An Irish musician has made it her mission to preserve songs associated with every county on the island of Ireland before they get forgotten forever.
And, of course, Donegal is no exception!
Ireland’s music and storytelling is cherished and celebrated worldwide. Traditional songs have captured the heartbreak, treachery, eviction, rebellion, emigration, murder, loss, longing, as well as drinking, revelry and hilarity and spaces. Many of these songs have never been recorded and are in danger of being lost over time.
Musician Cathy Jordan (main pic) has collaborated with over 50 musicians and numerous illustrators from all over the country to capture and record some of the many songs from past generations. She has identified 32 songs – one from each county – and put together an album plus videos (with a difference) for each, calling it the ‘The Crankie Island Project’.
Donegal’s song chosen and recorded by Cathy is ‘Fill a Rún Ó’. It is a poignant, true story from 1739, telling the story of a mother who had two sons who left home. Both sons eventually returned to their home in Donegal – one as priest of a poor parish, the other as minister of a wealthy Church of Ireland parish. The plea in the chorus is for the son to return to Catholicism ‘return my to love to the faith in which he was reared’. It is one of the best known songs to survive the penal period. Cathy is joined by Claudia Schwab on violin and keys, Irene Buckley on keys and electronics with illustrations for the Crankie Box Video by Peter Crann. Watch the Video here.
If Donegal Daily readers want to see and hear more, Cathy Jordan and her band will be performing ‘Fill a Rún Ó’ in the Regional Cultural Centre (RCC), Letterkenny, tomorrow.
‘The Crankie Island Project’ is not just an album – there is an audiovisual aspect to it. Cathy has drawn on inspiration from the 18th and 19th century’s ‘Crankie box’ to illustrate the songs, which will be also digitised and available on You Tube, so can be shared with everyone.
Here is a breakdown of each individual song for each county
Check out the videos and tracks HERE
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