The Sweet NightingaleNew Series, no 6, April 2017

Saoithe Paddy Daly & Diarmuid Ó Cathasaigh

The splendid food at our Annual Dinner in The House was enjoyed by all, as were our Special Guests Maggie and Peter ‘The Racker’ Donnelly’. The Racker’s versification required no translation but deep digestion because he was prone to question all who paid the slightest attention to his every whim and verbal affectation. Leonard Cohen’s work was a prominent feature of a night of fine singing and music from Andy Burke – a man who has lost nothing of his sax appeal – and Graham Dunne, guitar.

Paddy Daly agus Diarmuid Ó Cathasaigh, Saoithe Ciorcal Ceol Bheann Éadair

The highlight of the night was, however, the inauguration of Paddy Daly and Diarmuid Ó Cathasaigh as Saoithe of the HSC. ‘Saoi’ is an ancient title of honour indicating ‘sage’ or ‘wise one’, an attribute respected and seen as resource for the clan. Walter Kennedy, speaking appropriately as gaeilge, recognised Diarmuid’s outstanding contribution, over many decades, to Irish language publishing and promotion; to traditional music, song and dance as performer, collector and researcher; to the Howth Peninsula Heritage Society and other community organisations; and, of course, to the HSC. Niamh Parsons presented him with a glass ornament marking his award and Diarmuid, remarkably, was speechless.

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Francy Devine reflected on the widespread affection in which Paddy Daly was held, a feeling based on his generosity of spirit and action in so many fields – Irish language, labour politics, progressive causes, trade unionism, assisting those in need at home and abroad, and traditional song and music. Paddy had recorded – visually and aurally – many occasions, his material finding home in the Irish Traditional Music Archive. Laurence Bond made the actual award to another recipient stuck for words.

Diarmuid and Paddy have attended the HSC since its first sessions and have contributed hugely to its success through their performances, organisation, enthusiasm and commitment. It is entirely appropriate that their contribution be acknowledged and it proved a popular gesture among those attending the dinner.

Howth-Sutton-Baldoyle 1916 Commemoration

The Howth Singing Circle was honoured to perform at the two musical events organised by the Howth-Sutton-Baldoyle 1916 Commemoration Committee. On the second occasion in November, Pearse’s ‘Oró Mo Bháidín’ and ‘Óró Sé Do Bheatha Abhaile’ were led by Walter Kennedy and Stiofán Ó hAoláin; Ann Riordan read Maebh Cavanagh’s ‘The Call to Arms’ and ‘Straining at the Leash’, and Brian Doyle read Eva Gore Booth’s ‘Comrades’ and W.B. Yeats’ ‘Three Songs to One Burden’ for Seán Connolly, ICA man and Abbey actor. Tom Finn sang ‘The Foggy Dew’ and Niamh Parsons ‘The Dying Rebel’. Helen Lahert, Brenda Ní Ríordáin, Diarmuid Ó Cathasaigh, Manus O’Riordan, and Finola Young added their voices to the chorale and ‘My Old Howth Gun’. The programme finished with St Lawrence Howth Pipe Band Pipe Major Noel Kelly playing ‘The Blackbird’ as part of his accompaniment of Francy Devine’s ‘Where O Where Is Our James Connolly?’ before piping us off the stage. Those months of rehearsals certainly paid off!

Christmas Night

Our Christmas night concluded with Mick Fowler leading us in his carol ‘All Hail! All Hail’ which we have adopted as the Club’s carol. A lively occasion, Mary McCarthy read Longfellow’s ‘Christmas Bells’ and Ann Riordan Patrick Kavanagh’s ‘Advent’. Helen Lahert joined Woody Guthrie and the copper miners for their ill-fated ball; Laurence Bond went a –wassailing; Irene Bagnel wondered who was keeping her true love tonight; and Rosa Corcoran sang of ‘Sweet Dooley Gate’ from her home town of Drogheda. Stiofán Ó hAoláin wondered what happened to the Pecker Dunne; Gerry O’Connor finally bade farewell to Genoa; Tom Finn found midwinter decidedly bleak; and Kieran Wade sang of Yellow Knife and the midnight sun. There were plenty of carols and a raffle with some prizes folk were pleased to take home. Our Three Song spot was Siobhán Moore who sang of 1842, Bull Moore’s ‘Mermaid’ and in honour of Leonard Cohen ‘Alexandra Leaving’. Led by Máire N í Chróinín – who stuffed a few turkeys with gusto [makes a change from sage and onion – Ed] – and Fergus Russell, it was a great way to conclude the year, albeit with the sadness of Willie O’Connor’s departure so raw.

A Watery New Year!

Drogheda’s Irene Bagnell led a most enjoyable start to the New Year’s singing on the theme of ‘Songs of the Sea’ and how the singers held to the theme! Over thirty songs were sung or poems recited and nearly all were, to say the least, damp! John McGee confessed to falling in love with a tall ship; Úna Kane was hard to hear as she was ‘Far Away’; Diarmuid Ó Cathasaigh recalled ‘The Wreck of the Gwendoline’; Mairidhe Woods invited us all to Yarmouth town; Philip O’Connor gave thanks ‘We’re Surrounded by Water’; Laurence Bond sang the praises of the ‘Anti-Gallican Privateer’; Brian Doyle drifted dreamily past Mingalay; Eddie Phillips regretted being ‘Away From the Roll of the

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Sea’ while his shipmate Walter Kennedy went sailing to the ‘Lowlands, Low’; and Siobhán Moore sang sandy Denny’s ‘The Sea’. Nollaig na mBan was remembered in Tony McGaley’s humorous composition on the theme and Ann Riordan recited a moving piece about the ‘Last neolithic farm woman of the Céide Fields’. A highlight of the night were the performances from Liam Ó Droma’s two Moldovan friends, Viktor and Ilena. Victor’s Christmas song from Odessa, Georgie, came complete with backing track on his Iphone – now that might start a trend! As he sang, Ilena got folk up to dance and the smiles spread around the room. Irene conducted a pleasant night and sang ‘Bould Reilly’ to conclude proceedings.

Burns Nicht 2017

It is said every year but this year it was said more widely and repeatedly: it was the best ever. Our main guests – Siobhán Miller, Euan Burton and Aaron Jones – certainly captivated the audience with their stage presence, song selection and humour. Siobhán, in particular, stole hearts and received terrific attention throughout. Our ‘resident band' - John Kelly (fiddle), Larry Egan (box) and Mick Mullen (guitar) – were also well received and provoked more folk to take to the floor than is usual.

Colm Keating’s wonderful photograph of Siobhán Miller captures the spirit and fun of Burns Nicht 2017

The night started with three who travel from England – John Bentham (Loughborough), Dave McCracken (Tarset, Northumbria) and Corinne Male (Ibstock, Leicestershire) and they set the bar high. Irene Bagnel (Drogheda) with ‘Live Not Where I Live’, our own Gerry O’Connor with ‘Isle o Hirta’ and Kathy Hobkirk (Hawick) followed by which time there was a strong sense of a special night unfolding. Next, four performed Scots pieces Tony Fitzpatrick, ‘The Band o Shearers’; Brian Doyle, ‘The Silver Tassie’; Mick Fowler, ‘Robert Burns & His Highland Mary’; and Niamh Parsons & Graham Dunne, ‘The Slave’s Lament’. Morag Dunbar energetically and very theatrically addresses the haggis piped in by the St Lawrence Howth Pipe Band. After the break, Pipe Major Noel Kelly accompanied Francy Devine with a version of Patrick Galvin’s ‘Where O Where is Our James Connolly?’ which generated terrific audience involvement. The Band, as ever, were thrilling.

The night recognised the role of Cumann na mBan with Sheila Bentham reciting Winifred Letts’ ‘The Connaught Rangers’ and Ann Riordan delivering Alice Milligan’s ‘The Home Coming’. Márie Ní Chróinín sang Brian O’Higgins’s ‘The Soldiers of Cumann na mBan’ and Éibhlís Ní Riordáin gave a

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spirited performance of Philip O’Neill’s [Sliabh Rua] ‘The Cumann na mBan’ that had the crowd cheering wildly. Finally, Ireland’s Professor of Poetry Paula Meehan read her own ‘Them Ducks Died for Ireland’ to conclude a high-quality section of the night. The night finished with Siobhán and her band enthralling and taking the mood from light-hearted to sombre, wistful to slapstick – yes you all remember ‘Cholesterol’! The night concluded with Siobhán and Francy singing ‘An Sae Will We Yet’, Fergus Russell leading the thunderous charge of ‘The Bonnie Light Horseman’; Siobhán linking the room in ‘Auld Lang Syne’ and ‘The Parting Glass’.

Sunday’s Fare Thee Weel session was ably managed by Janet Weatherson and Gerry O’Connor with kazoos a-plenty. Colm Keating’s pictorial review of the 2016 Nicht was a highlight of the brochure.

Kathy

Kathy Hobkirk and Janet Weatherston attempting to dishonour a defenceless Dave McCracken and Chris Boland on sound , an unsung worker of the Burns Nicht

Many are involved in organising the Burns Nicht and their hard work certainly paid dividends in 2017. We are open to constructive criticism, however, and anyone with suggestsons for ways of improving the night – 2018 will be its tenth year in the Abbey Tavern – please let us know.

Thank you again to everyone for your support.

Muhammad al-Hussaini

February HSC’s witnessed many guests, Kristin Borgehed from Sweden sang and ‘diddled’ [what we would know as lilting] and Joseph Devine, Francy’s nephew, and his Palestinian friends – particularly Qais – gave an inspired rendition of William Blake’s Jerusalem with an ironic Arabic translation. Many in a large crowd sang as gaeilge as did Fear an Tí Stiofán Ó hAoláin’s main guest Sheikh Imam Muhammad al-Hussaini, a Londoner of Iraqi origin who sang beautiful seán-nós. Doctor Johnson when observing a dog walking on its hind legs famously said, ‘What is remarkable is not that he does it badly but that he does it all!’ Well, Muhamad sings beautifully, impressing all with his intonation, timing and diction. Among the songs he sang were ‘Sliabh Geal gCua na Féile’, ‘Casadh an tSúgáin’ and ‘Caoineadh ma dTrí Mhuire’, Conamara echoing through them. In English, he sang ‘Easter Snows’, a piece ever associated with Séamus Ennis’ and ‘The Green Fields of Canada’. There was a sense of occasion about the evening and Muhammad was embraced by the crowd for his quality singing.

The following morning, Muhammad and Kristin were recorded by the Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA). Our thanks to Rónán Galvin for arranging this and to Brian Doyle and his young interns for patiently recording songs, stories and explanations. On Saturday, Muhammad and Kristin travelled

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down to Cork for the Comórtas Bonn Óirr Seán Ó Riada, this year won by Éanna Ó Cróinín (píob) and Úna Ní Fhlannagáin (cruit) – www.rte.ie/rnag/articles/sceala/2017/0206/850500-bonn-oir-sean-o-riada-bronnta-ar-eanna-o-croinin-agus-una-ni-fhla/

Muhammad al-Hussaini agus Stiofán Ó hAoláin and Ann Riordan, Muhammad, John Kelly and Kristin Borgehed at the Seán Ó Riada statue in Cúil Aodha

On the Sunday morning, Muhammad and Kristin attended Mass in Seipal Ghobnatan, Cúil Aodha where Peadar Ó Riada and Cór Chúil Aodha sang. After the service, Muhammad was asked to perform and the congregation to remain if they wished to listen. No one left early and, after discussion with Peadar, Muhammad delivered the ‘Surat Quraysh’ from Quran 106, an appropriate religious piece and one that, in its incantation, demonstrated the similarities between its rhythmic and tonal forms and seán-nós. Those present had a sense of history.

Joseph Devine, Hamza and Qais render Blake’s Jerusalam in English and Arabic, a magic momemnt

March of Many Weathers

Brian Doyle and Eddie Phillips battled the elements in March as ‘many weathers and many songs’ stormed around the Abbey. A relatively small gathering meant that most got two songs and Gerry

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O’Connor ‘Three in a Row’ – ‘Past Caring’, ‘Isles of Hirta’ and ‘Shining Down on Sennen’. Gerry sang beautifully. Aidan and Joyce O’Hara brought a whiff of prairie and new found lands on the night with ‘The Poor Little Girls of Ontario’ and ‘The Pink, The Lily & The Blooming Rose’. Laurence Bond delivered two powerful songs – ‘Freeborn Man’ to acknowledge the granting of ethnic status to our Traveller community and ‘The Ludlow Massacre’, two thoughtful highlights on the night. Eddie Phillips can’t stay off the booze; Úna Kane wandered from ‘Galway bay’ to the Zuider Zee; Tom Finn searched for ‘Lovers & Friends’; Mairidhe Woods bathed in the ‘Lakes of Ponchartrain’; and Robert Kelly sang of whales and wistful times he has spent, somewhat hopefully, in cafés!

Dublin Bay Prawn Festival

We owe a big thank you to those who travelled distances on a bad day of rain, delayed DARTs, traffic jams and over-crowding to sing shanties at the Dublin Bay Prawn Festival on Saturday, 18 March. We were unfortunately confined below decks to the Community Tent which was a shame for those who sang so lustily to the enjoyment of the local stall holders and others who were present. Surely, the performances deserved a bigger audience of the main stage and would have added to the maritime atmosphere the Festival aims at?

Captain Seán Dunne and his Cabin Boy Diarmaid Ó Cathasaigh with Tom Finn leading the press-ganged crew of Tony Fitzpatrick, Walter Kennedy, Brian Dunne, Máire Ní Chróinín, (an obscured) Tony McGaley, Eddie Phillips, (another obscured

hand) Gerry O’Connor, Fergus Russell, Mick Dunne and Helen Lahert

Those who crewed the HSC ship were Paddy Daly, Brian Doyle, Mick Dunne, Tom Finn, Tony Fitzpatrick, Walter Kennedy, Helen Lahert, Tony McGaley, Máire Ní Chróinín. Diarmuid Ó Cathasaigh, Ann Riordan, and Fergus Russell. Star of the show was Seán Dunne, Mick’s son and bodhrán wizard – it was a great boost to see him up on deck with the oldies. Thank you, Seán.

‘Mere Carriers of the Precious Urn’Mick Fowler’s Seven Influences – Phil Callery’s Challenge

This selection is a follow on to Francy Devine’s article in a previous Sweet Nightingale which was ‘a response to Phil Callery’s request to accept the ‘Seven Singer Challenge’ by referring to a selection of one’s influential singers ‘throughout your life, with some interesting stories on how they came your way’. At the end of which he invited others to share their influences and stories as above. My selection will not just list individuals, as in thinking on the subject matter in hand, I found it

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necessary to group some choices under a particular area. For example in referring to Corny McDaid, one has to include several other singers from the Inishowen Peninsula, who were of equal influence in one’s experience of meeting them and learning songs common to the area. So the heading in that instance will simply be the area in question, rather than one singer in particular.

Now for the choices! These of course may not be in an order of preference, as they just came to hand on a rough list, and were subsequently expanded within each. Note that I will list the songs from an individual at the end of each piece.

1. Cathal McConnellHaving said that, firstly I must refer to Cathal McConnell, as I have more songs from his singing than anybody else. An early learning experience (in traditional song) came from the first few LPs of the Boys of the Lough, in the early 1970s. Cathal was featured on these, but they were mainly instrumental, with only two songs on either side of the LP, as was the custom in those days. Nevertheless, four were learned quickly – ‘Shores of Lough Bran’, ‘Rambling Irishman’, ‘The Flower of Magherallyo’ and ‘Farewell Lovely Nancy’. These were some of the first sung when starting in the Góilín Singers’ Club, in 1984. Cathal is a renowned Flute player and Singer, from Bellinaleck, Fermanagh. He has been a member of the above group for thirty-eight years now, an original member of the group, and an original in every sense of the word! He is a great character; I have met him on a number of occasions over the years. From a lifetime touring professionally, mainly in the US, he is now seen more frequently in Ireland and teaches at the Willie Clancy Summer School. He resides in Edinburgh.

Songs : The above four plus- ‘I Drew my Ship into a Harbour’, ‘The Bloomin’ Bright Star of Belle Isle’, ‘The Wind

That Shakes the Barley’, ‘Long Expectant Comes at Last’, ‘There’s the Day’, ‘A Last Farewell to Stirling-o’, ‘The West of Ireland’, and many more too numerous to mention.

Mick Fowler with Gerry Cullen and in typical signing pose – Colm Keating’s photos from the ITMA – see http://www.itma.ie/goilin/singer/fowler_mick

2. David Hammond Songs listed are all from the LP The Singer’s House (regrettably never released on CD). Séamus Heaney provided wonderful sleeve notes and a poem of the LP Title, with the closing verse ‘When I came here first you were always singing / a hint of the clip of the pick / in your winnowing climb and attack. / Raise it again, man. We still believe what we hear(!)’. I have always loved to sing’ My Aunt Jane/ Fair Rosa’ (paired as they are on the LP) which Góilíners seemed to enjoy over the years. David Hammond had a lovely, clipped, Belfast accent in his singing; he also collected numerous songs around the North of Ireland. I also have got ‘The Hills above Drumquin’, which he sang on Arty

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McGlynn’s solo LP. All of these from him are truly beautiful songs, with great variety to boot. I learned them from the Boys of the Lough LPs/Cassettes and CDs. Cathal only recently recorded a solo CD – named appropriately – Long Expectant Comes at Last!

Songs:- ‘The Bonnie Earl of Moray’, ‘The Cruel Mother’, ‘The Giant’s Causeway Tram’, ‘Fan-a-Winnow/Green Gravel/Wee Falorie Man’, and ‘The Granemore Hare’.

3. Inishowen Inishowen just has to be here! Corny McDaid, Maggie Magee, Jimmy Houghton, Denis McDaid, Jimmy Grant; all these have sadly passed away, and all had huge repertoires, of mainly long ballads. And I nearly forgot him-Paddy Doherty still there and still singing! One considers oneself very lucky to have met them and shared so many sessions in the late 80s and early 90s. At the sessions in Buncrana, Jimmy Grant would be there first in his immaculate suit and cane; during the session if pleased with a song, he would exclaim ‘Good Singin’! There was great craic over the years with Jim McBride who single handedly gathered all together for a number of years and founded the Inishowen Singers Circle. Jim organised a visit I requested to meet Corny (McDaid) in his house one afternoon; those present were Jim McBride, Packie Manus Byrnes, John Waltham (Dorset) and I. I had a tape machine at the ready, but Corny started discussing the making of Poitin with John Waltham- an excellent singer, cereal farmer and expert on making triple vintage cider. Eventually Corny started up, and sang five songs about drink; but Corny did not take a drop himself! He sang a nice comic song that day, which my father had.

Songs:- ‘As I Roved Out (Corny), ‘The Bonny Green Tree’ (Maggie Magee), ‘Shamrock Shore’ (Denis McDaid), ‘A Lady in Her Father’s Garden’ (Jimmy Houghton) and many more.

4. Eddie ButcherThe late Eddie Butcher from Magilligan, in County Derry is one of the most influential singers in the Northern tradition. My favourite song of all is ‘Alexander’ which came from him. While attending the Singers’ Workshop in the Willie Clancy Summer School (hereafter referred to as WCSS) Hugh Shields, who had extensively collected about 200 songs in the North Derry area, mostly from Eddie, was asked to sing after giving a talk; he then sang the above and so I got it- recorded from ‘the man who got it from the source’. The story of Hugh Shields’ collecting of Alexander is interesting. Eddie was brought down to Dublin to be recorded, and was taken on a drive to Glenmalure. When he saw that long, lonely valley he came out with the glorious eighth verse- ‘I will travel to Mount Hareb where Noah’s Ark does stand, / And then unto Mount Albereen, where Moses viewed the land’. They went back to Hugh’s house and recorded the whole song. When I sang it at the Paddy O’Brien Week in Nenagh, some years ago, Phil Brennan asked me where it was from. I said it was ‘from Eddie Butcher, who gave us ‘Adam in Paradise’, ‘Alexander’, and ‘As I Roved Out’’ and. realising what I had just said, followed with ‘And that’s just the ‘A’s!’

5. Clare Clare evokes Nora Clery/Tom Lenihan/Ollie Conway/ Peggy McMahon. For many years, I went down to ‘Mecca’, as the Willie Clancy Summer School was described as once. There I enjoyed the Singers’ Workshop in the early years, there wasn’t much instruction, just great talks two lecturers an hour each, and then a guest singer would come in and talk and sing about their traditional roots, and sing some songs. There I heard Tom Lenihan for the first time, a man of noble bearing, and a font of knowledge, and folklore, and songs second to none. A beautiful young blond teenager came in one year, and blew everybody away – yes, Mairéad Ní Mhaonigh was one of the singers. In recent years Brain Mullen from Derry would talk on the Northern tradition, and then Joseph Lee from UCD gives the talks on the Connemara Seán-nós tradition. In the evenings, after a feast of brilliant music in various pubs throughout Miltown Malbay, and singing sessions in a packed Marrinan’s from midday,

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all day we would go out to Carthy’s of Coor – with Nora Clery and Peggy McMahon – John Waltham , Terry Timmons, Big Jim Donoghue, and myself during the WCSS. Tom Munnelly greatly influenced me in seeking out long Child ballads, which have a strong influence on singers in Clare.

It is important to mention the Ennistymon Singing Festival here (sadly it is no longer with us). There were wonderful sessions in the tiny O’Haren’s pub, which would start around midday, and just go on till it reached a crescendo. The list of singers was a ‘who’s who’ of the best- for instance one Saturday afternoon Rosie Stewart, Róisín White and Eithne Ni Uallachain blasted out one after another, after another, till people reeled out exhausted! (Nick Ó Murchú has a recording of that electric afternoon- probably about 2001). I composed a song –‘Free the Renault 5’ – referring to an incident on an Ennistymon weekend, where a car fell into the river, and was rescued by a gang of singers on the Monday morning after breakfast!

6. Mullaghbawn/ForkhillArmagh sessions evoke Micil Ned (Mick) Quinn/Gerry O’Hanlon/Patricia Flynn/Brigid Murphy/John Kennedy/Maggie Murphy. Like Ennistymon, the Slieve Gullion Singing Weekend is no longer with us, but what memories we have from both! (‘And by memories lifetimes are measured’ from ‘Lovers and Friends’ by Seán Mone). Mick Quinn, Gerry OHanlon and Patricia Flynn organised the weekend and a gang of us would head up the first weekend of October.

So to briefly recall some stories from many that came out of these weekends, I will focus on just two. Firstly, Maggie Murphy, a remarkable woman: I heard her on an LP, a classic recording from the 1970s, of various Child ballads recorded by Peter Kennedy, and she was there named as ‘Maggie and Sarah Chambers’, two young sisters, singing a great version of ‘The Jolly Beggerman’, and I had the song from then. Many, many years later up in Mullaghbawn I heard this old woman in an Aran jumper starting up and I cocked my ear in disbelief – could this Maggie Murphy be the same woman? Indeed it was and a year or so later I got talking to her quietly and she told me a remarkable story. She had worked as a ‘Servant Girl’ (one of her songs!) on a farm when quite young; the treatment was primitive; she had to share a shed outside with the pigs where she slept, once a week ‘you got a proper meal of a Sunday’. She would not be paid for five and a half months; six months was the normal ‘hiring’ period, and one was entitled to leave after the five months – no time off till then. ‘It was very hard, very harsh’ Maggie said quietly. But she was still full of gusto and lively after such a harsh life.

Over many years, I had long friendships with Micil Ned Quinn, Gerry O’Hanlon and Patricia Flynn; of course Gerry and Mick are sadly no longer with us, and it is still a pleasure to meet Patricia and Jim Flynn occasionally. I am happy to have learned ‘Jamie Foyers’ at last this year, primarily in memory of Gerry O’Hanlon who used to sing it – in fact it was the only one I heard him sing, as he spent so much time looking after us when we came up!

On a Sunday morning after ‘the night before’, I looked out from the upstairs corridor – Gerry’s house was an old converted RUC barracks – at the glorious rolling green countryside of hillocks leading up to Slieve Gullion and said to Willie Collins – an old man over from Glasgow and a fine singer – that it was a ‘Patchwork Quilt’. Lovely memories, wonderful people.

7. Frank HarteLots of us have memories of him, and of course the Frank Harte Festival continues his legacy. I remember first hearing him live in the Four Seasons pub of a Sunday; there were other sessions in the Stag’s Head on Sundays also, usually a lunchtime session. On a personal note, I recorded him singing in 1987, out in the GAA club in Mullaghbawn on the Sunday of my first visit to the the Slieve Gullion Weekend. The song was ‘The Silvery Tide’. About tenyears later in Corbett’s at Christchurch,

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during a lull in the singing I asked ‘Frank, will you sing ‘The Silvery Tide’?’ Quick as a flash Frank said, ‘Would you not sing it yourself, Mick?’ I was mortified, not having learnt it in all that time. Happily that has been rectified, and it was sung at the FHF in 2014!

Another pleasant memory to recall is of going into Claddagh records to buy the LP Daylight and a Candle End and who came in but Frank himself. As I had just bought it, he happily offered to sign it thus ‘To my very first customer and fellow singer- Frank Harte’. He subsequently referred to that at other signings!!Song: ‘Sarah Jane’, ‘Kerryman’s Rambles’, ‘Maid from Cabra West’, ‘Silvery Tide’ and many, many more going right back to his Dublin Street Songs LPs.

Well, well, ‘Seven Influences’ completed!. And what of Drogheda and Enniskillen, with Mary Ann Carolan (‘Bold Doherty’) and Gabriel McArdle (‘Pat Reilly’) and Sarah Anne O’Neill (‘Reilly the Fisherman’) etc.,etc. And the great Pa Cassidy and ‘John Barber’ – another story, for another day. And Don’t get me started on The Press Gang and The Voice Squad!! Unfortunately it has to stop there. In conclusion, I can only refer to the above title – we are ‘merely carriers of the Precious Urn’ as in the court of the Pharoahs, carrying the precious metal of the treasury of songs still extant in the great Traditional canon.

Mick Fowler November-January, 2016/2017

John Bentham presents HSC stalwart Eddie Phillips with his Fare Thee Weel Session prize and a packed room listen intently to Siobhán Miller, Euan Burton and Aaron Jones

Kathleen MacInnes, Paul Anderson, South Uist & Lochnagar

Francy Devine follows with the second response to Phil Callery’s ‘Seven Song Challenge’

I have long loved singing in Gaidhlìg, especially women’s voices. As I write this, Dolina MacLennan, Maighread Stiùbhart, Christine Primrose, Julie Fowlis and Karen Matheson all come into my head. Mind, I heard James Graham at a festival in Cullerlie, Aberdeenshire, and enjoyed his clean, pure style. It is predominantly the female voice that really appeals though. Perhaps the cadence of Gaidhlìg – and it is generally a beautiful sounding language – when sung by women is enhanced, I’m not sure. But, to listen to my third selection to answer Phil Callery’s challenge, I have to be in a seated position as the first things to go when I hear Kathleen Mac Innes’s voice are the knees. To my surprise, she started as actress and presenter – well in textiles and design if you want to be picky – before becoming known for her singing. She told me that one of her first appearances as singer was in 2000 at the Dublin Theatre Festival in a production of The Well. It was not long, however, before

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her unique voice won great and wide acclaim. I first encountered Kathleen MacInnes on programmes on BBC Alba, radio and snatches from Celtic Connections. My first hearing of her first CD - Òg-Mhadainn Shamhraidh – was memorable, an experience worth relating.

I spent a great day at Aboyne Highland Games, finishing with some songs and tunes in the Aberdeen Arms, Tarland, Paul Anderson the fiddler player’s local. It had been a long day: the re-establishment of the Fiddle Championship of which Paul was rightly proud; numerous Pipe Bands and a compelling pibroch competition; the huge International Gordon Highlanders Band that made formations and produced some stunning, proper Highland dancing; heavyweight contests of caber and weights; athletics; taut, tense and tortuous Tugs-o-War; and much more [I draw a discrete veil over the Scottish dancing, especially watching men dressed as leprechauns doing the ‘Oirish Jig’ [shudder]]. There was an atmosphere of neighbour and friend, upland farmer and woodsman, cousins and cousins umpteen times removed, herdsmen and shepherds, ploughmen and parlour maid, a sense of tradition and past, a timelessness that made the six hours or so we were among marquees and arenas, stalls and stands, flash by. Only when getting back to Paul and Shona’s house in Easttown did the tiredness hit. Their house sat on the rim of the Howe o Cromar, fields of heifer and peewit, curlew and ram, falling gently away to the lush, watery meadows that are the base of the Howe.

After a nightcap, Paul suggested a wee stroll to clear the head before sleep. We stepped out – accompanied by wee Dougal, his sagacious Border Terrier – to be blinded by the dark. The day’s intermittent rains had cleared and the night’s cool brought a freshness to our nostrils, a hint of honeysuckle, wild mint. Adjusting to the dark, the Howe’s hilly rim emerged, occasional cat’s eye echoes of cattle or sheep flashed when struck by the cottage’s long lights. In a pine stand, crossbills twittered a constant reassurance and a fox slid from visibility. Through the farmyard, cattle moved restlessly in the byre, the heat of their bodies striking our senses. Paul led me to the top of the botharín up to his house and asked that I stare out into the pitch without telling me for why. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, some unknown artist began to use moonlight to chalk the far majesty of Lochnagar, way down Strathdee, a moment that this poems attempts to recall.

Gazing at Lochnagar

for Hector & Roderick Anderson

Glimpsed atween pine stand and iron byre,residual snows chalk charcoal Lochnagar,otherwise invisible in the wee hours pitch.A blue hare melted into shadow, momentarily heldin the track, mesmerised by melodic fiddle tune,will-o’-the-wisp feathering across late summerhowe, seeking a cure for fretful insomnia.

As the music faded on a soporific breeze,rowan and juniper crept out from the night,a new calf’s hungry moan rolled up from Durnach,and an oystercatcher’s piping alarm betrayed opportunist fox slithering through the darkness.We stood, scenting early ling, bright vanilla whin,

watching the mountain come and go.

We had an intense, silent conversation –music and weans, blackcock and weasel,Scotland and Ireland, the moment’s significance,pure and binding, a joyous gift to be savoured.Turning back to the house, we could not resista last respect to the mountain and I asked for ‘Niel Gow’s Lament For the Death of His Second Wife’.

Through shut eyes, I saw everything: your bowingstyle, determined stance and powerful, gentle strength.The black void paid its respects with a deep silence,roosting crossbills ceasing their reassuring twitter,Lochnagar disappearing to avoid any unnecessarydistraction, anything that would take from the tune.

We walked without talk back to the house. ‘Afore ye gae awa’, said Paul, ‘there’s som’at I’ll like ye tae hear’. With no great desire for anything other than my bed, I sat as he went to his player. The first item was a rough from his then forthcoming CD Home & Beauty. It was the late Jim Reid singing ‘By the Mountain Stream Where the Moorcocks Crow’, a re-mastered live recording made by Jim, Paul and others some years before in the Midleton Whiskey Centre and included on the CD in Jim’s memory. It was a moving, gentle arrangement, Jim’s watery voice giving masterly interpretation.

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When I played it to the Pipebag Maker Jackie Boyce driving across the bog behind his house – we were vainly attempting to hear his local corncrakes – he stopped the car, turned off the engine and sat with his eyes closed. Perfection. And so it was, Jim Reid’s voice superb.

‘There’s ain mair, Francy’, said Paul when I re-opened my own eyes. I did not want ‘ony mair’, I wanted to retain the echo of Jim Reid. Next, however, came Kathleen MacInnes singing ‘Ceud Fàilt’ air Gach Gleann’ from Òg-Mhadainn Shamhraidh. I was spellbound, stunned by the sheer class and beauty of the performance, the sensitivity and strength, the angst and affection, the knowing and the known. A day that had been perfect had, somehow, gone beyond perfection. It remains a favourite song, her catch and rise at the end of lines something that takes my heart each time. I am swirling with thoughts of father and grandmother, islands and Glasgow, sea-storm and breaker, machair and moor, tradition and essential humanity. This song and this voice are a connection back to something primitive, not in any simple sense, but in the most complex sense of that which is being lost, tossed away, unvalued. This time, when I opened the eyes, Paul was looking across the room, a smile of a man who knew he had given a gift so precious that it would be treasured. Indeed and it was, a jewel in life’s mundane seam. Thank you, Paul, and, of course, thank you, Kathleen.

There was nothing for it but to get Kathleen to Howth and she has appeared at our Burns Nicht – with fellow South Uist singer Sineag MacIntyre and harpist Laoise Kelly. Hearing her live matched expectations and her second CD, Cille Bhrìde, has added to her reputation. Like meeting Darach, however, that early morning in a dawn-break Cromar will long live in the memory for Paul, Jim and Kathleen singing ‘Ceud Fàilt’ air Gach Gleann’. Here it is to enjoy – though, be advised – take a wee seat first!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPlhmYLxMFU

Fiddle Bus Fower & Young Singer in Residence 2

Over thirty will be travelling to Ballater on Deeside from 21-23 April next to participate in Fiddle Bus Fower – we’ll bring you a report in the next Sweeet Nightingale. We also hope to bring you news of the appointment of our second Young Singer in Residence, an exciting new development.

Programme until September

Thursday, 6 April – From the Land of the Maple Leaf: Songs pf Canada with Kieran Wade

Saturday 8 April – Sutton Methodist Church Singathon for St Francis Hospice

Friday-Sunday, 21-23 April – Fiddle Bus Fower, Deeside, Scotland Thursday 4 May – Mna an Tí, Caoimhe Hogarty & Aoife Dermody

Thursday, 1 June – Niamh Parsons to lead an ‘Old Howth night’

Saaturday, 16 July - Singing the Fishing with Fergus Russell & Mick Dun

Thursday, 1 September – Tom Finn and Comic Songs

Thank You

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We thank those who have contributed to this edition of the Sweet Nightingale – Mick Fowler and Colm Keating. As ever, we acknowledge the HSC Committee for their efforts on all our behalfs: Laurence Bond, Paddy Daly, Brain Doyle, Diarmuid Ó Cathasaigh, Gerry O’Connor, Stiofán Ó hAoláin, Niamh Parsons, Ann Riordan and Fergus Russell.

We welcome reviews, comments, photographs – please forward anything to us for consideration in future editions.

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