Although some time has gone by since we were all enjoying ourselves at the Irish Gathering in Madrid, it is very pleasant to look back in hindsight, while the memories are still fairly fresh, and to realize how enriching the whole experience was and, in particular, to realize how lucky we were to have such talented artists in our presence.

 

The few of us that were present in the reception of the Rafael Hotel, Madrid on the morning of Sunday 20^th of September last were very privileged to get an impromptu insight from Roger Cummiskey into the story and structure of James Joyce’s Ulysses. Roger, who is a Dublin born and bred watercolourist (www.rogercummiskey.com), is also a known connoisseur of Ulysses and expert in all things Joycean. The greatest novel of the 20^th century is set, Roger explained, in Dublin on the 16^th of June 1904. Eighteen chapters which deal with the happenings and events which occur over the hours of this given day.

 

Time is part of the Neff heritage. We have learned (www.neffbros.eu) that Eoghan’s great great grandfather was a clockmaker and jeweller who came from the Black Forest to Cork in the mid-19^th century and that Eoghan’s incredible “Clockworx”, from the “Ar Scáth a Chéile – Each Other’s Shadow” album was dedicated to this ancestry. Eoghan played on the Saturday evening, 19^th of September, at Finbar’s and gave us just a taste of what he is capable of doing. Just to mention that we were in the presence of a musical genius, a real virtuoso of the fiddle, who already has a long list of academic qualifications in music to his name, in addition to the obvious mastery of his chosen instrument.

 

Can it just be coincidence that the theme of time comes up again and again? The excellent traditional Aragon and Celtic music group “O’Carolan” (www.ocarolanfolk.com), that’s right, named after the blind Irish harpist, played at the Irish Rover on Saturday morning, 19^th of September, and really delighted those present with vibrant, lively but refined skills and repertoire. Their music is a delightful mix of baroque, folk and traditional influences, but is executed with the upmost skill and ability, bringing to life once again the very roots of Irish traditional music. Watch out you Irish, these guys from Zaragoza are really good! Not that surprisingly, their latest album is called “El Reloj Secreto”, the Secret Clock. Please click here to read the introductory text by Jesús Pescador, translation by Colman Duffy.

 

Well, may the time go by like the breeze until our next Irish Gathering!