We arrived in Ireland on Saturday morning and then drove directly from Dublin to Beachview Cottage in Cushendun. Cushendun is just five miles from Cushendall where Liz Weir lives. We arrived with just enough time to shower and get back to Liz's Ballyeamon Barn for the weekly Saturday night session
It was a wonderful homecoming and beginning to our time in Ireland. Liz had a group of rowdy bikers staying in the barn, and when we arrived they were barbecuing in the rain. We were starving, and they shared their steak and burgers with us. Her German barn minders had made a great potato salad to go along with it, all of which we wolfed down gratefully. We then met and had a quick romp with Gino the adorable new all-black German Shepherd puppy who has more personality than some people I know.
The session was just starting, so we hurried next door. All of my favorites were there - Martin, Alec, Fergal - and many others. I asked Alec to sing "The Man in the Moon", and Martin to sing "The Errant Apprentice" which is one of Mark's favorites. Martin asked me to do "Tomboy" by Dee Strickand Johnson, and I also recited John Good's translation of the Welsh "The Old Man from the Wood". Feargal came in as I was reciting that one, and afterwards he sang "From Clare to Here", which was the highlight of the evening for Mark. The barn minders sang and recited poems in German. Charlie, Tony, Hugh, and Eileen all contributed as well.
At one point we noticed that the weather had cleared and almost everyone ran outside to see the golden light on the clouds over the deep emerald hills. Glorious. Mark’s picture of it is at the top of the post, and in this one barn minders and guests enjoy the sight.
Back inside we heard Helen, whom I’d never met before, read a great poem she wrote about a woman who gets her six inch heels stuck in the middle of the street on a hot day. She is bodily carried from the road by irate drivers and then stands helplessly by as her beautiful shoes are run over. The photo is Charlie and Helen.
Stan from Belfast sang "My Lagan Love", which includes this verse:
Where Lagan stream sings lullaby
There blows a lily fair
The twilight gleam is in her eye
The night is on her hair
And like a love-sick lennan-shee
She has my heart in thrall
Nor life I owe nor liberty
For love is lord of all.
The line about the “lennan-shee” inspired Liz Weir to tell her version of Sheila Quigley’s story about a young man who is pursued and eventually caught by a fairy woman – a lennan-shee – and comes to a tragic end. It’s a beautiful story, although Liz reflected that it probably should not be told after two glasses of wine!
Feargal closed the evening out with “I am the Yawning Man” which includes an audience participation refrain of – you guessed it – yawning! The picture on the left is Feargal singing with Alec and Martin to his left. The picture on the right is his listeners reacting.
We didn’t stay too late. I’d gotten myself pretty ramped up and excited to be there, but by 10:30 or so both Mark and I were suffering the effects of 30 plus hours of travel with no real sleep. We headed back to Beachview and collapsed into bed, feeling completely welcomed, privileged, and happy.
Below is Mark's panoramic shot from the beginning of the session.
