~t:.lilt l=- '~li - Comhaltas Archive

TREOIRin Kiltyclogher circa 1939/40. Thedancing classes were held in theCourthouse and the music classes inthe National School.These classes were held weekly andwere well attended with greatenthusiasm abounding at the outset. Irecall a starting class of twenty-fiveaspiring fiddlers.John Gordonof Drumcully( 1928-2002)An Appreciation by Ben LennonIf you take the N 16 east from Sligoyou pass through one of the loveliestlandscapes to be found anywhere inIreland. Deep below you is Glencarlake where W B Yeats drewinspiration for his poem The StolenChild'. Above and around you aresteep mountains with Ben Bulben inthe distance. Soon you are inManorhamilton, Co Leitrim whereJames Mo rrison taught beforeemigrating to America. A further 8miles takes you to the picturesquevillage of Kiltyclogher, my home town.It was there I first heard John Gordonplay his fiddle.John was born in the townland ofDrumcully in South West Fermanagh,within a couple of miles ofKiltyclogher and a stone's throw fromLough Mac Nean the setting of CathalBuf Mac Giolla Gunna's famous poem'An Bunain Buf'.His father, John Eddie, was aFermanagh man and a noted fiddleplayer and his mother came from arenowned family of musicians namedMaguire in Glenfarne, Co Leitrim. Sheherself played fiddle and was anauthority on music.John or John Joe as he was calledlocally, showed promise at an earlyage having started playing the fiddle atthe age of six. Gifted, with a good earhe progressed quickly and won firstprize at a Feis in Enniskillen when hewas nine years old. His father diedwhen he was ten and so it was left tohis mother to steer him further alongin his musical career.Sean O 'Donohue, a dancing masterand music teacher from Ballyshannonin Co Donegal started weekly classesOne night a small woman dressed inblack, appeared at the classaccompanied by a young boy of twelve.Mr O 'Donohue invited them in. Shetold him the boy was anxious to learnto play by notation. The teacher thenasked the boy to play a tune and heobliged. The teacher was astoundedand said to his mother, 'there is nothingI can teach this boy, he is a genius', towhich his mother replied, 'well you seehe plays only by ear and he would loveto learn all about notation'. 'Very wellthen' said Mr O'Donohue, 'let him jointhe class'.From memory I think John came backfor about three of four lessons, buthad difficulty with the slower progressof the others in the class, he being soadvanced. He obviously felt it was awaste of time.As it turned out hedidn't need to read music, as his earwas so keen he could play in manykeys, fully in tune.My next memory is of one night inKiltyclogher, just after Christmas,when John played with the localmummers as they toured the town.Afterwards John took out his fiddleand played for some time. Localmusicians who quickly gatheredaround were astonished at this 14year old, especially with his renderingof Lord Gordon's Reel.It was wartime then and a lot ofrestrictions were imposed including aban on emigration. There were manyyoung people around and music wasplayed in the local houses. Johnbecame a regular visitor to our houseand would play for two or threehours, especially when my mother6