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Oidhreacht Eochaille (The Heritage of Youghal)

Youghal Clock Gate

Youghal and its hinterland is an area rich in history. A few years ago, a project to research the town’s musical heritage led to an idea to create a musical pageant which would incorporate and interpret the stories, myths and characters of Youghal and its environs through a mix of new and traditional songs, music and dance.

The show was given the title Oidhreacht Eochaille (The Heritage of Youghal) and after months of practice and rehearsal it was premiered on Monday 24th June 2019 in the Mall Arts Centre, Youghal.

A Louth Lilt musicians Daithí Kearney and Adèle Commins, both based at Dundalk Institute of Technology, were instrumental in researching and writing the content for the pageant. The show includes several new compositions by them both which were inspired by their research, the stories they heard and the scenery of the area. They are sure to become classic tunes in the Ceolta Sí repertoire for years to come. Adèle’s ‘Lighting Capel Island’ has been incorporated into a radio documentary about Capel Island and the Knockadoon peninsula which has been aired on CRY FM.

Oidhreacht Eochaille was both a visual and musical celebration of Youghal and the surrounding area. The production was accompanied by photographic and video imagery by Liam O’Leary. Eaach section included informative and interesting narration to introduce and provide context to each piece. The show opened with tales and tunes celebrating Youghal’s maritime past with tunes and songs taken from existing musical collections. ‘Storm at Sea’, a new composition by Daithí Kearney, brings to life the storm that legend says changed the flow of the river Blackwater and created Youghal Harbour.  Also inspired by local legend and story, The Ballad of Moll Goggins, composed by Daithí, is based on the lovelorn young woman who kept watch for a sailor who never returned.

The pageant then moved on to describe the influence of outsiders to Youghal. Historical personalities such as Lord Richard Boyle, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Oliver Cromwell and groups like the Quakers were referenced, all of whom left a lasting mark on the town’s heritage.  Daithí’s new tune, ‘Myrtle Grove’, captures the prosperity, class and status during the town’s heyday. Also remembered in the pageant through a new composition, ‘The Jewish Polkas’, is the lesser known figure of William Moses Annyas Easnes who, in 1555, became the mayor of Youghal and was the first Jew to hold such an elected position in Ireland.

During the interval the audience enjoyed delicious pastries kindly donated by Lidl, Youghal and a welcome cup of tea. The second part of the show began with a section on the Clock Gate, the most iconic structure in Youghal. Listening to John McGrath describe his experiences of growing up and living in the Clock Gate inspired Daithí to create ‘The Clock Gate Jig’ and the song ‘McGrath’s Clock Gate’. The audience were in fine voice, joining in to sing the chorus each time.  We were delighted that John McGrath himself was present to say a few words to the audience during this section of the show, and he expressed his gratitude to Daithí and Adele for bringing his experiences to life.

The show continued with a visit to the town’s wider hinterland such as the Gaeltacht areas of An Rinn and Knockadoon. Both areas are notable for their poets and musicians, exemplified by a rendition of Piaras Mac Gearailt’s epic Rosc Catha na Mumhan (The Munster War Song).

The final part of the pageant concentrated on the future musical heritage of Youghal. Our younger musicians (many of whom only started learning an instrument in September) and dancers revelled in the opportunity to perform their new tunes and received a well-deserved standing ovation for their performance. The audience were then treated to a final set of tunes, or Grúpa Cheoil, from the senior musicians to finish off a wonderful night’s entertainment.

In his address to the audience, Micheál de Buitléir, Chairman of Youghal Comhaltas, thanked Cork County Council, East Cork Municipal District Community Fund, Comhaltas and Lidl Youghal for their sponsorship and support of the production. Plans are afoot produce a CD recording of the music. So, if you missed this very special production the first time around, make sure you keep an eye on the Brú Na Sí Facebook page for future dates. 

Youghal Comhaltas are very proud to be continuing the musical heritage of Youghal and we were delighted to share this very special show with you!

Oidhreacht Eochaille was supported by the East Cork Municipal District Creative Scheme. We would also like to acknowledge the support of Cork County Council, Creative Ireland, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, The Red Store, Youghal Credit Union, The Mall Arts Centre & Yew Wood Venues and all the teachers, volunteers and musicians of Craobh Eochaille CCÉ.

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Ceolta Si
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann

Table Quiz

Table Quiz

Cash prizes for the winners. Spot Prizes and Raffle.

Youghal Comhaltas invites you to a table quiz:

Friday 22nd March 2019, 9pm start
Location: The Red Store, Youghal

€40 per table of 4 persons

Contact us for more information.

Jackie Daly & Matt Cranitch

Jackie Daly & Matt Cranitch

Jackie Daly and Matt Cranitch live at Brú na Sí, Youghal. Saturday 16th March 2019 at 8pm. Come and celebrate St Patrick’s weekend with us at Brú na Sí with these masters of music.

Traditional Music in Youghal & Its Hinterland

Thank you to Dr Daithí Kearney for allowing us to reproduce his work on our site.

Poetry, song and music provide unique insights into the culture of places at points in time in history. The song ‘Eochaill’, a song that appeared as ‘Sunday Morning’ in the Bunting collection of 1840, is the most explicit reference to Youghal in the canon of Irish traditional music. Eochaill is the Irish name for the town of Youghal and the song tells of a girl from the area whose voice was sweeter than fairy music. A hornpipe with the title ‘Youghal Harbour’ can be found in collections of Captain Francis O’Neill collections, compiled in America in the early twentieth century, and as a set dance in the Roche Collection. Interestingly, an air with this title appears in O’Neill’s Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody (1922). In this book, O’Neill states:

Altho’ overlooked by both Bunting and Petrie in their great collections, there can be no question of the antiquity of “Youghal Harbour” which by name and strain is still remembered in the south of Ireland.

O’Neill notes adaptations of the air by others but today the air in question is known mostly as that to which the popular Wexford ballad ‘Boolavogue’ is sung.

More specific reference to historical musical activities in Youghal is presented by academic Barra Boydell, who notes the interest of Richard Boyle, first Earl of Cork, in music, arts and crafts. In 1602, Boyle bought the Munster estates of Sir Walter Raleigh and Boydell notes: “any musicians casually employed by Boyle would most likely have lived in Youghal”. Boyle owned an Irish harp and presented one as a gift on at least one occasion. Harpers mentioned in records include Donnel Duff O Cahill, harper to Anne of Denmark, King James I’s queen, who is acknowledged as acting as a messenger between 1614 and 1616. Boydell notes: “As well as recalling the traditional role in Gaelic society of harpers acting as messengers, these references reflect the interest in the Irish harp among non-Gaelic communities in the early seventeenth century, an interest which is documented not only in England but also on the Continent”. It is also noted that Boyle lent his harp to the blind harper William Barry.

Amongst the Irish speaking communities of the area, music and poetry were treasured and the communities were creative in their musical expression. The town of Youghal is located near the poetry courts of Sliabh gCua and Ballykineally, while the nearby Gaeltacht of An Rinn continues to nurture a sean-nós singing tradition. In Our Musical Heritage (1962), Ó Riada made mention of the wonderful singers of the Déise and of the area around Ballymacoda. Such strength in Gaelic heritage is in contrast to the image of the area as the land of the planter. It is an area that Daniel Corkery identified as part of “the hidden Ireland”.

Writing about literature in Cork, Mary Leland recognises the area around Carrigtwohill as the birthplace of Dáibhí Ó Bruadair (c. 1625-98) and Dáibhí de Barra (1757-1851), Dungourney as the homeplace of Eamonn de Bháill a contemporary of Seán Clárach Mac Domhnall (1691-1754), while Limerick born poet Tadhg Gaelach Ó Suilleabháin spent much of his life in East Cork before moving to Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, where he died. Leland also makes reference to Piaras Mac Gearailt (1700-1791) and Pádraig Piaras Ó Condúin (1777-1856) from Ballykineally and Ballymacoda respectively. Many of these poets reflected the dying web of bardic patronage that was at its peak from 1200-1600.

Corkery identifies the poet Piaras Mac Gearailt (1702-1795) or Pierce Fitzgerald, as an important literary figure in ‘Gaelic Ireland’. Mac Gearailt signed himself as Áird-Shirriam Leatha Mogha, taken by Corkery to mean the Chief Poet of Munster! Fitzgerald, in an effort to keep his lands under the Penal Laws became a Protestant at Kilcredan Church, an act that was to cause him some distress. In defiance of English culture, Corkery tells us that he would gather singers from both sides of the Blackwater to his house in Ballykineally twice in the year; and for fifty years he is thought to have presided over these meetings. Though he died in Clashmore on the Waterford side of the river, his body was returned for burial in Ballymacoda. His most famous song is undoubtedly Rosc Catha na Mumhan, The Munster War Song written around 1780. Imagining a sea fleet of a great Prince coming to help, Mac Gearailt calls to the clansmen of the Gael to unite, shake off their bonds, and strike for freedom.

In 1927, Máiréad Ní Annagáin, a native of west Waterford, and Séamus Clandillon, the first director of broadcasting at 2RN, published a collection of songs, Londubh an Chairn, that reflect on the singing traditions of the area, including songs that make reference to places such as Youghal, Ballymacoda and the Blackwater River. In her introduction she reflects on the large number of singers from Ballymacoda who competed at the Oireachtas in Dungarvan in 1917.

One of the songs of interest in the Londubh an Chairn collection is number 31, Inghean an Phailitínig (The Palatines Daughter). Ní Annagáin remembers her father begin the song:

Lá breath aoibhinn aerach is mé ag siubhal na mall ‘san Eochaill
One fine airy day, as I walked the Mall in Youghal

The Palatines were planters brought from the Rhine Provinces of Germany to West Limerick about 1725. They seldom mixed with the ‘Irish’ and retained resolutely their Germanic facial features.

Reference to Youghal also appears in the song ‘My Bonnie Blue Eyed Lassie’. Another love song in which a man sings of his desires to wed a particular girl and though “Brightly swims the swan in the broad streams of Youghal”, the love between them is far deeper. Writing in Treoir, Séamus MacMathúna notes: “I distinctly remember Seamus Ennis (S .S.D.A.) singing Eochaill”, which rhymed well with the following line, “all for to behold her”.

Another song of interest refers to the hospitality and musicality of Ballymacoda, near Youghal. Torramh an bharaille (The wake of the Barrell) is full of humour and also features in Tomás Ó Canainn’s Songs of Cork. Written by Pádraig Phiarias Ó Chundún (1777-1857), a farmer from near Ballymacoda who emigrated to the USA around 1826 with his wife and young family. Cundún never became fluent in English but he continued to write poems and songs which were circulated in Ireland in manuscript form”. His songs and poems reflect events and places. In ‘Tórramh an Bharaille’ (1819) he tells of the generosity of the people of Ballymacoda; that the people of these parts will drink ale or sherry but never drink soda and there’s always a meal on the table for a visitor or weary traveller. Another humerous song in this collection, popularised by Jimmy Crowley, is ‘Johnny Jump Up’, written by Tadgh Jordan of Cork. It refers to a type of cider, more potent than intended, following fermentation in old whiskey barrels and makes mention of The Railway Bar in Youghal.

Ardmore is a beautiful village a few miles from Youghal. It is here that one finds one of the earliest sculpted representations of the harp, carved into the wall of the cathedral in a frieze depicting the biblical story of King Solomon and the baby. The proximity of Ardmore is reflected in the great local love song ‘Idir Ard Mhóir is Eochaill’, which was recorded by the Nioclás Ó Tóibín on Rinn na Gael and which more recently featured on the album All things considered by the band Danú and sung by Ciarán Ó Gealbháin of An Rinn. The opening lines echo the opening of the song ‘Eochaill’, as the poet wanders the road between Ardmore and Youghal when he meets a beautiful young girl from Youghal who he hopes to marry.

Frieze at Ardmore County Waterford

Plate 1 Frieze on cathedral in Ardmore, Co. Waterford. Source: Author, 22nd February 2009.

In search of the music of Youghal and its hinterland

A number of tunes associated with Youghal and its hinterland may be found in the nineteenth century collections of O’Farrell and Goodman. Farrell, a piper, is believed to have been from over the border in South Tipperary and has included a number of tunes that reference East Cork and Waterford. Published by him in London in 1810, local folklore suggests the Youghal Waltz is amongst the oldest waltzes in the Irish tradition.
Canon James Goodman (1828-1896) from Dingle who later lived in Skibereen in West Cork and was a Professor of Irish at Trinity College, Dublin, also collected music in the 1800s, published much more recently as Tunes of the Munster Pipers.  Amongst the tunes are a hornpipe entitled ‘Youghal Harbour’, a reel entitled ‘The Cork Lasses’ and a slip jig entitled ‘The High Road to Cork’. Amongst Irish tune names, Kitty is a recurring character and ‘Kitty’s Rambles to Youghal’ is another tune found in the Goodman collection.

A notable musician from Youghal is Séamus Ó Mathúna (Jimmy Mahony), a fiddle player who played in The All-Ireland Trio with uilleann piper, Leo Rowsome (1903-1970) and flute player Neilius Ó Cróinín (d. 1930). Rowsome is a very high-profile figure in Irish traditional music. Belonging to the third generation of a family of pipers, Rowsome reinitiated the Dublin Pipers’ Club in 1936 and was its first president. He was also one of the founders of Cumann Ceoltóirí Éireann in 1950 and was central to the organisation in 1951 of the gathering at Mullingar that led to the formation of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann.

Leo Rowsome and Séamus MacMathúna

Leo Rowsome (uilleann pipes) and Séamus MacMathúna (fiddle) taken at Feis Gharmann, Wexford in 1929. Source: Nicholas McAuliffe, private collection.

Music in Youghal today

Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann took time to become established in Youghal. A note in Treoir from 1972 states: “Killeagh and Midleton Branches, with the assistance of Craobh Dungarbhan, now organise regular Oicheanta Cheoil in Youghal”. A branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann was established in Youghal in the early 1980s. The three people who came to the first meeting were Dónal Brookes, a fiddle player from Ennis, Co. Clare; Mary Daly from Maynooth, Co. Kildare, who was one of the leading traditional players in the area and who played a lot in County Waterford; and Nicholas Larkin from Galway, who was very involved in CCÉ in England when he was there. Early on, set dancing classes were organised by the branch. Later tin whistle classes were taught by two nuns in the presentation convent. At the time Micheál Ó Lochlainn was chairman of Cork County Board and now he was very helpful. Marching Bands and later opportunities to perform for tourists heightened awareness of CCÉ in the town and surrounding areas. For many years, Mícheál de Buitléir has served as chairman of the branch in Youghal. The performing group, Ceolta Sí, perform regularly in Youghal and have performed in places as diverse as Mexico and China. A purpose built training and performance centre, Brú na Sí, was completed in 2005 and is situated between the town walls of Youghal and the site of an ancient Celtic settlement.

Conclusion

Some of the richness of Irish traditional music is found in its local voice and connection to places. Youghal in the present, with a Teach Cheoil, thriving branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, and a Pipe Band that has over a century of music-making behind it, indicates the continuing richness of the musical heritage of Youghal. It reflects the creativity of the people and imbues the place with culture. Long may it continue.

Cordeen Live in Youghal – 9th June

For our June concert event we are delighted to welcome Cordeen, a Button Accordion quartet from Newfoundland and Ireland as part of their tour of Ireland. The group explores the music and song from their native regions in what promises to be fantastic night’s entertainment.

Cordeen Live in Youghal
8pm at Brú na Sí
Tickets:

  • Adults – €15 per person
  • Concessions (OAP, Under 18) – €10 per person

To reserve a ticket, email youghal@comhaltas.net or call 087 793 4504
Tickets can be BOOKED ONLINE via Eventbrite. Please be aware that a credit card charge is applied for tickets sold online.

Cordeen are:

    • Graham Wells (Newfoundland) – previously a member of the renowned band, The Irish Descendants
    • Benny McCarthy (Waterford, Ireland) – founding member of iconic traditional music group Danú
    • Billy Sutton (Newfoundland)- of the popular trad/rock group The Fables. He is not only a master accordionist but a prodigious talent on the bouzouki, fiddle and mandola!
    • Conor Moriarty (Sliabh Luachra, Ireland) – an All-Ireland Accordion champion who learned to play at the knees of great players like John Brosnan and Jimmy Doyle.

For more information on Cordeen and their music, take a look at their facebook page, and their website – https://www.cordeen.com/

Caitlín & Ciarán

On Friday, 24th February 2017 , Brú na Sí were delighted to welcome Caitlín Nic Gabhann (concertina and dance) and Ciarán Ó Maonaigh (fiddle). On the previous Sunday they had performed at the Gradam Ceol at the Cork Opera House, which had been televised on TG4, and attended by a large contingent of Youghal Comhaltas members. Their appearance had excited us for their concert and they certainly didn’t disappoint.

Caitlin and Ciaran

Before the show, Caitlín and Ciarán held a 2 hour workshop for our young performers. 40 pupils from Youghal and Midleton Comhaltas branches learnt a number of new tunes from the pair. A full house at Brú na Sí witnessed an amazing performance by the duo with many of the tunes being Caitlín’s own compositions. Jigs, reels, hornpipes, polkas, slow airs, dancing and stories; the show had something for everyone. The concert was the launch night of their forthcoming world tour which takes in Australia and New Zealand in April with dates in Europe also. Based on the evening’s performance, audiences everywhere are in for real treat.

Caitlin dancing

At the end of the show, Caitlín and Ciarán invited the young people who had been involved in the workshop earlier that day to perform with them on stage. A great experience for all of them and something they won’t forget in a hurry. We wish both Caitlín and Ciarán every success on their tour and look forward seeing them again at Brú na Sí very soon.

If you’d like to keep in touch with what the pair are up to, then checkout the following links:

Caitlín Nic Gabhann facbook page
Caitlín and Ciarán’s facebook page
http://caitlin.ie/

Sliabh Luachra Music & Culture

Our 2017 workshop and concert series started in a wonderful fashion with the visit of the Rockchapel based group Ceoltóirí Sliabh Luachra, on 28th January.

Sliabh Luachra Workshop

Sliabh Luachra Workshop

The day started at 3pm with over 40 students attending a masterclass group workshop with the Sliabh Luachra members. The students added some of Ireland’s oldest tunes to their repertoire including the Youghal Waltz, one of Ireland’s oldest waltz’s.

Our fantastic volunteers provided food for the workshop students and our visitors and there continued to be a great buzz around the centre when the concert began at 7.30pm. A full house was treated to a performance of the highly acclaimed and award winning show “The Pulses of a Thousand Years” which brought the audience on a journey through the history of Ireland and it’s traditional music, song and dance. During the show, the workshop students were invited to join in with the tunes they had learnt during the day and were praised by the visitors at how quickly they learnt the tunes.

It was obvious to all present that the amount of research that had gone into creating the show had been a massive undertaking and, from talking to the group, new tunes, dances and songs are still being uncovered in areas around the country and beyond.  However, as the group rightly pointed out, unless the tunes are written down, recorded and performed they are at risk of being lost forever.  I’m sure everyone agreed that the evening was both extremely entertaining and very interesting and a must see for anyone interested in the history of traditional music, song and dance in Ireland.

Ceoltóirí Sliabh Luachra

Ceoltóirí Sliabh Luachra

Ceoltóirí Sliabh Luachra dancing

For more information on their show or where they will be performing, take a look at their facebook page or the Sliabh Luachra website.

Friday, 24th Feb: Caitlín Nic Ghabhannn & Ciarán Ó Maonaigh

For our February concert and workshop we are delighted to welcome Caitlín and Ciarán to Brú na Sí.

Caitlín Nic Gabhann and Ciarán Ó Maonaigh

8pm – Concert.

Ticket Information:

Concert Only Tickets – €10 per person.
Concert Ticket + Pre-concert Dinner (@7pm) – €12 per person. Please note, limited places are available for the dinner).

Please email youghal@comhaltas.net to reserve your ticket or call 087 793 4504.

Caitlín Nic Gabhann – concertina / dance
Three time All-Ireland champion on concertina, Caitlín is a regular performer at festivals and in concert halls from North America all the way to Asia. She is also an accomplished dancer and has toured the world with Riverdance as a troupe dancer. Writing tunes since the age of ten, her compositions have been performed in the Cork Opera House and The National Concert Hall, Dublin and recorded by renowned musicians in Ireland and abroad. She teaches concertina annually at summer and winter schools in Ireland, Europe and USA.

Ciarán Ó Maonaigh – Fiddle
A former recipient of TG4 Young Musician of the Year, fiddle player Ciarán Ó Maonaigh hails from the Gaoth Dobhair gaeltacht in Co. Donegal. Growing up, he was heavily influenced by his extended family; his grandfather and teacher Francie Mooney, Altan members Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and Frankie Kennedy, Derry fiddle player Dermot McLaughlin as well as the Donegal fiddle legend John Doherty amongst others.

Caitlín and Ciarán will be holding a workshop for our young musicians prior to performing. Please contact us to reserve your ticket and note that workshop places are available to musicians of other Comhaltas groups.

To find out more about Caitlín and Cirarán, check out their facebook page.

 

 

April 1st 2017 – Daithí Kearney and Adèle Commins

Our March/April event sees Daithí Kearney and Adele Commins make a welcome return to Brú na Sí.

Daithí Kearney and Adèle Commins

8pm at Brú na Sí

Tickets €10 per person

To reserve a ticket, email youghal@comhaltas.net or call 087 793 4504

Dr Daithí Kearney is a graduate of University College Cork and currently Programme Director of the BA (Hons) Applied Music at Dundalk Institute of Technology. Best known as a banjo and mandolin player, he also performs and has recorded on piano/keyboards, mandola and as a singer and dancer. A career highlight was a performance for President Obama in The White House on St. Patrick’s Day 2009.

Adèle Commins, Head of Creative Arts, Media and Music at DkIT, is a musicologist and an accomplished piano, piano accordion player and soprano. She has toured internationally with the Ceol Oirghialla Traditional Ensemble facilitating workshops and engaging in performances in America and Brazil.