaugural chairman ofWexford Co. Board, his sincerityand appreciation of our musicaltraditions shone through.In administration, organisationand policy adaptation his soundnesscould be relied upon. Not that wealways agreed with him, but Godlove him , we know that he trulyhad the best interests of ComhaItasalways at heart.His work on behalf of ComhaItasat all levels over the many years willnever be forgotten. And this willbe especially treasured in Wexfordtown where he spent so many fruitfulyears, as his memory will alsobe treasured by those innumerableyoung musicians, many now adults,whom he helped in so many generousways to develop their hiddenIII usical talents.Gone forever is the rapport, thesharpness and lively wit which washis forte.His like will ne 'er be seen again.We in Comhaltas in Co. Wexfordmourn the loss of a good priest, astaunch friend and a great Irishman.May his gentle soul find the loveand peace which he imparted to somany.Solus na bhFlaitheas ar a anamuasal.CULRA9 Victoria Walk ,Horsforth,Leeds LS 18 4PLRe Culra programme for 1994 wouldyou please include in the next Treoirmagazine the following:British Province - Culra week endSummer School 1517 July, 1994.Culra Study Week in Ireland 22nd - 28October, 1994.The Regional Culra Study Days willbe agreed shortly by each region, pleasecontact the following regional coordinator in your area for details.Southern Region: Joan Burke, TeI. 081-997-1784; Midland Region SeamusColeman. TeI. 0533-882806; NorthernRegion, Margaret Webster. TeI. 0744-614856 and Scottish Region Jim McKenna, Te . 0698-833-631 .Next year's programme based on theGaelic language is currently being discussed,and a separate meeting by theMusic Sub-Committee on the 7th Novemberwill be dedicated to the discussionof the content relating to and includingmost aspects of the Irish tradition.Most of the committee hope to bein Clonmel for the fleadh, if it is inconvenientto hold meeting there wewill set some time aside at the studyweek in October to view varying perspectiveviews of the Gaelic Language.The Traditional Music Special istsChristine ByrneEvwhlishl'd hr Johll M eNl'ill i1l1 H3 -1 , " a mwll shup,knflwlIlIlld IlII'l'd hy mllsicians thrrJll/{holll the world,and rl't so lIlIohstnlSil'£, that lInless l 'fllI knew exactll'11 ,111' re it I\'lIS , rOll lI'oltfd prohllhlr/ail to lind it , .III it lI'al IIl1l1ft' the hll/ill' thm ,wllluledthl' c/llIrgl' at Ralacft/l 'a, "H al' (;,'orgl' Hl'mard Shall', " aIJldl', rl'd·/wired ,.Il'llllII,I'l,(,,1 lI'd ,l'(JIlth ", hOllght clarilll't rl'l'ds(/ 1111 t/Il' t" 'I't .. \ IIstill ( 'Iarkl' " hllrril'd I' I 'I' I"\' 1I 'l'l'k "11 1/' I'iolill IIr ill l:l , .\or" It(l"" 111/1111111', 111 ' 11 ' , 1l'('(Ill1lhIllUI (//Il1!TlIltllllllll 1I 1l1 t11' a('('o /l sti,. illstnmll'I1I I ,Accordians. Banjos, Bodhrans,Bones, Bouzoukis, Concert Flutes,Concertinas, Fiddles, Guitars.Mandolas, Mandocellos.Mandolins, Tin Whistles,l ;illeann Pipes,Books and Recordings ofTraditional Music.1. McNeil1140 CAPEL STREET, DUBLIN 1TELEPHONE 722159Open : Monday· Saturday 10,OOam· 6,OOpmG.F.47

TI 'N6L CHEO LCULTURLANN NA hEIREANNBelgrave Square, Monkstown, Co.Dublin29 - 31 OCT. 1993A GREAT WEEK-END OFMUSIC, SONG AND DANCEAll for only £40 including meals, accommodation andentertainment from Friday evening to Sunday evening4.30 p.m. - onward5.30 p.l11 . - 6.30 r .m.7.00 p.lll. - 9 .00 r.m.8.00 p.m. - onwards9 .00 " .m. -9.30 \>.111 . '- 12.00RegistrationTae - after this time sandwiches and tea at your own expenseSession - Antoin MacGabhann ,lIld rriendsCois Tine - Fireside sessionsFailtiu agus Oscailt OifigiuilCeil( - Sc;in Norman Ceili UallllDe Sathairn 30/10/'938.30 a.lll. - 9.15 a.m.9 .30 a.l11 . - onwards10.00 a.l11 . - 12.30 p .m.IQ.OO a.lll. - 12.30 r.m.IQ .OO a.l11. - 12.30 p.m.IQ .OO a.lll. - 12.30 p .lll .IQ.OO a.lI1. - 12.30 p.m.1.00 p.m. -2.00 p.m. - 5.00 p.m.6.00 r .lll . -7 .00 p.lI1 . -8.00 p.lI1.9.30 lUll. - 12.30 a.lI1 .BrlcfeastaRegistrationFiddle Workshop - Antoin MacGabhannWhistle Workshop - Teresa DonlonButton Accordeon Workshop - Willie FogartySinging Workshop - Scal11us MacMathllnaSet Dancing Workshop - Pat MurphyLonAll V'.orkshops continueAlfreannTaeCols Tine - Firesiue session- Singing session upstairsCeill - F6dh1a Ceili Band (Halloween Fancy Dress)De Domhnalgh 31.10.'938 .30 a.lI1. - 9 .15 a .111 .IQ .OO a.l11 . -12.30 p .lll.1.00 p.l11 . -2.00 p.m. - 5.00 p .l11.2.00 (1 .111. - onwards5.30 \>.111. -BrlcfeastaCellil Dancing Workshop - Ena Uarnett and Billy Boylan .LonCelli Dancing Workshop continuesInformal SessionTaeCOl11haltas Ceoltoirf Eire:lnn, 32 Belgrave Square, Monkstown, Co . Dublin. Fon: 01/2800295 Fax: 01/2803759

TARISTEACHSACHOMHALTAS!"Each household will receive a year'ssupply of "Treoir" absolutely free! Thisis the good news for Comhaltas membersduring 1993/,94. The first adultmember ot each household will be therecipient of this great offer."MEMBERSHIP RATES ARE ASFOLLOWS:Junior (under 18 years)-£1 ($4)Senior (First Family member)- £5 ($12)(Other family members)- £2 ($8)THERE IS A SPECIAL FAMILYMEMBERSHIP OF ONLY £10 ($35)

So successful is the Diploma Coursefor traditional music teachers (TTCT)that Comhaltas had to extend the numberof students for the 1993 Course. 22applicants were accepted for the Courseat Culturlann na hEireann under thedirectorship of Micheal b hEidhin,Music Inspector with the Dept. of Education.The Course is now in its 13thyear during which time 16 courses havebeen held with nearly 300 successfulcandidates emerging * * * * * *COLMMULLIGAN formerly of Leitrim andnow living in Dublin is a member of thefamous musical Mulligan family. Formany years he lived in Long Island,New York, where he played an activerole in the traditional music movement.One of the Comhaltas branches in NewYork is named in his honour. Colm wasnoted for his generosity to traditionalmusicians. He rescued hundreds of fiddlesfrom oblivion, repaired them andpassed them on to musicians -veryoften at a financial loss to himself. Thisgenial, music-loving Leitrim man is wellrespected among traditional musiciansand there are now hundreds of fiddlessinging his praises * * * * * *EffiHLINNi CHURTAIN the young Tournafulla(Co. Limerick) traditional singer is one* COLM MULLlGAN (foreground) withseveral fiddle enthusiasts including youngTina Lech of BostonCo . Limerick * * * * * *SYRACUSE'93 will long be remembered in theannals of Irish traditional music, ofCornhaltas and of Ireland. Over 1,000representatives from all over the UnitedStates and Canada packed into themittee did us proud. Plans are alreadywell underway for the 1994 Conventionwhich will be held in Chicago * * *One harpist in a family is quite an achievement.Two is exceptional but fourmust be unique. Such, however, is thecase with the Cullen Family in Co. Leitrim.They are four accomplishedyoung lady harpists who have been featuredon television and about whommuch will be heard in the future .* The musical Cullen sisters from Co.Leitrim.* Two charming young harpists atConvention '93 in Syracuse.* EfBHLiN Ni CHURTAINof the foremost exponents of the traditionalart. She has enthralled audiencesnot only in many parts of Ireland but asfar away as North America, Sardinia andSpain. Eibhlln, who is a schoolteacher,is a sister of the accomplished youngfiddle player Brenda Ni Churtain whorecently qualified as a schoolteacher.Eibhlln and Brenda are among the manyfine young traditional perofrmers whohave come from this particular corner ofSheraton Hotel, Syracuse, for the NorthAmerican Annual Convention of Comhaltas.Musicians, singers, dancers andlisteners had the activity- packed weekendof their lives. There was music,song and dance into the early hours ofthe morning. There were workshops ofmany varieties. The policy and planningdeliberations went on unabatedand the Convention Banquet was a sightto behold. Jack and Vicki Pendergastwith their energetic and efficient com-* Some of the Harpers attending the Mid·West Fleadh Cheoil in Chicago (1993)* Concertina player MARY McNAMARAof Co. Clare who was a successful can·didate in the 1992 Music Teachers'Course (TTCT), receIVIng her Diplomafrom Uachtaran Diarmuid 6 Cathain.48

Saturday morning it was quite evidentthat Vicki knew what she needed as thedance floor filled for Donncha b Muineachain'sWorkshop. Bus load after busload arrived from Boston, Toronto andMontreal. Car load after car load fromas far as eight hours of driving. Planeload after plane load arrived all tocelebrate and participate in a fabulousweek-end of music, song and dance .One might close their eyes and thinkthey were really at a Fleadh Cheoil.Irish bacon, black pudding andsausages were flown in to add to ourdelights. Sessions settled into everynook and cranny of the hotel withyoung and old. Workshops were availablefor all stages of learning and abilitiesin tin whistle, fiddle , accordeon,Irish Language, bodhran, sean nos singing,flute and all from such renownedartists like Seamus Connolly, MickMoloney , Bill McComisky , Patrick Hutchinson,Kathleen Guilday, Bridget F itzgerald,Maureen Concannon and hermother Mary , Henry Geraghty andJoannie Madden.A GALA AFFAIRSerious voting took place in yetanother corner of this massiveconvention centre with the delegatesfrom all regions getting their feet wet atprovincial level. At 5 p.m. all gatheredagain on Saturday for a beautiful IrishMass which was said by Fr. John McLoughlin. This was followed by a galaaffair. Dignitaries were escorted intothe hall in parade to the piping by ourown Frank Dugan. Tables were assignedby region and every possible foot ofspace was used to fit the maximumnumber into the Banquet Hall. JohnCurran from Boston did a powerful jobas Fear a' Tf and thanks to a greatsound system all seats were good seats.The entertainment for dessert withMichael Galvin and Maura McMahon'sdancing to the fine fiddling of Seamus. Connolly brought people to their feet.Seamus introduced one of his longtimestudents who spoke of how PaddyO'Brien's music had influenced her lifethrough Seamus. It was a touchingmoment when Seamus invited 80 yearold fiddler Marty O'Keeffe up to playwith him as he paid tribute to Bill McEvoy for what we were experiencing interms of success in North America.The evening concluded or rathertried to conclude with a fabulous ceil{to the great music of Brian Conway andhis ceili band.All of the above happened under theleadership skills of Jack Pendergast, amost amazing human being. Comhaltasand all of our friends salute him andthank him for such a wonderful Con-* BILL McCOMISKEYentertaining theConvention delegates* TOM MASTERSON, Chicagovention. Folks, mark your calendarsfor 1994 as we meet in Chicago , Illinois,on April 8th, 9th and 10th for yetanother taste of Ireland.* Fiddle players SEAMAS CONNOLL Y andEDDlE BURKE.* We did it! Syracuse '93 - JACK andVICKI PENDERGAST.* House Full: One of the many sessionsduring the Convention in the SheratonHotel, Syracuse.46

Go pearlach bui-chas m6r-timpeall d'aonduI,Is aris ag geilleadh thar n-ais go corn,Do chlaochlaigh ciardhubh an flios thugJasonIna loing le laochas leis trasna tonn,Is is fior nuair fheachas , da gnaoi gurgheilleasDon mhnaoi go nglaonn siad an CailinDonn.Ar a h-eadan braoithe bhi ni ba neataNa mar scriobhfadh deireach i gceart lepeann,A daon-rosc gnaoi-ghlas grinn gan eislinnMar luifeadh braonacha ar barraibhgearnhair,Bhi caor is litis i gcourineascar eachtach,Ag tigheacht le cheile 'na leacain leabhair,A laoithe leire is a gniomhartha geaga,Ag an mnaoi go nglaonn siad an CailinDonn.A beal is a binn-ghuth ba bhriomharneataGan bhaois gan bhaothacht na canfadhlearnhas,Ba ghleigeal gnaoi-ghlan a pili le feachaintMar luifeadh geise n6 eala ar abhainn.Ba ghear a ciocha ar a eli ghlain aoldhaAgus sios a seirnh-chorp go seascair seang;Is gach rri den reir sin ag tigheacht lecheileAg an mnaoi go nglaonn siad an CailinDonn.Do raideas diogras crai don reilthinnChaoin-tais mhaorga da learnhainnlabhairtGan geilleadh 'om mhuintir na dodhaoinibh baotha.Do bhiodh ag ead liom i dtaobh teachtsa bhall;Da dteithea linn is go snaidhmfeadh deirsinnAgus daoi liom fein gan aon chead 6dnarnhaid,Dod chlainn is buioch bheinn go crichmo shaobhail .Sin innsin sceil ar an gCailin Donn.WHERE THE LINNETS SINGWhere the Linnets Sing," is a doublecassette. which features three generationsof the Tunney family and theirsongs.Released by Comhaltas CeoltoiriEireann the collection/anthology spans40 years featuring songs recorded byPaddy between 1952-92, songs recordedby his mother, Brigid, in 1952/53, andsongs sung by three of Paddy's sons andtwo daughters-recorded in the period1990-1992. Included too is a songby Paddy's sister, the late Mrs. AnnieLunny, recorded in 1952.The Tunneys grew up in BorderCountry, that part where Donegal runsinto Fermanagh. It's known as "MountainStream Country", a place which byits own rugged bauty, inspired music,song and love of nature. The Tunneys'are avid lovers of music, Paddy's motherbeing noted as a collector of old songsand stories long before it becamefashionable to do so. Not only did shepass on her love of these things to herson, Paddy, she also passed on to himthe love of our old heritage, a passionwhich Paddy retains to this day.Growing up in Fermanagh, tutoredby his mother Brigid, Tunney learnedfrom an early age to appreciate and lovetraditional singing in all its subtletiesand nuances. This remains the deep andsolid foundations on which his art isbuilt. Starting from his home near theshores of Lough Erne he gradually expandedhis knowledge of Irish singers,styles and songs. In every corner ofUlster, from Glenswilly to Glensheskand beyond to Connemara, Clare andti i'.I,,; ./Kerry he met and listened to the songcarriers,guardians of the tradition.The best advice one can give is tosimply quote the noted folklorist andbroadcaster, Seam us MacMathuna, whenhe states: "Their (the Tunneys') songsand their ways of singing have becomea source of joy and wonder to lovers ofgenuine folk-song throughout theworld."For the afficionados, there is a 32-page booklet accompanying the cassetteswhich gives background detailto the song and a little of its history.- Pat McArt, Derry Journal* "Wh ere the Linnets sing" pack isava~lable for £12 (post free) fromCCE., Belgrave Square, Monkstown,Co. Dublin, Ireland.""1eutut ~ eput't ~"Mairtin OIConnor, Sharon Shannon,Jackie Daly, Boys of the Lough, AidenCoffey, Alias Ran Kavana ...Many top musicians havechosen SAL T ARfLLf accordionsrecently.FOR INFORMATIONJMf-e~'U)'tiU tJIf, 1'~ F-AnnagbMasicAnnaghdown PierAnnaghdownCounty GalwayIrelandTe l: 09191474Sole Irish Agents32 Calcutt StCri cklade W iltsSN66BA UKTel: 0793 751222Sole U K Agents44

,AMHRAN FAO I, ,SHEAN 0 TREASAIGHSean Ua Ceamaigh73 bliana 0 shin - 14 Deireadh Fomhair, 1920 - thit Sean 0 Treasaigh, TiobraidArannach, ar son na saoirse i Sraid TalbOid i mBaiIe Atha Cliath. Thar aon laoch eile ad'eag ar son Roisin Dubh taea an ama sin thuill Sean gean agus gr8 mhuintir na hEireann.B'fheidir gur bheag iomra ata faoi sna leabhair staire oifigiUla - agus ag cur sanliireamh ce chomh mor agus ata staraithe ar linne faoi anliil Conor Cruise O'Brien ~slucht athscriofa na staire, ni chOir go gcuirfeadh se sin as duinn ro-mhor. Ta Sean 0Treasaigh ina shlirlaoch i gconai, go hairithe i measc a mhuintire fein i dTiobraid Arannagus go cinnte i measc iad siud ar mh6r leo sean teanga agus saiocht a sinsir.Thug Sean a Treasaigh gra don Ghae- dtus 1985. Leaba i measc na naomh go Murach tusa 's do shOrt do bheimis goilge 6 thUs a 6ige. B'i an cloch ha mh6 raibh aige. deoina phaidrin riamh, agus bhain se lan Ach sea anois an t-amhran a rinne Mar bhacaigh ar cur stro ar gach einne;leas aisti agus e ag deanamh caidrimh le Micheal de N ea faoin Treasach i 1921 . Mar do sciobadh ar stor 's ar maoin os arGaeilgeoiri a chontae dhuchais. Is cui Sean-fhonn Thiobraid Arannach (Spail- gcomhairmar sin gur scriobhadh marbhna cilainn pin a Ruin) a ghabhann leis go hionduil. Mar scuabtar an ceo des na sIeibhte.faoi i nGaeilge brea na nDeise tamall Ba cheap-magaidh a's spoirt argaind i ndiaidh a bhciis. Ta teacht ar anmbuaireamh 's ar mbronmarbhna seo sa leabhar brea a scriobh A Threasaigh chaidh! Molairn-se do Ag an Scriosadoir Seon ud an EirIigh,Desmond Ryan, beannacht De leis, lliimh, Gur airigh se an gleo ar gach taobh de godachad eigin bliain 6 shin i. Sean Ce go bhfuil tu go tIath 'san uaigh anois, beo .Treacy and the Third Tipperary Brigade. Ba laidir tU i bpairt i n-aghaidh ropairi 'S gur mhothaigh se cumhacht bhurdachad eigin bliain 6 shin i. Sean Sheain bpilear-ne.Treacy and the Third Tipperary Brigade. Bhi ar buile 's ar fan trid an nduiche.Deir an Rianach faoin amhran:"This Irish ballad was supplied byMichael Fitzpatrick of Tipperary Town.In a note to the song it was stated thatMiche.H Mac Carthaigh, O.S., Dundrum,Co. Tipperary, had got it from Labhnisb Cadhla, O.S., Cappoquin and Cohiistena Rinne. Micheal Mac Carthaigh hasinformed the writer since the firstedition of this book was published thatthe author was Micheal de Nea, O.S.,Balyporeen."DaIa an sceal, d'eag Micheal MacCarthaigh, muinteoir, tirghrathOir, iarUachtaran Chonradh na Gaeilge agusduine a bhi riamh mortasach as amhrainbhreatha Ghaeilge Thiobhraid Arann iI dteanga na mBard, beidh t'ainm gohard,Mar gheaU ar do ghra d'ar stuaire -Do throidis gach la go meanmach gradhachAg saothru siochain agus bua di.Is trua Iinn tU ar llir id'oige 's id bhlath,Nuair ataimid ag tnuth le saoirse.Ach mairfidh do chliil an fhaid a bheidhtrachtAr fhearaibh gan sgath sa tir seo;Roimh ghramaisc an air do seoladh tharsliil'I leith go hoilean ar sinsir.Ag do's ag robliil ar fud Inse Fail'S ag creachadh gan nair' ar ndaoine.Anois codail go samh, a Oganaigh breaSan reilig sin laimh led' ghaolta,No go dtagaidh an la nuair a ghlaofar gohardAr ar shiolraigh 0 Adamh agus Eabha.I bhFlaitheas na nGrast go rabhair gohardI measc seata brea lach de Ghaelaibh,A's go raibh se i ndan dom fein tar eisbhaisBheith i d'fhochair i lathair an Aon­Mhic!Ach cerbhe Micheal de Nea, an fileGaeilge 6 Bheal Atha P6irin a scriobhfaoin Treasach? Rugadh e i gCnoc anair i gCo. Phort Lciirge thart faoi 1870.G/C DOUBLE SIDED £5 POSTEDSNOOOY HARMONICAS, 22 Gilnahirk Walk, Belfast BT5 70S. Tel: 40138542

FLEADH FOCUSFLEADH NUA '93 in Ennis, Co. Clarewas an outstanding success and a creditto the excellent organising committeewho spared no effort to make thefestival such an unique shop window ofour native traditions. The extensive andvaried programme of events is the hallmarkof this highly successful festivalwhich has gained national and internationalacclamation. Indoor, outdoor,stage and informal events combine tomake the FLEADH NUA a traditionalevent of the highest calibre. FromThursday until the following Mondaythis Clare-based extravaganza is amemorable experience and one soeagerly sought after by the loyal followers.Photographer Ena Doocey wason hand to capture some of the memorablemoments.* MOL AN OIGE: a young Fleadh Nuaperformer* BRENDAN McGLINCHEY, JOE BURKEANN CONROY BURKE entertaining atFleadh Nua '93.* EILEEN CASEY, LImerick singing atFleadh Nua '93* GERRY SLEVIN, N!!nagh, acc.epting acup from LABHRAS 0 MURCHU onbehalf of the Ormonde Branch who wonthe Senior Scoraiocht championshipr* MICHEAL 0 MUIRCHEARTAIGH agcaint ag an bhFleadh Nua40

,-~48. God Bless Them. This stone waserected to their memory and inhonour of them by the Gaels ofAmerica. "God Save Ireland".In the spring of 1992 Parks Canadaannounced public hearings about thedevelopment of Grosse lis, at which itwas expected that a few people wouldpresent briefs. Unfortunately, there wasan entanglement of blunders. First, theQuebec office of Parks Canada did notrealise the cross-Canada interest, indeedthe international interest, that would beelicited by the proposal for a Park. Thisperception by Parks Canada is not surprisingsince up to this point no signs ofinterest had arisen about Gross lie fromIrish groups elsewhere in Canada. Onlythose of Quebec City and Montrealseemed to be aware that the place existed.Parks Canada decided that thehearings were to be in Quebec Cityonly.PARKS CANADANext, Parks Canada prepared aDevelopment Concept, an 87 page, 8 x11 document, which included asummary of the history of the island , amarketing report, and a brief outline ofthe minimal additions to be made to existingfacilities, in order to have a nationalhistoric park with the theme of"Canada, Land of Welcome and Hope".This document was available to all andany who wrote or phoned to request it.As it reached more and more people,another twist of the unfortunate inadequaciesof the document was magnifiedand made the focal point of the protestagainst the very idea of the establishmentof a park. Those shortcomingsinvolved several things the theme of'Immigration' instead of 'quarantine' assuch; the use of the words 'theme' and'park' too close to each -other; the document'sinterpretation of Irish historyand the causes of the so-called famineof 1847; and the inclusion of the marketingreport within the main body ofthe text. The marketing study containsan insensitive, unfeeling and coldly commercialcomment: the whole history ofthe Irish connection to the island is dismissedwith the paragraph:"It is also felt that there should notbe too much emphasis on the tragicaspect of the history of gross lie. Onthe contrary the painful events of1832 and 1847, which have oftenbeen overemphasised in the past,need to be put back into perspective,without robbing them of the importance."That statement roused the ire ofpeople from coast to coast. It is extremelydifficult now for Parks Canada toworm itself out of the inauspicious position, despite the fact that it is not theofficial stance of the Ministry. Unfortunately,that paragraph was included inthe document. Presently, a letter insertedby the Parks Canada office intonew issues of the document, attemptingto explain that point, is not acceptableto many as a strong enough apologyfor the slight offered to the Irishcommunity of Canada. This unfortunateparagraph remains the focus of theIrish protest.Another misunderstanding arisesfrom the interpretation of the term'theme park' which has been identifiedby the critics as 'Disneyland'. Nothingcould be farther from the truth. Theisland is a small rural setting with substantialnumber of old buildings on it.The development plan foresees the useof two or three of these buildings withonly interior refurbishing, to make themavailable as interpretation centres on thehistory of the island, and as stationswhere the public may be offered refreshmentsand the use of washrooms.The slogan "Canada - Land of Welcomeand Hope" rings hollow on Irishears. The least that can be said was theimmigrants found a peaceful andhonoured resting place . In attacking38

music would again resound around theHudson River as the 3,000 strong contingentmade their way back that evening. It was a day of days with musiccomplementing the picnicing.All this interest and comraderie inall things Irish led to the founding ofthe Comhaltas branch of North Americain 1972. An Irish tour that same yearbrought 29 top class Irish musicians tovarious parts of the continent and£33,000 in funds were raised to helpbuild a new headquarters for Comhaltas,the Cultural Institute (Culturlann nahEireann) at 32/33 Belgrave Square,Monkstown. Bill had received a letterfrom Diarmuid b Cathain (now Uachtaranof Comhaltas) requesting fundsfor the acquisition of a new home forthe organisation. He was happy to seethe fund-raising such a success.BUSY MANBill is a very busy man but he ishappy in the knowledge that Irish musicand dancing was never stronger in thatgreat continent than at the present time.He attributes this success to the interestand the dedication of parents, whomake a huge contribution to its spreadin popularity. "Out of a great and gloriouspast will come an even more glorioutfuture" Bill assures.Bill is also proud that McEvoy's 19grand-children are continuing the traditionshanded down by their grandparents.He is also full of admirationfor the wonderful traditional presencein his native county. He pays tribute tothe County Board of Comhaltas whohave been doing great work in the promotionof Irish culture. He has a specialword of praise for Stephen Conroy whohas led two International Comhaltastours. He also singles out the Conwaysand Robert Gleeson, from Portarlingtonfor special mention.GREATEST INVENTIONWhat was the greatest invention ofthe 20th century? Bill is convinced thatthe tape recorder must be one of them."It has been a tremendous help in preservingthe traditional stuff' he says.A final word from Bill to the youngpeople of Ireland. "I would encouragethe young people of Ireland to delveinto the archives of our history andlearn more about our music and ourculture. And always be proud of yourhomeland. No other country in theworld has brought so much happinessto people everywhere as has Ireland".INSTITUTE OPENEDMy memory of the old headquarterswas a run-down office on the third floorbuilding in Harcourt Street with a stringused to bring up refreshments to thoseworking there. I thought it was verysad. Our cultural heritage deserved abetter base, a better home".The Institute opened in the mid-70sand that was a very eventful day. "Iremember the lone piper sitting out onthe lawn playing Irish tunes. I rememberthe raising of the three flags, theTricolour, the Comhaltas flag - and theStars and Stripe~, which I was proud toraise. Labhras 0 Murchu, still DirectorGeneral of Comhaltas, turned the key.EGYPTIAN AMBASSADOR AT BRU BORU.... ~~(SPECIAL WORDBill has a special word of praise forLabhras. "Comhaltas would not be thesame without him. He has done a masterfuljob. He is highly regarded inNorth America and has come out to uson numerous occasions, particularly forour Annual Conventions".That Convention this year attracted1 ,100 people and some travelled over3 ,000 miles to Syracuse from as farafield as San Francisco, from PrinceEdward Island in Eastern Canada andfrom Calgary in the Province of Alberta.Members are located in four differenttime zones. It was a weekend of businessbut also of music, song and dance -a most enjoyable occasion. There arenow 32 branches of Comhaltas in NorthAmerica spread over 4 Regions and Billas Provincial Chairman is kept busy andtravels a lot in attending meetings andcarrying out his administrative dutiesover the vast continent comprising ofthe US and Canada.* At Bru Boru (I-r) CLL ML. FITZGERALD, Chairman of Tipperary (S.R.)Co. Council; His Excellency HUSSEIN ABBAS MESHARRASA, EgyptianAmbassador t~ Ire!and; BOBPV GARDINER; M~_ MICHAEL FERRIS,T.D., LABHRAS 0 MURCHU, Ardstiurth6ir CCE.The Egyptian Ambassador to Ireland, His Excellency Hussein AbbasMesharrasa, was among a large international gathering which attended aspecial show at Bm Bom. Among the attendance were groups from Franceand the U.S.A. including the Mayor of Bethlehem in Pennsylvania.The Ambassador was accompanied by Mr. Michael Ferris, T.D., and hiswife Ellen and the Chairman of South Tipperary Co. Council, Mr. MichaelFitzGerald and his wife Mary.The show, which was a preview of the Summer show which runs fivenight each week (Tuesday to Saturday inclusive), received a prolonged standingovation from the very appreciative audience.Speaking at the function the Ambassador made reference to the similaritiesbetween Irish and Egyptian cultures and in particular to the antiquityof both nations. "I have seen many shows", he said, "but tonight's show wasspecial and authentic. I enjoyed it very much."Mr. Michael Ferris and Mr. Michael Fitzgerald paid tribute to Bn! Boruand said they were very proud of its success. They referred to the warm ceadmIle failte awaiting the visitor at this unique centre which had achievednational and international recognition.36

STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTIONTHE ILLUSTRIOUS AMERICAN BASED IRISH TRADITIONALDANCER 71 YEAR YOUNG JERRY MULVIHILL HAS BEEN SELECTEDFOR THE 1993 NORTH AMERICAN COMHALTAS CONCERT TOUR ANDEILEEN SWIFT TELLS US MORE ABOUT THIS INIMITABLE GENTLEMAN.When Irish-dancing teacher J erryMulvihill ran out of kids to teach hedeftly switched to the parents. "Theyneed exercise, too," he said.On a recent Monday night atHuntington's Knights of Columbu'sHall, the a's and Macs are putting theirbest foot forward. "We're mostly nurseshere, except we have one shrink,"said a kilted dancer, pointing at MaryDi Falco of Commack and AnneMadigan of Northport, both registerednurses. "I'm a rehab counsellor, not ashrink," protests a third, AnnMarieMullen of Hungtington. Mullen, thewife of Justice Michael Mullen - anacting state Supreme Court judge inRiverhead - and the mother of sixchildren, met Mulvihill when two ofthree daughters were taking dance classes.The last , Mary Kate, is now in lawschool and Mullen, who calls herself "adancing school dropout," is honing herreel for a ceili today at her home, afterHuntington's St. Patrick's Day parade .When this class of about 12 startedlessons in January, Mullen broughtalong her dancing buddies - sisterPatricia Jordan, Bernadette Murphy,Terry O'Keeffe, Claire Kinnes and JudyCrimins and Alice Rumanelli, all ofHuntington and all one-time Mulvihillstudents, at an informal class he oncetaught in Mullen's home. Here they'velinked with a Kings Park contingent thatalso takes lessons at Kings Park Libraryon Wednesday evenings.And there's Barbara McCaffrey, whodrives from Wantagh for her weeklyfootwork and the Irish-born dancinggrandmothers- Lily McEvoy of LakeGrove and Eileen Reynolds of Nesconset,members of an Innis Fada (LongIsland) group that dances at Mineola'sIrish Centre. McEvoy , a mother ofnine- most of them former students ofM:Ilvihill- often teams with him for* JERRY MULVIHILLexhibition solos.The women wish more male partnerswould show up. "They think of it asjust jigs and reels, but it's meant to be asocial thing like square dancing and it'smore fun than aerobics," says Mullen.Murphy, co-owner (along with husbandHenry and son NeaI) of Huntington'sIrish Alley , a specialty boutique, notesthat the cost of $5 for a two-hour classis cheaper than a gym or health club.The only two men among the dozendancers are popular partners, Gary Gaynora Franciscan brother who teachesmaths at St. Anthony's High School inSouth Huntington, finds dancing a niceescape from numbers. John Welch ofEast Northport, who's relocating soonto Atlanta, ruefully notes he'll soonbecome a dance school dropout.Now at the hall, a stirring reel ushersin a dance named the North Kerry Set.The group is learning to 'house,' orcircle , with verve . "Closer - each foursome,"says Mulvihill. "Remember, allthis started in the kitchens of Irelandand there wasn't room to spread out."Mulvihill, a widower and father oftwo grown daughters, is 71 , lives inKings Park and now teaches his 6-yearold great-grandaughter. He learned hisfirst reel back in County Kerry, Ireland,more than 65 yers ago. After coming tothe United States in the '50s, he becamea local champ and performed on TV's"Ted Mack's Family Hour".Now, besides teaching in the Bronxand Queens, he instructs adult beginnerswith free sessions at Kings Park LibraryWednesdays at 7 p.m. and grooms smallfryfor solo competition Tuesdays at4 p.m. at the same place. He was scheduledto march today in Huntington'sst. Patrick's Day parade in his traditionalcostume of St. Pat rick's blue. "Greenas a national colour came later," he said.34

and his young friend Malcolm - twobrilliant pipers, and at Blackheath in theBlue Mountains I met the versatile andgenial lan McKenzie equally proficienton the pipes or concert flute. Othermusicians encountered in the Sydneyarea included 'Bush' concertina player -Manie Carlin; and another great concertinaplayer Keith Young. The dancingscene in Sydney is catered for byMargaret Winnett and her Australianborn husband, assisted by Gearoid Fox,no stranger to Culturlann Ceili Classes.Leo Stewart hails from Derry, but canbe found wherever Irish music is beingplayed in his adopted country, as canAn tAthair 0 Suilleabhain from Cobh,who is doing more than his share toencourage a love of the teanga. NancyO'Donnell and her husband Neill fromLetterkenny present a very popularRadio Programme on Sunday mornings,which gives all the news from Ireland.They recently hosted a concert in theSeymour Hall for visiting Derry man -PhiI Coulter .. Dublin born Hugh Keoghalso presents a radio show on behalf ofthe Folk Federation, an organisationwhich is very strong in Australia. Inpassing one has to acknowledge the hospitalityand assistance received fromComhaltas Runai - Maureen Adshead -a daugher of Michael Cleary - and herhusband Frank and indeed from theManaging Editor of Australia's onlyIrish paper The Irish Echo - Billy Cantwell,a native of Navan, Co . Meath.Following a lapse of a few years, theComhaltas Branch in Brisbane has beenre-activated. Brisbane does not have thenumber of musicians that branches suchas Melbourne and Perth possess , but theIrish in this lovely city of one millionpeople are proud of their heritage as canbe seen from the efforts of the G .A.A.Club who have built their own clubroomsand entertainment centre by voluntarylabour. Cathaoirleach of the revivedComhaltas Branch is MargaretO'Dowling - no stranger in Comhaltascircles; the Runai is Mary O'Leary amember of a very traditional musicalfamily from Scartaglin, Co . Kerry andthe treasurer is Ken Littleboy, whoseforefathers came from Co. Cork. Thebest known Irish personality in Brisbaneis without doubt Seamus O'Sullivan.A native of Lorrha, Co . Tipperary,Seamus is the reigning Uachtanin of theAustralian Board of the G.A.A. A reallivewire, he is very popular in G.A.A.circles in all parts of the continent, andwill be of great assistance to ComhaltasCraobh and its projects in the yearsahead. Together with the Vice-Presidentof the Queensland Irish Club -Leo Moloney, Seamus gave me a quicktour of the city, that included lunch in* PAT O'NEILL - Cavan; PADDY FITZ­GERALD - Galway; DONAL O'GRADY -DUBLIN; PEARSE O'PREY - Belfast atGaelic Park, Melbourne.* At the Blarney Castle, Perth. (I-r)TOMMY KEARNS, KATHLEENKEARNS, DIARMUID () CATHAINVERA LARKIN, PADDY LARKIN 'SEAN DOHERTY and MARGARETDOHERTY.the prestigious Irish Club , which housesa most impressive Library. Otherpeople encountered in Brisbane includedCarrick-on-Suir born businessmanPaul Lawless, and his good wife - Bemadette- another daughter of MichaelCleary, Theresa O'Leary and Mr. andMrs. Ebert from Scartaglin, Co . Kerry,Paddy and Willie Fitzpatrick fromDoolin, Co . Clare and Father J. J.o 'Loughlin, a native of Carron, Co.Clare, who spent many years as a missionaryin Fiji and was a one time neighbourof our own Miche31 b Lochlainn.ADELAIDEMy final port of call was Adelaide inSouth Australia, another lovely cleancity of approximately one millionpeople. Here there are a number ofIrish societies, including an Irish-AustralianSociety, Adelaide Irish Musicians,Adelaide Folk Federation ~ the IrishClub and the G.A.A. Club. In AdelaideI enjoyed the hospitality of Belfast bornJim Fry and his Dublin born wife, Margaret,a one time entertainer at theAbbey Tavern. Jim, who is, of course,a brother of Albert Fry, is a retiredjeweller (prematurely - one hastens to32

and women were providing excellentmusic and dancing for those people whopreferred to stay in the pavilion, wherefood and drinks were readily availableand where one could escape the sun'srays for a while. This then was Perth,the last big centre of population on theWest Coast and not many miles removedfrom the bush land that stretches northfor miles and miles.MELBOURNE is a city of four and ahalf million people and as one wouldexpect, has a big Irish population. TheComhaltas Branch which has had achequered existence can now boast ofmore musicians in its ranks than probablymost branches in the organisation.I counted a total of twenty-one musiciansat the Wednesday session in theIrish Welfare Bureau premises in GertrudeStreet. Add to this number afurther forty non-musicians and one canunderstand why the capacity of thebuilding was grossly overtaxed andmany lined the stairs, and availed ofthe free coffee service downstairs.Chairman of the branch is Cavan-bornPaddy O'Neill, who is in fact the generalfactotum in the area. A successful businnessman, he employs a number ofprominent musicians in this contractingbusiness. The joke is told thatwhen employing newcomers, his firstquestion at the interview is "What instrumentdo you play?" and if theanswer is satisfactory, he is assured of ajob. Paddy plays the banjo, fiddle,accordion, mandolin, piano accordionand uilleann pipes, and when timeallows does a little teaching. Easily thebest-known musicians in Melbourne andindeed, throughout Australia are theFitzgerald family , or ""Fitzies" as theyare commonly known. This remarkablefamily were born in Galway, but movedto the Bodyke area of Co . Clare whenvery young and it was here they gottheir first musical tuition. The elderbrother Paddy is probably the bestknown and most widely travelled. Heplays a Paolo Soprani accordion, purchasedat Duchas, Tralee in 1978!Paddy has great heart in his music and ismuch sought after by the dancers, andwith his wife Eileen, regularly forsakesthe box to dance a Clare Set! His youngerbrother, Joe, must be regarded asone of the ten best accordion playersplaying Irish music in any part of theworld today. One gets carried away byhis rhythm, drive , inventiveness, as wellas by his vast repertoire of tunes. Whilehis brother Paddy is a Gaelic Footballfanatic, J oe is a caman wielder, andmany vouch for his prowess as a goalie .The younger brother J ohnny is the mostversatile of the lot, playing the fiddle ,banjo, tin whistle, concert flute , mando-* SEAN & MARGARET DOHERTY andDIARMUID b CATHAIN* DAVID LYNCH - Meath; and PADDYMcKEOWN at Gaelic Park, Melbourne.lin, accordion and uilleann pipes withequal dexterity. One would wish thatthe music of the Fitzies got greater exposurethough I subsequently discoveredthat in 1976, they and Sean Gilroy,Michael Hand, Paddy O'Neill, Sean McManus, Dec1an Affley and Robert andTommy Joyce combined in an L.P.titled "The Celtic Inheritance."Another great accordion player in Melbourneis Billy Moran, a native of Corrandulla,Tuam. Billy plays an old threerow accordion, has a great repertoire oftunes and could be described as"reeking of tradition." Billy and J oeFitzie play a marvellous duet. Billy'swife - Eileen - also from Galway - isan addict to set dancing and both willbe seen in Ireland in August, le cunamhDe . Before leaving the Fitzies, it isworth noting that all of Paddy's eightchildren are competent musicians andwith their father form a Ceili Band.Paddy's wife Eileen (nee Nash) is Australianborn, but her father was a nativeof Lyrecrompane, Co . Kerry. Her sister,Kathleen is one of the best exponentson the piano accordion in the area,while another sister Theresa Cronin -plays the melodeon and sings. Herdaughter Eileen Sullivan is a competentmandolin player. Among the other musicianswho seem to be ever present atthe sessions are bodhran player PaddyEnright from Ardagh, Co. Limerick andtwo musicians born in England, but nowtwo outstanding performers TonyO'Rourke on the banjo and Elaine Jeffreysan outstanding performer on theconcert flute. Elaine has previously30

A WAR OF WORDS?Quebeckers are bracing themselvesfor what has become a painfulritual: another language debate.This seemingly endless series ofemotional, divisive battles started in themid-sixties, and for a quarter of acentury the ugly beast has intermittententlyraised its head.Only diehard activists on both sideslook forward to the next episode, butthere is no turning away : The notwithstandingclause that the Quebec governmentused in 1988 to override the SupremeCourt of Canada judgement onlanguage signs is valid only for five years,on Dec. 22 , 1993, the National Assemblywill face an inescapable deadline ,and the government will have to decidewhether the notwithstanding clauseshould be invoked again or revoked.Right now , my guess is it will be revoked.Then, the law that banslanguages other than French from outdoorsigns would be a thing of the past.But I might be wrong. I was talkingabout this a few days ago with ayounger colleague. "I think most franccophonesare now willing to accept bilingualsigns," she said. "Well, at leasteveryone I meet seems to be in thatkind of mood."This is also my impression, and Iwas about to agree when, all of a sudden,distressing memories came back to me."You know what? " I told her. "Fiveyears ago , it was the same atmospherebefore everything erupted. I'm afraidthis calm could be deceptive onceagain."Only months before the SupremeCourt judgement, most francophonesdidn't appear disturbed by the idea thatQuebec would eventually have to allowbilingual signs. Actually, during themid-eighties, surveys showed that aslight majority of francophones thoughtbilingual signs made sense . And myanglophone friends were all saying thatthis was a non-issue and that they personallydidn't care about signs.But when the Supreme Court struckdown part of the language law-rulingthat Quebec's ban on non-French signsviolated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms-all hell broke loose . Nationalistgroups, union leaders and the PartiQuebecois leaped to the barricades.Media commentators were inflamed;radio hot-lines were burning with anger.Premier Robert Bourassa wavered andcame out with a silly compromise (bilingualsigns inside, French-only signsoutside) bound to make everyone angry.And my anglophone friends lost theircool: They were hurt and disgusted andfor a while some of them throught ofmoving out of the province.Is brea le hEorpaigh an teilifis; Ar anmean, caitheann Eorpach tri huaire anchloig agus cuig noimead gach la agfaire ar an teilifis, de reir suirbre. atadeanta ag an gcomhlacht, IP. Cuireadhagallamh ar 10,000 duine i 20 tir - anDareag moide an Ostair, an Fhionlainn,an lorua, an tSualainn agus an Eilveischomh maith leis an Ungair, an Pholainnagus an tSeicslovaie. Mas fior donsuirbhe, is i an teilifis ata ehun tosaighar gaeh eaitheamh aimsire eile sanEoraip.Ar laethanta na seaehtaine, eaitheannan mean-Eorpaeh, 15 bliana d'aois no osa ehionn, oeht n-uaire agus tri n6imeadina ehodladh agus tri huaire an ehloigagus 33 noimead ag obair. (CuirtearBREA THNU AR THEILIFISAll this, of course, was largely symbolic.Most Montrealers wouldn'teven notice if a sign was in Frenchor English. But francophonenationalists thought than anycompromise would be the prelude to amassive unravelling of the Quebec languagecharter - and French, they think,needs extra protection because Quebecis a small French-speaking island in theNorth American sea. Some evenbelieved any compromise would throwus back to a still vividly remembered erawhen Montreal was covered withEnglish-only billboards. Their massiveoutburst of anger was like a messagethat they felt they were nnt wanted intheir own province.Anglophones care about their communitybecause they are a minority inQuebec; francophones care about theirlanguage because it is a minority language.Both groups thought they wereendangered and the other was the strongergroup - the majority. The anglophonescouldn't understand why francophoneswere insecure: Aren't they 83per cent of the Quebec population?The francophones couldn't understandwhy the anglophones were insecure.Aren't they part of the Canadian majority?Isn't English the international languageof our time?On this basis of long-held historicalgrievances, deep misunderstanding andmutual ignorance - most anglophonesand francophones live separate lives -nationalist activists had a field day . Itwas easy to build a strong wave of protestagainst any significant change to thelanguage law . For a few weeks , the atmospherewas charged and thoroughlyunpleasant.It was especially unpleasant forpeople who have friends in both communitiesand understand the argumentsof both sides. While some of my dearestfriends were marching in the streetsagainst any compromise on language,some of my dearest friends were sittingat home wondering if they were stillpart of Quebec. I was torn betweenconflicting impulses and couldn't waitfor the whole issue to fade away .It did after a while . But soon, thesame messy , hysterical scenario will bestarting all over again.- Lysiane Gagnonlueht difhostaioehta, pinsineiri agus mieleinn san aireamh, rud a choinnionn anmeanfhigiur oibre iseal.) Ta an teilifis satriu hait, i bhfad chun tosaigh ar anraidio - dha uair an chloig agus trinoimead.Is e breath nu ar an teilifis an t-aonghniomhaiocht a nglaeann muintir uilena hEorpa, beagnach, pairt inti, de reiran tsuirbhe - ma fhagtar as an liireamhimeaehtai "bitheolaioehta" ar noscodlaeh, ithe agus nioehan. Sa ghnathlaseaehtaine, eodlaionn moran gachEorpach; caitheann 95% diobh beileamhain ar a laghad sa bhaile agus nionnan eeatadan ceanna iad fein - agusbreathnaionn beagnaeh 90% diobh(89.7% le bheith eruinn) ar an teilifis.28

AG CUIMHEAMH,AR DHONALLCaoimhghfn 0 BrolchainIsn't it grand when the memoryof someone you knew always bringsa smile with the recollection. I have alarge photograph of Donall MacAmhlaigh, kindly sent to me by hisbrother Noel, on my wall here and itshows him holding a copy of his newlypublishedSCHNITZER O'SHEA.Whenever it catches my eye, it brightensmy day .When the book first came out, I wasintrigued by the title. With the wifebeing from Nuremberg, there is the oddbit of German to be heard around thehouse and I was very familiar with thederogatory term, 'Schlitzohr' - it isvery colloquial and indicates a rogue. Itmeans 'Slit-ear' and I suppose, refers tothe time when they used to cut the earsof criminals so that they would carry awarning of their dubious tendencies tothe. public, wherever they went. 'Schnitzer',however, also in Bavarian dialect,indicates someone who makes a mess ofthings regularly. I was amazed thatDonall should have chanced upon sucha name, since it suits his wanderingpoetic idiot beautifully, but I also knewthat there wasn't a great 'share' of Germanabout where Donall was reared.When I tackled him about it , he justgrinned and told me that he had beenworking on railway tracks somewhere,spreading ballast under the sleepers,when a scrap of newspaper blew by. Onit, in large letters was 'Schnitzer' - heimmediately seized on it as a wonderfulname for the main character of thebook he was planning . . . amazingIsn't there more than a hint there of·'guidance'.... One of my pet theories isthat there are fellas - Beethoven,Chopin, Dickens, Rafterai an File -who are God's gift to a gloomy world."We are all travelling down life's wearyway - If any man can play the pipes,for God's sake, let him play!" WellDonall could shorten the road surely,and did.A very pious, I might almost say'scrupulous' man, Donall never-the-lessenjoyed the odd grin at 'excesses ofdevotion'. One time, he mentioned hisdear old Mam getting the family onto itsknees to make a novena to St. Joseph sothat they might get a new council house- one of several that were being built inKilkenny at the time. She dearly longedfor such a dwelling since where theywere living at that time was unsatisfactory.One of her lads affected topour scorn on the proposal. "Pray toSaint Joseph for a house is it!. ... Surethat man couldn't even put a roof overhis own family when they needed it!"Donall had many a hearty chuckle atthe memory.Much of his 'material' came crowdingin on him as he simply sat having a quietpint in a pub. He told me that wheneverhe was thus engaged, having a'squint' at his paper and taking the odd'suimfn' out of his glass, men coming inwould, without fail, come over and usewhatever stray phrase of Irish theymight have. On one such occasion, hefound that quite a bunch of men hadgathered about him - all holding forthin whatever mangled fashion - in Irish.At length, the teenage son of one ofthem also entered the pLib . He wasamazed to hear this 'foreign' languageissuing out of his old man. "Wot's thisthen Ded? ... Cor, wos this yor syin'?""Shtand back there son! Ye're amongstIdikated min now!" pronounced thefather proudly. What a contrast withthe old days, when the ability to speakIrisih was the badge of poverty anddeprivation - a thing to be hidden anddisowned. Now it was the mark of aneducated man!My own reminiscing on days spendunder navvy gangers of the old schoolwould set the two of us off yarning. Itold of the old tyrant who got all thelads out of the trench and lined themup. "Now, whin I give tha word - letye all jump inta tha trinch. In-out, Inout,In-out! Dammit, ye'll be carryin'out more on ye'r boots than ye are nowon the Shovel!" The unfailing cry ofthese old slavedrivers was always, "Digdeep lads - an' throw't well back!"They were hard to please.Donall responded with a lovely littletale which he subsequently wrote up forIrelands Own - and a lot of correspondenceit roused from men who clainedto have known the participants. Onetime a deep trench for cables was beingdug in North London. An old lad, justseeing out his days, had been given alovely job. His was the responsibilityfor holding up a plumb-line to ensurethat the sides of the trench were straightso that there should be no danger of acave-in. The odd thing was, that theweight on the end of the line was a largeonion. Old Pat would hold it up on thestring and call out authoritively, 'Backa bit lads! That's too bloody far all-tagither!... A bit further dis way! " andproud he was of his position.When the whistle went for dinnertime, most of the lads, including oldPat, would cross the road to a pub fora liquid lunch and a pie. The onion wassimply hung on a nail driven into theshoring timbers. Some few , however,had brought sandwiches with them andthey stayed down there to eat them. Inevitably,one glanced up and saw theonion. In no time, he had climbed upand taken a large bite out of it - thencarefully turned the bitten side in to the'wall'.The whistle went again and everyonecame back to resume work. Suddenly,there was a roar of rage from Pat."That's it! That's it! Gimmee me cards!I'll shtay no longer here! That's enuff!"When the 'office' got to hear of the'crime' from an enraged Pat, theyattempted to sooth him. "Arrah Pat,what's on you? Haven't you a grand jobthere! Can't you get another onion? -26

THE HAG IN THE BLANKET - from Jack Wadefa ~ IW4G 1-13 I~ J gtffiPADDY CARTY'S JIG -from Jimmy McHugh~tEL--rn ~m .ij$J Ctj QiJJQ~1~lm~~lr~* fj¥J±tftHa~ 1ID--~~

ON CLYDE'S BONNY BANKSOn Clyde's bonny banks where I sadly did wanderNear the village of Blantyre, where I chanoed to strayI espied a y01.mg woman, (she)v!as dressed in deep !IDurningSo sadly lamenting the fate of her love.ON CLYDE'S BONNY BANKS (or THE BLANTYRE EXPLOSION)Oh on Clyde's bonny banks where I lately did wander,To the village of Blantyre where I chanced to stray,I espied a young woman, was dressed in deep mourning,So sadly lamenting the fate of her love.I boldly stepped to her, said I, 'My poor woman,Come tell me the cause of your trouble and woe,I do hear you lamenting the fate of some young man,His name and what happened him I'd like for to know.'On Clyde's Bonny Banks: This was oneof the favourite songs of John Maguire(R.LP.) that great traditional singer fromCo. Fermanagh whose songs and storiesmay be found in the book 'Come Day ,Go Day, God send Sunday' (collated byRobin Morton). The song is of Scottishorigin but John's rendering on the L.P.'Folksongs sung in Ulster,' has all the characteristicsof best traditional singing.Well sighing and sobbing she at length then made answer,'John Murphy, kind sir, was mv tme lover's name.Twenty-one years of age, and of mild good behaviour,To work in the mines of High Blantyre he came.'On the eleventh of December I long will remember,In health and in strength to his labour did go;But on that fatal morning without one moment's warning,Two hundred and ten in cold death did lie low.There werefathers and mothers,there were widows and orphans,In stone field High Blantyre where hundreds do mourn,There was old aged parents for their sons they loved df!arly,By that sad explosion will never return.But they say it's not right for the dead to be grieved,There's nothing but trouble bestowed upon me,He's gone from this world, but a short time before me,In hopes to rejoin him in sweet unity.The spring it'll come with the flowers of summer,That blow through its wildness so lovely and fair ,I will gather the snowdrops, primroses and daisies,Round my true lover's grave I will transplant them there.

A GLIMPSE BEHIND THE SCENES* Comhaltas Ceolt6iri Eireann pictured withCork's Lord Mayor ALD. MICHEALMARTIN , T.D. at Cork City Hall duringthe Irish Concert Tour's visit to Cork.22 Gilnahirk Walk,Belfast BTS 7DSI got my glimpse behind the scenesof Echoes of Erin Comhaltas ConcertTour by being present on three differentnights selling mouthorgans.On the first night in Dublin, I heard,as they were leaving, so many peoplesay how much they had enjoyed theshow. If I had known the accordionplayer I asked for a tune, had left thestage, I don't think I would have hadthe nerve. But he had a tune for meand courtesy towards me .It's a long road from Belfast toEnniskillen by bus and another longroad to hitch-hike from Enniskillen toTubbercurry, but I got there in goodtime . After the show was over it was apleasure to give a few lifts in helping toload the bus. Such well organisedpeople! How easy to leave somethingbehind at every overnight stop. Irelandis littered with my possessions! I couldsee the warmth and friendship betweenthe local Comhaltas people and thetourers. There was a little lingeringbefore the bus left. I talked to some ofthe people on tour and heard theirdelight in sharing their gifts in so manyparts of Ireland.I never really saw the show properlyuntil I got to Bellaghy, along with twofriends from the Belfast Branch. Myfriend Harry Irwin was hoping to get achance to play the G, D & A harmonicashe got from me. The chance came afterthe show was over. A session startedmade up of those who had previouslybeen on the stage and those who hadpreviously been the audience. What awonderful way with this sort of music,no one excluded, but all welcome withjoy and kindness.I nearly forgot to tell you about theshow. I maybe don't know the rightthings to look for musically , but I doknow when my heart is lifted. Twodays later the show was still giving mepleasure thinking about it.JAMES SNODDYA MUSICAL VOYAGEA V ALON Association38 Allee Georges Recipon,75019 ParisTel: 42393621.Fax: 480499 14I am writing to you at this timebecause I would like to contact severalimportant musical associations inIreland and more particularly on theWest Coast who could be interested inour project.In fact, we are a group of FrenchContemporary Jazz musicians (music isour profession). We are planning to sailto Ireland with a 24 meter Schoonerduring the Spring - Summer season1994 along the West Coast for a periodof two and a half months from Cork toDonegal.We would like to meet musicians,both traditional and contemporary, whoactively take part in the music of theirregion. Given that we intend our boatto be a meeting place that will facilitatemusical exchanges, we would like to inviteseveral people to join us on ourvoyage (musicians, composers andmusicologists, etc.). In sharing the detailsof our project with others, we willbe better able to plan our route, takinginto consideration whatever infonnationthey may have provided us with.I obtained your address from theIrish Embassy in Paris. However, giventhat I am not familiar with the exactnature of your association, I wantedto give you a brief description of ourproject. Should this project not bewithin the scope of your association, Iwould ask that you further indicate therole of your assocation, and eventuallydirect me to others who might be interested.Of course, if you are interestedin knowing the details about AVALON,I would be happy to send you a presskit.Finally, I am planning a short trip toIreland during the first part of Septemberand hopefully I could meet you atthis time.Thank you for your considerationand I look forward to hearing from you.FREDERIC BRIET24

ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARTYINJ held its St. Patrick's DayParty at the Drug Store in Nishi­Azabu (near Roppongi) on 13March. Music was provided byWhiskey Business. Many CCEJapan members were seen lettingtheir hair down and enjoying theatmosphere until the wee hours.ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARADEThe Tokyo St. Patrick's DayParade took place in Harajuku thisyear. The CCE Dancers took partbut the only music available wasthe Tokyo Pipe Band which playsmostly Scottish music. Nevertheless,everyhody had a good time includingthe group from Murphy'sBar who had come all the way upfrom Osaka for the event. Sourcesreport that the parade even madethe news in Ireland.JAPAN-IRELAND SOCIETY'SST. PATRICK'S DAY CELEBRA­TIONThe Japan-Ireland Society celebratesits 30th anniversary this year.One of their annual events is the St.Patrick's Day Celebration. Thisyear's event was held on 23 Marchand included an introduction to thecontemporary Irish cinema byHisako Iwami, a performance ofmusic by Tsuchiya Makoto inspiredby a recent visit and a very entertainingcomparison of life in Japanand Ireland as seen from thevisitor's perspective which was presentedby David Martin andManzoh from INJ.JERRY FORTOURThank you to everyone' who madeour May Awards and (thankfully)financial success. Our thanks to Hankand the staff at the Bajart Post for thedelicious food and the expert catering,to Patricia Conway Furlong, Mary TeresaKiely and the members of Keltoifor the brilliant music, to Ira for hiswork at the door, to Deirdre for thetrifle and the warm words during thepresentations and most of all to Barbaraand Rose for allowing us to saythank you to two beautiful womenwho are the heart and soul of thisbranch of Comhaltas. Seeing almost100 people in the hall enjoying themsIevesin a family atmosphere makes aperson understand what Comhaltas isall about. Our music, song and danceare part of our culture and are bestpresented and enjoyed in family stylegatherings such as we had that Sundayevening. Thank you one and all forsharing that evening with us.Bill McEvoy , our ProvincialChairman, has sent me a glowingreport of the Annual Congress of Comhaltasheld in Dublin, May 1st and 2nd.It appears that there is great supportfor our efforts in North America. Billnotes that J erry Mulvihill will be partof the 1993 Concert Tour as a traditionaldancer. Many of you haveknown Jerry through his teaching effortsover the years in this area. Weare both pleased and proud to seeJ erry representing Comhaltas in NewYork on the tour. Bill also indicatesthat we will be able to have a local setdance/ceili dance particpate in theconcert at our local venues . A greatidea that came out of our conventionin Syracuse.* The Taoiseach's reel .... ALBERT REYNOLDS tunes up with a fiddle borrowed fromSEAMUS CONNOLLY (right) of Lowell, Massachusetts when he enjoyed a session ofIrish traditional music provided by the Boston branch of Comhaltas.JIM McGINTY, MICHAELCOLEMAN BRANCH, New York* BOITHRIN NA SMAOINTE: Three ofthe great fiddle players of this century (I-r)MARTlN WYNNE (Sligo/New York);VINCENT HARRISON (Leitrim/NewYork); and JIM "LAD" O'BEIRNE(Sligo/New York).22

the three kingdoms. Here the poet summonsall his powers of declamation, totell of the dogs of Bristol thirstily drinkingthe heart blood of his country; hercountenance blackened like coal; hermines, woods, quarries broken or burnt:while the planters reign in the ruinedcastles of princes. O'Doherty, O'Moore,o Rourke, 0 Donnell, are dethronedand as for the 0 Briens - they, for along space, have gone over to theEnglish. The Geraldines, Burkes, Barrysand seafaring Walshes: they have lost allsway . So, in a crescendo of agony thepoet tells of his people's plight, andcries -Restore the Gaels, 0 Christ, whileyet there's time!It is the envoi of this poem that() Rathaille tells that he himself hascome so low that for lack of patrons hegoes wanting shoes.Another glimpse of the poet's fortuneswe gain from the poemmade when he has removed hisdwelling, through poverty, toTonn Toime: the Wave of Toime, at themouth of Castlemain harbour. Here, asthe unaccustomed thunder of the wavesdisturbs his sleep , he recalls the chiefs ofthe branches of Clan Carthy, the royalclan that is gone: but mark how, at theend, the indomitable spirit of him andhis race spits defiance , even from death,and proclaims the resolve never to yieldallegiance to the stranger.This piece has been freely , but super-bly, rendered by Mr. James Stephens.Let us borrow his "re-incarnation" ofthe poem, which is as fine in his Bearlaas in the original.My heart is withered and my health isgoneFor they who were not easy put upon,Masters of mirth and of fair clemency,Masters of wealth and gentle charity,They are all gone. Mac Caura More isdead,Mac Caura of the Lee is finished ;Mac Caura of Kanturk joined clay toclayAnd gat hime gone, and bides as deep asthey.Their years, their gentle deed, their flagsare furled,And deeply down, under the stiffenedworld,In chests of oaken wood are princesthrustTo crumble day by day into the dustA mouth might puff at; nor is left atraceOf those who did of grace all that wasgrace.o Wave of Cliona, cease thy bellowing!And let my ears forget a while to ringAt they long, lamentable misery:The great are dead indeed, the great aredead;And I, in littl'" time, will stoop my headAnd put it under, and will be forgotWith them, and be with them and thusbe not:Here , now, is the last verse in whichthe poet touches the depth of despair,and yet uprears his spirit to give voice toimperishable hope:Ease thee, cease thy long keening cryno more;End is, and here is end, and end is sore,And to all lamentations be there end . . .If I might come on thee, 0 howlingfriend!Knowing that sails were drumming onthe seaWestward to Eire, and that help wouldbeTrampling for her upon a Spanish deck,I'd ram thy lamentation down byneck!Poetry like this was not made toplease a patron. It was the passion of anoble spirit, bursting into utterance, becauseit must. It was the theme-verse ofthat symphony of song which filledMunster throughout the century of thePenal subjection. () Rathaille, the poetof princes, thus headed those who werethe poets of the people. He stands inthe sunset of the old order and giveswords of those who will watch throughthe Penal night.To this, his art was peculiarly suited.Though he planned, as we think, to befile to the MacCarthy, he was the firstfile to break completely with the classic,syllabic metres, which only scholarlyhearers could appreciate. Other fili hadused the easy , stirring, accented metressometimes, but seldom for the ceremonialkind of poem. they deemed thesemetres fitted rather to the mere bard.SIRRPRESENTATIONJack Grogan from Birr who has givena lifetime of service to Comhaltas inmany capacities retired as Catharoirleachof the Branch this year and wasmade a presentation by the members ofthe branch at a function in The CountyArms Hotel, Birr.This group, photographed on theoccasion consists of Padraig 6 Dufaigh ,Ardchisteoir; Donal 0 Muirgheasa,Runai Paddy O'Brien Ormond BranchCCE and his wife Mary (daughter ofJack Grogan); Jack and his wife Sallyand Ann Heffernan also a daughter ofJack and her husband Gerry , also fromCraobh Ormond.Photo No. 2: Jirn Kinsella, BranchChairman, Maureen Corrigan, BranchP.R.O. who made the presentation toJack and Sally Grogan.20

The persistence of the Gaelic order inthese little societies could be illustratedfrom many a Gaelic poet's verses, madefor the chiefs who remained. One ofthe finest and most typical of late Gaelicpoet's was Mairi nighean AlasdairRuaidh, Mary MacLeod, who wassinging in the Isles as late as 1705 inpraise ofSarmac Mhic LeoidNam bratach sroil,Bu railt mu'n or,Bu bhinn caismeachd sgeoil >Aig luchd-astair is ceoil na hEireann.id est:MacLeod's excellent son of thestation banners; unstinting in gold andsweet of story among the travellingband of Eire.In Mairi's verses we have a full richand fascinating picture of the GreatHouse: and behold, though it has thelocal colour of the Isles, it rings withIrish allusions, sioda na Gailbhinn,"silk of Galway" and the like, to shewhow Mac Leod's country was still oneGaeltacht with our own, - portion ofone far extending patriarchal Gaelicworld.Owing to the forsaking of the Catholicallegiance by most of the Scotschiefs, the old life in Scotland escapedthe full fury that Ireland endured and,therefore, lasted longer.Dr. Johnson and Mr. Boswell journeyedthrough that Northern Gaeldomas late as 1773; that is long after thefinal ruin of Irish Gaeldom, and foundthe fabric of society, though gravelystrained, still intact. Hardly any book isof greater value or interest to studentsof these things, than Dr. J ohnson'saccount of his tour. To the Londoner,that patriarchal Highland life was sostrange, that he described it with greatervividness than most native writers. Hemarvelled and largely envied what hesaw, testimony valuable from so unusuala witness.Gaeldom was like the Homeric world.The Isle of Raasay, self-subsistent andsupporting a greater number of peoplethan would the same area of rich farmingland in England, Dr. J ohnsonlikened to the isle of Phaeacia, underHomer's good king Alcinous. He notedthat the Gaelic social order accountedfor the intensive population and itsplain but generous comfort. Whenbeeves were killed, every clansman hadhis customary share: the head to thesmith, the udder to the piper and so on," and so many pieces followed theseprescriptive claims, that the Laird's wasat last but little." The maids of everyhousehold had little or no "pecuniarywages," but they had a share of thesheep and did the spinning, as theiremolument. Thus, there was provisionfor all, a true distributive system. J ohnsonwas impressed by the high breedingthat this order of society manifested."The girls of the Highlands are allgentlewomen." Every running horseboyclaimed respect: "civility seemspart of the national character." WithJ ohnson, the word civility meant highrefinement. He observed that the Gaelicorder, in which every member of societystood in some customary or blood relationto the chief, so that the poorwere not thrust out of sight and out ofmind, but ensured of attention like thehumble members of one family, resultedin this uniform, high standard ofdignity: for, "politeness, the naturalproduct of royal government, is diffusedfrom the laird through the whole clan."THE BIG HOUSESWhen in J ohnson's pages we haveviewed the still living Gaelic social orderunder the analytic eyes of a modern observer,from without, we can turn backto our Kerry poet with a fresh understanding.For in O'Rahilly's poetry wesee that order from within', paintedmore lavishly than by any other poet,and painted in the last days of its survivalin our land. What can be comparedwith the description of the Houseof Ua Cellach:iin, which O'Rahilly givesin his lamentation for that chieftain, inthe year 1724? The fairy spirit,Cliodhna, muse of Munster speaks(lines 65-104).Here we are shewn the "musicalkingly house" of O'Callaghan, withits doors opening upon courts ofamber light, its airy chambers andladen tables, its chess-playingwarriors, feasters, scholars and noblesconversing on the houses of Europe:the poet tells how the bugle wouldsound on the plain and the heavy cryof the chase descend from the sidesof the misty hills; how foxes andred bucks, hares, water-hens andpheasants would be started and howthe prince's hounds and men wouldreturn wearied from the uplands andhow now, alas, the voice of the strangeris loud in the fold en dwelling:glor na nGall go teann san orbrugh.Petty critics take little of poetryof this kind, because it is not "acriticism of life" (a piece of Victorianjargon), and lacks psychology. They might equally make little ofHomer's poetry. If they were to read(supposing that they could read) theearly books of the Odyssey, they wouldfind in the account of Telmachus's visitto the houses of Nestor and Menelaus,this identical delight in the furniture ofthe world, this feeling for the zest ofpure, poetic living. For us , this poetryis Homeric in spirit and vigour and Irishin its intimate appeal. We read and weyearn for those old days, that wholesomehappy life.The comparison with Homer is inescapable.The Gaelic poets were wellaware of the likeness of their backgroundto the Homeric world and morethan one proposed to translate Homerinto Gaelic - Sean Clarach Mac Domhnaillin Munster, in the generation afterO'Rahilly and Riocard Bairead in Connachtstill later. In Scotland, EoghanMacLochlainn did do eight books of theiliad into what we call the Ossianicmetre, proving that the Gaelic lay wasadmirably fitted to express the spirit ofGreek epic. Witness the first lines ofthe iliad, in his version:Aithris, a bhan-dia nam fonn!Fearg mhic Pheleuis nan glonn aigh,F earg mhillteach a chiurr. a' GhreigLe beud nan deich mile cradh,Fearg a sguab a dh' ifrinn duinnMiltean lan-ghaisgeach romh'n am ,Ancuirp ruisgt' aig comh marphronn,'S aig uil-ealtainn nam fiadh-bheannB'e sud run an duilich aird:Ach ciod bu cheann-fath do'n strith?Cum na chog an t-Aichioll corr'S ceud-tltlath an tsloigh, bu mhorbrigh?One of O'Rahilly's shorter pieces hasbeen described as Homeric by almostevery critic who has discussed him. It isthat entitled An File i gCaislean anTochair. He has traversed the land ancihas come to Castle Tochar, formerly theabode of Tadhg an Duna, a MacCarthywho died in O'Rahilly's youth; thecastle now is held by a settler namedWarner. To the poet's surprise , he hasfound here , even under the stranger,that which he has missed elsewhere: theold hospitality, the old abundance: andhe breaks into six verses of Homeric description,closing with a sort ofastonished thankfulness to God, that aforeigner should be as good a host as aMacCarthy.All of Munster I travelled, fromDerrynan to Dun-na-Riogh, andnever was the gloom lifted from myspirits, till I beheld the mansion thatonce was Tadhg an Duna's.18

y the ' wonder of the place, as if the. past were more real than the presentand the living were but shadows of thedead.For here, where the ancient treespreads its branches over the cloisters.and in the roofless church, the names ofthe clans of Kerry are thick on thegravestones. Princes lie here and nobleladies; friars, scholars, poets, these andhumbler folk of the same stock, whoselast happiness it was to be privileged tofind rest in so sacred a place. The deadwho lie here are those who were trueheirs of the splendour of Kerry: theygave to the hills their names, and toKerry its fame in song. The folk pauseto spell out a name and see the abbeyand hurry on their way to gayer places:they come and pass: but the great deadand their memories remain, inseparablefrom Loch Lein and Muckross and nowour theme.Two of the chief poets of Irelandwere ent9mbed here. One was EoghanRuadh 0 Suilleabhliin (1747-1784),lovingly called Eoghan a' Bheoil Bhinn"he who had worked as a labourer forboors, while his heart meditated somany jubilant or mournful songs. Itwas he who carried his spade to anotherbard, Sjfamas Mac Gearailt, at thesmithy, and sang.Seamas, the loving and laughing, ofcomrades the best, Son of the Geraldinebreed, the Greeks of the West,Muster your craft and make meGILE NAGILE(Brightness of Brightness)Gile na gilc do chonllarc ar slighci n-lIaigncas;Criostal an chriostail a guirmmiserinn-lIainc;Binneas an bhinnis a friotal n{trchrion-ghruamdha;Dcirgc is finnc do fionnadh Tl-agrios-ghruadh naibh.Caise na caise i ngach ruibe d{tbuidhc-chuachaibh,llhaineas an ruithncadh denchruinnc le rinn-scuabaibh;Iorradh ga ghlaine 'na gloine ara bruinn bhuacaigh,Do gcincadh ar gheincamhaindi-se 'san tir lIachtraigh.haft, not too big, and fasten it intomy spade - for my trade is to dig.When work-day is ended and spent isthe strength of my arm, And thesteward affirming its little I'm worthto the farm, Softly I'll sing of death,the ender of woe, And tell how Troywas destroyed and its pride laid low.AODHAGAN 0 RATHAILLEAll the clergy of Kerry (they say),and the people of that countryside,gathered at Muckross when Eoghan ofthe Sweet Voice, labourer, soldier andharumscarum adventurer, but a poet sonotable, a Burns of the Gael, was laidto rest in the ruined abbey, late in thePenal age. Twenty-two years before hisbirth - that is to say, a lifetime earlier- a yet finer poet was buried yonderbefore the chancel arch: the mostracial of all the singers of Kerry, and bythe estimate of some, the greatest ofall poets of Gaelic speech: the mightyAodhagan b Rathaille, - whose dateswere given as 1670-1726. That stormof national passion and despair, inwhich the Gaelic order came to its end,the great houses were umoofed and theabbeys began to crumble into ruins:those last throes, in which men hopedfor a while to see the old life restored,but instead beheld its passing: thesethings were the life story of EganO'Rahilly and come before us in alltheir moving power when we read hisverses.The poetry of Egan O'Rahilly wasthe death song of an age and yet gavethat age the immortality of art.AFTER LIMERICKWho can measure or imagine the sufferingof the seventeenth century; when,in three most ruthless wars, the immemorialGaelic civilisation was rooted upand the race all but slain?First, there was the aftermath of theElizabethan war, when the Earls weredefeated and famine spread over theland: famine so fearfully described byEdmund Spenser, who told of thepeople, "anatomies of death," creepingforth to feed on shamrocks. At thattime, Munster's population was halved,by starvation and the sword. The Plan-.," \ "" ".,16

WOR·KING FOR IRELANDLiam 0 D31aigh (Liam Daly) wasborn in Dublin, 1921. Studied IrishLanguage in Carna, Connemara. Alsolearned to play button-accordian there.Married Therese Traynor in 1951. In1955 wrote "Connemara Lullaby" inmemory of his days in Connemara. Itwas best seller that year on Walton'sGlenside Label (recorded by Joe Lynch).Arrived in Montreal in 1957. In1960 began a weekly series on CBCRadio entitled "Gael Guests", a programmeof music, folklore and traditionsof the Gael for Irish, Scots andCanadian Maritimers. Produced fiveLP Albums of local Montreal Irish talent.Commenced production of Canada'sfirst regular Irish Community T.V.Show in 1971. In 1991 won the ConggresA.C.Q. Diane Legris Award forcommunity programming. Was memberof Pat Conroy's founding committee of. Montre31 Branch of Comhaltas Ceolt6iriEireann (Canada's first ComhaltasBranch). Produced full TV coverage offirst two concerts performed byIreland's Comhaltas Ceolt6in performersin Montreal, 1974 and 1975. In1972 initiated first complete TV coverageof Montreal's St. Pat rick's DayParade (Canada's largest and oldest andNorth America's third longest-runningSt. Patrick's Parade).Guests interviewed include ErskineChilders, Dr. Patrick Rillery (both laterto become Presidents of Ireland);former Tainaiste George Colley AmnestyInternational's Sean MacBride;Capt. Terence O'Neill (Lord O'Neill)former Prime Minister of Nth. Ireland;former Irish Cabinet Minister MichaelO'Leary along with numerous Irishauthors and artists, Irish and Irish-NorthAmerican stage and television performers.In the field of music is a long standingmember of SOCAN (Canada's authorsand composers association) withworks performed in Ireland, Britain,U.S. , Australia, New Zealand and Norway.The Montreal Irish Show is still presentingIrish Community Televisionshows on a regular basis and helping tokeep Irish culture and tradition alive asit has been doing since 1971.On May 1,1993, at the United StatesMidwest Fleadh Cheoil, RELENGANNON was presented with gifts symbolisingthe esteem in which she is heldby Comhaltas chapters in the Midwest.A testimonial signed by the FleadhCommittee and virtually every competitor,adjudicator and guest was given toRelen at the presentation ceremony.When representatives of the FrancisO'Neill Club and the Irish MusiciansAssociation introduced Relen and presentedher with the gifts and testimon­Jai, she was greeted with the sustainedand warm applause of the hundreds ofpeople who had assembled to honourher.HELEN HONOUREDOver the years no one has workedharder or more effectively than HelenCannon towards making the UnitedStates Midwest Fleadh Cheoil the eventit is today. In addition to her manyother contributions to the continuedgrowth of Comhaltas in the UnitedStates, every year Relen works tirelesslyfor the success of the Fleadh. Therefore,members of the Francis O'NeillClub and the Irish Musicians Associationbelieve that the gifts and testimonialgiven to Relen during the MidwestFleadh were but a small gesture in gratitudefor the big job that Relen hasdone for Comhaltas over the years.* HELEN GANNON14

, ,BRU BORU FOR AMERICANTELEVISIONSean Hill, "The Nationalist"Tommy Makem famous Irish balladsinger and traditional musician was inCashel's Bru Borti recently to record anumber of sequences for the nationwideAmerican television Public BroadcastingService in connection with a ninetyminute programme "Tommy Makem'sIreland" which will be broadcast coastto coast in the United States. In aninterview with The Nationalist thegenial Tommy Makem said that the programmewould represent a view of analternative Ireland to the general travelogueLakes of Killarney type presentation.Filmed all around the country itwould draw on Ireland's traditionalculture and mythological and pre-historicpast said Tommy. Filming startedat New Grange and then went on toTara and Amhain Macha before arrivingin Cashel where filming took place atBru Boru and outside the centre in theforeground of the Rock of Cashel. Theprogramme is rich in narrative andinterviews with local people in Irelandand includes "the odd bit of music" asTommy put it. In Cashel the renownedBru Boru group featured in a numberof recordings including solo and groupperformances. After Cashel the televisioncrew directed by Tommy Makemheaded off to the Skelligs and to theCeide Fields of Co. Mayo .JUNIOR CEILI BAND COSTUMESGreen and black skirts, pants and waistcoats. Fit 6 - 13 years - perfect condition.A donation to a Charity will beappreciated.Mrs. Margaret Dowling, 'Rockdale',Monivea Road, Ballybane, Galway."Its Bru Boru and the Rock ofCashel which brought me back toCashel", said Tommy who felt that theHeritage Centre at the foot of theof Cashel represented a treasured continuationin musical tradition of what isrepresented so magnificently by theRock, going back to prehistoric time.Tommy Makem spoke of the richness ofIrish culture which is so evident topeople from the outside when theycome here and he suggested "there is aplot of some kind to keep Irish culturedown". This is evident in the difficultyof visitors for example to find Irish traditionalmusic easily around the country."We have an unique culture and ourpredecessors influenced even the verylandscape of the country", said Tommywho advocated that instead of exportingour young people in a new unitedEurope we should be exporting our musiciansand writers.CCE - A SUPERB JOBTommy Makem felt Cashel to be anessential port of call for a television programmepresenting Ireland, its people,its culture and traditions to the world.Asked about why he had chosen BniBoru as the one venue in the area torecord, he said, "What other place couldyou go to'?' He was impressed by theexcellent auditorium and its uniquesetting and he felt that in terms of therenewal of Irish traditional music,"Comhaltas have done a superb job andhave never got the recognition theydeserve".Tommy who would also like to see asimilar revival of other aspects of Irishculture such as the language feels thatattempts of revival in the past werebadly handled. "I can't speak Gaelic,but for a lot of people, it was thumpedinto them, you wanted to forget allabout it".Through his programme forAmerican television Tommy wants, hesays "to expose more people to thehuge reservoir of Irish culture in all itsaspects". It would be a revelation forpeople to discover that New Grange wasolder for example than the pyramids, hesaid. Subteranean fields discovered inMayo, the 'Ceide' fields indicated stoneditches and an advanced form of agriculture5,000 years old which has turnedthe whole notion of primitive stone ageman in Ireland "on its head", saidTommy.Tommy Makem , outgoing and naturallygregarious, a superstar of Irish traditionalmusic along with the ClancyBrothers and the Dubliners, dating backto the sixties, is a totally unpretentiousperson unaffected it seems by fame . Hehas a genuine and passionate interest inthe conservation and continuation ofthe Irish cultural tradition handed onby his family , especially in the person ofhis late mother who was well known forher repertoire of traditional Irish songsand music.Labhnis b Murchu, Director Generalof Comhaltas Ceolt6iri Eireann andlocal Cashel man feels that the visit ofTommy Makem to Cashel as well asbeing an honour to the old city will alsohave the effect of making Cashel evenmore widely known throughoutAmerica and the world."From Cashel's point of viewTommy's visit to record part of his programmeat Bru Boru and at the Rock ofCashel will publicise Cashel all overAmerica and will be a great help totourism in the area", commentedLabhnis, who was on hand personally towelcome Tommy and the American tvcrew to the City of the Kings.The settings of Bru Boru and theRock of Cashel proved to be most suitablefor the purpose of the programmesaid Tommy Makem who hopes that theAmerican TV show "Tom my Makem'sIreland" will also be broadcast subsequentlyon RTB.12

after people, famous or lowly, localplaces, public houses, Racehorses andcontemporary events in the Newcastlearea .James Hill was born in Dundee, Sco t­land about 1814 and with his familymoved to Newcastle ten years later.When living on Tyneside his mainactivities were between the late 1830'sand the late 1850's. He died in Newcastleat a premature age in 1860.While hard facts concerning Hill arefew and far between, a brief examinationof the Victorian period between1840 and 1850, particularly on Tyneside,can help to put the man and hismusic into perspective. Hill's time onTyneside between the 1830's and1860's coincided with a period of particularlyrapid industrialisation andurban expansion. It was the age ofiron, coal and steampower.Britain no longer remained an agriculturallybased country and the overallpopulation growth took place againsta background of migration from rural tourban areas .A large proportion of the urban, industrialpopUlation was, therefore, subjectto poor housing, harsh working conditionsand dreadful public health risks.The only "luxury" that many of thepopulation had access to was a drink.This resulted in a great number of andvariety of "gin palaces" and beer parlours.Music was an integral part of manydrinking establishments and the fiddleheld pride of place , and music and dancingoccurred everywhere a drink wasdrunk or a tune was played.Thousands of Irish driven from theirhomes by famine and disease migratedto Newcastle to work in the many factoriesin the region.The poorest area in Newcastle at thattime was the Sandgate and in it grew alarge Irish community. This communitywas the subject of anti-Irish Riots in1851. It was within this decaying areaoccupied by the poorest part of thecommunity that musicians like J amesHill lived and worked.PROFESSIONAL FIDDLERSOf particular significance was theemergence during the 1840's of publichousefiddlers on a professional basis. Ithas been remarked that good fiddlers atthat time took Public houses as footballersand other celebrities have donemore recently.These professional fiddlers wererarely public-house owners and weremerely employed as a means of attractingcustomers to a particular publichouse. A reporter of the Newcastlescel1e at that time - a Richard Thorn-Blind Willie PurYis, one of Tyneside's morecolourful characterston- gives an account of the publichouse fiddlers and their popularitywhen he describes a visit with his fatherto a musical pub."Our first call, I remember was tohear Jimmy Hill who was located on theBottle Bank, Gateshead. Jimmy wroteseveral very fine hornpipes, "TheHawk": "The High Level Bridge',"The Low Level Bridge", "Beeswing" ,and many more and he was the daddyof them all at hornpipe playing.He did not live long poor fellow andwas very fond of gin".The fiddle was also popular with anumber of other entertainers includingBlind Billy Purvis (1784- 1853), a travellingshowman who played both unionpipes and fiddle . Another showman ofgreat versatility was Ned Corvan (1829-1860) whose act would include his ownsongs, monologues and violin solos.In the case of public house fiddlersone could expect a fairly "robust" stylewith a strong bowing technique giving asmuch emphasis to volume as to the melodicnature of the music.In his time Hill was by far the bestof the Newcastle fiddlers and wasknown near and far as the "Paganini" ofhornpipe players.As to Hill's playing style andtechnique we must rely on RobertStokes, a local reporter and musicenthusiast : "Hill had a powerful toneand capital bow-arm and his perfo,.mance of such melodies as "Auld RobinGray" and "Roslin Castle" was markedby a delicacy and expression whichwould not have disgraced a violinist ofthe first rank, whilst as a player ofdance music he was unapproachable forpower, vivacity and correct intonation."It was also said that he could play"with untiring energy for hours altogether."His compositions exhibit a degree ofcomplexity which must also reflect hisskill as a player.A favourite key for many of thetunes was B flat , which according to J.Scott Skinner has a "velvety , very richand fine effect."Whilst the majority of the tunes arehornpipes, there are also jigs, a waltz,a polka and Strathpeys which wouldsuggest that he composed other types oftune which reflected the popular tastesof the audiences during the era.J ames Hill composed tunes to commemoratepeople, Race horses andevents and I will list some of the moreinteresting ones, e.g. : (a) GreyhoundRacing/Coursing: "The Spotted Bitch";(b) FriendsfPatrons: (i) "Spences Tent",a beer tent at the local Racetrack ownedby a Mr. Spence ; (ii) "The Marquis ofWaterford" a racehorse owner andPatron of horse racing; (iii) "TheHunter", for a hunting friend ; (iv)"Little Jim", a son.(c) Industrialists: (i) "Atwood hornpipe"honouring Charles Atwood, Staffordshireindustrialist and race horsebreeder and racer; (d) Tunes he likedto play: (i) "Auld Robin Gray" - Air;(ii) "Roslin Castle" - Air; and (iii)Fogaballa ("Fag un Bealach") Jig, forhis Irish friends.(e) Pubs and Publicans. (i) "Freetrade": Politics and a pub so named,(ii) "The Hawk": one of Hill's favouritepubs; (iii) "The Steamboat": a pub.(f) Places (i) "The South Shore" (ofthe Tyne) called "The Scholar" in Ireland;(ii) "The Newcastle Hornpipe"played by many fiddlers after the "HighLevel Bridge" ; (iii) "The Stony Steps":The steps to the ferry which crossed theTyne River;(g) Celebrities : (i) "Jennie's Hornpipe" :for Jenny Lind the famous Swedishsinger; (ii) "Early Grey", strathspeyfor Earl Grey , English Prime Ministerand hero of Reform Bills.(h) Politics: "The Rights of Man".(i) The Railway: (i) "The Navvy on the10

Ni dManfar aon scrudufeasta ar na morshaothairealaine nuair ata siad a n-aistriuo thir go tir laistigh denChomhphobal.Deanfar faireachan orthu marsin fein. On earrach sea araghaidh, beidh RialachanComhphobail i bhfeidhm agus,da reir sin, beidh ga le hudaruroimh re on m Ballstat ina bhfuilan saothar peinteireachta noCOSAINT UR AR SHEADCHOMHARTAIdealbhadoireachta no an t-earracultuir d'aon saghas eile le failsula ndeanfar e a allmhairiu.Ach sular glacadh anRialachan sin, bhi ar Chomhairlena nAiri Treoir a rith maidir leseadchomharthai naisiunta. Dereir na Treorach sin, ni morseadchomharthai naisiunta aallmhairiodh goneamhdhleathach i gCianaimsiro Bhallstat airithe a thabhairt arais don Bhallstat sin.Glacadh an Treoir sin an 15Marta 1993 agus forailtear anncomhar idir na hudarais inniulanaisiunta agus nos imeachta dlfspeisialta. Tiocfaidh si ibhfeidhm an 15 Marta 1994 ar adheanai sa Bheilg, sa Gearmainagus san fsiltir ach an 31 Nollaig1993 i ngach tir eile.A HEALTHY ATMOSPHEREROSEMARY McALOON with her daughters AI SLING and CIARAA TRIBUTE TO ROSEMARY McALOONOn the evening of the 27th January, 1993 the communities of Trillick,Ederney and Dromore were sent reeling by the untimely death of RosemaryMcAloon. Even those closest to her were astounded by the suddeness withwhich she was snatched from their midst. The news spread quickly throughoutIreland and further afield and everywhere the reaction was the same -one of shock and disbelief, that such a young cheerful, talented, outgoingcharacter was gone from among us.Rosemary was a daughter of Sean Nugent the well-known fiddle player,music teacher and leader of the famous Pride of Erin Ceill Band. She camefrom a family steeped in traditional music and she herself had a considerabletalent. She toured America and Canada in 1978 with Comhaltas CeoltoiriEireann and was a popular presence at most fleadhanna throughout Ireland.Rosemary won a great deal of Ballad Competitions and was an accomplished. tin whistle player. She took a music class in her own house (near Trillick)every Tuesday night and had some very promising young pupils. She alsohelped her father Sean with a music class in Tempo on a Wednesday night andwas loved and respected by all the pupils.Rosemary was a member of Comhaltas from an early age and took anactive part in different branches depending on where she was located. However,she first became a member of Dromore (Co. Tyrone) branch which wasone of the first in Ulster and which her father and Uncle Packie helped form .along with the late Master Joseph Colton (approx. late 1958). Mr. Coltonwas Chairman of this branch until his death. When Rosemary died she wasa member of this branch and so are most of her brothers and sisters, many ofwhom are known throughout Ireland for their ballad singing and music.Rosemary was married and had two daughters, Aisling, Ciara and sonGavin aged four.She is also survived by her husband Tommy, father Sean (Nugent), motherSusan, brother Francy (Kesh), Brendan (Drumquin), Laurence (Chicago),Sisters Margaret (Dromore), Bernadette (Drumquin), Catherine (Drumquin),Patricia (Ederney) and a large family circle.Rosemary will be sadly missed by every one who knew her.May she rest in Peace. Ar dheis De go raibh a h-anam.Two coachloads of Leeds Irish culturaltalent drifted slowly into theLeeds Irish Centre grounds on the morningof June 2 and came to a halt alongsidethe football park named after theimmortal Michael Davitt. Slowly andwearily they descended the coach stepsand headed off in the direction of theirrespective homes.That night they assembled in theCanon O'Meara Lounge, to celebratenot their usual victory - but theirdefeat. In this day and age it's almostimpossible to find people, particularlyyouth, in the face of such circumstancescreating a jubilant atmosphere. Butsuch is the metal that the Leeds Comhaltas people are made of.They went to Ennis, full of hopeperhapstoo full - and this time encounteredextremely stiff and unusual competition.This, they all agree, is a signthat the Comhaltas flag is certainly notwavering. The very high standards theyexperienced over there in the 'ould'country, has filled them with a strongdesire to redouble their efforts in therun up to the 1994 competitions."We'll be back" is the password.On behalf of the entire Branch -and of course myself - I wish to extendhearty congratulations to the veryworthy winners of all cultural events.We all hope that next year will bringeven a greater effort from the ranks ofthe organisation whose talents seem tobe unlimited. There must be enormoustalent lying dormant, not just in Irelandand Britain, but throughout the worldwherever Irish men and women havesettled. Let's hope and pray that thespirits of our departed cultural friendswill spur them into action.BERNARD DWYERPRO Leeds Branch8

dancing and an introduction totraditional music.The week-end kicked off on Fridaynight with a rousing session of music,dancing and singing at the Tranzac Clubin Toronto as everyone arrived fromsuch far flung places as Montreal, Vermont,Boston, Milwaukee, Rochester,Buffalo and Owen Sound. It continuedthe next day with informative workshopsthat were enthusiastically led andvery well attended.Saturday evening began with a buffetdinner. The concert started at 7.30 p.m.Many fine performers felt that it was anhonour to contribute their skills to sucha prestigious event. The concert featuredperformances by sean-nos singers,uilleann pipers, fiddlers, tin whistle andflute players as well as many others includingCeHi bands and local traditionalgroups. The concert was closed by twoHighland pipers and then the ceili beganwith everyone eagerly crowding ontothe dance floor.The friendship and good fellowshipcontinued the next day with a livelyafternoon session at the Tranzac Club.F or many of the people who had tohead home it was a last opportunity toshare in the extraordinary spirit of theweek-end.The closing concert on Sunday nightwas a musical tribute to Chris Langan.The same two pipers that closed theSaturday night tribute, playing a selectionof highland pipe tunes composedby Chris. Emotions ran high as thevarious musicians, both friends and studentsof Chris, dedicated their playingto his memory. Several stories of sittingin Chris' kitchen with a bottomless potof tea and never-ending supply of tuneswere recounted. Mention was also madeof the sense of community and thestrong, sensible values of a man whosemusical and personal influence wasspread far and wide.The whole week-end was a fitting tributeto a man who embodied the best inIrish music, a man who was dearly lovedand is sorely missed. Many thanks goout to the Branch executive andmembers, volunteers, workshop leadersand musicians who contributed theirservices and made the week-end aresounding success!* BENEDICT KAEHLER, ENA O'BRIEN,DAVID PAPAZIAN, KEITH MURPHY.(photo: Brian Hicks)* Session friends at Chris Langan Week-end .(Photo: Will Henry)* DEBBIE QUIGLEY, BENEDICTKAEHLER, PATRICK HUTCHINSONand IAN GOODFELLOW(photo: Brian Hicks)6

AONACH PADDY O'BRIEN SET TOGROW AND FLOURISHPat O'Connor, Aonach P.R.O.Aonach Paddy O'Brien, the 5-dayfestival commemorating the memory ofthe Newtown, Co. Tipperary accordeonplayer is set to blaze another trail thisyear following a very successful PressLaunch in the Nenagh Lodge Hotel onMonday, June 21.Details of the 1993 programme wereannounced at the launch by AonachDirector Willie Fogarty, while the Ardstiurth6irof Comhaltas Ceolt6ir{Eireann, Labhnis 6 MurchU , who waspresent at the launch, lauded the conceptof the festival and commented thatit could not but grow and flourish giventhe organisational capabilities of theAonach Committee.Branch Chairman Donal Daly presidedat the launch and the attendance includedEileen O'Brien, widow of Pad dy;his daughter Eileen O'Brien- Minogue,Francis Grisewood Chairman TipperaryCCE; and Canon John Hogan, P.P.,Nenagh.The programme for the extendedweek-end which begins on Thursday,Aug. 19, and continues until Monday,August 23, is similar to last years, withthe emphasis very much on reasonablypricedquality entertainment for nativesand visitors alike.The centre-piece of the festival isonce again the Friday night gatheringof accordeon-players of different stylesand areas from Ireland and overseas -after the phenomenal success of lastyear's corresponding event, the organisingcommittee have compiled anotherstar-studded list of participants for thisyears Aonach and the 10 box-playersalong with the U.S.A. based Billy McComiskey, represent 6 different countiesfrom three of the four provinces ofIreland.TOP ACCORDEONISTSJoe Burke, the maestro from Galway ,provides the only link with last year'sline-up and as well as McComiskey , theother participants are: John Bowe, JohnConnolly, Ann Conroy-Burke, DanCoughlan, Lar Gavin, Sean Gavin, TomLawlor, John Regan and George Ross.The unique nature of this gatheringof accordeon players under the one roofmakes it a once-in-a-lifetime occasionfor those lucky enough to be present ,but, fortunately , the proceedings will beboth video recorded by the host branchof CCE as well as recorded for futurebroadcast on radio by R TE.Incidentally, another unique aspectof this coming-together of accordeonplayers will be the Reunion Lunch,when all the Aonach Accordionists fromthe '92 and '93 programmes will be invitedto a special lunch at 1 p.m. onSaturday, August 21. This ReunionLunch will be a feature of all futureAonach programmes and should helpto cement the bond of friendship thatno doubt already exists among thenation's box-players!Aonach Paddy O'Brien is not solelyabout accordeon-players however, and aqUick perusal of the '93 programme revealsa veritable peak of activities to suitall tastes. There are workshops andmaster classes in the full range of traditionalinstruments from the fiddle andflute to the tin whistle and banjo, whilethe instrument sales and maintenanceexhibitions will feature Tom Cussen onbanjo, Des Seery on flute, Martin Connollyon button accordeon and GerardO'Neil and Brian Corbett on fiddle .SET DANCINGSet-dancing enthusiasts are also verywell catered for over the week-end, withplenty of sets in the Idle Buchaill barimmediately after the official openingon Thursday night, a huge set-danceCeil{ with Shaskeen on Saturday .night,a set-dance workshop with MickMulkerrins on Sunday and a recordingof "Ceili House Requests" by RTERadio on Sunday evening.Late night revellers will find plentyto enthuse about during the festivalwith Club an Aonaigh taking place indifferent hotels around the town fromThursday to Saturday night and as wellas the obligatory bar extentions, theClubs will feature informal performancesby local and visiting musicians andwill more likely go on until the earlyhours of the morning.A new addition to this year's programmewill be the Busking Competitionand the streets of Nenagh will bea hive of activity on Sunday afternoonas some of the country's regular buskersvie with the local talent for some of the£1 ,000 prize money on offer.V ARIED PROGRAMMEA Feis Rince , with a special competitionfor overseas visitors; a gala co ncertfeaturing Gerry O'Connor and VinnieKilduff; a lecture on the recordings ofPaddy O'Brien by Ciaran MacMathUna"a launch of a tape of Paddy O'Brien'scompositions entitled "The Hills ofTipperary" by his daughter Eileen andWillie Fogarty, an old-time threshingand threshing dance and a musical tripon Lough Derg are just some of theother activities in this action packed5-day festival.'"General enquiries on the festivalshould be directed to SecretaryDonal Morrisey (067) 33078 andaccommodation enquiries are beinghandled by Ann Quinn (067) 32195.4

SETS OF TWO* Accordeonist LIAM PURCELL and thenew Mrs. PURCELL who are now residingin Celbridge, Co. Kildare. At theirmarriage ceremony flute players MAl (neeHART) BAXTER and BRENDA SWEE·NEY. Neighbours of the late Josie McDermott and Clareman MICHAELTUBRIDY performed for the Knockvicarm usician and sets were danced to the earlyhours with a 20-strong ceifi band.(Photo: Marcus () Murchu)* LILY LAWRIE and EV ELYN PURCELLSister from Knockvicar, Boyle, Co. Ros·common, Lily and Evelyn (nee Cullen) arewell·known wherever Irish music is playedin Ireland or England. Their father,Michael Cull en was a flute and fiddlepi ayer; Liam Purcell a concerti na andaccordian player; Kathleen Lawrie a fiddleplayer of note, son and daugh ter respec·tively of the proud mothers shown.* ANNE MUIcQUE,EN, An Rinn, Portlairgeand EIBHLIN NI BHEAGLAOICH, Bailena bPoc, Ciarra i. Both singers haveappeared on ComhaItas recordings andhave recently released CDs (on Cia lar·Chonnachta label, Indreabhan, Connamara'Co. Galway) with words included of firstclass songs as Gaeilge agus as Bearla.(Photo: Marcas 0 Murchu)* ANT(HN MacGABHANN, an Cabhain andBRENDAN McGLINCHEY, Ard Mhacha.Two of Ulster's best known fiddlers whohave toured with ,CCI

A CULTURAL liNKBringing together all those who love Ireland'snative cultureTOKENS £1 (6 for £5)or $2 each (6 for $10)Proceeds to promote cultural activities at localand national level.FREE DRAW FOR £1,000(Prizes: £500, £200, three at £100)Bi Fia/le Ciste an ChultuirThe Branch retains 75% and Head-Office receives 25% of theproceeds.Comhaltas Ceolt6iri Eireann,Cear,n6g Belgrave, Baile na Manach,Co. Ath Cliath.