Reflecting on a new republic ; in his inauguration speech the President calls for a generous reach of inclusiveness , a wide embrace, to include the Irish Abroad.

Full Speech: text and video

https://www.rte.ie/news/2018/1111/1010231-president-speech-full/

https://www.rte.ie/player/gb/live/7/

Campaigning amongst the Diaspora @ Lumen Cafe , London 2011

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He did not set out to be, but when you heard Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin perform he was the pulse of Ireland and its Diaspora.

When I heard late last night (Nov 7th) of the death of Mícheál my mind was awash with sound bites and what a tribute to a man who spent his life making sounds. What his mentor Seán Ó Riada did for the Chieftains he did for the Riverdance generation.

About ten years ago at the Newcastle Irish Festival here in the UK I saw him gave a master class at the University there. He involved everyone in that music department they and we the audience entered into his ‘Irish World’. For when the music and musician you have chosen for your funeral dies (Eleanor Plunkett) …it stops you also in your tracks. For me he was to the Irish scale what Seamus Heaney was to its alphabet. If Heaney could create magic images recalling his mother peeling potatoes Mícheál the Máistir created for me something between ‘two worlds’ in his collaboration with the monks of Glenstall Abbey, his orchestra, the female voice of his wife Nóirín Ní Riain and Brian Kennedy to create Lumen (Light!)

Thank God for today we can go with Mícheál ‘Between Two Worlds’ via

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Sarah Jane Hughes 100th birthday Wednesday November 7th 2018

100 today and still standing proud as an Irish women ” and my passport is still green“

Late last year I interviewed Sarah in her 99th year and my full interview is available below. Despite a fall a few months ago and a hip replacement Jane made a speedy recovery, responded to physiotherapy and is now mobilising well. She was joined by her large extensive family on Nov 7th to celebrate this great milestone.

Derbyshire based 99 year old Sarah Jane Hughes, a star of the Co. Down talks, to Gerry Molumby

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Sebastian Barry reveals some of the sacred secrets of his scriptures at Liverpool Irish Festival

Copy and pictures Gerry Molumby

Victoria Gallery and Museum – University Quarter Liverpool, Saturday October 20^th, 2018

The Liverpool Literary Festival was hosted right in the middle of the Liverpool Irish Festival. I am presuming this was not accidental and is an example of good forward planning. For, in the most Irish of British cities where better to meet and hear Sebastian Barry (current Laureate for Irish Fiction), who may be another Irish ‘nobelious’ title holder. The event was hosted by Institute of Irish Studies – University of Liverpool and the format was ‘in conversation’, ably chaired by Waterford born distinguished historian and critic Roy Foster.

Sebastian Barry in conversation with Professor Roy Foster at Liverpool Irish and Li (5).JPG

Roy proposed “that Ireland is being saved by Irish Fiction “. In reply Sebastian firstly, referenced Booker prize winner Anna Burns Milkman and by implication called for us to “dispense” with leaning to our 19^th and 20^th century literature and called for us to “be on our pins” to maintain our ongoing worldwide literary reputation. The evening was a mixture of reading and singing from his wide canon of drama, poetry and storytelling novels. Again, following a question from Roy about many of his characters wanting redemption, Sebastian explained “I try and get to the essence of people before I even write about them”, that he is not happy until they are fully human. Referring often to his family history and peoples, which permeates his writing, he reminded us that his mother was the great Irish actress Joan O’Hara. She who gave us The Quiet Land of Erin, a translation of an old Gaelic exile song, Árd Tí Cuain, and made famous by her sister Mary, a onetime contemplative nun, harpist and singer. He regaled a story of his mother taking him along to the Abbey Theatre when aged eight, “ at night when we go into a room we put the lights on, here I was in this big room and to liven it up they switched the lights off”, and when his mother walked on stage, he wondered in that innocent eight year old boy’s mind in Dublin 1963 “ how are we going to get home now” !. One of the perks of being known to people in the arts is “hearing people like Colm Tobin talk highly of your mother”. With a nod to his mother’s aunts he found the source of The Only True History of Lizzie Finn.

Sebastian Barry in conversation with Professor Roy Foster at Liverpool Irish and Li (8).JPG

Sebastian Barry’s overriding concern is with recovering those parts of Irish history that have been forgotten or displaced by official, particularly nationalist, histories. He wrote The Steward of Christendom as a way of discovering and coming to terms with his great-grandfather, Thomas Dunne – the last Catholic head of the Dublin Metropolitan Police before Irish Independence in 1922, a loyal servant of the British.

At Liverpool’s Irish Festival he spoke fondly of Donal McCann who played the lead in Steward before his death in 1999. An actor who had what we Irish call “his open secrets of demons” (my quote). McCann showed us Dunne visibly struggling between the need to remember and the urge to forget his past life, trying to reconcile his love of his children with his treatment of them, and his love of his country with the contempt his countrymen feel for him. This was virtuoso acting, I ask is Thomas Dunne Ireland’s King Lear?

With his family theatrical vein, Sebastian reads passionately from his writings but some of the clarity of diction and quick delivery, did not serve him well. Overall an engaging man and event. Glad to have met him.

Gerry Molumby

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Institute of Irish Studies launches MA in Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool’s London Campus …and Bertie Ahern returning to deliver the John Kennedy Lecture on November 22nd

A new London-based Master’s in Irish Studies was launched by the Ambassador of Ireland to the United Kingdom, Adrian O’Neill, at the Irish Embassy on October 18 2018.

The University of Liverpool’s Institute of Irish Studies is offering the interdisciplinary MA programme at the University’s London campus in Finsbury Square, building on the Institute’s reputation for delivering research-led teaching of the highest standard.

Adrian O’Neill, Ambassador of Ireland to the United Kingdom, said: “I am delighted to launch this new Master’s Programme in Irish Studies. The histories of our two islands have always been, and will continue to be closely connected, intertwined and interdependent. Programmes such as this MA serve to increase knowledge and awareness of Irish history, politics and culture and, in the broader context, will contribute to increased shared understandings and ever-stronger relations between Ireland and Britain.”

The MA in Irish Studies provides students with the opportunity to explore major issues of global concern: peace and conflict transformation, women’s studies, migration, history, literature and politics.

London’s history and demography make it the fourth largest ‘Irish’ city in the world, and its contemporary economic, political and cultural connections mean it is an ideal location for Irish Studies. Students will also be offered the chance to experience cultural activities at no extra cost.

Professor Pete Shirlow, Director of the Institute of Irish Studies, said: “The MA in central London is a major opportunity for people who wish to develop their career, move onto a PhD or study for the love of learning. Our MA programme merges modern and contemporary Ireland into a series of modules that promotes skills in analysis.

“As this programme of study highlights Ireland in cultural, economic, political and social terms, it is a unique and prominent site to develop our wider cultural understanding of the past and the present.”

For questions about the MA, contact l.arrington@liverpool.ac.uk and visit https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/london/programmes/finance-accounting-business-and-communication/ma-irish-studies/

Bertie Ahern to speak on negotiating The Good Friday Agreement

To register your space(s) please go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/51401268578.

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Irish Chaplaincy charity in Britain , now in its 61st year tells is updated story in latest newsletter.

IC-Newsletter-Autumn-2018

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The Ceiliúradh Londain 2018 was a magical event, an amazing evening, with an array of local Irish talent.

Larry O’Leary has written a wonderful review on .

http://www.cicalondon.org/

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Irish at home equally disappointed at London Late Late Show

Gerry Molumby who has been producing Irish plays and concerts in the UK for 25 years said…

It was billed, like the Toy Show to be ‘special’. We ,the Irish in Britain ,allowing for the cost to the Irish tax payer/licence fee payer ,were willing and ready to be involved in showcasing the vibrancy of the Diaspora in the UK ‘for one night only’ !.

Before and after the broadcast I was being contact from Ireland with people saying, “looking forward to hearing and seeing all about the Irish in Britain” We trailed the build up from Ryan on his daily radio show and the Irish press in the UK. We saw on social media Ryan at iconic locations in London. Yes, there were great expectations. What happened? Montrose moved to London for the weekend and brought with them a typical Late Late Show. Finbar, Imelda and Agnes class acts in their own right but they have been on the Late Late so often. Likewise, Barry and Mick’s great sports moments were highlights for the Irish Abroad in the past, but history, this was a wasted time slot.

There is a decency about Ryan Tubridy, a consummate presenter on radio and TV, but I feel he was badly advised and directed, or he himself just did not grasp the potential. The Irish at home were waiting for our showcase, buy they got ‘to whom it may concern it’s the same same old late late Show’. When I was younger the Late Late Show was always animated when Ulick O’Conner was on i.e. there was a guaranteed live row , so it was a ‘nod’ to old times when that ‘gig’ was given to Nigel and Alistair, but surely better suited to Prime Time or BBC Newsnight.

The cabaret table guests were kept off the sofa but spoke well, but I doubt any on them felt they were telling the fuller story of people born in Ireland or of Irish parents or grandparents in Britain today. Where was Gaelic Games in UK (so vibrant) – Irish Studies in UK Universities, Irish in NHS, Construction, Education and Arts etc. …fully explored? I could filled this page with a list . So many people said to me over the weekend “What was the point of it”? The show did not stand alone as anything special and it could have been an important event.

The finale quality artists must have come over on the same ‘Ryan….Air’ as they all live in Ireland. Any branch of Comhaltas in UK could have done that gig as well or even better in the context of the promised theme. Current World Champion Irish Dancer Joe Mc Geown. Am sure Michael McGolderick or Karen Ryan could have put a great set together. act etc

Nobody wanted the ticket allocation mess that occurred, that is also part of the debrief agenda and people who were stuck in that shambles are better able to speak on that than me.

Cut to the chase, it was a missed opportunity.

Gerry Molumby

Derbyshire

www.irelandanditsdiaspora.com

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Did RTE Nationwide get it better than the Late Late Show, in telling part of the Irish in Britain story on visit to London the same day ?

https://www.rte.ie/player/gb/show/nationwide-21/10951569/

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Liverpool Irishman Damien Brickland hosts an annual golf tournament for Hope House in Cheshire.

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Why have we heard so little about Ireland’s martyred Priests of ‘the troubles?

This TG4 documentary might ‘shed some blood’ on the background to them.

https://tg4.ie/en/player/home/?pid=5789315951001&teideal=Des%20Wilson%20-%20Sagart%20Pobal%20&series=Cogar&dlft=34

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Was Bing (Harry) Crosby the original Irish-American Sean-nós professional performer?

Watch out for the great Dermot O’Brien and Milo O’Shea crooning with Bing !

https://tg4.ie/en/player/home/?pid=5679182317001&teideal=Bing%20Crosby%20-%20Guth%20&series=Guth%20&dlft=25

I watched the first presidential debate on RTE News at One 27/9/18. Here are my thoughts !

The pending presidential election, although an exercise in democracy, will be a ‘going through the motions’ of re-electing Michael D Higgins as Uachtarán na hÉireann. I predict he will be re-elected not only because of the calibre of those standing against him; but by the names of those not going up against him seeking the national mandate. Where is Bertie Ahern, Enda Kenny or Michael McDowell, a grandson of Irish revolutionary and Gaelic scholar Eoin MacNeill. The main political parties are not nominating a candidate, so they are keeping their powder dry! fully conscious of Michael’s popularity and therefore waiting for next time.

2018

Joan Freeman – well meaning and great opportunity to promote Pieta House

Liadh Ní Riada – Sinn Féin and a nation once again candidate out and out.

Peter Casey – well meaning but verbally indecisive

Gavin Duffy – if job at the Aras in public relations – he is your man, but keep him away from the seal of office !

Seán Gallagher – has been!. Or where has he been the past 7 years ? (He appears to not have got over the ‘Siege of Derry’ 2011 by Martin Mc Guinness RIP)

President of Ireland ? – ‘Miggledy Higgins’ (ceist answer child of 7!)

https://www.rte.ie/player/gb/show/rte-news-stories-30004668/10943589/

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Ceiliúradh Londáin October 13th

Presented by The Council of Irish County Associations in collaboration with the London Irish Centre.

The Gaelic Games, Drama, Music Song and Dance communities in London have got together to present this Showcase from 8pm on Saturday October 13.

Ceiliúradh Londain_A4_PRINT

I have been asked to work with the team and be MC on the night. The final programme is near completion and further details to follow.

http://www.cicalondon.org/

To book tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ceiliuradh-londain-tickets-49870217162

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Crawley Irish Festival – as seen on Irish tv with Martin and Annette Logan.

and more next week !

http://theirishintheuktv.com/

– another great Irish family day out .

Pictorial chronicle on my flickr screen below

95 and still going …..to the Crawley Irish Festival

3 Stages

Main man – organiser John Nolan

John Mc Nicholl and Mary Byrne duet – Ireland’s got talent !!

family day out

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Fergal Keane BBC

History of Ireland

A new five-part landmark series, written and presented by BBC Special Correspondent Fergal Keane, The Story of Ireland is a clear-eyed and expansive view of the history of the island and its people from its earliest times to the present day. Far from being a remote European outpost, episode one charts the formation of Ireland’s DNA by successive ways of invaders and settlers. Along the way, Keane exposes the myth of Ireland’s Celtic identity – he travels to Norway and presents the Vikings as resourceful settlers and traders in Ireland rather than as the barbarous marauders of popular belief. He also follows the trail of the early Iris monks as they bring their literature and learning through Europe to re-energise the Christian world, in the early Middle Ages.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00yvscy/story-of-ireland-1-age-of-invasions

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I have been following with interest the developing narrative since President Higgins made public his intention to seek the nomination for a second term.

If challenged in an election, I feel he will, rightly, be re-elected. MD has served the Irish at home and abroad well .With the pending referendum of giving the vote in the presidency to the Irish abroad, the election will be good for the fast changing pertinent political and ethical Irish priorities.

Other than one resignation and death in office we have had at least two fourteen year terms being unopposed, as though the office was the prerogative of the Fianna Fáil party .I am old enough to remember 1966 ,when Judge Tom O’Higgins had the ‘nerve’ to challenge Éamon de Valera, but remember he only lost by 1%. Incidentally he stood again against Erskine Childers and only lost by only 4%.

An election can be a tough arena as Seán Gallagher knows well, and he appears to be showing interest. He was tripped up by in the 2011 presidential tv debate by Martin McGuiness. He was running favourite and I feel that McGuiness felt he himself was not likely to win but was not going to give Seán a continued lead. No disrespect, but a tv dragon’s den presenter may not have the breadth of experience and knowledge to be president. In many ways the late Martin may have done the country a favour. Since the presidency of ‘the two Marys’, the office is more demanding and has a raised worldwide reputation and not only with the Diaspora. The office of Uachtarán na hÉireann is in essence a popularity constant and to date the Irish electorate have been astute to elect people capable of representing us at the United Nations and feel the pulse of the nation in crisis. Look at what Mary McAleese did for peace in our time. I do hope that discerning instinct is maintained in this era of social media news and fake news!

Is Mise,

Gerry Molumby

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Vince has the Power and he gave Liverpool his finest hour.

I have known from personal experience the contribution Vince Power has made to culture in Britain. I regularly attended the Mean Fiddler in Harlesden to see Christy Moore and The Dubliners and his fleadh’s at Finsbury Park. He has gone on to be central in the great festivals of Glastonbury, and Reading. One of the stars Imelda May told the audience ” Vince booked me when nobody else would, gave me good food…and money ” and she acclaimed him for what he has done for musical culture in UK.

I am going to let my pictures tell the story of

IN PICTURES

Opening Act but future headliner….Great band to beat the band !. Clare Sands from Co.Cork.

Dubliner Legends on main stage

Finbar in full audience Furey

Two local dance school and Ceili Band entertained on stage 3

Local lad Nathan Carter

Chieftains and guests

Foy Vance fine tunes his sound check

Irish girls know how to party !

Van the man!

Finbar Furey made a point to come and watch and support Damien Dempsey

Imelda engaged greatly with the audience.

Damien

Vince mingling with the audience

Shane Mac Gowen led the rousing finale

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The Irish Times heralds people to Northampton, in its Bloomsday 2018 edition .

Cormac Molumby Photographer

As you may know An Irishman’s Diary is one of the most popular features in the Irish Times – print and on line . On Bloomsday June 16th it said “So for an hour at least, Lucia Joyce will be surrounded by her father’s people, although her permanent neighbours in Kingsthorpe Cemetery also include the Irish writer Donall MacAmhlaigh and Violet Gibson , a Dubliner who shared her incarceration for a time in St. Andrew’s Psychiatric Hospital ,after an attempt to shoot Benito Mussolini”

Bloomsday Northampton June 2018 June Cormac Molumby and Fred Hart (2)

Peter Mulligan (Organisor ) introducing the event

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/her-father-s-daughter-an-irishman-s-diary-about-the-tragic-life-of-lucia-joyce-1.3532151

An appreciative audience enjoyed what Ruaidhri Dowling (Irish Embassy ) called “An impressive performance of a new play ‘Letters to Lucia’ “In the unique setting of the cemetery where Lucia is buried, her friends and family express thoughts and feelings they perhaps wished they could have articulated during Lucia’s lifetime, but for various reasons did not.

From an original idea by Richard Rose, the drama was developed in collaboration with playwright James Vollmar and the Triskellion Irish Theatre Company. Cast of James Joyce, Nora Barnacle, Samuel Beckett, Frank Budgen, and Kathleen Neel.

Northampton Bloomsday 2018 collage Gerry Molumby

Edna O’Brien writes Bloomsday Greeting

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A history of the Irish Dancing ‘at home ‘ and in the clubs of Emigrant London . (free to read on line)

http://www.topicrecords.co.uk/a-few-good-tunes/files/index.html

Maurice O’Connell Irish Dance History in London . Gerry Molumby

London Irish Dancer Maurice O’Connell’s Ireland and World Champion medals .

Different days…. but he was the Michael Flatley of his time worldwide .

Patrick O’Connell OBE (son of Maurice O’Connell) with John Cullinane,an authority on Irish Dancing ‘at home and abroad’ attended the Worldwide Irish Dancing Championship’s reception, Embassy of Ireland , London 2012.

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Gerry Molumby’s picture wins place in New York photographic exhibition

Aptly titled Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses , the picture was taken in August 2012 while Gerry and family visited New York on route to stay with his brother John ,permanently living in California.

The exhibition will be hosted by Aisling Irish Community and Cultural Centre (990 McLean Ave, Yonkers, NY 1070). Out of nearly 1000 submissions , the exhibition will host 50, there will be a further 12 finalists to be included in their 2018 calendar. The only thing that ‘gives the picture away’ from being circa 1890 are the modern day cranes in the centre.

Gerry said ” having just seen some of the other exhibition pictures there is an obvious high standard. Like most people I take scenic pictures but that day in New York harbour this sailing tourist ship came into view and I was reminded of all the Irish Emigrants who entered USA via Ellis Island. The narrative by Emma Lazarus came to mind ”

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

“Then I knew I did not just have a picture ,but a story ”

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Your Irish Passport is a work of art, let’s look at it again.

~ and a Lancashire born Irish poet chosen to have her verse included …. ~

Story and pictures Gerry Molumby

At the Global Irish Civic Forum in Dublin (May 2017) there was a wonderful presentation on the work that went in to the renewal of the Irish Passport , incorporating the latest security technology, but also making it a piece of Irish art. So from notes and further research I have been on a voyage of discovery….come along with me. The first thing you will notice are the illustrations of Gaelic Sports and Music along with landmarks such as Croagh Patrick, Kylemore Abbey, Croke Park, the Cliffs of Moher and my native Rock of Cashel, which adorn the pages with the Brian Buru harp being the rightly expected watermark on each page.

Picture 1: Brian Buru harp being the rightly expected watermark on each page.

At the conference I was alerted to the inclusion, throughout the pages, to the full music score of Amhrán na bhFiann, the full text of Article 2 of the Irish Constitution, which appears alternately in Irish and in English.

It is the entitlement and birthright of every person born in the island of Ireland, which includes its islands and seas, to be part of the Irish Nation. That is also the entitlement of all persons otherwise qualified in accordance with law to be citizens of Ireland. Furthermore, the Irish nation cherishes its special affinity with people of Irish ancestry living abroad who share its cultural identity and heritage.

The written and spoken word is fully included with verses by William Butler Yeats and James Orr and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaíll. Born in Lancashire, England in 1952, of Irish parents, Nuala moved to Ireland at the age of five, and was brought up in the Dingle Gaeltacht and in Nenagh, County Tipperary. A couple of Ní Dhomhnaíll’s lines written in Irish on page six are – Labhrann gach cuinne den leathinis seo liom ina teanga feinig, teanga a thuigim – loosely translated and with a nod towards the Irish abroad to mean – every corner of the land speaks to us.

Dedicated to the Irish language Nuala writes poetry exclusively in Irish and is quoted as saying “Irish is a language of beauty, historical significance, ancient roots and an immense propensity for poetic expression through its everyday use”, she currently lives near Dublin with her husband and four children and is a regular broadcaster on Irish radio and television.

Picture 2:On left the Verse by Nuala Ní Dhomhnaíll. Note the Bird Knot, (centre of left page) the intricate nature of these original designs makes replication very difficult. Note the seed in the bird’s beak to represent the ‘scattering’ of the Irish Abroad and part of the score from the national anthem on top left of each page in the passport.

Picture 3. The River Gods as seen under the Liffey Bridge are seen in all their glory when you bend two pages into each other.

Note also the Ogham characters (on lower left of the picture above) are printed in thermo-chromic ink, i.e. the colour of the character changes when heat is applied. The individual Ogham character and a hand drawn trace of a tree leaf, also lights up under ultra-violet inspection. Printed with shifting ink Spark technology, the image shimmers in the light. This is the first time this technology was used on an international travel document.

Ogham is an Early Medieval alphabet used to write the early Irish language. There are a number of surviving orthodox inscriptions on stone monuments throughout Ireland, mostly in southern Munster.

Picture 5. Newgrange Entrance Stone image. Again this is printed with shifting ink Spark technology behind the front page and as with the Ogham the image shimmers in the light.

“Be advised, my passport’s green” Seamus Heaney

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What is the best piece of Irish Music ?

For me it is Eleanor Plunkett, by composer Turlough O’Carolan (1670–1738).

Here are my favourite versions ;

Car park acoustics!

The Master himself

fmolumby@aol.com

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Following on from the Global Irish Civic Forum held at Dublin Castle in May…the Global Irish Diaspora Directory ….is now available in furthering the links that bind us together. A good piece of work by and from the Irish Government Foreign Affairs and Trade Secretariat.

https://www.dfa.ie/global-irish/staying-in-touch/diaspora-directory/

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Thomas Moore the bard of Ireland……….but , ” in a village of England your bones should have rest”

In a recent edition of the Irish World I read of the revived interest by Eleanor Mc Evoy on the works of Thomas Moore.

What readers may not know is that he joins the band of famous Irish people buried in the UK. His wife wanted him buried with his two children in the family vault in Bromham, Wiltshire.

The British Poet Laureate John Betjeman called him ” dear bard of my boyhood”, he was mine also as my dad used sing his songs and I became ‘ a ministral boy’.

” In the churchyard of Bromham the yews intertwine

O’er smooth granite cross of a Celtic design,

Looking quite our of place in surroundings like these

In a corner of Wilts’ twixt the chalk and the cheese.

I can but account you neglected and poor,

Dear bard of my boyhood, mellifluous Moore,

That far from the land which of all you loved best

In a village of England our bones should have rest .

Other famous Irish Abroad include George Bernard Shaw (Ayot St Lawrence, nr Welwyn), Percy French (Formby ‘across the mersey) and Sean O’ Casey (Golders Green)