Love the way this song emerges on the Fisherman’s Blues box set: a piano riff here, a flute melody there, then the finished piece in its magnificence. At some point the tune must have been cleaved to poem. Glorious.
Quite a few years ago I bought and eventually lost a cassette of Tomás Jimmy. It included 'Ag Bleán na Bó', An Cailín Álainn', 'The Queen of Connemara' and a remarkable bilingual performance of one of the finest poems of Gaelic Ulster: 'An Bonnán Buí' / 'The Yellow Bittern', a splendidly honest lamentation about drink and the lack of it by Cathal Buí Mac Giolla Ghunna, 1680 - 1756, . Tomás sang the song in its original Irish and then recited the famous translation by Tomas MacDonagh, February 1878 - 3 May 1916, one of the leaders of the Easter Rising. It was a classical performance. It would be a great service to all of us if someone could upload part or all of that historic audio cassette. Since then, of course, that other great Ulster poet, Seamus Heaney (1939 - 2013), has given us a fine new translation. They say that great minds think alike but I have never heard of 'Famous Seamus' meeting Tomás Jimmy. That they never did was a sad loss for each one of these remarkable exponents of Ireland's great poetic, oral, public house, musical and singing traditions.
I don't know if you will see this but my uncle Mairtin MacDhonnacadha wrote Bla na bo, with Thomas. My favourite is An Cailin Alainn. I was in Carraroe 2 days ago, Tomas is back in his home house, being looked after by a carer xx
![The Stolen Child by W. B. Yeats [with text] - Read by poet Arthur L Wood](/img/n.gif)
Love the way this song emerges on the Fisherman’s Blues box set: a piano riff here, a flute melody there, then the finished piece in its magnificence. At some point the tune must have been cleaved to poem. Glorious.
I wish some one would post more clips of Tomas MacEoin.
Quite a few years ago I bought and eventually lost a cassette of Tomás Jimmy. It included 'Ag Bleán na Bó', An Cailín Álainn', 'The Queen of Connemara' and a remarkable bilingual performance of one of the finest poems of Gaelic Ulster: 'An Bonnán Buí' / 'The Yellow Bittern', a splendidly honest lamentation about drink and the lack of it by Cathal Buí Mac Giolla Ghunna, 1680 - 1756, . Tomás sang the song in its original Irish and then recited the famous translation by Tomas MacDonagh, February 1878 - 3 May 1916, one of the leaders of the Easter Rising. It was a classical performance. It would be a great service to all of us if someone could upload part or all of that historic audio cassette. Since then, of course, that other great Ulster poet, Seamus Heaney (1939 - 2013), has given us a fine new translation. They say that great minds think alike but I have never heard of 'Famous Seamus' meeting Tomás Jimmy. That they never did was a sad loss for each one of these remarkable exponents of Ireland's great poetic, oral, public house, musical and singing traditions.
I don't know if you will see this but my uncle Mairtin MacDhonnacadha wrote Bla na bo, with Thomas. My favourite is An Cailin Alainn. I was in Carraroe 2 days ago, Tomas is back in his home house, being looked after by a carer xx
Legend
Great and wonderful - thank you for posting it. We hear far too little of the great voice of this unique man from Connemara.
Lovely!
We have a video of him on our channel! :)
Thank you!
My grandmother came from Connemara.
Google video have a doc about his life.