Hello again!
When I left you last, I was getting ready for my fieldtrip to the Dingle Peninsula (also known as the Beara Peninsula). I set out on Friday morning for our meeting point, which was about a mile and a half away from my apartment. I’m sure that I looked ridiculous, as I was carrying my backpack, stuffed to the seams with a towel strapped on, as well as my Macalester tour guide bag. We got on the bus and began out journey. Along the way, Daithí (our main leader) would tell us stories about the towns we were passing. Some of them involved the people and styles we are learning about in our classes, and others were just anecdotes about funny places he knows about. Many of them were given a Daithí-esque spin, making all of us laugh anyway.
Our first stop was in Cordal/Glountane at the home and school of Padraig O’ Keefe, a very influential fiddle master at the end of the 19th/beginning of the 20th century, who defined the Sliabh Luachra (pronounced Shleeve Loo-crah) style. There was a lovely little memorial to Padraig, which had two of his polkas inscribed on it – in the way Padraig wrote the music for his students. Both Daithí and Stella, our other leader, played a tune in memoriam for the great fiddler.
His House
Cool fiddle notation
Daithí
Stella
Our next stop was at Eamon Kelly’s – the great actor and storyteller – memorial. Although he was not a musician per se, he was essential in maintaining and bringing life to the Sliabh Luachra identity. He returned to the little town, almost every year. Knocknagree was our next stop – to see the building that Dan O’ Connell’s pub used to be, and where the great poet Eoghan Rua Ó Suillebháin died. The pub was the heart of the musical and dancing tradition in the area, bringing in musicians from all over the world to partake in a session. Johnny O’ Leary (accordian) and Denis Murphy (fiddle) were regulars at the pub, and became a famous pair.
Dan O Connell's old building
Eoghan Rua Ó Suilleabháin was born in 1748, and became on of the last great Gaelic poets. Daithí told us all sorts of stories about this ‘character’, as Daithí called him – he was kind of a trickster and a rake, but is poetry remains some of the greatest in the Gaelic language.
Eoghan Rua Ó Suillebháin's Memorial
We stopped in Rockchapel at Brú na Carraige, a center for the Comhaltas Celotóiri Éireann. The CCE is an international organiation whch promotes Irish traditional music, song, and dance. Jack Roche, one of the local CCE masters, gave us a little lecture, and then we head some authentic Sliabh Luachra music. Daithí then made us employ our new found dancing skills – the room was rather small, but we had a grand time. After dancing, we were given two special gifts – Daithí danced for us, and then he, Stella, and one of the students in my group played with the CCE men.
We finally arrived in Dingle. We checked into our hotel, and then quickly headed over to the Goat Street Café to eat dinner. I had a Leek and Courgette Soup and a Morrocan Tagine with couscous. I swear, I’ve made this dish before – chick peas, black beans, tomatoes, carrots, celery, raisin, and a ton of spices. It was delicious.
Immediately after dinner, we went to a folk music concert, which was lovely. There was a man who played the tin whistle and the Uillean pipes, a singer/songwriter guitar player, and two seán nos singers (old style), who also happened to play the accordian and the bodhrán (traditional drum).
The main dude.
After the concert, we went to a pub to kill a little bit of time, and then we headed to a different pub to hear some live Trad music. Daithí and Stella were both playing, and it was lots of fun. I went home and promptly fell asleep!
On Saturday (birthday!), I was the first to wake up in our room, and I took the first shower. I had about two hours to kill before breakfast was served, and so I decided to go out and catch the sunrise over the harbor. Unfortunately, there were a bunch of clouds, so I wasn’t able to see any color.
No color, but still lovely!
I went back to the hotel, and my friend Samm and I went back out, because she wanted to get some pictures. I was paying more attention to the cute little town around me that I sort of… fell down off the sidewalk. I skinned my palm pretty badly. Stupid stupid stupid. We went to a grocery store in order to get some first aid stuff. Sigh. We went back to the hotel, had breakfast, and then the group set out for the Blasket Island Center.
The Blasket Islands are a set of Islands that were inhabited by an all-Irish speaking community until the 1950’s. A center has been built to commemorate and memorialize the people, the culture, the literature, and the hardships that were endured. After we watched a short film at the center, we were given a lecture by one of the only scholars to study the music of the Blasket Islands. It was very interesting – she played examples of how although many tunes were shared with the mainland, many were tweeked in a specific way, and the islanders wrote quite a few of their own as well. We had lunch, and then we were allowed to explore a little bit – I climbed down some cliffs, and was able to get some wonderful pictures. I also found some neat rocks – of course. I picked up two lovely, smooth, green sandstones, and a quartz crystal.
At the bottom of the cliffs - please exuse the raindrop.
The big island in the distance is the major Blasket Island
We returned to Dingle, washed up, and then went to a dance studio to learn some more steps – so much fun. We danced for about two hours, and then we were set free on the town. I walked around with some friends, poking our heads into shops, exploring, and having a grand ol’ time. We briefly returned to the hotel to freshen up before dinner.
Dinner was back at the Goat Street Café. This time, I had Carrot and Ginger soup, a Roasted Vegetable Roulade, and a Fruit Salad with a lovely spiced syrup. My friends and I went out to a pub for a little while, once again, killing a little time. Daithí and Stella went head to head with some people in a few game of pool or two. At 9:00, a DJ set up an all ABBA night. I ran as quickly as I could out of there. I don’t like ABBA. We went to another pub, and caught the last of one of the World Cup Qualifying games – Ireland won! That was wonderful – everyone was cheering and hugging. Good times right there. Since there were about 15 of us, we claimed a room in the back of the pub while we waited for the trad session to start. At 10, we went up front for some more music. The music from the night before was better (even Stella said so), but it was still fun. It was a lovely end of my birthday.
On Sunday, we went to Tralee to visit the Kerry School of music. Aiden O Carroll talked to us for over an hour on modern composition in Ireland. He was very nice, and had a great composition style – he played about 4 different pieces. He told us that he was ‘ unapolagetically tonal’. I don’t mind that at all. After leaving Tralee, we drove for while, and then stopped for lunch. We finally got back to Cork around 3:30. That gave us around 4 hours to ourselves before heading to a concert – Moving Hearts.
At 7:30, I meandered over to the Cork Opera House, where Moving Hearts were to be playing. I was a little skeptical, given the name ( I think it’s a little cheesy), but I was absolutely blown away by the end of the first song. Moving Hearts blends Irish Traditional Music, jazz, latin, and rock for a very unique and absolutely HOT sound. I had a blast. (Sorry no pictures – we weren’t allowed!) I went home and promptly fell asleep! I was exhausted.
I know this was a monster – I hope you enjoyed it if you got all the way down here!
