A Neill,

Go raibh maith agat as an scéal fán amhrán ' An Chéad Mháirt de Fhómhair'. Seo duit píosa eile as an ált le Julie Henigan a luaigh mé thuas:

One of the most popular songs in Rann na Feirste is An Chéad Mháirt de Fhómhair (The First Tuesday in Autumn) - a lament, spontaneously composed by a local man upon learning of the death by drowning of a favorite son. The man was found on the beach, "crying and lamenting and singing for his lost son," and, as Hiúdaí told me, "Nobody knows how the melody came - it's freely wailing and crying like the keening of old women." This song, which is a profoundly emotional response to a personal tragedy, clearly illustrates the process of singing as a way of obtaining the catharsis or "relief" of which Hiúdaí spoke. But it also illustrates the way in which singing can transform individual feelings and experiences from the personal to the universal. The song did not die with the event that engendered it, but lived on as a part of local Rann na Feirste tradition. Singing it established a bond with others through shared human experience (the death of a son), and ultimately provided a means of expression which was a valuable emotional outlet for both the individual and the community.

Dear death by whisky,

Click here for a list of resources that I'm sure you can order online or find in your local bookstore. Good luck!

Agus a Thomháis,

Ar drochuair, níor chuala mé aon fhonn ar bith ar an dán (The Lonely Rocks of Fraoil) a luaigh mé thuas. Má léifidh tú mo phost arís, tifidh tú nach raibh mé á lua ach mar shampla ar rud inteacht suimiúil.

Le gach dea-ghuí, Áine