Féile Joe Éinniú 2019

Notes

By Míċeál Ó Loċlainn

A cosmopolitan féile

It should be stressed from the outset that while the working language of Féile Joe Éinniú (anglicised ‘The Joe Heaney Festival’) is Irish — the community language of the area — there’s absolutely nothing parochial about it. Quite the opposite: the Féile has traditionally been a very cosmopolitan affair, having international representation among both visitors and talent from places including Canada, England, France and Scotland. Speakers of other languages are made very welcome.

A taste of Gaeltacht culture

Although this video has a running time approaching two hours, it’s far from being a complete record of the occasion, consisting only of a series of blaisíní. Most of the items on the programme are represented however; the intention being to give the viewer a glimpse of the Féile in all its aspects — song, music, lectures, commemoration and so on — and also to show them around the area in which it takes place.

Generally, the recordings available in the Cartlanna are historical records*; giving us snapshots of the past, which is by definition gone forever. But Féile Joe Éinniú is a vibrant and ongoing yearly event. Readers who enjoy this video but who’ve never attended the Féile are encouraged to do so. It’s not an exaggeration to say that it attracts the very best of traditional singers and musicians from Ireland and abroad. No recording can ever be a substitute for actually being there.

*Of course, the time will inevitably come when this recording becomes an historical record itself. Perhaps it’ll be given a special screening at the Féile in 2119!

Overview of Féile Joe Éinniú

The Féile was first held in 1986, two years after Joe Heaney’s death on May Day 1984. It’s always been a community-driven event and in recent years Joe’s own family have become active in organising it.

Taking place in Joe’s home village of Carna, the Féile runs over the May Day weekend; generally from Friday to Monday. The programme varies from year to year but revolves around a core of informal traditional singing and music sessions, formal concerts, singing competitions, lectures, album ⁊ book launches, presentations, exhibitions and guided tours. On the Sunday, there’s always a visit to Joe’s grave in Reilig Mhaighrois at which, after a short prayer, some songs are sung and some tunes are played in his honour.

This annual celebration reflects the esteem in which Joe is held by his own community and by his musical peers. His achievements were manifold and considerable. Certainly, he was an accomplished singer from the rich Gaeltacht tradition, but he was also an ambassador and exemplar for that tradition who brought it with him into the wider world, nationally and internationally; to the attention of a mainstream which at the time tended to be highly dismissive of it, if not openly contemptuous. It would have been so easy for him to excise the Irish language songs from his play list and replace them with Pat Boone and Jim Reeves numbers.

And yet while he always remained a ‘traditional singer’ he was perfectly willing to embrace material that had roots in traditions other than his own: consider Babes in the Wood, Cath Chéim an Fhia, Éamon a’ Chnoic, Skibbereen ⁊ɼl…

Finally, it should never be forgotten that toward the end of his life Joe became a teacher; transmitting his cultural heritage in a new environment and to receptive new audiences who might not otherwise have been exposed to it. Only for that last step on his journey, these Cartlanna wouldn’t exist at all.