Sc"" h (;, Chwnann Cheol Tt re h reann

Newsletter of ~he Folk Musi c Society of Ira l and

Sarnhain November

o , , s , , s FO r aome documentary and r "necUv" notes on the

fire t ten y "" I' S of t he life of the Soci ety, s ee pp. '2 & 19

'1/ " t r 0 S P e c t'

Recent nleetlnga: ''I'he Irish wllrPiP" e '

20

Page '2

6 ' F"s tivlll of tra ditiona l singin g' 'Songs from Irish islands'

Portrus h 8

Annu" l General JlJeetingl Songs from Tom Lenill .. n

9 II

" More on islands : ' The g r s.rno phone in Aran 1917' 11 '/Il~ire Bhruinne"ll' a Tory frllglnent 12 'Singi ng in IIl1tblin 1837' 13 • The dewy dens of Yarrow': Clare 19I&nd 15

Baill a g Bao t hru, Recent publica tion" by member.. 16

" • o }' . vol . 5 no '2

'lIel1g io\J8 f olk eong: .. seminar'

Mee tings and confe rence s . Droghede and Durham

Fol k muBie on c88sette, '2

Re vival Or survival: a ten-year record

Sube cription r ates

,tlO't meetin,9: "WELSH F 0 L K M U SIC"

A lecture "itb sound recordings fro:>m t raditional sources, by

W. R 0 Y S a e r, of tbe Welsh Folk .IIuseum, Csrd1ff

11

" " 19

19

"

Roy Seer has worked profesaionally in .... ny brllnches of folk 11fe studi"". His eepecial interest in music is evident in bis publi­cations, whicb inolude " collection of' 'Songs from Oral Tradi­ti on ' and articles on carol singing He 1s "" experienced and cri tiCal guide to an are" of Celtic " rai art unfll.ll'.1liar in Ire­land

Sat urday I ~ No:>v ember i t 8 p . .. , " I., HenneUa St , Dublin 1

, 'Re troePect '

R E T B 0 S P BeT

The Folk Music Soeiety b., just completed 1t8 tenth full

year of eriatence . IIlId w, Ollll look back on a fine lIucc8al!ion

of interesting m,etings, punctually held on tile date. appoint.­

ed ( .. ith 0118 I;,:ception .. bieb 5Ba.n Coreoran 8epeci&11y '11'111 re­

member). in a variety of venU88 lDOetly 11'1 Dublin, w1th e di­

versity of Participants often in numbers few but never 11'1

diecuBlion dilatory . To remind our lon~tBrm members, inform

our recent 01'188 , and document our early hietary before 1t be­

camel blurred, _, give a 11et of tbe ~eetlng8 held during

thoee ten years.

191~1

Initi.l dlscul810n end appointment of a provisional co~ltt'8

( 1) JW18)

Consideration of B draft constitution (7 Nov.)

Formal inauguration - SIGil'se Bodley: 'Thl Irish harp' (24 Apr.)

Annual General Meeting and o!cbe Cbeoil (19 June)

191 1- 2

Se~ 6 Baoi 111 'Al;lhr~in Tbir Cbonaill' (23 Oet . )

Alf Mac I..ochlainnl 'The broadeide tradit1on' (20 Nov.)

Caitl!n ut hgeartaighl 'The Joyce collection' (18 Dec . )

ProlnSiae /it Dborcba{ 1 ' Ambraln an Achraldb' (29 Jan . )

Breand~n Breathnacb l 'The inetru;aental tradition' (76 Feb.)

Otche Mhor Cheoil (13 Apr. )

A. G, ~. , and O{cbe Cbeoll (20 Way)

1977-3

D. K. Wilgusl 'Rose ConnollY : an Iriob ballad' (73 Sept.)

ProineiaS 6 Conlualn: 'A two-way traffiol lIome lIongll tbat

croaoed tbe language barrier between Irieb and Engliob'

(2B Oct . )

'Dusty bluebello' TV film of Belfallt ehildren's aonge and

C e 0 1 T ! r e 3

games, by David Hammond (25 Nov . )

James Porterl ' P!bbai r eacbd, the Scot tieh Highland pipe tradition

of tbe ceol mor ' (27 Jan . )

John Blaclting : 'Tbeory and methods in ethnomusicolcgical re-

searcb' (24 Feb.)

Breandan Breat!mscbl ' Local styles in dance mudc ' (31 Ifarcb)

o{che Ifhor Cbe oil (14 APr .)

A. O. If . (29 June)

1973- 4

Fr Emmanuel Giblin: 'Some Oriental styles and traits in s co11eo­

Hon of Irish music ' (29 Oct . )

Alf Idac Lochlainn : ' Bunting and songa in Irisb' . Revd Chria

Warren: 'Harp lIlus1c in the Bunting collection ' (24 Nov.)

John Teeham 'Musica l instruments in the National Museum ' (2 Feb.)

Richard Hllwldns : 'Bluegrass, a professional traditional music'

( 2) Feb . )

Tom J.!unnellYI 'Songs of the travelling people' ()O L!arch)

T. Gwynn J onesl ' Penillion, a traditional Welsh style of singing'

( 21 Apr . )

A. G. M. (VId O!che Cheoil (24 JWle)

1 97~5

' Teaching f olk music? A di soussion', 1 (26 Oc tober )

W. H. A. williams : 'Folk SOllg as vernacular culture ' 00 Nov. )

Leslie ShePard: 'The broadside ballad: tbo pri nted tradition i n

folk music' (14 Dec .)

'Collecting folk music. A panel discussion' with Breand~n Breatlt­

nach, Dians Hamilton, Tom Uunnelly , Proinsias 6 Conluain,

Hugh Shielde (25 Jan .)

Revd Tercnce NcCaUE(hey: 'Scotti sh GaeliC folk song and literary

culture' (22 Feh.)

Miscellany ::: Linda Leet- Howe: 'Keening'. Pat lIitchell : 'Teaohing

the pipes '. ciarin Dalton: 'Irish and Australian song'. Lee

MaoCurtain: 'Playford dancing'. Ian !.!ac Loohlainn: 'Playing

the ivy lea f ' (22 March)

'Teaching f olk music ? A discussion', 2 (19 Apr,)

A, 0 , II!, and Oicbs Cbe01\.

197r 6

Eddie Butcher : A recital of Ulahr e.ongtl (6 Sept . )

SeaClua 6 Cath;in , 'Lappa and Lapphb singing' (4 Get . )

Ho11a1g 6 hUMllolta1gb , 'Songs in Iriah from Tory, Donegal'

( I Hov . )

Ann BuckleYI '~hat was the medieval Irish ti omp~?' (l3 Dec.)

)! lcbe;l 6 S\.111eabh~in ' ' Tbe manuscript aou rees of Bunt ing 's

18~O collection ' (LO Jan . )

·Mi acellany - till s Hi Bbradaigb' 'Dublin children' . gamee' .

Ciaran 6 Coigll.gb, 'Ambrain Raifte1r{' . Alt iliac LochIainn,

'Printed versions of Caoineadh n. dtr! Mhuire'. Hugh

Shield" 'Songs from Newfoundland: Irish parallels'. (2IFeb .)

An Canonach CO$llllett 6 Cuinn: ' senll-amhrain Ulsdb sgue

Oi r ghialla' (20 March)

An Uth. Padraig 6 Hesla!: 'An ceol all bbealoideau ' (1 !tay)

A. G. 11 . and Olche Cbeoil (2~ JWlII)

1916-1

Virginia Blankenhorn: 'N a tive and foreign elemente in the

"aean-nos" tradition ' (23 Get , )

Proinsia9 6 Gon1ua1n: 'Folk- song collecting in Tory, 00 . Done-

8a1 ' (27 Nov.)

Sean CorcorlllH 'Polk. aongs of county Louth' (15 Jan . )

Sean O'D1qer, 'The concertina in Ireland' (26 Feh.)

Miscellany - Hugh Shields, 'Ballad and chantefable in Ireland '.

Angela h rtridge, 'Cnoineadh na eStr! Muire'. Nicbolas

Caro1an: ,.,i111am Bsauford and Irish music'. 'M. H. A.

\H111ams, ' Iriah folk. muaic in Amed ca ' (reed by Alf l!ac

Loch l ainn) . (26 March)

Seoirse Rodley , 'Polk. lIIusic end cOIllPositiOll : a pareons l vie ...

C e 0 1 T { r e

pOint' (30 Apr.)

A. O. M. and O{ene CneoH (~ June)

1917- 8

5

Oeorge&-llenis Zimmermann: "Wnat is an "Irisn ballad"?' (10 Sept . )

Charlea Lennon: 'Traditiona l Irish fiddling' (5 Nov.)

Breand~ Breathnach : ' James CaodlDan , piper and music collector'

(10 Dec.)

Seamue Mac MathUna : ' Songs of lIiuscral> (28 Jan.)

Cathal Ooanl 'CeoHa Hai11{ H{ Dnolllbnei 11 , (25 Feb.)

Miscellany - Breand~n Breathnach: 'The Church and Irish tradi­

tional dancing' . Sr Cora Oafiney : ' Irish music in the clss&­

room' , 1l0uglas Sealy: 'P!obaireachd, the classical music of

the Highland plpes ' . Tom Uunnelly. 'Some recently collected

songs'. (1 Apr . )

A. O. M. and O{che Cheoil (10 J\llle)

I9?&-9 John Mouldenl 'The Sam Henry collection ' (30 Sept . )

'Irish traditional music in the marke~pIace' wi t h Breand~

Breathnach, Riobard Mac Ooraln , Ciaran Mac Ma t hUna {ll Nov . }

Allen Feldmaru 'Fiddling and fiddlers in southwest Donegal'

(9 Dec,)

LiOlD 6 Dochartaigh : 'N orth Ulster music and songs on film '

videotape of Edd1e Butcber, Joe Holmes , Sammy ~ade (20 Jan.)

lain ~ontague. 'Ireland and the historic dances of Europs '

(24 Fsb . )

Pat Mitcbell l 'The piPing of Patsy Touhey' (7 APr. )

Oeorge Hroder iekl 'Tradi Uonal muaic and aongs of the Isle of

Man ' (12 May)

A, C, w, (23 June)

191 <r 80

Martin TaltYI 'Musical life in county Clare ' (6 Oct.)

Tom lIIunnelly : ' The songe of 'Meat Clare' (3 Nov . )

6 ' R e t rOB p e e t'

Mieheal 6 hAllllhai.n : ' Trad itional flu t llll and nut~playing'

(2 Dec .)

Hugh sbidds: 'Folk singing in North Derry' (26 JILll.)

lo\ lIr l an Deasy : ' Tbe Fetr1e eollecti on. sources and methods of

edi ting' (2) Feb.)

ltl ece lle,."'JY - PToinsias 6 Conlutlin. 'Ballade In D'lgliBb in tbe

Gaelh,eht' . N1cbo1 88 Caro la.n : 'Sbak.eepeate ' s " uilleann"

Pipe"' " Alf l4ac Lochlai.nn: 'lo\uaic o f the Pon tine Cr eeks' .

(12 APr.)

C!lthel Go&n : 'The RTE a rchives of Iri sh traditiona l mustc'

(10 May)

A. G. M. an d Otolle Cbeoll (28 Jun e )

198~1

Breandan 6 W.adasain: 'The music of Iri sh ba r di c poet ry'

(20 Sf!Pt. )

Malte Ai nll Ni Dbonncbadba ' • Sr::;>ointe f aotn allan-noB i gCona­

mera' ( 1 Nov . )

'~'iko Russell on vl.deotape' _blat1a , Clute and songs from

co. Cltt. re (6 Dec . )

Jobn Kelly: Fiddle and conce rtin. reeitel (31 Januar y)

Johnny O'Lea ry, Button acco l'd.ion r ecital (28 February)

- A(\d , Ronnie \\'a t hen , ' The Cretan lyre and NePalese Sa rangi'

T H , I R I SH

·",t,R P IPES

Woat cultures , eapecially outd oor

or no~adio, bave a need f or a loud

and arre s ting mueioal inetrument .

Conches , horne . drums, trumpets

are widely ueed for c ommun icat ion,

entertainmen t, intimi4at l Oll, ritual .

For centuriee t he Iri s h ins t rument

C e 0 1 T { r e ,0 7

of tbia type waa e now e%tinct form of tbe moutb-blown bagpipe,

uaually r eferrsd to, from its cbter runction, aa tbe warpipea.

Seen Donnelly, a player on both war and uilleann pipea wbo i e

making a etudy of tbe history of tbe war pipee in Ireland, pre­

sented a a~ary of bis reaaarcb to date at tbe f iret meating

of t be Soc1ety after Jonnny O' Lesry, in Henrietta St on 4 April.

Tbere are ~an1 Old lrieb and medieval referencea to an in­

strument called tbe cui ele, ' pipe', trequently mistranslated aa

'bagpipe' tbougb it e music 1a charac t eri~ed .s quiet , eweet and

sleep-inducing. Part of tbe difficulty is tbat by tbe si%teen tb

centur y the word bed .h1fted i t a meaning to 'bagpipe' 1n tbe

phraae cuiele catha ' battle pipe'. Thia inatrument .aa tuned

before playing and playad in concerti an undoub tad t erm for it,

which firat appeared in the eleventh centu r y , i.~. It

8ee~a to hsve heen the inatrum.nt or a low caata of enterteiner',

It i s not mentioned in any bardic poem before 1600, whether out

of d1edein or beceuee the bardic vocabulary wa. aet by 1250 end

the ins trument doe . not a.em to heve become common until tbe

sixteenth and eeventeenth centuriee .

Thsee are certainly tbe centuries which bave given uS the

bulk of r efe r encee to t he wa r pipae , usually in a military con­

text . Iri ab pipere played to .ar even on the c on t inent and were

prominent et tbe elege of Boulogne 1n 15dd . At home they led

tbe war partie. end cattle reids of tbei r chiere , e~et~ea to

the sccompani .ent of drum.. Derricke'e Image of Ireland. , oon­

t aining tbe engraving on p. 6, da t e. from 1561. A eerie. ot

Elitehetban Pardon, to piper, involved i n war indicste, tbat

there W8. not an beredttar.y family element in piPing. Pipes

continued in .ilitar y u.a during tbe inaurrection ot 1641 and

tba Cramwellien end Williami t e •• re, and .ere even ua.d in the

Whi teboy di.turbancee of the 116Oe.

8 "T h a I r i a h war p 1 pes"

The w~rpi pes were also ueed in these centuries to accompany

the dead to the grave, to provide music for danc es and 'casher­

lngs'. and t o play foo t ball and hurling t eams on t o the field .

From about 1750 it is difficult t o kno~ whether writers SI'S

referring to the .. a r pipes or uilleann pipes . The native warpipe

tradi t ion seems to hav e petered out sbout 1800 . For the remai n­

de r of the century the Highl and pipes became more common here as

they were increasingl y used by Br i tish regimen t s . The " a r pipe

revi val of the 1880s and the presen t-day use of t he inst r ument

in I relan d proper'_y belong to the his t ory of Highland piping .

Music"l illustrations for Sean's t al k. were provided by Dav td

Rickard of the Fint~ La I oI' Pipe Bnnd . David Is i nterested in

identifying and PJaying Iri sh v. arpi. pe pi eces thst still survive ,

some t i r.l e s in v r r .sions " J: p~nded by uill eann pipe rs . He pl ayed

'The king o f Laois' , ' 'l' ~e r,, ;lcn;' ::: ... r ch ' and the Jacobite ' The

ki ng e n j oys de o,,·n a gain·.

FE S T IV AL OF TRADITIO N A L S I NGING

Our first ou t- of-Dublin meetine for some time took placa alllong

the orn,,1.8 l"1.e-'/ictori",, 8plendours of the Nort hern Counties

Hotel , Fo rtr u3~ , co. An trim , on the weeke nd 24-26 April . The

occasion ~ac n festival organ i sed by the Arts Council of North ern

Ire land 1\nd corr .... emorating the Ulster ei nger s Joe Holmes a nd Eddia

Butcher . The emphnsis was on Ulster ainging , but performers came

from ell the provinces a nd even en occasional song i n Irish WeS

beard. Specil1.1 gu es t !! were Bell e, Cathy end SheHa Ste~art h om

Blairgowrie, Perthnhire . Singers a re often swamp"d in sessions

by mus icians and ge t s hearin g only when the music flags. Bu t

t he aim of this ~ eeken d ~a8 to protect the endangered apeci es .

Arriving in the Shangri- La of Por trusb a fter five bours dri ......

C e 0 1 T , . 9

ing through a freaki~h Easter snowstorm induced a mild f eeling

of hallucination wbicb persisted t hroughout tbe weekend, aided

by late nights, high ootane conversation, and the incongruity

of listening to songs of pastoral dalliance among tbe bulky

s ofa9 and armchairs of the oak-Panelled hotel lounge.

The main formal activities were thr ee etage conoerts but ths

heart of the weekend wa s in the late-ni ght singing sessions con­

ducted by Paddy Tunney in accordance with some arcans etiquette.

Some people were asked to sing , othere broke 1nto song from a

standing start, the whole taking plsce 1n a semi-rel1gious at­

moephere. A personal melllory 1s the flawless, crystalline Andrew

~ from Sheils Stewart .

SON G ::; FRO J4 I R I SH ISLANDS

On )0 May in Henrietta St , short contributions on this eubject

were presented by three members .

Protns1aa 6 Conluain introduced aongs be recorded in Cape

Cl ear island , 00. Cork, in 1975. The pre-Famine population of

over ?COO has ahrunk to about 200 and only the remains of a

music tradition are now t o be heard. A few aocordione are

played but no fiddles or Pipes . "ren boys still perform. Msny

of the songs now sung were introduced by t he Gaelic League , and

the so-called Set Chleire now danoed followed the same routes.

But some traditional Munster songs are remembered by the older

ielanders, Raca brea mo chinn (eung by Sean 6 Driaceoil), ~

real tan leanbaoh and the locally composed 011e~n beas is ea

Cleire (both auns by Maire Bhreatbnach) . Traditional solo step

dancing is also r emembered and we heard Donnchs Sneamais 6 Dris­

ceoil dancing to his own ainging of T~id na baid gO doimhin as

bhfarraise .

No songs in Irish seem to have survived among the 160 inhabi-

1 0 "5 0 n g s fr o ," I r 1 B h i s 1 and s"

tan t s of Cl a re island, co . ~ayo. When Tom Munnally recorded

there i n 1973 he found pl enty of modern sentimental songs in

Engl i sh s mone the s ingers (al l men) , There were no striking

stylists . The olde r singers did not use deeo r a tion or sny er­

tensive melodic de velopment in t heir tunes . The beet of t hem

and the one .. 1 th the largest repertory was J ame s Murray. t hen

in his seventies. All t he songs presented "'ere his. :Ballls~

~ described an in ciden t which befell an islander walking the

nine ty miles to Sligo to embark for s easonal work . The Clare

i sland eagle commemorated t he killin g by an ol d island woman ,

around 1903 . of a golden eagle now preser ved in the ~useum of

Na tural History . The True lovers' disc ussion was , as usual, a

f ea t of endu r ance . The ba ll ads of t he Stewar d in the laurel

tre e and the Dowy dens of Yarrow were both probably brough t home

by migratory workers. See page 15.

Noel Hamilton dealt with the Irish-speaking i'l lllJ\d of Tory,

ei gbt miles off the Donegal coast , where he recorded in 1968. The 200 or so inhabitants included ~any singers who sang ma inly

in Iri sh and in a well- marked style . Their s ongs are foun d also

on t hA mainland and in othe r Gaeltacbts: AS gabba il go Eaile

Atha Clia t h damh (Jimmy Dougan), An cail!n OAelach (Hiudal Pbaid{

Hi udal) , which t he Tory people claim as their own SaYing tha t

t he Ilanafest peopl e took it and that its correct title ia ~

cailin laoh . The naticnally-known Baid fn Fheidhl imi dh is neith­

er trad itiona l nor a Tory eong dllspi t e its references to the is­

land . On tbe other hand tradl tional style was well preserved 1n

Jhl1TlY Dougan' s Maidrtn rue, sung a t a wedding. After ea cb verse

he danced as a n ac cordion played the tune. Dancing at ceil1s ia

COlf.mon , but t he instl"urnental tradi ti on is not etrong in Tory and

the dan ce traditi on is less vigorous than 1t ls remembered as

h~ving b een in the f orties and f i ft ies . See pege 12 .

Recent meeting91 continued on psce 1)

C 11 0 I T { r 11 1 1

nIl:. GrU', t,~Ol'limIE

There i s a little vIllDp.c in the 1~ 1dd l e Islend culled ' '!'he l .. oor' , snd , bec ause of its (comparatively ) r,recter si7,e, it is repar ded by the Islanders as a l­most up to ds.te e nd c onse nu ently 5S thc cap ita l. "

'l'be peacefu l serenity of this old- world villar;e wa s unexpec tedl y dis t u r 't ed one nellow afternoon in the au tumn ~','hen our 'T'!nop!'lOl'lo:'! ar-r i ved, It had been no~iced that a box hed been c.eooslted \'Iith ur.u::lUo l e3. re on t he slip , so well secur ed thllt the bOlltnen ~.'ho surveyed it exchfln~ed r.lances , ';}ondering what it could conta in, I somet1m.cs visit th i s l s ndln/l; - plOce , pnrticulnr ly on fine dc!,s , I",'hen t.here 15 n r, r ound­s",1e11, to I"!ateh the d1f"'icult~· expe rienced by the men in la:ld1.n ~ , On this particula r occasion t!'ley called me for\"l:;. r d , and :i: at O:lce as s uned I'Jondrous i!':cortance as the person to 'lIhom this unusunl pa.ckar.e \':8S ad ­dr essed . .ii.S s oo n 85 i t 1'JE\3 flnn ou.nced that t he hox conteined a I::runophone the scene "hecllne one of ex ­citement end ';IO:lUCr ,

The news sprea d like e prairie ('ire, A crcmd Fflther ed round peeping over each other's Shoulders to see I','hat \'Ias r-oinr, on , end by the t i me the oontf'nts

were un packed fully a hundred people were s Cllatting round , sitt iDf." on the bar e c: round . to n itness the openin r: ceremony. 'i'he parts \"tere cc.rerully ex or:11ned to sec if we coul d or ranre to piece them tor-ether. Bu t, s l as ! Yle hed no rJH,.,lledr:e of' the mc ch!lnism , nor \'Ias t he re any t rr,dcsmnn 11'1 the place \'Iho ";t6S an~' ';!is ­cr , liowcver , fo r tunately for us, th er e 1"/a S a youn~ .c::r aduli te f rom Oxf'ord vls l t1nr the lsle.ncs , and he <'u ick l y consented to see whet he cou ld do. i.ventually he suooeeded . and sudden ly the muSic star ted. The ex­pression on t he ("a ces of the o:llookers wa s indeed Il s i rht to r ernern't-er - the children in r8otu r e s , the old \'Iomen enchllnted , the men hnr dly bellevll1(; their ea rs, end for t: f ew minutes a::' l other th our:hts wer e laid as ide, 'J.'he M.lest i on no one coul d &ns','.>er was, I·~h ere \"I er e the men and women hid 1n(t .... thos e voices sou nded so s';leetl~'? They cO\llc not be seen, One \'Ionan su~r;est ­cd the spirits of the Firbo lrs - Par:an a ncestors -I','hieh tradition associa t es \'Iith the lhins forts to be found in Inishlllaln. In the l"\lsh and r enera.l bustle r:.oinn on , the men f or cot to prepare the nets, a.nd all work vIes t enpor ari ly suspended. They cO!ltinued ex_ cla imlnf: in Gae lic that I Somel'lhere there ruSt b e e. person or ther e oou ld not be a voice' and the eff ect on them was r ea l l y \'~ondcrrul.

1 , "T h e era m a p h 0 n en

The d::,\' foll<Y:l1n-<; • ver~' p!e.'!s inp inc ident 00 -cu:-re c'. . " '.'IOm'lD ' .• 'ho hod been 111 ':11 th nervous trou-hIe for n'.'ln:- -,le eks previously, he "l rd of the mys te ri -OllS nus lc. cihc a sked "' to "t her hear it. Of course 1 cor:scnted . I t octed like 0 charm. Tho spell ""~ tl i nst ::.nt 3.:lcous . .;;ihc , too , :or .... ot h" trouble, cnd tl:e ::led , '::o1"n f a ce , o. ':ihioh suf"'er ln~ had lef t its ma~k . et once l1rht ec up ':I1th ho?e ond pleasure . Uftc:'. af t er.raTd::: I Inv Hed hor to cone end hea r t h' rItlsi c, ~mu. her \'isits were inv<:..rlebly fallcy,'led by happy results .

I had no i dee befor e tiH:lt th' islanders had such 0 pf.i <:E ion f or ~tlslc (ond sonr: . 0., ev cninp, 0 11 t he old rr.cn hod es ncr.Jb!ed " 0" of t h' cat.tar,es . ' -mong the records I'ms , hor npipe. Virectly th' f!.rs t bea t ':I':!: plc.:red , six 0' the oen s tood '" ,. , line , some di?ltonce npe. rt. fron ea ch other ; ell !lonehOl'i pro-cured shor t sticks , f'. nd " th' f irst not.e , :"eet, c. r[~s cnd sticks corm:cnc ed to keep tir:e, each fello~'1 S':I(,y in(l: hl, bMy first to t h' rignt and then to th' left . ::.ce.rcel;.r c.ny noise ':Ias hecrd , " t hey "n nove ("\lit e silentl y on th e ponpooties " cO':lhide shoes ·:lhiet>. the~' \"l e r: r , th ' ou i et beinr, broken only h." t:-:e c le.nl' i nG sound 0' t.he s t. icks " they clashed .

- ,. , . Hedderman Glimps e 'l of m, 11 fe io Aran, some .~ periences of • district nurse Bristol 1917 , po. 53-7.

MAJRI: l>HRl1!NNEA LL

WW"EJ iJ ) I n ! 'If ! , Mh';··· t . eh t~;··nn • • 11 'bhlUI>. bl>.ul ._ n .. ·oo ••

~[l :j I ~

J I) J -J • l , od! .; <ih m~ th~ 1, , 0' • "'n ' n;" 6 ...... ·" ,.d,

ffl-FR' )1) 1 1J1-CFlf ! , 11 , ."h,·nno hom <10 f hut!. •• <" , oh , nll ."".··'al,

tfYI r HI ) J I J l I J 'h mhian '. ,e, me> .,6. " ,< .. I. __ dfl m'.

- Hollaig 6 hUrmol t aigh eag. Ceolta Uladh II, Beal Feirste 1973, lcb 14: vearea • fuair on ~eagart hoir ieti gh 1 dToraigh.

C e 0 1 T { r I 20 1 3

After 3. MO!lt nrrCCll.hle sail. 1 l anded on T,he. i:Jland . 'lI:!d VlIlS escorted to th (' puhllc - house in Church hay . ','here I 1'/aS inforr.tcd hy n.v boat~cn I should ret ;,ood c cc ommodat ion, ,:' 1 t hou r:h not exact l y c or r espond ing ~'Ii t;h the char acter hestO':led on it . I endeavou r ed t o :n'l!{e nysel !' com~ort e.bl e, The houtnen , after the ir pull across the chenncl, had no ob,1ection to drink m,.v health , and they ecr.ordinrly r e tired to the l arr.e roon llhov e thllt i n whi ch I \'IllS s e:!. t ed , Th e .10ke and l nu(::h noYl circu l ated , end heing nrus i co lly i nc lined , e. son!; I'ms commenced , The pecullari t y of the tune a ttra cted my notice , and one of' t.'rJe !':len hav inr, k indly re m ested m~' precence , if I wished to heer El Rorhery sonr; . I rlad l y .io i ne d the porty , A new son!,: wes now heeun - it \'IOS '1 duet, to which e. c hOrus ';/a S ettached , 5Un~ hy the ~'Ihole porty. The t wo pr ir.cip:l l performers too}: hold of eBch othe r hy the r i .... h t hand, e nd ke pt time with the tune by str1Jdnn: t he ir hands thus en ­t'llined , on the tnble , 'l'he son" l nst ed e t l eas t fif ­teen minutes, and vias sunt! in the ir n a t i ve. lan c;uer;e , "lith "ren t er spirit And varnth o~ feelinf'; the n i s UtlU ­clly displ ayed by more fashionable vocalis t s , I r e ­t ired t o my room , hir.!'!ly c l ec.s ed ':!i t h this my f irs t i ntroduct i on t o the inh~ bi tants of Hgthl in.

- J . D, lIa r aball 'No tea on t b a s ta tistics a nd natur al bi s t or y ot t he i sland of Ra t hlin ' in Tr ansactions or t he Royd Irish ACt!. dem.,y XVII (1837 ) 5A.

I SLANDS ANNUAL GENERAL

M E ETIN O

Tbs AnnUal General lo1 eeUng waa

bel d on ;>0 J lme 1981 i n HenrieHa

St , El ectsd t o t be c ommi Hee

.ere . Seoirae BOdl ey Chairman ,

Ca l tl !n U{ bgeartai~ Hon . Tru e­

urer , Nichollle Cllrolan Hon . Secre­

tary , Breand ~n Brea t hna ch, Frank

Harte , AI! Mac Lochlalnn, Tom

Nunnelly, Proinsiae 6 Conluain,

Hugb Shi e lda . John Mouldon ( Port-

1 , Son 8 B fro ID T , m Lenibsn

rush ) and Nollsig 6 hUrmol tsigb (Belfast) were ca-opted to the

eommittee a t & aubesquant meeting.

After the adoption of the Treasurer ' s report and the Secre­

tary' ~ repo rt, it was decided that Bubscription rates be kept

et their present levels (see Page 20) .

A guarantee a gainst 10B8 1n the xounning of the Society's

progrB~~e of talks and recitals, which wsa made this year by

the Arts Council, waa wel comed by the meeting . To comply .itb

e requirement of the Council, it WBS agreed that B small charge

be made in future to non-members attending meetings receiving

this support .

The premisss of Ne P{oba1.r! Uilleann, 15 Henrietta st. a re to

provide a permanent home and a mailing address for the Society .

The commi ttee has agreed .. ith NPU on a rental. The meeting

congretu lat ed NPU on t hei r progress .. ith the rehabilitation of

the building aince last JW'le .

s te pa have been taken by the Society to· .. arda archival re­

cording of traditional music . During Jollnny O' Leary's February

visit (aee Ceol T!re 19) several houra of music .. ere tapsd from

him by Breandan Breathnach . During Tom Lenihan's viait (e se

belo .. ) a colour videotape of him .. as made in a ge9sion .. ith

'l'0llI Munnelly. It ia intended to take advantage similarly of

future opportunities .

Son g s r r 0 m T , • Lenihan

Aft e r the A. C. M., Tom Lenihan sang and talked to Tom Munnelly

ebout his songs and sin~ng experience. Now in his seventiea,

he continues to farm near Miltown Walbsy ss he hss dons all hie

11fe. He is a true fireside singer, subtle and Varied in an

intimat e , undramatic style. Tom learfled from his Parants, fr om

10cl'1 singers, and frO<ll ballad IIhee t s bought at fairs ( 'ld esch,

C e 0 1 T ire 1 5

ah: for )d' ) . J, ainger , but not a lllUaician , in a fam11y of

aingere and musicians , be was the only one t o persist .ith

singing and 'would go ten miles' to glt I song . He is slso an

s.cellent lilter (rssl . O'C oonsll' . farewell to Ennis ) and

used this skill in his days as a wren boy and a s trsw boy .

Tom'e repertory, all in English, ranges from the local ,

Rinaen ambush , to the international, Sinking of the ' Lusitan­

~I from love songa ssrious, Cail{n deas cruite na mbo, ~

don't you love the old love?, to love songs comic , Ninst een

years oldl and it contains such disparate itslll$ as. Lady

Dufferin'a The Irish emigrant (learn t traditionally from USI

ss a milking song), the English ballada Fair London town

(Silk merchant ' s daughter, a aong of his grea~grandfather),

St Jemes' s hoapita l , snd the Holland handkerchief (Suffolk

miracle) , a word leas keening tune besrd at a funerel in bi s

youth, and bia national an t hem the comic Stick to the cray­

tur.

5. - Oh-

e j drr(]lJ1t it ill

i !l

Nicholas Carolan

1 6

B AIL L

RECE NT

B ail 1

, G SAOTHR(r

PUBLICATIO NS

, g . a .. 0 t b r l.l

, y MEIIBERS

Wit hin the la~t year, two symphonies by Seoira8 Bodley have

received their firat performance , both aho"ing the lnfluance

of Irish folk .. uBi ". No 2 .. as performed at the Royal nublin

Society on 9 January, no 3 at tn\'l inauguration of tha new

National Concert Hall, Earl e fort Terrace, Dublin, on 9

September .

Nan"y Ca1thor pe haa made a ne .. collection of $0108 arranged

f o r t he harp: A tribute to Moore. Published by Wal ton , £2 . 7 5.

Shamrock rose and thistle le a

etudy of folk sing ing In lIagilli­

gan. North De rry, by Hugh Shields

1I'ho bas worked lnt8,",,1 ttently In

this district since 1953 . The

book oontains 74 Bonga, nearly

half of tbe~ eontributed by Eddie

Butcher (t 1980) , .... hose personality

and experience is the lI'uljor focl.ls .

Published by Blacketarr Press, L 9 . 25

stg . For accompanying cassettes Bee p . 19.

Hugh Shi elds has also PUblished the songs or the b l ind riddler

Jirnmy ~. cCl.lrry or Wyroe. N, Derry: ' A einger of poems' in

Ula ter- folklHs XXVII (1981 ) 1- 18.

A lectura by Tom ~ unnBlly t o the Folklore Society of Ireland

has been 61 ven definitive form in 'Songs of the sea . A ganeral

deser t ption ""1 th special reference t o recent oral trndi tion in

Ire l and ' in Bealoideas XL'llI I-XLIX (1980- 1 ) 3()..58,

Ta a l t le P. fanna !tIlC C.;b ll , 'Co tll" asus cur c hun cinn an hear'!"

nots amhranS10cllta' Ball iris Scath:.n 1981 ( le fail 0 Cholaiste

C e 0 1 T { r e 1 7

Phadraig, Droim Chonrach , Bath Atha CHath) .

Is ' Ceo1 Ur chnoc Chain ~hic Cainte' tsideal aguialn l e ie an

mBr . Liam P. 6 Caithnie ata in A. 6 Caarr a agua s. Cei t i nn

Peadar 6 Dubhdn ' a shaol agus a shaothar .

Ceol an Ph{ohaire ed . Terry )loylan, NPU Dublin 1981, is a col­

lection of 8} tunes , almost all notated from the playing of

pipers, .hich have aPPeared aince 1969 i n An P{obaire , the

newslet t er of Na Plobai r{ Uil1earm . (2 +54p by post f r om

NFU, 15 Henr ietta St , Dublin 1.

R'eandan Breathnach has an accoWlt of ' Pipers and pipes in

Louth' in tbe Co. Louth archaeological and historical journsl

XIX ii (1918 , pub!. 1980) 131- 9, and some deflating Pages on

' The nomenclature of Irish music' in Sins ear. The folklore

jou~al III (1981) 1:?-16.

For Breandan Breathnach , Hicbolas Car olan, Saan Donnelly snd

Padraig de BrUrt , see also "Ceol" balo ••

"C E 0 L" V, 1

PUblication of Ceol accelerates with the appearance of two

numbers within one calendar year. Tbe lates t introduces some

nice design by Sid Bluett and contains arti cles by some of our

members: Breandan Breathnach ' Tbe firs t Iri sh aong published'

(with a facaimile c . 1114) and ' The man and his music - Johnny

O' Leary'; Nicholas Carolan 'Shakespear e ' s u111eann pipes';

Sesn Donnelly ' Tbe warpipes in Ireland'; Padraig de BrUn

' /lugh Bei rne , pipe r '. A second set of children's game songs

i9 contributed by Maev U{ Ghallchoir . )lembera "ill recognize

topics of some of our mee t ings here; we are plaaaed that Ceol

can serve a$ Rn outlet for our con t ributors, complementing the

all too ra r e ties e cbeol t{ra, no ) of Which should have ap-

1 8 "R e 1 i g i 0 u e f 0 1 le B 0 n g"

PBRred by tne time this newsletter is dis t ributed.

Ceol eoste 75?, t- 29 by post , from 47 Frall cati Park,

B1scKrock, co, Dublin.

"RELIGI OUS F 0 L K SON G" A SEMlNAR

A one-day selllinsr on this Bubject, to include Papers, die­

cussions and performance , is being planned by the Committee

t o take place in the Ne .... Yesr, probably on B Saturday ln Feb­

ruary . Dehils will be circulated soon .

l.F. M. C. CONFERENCE A T D U R H A III

The annual U. K. conferenoe of the International Folk ~u 9 ic

Counoil (U . K. COJIWlll ttee) ... ill be held on 1- 4 April 1982 e t

t he Uni versi ty of Durham. Themes wil l be ' Current r esearc h,

methods and problems' snd 'Reses rch ln ethnocboreol ogy' . The

secreta r y is Dr John Baily, Dept of Socls1 An thropology,

Queen's universi ty, Bel fast (enquiries by 15 December if posa­

ible) .

OHI ENTAL II U S IC A T DUHHAM

Tbe third threa-yearly Oriental Music Festival will be held by

the Durham Schocl of Ori ental Studies on 1~23 July 1982, and

wil J be devoted to the traditional musi o and dance ot Asia.

Enquiries to: Durham Orien t al lIuaic F(lstival, School of Orient­

al Studies, El vet Hill, Durham DHl 3TH .

FEILE N A B61NNE 981

Dro8"heda ",il l once agai n have a folk music .. eekend , ren(lll'ing

tho~e of some years ago , on 30 October - 1 November .

C e 0 1 T { r e 20 1 9

F 0 L K M U SIC ON CASSETTE: 2

Tbe last newaletter outlined a project and invited responses

from membe r s. Wbeels ars moVing slowly and we bope soon to

begin producing recordings, ths first of wbich will be:

" Song!:! of Irish travellers" collected and edited by

Tom Wunnelly

"Ada.m i n Paradise" recordsd end edited by Hugh Shields

Songs of Eddie Butcher

(re-issue of en EP disc publ. 1969 , other casaettes of N. Derry einging to follow)

REVIVAL OR SURVIVALl

RECORD , TEN-YEAR

Some lI'Iight saY thll. t 1970-71 was a favourable mOll'lant to start

a folk-ll'Iusic sooisty, .. i th the folk-music revival in full

swing. Others might SSy it wss ths .. o r at poss ibl e moment,

with cash beginning to lose value so fast that it was hard

to know whether getti ng it or keeping it wae ll'Iore difficult .

And caah is ths lubrication of eocieties.

Wisely or foolishly, the virginal Folk Vusio Society choss

that time to tune her harp with shoestrings. Somehow, she

haS succeeded in resching the ter.- year mark .1 thout fslling

bankrupt, losing her honour, or going into e deliCate decline.

She has , indsed, brought forth constantlY I aJl abundance of

mestings (see 'Retrospeot'), a scors of newsletters, and even

a trisd of journsls . Sha has exerted some small beneficial

influence. How can ber spher es of aotion be sustsined, en­

hanced, Perhaps enlarged, in tus ten years ahead?

Treasurer's meseage

It may seem Pal try to BIlswer tirstl)': . By paying our subsori~

tion8 punctually'. But tbie is the Treasurer' every firlll and

· ~ : " .. A L. " " from p 19

evel' rather des perate reply . So the rat ... s of ~ubscription

li re ~epeated be l o", Wlalt ... red from last year , a iliad decia­

ion . The Secre t ary , too, haa unear thed a Sbavian ti r ade

against the dilatory in sucb situations. It makes eu ch

goOd r e ading that it "ill occupy t his sPace in the next

ne"sletter, by "hich t lroe all its readers "ill, no doub t,

be able to chortle .ithout uneaSY feelings .

C 0 m m 1 t tee's message

Looking beyond flnance, secondly, "e announce a great and

t.ofold platitude. The Society needs both the general par­

ticipation of all its m~mbers and the sort of increase in

membership that "Ill help i t to operate more effecti vely in

its undertakinga, actual and unraalized. This year .e "Ill

be trying through the newsletter etc to promote fuller par­

ticipation. To begin with , "e sre asking fcr help in an ef­

fort to increase membership.

We have lIIember s in both Parts of Ireland, in Bri tain and

in many parts of the world. E:r tra copies of this newsletter

a re being rWl off, to send to prospe ctive ne,. membera, t~

getber "ith an information sheet about the Society.

Can you please try and help by a l ine to the Secretary·

or a phone call t o me ( 98~27l) s uggesting reoi pien t s of

these, new ways of introducing the Soci e ty to the public,

e tc ' We fee l there are many who would wel come an introduc­

t ion t o t he vi r g i n no,. a m8tron . Therefore, to a ll non-

member s who have r8ad t hi s , W B L C 0 14 E '.

· a t t he ad dress on p . l~ Hugb Shields

Sub sc ri pti. on r a t es ,

Hon Prea3urer'

Ind ividual s Two member a of one Full- time s t udents Cor porat e members

£3. 50 I r. family .l. OO

2 . 00 10 . 00

Ca i tl fn Ut ~igeartai gh ;; i t e 12. I)reenmount ROad , Terenure. DUBLIN Ii