- 02 Jun 2017
at Aula Maxima, UCC
OLLSCOIL na h脡IREANN
THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND
TEXT OF THE INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS DELIVERED BY:
Professor P脕DRAIG 脫 MACH脕IN, Ceann, Roinn na Nua-Ghaelige in 深夜亚洲福利久久 College Cork, on 2 June 2017, on the occasion of the conferring of the Degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, on Fr PAT AHERN
Sheansail茅ir, a Uachtar谩in, a mhuintir na hOllscoile agus a dhaoine uaisle, idir chl茅ir agus tuath,
Irish medieval authors tell us that every artistic creation should be interrogated on the following four grounds: locc, aimser, f谩th airicc, agus persa (place, time, cause, and originator). If these medieval criteria were applied to the phenomenon we know as Siamsa T铆re, The National Folk Theatre of Ireland, we should answer respectively as follows: place Tralee Co. Kerry; time the 1960s leading up to 1974, when Siamsa T铆re came into existence formally as a company, and on to the present day; cause to provide access to Ireland鈥檚 heritage of music, song, dance and storytelling through the medium of theatre; and finally, the originator: our Honorary Graduand, Fr Pat Ahern.
Moyvane in north Kerry is Fr Ahern鈥檚 own place of origin, 85 years ago: and even today, in recognition of that important connection, a window from his family home is preserved in the set of the Siamsa T铆re production in Tralee.
North Kerry, as we all know, enjoys a well-earned reputation as a centre of artistic and academic excellence, in two languages at least: the names of Keane, McMahon, and Kennelly will be familiar to you all; so also, to some of you at least, will be the names of those from the area who have excelled academically 鈥� the great O鈥橰ahilly family, for example, that gave us the sibling Professors Thomas, Cecily, and Alfred, who looks down on us today as a former president of UCC 鈥� themselves kin to the great eighteenth-century poet Aog谩n 脫 Rathaile.
These giants of literature and scholarship did not emerge in vacuo. They were rooted in an extraordinary culture of organic creativity that went back to distant times, and that encompassed remarkable achievements in poetry, song, storytelling, music and dance.
From this background, Fr Ahern was born in 1932 into a musical family: he learned the fiddle from the playing of his mother, Margaret Walsh, her father Dan Walsh also being a noted fiddle-player. This active interest in music was transmitted also to her son Se谩n, Fr Pat鈥檚 brother, and we are pleased to welcome Se谩n and his other brother Dan here today, along with members past and present of Siamsa T铆re.
To this hereditary tradition of music in the family Fr Ahern attributes, in part, the germ of the idea that would become Siamsa T铆re; for another part he gives credit to the last of the itinerant dancing masters, Jeremiah Molyneux, who taught dancing locally, and whose unique style of dance Fr Ahern introduced to Siamsa T铆re from the very beginning. The depth of this north-Kerry tradition, which formed the bedrock of Siamsa T铆re, gave it an authenticity 鈥� free from any whiff of artificiality but always open to innovation 鈥� which was recognised by all who saw it as the real deal. This proved to be the priceless pearl, the unique selling point, that ensured the rapid advance of Siamsa to the professional company it is today. Siamsa had, as it were, a hotline to the deepest indigenous traditions, and this set them apart from everyone else.
Fr Ahern would go on to study organ and piano in Maynooth, and to continue his musical studies here in UCC under Aloys Fleischmann, studying piano under Prof. Fleischmann's mother, Tilly Fleischmann. From UCC he graduated with a BMus in 1962.
While most of us are doing well if we have one vocation to pursue, it is true to say that Fr Pat has had at least two 鈥� the priesthood and the theatre 鈥� and that he has been able, through a sense of vision and purpose, to combine the two in the work that has made him famous today. His initial steps into the theatre of tradition comprised a sequence of pageants representing respectively the story of Lourdes, the story of the birth of Christ, and the story of the Passion, which he wrote and produced in Tralee in 1958, 1959 and 1963. The talent for these productions came from the locality, and it prompted Fr Ahern to begin experimenting with theatre not just as a medium for the exploration and portrayal of religious themes, but for a similar investigation and re-transmission of traditional Irish performance art, at a time when one component of that art 鈥� namely music 鈥� was beginning to come to international attention during the period referred to as that of the folk-revival.
Fr Ahern's vision was wider than that, however, and saw Irish tradition as consisting of an extended family of art forms, each with its own validity and unique set of skills, which he proceeded to assemble under the broad umbrella of theatre, and which quickly came to be called folk theatre.
N铆 haon chur i gc茅铆ll n谩 谩ibh茅il 茅 bun煤 Amharclann na Mainistreach thiar i dt煤is na haoise seo caite a chur i gcom贸rtas le bun煤 Shiamsa T铆re i seascaid铆 na haoise c茅anna. B'fhada 贸 ch茅ile an d谩 mheitheal bhunaitheoir铆 贸 thaobh meoin agus aicme de, ach n铆 rabhadar gan chos煤lachta铆 贸 thaobh cusp贸ir铆 agus cur chuige de. D谩 chomhartha sin, t谩 an t茅arma 鈥榥谩isi煤nta鈥� i dteideal an d谩 institi煤id sa l谩 inniu.
Buna铆odh an d谩 cheann tr谩th go raibh gluaiseacht athbheochana cult煤rtha f茅 l谩n tseoil: athbheochan litr铆ochta agus theangan agus athbheochan cheoil agus dh煤chais. Ceann de na difr铆ochta铆 eatarthu gur an铆os agus 贸n dtaobh istigh a tharla gluaiseacht Thra L铆 鈥� n铆or gh谩 aon Yeats n谩 aon Synge chun an ceol n谩 an d煤chas a aimsi煤 d贸ibh, mar ba leo f茅in cheana iad: bh铆odar ginte san Athair Pat, mar at谩 r谩ite agam cheana f茅in, agus bh铆odar ann go smior, rud a d鈥檃ithin a easpag f茅in, 脡amonn 脫 Cathasaigh, go nd茅ine Dia tr贸caire air, a thug gach aon spreagadh agus taca铆ocht d贸.
Rud eile a bh铆 agus at谩 i gc贸na铆 ann n谩 misneach, tiom谩int, agus teaspach. Aon nu谩la铆ocht, aon r茅abhl贸id, is g谩 misneach chun 茅 a chur ar bun, agus is g谩 teaspach agus tiom谩int chun 茅 a choth煤 i
dtreo go bhf谩sfaidh agus go mbl谩th贸idh. Agus anuas air sin, is g谩 tr茅ithe neachoitianta pearsanta chun dul i bhf谩ir ar dhaoine, chun an aisling a l茅iri煤 agus a mh铆ni煤 d贸ibh, agus chun iad a thabhairt leat. N铆 miste a r谩 go bhfuil na tr茅ithe sin go tiubh san Athair Pat Ahern: misneach, teaspach, pearsant煤lacht, cumas 谩itithe agus meallta.
It would be beyond the compass of this brief encomium to rehearse every remarkable achievement that followed rapidly on those early establishment years: the TV shows for RT脡, the first American tour where Siamsa sold out on Broadway in 1976; the many other tours that followed; the performances for the Pope at Limerick in 1979, for the Queen of the Netherlands, for the King and Queen of Sweden, and in response to a personal invitation from Bob Hawke, the performance at the Australian Bicentennial celebrations in 1987. This international aspect to Siamsa's work was encapsulated by their collaboration with Bill Whelan and Maria Pages for the Seville Suite, performed by Siamsa in Spain and Dublin in 1992, and acknowledged as an inspiration for what would become Riverdance.
D谩 fheabhas agus d谩 shuaithins铆 iad na l茅irithe a dhein Siamsa T铆re ar fuaid an domhain, is 茅 an ghn茅 is cro铆l谩r d'fheals煤nacht an chomp谩ntais n谩 an rud uil铆 agus 茅 ag eascairt 贸n rud 谩iti煤il. T谩 sin le feiscint go soil茅ir in imeachta铆 Siamsa i gcaitheamh na mblianta, an measc谩n idir taisteal an domhain agus taisteal na h脡ireann. An beann agus an meas a bh铆 agus at谩 ag an Athair P谩draig ar th谩bhacht a th铆re d煤chais, t谩 s茅 le l茅amh ar chl谩r na n-imeachta铆 贸 bhliain go ch茅ile: in aon bhliain leis an dturas go Sevilla, cuirim i gc谩s, thug Siamsa turas Chiarra铆 chomh maith. Gheofa铆 feachtais ar n贸s Se贸 na Scoileanna sa mbliain 1993 a chur leis sin, agus go h谩irithe an cur i l谩thair a tharla i gCnoc na gCaiseal, m铆 Eanair 1988.
To walk into the Siamsa T铆re complex in Tralee today is to see the tangible and lasting result of Fr Ahern's endeavours: a state-of-the-art theatre and exhibition centre, with full-time staff and a professional company. That monument conceals the years of effort to convert innovatory visionary thinking into a reality.
There is an expression in Irish that refers to a person as being l谩n de cheol literally 鈥榝ull of music鈥�. It does not necessarily mean that such a person is musical at all, but it indicates that he or she is an energetic, entertaining, affable and pleasant person, and that, in turn, music is associated with positive, personal characteristics. One might think that the formulation of this expression, whenever it happened, was done with Fr Pat Ahern specifically in mind, because he embodies its spirit literally and metaphorically: this modest man is l谩n de cheol in every way imaginable, and a more than worthy recipient of the highest honour that this 深夜亚洲福利久久 can bestow.
Praehonorabilis Cancellarie, totaque universitas!
Praesento vobis hunc meum filium, quem scio tam moribus quam doctrina habilem et idoneum esse qui admittatur, honoris causa, ad gradum Doctoratus in utroque Jure, idque tibi fide mea testor ac spondeo totique Academiae.