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PAUL KEATING

Irish music legends pass

By
Paul Keating

Published Thursday, December 17, 2009, 3:15 PM
Updated Thursday, December 17, 2009, 3:19 PM


Ciaran Macmathuna was an RTE broadcaster who sought out authentic musicians from all over Ireland, England and the U.S.
Ciaran Macmathuna was an RTE broadcaster who sought out authentic musicians from all over Ireland, England and the U.S.

Paul Keating: Part of the fascination for the pure drop of traditional music and the type of life it lures people into is the fascination with the people who made the music and the environment they came from.

Those who lead the life become ethnomusicologists of a sort mostly in an amateur vein, though some go full-bore and build academic study around it and become more professional. So besides the enjoyment of listening to the music, we revel in knowing much more about it and its creators.

Last week the names of three iconic figures in traditional Irish music caught my attention for differing reasons, but I feel they all have a connection linking the threads of history.

The news came at the end of the week of the death of famed RTE pioneering broadcaster Ciaran MacMathuna at age 84 in his adopted home of Dublin. The Limerick native retired at the age of 80 from RTE after producing and presenting the Sunday morning radio staple Mo Cheo Thu program for 35 years, following 15 years of collecting and producing the Job of Journeywork program, both of which captured traditional musicians in their own localities.

The mild-mannered and curious journalist traveled all over Ireland, England and the U.S. to find and bring to the attention of the nationwide audience, authentic musicians who would generally not be recognized much at all for their adherence to the native music, nor would they be much bothered at seeking any attention to themselves.

But his professional approach and advocacy for recognition paralleled the development of Irish radio itself in the 1950s and 1960s and provided entertainment for a considerable portion of the Irish population who saw a value in respecting the heritage of the rural countryside.

Married to traditional singer Dolly MacMahon from Galway, Ciaran lived the life of traditional musicians, and he garnered their respect and appreciation for his many years of solid recording history that was a building block for what we enjoy today.

Also laboring in the vineyard gathering in the fruits of the tradition was Seamus Ennis, a native of Finglas, North Dublin who died in 1982.

An Irish speaker and an uilleann piper, he was well suited for the work of documenting and collecting from the field for the Irish Folklore Commission, and his efforts on their behalf were noted in a diary kept in Irish from 1942-1946.

The Irish edition was published in 2007, but just last month Rionach ui Ogain edited an English language translation which makes fascinating reading for how another pioneering musicologist helped the Irish nation understand the treasures in its midst.

The work is called Going to the Well for Water: The Seamus Ennis Field Diary 1942-1946, featuring great detail and photos of life on the road -- by bike -- for the famed musician whose work also was recognized later on in broadcasting annals for RTE and BBC.

The new book makes for enjoyable reading (614 pages) for the serious student of Irish music, or for those who want to get a historical perspective on that period from a primary source.

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Irish music legends pass | Entertainment in Ireland and Around the World | IrishCentral


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Posted by cormacmac on Dec 20, 2009, 08:53 PM EST
An absolutely splendid piece. Well done






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