Is iomadh tuairisc ar stair na hÉireann a scriosadh le linn an Chogadh Chathartha, tráth gur loiscigh tine chonspóideach mhillteach na Ceithre Cúirteanna i mBaile Átha Cliath áit a raibh páipéarachas an stáit á stóráil ag an am; ach tharla go dtáinig daonáireamh Árann na bliana 1821 slán ón dtubaiste sin. Is rí-spéisiúil an cur síos atá ann agus is cruinne é ná daonáireamh garbh na bliana 1812 a chruthaigh duine de chlann úinéirí an oileáin, Digby Devinish (féach leabhar James Hardiman, The History of the Town and County of the Town of Galway, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time, 1820 (1975), 320). B’as Cill Mhuirbhigh don bhfear a chruinnigh an t-eolas in 1821. B’é sin Pádraig Ó Flaithbheartaigh (1781-1864), feilméara agus giúistís a raibh meas ag an bpobal air, mar a chonaic George Petrie (1790-1866), ealaíontóir agus ársaitheoir clúiteach a tháinig ar a chéad chuairt go hÁrainn an bhliain chéanna:
Mr. O’Flaherty may be justly denominated the pater patriae of the Araners. He is the reconciler in all difference, the judge in all disputes, the adviser in all enterprises, and the friend in all things…San daonáireamh seo, luaigh Pádraig na ceoltóirí gairmiúla a bhí in Árainn an samhradh sin. Ba píobairí cúigear acu: John Boyle (aois 78), Michael Tierney (aois 48), agus Michael Wright (aois 20) in Árainn; agus Thomas Flanagan (aois 58) agus David Noonan (aois 21) in Inis Oírr. Ó tharla nach iad sloinnte dúchasacha na n-oileán a bhí ar an gcúigear seo, déarfá gur isteach ar cuairt a tháinig siad. D’fhágfadh sin nach raibh ach aon oileánach amháin ag saothrú an cheoil uirlise, fear a raibh sloinne air a bhaineann le dúchas Cromallach Árann, Michael Brabson (Brabazon a thabharfaí air in áiteanna eile). Rugadh é timpeall na bliana 1761 agus, faoin mbliain 1821, ní raibh fanta i dteach an “fiddler” seo ach a iníon Anne a shaothraigh a beatha ag cniotáil stocaí. Ó tharla nach raibh aon talamh acu, caithfidh go raibh Brabson agus a iníon ar an ngannchuid, mar ab ionann do mhuintir uile Chill Éinne beagnach, baile ina raibh líon mór daoine ag an am, os cionn 1,000 duine. B’iad a d’fhulaing an bhliain dar gcionn nuair a bhuail gorta mór na hoileáin.
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| Ceann de na bóithrí i bhFearann a’
Choirce ar a dtugtar Róidín Gharraí an Asail |
Inniu, san oileán seo ina maireann c.800 duine ina iomlán, maireann béaloideas faoi Bhrabson, béaloideas a roinn Maggie Deainín Uí Fhlaithearta liom. Chuaigh Brabson lá lena fhidil ar a ghualainn aige siar ar mhuin asail go Gort na gCapall áit a raibh sé le ceol a chasadh ar bhainis. Agus iad ag déanamh a mbealach go dtí an baile beag úd, síos bóithrín áithrid ar a dtugtar “Róidín Gharraí an Asail,” dúirt Maggie gur “mhaolaigh an t-asal a chluasa” agus thosaigh Brabson ag sciorradh dá dhroim. Pé casadh agus lúbadh a rinne sé agus é ag titim go talamh, d’éirigh leis a fhidil a thabhairt slán. Bhí sí sábháilte ina ghabháil aige faoin am gur síneadh é féin. Mhair cuimhne an éachta seo i rann beag a bhíodh i mbéal na ndaoine fadó ach, mo léan, ní cuimhin le Maggie go cruinn anois é. Go deimhin, níor éirigh liom go fóill a chinntiú cé acu bóithrín go díreach é Róidín Gharraí an Asail, mar go bhfuil a bharúil féin ag chuile dhuine. Cuimhne agus díchuimhne, tuile agus trá an chine dhaonna.
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This month’s
blog concerns the oldest report of music in the Aran Islands, a report that
happened to survive the destruction of many of Ireland’s historical records in
the fires of the Civil War at the Four Courts in Dublin: the 1821 census. This
fascinating document is more accurate than its predecessor, the 1812 census,
which was prepared by Digby Devinish, a member of the family that owned the
islands (see James Hardiman’s The History of the
Town and County of the Town of Galway, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time, 1820 (1975), 320).
The 1821 census was created by a man from Cill Mhuirbhigh, Pádraig Ó
Flaithbheartaigh (1781-1864), a farmer and Justice of the Peace whom George
Petrie (1790-1866), the famous Irish artist and antiquarian, met that same year
during his first visit to Aran:
Despite the subsequent decline of the population of Árainn to a total of c.800, a remnant of local poetry relating to this fiddler survives to this day in the locality. Maggie Deainín Uí Fhlaithearta shared with me the corresponding folklore. One day, Brabson rode to Gort na gCapall with his fiddle on his shoulder in order to play for a wedding. As he approached the village via Róidín Gharraí an Asail (the Road of the Ass’ Field), his mount – a donkey – threw him. As he fell to the ground, he managed somehow to swing his fiddle from his shoulder and landed holding it safely in his arms. Unfortunately, Maggie could not recall the entirety of the stanza made to celebrate Brabson’s acrobatic feat. Furthermore, I have yet to confirm the exact location of the road in question because everyone has their own opinions on the subject. Clearly, whether written or oral, the survival of local memory is often an accident of history.
Mr. O’Flaherty may be justly denominated the pater patriae of the Araners. He is the reconciler in all difference, the judge in all disputes, the adviser in all enterprises, and the friend in all things…Ó Flaithbheartaigh documented six professional musicians in Aran that summer. Five of them – John Boyle (78yrs), Michael Tierney (48yrs), and Michael Wright (20yrs) in Árainn and Thomas Flanagan (58yrs) and David Noonan (21yrs) in Inis Oírr – were most likely travelling pipers. The other was a 60-year-old fiddler with a surname that came to Aran with the Cromwellians: Michael Brabson or Brabazon. In 1821, he lived with his daughter Anne – who knitted stockings for a living – in Cill Éinne, a village with over 1,000 inhabitants. Many of the villagers were, like the Brabsons, landless and many of them thus suffered during the famine that struck the islands the following year.
Despite the subsequent decline of the population of Árainn to a total of c.800, a remnant of local poetry relating to this fiddler survives to this day in the locality. Maggie Deainín Uí Fhlaithearta shared with me the corresponding folklore. One day, Brabson rode to Gort na gCapall with his fiddle on his shoulder in order to play for a wedding. As he approached the village via Róidín Gharraí an Asail (the Road of the Ass’ Field), his mount – a donkey – threw him. As he fell to the ground, he managed somehow to swing his fiddle from his shoulder and landed holding it safely in his arms. Unfortunately, Maggie could not recall the entirety of the stanza made to celebrate Brabson’s acrobatic feat. Furthermore, I have yet to confirm the exact location of the road in question because everyone has their own opinions on the subject. Clearly, whether written or oral, the survival of local memory is often an accident of history.
