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MUSIC, SONG & VERSE
The Gaelic League Tradition The Cornafean Ceili Group Sean Masterson's Poems
The Cornafean Ceili Group was formed by Paddy McDermott in 1978, initially to take part in fleadh cheoil and Sc6r competitions. The Group quickly achieved wide popularity, making numerous T.V. and radio appearances, as well as taking part in many All-Ireland fleadh cheoil finals, taking second-place honours in Listowel in 1987, and again in Sligo in 1989. It has also participated with the Cross Wren boys under the leadership of Brendan Clarke in three All - Ireland finals in Listowel, winning two and coming second in the third.
In 1981 the Group played abroad for the first time when they were invited by Milica Djokic to take part in the international folk festival in Vienna after she heard them play support act to Clannad at a concert in Saint Patrick's College, Cavan club.
In February 1983 the Group, in conjunction with the football club's 'Lord
Mayor' campaign, launched their first tape 'Traditional Music and Song Cornafean
Style'. It included songs from local singers Carmel McDermott, Sean Masterson
and Tommy Donohoe together with some of the Group's best Irish music. It was a
best seller and tapes were sold in Ireland, England, Luxembourg, Canada and the
U.S.A.
Another tape followed in June 1984 when the football club combined with the musical talent in the area to produce 'The Mountain Road' as part of the celebrations in Cornafean to mark the GAA centenary. This tape included more of the Group's best Irish music and more songs from the three local singers. Teresa Cassidy, another local singer, also features on this tape. The tape had a strong GAA flavour with Tommy Donohoe's rendition of "the 35 All Ireland",the men who won Cavan's second All Ireland in 1935, and a tribute to the Cavan team that won the 1947 All Ireland final, sung by Sean Masterson. Carmel McDermott and Teresa Cassidy sung beautiful renditions of "PJ Duke" and "John Joe O'Reilly" in memory of the tragically deceased Cavan football heroes.
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The late Tommy Donohoe |
In 1989, the Group recorded and released their third cassette tape, entitled "Breffni to Bavaria". This tape also included two songs recorded by the late Tommy Donohoe (Cloncose), who had died a year earlier. The first, "The Youths of Sweet Redhills", was Tommy's best-known song and he once sang it on the RTE "Trom agus Eadrom" programme, to great praise from presenter Liam O'Murchu. The second, "The Hunt of Coolbawn" was a local favourite on the subject of hunting, of which Tommy was a noted enthusiast. This tape once again proved a huge success, generating special interest in Germany when the Ceili Group toured there that summer.
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The Cornafean Ceili Group 1989: Back Row Siobhan Masterson, Kathleen Masterson, Deirdre Martin, Lily Gaffney, Patricia Martin Front Row: Robert Morrow, Siobhan McManus, John Morrow, Gemma McDermott, Breda McManus, Karen McDermott |
Over the years, a wide variety of traditional musicians have played with the Group. In the early years, its members included Martin Cullen, Brian and Damien Caffrey, Paddy, Enda and Kevin McDermott, Kathleen Masterson, Sean and Seamus McGahern, Ben Bouchier, Mary Fitzpatrick, Patricia Brady and the Martin sisters, Rita, Vera, Deirdre and Helen. Later on the group was joined by Thomas Morrow, now a star with the group Dervish, his brothes John and Robert, and others such as Gemma and Karen McDermott, Patricia Martin, Lily Gaffney, Siobhan Masterson and others.
Throughout its existence, the group has been renowned for its consistently high standards of music and entertainment. Their successes to date are due to the hard work of their leader Paddy McDermott, along with others such as his late father, Tommy McDermott, Dr Paddy Rudden (Arva), John Campbell (Cavan) and the late Tommy Curran (Killeshandra).
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Paddy McDermott, Rita Martin and Thomas Morrow |
The Group have completed three tours of Bavaria, in Southern Germany, which initially arose from an invitation from Terry O’Reilly, a native of Killeshandra, now living in the town of Rudenau in Bavaria.
The first was in May 1989, when they were invited to Germany for the special German-Irish week, organised as part of the celebrations to mark the 1300th anniversary of the death of St Killian. The cassette tape entitled "Breffni to Bavaria" was recorded by the Group to mark the occasion. This tape sold in large numbers in both Ireland and Germany. Later that year, a Brass Band from Rudenau paid a return visit to Co. Cavan. Their tour included concerts in Cornafean, Killeshandra, Mullagh and Cavan town, as well as a public performance at Mass in Cavan Cathedral.
The Cornafean Group made a second visit to Bavaria in the early 1990’s which was equally successful, and the third tour took place in July 2000 when a total of 18 musicians travelled to Germany. They played to large and enthusiastic audiences at a number of events in various towns in Bavaria, including a special concert at an open-air theatre in Omerbau, a Wine Festival in the town of Eirbach, a Joint Concert with the local Music Group in Rudenau itself and another in the provincial capital of Milternberg.
There is a long-established tradition of Irish music and song in Cornafean. The early years of the 20th century were times of great Gaelic enthusiasm throughout the country. The influence of the Gaelic League, founded in 1893 by Douglas Hyde and Eoin McNeill, spread throughout the country and the League had 600 branches by 1908.
The Cornafean branch had its first meeting on November 21st 1907 when five members of the Drumcrave branch in Cavan were invited by Pol McSeain to Cornafean to open up an Irish class in the area. Classes were organized with Mr. Brady NT Wateraughy and Mr. Rodgers NT Cornafean taking charge. Ceilis soon followed the classes and the Cornafean Gaelic League Hall became famous as a venue for Ceilis. Dances such as the Walls of Limerick, and the Bridge of Athlone, as well as many four hand reels and sixteen hand reels became popular amongst the locals. During these years, members of the Cornafean cumann recorded many successes at the many feiseanna held throughout Co. Cavan. The Anglo Celt commented as follows in 1908,
“The Gaelic League ceili at Cornafean was a revelation to those who had never been in Cornafean before. There is at least one (we know there are others) centre of Irish Ireland in Breffni; one place in which the National spirit and National gaiety mingle together and help one another and make bright and glad the lives of as fine a lot of young Gaels as we have ever seen”
These ceilis attracted to Cornafean numerous people for different areas and a great sense of loyalty and comradeship arose among the members – it was out of this spirit that the Cornafean Naoimh Fionnain GAA club was founded in 1908. The credit for setting up the Gaelic League cumann in Cornafean belongs to Pol McSeain who succeeded in bringing his great organizational ability to bear on all its activities. Although the cumann died out in the 1910’s, the tradition continued and right up to the end of the 1950’s Cornafean Hall, or Aras Fionnain as it was officially called, was a great centre for ceili music. People came from far and near to dance to the music of the groups such as the Eugene Leddy Ceili Band, the Fore Ceili Band, the Colmcille ceili band and the Moate Ceili Band.
