J - Comhaltas Archive

Creoir 

lris Oifigiuil Chomhaltas Ceolt6iri Eireann 

Che Book of Craditional Music, Song and Dance 

Iml 31 Uimhir 3 1999 ISS No 790 004X 

1 The Churl of th e Drab Coat 2 13 An tUachtaran ag Bruach na Carraige 14 23 'From Kerry patch to the US Congress' 23 

2 Bobby's on the Button 4 14 'Ambassadors for our Country' 16 24 Cu lture and Rural Development 27 

3 ' Ko ltus' - The Pied Piper of Sardinia 5 15 Traditional Music in Leaving 25 The Crossabeg Marchers 28 

4 Nil Gaeilge agam 7 Certificate 17 26 Pekel - The Netherlands 29 

5 A Tour de Force 8 

16 Musica l Comrades 17 27 Seamus left Footprints on the 

6 The Tin Whistler 9 

17 A Truly Wonderful Friend 18 Sands of Time 30 

7 An Abhainn Alainn 11 18 A Tribute to the Man from Moher 18 28 A Cu lture Born of Slavery 31 

8 Aitheantas Teanga 12 19 Remembering John Cowley 19 29 Belinda's Golden Hau l 32 

9 Loga inmneacha 12 20 A Friend through Comhaltas - 30 The Poor Boy's Melodeon 33 

Daniel Braniff 20 

10 The Pipers are Ca lling 12 

31 Off the Cuff 35 

21 Shamrock under Fire 21 

11 Kruger, Beatha Dhuine a Thoil 13 

32 Minister's support for Aonach 36 

22 Back to Brooklyn 22 

12 The Master is laid to rest 13 

Front cover: John Whelan formerly of Luton and now living in the USA 

TREO IR (ISS 790 004X) is published quarterl y by CcE, Belgrave Square, Monkstown, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Single copies £2 ; Subscription 

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Comhaltas Ceolt6iri Eireann 

Cearnag Belgrave, Baile na Manach, Co. Atha Cli ath, Ireland . Fan: (+353-1) 280 0295, Fax: (+353-1) 2803759 

e.mail : enquiries@comhaltas.com webpage: http:www.comhaltas.com 

Bhi macalla na staire an-Iaidir ag Fleadh 

Cheoi l na hEireann in Inis Ch6rthaidh, Co. 

Loch Carman, i mbliana. Bhi se direach tar 

eis Com6radh '98 nuair a bhi sui l siar ar 

mhisneach agus tirghra gan saru - muintir 

Loch Carman a sheas an f6d ar son na 

cirte. 

Oar nd6igh, bhi an Fhleadh in Inis 

Ch6rthaidh cheana, i 1967, agus bhi 

macalla na h-6caide sin soi leir freisin. Bhi 

an-chu id daoine ag taisteal ar bh6ithrin na 

smaointe agus bhi cu ltur na nCael go m6r in 

uachtar. 

It can be truly said that Enniscorthy is 

famous in song and in story. In our school 

days we learned of valiant deeds and 

shattered dreams on Vinegar Hill. We 

Designed and typeset by Peanntr6naic Teoranta, Dublin 16, Ireland ( SAC 16, Eire. 

€ogorfhocol 

sensed the unspeakable trauma wh ich 

befell a proud people w ho could no longer 

suffer the yoke of slavery. 

Enniscorthy in 1999 at Fleadh Cheoil 

na hEireann bore testimony to the 

resi I ience of the I rish race and thei r 

distinctive cu lture. Amidst the echoes of 

history, ou r national characteristics - music, 

song, dance and language - comforted the 

ghosts of the past and brought forth a rich 

harvest from a scorched earth. Here is a 

triumph of hope over dispair - a salute to 

liberty and fraternity. 

The Fleadh is a ce lebration of cul tural 

survival - a ce lebration in which all ou r 

people participate, joined by people from 

all over the world. Music and friendship 

reigned supreme in the congen ial company 

of th e boys and girls of Wexford. 

The Fleadh committee, in the proud 

tradition of their noble ancestors, gave 

unstinted serv ice to the Iri sh nation. They 

knew from the very successfu l Fleadh held 

in Enniscorthy in 1967 that the town has an 

ambience conducive to the success of this 

mammoth celebration of Irishness . 

Thousands answered the clari on ca ll to 

this great extravaganza of traditional arts 

and excellence. Young and old, Catholic, 

Protestant and Dissenter, the Irish and their 

friends from abroad, all joined together in a 

sp irit of cu ltural harmony which has roots 

in the vis ion and hi story of the hallowed 

spot which is Enniscorthy.

'Koltus' - 'Che Pied Piper 

of Sardinia 

L\lison Fottrell 

Alison Fotrell is fro m Dublin, Ireland. She has been working as an 

English teacher since landing in Milan in Jun e 1996 

lgrave Sq uare, D ublin ... 

home of Koltus Ireland ... the :1 7J; Pied Pi per of the Irish musical 

trad ition w hich has tread a path across 

the worl d, gathering followers and fa ns 

in its wake . 

The piper Enz o Burbello and the 

Launeddas player Roberto Corona in 

Cagliari 

Belgrave Sq uare, Sardinia ... hea rt of 

Ko ltus Ita ly ... a group of Ita lian 

musicians w ho beat out the rh ythms of 

Ire land w ith a passion and love for Irish 

music and culture. Ko ltus, short for 

Comhaltas Ceolt6 irf Eirea nn , was 

founded in Dublin in the Spring of 195 1 . 

Its mission was to promote and preserve 

the Irish musica l tradition in an 

atmosphere of changing soc ial trends. At 

the turn of th.e century, Irish trad itional 

music was favoured by the vast majority 

of Iris h peopl e. People in th e 

countryside regularl y gathered to pass a 

night of song and dance at any suitabl y 

located house in the area. The lively 

footwork of dancers tapped out intricate 

rhythms on flagstone farmhouse floors, 

supported by musicians w ho, through 

th eir w illingness to play, availed of an 

open invitation to such 'soirees'. Cities 

such as Dublin and Belfast likewise had 

trad itional music communities w here 

provincial immigrants compared and 

swapped tunes w ith the 'natives'. 

Although the jaws of emigration in the 

1920s, 1930s and 1940s attempted to 

devour Ireland 's youth, the Irish musica l 

trad ition consequently flourished among 

emmigrants in the cities of England and 

the USA . The most ce lebrated of all Irish 

trad itional fiddlers, Michae l Coleman, 

record ed more than 60 records in New 

York during this peri od. However on the 

home front, jigs and reels of the ceilf 

house were being replaced by the far 

more enticing foxtrots and ta ngos of the 

'ba llrooms of romance' . It was this 

sophisti cated soc ial scene w hich placed 

the nati ve Irish music and trad itions in 

danger of extincti on. Desp ite th e 

th ousa nds of traditional musicians in the 

th e country at the time, their morale was 

low due to the lack of appreciati on for 

th ei r music in the intellectual and 

'trendy' circles of Irish society. While 

dust gathered on many fiddles and flutes, 

a group of determined young musicians 

w ho regularl y met at the Pi pers Club in 

Dublin made contact w ith fe llow 

enthusiasts all over Ireland. Togetherthey 

planned the first 'Fl ead h Cheoil' or 'Feast 

of M usic' which took place in 195 1. And 

thus w as born th e tra di tional music 

organi sati on Comhaltas Ceolt6irf Eirea nn 

or Fellowship of Musicians of Ireland. 

Through the organisation of competitions, 

the Fleadh Cheoil set out to establish 

standard s in Irish traditional music. Today, 

nearl y fifty years later, th ese 'Feasts of 

Music' provide a meeting place for the 

many young musicians w ho carry on the 

great tradition of Irish music and dance. 

Day time competitors coll aborate in night 

time sessions and the 'craic' and 'ceol' 

continue into the earl y hours. 

Lia Luachra with Enzo Burbello, 

Gianluigi Puddinu, Elide Conciatori, 

Gianluca Dessl, Mariagrazia Mam as, 

and Italo Siddu of the Sardinian 

Branch of Comhaltas. 

Lia Luachra in Cag/iari 

Hav ing already survived th e industria l 

revolution and post war pop culture, the 

fo rm ati on of Koltus gave traditional 

music ians a platform from w hich they 

cou ld play to an audience w ho 

appreciated the rea l beauty and va lue of 

their music. Th roughout the 1950s the 

Fl ead h and Ko ltus grew hand in hand. 

Branches of Koltus sprang up all over 

Ireland organising classes, concerts and 

sess ions. 

Instruments 

Any impromptu sessions at the nearest 

Fl eadh Cheoil or local bar necessitates a 

fiddle and a tin w histl e, w ith popul ar 

additions of banjos, two row accordions 

and flutes. The concertina or 'squeeze 

box', piano accordion and mandolin are 

less w idely played w ith the exception of 

County Clare in the west of Ireland w here 

the concertina is a popul ar choice, 

particularl y among female musicians. The 

bodhran, a simple hand-held goatskin 

drum, gives deeper rhythm to the music 

but one may also fi nd the rh ythms being 

tapped out w ith a pair of bones or spoons. 

q

Che Cin Whistler 

L\llison M. Brock 

- t the Milwaukee Irish Fest in 

1995, my Dad picked up a $6 

71; Fead6g tin whistle for my sister, 

Bridget who was enthusiastic about 

learning to play for almost a week. It lay 

inside her top dresser drawer for over a 

year, its green plastic mouthpiece 

suffocating in dust, before my father 

rescued the Fead6g and blew some life 

into its shiny, pierced, tubular, metal 

body. Because the instrument is 

inexpensive, compact, lightweight, and 

can be self-taught easi Iy, it is popu lar for 

the beginning Irish musician. My Dad, 

an amateur himself, was first acquainted 

with a tin whistle, or pennywhistle as it 

is sometimes called, in 1988 when my 

Uncle Willie brought a tin whistle home 

from Dublin. 

Clarke, the oldest tin whistle brand, is an 

English company that produces an oddlooking 

whistle (some say it looks more 

like a child's toy than an actual musical 

instrument), consisting of a thin, rolled, 

black metal sheet that overlaps itself and 

joins at a welded seam. It is the only 

conical or tapered whistle that is still 

played, though it is rare to see traditional 

musicians use them. The wide end of the 

Clarke whistle is at the top, while it takes 

on a rectangular shape, as opposed to 

the more tube-like middle and bottom. 

At the top of this rectangle rests a small 

and thick block of wood, called a fipple, 

which is set inside the mouth piece as a 

plug. The fipple is so tightly packed 

inside of this narrow space, that the only 

way it is bound to the metal is through a 

few miniature holes punctured on the 

sides of the upper portion, keeping the 

piece tightly secure. A space of about 

1.8" between the top of the fipple and 

the inner metal wall serves as a pathway 

directs the player's breath against 

small incision, out of which notes 

escape, about 5/8" from the top end. My 

Dad's Clarke C whistle stands about 13 

inches tall, with its six holes of various 

sizes spaced almost equally apart. It is 

unusual for this instrument to be 

manufactured in the key of C, because 

many tunes composed specifically for 

the tin whistle are set in the key of D, 

such as 'Cat in the Corner' or 'The Bucks 

of Oranmore' . 

Because of this musical inconvenience 

and the fact that the sound produced by 

the Clarke is very soft and breathy, my 

father only plays his Fead6g. It also calls 

for large reserves of breath and is at an 

awkward pitch for group playing or 

sessions, as other Irish instruments like 

some accordions, are in the key of D. The 

cylindrical Fead6g, made in Ireland of 

brass with a green mouthpiece, measures 

about 11 1/2 inches, and produces a 

sharper and louder sound than the 

Clarke. Since the 1950's, tin whistles with 

moulded mouthpieces such as the 

Fead6g or Generation brand whistles 

have replaced the Clarke, though older 

traditional musicians may prefer the 

rusticity of the conical whistle. However, 

in pubs, concerts, or at Irish musical 

competitions, 

also known as Fleadh Cheoil, I always 

see both amateurs and professionals 

playing the Fead6g. 

There are a few drawbacks to Fead6gs or 

Generation brand whistles, however. 

According to Michael Cooney, an AII 

Ireland Champion on the whistle and 

uilleann pipes from Co. Tipperary, 

'They're great, but they' re mass 

produced so you have to really check 

them for the sound .' When hunting for 

the clearest sounding Fead6g or 

Generation Cooney suggests that the 

musician examine the mouth piece for 

any extra bits of plastic that may have 

remained after moulding. If after 

purchasing a new whistle, these hidden 

burrs are discovered, a jeweller's flat file 

or a razor wi II remove the odd 

obstructions. 

Laurence Nugent from Fermanagh 

Sitting in the dark, smoke-filled room at 

McGurk's, just inches from the tiny stage 

where the musicians were making their 

music, I snacked on chicken fingers and 

washed it down with a tall pint of 

Guinness. An older couple sat in a 

corner, drinking their pair of Irish coffees 

9

'From Kerry Patch to the us 

Congress , 

lrish Craditional Music thrives in St Louis 

Dr Gearaoid 6 hAllmhurain 

Id 

ike a real-life character from 

lilliput, the young fiddler Sea n 

McCarth y valiantly faces his 

aduience and stead ies his little fingers 

for the Mississ ippi Stop Stop and Larry 

O'Graff. the five-year-old wonder, 

whose Iri sh ancestors were once kings 

of Munster, marshals his cohorts - all of 

whom tower above him - and leads 

them into a magn ificent display of 

traditional music. With eac h bowhand 

driving th e rh ythmic pulse, and each 

tune refue ling the magic of the living 

tradition, the ensem bl e w inds its way 

through a treasury of Irish music, song 

and dance. W hen the final reels strike 

their peak, the rotunda of the Sheldon 

Concert Hall, in the St Loui s theater 

district, resounds w ith thunderou s 

applause. As the sixty member troupe 

of traditional performers from the St 

Lou is Irish Arts school, aged four to 

twenty, sta nd to take their final bow, 

the ir Limerick-born director Helen 

Gannon is beckoned to the stage by her 

charges. Their gift of roses is more than 

a mere show of gratitude for a year-end 

concert. It is a symbol of appreciation 

for an epic journey in cultural 

rejuvenation that has flourished among 

the Irish American community in St 

Louis for a quarter of a century. Above 

all, it is an affirmation of Irish ethnic 

identity that has been woven into the 

cu ltural tapestry of Missouri sin ce th e 

end of the eighteenth century. 

'The Irish Crowd': Two Centuries of 

Irish Settlement in St Louis 

Named after the cru sad ing king of 

France, St Loui s was founded by French 

fur traders in 1764 in w hat was then a 

Spanish province. Its founding fathers, 

pioneers of the Rocky Mountain fur 

grade, were men of considerable 

weal th and standing. Shortly after its 

emergence as a trad ing post in w hat 

was then Upper Loui siana, the city 

attracted an influx of Irish merchants 

and professionals, some of them 

vetera ns of French military service. 

Spurning thoughts of returning home to 

Ireland (which was still feeling the 

afters hock of the Penal Laws), these 

Wild Geese soldiers, who had served in 

France's Irish Bri gade, chose instead to 

settl e in Quebec, the capital of New 

France, or further south in Loui siana. 

Comprised mainly of Catholic 

immigrants, the Irish community in St 

Louis also included prominent 

Protesta nts in the early decades of the 

nineteenth century. Among the most 

successful of the 'Irish Crowd' - as they 

were dubbed by the loca l Creole 

community - were John Mullamphy 

from Fermanagh, the city's first 

millionaire, who financed the city's first 

hosp ital, Joseph Charles from 

Westmeath, who ed ited the city's fi rst 

newspaper, and Jeremiah Con nor from 

Roscommon, who werved as the city's 

first sheriff. 

The tragedy of the Great Famine (1845- 

50) brought a new influx of Irish 

immigra nts up the Mississipi to St Loui s. 

Arriving through the port of New 

Orlea ns, their passage along the river is 

still endorsed by placenamaes like th e 

Irish Channel and the Irish 8a you in 

southern Louisiana. Poor demoralised 

and hungry, these immigrants stood out 

in sharp contrast to their affluent 

predecessors. In St Louis, they huddled 

together in a dilapidated shanty town 

known as Kerry Patch, a commons near 

Fou rteenth and O'Fallon streets in the 

northern part of the city. Straining the 

resources of charitable institutions, their 

bleak mi sfortune was exacerbated by 

nativist bigotry in the 1840s and 1850s. 

Despite the trauma of upheaval and 

2.3

Cannon and his wife Helen had 

emerged as proeminent figures within 

the fledgling assoc iation. Both were 

ex patriate Irish who had arrived in St 

Louis a decade earlier to work in the 

medical profession. PJ, a professor of 

psychiatry at St Louis University, was a 

nati ve of Dunmore, Co. Calway, an 

area steeped in traditional music. His 

wife Helen, a nurse, grew up in 

Limeri ck, a ci ty with an established 

reputation for Irish step dancing, and a 

proven pedigree of world-cl ass dancing 

schools. During the next twenty years, 

the Cannons would become pivotal 

figures in the cultural development of St 

Lou is Irish Arts. 

While Irish instrumental mu sic was at a 

low ebb in St Louis during the 1970s, 

the city boasted two dancing schools 

which had been active there since the 

1 950s. Th ese were ran by dancing 

masters Pete Su lliva n and Con 

O'Su ll ivan, both of w hom were natives 

of Kerry. As well as teac hing step 

dancing, these old-style masters 

organised o§il f gatherings and 

feiseanna. Attracted by the prospect of 

becoming a dance teacher, Helen 

Cannon began to work with Co n 

O 'Sullivan, w ho became her dance 

colleague and mentor. She went on the 

inherit his school when he died. 

As well as pursuing her own dance 

ambitions, Helen Cannon encouraged 

her sons Sean, Niall and Li am, and 

later on, their sister Eil een , to learn Irish 

traditional music. She also sent them to 

learn suzuki violin from Marian 

Williams. Later on, they attended the St 

Louis Conservatory of Music. By the 

late 1 970s, the Cannons were 

organising traditional music classes in 

their own home. Encouraged by 

concerts given by visiting CCE tour 

groups, as well as musica l vacations 

spent in Ireland, these aspiring music 

makers began hon ing their technical 

skills and expand ing their traditional 

repertoires from a very young age. In 

Chi cago in 1975, th e three Cannon 

lads (p laying in the under-twelve fiddle 

competition) became the first set of 

brothers to qualify for the All Ireland 

Fleadh Cheoi l from the Mid West. 

Hungry for authentic sources outside 

the competitive arena, the Cannons got 

to know trad itional masters like Johnny 

McCreevy and Tenence 'Cuz' Teehan, 

who taught them the finer points of the 

tradition, as well as its soc ial history 

and folklore. Throughout his teenage 

years, Niall Cannon travelled 

freq uently to Chicago to take fiddle 

lessons from Johnny McCreevy. During 

this same peri od, Teehan, a folk 

composer and melodeon player from 

Sliabh Luachra, made frequent visits to 

the Cannon household in St Louis. 

'Cuz', whose nickname was derived 

from abundant family connections with 

Kerry immigrants in Chicago, was to 

remember th ese musica l vis its in hi s 

tune 'The Cannon Boys'. 

By 198 1, the ed ucational and cultural 

groundwork of the previous decade 

bagan to reach fruition. the St Louis 

Iri sh Arts school had moved to 

Cardenville Community Centre and 

began to teach Irish traditional music to 

scores of young children, teenagers and 

ad ults. By now, Helen Cannon realised 

that she could not keep her students 

involved on a long-term basis w ithout 

an Irish dancing school to compl emen t 

their enthusiasm for the music. Within 

a short time, the St Louis Irish Arts' 

portfolio expanded to include step and 

figure dancing. Now when the kids 

came to dancing, Helen handed them a 

tin whistle and her husband PJ began to 

teach them basic dance tunes. To 

guarantee the quality of her 

programme, Helen invited the Cork 

dancing master Maureen Hall to teach 

dance workshops in St Louis. Following 

Maureen's advice, Helen decided to si t 

her TCRC exams w hich she passed in 

1987 - at the age of forty five. 

A vocation among siblings: Niall and 

Eileen Cannon 

It was evident from the onset th at St 

Louis Irish Arts would become a longterm 

hobby for all the Cannon siblings. 

For fiddler Niall Cannon, however, it 

has remained an educational and 

ad ministrative challenge for over two 

decades. He first stepped into the 

bureaucratic breach at th e sprightly age 

of fifteen, when the seventy members of 

St Louis Irish Arts elected him president 

of th eir organi sation. This adult role, 

w ith its bustling agenda of decision 

making and convention meetings, made 

him a well-known figure in Comhaltas 

circles throughout North America. 

Apart from high-profile bureaucratic 

duties, he was also teaching weekly 

music classes at Cardenville 

Com munity Centre, and, at the same 

time, tackling the academ ic workl oad 

of high school. In the midst of this busy 

lifestyle, Niall still found time to 

concentrate on his fiddling. During the 

mid 1980s, he was awarded a 

'Trad itional Artists' Apprenticeship 

Program' by the Missouri Arts Council 

and the Missouri Folk Arts Programme 

Or P.}. and Helen Cannon with their 

talented daughter Eileen 

to study w ith Irish Fiddler James Kelly. 

This programme, w hi ch is affiliated 

w ith the National Endowment for the 

Arts, recogni ses the need for master 

artists to pass on their skills to aspiring 

apprentices. In the past decade, both 

Helen and Dr PJ Cannon, as well as St 

Louis based accordi oni st Larry 

McNally, have all been awarded the 

'Trad itional Arti sts' Apprenticeship 

Programme by the Missouri Arts 

Council. (McNall y, a native of Co. 

Offaly, has been a faculty member with 

St Louis Irish Arts since the late 1980s) . 

The pedagogical benefits of th ese 

prestigious award s had an immediate 

impact on the quality of traditional 

music being taught within the 

curriculum of the St Lou is Irish Arts 

school. During the past decade, its 

students have won no less than 

eightee n Congress ional Awards. This 

accounts for over one third of all 

Congressional Awards granted within 

the state of M i ssou ri. 

Niall Cannon's contact w ith masters 

like James Kely, Johnny McCreevy, and 

'Cuz' Teehan led to stylistic progress 

and an expanded repertoire of tunes 

both of w hi ch he shared w ith his 

students. Similarll y, his an nual visit to 

Ireland to attend cch Sco il Ei gse 

(trad itional music sc hool) and the AII 

Ireland Flead h reinforced his 

appreciation for the wellspring of the 

music. While these musical 

'pilgrimages' led to renewed liaison 

w ith trad itional master in Ireland, it also 

motivated younger members of St Louis 

______________________________________________ 25

A Culture Born of Slavery 

'Che lrish and what might hove been 

No Civil War. No civil rights 

movement. No Washington, Jefferson, 

Madison, Lincoln. No Frederick 

Oouglass or Martin Luther King Jr. No 

blues or jazz, Faulkner or Baldwin. 

Culturally, politically, philosophically, 

no United States as it now stands. 

No one could rightly dispute the 

powerful role that more than 250 years 

of black enslavement in America has 

played in shaping the nation's character 

and culture. 

But precisely how profound was that 

influence? How might America have 

developed and what would Americans 

be today had Africans never been 

enslaved in America? 

Four leading scholars - three of whom 

have written new, acclaimed books on 

slavery - offer surprisingly similar 

scenarios. 

The enslavement of black people just 

may have been the greatest influence 

on the development of the nation that 

now exists, they say. 

'If you put aside slavery,' says Ira Berlin, 

historian and author of Many thousands 

Gave, The First Two Centuries of 

Slavery in North America, 'the music 

would be different; the language would 

be different; religion would be different; 

food would be different.' 

'The whole racial makeup would have 

been different,' says Oeborah Gray 

White, a Ruthers University historian 

and author of the 1999 book Ar'nt I a 

Woman? Female Slaves in the 

Plantation South. 

'America,' says Orlando Patterson, 

Harvard University sociologist and 

author of Rituals of Blood: Consequences 

of Salvery in Two American Centuries, 

'would not have become one of the great 

cultures of the world.' 

These views create a paradox in exactly 

how to assess one of the most brutally 

violent epochs in US history, says 

Gerald Early, a social critic and 

professor of English at Washington 

University in St. Louis, MO. 

'On the whole, slavery was a terrible 

thing for the United States and terrible 

for the people to have endured . But in 

so many ways,' Or Early says, 'America, 

what it is today, and so much of what is 

good about America, has come out of 

the tradegy of slavery. Our moral 

worth, our ability to claim ourselves as 

a democracy and as an inclusive 

society ... It made this country more 

humane.' 

'It gave this country its character,' Or 

Patterson says. 

As for what might have happened if 

untold thousands of Africans had not 

been enslaved, Ors Patterson, Berlin, 

Early, and White envision this: 

'The first thing you think about is who 

is going to do the work,' Or Berlin says. 

Irish Slaves? 

In the 17th century, multitudes of 

aboriginal Americans, racked by fatal 

diseases brought by the Europeans, 

were already sick and dying, which 

would have forced farmers to go outside 

the colonies to find cheap labour. 

Or Patterson suggests planters might 

have gOlle south to enslave Hispanic 

workers; the others agree the most likely 

candidates would have been the Irish. 

'We know,' Or Berlin says, 'That around 

the same time the English were settling 

in North America, they were colonizing 

Ireland and they were treating the Irish 

pretty much like they were treating 

Africans. 

'They treated them like primitive 

people. Seeing them live in tribal 

groups, they thought they were 

uncivilized. And worst of all, they were 

Catholics, which was probably worse 

than being a heathen.' 

Or Berlin and others say the Irish would 

have been brought over as slaves or 

indentured servants. 

If the Irish were kept as free labourers, 

it's unlikely the South could have 

afforded to create a massive plantation 

system. Instead, farms would have been 

smaller and more like those in New 

England, making the cultures of the 

North and South similar enough to 

choke off the possibility of civil war. 

'Contrary to what a lot of Southerners 

believe,' Or White says, 'the Civil War 

was not just about state's rights. It was 

about slavery from the beginning to the 

end.' 

Without the Civil War, say goodbye to 

Lincoln, Grant, Lee, Gettysburg, and 

every other individual or event molded 

in the crucible of the War Between the 

States. Say so long to gospel spirituals 

and the later development of blues and 

51 

---------------------------------------------------------------

Off the Cuff 

Gerry Slevin, 'Nenagh Guardian' 

Paddy O 'Brien with his fa ther Oinny and Eibhlfn Og 

7:: 

hat what has now become a 

recognised traditional music/arts 

festival be in receipt of £1,000 

on ly from the Arts Council, a body that 

has a budget of ' £28 million at its 

disposal, begs the question as to whom 

and why so much money goes 

elsewhere. 

Aonach Paddy O'Brien is now in its 8th 

season . It began quietly in 1992, its role 

being to ce lebrate the music of 

accordion player Paddy O'Brien, from 

Newtown, Nenagh, who died the 

previous year. That is still the raison 

d'etre of the event and while it always 

will be, the Aonach has expanded to a 

degree that it is truly an arts festival, 

embrac ing severa l aspects of the local 

culture and pastimes. 

£1,000 out of a £28 million budget? No 

wonder Senator Lab hras 6 Murchu at 

Monday ni ght's Aonach launch, 

queried the manner in which the Arts 

Council is spending our money and 

referred to the fact that less than two 

per ce nt of that budget is being given 

over to traditional arts. 

Anyone, any group or organisation that 

is in receipt of money from the Arts 

Council, will feel entitled to whatever 

they get and one would have to say in 

defence of that body that its task is not an 

easy one when it comes to dishing out 

the funds at its disposal. At the same 

time, traditional cu lture and the amateur 

stage movement are two areas that are 

sorely neglected and the objective wou ld 

seem to be to hand over money to 

groups that have the word 'professional' 

attached to them, irrespective of whether 

or not their performance matches up to 

that particular word. 

Events like the Aonach simply cannot 

afford to be se lf-financing. By their very 

natu re they are events of a specialised 

appeal and Aonach would have left the 

scene years ago but for the continuous 

generosity of Murphy-Heineken, 

Shannon Development and the loca l 

authorities none of whom can provide 

the sponsorship they would wish to 

provide but, nevertheless, are willing to 

give what they can by way of ass istance. 

The roots are strong 

That the Aonach budget is in the region 

of £30,000 is something not everyone 

might advert to when they see so much 

revelry and entertai nment provided. The 

AONACH 

Paddy 0' 

comm ittee cou ld set .' 

about recouping 

some of that by 

plac ing hefty 

admiss ion charges 

for the events over 

the period of the 

Aonach. That 

would be merely cutting their own 

throat, it would be self-destructive. 

Anyhow, they shou ldn't have to do it 

because a body like the Arts Council is in 

existence to promote such as the Aonach 

is promoting, and to help make the 

project financially viable by making 

grants ava il ab le. Handing out £1,000 is 

merely a token gesture and is an in su lt to 

the promoters of Aonach Paddy O 'Brien. 

It is the sheer love of what they are 

about, their total belief in their subject 

that keeps Eileen O'Brien-Minogue and 

her committee going. Nothing else. 

But there must come a day when the 

financial exigencies take their toll and 

then it will be too late. Now is the time 

for the Arts Council to show its concern 

and its acknowledgment of what 

Aonach Paddy O'Brien is. It can never 

be a financial success on its own, it just 

isn't built that way. 

However, that it is worthy of far more than 

£1,000 from the Arts Counci l has been 

proved conclusively over the past eight 

years. The spirit remains very willing, the 

roots are still very strong. But as we all 

know roots need to be fed and watered. 

In the case of Aonach Paddy O 'Brien, 

that nurturing requires recognition and 

acknowledgment from a State body set 

up specifically to help and promote the 

type of ideals so well formed and 

presented by a group of local people in 

honour of 'one of our own' whose 

contribution to the promotion of Irish 

traditional music, and specifically the 

accordion, ca n never be fu lly 

appreciated. 

0 1992

Minister's Support for Aonach 

Gerry Slevin 

71 

- promi 

se 

made a year 

ago at the 

offi cial opening of 

Aonach Paddy 

O ' Brien in Nenagh, 

and which resulted 

Minister Michael Smith TO in a £5 ,000 grant 

towards the 

traditional Irish music festival, w as 

renewed on Tu esday evening by Defence 

M inister Michae l Smith TD, when he 

offi ciall y opened Aonach '99. 

'I intend to repeat that effort this yea r', 

M inister Smith told his listeners from 

the open pl atform in Pea rse Street, 

adding that he was conce rn ed to 

ensure th at the festiva l recieved 

financial support from the Government. 

The Minister spoke of Paddy O 'Brien's 

influence on traditional music, 

describing him as one of the foremost 

tra ditional musicians and composers of 

this century. 

'Thi s noble son of Tipperary is revered 

by many far and w ide. Though 

unassuming and of quiet disposition, the 

power of his cultural artistry has touched 

the hearts of thousands' Mr Smith added. 

Minister Smith also referred to the way 

in which Paddy kept faith with our 

distinctive cultu ral identity, w hich he 

absorbed at the kn ee of his musical 

father Dinny, and w hich echoed still in 

the hearts of his children Eileen and 

Donn acha. 

Cultural Visionary 

He described Paddy O'Brien as a 

cultural visionary, one of those w ho 

kept the tradition alive in more difficult 

times, sharing his talents and displaying 

his artistry, not for any personal reward 

but rather for the sheer pride he had in 

those traditions, and the joy w hich it 

gave him to know th at th ese traditions 

would pass on to future generations. 

Having outlined Paddy's musica l li fe in 

the United States in the '50's and his 

return to Ireland in the ea rly heady days 

of Comhaltas Ceolt6irf Eireann and 

Fl eadhanna Cheo il, the Minister spoke 

to the musica l alliance forged when 

Paddy married Eileen Seery, w hose 

father Jim w as one of teh ea rl y 

archi tects of Comhaltas. Now, two great 

musical families pooled their talents and 

their servi ce to the culture of Ireland. 

Aonach Paddy O ' Brien, sa id Mr Smi th, 

through its determination, standard s 

and innovati ve programme, would 

ensure that the man and his music w ill 

never be forgotten and that future 

generations w ill continue to be inspired 

by his sheer artistry and genius. 

It offi ciall y opening the Aonach, the 

M inister said that on the eve of the new 

millennium he sensed that as Paddy 

O'Brien kept fa ith with the best traditions 

of the past, we too, would bear w itness 

to his unique creativity and do our part 

in cultivati ng it for futu re generations. 

Importance of Festivals 

He described festi va ls such as the 

Aonach as being of particul ar 

importan ce to the cultural, soc ial and 

economic life of our country. Culturally, 

they provided oppoutunities to 

particapate in events that could have a 

very positive impact on their lives. 

Socially, they provided opportunities for 

people of all ages to get together in a 

relaxed and fri endly environment. They 

also added an exciting dimension to 

local economies through their ability to 

attract tou ri sts in large numbers, yea r 

. after yea r. 

The hard work and unse lfish public 

service w hich the organisers put in 

each yea r, was deserving of the utmost 

gratitude of all and extending a special 

word to them, Minister Smith sa id thi s 

blend of commitment and endeavour 

ensured the success of the Aonac h, 

which would bring much pl easure to 

the people of Nenagh and the large 

numbers visiting annually. 

CH€ CLAD€MAN 

Jim 

fiie[s 

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Announcing the launch of the Clare man concertina 

At last, a metal ended, metal buttoned, thirty key concertina, 

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instruments are in limited production and are guaranteed. 

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44 Blenheim Cresent, London W111ny. 

Tel: 00-44-171-792-1993 

56 ____________________________________________________ _

.!:: 

= 

E 

Eo- 

Seamus left: Footprints 

on the Sands· of Cime 

Marlin Fahy 

even the sk ies were weeping as we 

came to St Joseph 's ch urch, 

Ba llinaki ll, to say ou r last 'Good 

bye' to Seamus 6 Riain - a dear friend 

and a great Irishman. 

Seamus was a man who touched us all 

by his kindness, generosity, sincerity, his 

great wit and humou r. He was truly one 

of nature's gentlemen. 

He had the abi lity to dispel anxiety, 

worry and care, and to radiate happiness 

and mirth wherever he went. His wit and 

turn of phrase were the hall marks of his 

life. Added to this was his remarkable 

memory and recollection. He could, 

even up to his fin al days, remember 

anecdotes of his earl y childhood. 

Thi s is one of his earliest recollections; 

Seamus was just a lad of Seven when the 

Bl ack and Tans raided and took over his 

native Charleville. When the din and 

noise of the Tan lorri es died down Seamus 

noticed that his little dog was missing. He 

searched everywhere and then one of his 

neighbours told him that he had seen a 

little dog in one of the Black and Tans 

lorries. So Seamus went down - a boy of 

seven to the Black and Tan 

headquarters, knocked on the door and 

two burly Tans, with rifles at the ready, 

appeared in the doorway. They stared at 

Seam us and demanded to know what he 

wanted. 'You have got my dog', he said. 

One of the officers growled - 'What is 

your dog's name?' 'Rebel', said Seamus. 

Cocking their rifles, Seamus in his infant 

way thought 'Is fearr rith maith na drochsheasamh' 

and took to his heels!! 

Seamus was a Cork man and proud of it. 

During the Golden Era of Cork's hurling 

under Christy Ring - Seam us' slogan to 

his Galway friends used to be 'Over the 

bar Christy' . 

During his formative years in Charlevi lle, 

he involved himself in drama, and w ith 

hi s father Tim, the high light of those days 

was his involvement in the play 'The 

Coll een Ban' afterwards to be produced 

in Opera as 'The Lil y of Killarney' . 

As a student in St Col man's, Fermoy 

second leve l Coll ege, Seam us excelled 

in all subjects and his proudest moment 

was th at of his prize-winning essay 

entitled 'The Life Story of an Anchor'. 

In the late thirties Moyglass, Ba llinak ill 

became his second home and Galway 

his adopted county. He loved th Gaelic 

games the hurling and football and 

especially, when Galway were pitted 

aga inst Cork. 

Seamus loved people. He lived life to its 

fu Il est. Wherever a crowd gathered 

Seamus was always in the centre giving 

as good as he got!! 

This was a man 

Who can describe this wonderful man? 

A quotation from Julius Caesa r by 

Shakespeare probably sums up his 

qualities. 

'The elements so mixed in him, that 

nature might stand up and say to all the 

world "This was a man'''. 

An unequalled master of ceremoni es, an 

entertai ner, Seamus loved the Iri sh 

Ballads. His renderings of 'The West is 

Awake', 'The Old Slievenamon', 'The 

Bonny Bunch of Roses', 'An raibh tu ar 

an gcarraig?' and of course the 

internationally known Cork National 

Anthem, 'The Banks of my own lovely 

Lee' were among his repertoire. 

I can picture him now after a night's 

session, buttoning his overcoat and 

breaking into song - 'Every road through 

life is a long, long road, it tells of joy and 

sorrow too', and then waving his arms as 

if conducting an orchestra he wou ld finish 

w ith the chorus of hope and optimism 

'keep right on to the end of the road'. 

Seam us symbol ised the 'Village 

Schoolmaster' as portrayed by Oliver 

Goldsmith. He led every conversation, 

chai red every meeting, compered every 

concert, was founder member of 

Woodford, Ba ll inaki II CCE and 

chairman of the now 30 year old 

Mummers Festiva l. 

In his extra-curricul ar activities, Seamus 

tutored over one hundred Garda 

recruits, held ad ult Iri sh classes in 

Nenagh, joined the choral group and 

entertained the senior citizens. 

Ffor-Ghael 

His motto for life was surely that poem 

we were familiar with in our schools 

books, 

'Lives of great men all remind us we can 

make our lives sublime and departing 

leave behind us foot prints on the sands 

of time'. 

Mar a duirt me cheana, ffor-Ghael abea 

Seamus. Bhf gean is gra aige do ch uile 

rud Gaelach, ceol, cultur, cluichi, 

amhra in . Nior lease leis an Ghaei lge a 

labhairt uair na fai lle. mar a duirt Tomas 

6 Criomhthain udar 'An t-Oi leanach', 

'Ni bheidh a leitheide ann aris' . 

Twenty years ago, Seam us left his beloved 

Cappacon and shared his retirement with 

his daughter Kathl een and husband 

Michael in Nenagh and Maureen and 

Donal in Athlone. Here w ith great pride 

he saw his grandchi ldren grow in w isdom 

and maturity. He loved them with a deep 

love and entertained them with his jokes 

and jest, story and legend. to them he was 

affectionately known as 'Pop'. 

Yesterday evening was Seamus' 

homecoming. Over forty years of his li fe 

were spent in Ballinakill. 

Together with his wife Aggie, who died 

in August 1979, Seamus now finds his 

final resting place amongst the people, 

the fields and the hills he knew and 

loved so well. 

We sympath ise w ith the fami ly but also 

celebrate in the long and happy life 

Seamus had amongst us. 

'Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dflis'. 

50-------------------------------------------------

·s.RlII 

J;:. ••• 11 

Irish Arts to fo llow in the footsteps of 

their men tor. A dedade afterwards, it 

has become customary for fiddlers and 

flute pl aye rs, harpers and singers from 

St Louis to apprentice themse lves w ith 

older masters in Ireland. 

Eileen Cannon's musical journey has 

followed the same trans-Atl antic 

itinerary as her brother. Well before her 

teenage years, she embarked on a career 

as an Irish harper, an avocation w hich 

would take her from St Louis to the most 

prestigious music shcools in Ireland as 

well as in North America. In 1997, at 

the age of nineteen , she was pl aced 

second in the sen ior harp competition at 

Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann in Ballina, Co 

Mayo, aga inst a distingui shed cohort of 

worl d-class perform ers. 

When not pe rfo rming, studying, or 

arranging music, Eil ee n Cannon can be 

found working on record ing projects 

w ith her brother N iall. Their most 

ambitious projects to date incl ude two . 

CD record ings w hich they produced for 

the St Louis Irish Arts school in 1997 

and 1999. The first disc, eponymous 

ti tled 'St Louis Irish Arts: Ceol agus 

Ri nce', is a rare pa ragon of trad itional 

music recording. Featuri ng a cast of 

preteen and teenage perfo rm ers, the 

recording has few precedents in Irish 

music hi story. By far the most dynam ic 

branch of Comhaltas west of the 

M iss iss ippi, St Louis Irish Arts boasts 

more younger performers than most 

Co mh altas chapters in North Ameri ca. 

It is th is youthful energy w hich gives 

this disc its unique quality. O n this 

recording, w hich conta ins an amalgam 

of dance tunes, O'Carolan pieces, 

recent compositions, and Irish language 

songs, these teenagers pe rform w ith all 

the deft experi ence of well-seasoned 

ad ult musicians. W hat is pa rticularl y 

stri king about the CD is its all-too-rare 

mix of trad itional dance mu sic and Irish 

language singing, the latter, w hi ch one 

does not usually ex pect from Americanborn 

kids. W hile Niall and Eileen had 

exceptional production input from 

Longford harper Tracy Flemi ng and 

Du blin accordionist Ca itrfona O'Neill, 

th e co ncrete evidence of th eir own 

teachi ng is confirmend by the 

exemplary fiddling of lan Walsh and 

Kev in Buckley. Likewise, the accordion 

play ing of Kelly W in ter and Linda 

Hern don, the flu te and w hi stle pl aying 

of Sarah Hale, Shannon Spe llman, 

Kerry Moran, Ka tie Degreeff and Amber 

Nelson, punctu ated by the subtle 

Helen Cannon with Phil Durkin 

enjoying the Fleadh 

bodhran playing of Chris Wedd le, 

create a sensitive blend of ensemble 

music - an attribute w hich is freq uently 

absent in the fre neti c synergy of today's 

commercial marketpl ace. 

The system comes full circle: The next 

generation takes over 

Despite their years of devoted teac hing, 

and the accolades won by th eir 

students, the Cannons remain 

consp icuously modest about their 

success. Marvelling at the trad itional 

process at work among his students, 

N iall delights in the fac t that his 'twelve 

yea r old fiddlers now pl ay roll s and 

cuts, crans and triplets that are often 

the hallmark of advanced players. Our 

kids are now playing rolls, and some of 

them were never sh own how to pl ay 

ro ll s, but they ca n do it anyway' . 

See ing his students as sources to lea rn 

tunes from as well as peers to pl ay 

w ith, Cannon no longer feels isolated 

as a traditional musician. 'Unlike the 

old days in the 1970s and 1980s w hen 

a young lad had to wait to go to Ireland 

once a year to get all fired up about the 

music, we now have a generation of 

kids pl aying Irish music in St Loui s. For 

them, Irish trad itional music is simply a 

natural part of their soc ial lives. This for 

me is the ultimate reward for passing on 

the music here in St Louis'. It is not 

surprising that his students are now 

becoming teachers in their own right, 

and are passing on their music at 

summer sc hools and festivals throughout 

the state of M issouri and O hio. 

For Helen Cannon, one of her proudest 

achievements was to present her 

students at th e United States Congress 

in April of thi s year. Th ey were invited 

to Washington to give a rec ital of Irish 

traditional music, song and dance at 

the awards ceremony for Ceneral Colin 

Powell, w ho was recognised by 

Congress for his contribution to youth 

of Ameri ca. Th e honour of playi ng at 

this event w as as much a va lidation of 

two decades of cultural renaissance in 

St Louis, as an affirmati on of the high 

statu s w hich is now bestowed on Irish 

traditional culture in North Ameri ca . 

O nce applauded by th e Irish w riter 

Brya n M acM ahon as 'the Q ueen of St 

Louis', Helen Cannon is acutely aware 

of the long cutlural road she and her 

hu sband PJ have travelled si nce 1973. 

W hile she may be preoccupied w ith 

music sc hools and fe isea nna in the US, 

and concert performances and artisti c 

fo rum s in Ireland, she remains 

indubitabl y loya l to the cu ltural li fe of 

her adopted city. Vigilant of its potential 

as a nucleus of Irish culture in North 

Ameri ca, she is confident th at the 

ed uca tional and artistic credo of her St 

Louis Irish Arts school will continue to 

thrive in the future. She is also excited 

about the recent establishment of the 

Jefferson Smurfit Corporati on Chair of 

Irish Studies at the U ni versity of 

M issouri in St Louis, w hich w ill 

complement the ethnic philosophy of St 

Louis Irish Arts and its sister 

assoc iations w ithin the Irish-Ameri ca n 

community. Not alone does thi s new 

chair va lidate the commitment of the 

University of M issouri to Irish Stu dies, 

but is also bodes well for the posteri ty 

of Irish and Irish-Ameri can culture in 

the new century. In many respects, the 

Jefferso n Smurfit endowment confirms 

the w isdom of the ancient Caels w ho 

taught their educators tQ mol an 6ige 

agus tiocfaidh sf (praise youth and it 

w ill thrive). Th ere is no doubt that this 

unambiguous max im has inform ed the 

work of the St Louis Irish Arts, or 

appreciate its cul tu ral contribution to 

the unbroken journey of the Irish in 

Ameri ca? 

Or Cear6id 6 hAllmhurain is an Irish 

m usic historian, anthropologist and 

journalist. A native of Co. Cla re, he has 

lived in Sa n Francisco since 7993. An 

All-Ireland champion concertina player 

and piper, he performs all over the US 

and Ca nada. His Pocket History of Irish 

Traditional Music was published by the 

O 'Brien Press, Dublin 7 n 7998. His 

most recent recording Tracin' with 

French fiddler Patrick Ourceau, was 

issued b y Celtic Crossigns in 7999.

Bock to Brooklyn 

Oliver 0 ' connell 

71unique 

experi ence. He burst 

----music sess ion with M artin 

Connolly ce ntre stage is a 

onto the Irish Traditional Music scene in 

the ea rl y seventies, and today w ithout 

compromising th e music, th e box 

playing of M artin Connolly is living 

testi mony to th e influences of the 

masters of old w ho have handed down 

to us a legacy to cheri sh and safeguard . 

Martin, in thi s recording, is carrying on 

the trad itions of the greats from the 

distant and not so distan t past. 

He has a limitless apprec iati on of the box 

playing of Paddy O ' Brien, Tony 

McM ahon and Joe Burke, and his love of 

the fiddle play ing of the great masters of 

old is evident on this album, in parti cular 

Michael Co leman, James Morriso n and 

Paddy Killoran and of course Andy 

M cGann and Paddy Reynolds w ho are 

today carrying on this unique tradition in 

the greater New York area. 

It would also be fair to say that M artin 's 

music' was greatl y influenced by the 

fiddle playing of his brother Seamus 

w ho is currently the Director of the Irish 

Studies Programme at Boston College. 

Ca ptured on thi s recordin g is Traditional 

Iri sh M usic played from th e hea rt, 

w ithout compromise, w here the quality 

of the tu nes takes precedence over the 

skill of the musician. 

There is on thi s album an incredible 

understanding of the music between 

Maureen and M artin, and the synergy 

between piano and accordion is a joy to 

listen to, w ith each complementing the 

other. 

It is fitting th at M artin 's two sons, Karl 

and Damien Connoll y, are also featured 

on thi s recording, two great musicians, 

Martin and Oamien 

and both th eir contributions are superb. 

Martin, thi s album is a gem that w ill be 

appreciated by music lovers and music 

criti cs alike. 

Maureen Clynn Connolly 

W hen she played you listened. 

W hen she taught you learn ed. 

When she spoke about our music you 

were enthralled. 

She arri ved in Clare from New York, and 

brought back home a product that was 

exported many decades previously, 

w hen M orrison, Coleman, Cooley and 

Cronin left our gree n shores w ith heavy 

hearts, unfulfilled dreams and a musica l 

talent that survived and prospered in a 

strange and distant land. 

Sh e had a hu ge impact in Clare, as 

musicians and pupils alike rea lised her 

music was spec ial, and her teaching was 

flawless. 

M aureen G lynn Connolly in full flight, 

playin g music or just talking about it, 

was poetry in action. Sh e had a passion 

for it, and her loving partnershi p as w ife 

and musica l partner w ith the accordion 

maestro from Killaloe, M artin Connoll y, 

though short lived, has left musicians 

and mu sic lovers w ith a music legacy 

that is unique. 

Maureen revered the older musicians, 

Martin and Maureen 

and never forgot them. Geniuses from our 

past w ho dispensed with the trimmings 

and pl ayed the tunes from the heart. 

Their first recording together, 'The Fort 

of Kin cora' was a musica l triumph for 

Maureen and M artin Connolly, and I 

was honoured to w rite the sleeve notes 

for th at album in 1987. 

Th e second album together was started 

in 1991, and is only now on release as a 

memory to M aureen w ho tragica lly died 

in 1998. 

O n thi s album, M artin is playing in 

memory of his w ife, his fri end, his 

partner and his soul mate. A lso fea tured 

on thi s recording are five young 

musicians, pupils of M aureen from Co. 

Clare, A isling, Ca rm el, Deirdre, Karl and 

Micheal, who are today carryin g on the 

great tradition of fi ddle play ing, and 

accompaniment, expertl y taught by 

M auree n G lynn Connolly and 

encompass ing the modern tec hn ique 

w ith the soul and fee ling of the past. 

Maureen, your memory, your music and 

your legacy w ill live w ith us forever, and 

we thank you for sharing your gift w ith us. 

'We miss you now - our New York Rose 

Queen of the fa ir, the music flows 

From Heaven to Earth to soothe our being 

You are alwa ys with us - our M usic Queen. 

22 ________________________________________________ _

On Cusack Park's rai n sodden sward, 

The Champions had confidence plenty 

But ou r lads commitment and heart 

They set to the task put before them 

And fea rl ess ly taking contro l, 

Agai nst all the odds, at the finish 

Our lads were ahead by a goal. 

'Twas a flash in the pan, sa id the criti cs 

They'd never play like that again, 

A Friend through Comhaltas - 

Daniel Braniff 

l ames Snoddy 

I met Dan at Belfast Comhaltas. I asked 

if anyone would help me w ith Irish 

music. Dan asked me to his home. He 

was li ving alone hav ing lost his wife 

some yea rs ago, their only child, a son, 

had died in infancy. 

Our first Fl ead h together was at Sligo. 

To make sure we got there in good time 

I got up at 5am on my first day of 

retirement at age 65. Dan was in hi s 

ea rl y eighties. My memories are of Dan 

singing the Auld O range Flute for the 

Nuns in Nazareth House Sligo. We had 

to post back a key for the B&B we took 

in error. We couldn't remember the 

address so addressed the envelope to 

Pretty Woman with Brown Eyes, Fl at 

roof bungalow, Enni skillen Road, Sligo 

and us both Pi oneers but different 

Churches. We were at two Fl eadhs at 

Sli go and two at Clonmel, I remember 

great friendship and kindness at th ese 

Raharn ey we then met and beat them, 

This time by 1-6 to 2-10 

They branded us wet weather maulers 

But th e fifteenth of june, nice and fine 

Again we astounded the critics 

Beating Ringtown 4 points to 2-9 

'Twas Pollard in the sem i-final, 

We beat them w ith eight points to spare, 

A team that had sta rted no hopers 

In the final , their heads in the air. 

'Twas the twenty-eighth day of 

September, 

And Brownstown were tightening the 

torque, 

O ur full forward 's hand was in shatters 

But Big Willie was home from New York. 

What happened th at day is now history 

A chapter we' ll read w ith delight. 

The long w hi stle wasn't long sounded , 

Till I heard the great news in Detroit. 

I listened to all commentators 

Some sa id our half backs were the 

giants, 

Some said the long drives of Paul 

Kiern an 

And others Big Willie's four points. 

Some sa id 'twas the dressroom orations 

And others, joe Clarke's mighty goal 

Or coach and mentors' motivation 

times. Our B&B in Cion me I helped 

w ith free transport for Dan to town. 

These Fl ead hs were memorabl e to Dan 

as he ta lked about them fo r years 

afterward s. 

Dan told me about his earl y days. His 

mother died leaving a young family 

and his oldest sister to ca re for the 

family broke off her engagement to a 

policeman and I think never marri ed. 

Dan was interested in art from an early 

age and got great encouragement from 

the Christian Brothers . He could still 

tell the price of a sheet of drawing 

paper when a part time student at 

Belfast Tech. When asked by a 

prospecti ve employer to see one of his 

drawings, he brought a portrait of 

Robert Emmett and got the job from a 

prominent Unionist. Dan made his 

living by des igning, mak ing, and 

installing stained glass windows and 

part time teaching. 

His last years were in Nazareth House 

Nursing Home. When he could still 

draw, he asked me to get him a few 

things. 

Of body, of mind and of soul. 

I'd have given a lot to be w ith you 

And hear at first hand funn y spakes, 

Li ke M ick Lowry searching hi s pockets 

For Clancy, that evening in Drake's. 

But to crown th at great day in 

September 

Soon a w hisper just got to my ea r, 

Castletown and th e great Black and 

Amber 

Were the new hurling Club of the Yea r. 

We often had stars on the panel 

O n paper, a fa r better mix, 

But never their strength cou ld we 

chan nel 

Like those lads of nineteen eighty six. 

We mourn th e passi ng of thi s kind and 

noble sou l w ho brought joy to all over 

his many yea rs on the concert stages of 

Ireland, England and North America. 

Sadly, he passed away as he and his 

wife, Anne, were about to celebrate 

the ir 50th wedding anniversary. To 

Anne and to all the Cowley Family we 

extend our deepest sympath y on the 

passing of a devoted husband and 

loving father. 

Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dflis. 

To Dan 

My delight was suppl ying your 

accumulated wants, 

A plastic rul er, a large roll of sellotape, 

Nail scissors delicately made for 

working hand s, 

That designed, leaded, and insta lled 

stained glass. 

For you Dan, whose work was a 

prayer, 

Please linger as long as you can, 

And may your homecoming be w ith 

joy. 

Dan was a devout man, well versed in 

his own faith but telling me w hat 

mattered most was being a Friend of 

God. I know he ca rri ed the coffin of a 

work colleague who was an 

Orangeman. He was an Irishman with 

compass ion for all and I am glad to 

have known him. 

20 ____________________________________________________ _

Bruach na Carraige at Rockchapel, Co. Cork 

Jack Roche, who spearheaded the Bruach na Carraige project in Rockchape/,listens 

as Comhaltas Branch secretary Mairead Murphy addresses the crowd 

have a full programme of special events, 

and, to begin w ith, a Sliabh Luachra 

Summer School is schedu led to take place 

in Rockchapel from August 9 to 15. 

Jack Roche, Fianna Fail county 

cou nci llor and Comhaltas stalwart told 

The Corkman that utilising Rockchapel's 

unique cultural heritage and mu sical 

standing to bring revenue to the area has 

been an aim of the people of the area for 

some time. 

Rockchapel, like all of the Sliabh 

Lu achra, boasts a wealth of un spo iled 

traditional music and dance. Cllr Roche 

explain s that in most of the country, the 

authentic traditions died out during the 

30s and 40s, but in Sliabh Lu achra the 

true sou nds of old Ireland still remain. 

Among the most popular tunes in the 

loca l musicians' repertoire is the march 

16 

that was played at the Battle of 

Knocknanuss in 1647, Cllr Roche said, 

promising th at the emphas is in this new 

facility w ill be very much on 

authenticity. 

At the official opening, which was a 

joyous affa ir attended by hundreds of 

supporters from near and far. Pres ident 

Mary McAleese said : 'Our strength really 

is in what we are capable of doing 

together, this is an example of the genius 

that can happen when we come together.' 

At th at event, Coun cillor Roche paid 

particular thanks to Nora May Kelleher, 

w ho donated the site, and said: 

'Anything that ever happens in 

Rockchapel, Nora May is part of it and 

when Nora May is part of it, everything 

turns out ri ght.' 

Councillor Roche, reca lling the hard 

work and endless fundraisi ng involved, 

added: 'Much of the finance that was 

generated for this was ea rn ed by ou r 

very fine group of musicians, whom we 

are very proud of.' 

BUlochas 

President McAleese was thanked 

personally by Mairead Murphy, branch 

secretary in Rockchapel and presented 

with a beautiful si lver brooch by Tom 

Murphy, founding member of the 

Com haltas branch in Rockchapel and 

cu rrent President. 

Of Mr Murphy, w ho is Mairead's father, 

Counci llor Roche noted: 'Up until now 

his home has been a kind of unofficial 

headquarters for Comhaltas. ' 

As the formalities concluded, the music 

began and th ere were enough 

outstanding musicians in the company to 

keep the party going long into the nightand 

to hi s end they happily obliged. 

, Ambassadors 

for our country' 

'Generations of Irish men, women and 

children have tapped their feet to the 

lilt of Irish music that's been made by 

Comhaltas. So often w hen we listen 

we fail to understand the extraordinary 

legacy that tradition gives us.' 

'We are proud of that ancient art 

form, once the preserve of fires ide 

and local crossroads, and w hi ch 

today enjoys such w idespread 

popularity at the global crossroads of 

the modern world '. 

'Comhaltas people have rightly been 

described as ambassadors for our 

country, communicating in a 

language that knows no boundari es 

and w hich has won us fri ends and 

admirers far and w ide. Th at 

admirati on, those links, have 

reflected back to us that inestimable 

va lue of w hat we have inherited, and 

have added greatl y to that new-found 

se nse of cultural confidence and 

pride that we now enjoy and w hich 

is so inextrica bly linked to our 

success on other fronts - social, 

political and economic. We owe so 

much to Comhaltas for the role they 

have played in this' . 

- President Mary McAleese at the 

opening of Bruach na Carraige in 

Rockchapel, Co, Cork.

Aitheantas Teanga 

You're walking briskl y through down 

town M ontrea l, a little distracted, 

w hen a pleasa nt young woman 

approaches you. 

She wants to know where the nea rest 

metro station is, and she puts the 

question to you politely: 

'Pard on, pourriez-vous me dire Oll se 

trou ve le metro le plus proche, s' il vous 

plait?' 

How do you respond ? In French or 

English? 

If you answer in French, you're doing 

what the vast majority of Montrea l 

anglos now do, according to resea rch 

conducted by social psychologist 

Ri chard Bourhi s, a specialist in 

English-French relations, at the 

Universite du Quebec a M ontrea l. 

It hasn't always been that way. 

Two decades ago, Bourhis's research 

shows, M ontrea l anglophones were 

much more likely th an Frenchspeakers 

in such encounters to plow 

ahead in their own language, w ithout 

even a token 'bonjour' or 'pardon' for 

not rep lying in French. 

It was a sore po in t for many 

francophones. 

Resentment over the power imbalance 

implicit in thi s behaviour, Bourhis says, 

helped stir support for Rene Levesque's 

Parti Quebecois and for its 1977 Charter 

of the French Language, or Bill 101 , the 

radica l language law th at would 

reshape English-French relations. 

It was in 1977 that Bourhis bega n 

trying to gauge the evolving power 

11 

An boscad6ir cailitJil Martin Mulhaire ag 

deanamh cheoil ins na Stait Aontaithe 

relationship between the two language 

groups, se nding tea ms of fluently 

bilingual un dercover resea rchers to 

downtown streets and two university 

ca mpuses. 

North American trio John Pendergast, 

Frank Kenned y and Bill McEvoy 

discussing strategy 

logainmneacha 

Muileann an Bhata 

Co. Chill Chainnigh 

Taimid anseo i gcraobh Muileann 

an bhata den Chomhaltais ag tosnu 

ar tionscnamh chun Logainmneacha 

a chur ar chlocha ar fud an 

phar6iste, cosuil mar ata deanta i 

gConamara. Is le thu a chur ar an 

eolas ata an litir seo, mar is e an 

chead uair a rinne craobh den 

Chomhaltais a leitheid. Chomh fada 

is a bhfuil eolas aga inn. 

Tagann se go m6r le meon an 

Chomhaltais agus an aidhm chun 

Gaeilge a chur chun cinn. Ta dui 

chun cinn 0llmh6r deanta aga inn 

cheanna le ceol agus rince sa 

cheantar. Breathnafmid ar seo mar 

an trfu cuid den triantan. Taimid 

cinnte go naont6fa linn sa 

tionscnamh seo. 

Tomas Mac Aodh Bhu( 

Treora( na Gaeilge 

The Pipes are Calling 

There was a Scotti sh boy called 

Angus w ho decided to try life in 

Au stralia. 

He found an apartment in a small 

block and settled in . After a week or 

two, his mother ca lled from 

Aberdeen to see how her son was 

doing in his new life., 

'I'm fine,' Angus sa id. 'But there are 

some rea lly strange peopl e living in 

those apartments. O ne woman cri es 

all day long, another lies on her 

floor moaning, and there is a guy 

next door to me who bangs his 

head on the wall all the time.' 

'Well, me laddie,' sa id hi s mother, 'I 

suggest you don't associate w ith 

peopl e like that. ' 

'Oh,' sa id Angus, 'I don't, M a' m, I 

don't. No, I just stay inside my 

apartment all day and night, pl ay ing 

my bagpipes.'

l\ Lour de Force 

Bound for Americay: Preparing for the Concert Tour of North America. Denise 

Kerrigan, Dancer (Dublin), Aidan O 'Neill, Dancer (Tyrone), Edel Kelly, Dancer 

(Tipperary), Damien Friel, Dancer (Tyrone). 

Echoes of Erin, the 28th Annual Concert 

Tour of the United States and Canada, is 

from the 3rd of October to the 24th of 

October. It will be a proud occasion 

marking as it does a monumental 

achievement not only of sustaining the 

Tour over all these yea rs but developing 

it into a major cultural event. The Tour is 

sponsored by Bud weise r, Waterford 

Crystal and The Cultural Rel ations 

Committee of Ireland's Department of 

Foreign Affairs. 

From this Tour programme has grown a 

vibrant Comhaltas movement in North 

America with 40 branches promoting 

the native culture of Ireland and forging 

strong links between this vast continent 

and the homeland. Thousands of Irish 

Americans (and non-Irish) play Irish 

traditional mu sic and visit Ireland on a 

regul ar basis. 

The 18-strong group se lected for this 

Tour are Alice Fitzgerald, Bean a' TI, and 

Singer (Waterford); Maurice Egan, 2-row 

Accordion (Kerry); Fergal O 'Neill, Fiddle 

(Dublin); Joelene McGleenan, Flute 

(Armagh); Martin McCormack, Uilleann 

Pipes (Monaghan); Freda Hatten, Harp 

(Westmeath ); Ciaran O'Grady, 

Concertina (Luton); Tadhg 6 Meachair, 

Singer (Offaly); Diarm aid O ' Brien, 

Fiddle (Limerick); Theresa Co leman, 2row 

Accordion (Leicester); Sandra 

Deegan, Flute (Ca rlow); Siobhan 

O ' Donoghue, Banjo (Luton); Denise 

Kerrigan, Dancer (Dublin); Edel Kelly, 

Dance r (Tipperary); Aidan O ' Neill, 

Dancer (Tyrone); Damien Friel, Dancer 

(Tyrone) . The M anager is Martin Forristal 

(Waterford); and sound technician is 

John M cElligott (Kerry). 

The Venues for the 1999 Tour are as 

follows: Mineola, Binghamton, 

Canadaigua, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Fairfax, 

Phil adelphia, Red Hook, Montreal, 

Ottawa, Sudbury, Timmins, Waterloo, 

Members of the 78-strong Tour group of 

Comhaltas Ceolt6irf Eireann preparing for 

the 28th Annual Concert Tour of North 

America. Siobhan 0 Donoghue, Banjo 

(Luton); Sandra Deegan, Flute (Ca rlow); 

and Freda Hatten, Harp (Westmeath). 

M embers 

Tour of North America . Ferga l O 'Neill, 

Fiddle (Dublin); Diarmaid O 'Brien, 

Fiddle (Limerick); Cia ran O 'Grady, 

Concertina (Luton); and M aurice Ega n, 

2-ro w Accordion (Kerry) . 

Sandra Deega n, Flute (Ca rlow); Tadhg 

6 M eachair, Singer (Offa ly); and Freda 

Hatten, Harp (Westmeath). 

Chicago, Kansas City, St Louis, 

Waltham, Pea rl River. 

The group will give a farewell Concert in 

Culturlann na hEirea nn, Dublin on 

Sunday, O ctober 3rd .

Italo and Giovanna with their friend 

Mariano Gana who built the Irish cottage 

Mary Kelly, Robert Gleeson, Claire 

Ferguson and Eoin 6 Cionnaith playing 

in Sa rdinia 

Of the instruments norm ally played in the 

Irish musical tradition, the 'uilleann pipes' 

is the on ly uniquely Irish one. 'Uilleann ' 

which is gaelic for 'elbow', is composed 

of sweet sounding pipes, blown by a 

bellows under the arm and elbow, not 

unlike the ancient Sardinian instrument, 

'Iauneddas'. 

The harp, once Ireland 's foremost 

musical instrument, has seen a revival in 

recent years. W ith its distinctive shape, 

it has been the most characteristic 

musical instrument of Ireland from at 

least the twelfth ce ntury. Irish mythology 

is replete with stories concerning harps 

and harpists, for exa mple the mystic 

harp of Dagda (the green harper), which 

w hen played, caused the four seasons to 

pass over the ea rth - a symbol of life that 

joyously renews itse lf. Th e Trini ty 

Co ll ege harp, christened the Brian Boru 

harp, believed to be the oldest surviving 

instrument became the national emblem 

of Ireland and its symbol was used from 

1924 as the official sea l of the 

Government. Official documents and 

publ ications, publ ic notices, seals, 

coins, passports, uniform badges all bear 

the simple harp symbol. 

Sardinia 

It isn't by chance that the symbol of the 

republic is the harp of Brian Boru, the 

on ly emblem in the world to consist of a 

musical in strument. The musica l 

atmosphere of Ireland ca n be felt not 

on ly in the pubs, but also on the streets 

and in contact w ith the people. It was 

through this complex interaction w ith 

6 

Irish music and cu lture that th e 

Sa rdinian branch of Koltus was founded 

in 1986 in Cag li ari by English teac hers 

Italo Siddu and G iova nn a Licardi, on 

their return from a study trip to Ireland . 

In the same year they obtai ned 

recognition from the Irish Embassy in 

Rome and adm itta nce into Folkitali a, 

thereby becoming a reference point for 

lovers of Irish trad ition (and the merely 

curious), not on ly in Sa rdinia but in the 

rest of Italy. The main objective of the 

Sardinian branch of Ko ltus is to 

encourage an exchange of friendshi p 

and culture between the two island s 

using the ve hicle of traditional music. 

Such an objective is facilitated by the ir 

joint history of oppression, invas ions 

and cu ltural traditions and their affinity 

of hosp itality, pride and dignity. 

The meetings organi sed by the branch 

deal with vari ous themes ·of Irish culture. 

One such meeting dealt w ith 'The history 

of Irish popular musica l instruments' 

with particular attention given to the 

harp or 'cI;3. irseach' and the bodhran or 

drum. Irish cookery competitions have 

been organised in collaboration w ith the 

military headquarters in Sardinia and Aer 

Lingus in Milan. Treasure hunts are 

another activity w ith questions to so lve 

on various aspects of Irish cu lture. A 

convention held two years after its 

foundation, served to trace parallels 

between the two cultures that managed 

to preserve through time their ethnic and 

cultural identities. The conve ntion, 

entitled 'Three days of Iri sh culture' was 

attended by eminent scholars of Irish 

literature and culture in Italy and abroad. 

The three day event closed w ith the 

participation of an Irish group of 1 S 

musicians from Tipperary, Bru Boru, and 

various expressions of Sardinian song 

and dance. 

Belgrave Square 

Th e official musical group of the 

Sardinian branch is Th e Belgrave 

Square, w ho take their name from the 

sa me square in Monkstown, County 

Dublin, w here the headquarters of Koltus 

is based. The Belgrave Square presented 

themselves to the public for the first time 

in 1991 in the following form: Italo Siddu 

(banjo, guitar, bodhran and vocals), 

Giovanna Liccardi (guitar, bodhran and 

vocals) and Giampiero Giglio (fiddle) . 

Such a line up of Italian enthusiasts of Irish 

culture illustrates the connection felt by 

the branch w ith the Irish sentimental and 

passionate hold on their cu ltural heritage. 

Since the end of 1996, The Belgrave 

Square have been playing regularly in The 

O ld Sq uare Pub in Cagliari. 

In 1789 the people of Cagliari defeated 

the Piedmontese Army and thus was 

born 'The Day of Sa rdinia', ('Sa Die De 

Sa Sa rdinnia'). It was on the ann iversary 

of this day the Sardi ni an branch of 

Koltus ce lebrated their 10th ann iversary 

in 1996, a double celebration, a fusion of 

two cul tures .... ' Sa rdinia - Ireland : 

Launeddas and Uilleann Pipes, Memory 

of Two Isl ands' was the title of the day. To 

an aud ience of 500, the branch held an 

Iri sh even ing show w ith the participation 

of their band, The Belgrave Square, 

enriched by the presence of Enzo 

Bu rbello (u illeann pipes) from Milan and 

Gianluca Dessi (bouzouki) from Sassari, 

North Sardinia. Among the sponsors of 

the event was Gu inness Ita lia. 

Italo and Giovanna with Dervish 

The 400 branches of Koltus worldwide 

are a hallmark of the organisation's 

success. Branches thrive in such places 

as Ameri ca, Canada, Britain, Australia, 

Japan, Lu xembourg, New Zea land , 

Germany and Hungary. This cu ltural 

fraternity promotes a knowledge of 

Ireland, her status, aspirations and 

native traditions. They have exposed 

w hole communities to trad itions w hich 

might oth erwise have remained 

obscure. When one examines the 

development and ' progress of Koltus 

over the last 47 years, one realises the 

immense vision and tenacity of all those 

w ho shaped and guided the movement 

over time. It has paved the way for such 

groups as the Chieftains, De Danann 

and Clannad. One of its strengths is that 

it embraces people of all ages, religions 

and politics, creatin g harm ony in the 

pursuit of a common goal. Koltus helps 

to build bridges between communities, 

highlighting their common heritages 

rather th an their differences. Its 

reputation is of being a movement of the 

people and its doors are open to all 

those who support its aims and 

objectives. - Th e Informer

Bobby's on the Button 

Don Meade 

2 

he theater in Manhattan's Irish 

Arts Center was the venue for a 

rare New York conce rt 

performance by Irish button accordion 

great Bobby Gardiner. Gardiner, one of 

the most gifted botton box players in the 

histo ry of Irish music, played with trul y 

amazing technica l mastery on both a 

modern two-row accordion and an 

'antique-style one-row melodeon. His 

bouncy, fast-paced playing, peppered 

w ith his patented single-note triplet 

orn aments, is perfect for set dancing. So 

perfect, in fact, th at members of th e 

audience took to dancing in the aisl e at 

one point. 

A west Clare native who now lives in 

Tippera ry, Gardiner is one of few 

accordioni sts who can play w ith equal 

facility in the old 'press-and-draw' styl e 

derived from melodeon playing and the 

more modern 'BC' tuning scheme. Both 

styles have their strengths, and Gardiner 

knows how to bring out the best of both 

approaches. Throughout the show, in 

fact, he switched seamlessly between 

the two styles when playing his BC box. 

Thi s added variety to the music, but he 

also threw a few curveballs at hi s 

accompanist, Connecticut gu itarist Joe 

Heeran, who gamely tri ed to fo llow 

Gardiner through the challenging key 

changes. 

Some of the best selections were those 

that Gardiner played on the melodeon, a 

simple one-row button accordion that 

because of its great volume was once 

the favourite instrument for crossroads 

dances in rural Ireland . The switch to 

more modern two-row instruments after 

the 1940s introduced greater musical 

sophistication, but the rugged power 

and metallic timbre of the old melodeon 

sti II has grea t appeal for dance rs, 

especiall y in Connemara. 

At the Arts Center concert, Gardiner 

supplemented the accordion music w ith 

some highl y entertaining Iilting. Also 

known as 'gob music' or 'diddling,' 

lilting is the singing of nonsense 

sy llabl es ('diddlyeye', etc.) to make 

dance mus ic w ithout instrum ents. It 

seems simple enough, but there's rea l 

skill in carrying th e tune and va rying the 

syllab les. At one point, Gardiner tri ed to 

instruct the audience in the art w ith a . 

'diddling' singalong, w ith results that 

were more humorous th an mu sical. He 

finished th e night with more expert 

audience participation by ca lling 

Queens fidd ler Marie 

Reillyand 

her w histle-play ing dad 

Martin up to join him in som sp irited 

encores. 

Bobby Gardiner's most recent recording, 

The Clare Shout, is devoted entirely to 

lilting and melodeon playing. Ju st as in 

the old crossroads dances, there is no 

guitar or piano accompaniment, only 

the sound of dancing feet and some 

percu ssive backing from M el Mercier's 

bodhran. It's not in stores, but you can 

ord er it from Oss ian USA, 118 Beck 

Road, Loudon, New Hampshire 03301; 

(063) 783-4383; www.oss ianu sa.com

Che Churl of the Drab Coat 

CooiTnhghln 6 Brolch6in 

O'GradY, Standish, lames (1846- 

1928), is one of those names 

you fee l you should know more 

about, but divil if you ca n pin down the 

man behind it. He was one of those 

sc holars who were co ncerned w ith the 

rev ival of interest in Irish legend and 

development of a new national li terature 

earl y in the twentieth century, indeed the 

likes of Yeats and AE cons idered him to 

have been 'the father of the Iri sh 

Renaissance' . 

Born in Castletown Berehaven, County 

Cork, where his father, Viscount 

Gu illamore, was Ch urch of Ireland 

rector, he was edu cated at Tipperary 

Grammar School. After graduating from 

Trinity Co ll ege, Dublin, he practised law 

in the city before pursuing an interest in 

an cient Irish history and mythology 

which dominated the rest of his life . He 

published a two-vo lume History of 

Ireland between 1878 and 1880 w hich 

contained versions of mythological tales 

and the heroic cycle of Cuchulainn 

based fragmentary sou rces. He had the 

(to us so dreadfully familiar) stru ggle to 

convert the 'vigorous, pagan tone of the 

original tales to one of proper late 

Vi ctorian gentility' w hilst at the same 

time endeavouring to rema in fa ithful to 

the origi nal texts. 

Amongst many, many other va luable 

publications, he was responsible for the 

wonderful collection published in 1892 

and entitled Silva Gadelica. One of the 

tal es contained therein concerns the 

'Churl of the Drab Coat'. 

(Abbrev iated extract): 

On a day w hen Finn together wi th seven 

battalions of the regular Fianna together 

w ith reserves, were gathered on the Hill 

of Edgar, they threw an eye over the sea 

and beheld a roomy, ga llant ship 

approaching from th e eastward under 

press of sai l. She was fitted out for war 

and contention and they had not long to 

wait before a ta ll, impetuously va liant 

warrior who bore a wide-grooved, 

stra ight in the blade, sword on his left 

side, a handsome red shield on his 

shoulder and a hamlet on his head, set 

foot on the w hite strand . In his two fists 

he held a pair of thick-shafted spears 

and a becoming mantle of scarlet 

fastened with a brooch of burnt gold 

hung over his broad shou lders. 

The noble Finn courteously enquired his 

name and his cou ntry and the defiant 

reply he received was to the effect that 

he was the son of the king of Thessaly 

and was called 'Cael an larainn' . Since 

he had left his home long ago, he had 

visited many lands and of them he had 

not left one w hich he had not 

subjugated and now he intended to 

bring Erin under tribute of hi s sword and 

hand . Conan said, 'We have not seen or 

heard of a warrior but a man to turn him 

would be found in Erin', whereupon the 

stranger challenged Finn to put up a 

champion to contend with him in race 

or single fight. If Finn 's man should 

defeat 'Cae l an larainn' then he would 

depart to his own land w ithout inflicting 

further pa in or worr y. 

Finn answered civilly that the best runner 

they had, Caei lte mac Ronan was not at 

present at home, but if the stranger cared 

to make himself comfortable, he Finn, 

would immediately set off at his best 

speed to Tara of the Kings to fetch Caeilte 

mac Ronan. The stranger agreed and so 

Finn set off on hi s journey to Tara of the 

Kings where Caei lte was to be found . 

A Thick Boned Giant 

Finn started off on the road, but if he did 

it was not long before he entered a 

gloomy wood and aga in it was not long 

before he behe ld an ugly, ye llow 

complexioned, thick-boned giant of evi l 

aspect. O n him he had a drab coat down 

to the ca lves of his two legs, either of 

which was like the mast of some great 

ship as they carri ed the great fe llow's illassorted 

body. His huge, knobbed feet 

wore enormous brogues, each the size

J - Comhaltas Archive

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