A Lullaby for the New Lands by Colin Black 1. SOUND: WIND 2. SOUND: BELL 3. SOUND LOCATION RECORDING OF STANDING ON GALAWAY BEACH UNDER AN UNBRELLA WITH LIGHT RAIN 4. Bernard Clarke: And they left, 5. SOUND: BELL 6. Bernard Clarke: … and they left and they left for Great Britain, Spain, France, Austria, Argentina, Bermuda, Canada, The Caribbean, Chile, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Mexico, South Africa, New Zealand, The United States of America and … 7. Ceara Conway: So the first verse is: A Róisín don't be sad, you know ná bíodh brón. A Róisín ná bíodh brón. Tá na bráithre 'teacht thar sáile's, you know your brothers, your brothers have gone over sea. Now I have to sing it and think of it. A Róisín ná … now don't be sad because of the attack that happened to you … 8. SOUND: "CELTIC GATHERING (REMIX)" 9. Katie Verling: A little drop, a little drop, a little drop for the old person [repeat] A little drop with its own taste for the old person [repeat] Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep, old person [repeat] Go to sleep and be asleep, you old person [repeat] And then a hen's egg, a hen's egg for old person [repeat] And a piece of butter for the old person [repeat] 10. Bernard Clarke: And they wait here, sleeping. 11. Katie Verling: [Traditional Irish lullaby, "Bog braon don Seanduine" sung in Irish, below is an English translation] A little drop, a little drop, a little drop for the old person A little drop with its own taste for the old person Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep, old person Go to sleep and be asleep, you old person And then a hen's egg, a hen's egg for old person And a piece of butter for the old person 12. SOUND: WAVES 13. SOUND: DAIRY CREAM SEPARATOR 14. Timothy Casey: It's a family farm. I am the fourth generation and we milk dairy cows. 15. Katie Verling: [The above traditional Irish lullaby sung in Irish] 16. Timothy Casey: We have the biggest stone circle in western Europe in one of our fields. And I take on to take care of it. 17. Katie Verling: A little drop, a little drop, a little drop for the old person 18. Timothy Casey: It's called the Great Stone Circle of Grange 19. Katie Verling: A little drop with its own taste for the old person 20. Timothy Casey: It's the biggest circle in western Europe. 21. Katie Verling: [The above traditional Irish lullaby sung in Irish] 22. SOUND: DAIRY CREAM CAN OPENING 23. Timothy Casey: The biggest stone it that is called an Irish name. It's called ronach cothram dubh and dubh is the Irish for black. It's like a big black rock, is the Irish name for it. Yes. 24. SOUND: GENTLE RAIN 25. Katie Verling: Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep, old person Go to sleep and be asleep, you old person 26. Bernard Clarke: And they wait here, sleeping. 27. SOUND: FARM GATES OPENING AND CLOSING 28. SOUND: GENTLE RAIN (fades out) 29. SOUND: RURAL LOCATION RECORDING NEAR LOUGH GUR, COUNTY LIMERICK, IRELAND 30. SOUND: PIGS 31. James Lawlor: And he said, "English is a necessary sin, the perfect language to sell pigs in." 32. SOUND: PIGS 33. SOUND: RURAL LOCATION RECORDING NEAR LOUGH GUR, COUNTY LIMERICK, IRELAND 34. MUSIC TRACK: "RÓISÍN DUBH" (first verse sung in Irish by Ceara Conway) 35. Ceara Conway: [Irish] [English translation] A Róisín ná bíodh brón ort fé'r éirigh dhuit: Tá na bráithre 'teacht thar sáile 's iad ag triall ar muir, Tiocfaidh do phárdún ón bPápa is ón Róimh anoir 'S ní spárálfar fíon Spáinneach ar mo Róisín Dubh. Roisin, have no sorrow for all that has happened to you The Friars are out on the brine. They are travelling the sea Your pardon from the Pope will come, from Rome in the East And we won't spare the Spanish wine for my Roisin Dubh 36. SOUND: "RÓISÍN DUBH (DECONSTRUCTED)" 37. James Lawlor: All my ancestors, when I think about it, up until The [Great]Famine, which was happening in the 1840s, 1850s spoke Irish. And there was a massive cut off from that point … 38. SOUND: STOPS 39. James Lawlor: because, you know, a million people died, a million people immigrated; and Irish was seen as the language of poverty, and people never wanted The Famine to happen again. So that, even adults who were native Irish speakers spoke English to their children. So there was a massive, cultural rupture in the 19th Century in Ireland. That was dually part, I guess, to The Famine. It was a rupture, you know. There was a great poet called Michael Hartnett, and he was fostered out by his grandmother who was a native Irish speaker, and she never spoke Irish to her kids, but she spoke with her grandson. And, he wrote a lot of poetry about that. He wrote a poet called 'Death of an Irishwoman' where he summed up her life where "she was a child's purse fill of useless things." That her whole culture, everything that she had, kind of accumulated her lifetime where kind of, where useless. 40. Katie Verling: Go to sleep and be asleep, you old person 41. Bernard Clarke: And they left and they left for Great Britain, Spain, France, Austria, Argentina, Bermuda … 42. James Lawlor: All my ancestors spoke Irish. 43. Ceara Conway: And "The Murder Machine" was a paper that was written about how the English had created an educational system that was dumbing us down. So, the whole piece was really looking at how another country can take over another. How language can be repressed, how a culture can be lost and looking at the lost that is experienced within that. Particularly, I suppose in the 16th Century but also even now, I think, how it is still: I think it is still being experienced to be honest. 44. Katie Verling: Go to sleep and be asleep, you old person 45. James Lawlor: All my ancestors spoke Irish. "English was a necessary sin, the perfect language to sell pigs in." 46. Bernard Clarke: And they left and they left for Great Britain, Spain, France, Austria, Argentina, Bermuda, Canada, The Caribbean, Chile, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Mexico, South Africa … 47. Ceara Conway: So the first verse is: A Róisín don't be sad, you know ná bíodh brón. A Róisín ná bíodh brón. 48. Emma Fisher: Well my mum would have a cup of tea in her hand. And she would be like, "if you are putting the kettle on," you know. I think people, think there is something wrong with you if you don't drink tea. [laughs] There is a real like, there is a real like, "I can't believe that you don't drink tea, now what is that about?" [laughs] 49. Sean Taylor: The wren the wren, the king of all birds, on St Stephen's Day got caught in the furze. [repeat] So, Wrenboys comes from a very old Pagan Celtic tradition where they would capture a wren and kill it and tie it to a bush. And they would go around from door to door banging the bush on the door. And a, chanting: The wren the wren, the king of all birds, on St Stephen's Day got caught in the furze. You had to answer the door and give them food or money, or drink. It was considered to be, back in the old times, it was considered to be really bad luck. You could be cursed by the Wrenboys and have no luck for the year. The wren the wren, the king of all birds, on St Stephen's Day got caught in the furze. [repeat] 50. James Lawlor: You could hear the clamour come over the wind. So yeah, where I am from, it's quite a big day St Stephen's Day. And you would have, they are call a batch, so you would be waiting for this batch of Wrenboys and they would come to your house. In particular they would visit the older people in the vicinity. And when I was growing up, I lived a lot with my grandmother. I lived in a very, very old house, the house was like one hundred and fifty years old, very little done to it, it had the original kind of windows; a really traditional Irish cottage. Around Christmas time, like she would really look forward to it. I think, Ireland had change so much that this was kind of a window into the past for her. And, she really use to, like look forward to these Wrenboys coming. And, um, there would be different batches of them coming all day … 51. Bernard Clarke: A little drop, a little drop, a little drop for the ould one 52. Katie Verling: [A traditional Irish lullaby sung in Irish, below is an English translation] A little drop, a little drop, a little drop for the old person A little drop with its own taste for the old person Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep, old person Go to sleep and be asleep, you old person And then a hen's egg, a hen's egg for old person And a piece of butter for the old person 53. Bernard Clarke: A little drop with its own taste for the ould one Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep ould one Go to sleep and be asleep, you ould one 54. Sean Taylor: Fairy trees are a huge part of the folk lore of the country, particularly in the rural areas, you have a healthy belief in little people, the sióg as they are called in Irish that refers to fairy. And fairy trees would be considered by locals, be those places that mark the territory of the fairies … [this description of fairy trees continues under Bernard Clarke] 55. Bernard Clarke: Nine, ten, eleven million born in Ireland have emigrated. In 1890, 40% of people born in Ireland were living abroad. Around 80 million people worldwide now claimed some Irish descent. The Irish language continues to be cultivated abroad by a small minority, but how many generations abroad can it survive before even the accent is gone? Do the spirits of the land follow you to a new land? 56. Sean Taylor: … the road was built it around the tree 57. Bernard Clarke: Do the spirits of the land follow you to a new land? 58. Sean Taylor: … when you are driving to Limerick you can actually see the fairy tree 59. Bernard Clarke: Do the spirits of the land follow you to a new land? 60. SOUND: WIND 61. SOUND: BELLS AT ST JOHN'S CATHEDRAL, LIMERICK 62. St John's Priest: I have chosen you from the worth of the Lord and I have appointed you to go out and bear fruit, fruit that would last. (John 15:16) 63. SOUND: STREETSCAPE NEAR ST JOHN'S CATHEDRAL, LIMERICK 64. SOUND: DOOR SLAM, ST JOHN'S CATHEDRAL, LIMERICK 65. Ceara Conway: [In Irish language, Ceara shares her impressions of Australia even though she has never been to Australia. This continues under John Greenwood below …] 66. SOUND: PEOPLE RUNNING ALONG THE LIVING BRIDGE, LIMERICK 67. John Greenwood: What's the craic? What's going on? What's happening? Any news? Gossip? What's the craic, people are looking for gossip, when you say that, you know. 68. Áine McCoy and Áine Curtin [A conversation in Irish about a recent visit to Dubai. This continues under John Greenwood below …] 69. John Greenwood: Having the craic is having the laugh, going back to taking the piss out of life itself, I suppose. Why are we here, what are we doing here. Talking about our jobs, academic careers, our passions. What the bloody hell are we doing here? You know really. The bigger questions. That's the craic! 70. Áine McCoy and Áine Curtin [continues the conversation in Irish about a recent visit to Dubai. This continues under John Greenwood below …] 71. John Greenwood: Then you have great craic. [laughs] I had great craic last night, where everybody was sort of on form. You know silver tongued, ready for anything, sharp as knives. Just whatever way the conversation bounces around the place. Everybody is up for it. That's like having great craic. 72. SOUND: MEN LAUGHING IN A PUB IN LIMERICK 73. Bernard Clarke: And they left, and they left and they left for Great Britain, Spain, France, Austria, Argentina, Bermuda, Canada, The Caribbean, Chile, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Mexico, South Africa, New Zealand, The United States of America and, Australia. 74. SOUND: APPLAUSE 75. Katie Verling: Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep, old person [repeat] Go to sleep and be asleep, you old person [repeat] And then a hen's egg, a hen's egg … 76. Bernard Clarke: Do their children's children still know what's great craic? 77. Katie Verling: Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep, old person [repeat] Go to sleep and be asleep, you old person [repeat] And then a hen's egg, a hen's egg … 78. SOUND: PEOPLE RUNNING ALONG THE LIVING BRIDGE, LIMERICK 79. Emma Fisher: We laugh about ourselves all the time. We put ourselves at the butt of jokes. We [laughs], but you know it's, it's: I think it is a good thing, you know, we don't take ourselves too seriously. We like to make jokes about ourselves. I remember being in America actually, and they were all telling jokes, and I was like do I know any jokes? So I told them a joke where the Irishman was at the butt of it. And this American Irish person, got really offended. He was like, "don't say about the Irish, I'm Irish," and I was like, you've just proven that you are not. [laughs] 80. Bernard Clarke: Second-generation wannabe Irishmen. 81. Emma Fisher: In the nicest possible way. He was, he was like, but um, he just got so offended and I was like, but it's funny. [laughs] 82. Bernard Clarke: Plastic Paddies. 83. Katie Verling: [A traditional Irish lullaby sung in Irish, below is an English translation] A little drop, a little drop, a little drop for the old person A little drop with its own taste for the old person Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep, old person Go to sleep and be asleep, you old person And then a hen's egg, a hen's egg for old person And a piece of butter for the old person 84. Timothy Casey: … I am the fourth generation and we milk dairy cows. We have the biggest stone circle in western Europe … 85. Bernard Clarke: Wake up! 86. Timothy Casey: … in one of our fields. 87. Bernard Clarke: Wake up! 88. Timothy Casey: It's called the Great … 89. Bernard Clarke: Wake up! 90. Timothy Casey: … Stone Circle of Grange. 91. Bernard Clarke: … ould one. 92. MUSIC TRACK: "A KIND OF CELTIC GATHERING (REMIX)" 93. Timothy Casey: And I take on to take care of it. 94. Bernard Clarke: Wake up! 95. James Lawlor: We think in English, but we dream in Irish. 96. Bernard Clarke: Wake up. 97. Ceara Conway: Yeah, I dreamt that I carved the word grá, which is the Irish for love in my skin with a sharp implement. Like for me it was prominent, that, that my primary connection with emotion or feeling or the understanding of these things is through language, and it's through Irish because that is would I grew up with. 98. Bernard Clarke: Wake up! You old person. 99. Tom Prendergast.: Where are you guys from! Where are you guys from. 100. American tourists: Ah, guess. 101. Tom Prendergast.: Where! 102. American tourists: You take a guess. 103. Tom Prendergast.: What state! I would know that you were Americans. I would have a good idea of that, yeah. 104. American tourists: It's obvious? 105. Tom Prendergast.: Ah, crikey! 106. American tourists: The way we look? 107. Tom Prendergast.: Yeah, yeah! 108. American tourists: Is it that obvious? 109. Tom Prendergast.: Yeah, it is yeah! 110. American tourists: The way we parked? 111. Tom Prendergast.: It's all of it. 112. American tourists: It won't offend us, but why is so obvious? 111. Tom Prendergast.: I don't know. But you just have that American … 112. Katie Verling: [A traditional Irish lullaby sung in Irish, below is an English translation] A little drop, a little drop, a little drop for the old person A little drop with its own taste for the old person Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep, old person Go to sleep and be asleep, you old person And then a hen's egg, a hen's egg for old person And a piece of butter for the old person 113. Bernard Clarke: A little drop, a little drop, a little drop for the old person A little drop with its own taste for the old person Wake up, wake up, wake up, you old person. 114. James Lawlor: My grandmother actually lived to be ninety-five. When she died we had the traditional, kind of, Irish funeral which goes on for three days and you bring the person back to their house. And, there is a lot of drinking, and kind of reminiscing, and kind of storytelling. And, as the time goes on, a kind of music gets introduced to it as well. 115. MUSIC TRACK: "RÓISÍN DUBH" (sung in Irish by Ceara Conway is mixed in) 116. Katie Verling: A little drop, for the old person 117. SOUND: WIND (is added to the mix) 118. James Lawlor: You know, the Irish of a kind of tradition of staying up all night with the body. So, people will take turns and we did that over a few days. 119. Bernard Clarke: A little drop, a little drop, a little drop for the old person Wake up! 120. Sean Taylor: The banshee is a, women or a hag, sometimes can be beautiful, sometimes can be ugly. So, they appear at times when a family member will have past. 121. Bernard Clarke: Wake up! 122. Sean Taylor: And they appear and they keen, and they scream and they wail at the passing of this person. Bunworth Banshee, "Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland," by Thomas Crofton Croker, 1825 123. Bernard Clarke: Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! 124. SOUND: SILENCE 125. SOUND: FADE IN GENTLE RAIN AND WIND 126. SOUND: FARAWAY SCREAM 127. Bernard Clarke: And they left and they left for Great Britain, Spain, France, Austria, Argentina, Bermuda, Canada, The Caribbean, Chile, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Mexico, South Africa … 128. Sean Taylor: Do the spirits of the land follow you to a new land? 129. Bernard Clarke: Second-generation wannabe Irishmen. 130. SOUND: FARAWAY SCREAM 131. SOUND: WATER LAPPING UP AGAINST A BOAT 132. Bernard Clarke: From across the seas the old songs may sound broken, or are even forgotten. But in your blood the old people, ancestors and spirits have not forgotten, they wait here sleeping, waiting to be woken. 133. SOUND: WATER LAPPING UP AGAINST A BOAT (fade out)