Fieldtrip Reflections: Sliabh Luachra and Corca Dhuibhne Daithí Kearney and Michelle Finnerty1
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Fieldtrip reflections: Sliabh Luachra and Corca Dhuibhne Daithí Kearney and Michelle Finnerty1 For the past four years, students participating in the Early Start „Music in Ireland‟ programme at University College Cork2 have undertaken a fieldtrip to Sliabh Luachra and Corca Dhuibhne to explore the musical heritage of the area and the connections between music, place and society. This year the students departed on Saturday 4th September, accompanied by fieldtip co-ordinator Dr. Daithí Kearney. The students come from a number of North American universities and have limited prior experience of and exposure to Irish culture. The following article is a reflection on the fieldtrip and provides an insight into the rich musical heritage of Cork and Kerry. As we pulled away from UCC, we headed towards Blarney. The imposing grotto at Shanakiel reminded students of the role of religion in Irish society, a point reinforced as we travelled many of the country roads that presented not only grottos, many of which dated from the Marion Year in 1954, but also the sites of former dance halls, many of which relate to the passing of the 1935 Dance Halls Act. As we drove towards Mallow, the students availed of the opportunity to enjoy the rolling green hills and listen to examples of music from Cork and Kerry. The music included recordings of Jackie Daly and Séamus Creagh. Later in the journey we listened to recordings of Sliabh Luachra fiddle players Pádraig O‟Keeffe, Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford. To the north of Mallow is the village of Buttevant, the location of the first steeplechase in 1752 and from where, according to local legend, Napoleon‟s horse „Marengo‟ came (bought from a Kerryman!). It is interesting how many tunes and songs in the Irish tradition make reference to Napoleon. Buttevant was also the home 1 Michelle Finnerty is course director of the Early Start Music in Ireland programme and is a part-time lecturer in the School of Music and Theatre, UCC. 2 The Early Start Semester in Musics in Ireland, which begins in late August, provides the international visiting student with a series of vivid encounters with the rich variety of musical traditions that forms Ireland‟s vibrant soundscape. Ranging from the historic to the contemporary, the course explores Irish traditional music, including the seventeenth-century harping repertory; popular music forms, including such genres as jazz, rock and country music; and art music, including the music of Georgian Dublin. Students will engage with these musics by examining key moments in Ireland‟s musical past as well as considering their continued resonance today. of harper and poet, Reverend Charles Bunworth, and a plaque, in the shape of the Bunworth harp, marks this important musical reference. As if to emphasise the location of Sliabh Luachra as a region straddling the Cork- Kerry border, we crossed from County Cork into County Kerry before the town of Rathmore, where publican and dancer Dan O‟Connell first heard Johnny O‟Leary play. We then crossed back into Co. Cork to the village of Knocknagree. Knocknagree provides a wonderful view of the Paps of Anu, the spiritual landmark of the Tuatha Dé Danann and the location of An Cathair Chrobh Dearg, the „city‟ at Shrone. The village green was once the location of one of the largest fairs in Munster, yet it is now deserted. We walked past a plaque commemorating Dan Buckley, „The Bard of Knocknagree‟, to view a plaque commemorating the death of the poet Eoghan Rua Ó Suilleabháin, associated with the poem „Rodney‟s Glory‟, from which the set dance developed. At the other end of the village is the building that was once Dan O‟Connell‟s public house – a place of pilgrimage for many who sought out the music, song and dance of Sliabh Luachra. The public house is now closed and the village, which once hosted numerous performers from far and near on fair days, reflects the decline in rural life in Ireland. It was a contemplative experience to stand in the quiet village and consider the impact of people from and in this area to the history of music in Ireland. We took the road to the left of Dan O‟Connell‟s and, crossing back over the county bounds, arrived at the parish church in Gneeveguilla. To the rear are the graves of Johnny O‟Leary and Denis Murphy, amongst others, laid to rest in the shadow of the Paps. Further up the village is a fine monument to the seanchaí Éamonn Kelly, whose story-telling was an integral part of Seán Ó Riada‟s radio programme Fleadh Cheoil an Radió and through which a greater understanding of the culture of Sliabh Luachra may be developed. We walked up the village to a monument that reflects various aspects of the culture of the area. The Paps, the fiddle, the turf and the books are underpinned by the phrase “Abiding in this cultural place is a privilege to treasure”. Just beyond is the GAA hall with the plaque commemorating the great fiddle player, Denis Murphy (1910-1975), a pupil of Pádraig O‟Keeffe (1887-1963), who played with Johnny O‟Leary (1924- 2004) in Dan O‟Connell‟s for many years and features on the seminal recordings of Sliabh Luachra music, Kerry Fiddles (released in 1977)and The Star Above the Garter (1969). From Knocknagree we made our way to Scartaglen village, where the great Sliabh Luachra fiddle player, Pádraig O‟Keeffe played regularly. At the centre of the village green stands a monument in his likeness, with the name Pádraig Ó Caoimh. He gazes across at the Sliabh Luachra Heritage Centre and beside him is Lyon‟s pub, where Séamus Ennis recorded him in 1947. We took a narrow road from Scartaglen to Pádraig‟s homeplace at Newmarket Cross, more commonly known as Glounthane. We paused at the house and played a tune that is notated on the little plaque at the crossroads. We took a moment to visit the school house where he taught for a time and then made our way towards Castleisland. In the centre of the main street stands a plaque commemorating Patrick Keeffe and his legacy. It is interesting to contemplate the different identities of O‟Keeffe, exemplified through the use of different names in different places within the relatively small region. Moving northwards, we passed the village of Brosna, home of the Paddy Jerrys and the Brosna Céilí Band, before arriving at Bruach na Carraige, Rockchapel. Here we were greeted by Jack Roche. Inside, in a room adorned with pictures of musicians from the area and other significant figures in Irish traditional music, Nicky MacAulliffe was instructing a group of teenagers and they performed a number of tunes with historical links to the area. They also demonstrated dances learned from the great Cork dancing master Joe O‟Donovan and the north Kerry dancing master Jeremiah Molyneaux. Daithí danced a version of The Blackbird from the Molyneaux tradition as Nicky played the fiddle. The Early Start students were amazed at the skill and enthusiasm of the young students and their ability to interact with their audience. Prior to the fieldtrip, the Early Start students had participated in some dance workshops at UCC and, in the comfortable surroundings of the Rockchapel centre, they availed of the opportunity to dance the Sliabh Luachra set with music provided by the young musicians of the local area. The young musicians capably provided music and enthusiastically spoke of their enjoyment of the music, song and dance of the region. Rockchapel marked the end of our journey through Sliabh Luachra and we made our way westwards. Having listened to many of the most famous recordings of musicians from Sliabh Luachra, we now watched Bringing it all back home and considered the greater diversity that exists in Irish traditional music. The students were particularly interested in the singing style of Paul Brady and were impressed by the suggested interaction between American artists with whom they were familiar and the Irish artists, many of whom they were experiencing for the first time. On our way to Dingle, we passed through the town of Tralee. Tralee is the location of Siamsa Tíre, The National Folk Theatre of Ireland, founded by Fr. Pat Ahern in 1964 to promote the heritage of Kerry. Tralee was also the homeplace of Victorian composer Arthur O‟Leary (1834–1919). Today Tralee is well known for the annual pageant and related song „The Rose of Tralee‟. After Tralee, we passed through Blennervile, from where many emigrated to America during and following the Famine. As we travelled by Camp, it is worth mentioning the inland promontory fort, Caherconree. Cú Chulainn attacked the fort with the aid of Blathnaid, the daughter of the king of Man, whom Cú Roí had taken, none too willingly, for his wife. The tale involves the death of Fercetrniu, the bard, who played the three forms of ancient music, the geantraí, the goltraí and the suantraí before seizing Blathnaid and leaping over a cliff. Dingle was a hive of activity, owing in part to the running of the marathon. The town abounds with music and the many sessions and gigs provide an opportunity for students to hear and meet a wide variety of some of Ireland‟s greatest performers. The landscape of the area has been made famous by many films including Ryan’s Daughter and students got an opportunity to admire the breath-taking scenery. The bus parked by the marina and the statue of Fungi, the Dingle dolphin and we walked by many of the pubs on our way to The Goat Street Café where we ate dinner.