Further Notes on Roger Casement, the Tyrone Gaeltacht, and the Jacobite song ‘Séarlas Óg’
by Brian Gilmore
Additional images, captions, links and notes to three articles in Dúiche Néill 26 (2023) by Brian Gilmore:
• Some Poems of Roger Casement including ‘Benburb, the Triumph of Hugh O'Neill’ and ‘The Irish Language’; and his photographs in the Gaeltacht, pp 139–162
• Munterloney, the Tyrone Gaeltacht and the Greencastle Summer School — an Introduction, pp 163–173
• ‘Séarlas Óg’ and ‘Óró Sé do Bheatha Abhaile’, pp 174–202
‘Séarlas Óg’ agus ‘Óró sé do Bheatha Abhaile’
Brian Gilmore ............................................................ 174
Page 140: Original colour version of image.
| Self-portrait of Casement (aged 17) in 1882,
with his alter ego as a woodkern with a skean (a dagger) and a bow at Battle of the Yellow Ford in 1598. Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland (MS 12,114, https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000655901, Image 3) A pencil artefact scribbled out by Casement in Image 3 has been removed courtesy of Brian McDonald. The early draft of the poem Casement was then writing about the battle of the Yellow Ford is also given there on Images 57 and 59. See Appendix 1 of published article, p. 154. |
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Page 141: Further information concerning the ‘Benburb’ poem, supplementing footnote 8.
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| Murlough Bay — photograph courtesy of Fionntán McCarry. It was there the poem ‘Benburb was written or near there on the sandy shore in a cove of white sand between the headlands when I saw “like heaving lift of yellow wave” the breaker of brave men (saffron clad!) …’ (Appendix 4) From his teenage observations of the destructive violence of storms at Murlough, Casement is informing his cousins Eilis and Gee of the evolvement of his powerful simile for 4th verse (below) as the Battle of Benburb surges on to its final triumph. |
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| Excerpt from fourth verse of Benburb poem in Roger Casement's 1895 manuscript. Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland (MS 36,206/11, https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000659525). Casement had already arranged for Gee (Gertrude) to publish his poems in 1918. |
Page 141: The portrait referred to on line 30 of page 141 as "(right)" is actually on page 142.
Page 142: Magherintemple, where Roger Casement visited and resided from time to time.
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Page 142: Addition to footnote 16.
Click https://www.duchas.ie/ga/cbef/6100240/6252059 for a 1965 audio recording of Rose Emerson's recollections of meeting Roger Casement at the Feis at Glenariff. Courtesy of the Duchas.ie website. For Mrs Emerson on ‘Patchwork Quilting’ from 1975, see Phoenix et al, ibid, p 137.
Page 143: Coláiste Uladh notice for 1912, listing academic staff (An Claidheamh Soluis 29/07/1912).
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Page 143: Extract from photograph showing the excellent quality of CAS images that can be purchased from copy-orders@nli.ie
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| Roger Casement with clergy, teachers and Tory children in August 1912. The ornately-dressed woman may be Ada McNeill. Enhancement by Brian McDonald. Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland (CAS 11A, https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000171424 ) |
Pages 142–146: See also the downloadable Word file “Roger Casement's photography at Coláiste Uladh and on Tory island in the summer of 1912” (Casement Cloghaneely Photographs.docx) containing improved quality copies of some of the photographs from these pages, as well as additional information.
Page 147: Extract from photograph showing the excellent quality of CAS images that can be purchased from copy-orders@nli.ie
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| Man, woman and baby outside a cottage on Tory Island, probably in August 1912. Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland (CAS 11B, https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000171425 ) |
Pages 149, 151:
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| Memoriam card for Roger Casement. Online advert for Adam's Auctioneers on 18 April 2022. | German “Roger Casement Execution” bronze 1916 Medal by Karl Goetz. (Sold at auction on 26 March 2024). The 1351 law of King Edward III was invoked by his barrister as a defence against high treason for Casement, who finally addressed his speech from the dock also to the Irish people. |
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| Representation of 1965 lying in state of Roger Casement at Arbour Hill as advertised on eBay 22 June 2020. | First Day Cover for 50th Anniversary of execution of Roger Casement. Courtesy of Brian Gilmore. |
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| For Benmore (John Clarke, 1868–1934), see Phoenix et al, ibid, at pp 95–7. |
Page 152: Additional links under footnote 44.
Some Poems of Roger Casement (The Talbot Press, 1918) — accessed from Project Gutenberg, 1 July 2023.
Listen to LibriVox audio recording of Some Poems of Roger Casement
or download from here
Page 153: Casement Irish postage stamps.
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| 1966 1/– and 5p stamps, and 2016 €1.05 stamp. While generic in Éire, these stamps were little known and not recalled in NI. |
Page 154: Addition of weblink to title of Appendix 1.
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FRAGMENTS OF AN EARLY DRAFT POEM OF CASEMENT (NLI MS 12,114, https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000655901, Images 57 and 59). |
Page 156: Casement's letter to his cousin Elizabeth Bannister (Appendix 4).
On lines 11–12, the quotation from ‘Benburb’ should read: “like heaving lift of yellow wave”.
On lines 24–25, the parenthesis in square brackets should be replaced by
[Three lines are scribbled out in heavy black ink in Casement's characteristic style].
To this should be added a note:
Casement is trying to protect the security of an individual named in the lines scribbled out. Courtesy Jeffrey Dudgeon.
Addition at end of page:
Roger Casement's Murlough (https://vimeo.com/16308914) is a panoramic video sequence of Murlough as seen through his letter.
For interpretation, see Appendix 5 of the published article, and also this webpage at page 141 above.
Casement's original letter dated 25 July 1916 to ‘Eilis’ (with three lines scribbled out on page 3) can be viewed
at https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000514641
Page 163: The meaning and history of Muintir Luinigh (Munterloney).
See now Peadar Mac Gabhann, 3 Stories from the Mid-Tyrone Gaeltacht (Enniskillen & Omagh, 2023), pages 5–8.
Page 164: Enlarged version of photograph.
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Alice Milligan (1865–1953) Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland (NPA PERS51, https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000640155). Joseph Holloway, donor. With removal by Maggie McCrisken of smudges and scratches from the original, to reveal the young Alice Milligan in her stylish outfit. |
Page 164: Expanded last sentence of footnote 6.
See “Guth in Éag? A lost voice?” on YouTube.
In addition, “Ye Barbarous Mountaines”, made by Flying Fox Films (David Hammond, Neil Martin) for the BBC (Belfast) in 1993, and
“Gaeltacht Thír Eoghain — The lost language of the Sperrin Glens”, made by Eo Teilifís (An Spidéal) for TG4 in 2003
were two excellent programmes about the Tyrone Gaeltacht.
Page 169: Photograph of Cashel School, 1925.
Courtesy of Sean Clarke (ed.), An Caisleán Glas (Coalisland, 1988), photo-restoration by Brian McDonald.
Page 172: Photograph of Greencastle School, c 1924.
Courtesy of Sean Clarke (ed.), An Caisleán Glas (Coalisland, 1988), photo-restoration by Brian McDonald.
Page 173: Enlarged image.
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| G. Brendan Adams, 'The Last Language Census in Northern Ireland' in Ulster Dialects: an Introductory Symposium (Holywood, 1964), p. 128. National Museums NI (Ulster Folk Museum). |
Page 174: Amendments.
Article title: ‘SÉARLAS ÓG’ AND ‘ÓRÓ SÉ DO BHEATHA ABHAILE’
Addition to footnote 1: See also https://vimeo.com/16308914
Addition to footnote 2: See also Christy Gillespie, The Road to Glenlough (Letterkenny, 2023), pp 27–80.
Page 174: Pilib Ó Bhaldráin's publications of ‘Séarlas Óg’ in the Ulster Herald.
| Ulster Herald, 24 June 1911, page 2 | Ulster Herald, 29 July 1911, page 11 | |||
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Page 176: Seaghan Mac Cana's publication of ‘Seurlas Óg’ in Irisleabhar Mhuighe Nuadhad (1912), p 86.
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Page 178: Amendment.
Addition to footnote 12: See also Eugene Dunphy, Folksong in County Tyrone, 1910 ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1No3JGNGd8 )
Page 179: Séamus Ó Searcaigh's phonetic and orthographic publication of ‘Séarlas Óg’ in Foghraidheacht Ghaedhilge an Tuaiscirt (1925), pp 170–1. (M.A. thesis, 1915)
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Page 181:
| Enlarged images of words and music of ‘Séarlas Óg’ from Hardebeck's Gems of Melody/Seoda Ceoil, Part 3, A Collection of Traditional Irish Melodies (Belfast, 1914), pp 19–22, courtesy of Heritage, Belfast Central Library. May also be viewed and downloaded at https://archive.org/details/b11100606/b11100606v3/ |
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Page 181: Replacement for footnote 22, with audio link.
Click
to listen to a recording of Séarlas Óg, as taken down from Ann Tracey and arranged by Hardebeck, made c.2002 by Peadar Mac Gabhann and Crios Ó Marcaigh. It accompanied, in CD format, an off-print of a lecture that the late Dr Diarmaid Ó Doibhlin delivered at the first Éigse Cholm Cille in Derry. Peadar has sung Séarlas Óg on many occasions in public to the piano accompaniment of Ray Moore. It will be noticed that Peadar sings ‘ag triall ar Éirinn’ for ‘ag triall as Éirinn’, a conceit reflecting the widespread belief in Jacobite Ulster that Bonnie Prince Charlie managed to hide out in the fastness of the mountains and secluded shorelines of the parish of Gleann Cholm Cille (footnote 2 on page 174 of the published article). Peadar now (pers. comm. 2024) regards this alteration as ill-advised.
Page 181: Detail from photograph which is shown in full on the published page 146.
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Eilis Nic Culadh (15), far left, behind Roger Casement, front centre. For Nic Culadh, see pp 183–4, 200–2. Enhancement by Brian McDonald. Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland (CAS 8B, https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000171230 ) |
Page 182: Énrí Ó Muirgheasa's publication of ‘Óró, 'sé do Bheatha Abhaile’ in the Dhá Chéad de Cheoltaibh Uladh (1915).
| Text, page 151. | Notes, page 303. | ||
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Page 182: This, the last sentence of footnote 18 on the published page 180, would be better added to footnote 19 on page 182.
The probable census record from 1911 for Ó Muirgheasa's Fanad informant: https://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002110966/
Page 185: Addition to footnote 32.
For An Claidheamh Soluis 01/11/1913, page 6, see https://issuu.com/cnag/docs/1913b.
For other references to An Claidheamh Soluis, insert the year and then ‘a’ for Jan–Jun or ‘b’ for Jul–Dec.
See also https://www.rte.ie/centuryireland/index.php/articles/the-north-began.
Page 187: Addition to footnote 39.
https://www.rte.ie/centuryireland/images/uploads/further-reading/Ed20-IrishVolunteersFull.pdf
Page 189: Addition to footnote 42.
See YouTube and Eugene Dunphy, Carl Hardebeck (1869-1945): A Life for Music in Ireland (forthcoming book).
Page 196: Addition at end of page.
Many of the songs listed by Charlotte Milligan Fox in Appendix 1B, including ‘Úna Bhán’, ‘The Bonny Irish Boy’, ‘The Breaking of Omagh Gaol’ and
‘The Blackbird (An Lon Dubh)’, another allegorical Jacobite song, are to be found on YouTube. ‘Father Tom O’Neill,’ about an Armagh priest, can be found at Clare County Library.
Page 200: At the Mac Culadh family home in Sheskinshule.
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Page 202: Obituary and gravestone of Peadar Donnelly.
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