Story of a Song review: Delve into the ballad Grace falls short of filling us in on its afterlife
Rod Stewart
, that is) has had on Grace, the maudlin
1916 Rising
ballad which has undergone a remarkable resurgence since the rasping rocker started belting it out at his concerts.
Stewart has talked a great deal about how Grace has yanked at his heartstrings – on the
Late Late Show
several years ago, he spent practically the entire interview wiping away tears.
But there is more to the tune than a sobbing classic rocker, and the tale of Grace and its rebirth receives a more origin-focused, less Rod-centric retelling in the first episode of the latest season of Aistear an Amhráin (
RTÉ
One, 7pm, Tuesday).
The informative documentary series traces the evolution of well-loved songs. A run time of just 30 minutes leaves little space for mucking about and Sinéad Ní Churnáin cracks on from the outset by rewinding to 1916 and the love affair between Grace Gifford and Joseph Mary Plunkett, as recounted in the lyrics of Grace. They were the doomed couple who tied the knot hours before Plunkett was marched before a British firing squad for his part in the Easter Rising.
READ MORE
Plunkett was executed at Kilmainham Gaol, where singer Aoife Scott performs several lines from the song (a favourite of Olympic boxer
Kellie Harrington
). 'There is a very particular atmosphere here,' Scott says. 'I felt these vibrations in the walls. It was very strange. That's why so many people visit Kilmainham Gaol.'
Joseph Mary Plunkett was a signatory of the Proclamation
Grace is often assumed to have dated from the early 20th century, but, as Ní Churnáin reveals, it was written in the 1980s, a boom-time for dewy-eyed ballads bashed out by hairy Irish folk singers. In this case, the hairy folk singer was Jim McCann, who received the tune, with thanks, from Frank and Seán O'Meara, songwriting siblings from Mullingar, Co Westmeath.
'Jim McCann was over the moon,' says Frank, who wrote the melody and who plays back a grainy early recording that is far jauntier than the version Stewart has belted out across the world for several years.
The idea for writing about Gifford and Plunkett came to Seán after he was asked to rustle up a hit to order. Though aware of Plunkett, he knew little of Gifford until delving into her story. 'I may not have known before I did the research what Grace's name was,' he says.
As a sort of idiot's guide to Stewart's favourite Irish weepy, Aistear an Amhráin ticks the boxes. Still, it would have been useful to hear more about the track's afterlife. For instance, how is it that former senator
Donie Cassidy
reportedly came to hold the copyright to Grace? And how much is it worth?
Such details would have helped the viewer better appreciate the impact of Grace and reveal something we didn't already know (most of the audience are surely familiar with the story of Gifford). How, for that matter, did Stewart come upon it?
You wanted to dive deeper into the story of Grace and its incredible recent renaissance, but, for all its good work, Aistear an Amhráin didn't go far enough in filling in the blanks.
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Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, August 22nd: On college football and climate, fish kills, and wagging the finger
Sir, – Am I the only one horrified at the prospects of two American college football teams, and their supporters, flying to Dublin to open their football season in the Aviva tomorrow? Am I the only one equally horrified that this event is being sponsored by Aer Lingus and facilitated by others? At a time when the scientific evidence of the impact of carbon emissions on the global climate is staring us in the face, and as Ireland continues to live through a self-declared 'climate emergency', we choose not only to allow this madness, but to encourage and facilitate it through our national airline. Have I missed something here? Are my concerns and observations unreasonable or ill-informed? READ MORE I think not. Ireland is already at the bottom of the list on climate action among other EU countries. We are way off our legal targets for reducing carbon emissions by 2030 – and getting further away by the day – and facing a potential fine of €26 billion for missing these targets, and what do we choose to do? Invite thousand of American to Ireland for a match they should play at home, party and have the craic. Every individual in Ireland needs to reflect on our impact on the climate, as does every company, corporation, public service body, charity and sporting organisation, rather than leaving this challenge to others in the mistaken belief that we – individually – are only having a tiny impact on the climate. There are eight billion people on the planet and I think I can safely say that eight billion tiny impacts go to make up one fairly substantial one. I can only call on Aer Linguto take their heads out of the sand, to accept that they have responsibilities to the planet and to future generations, and to cancel this event permanently from 2026 onwards. – Yours,etc, GARY DOYLE, Straffan Co Kildare. Working in Qatar Sir, – We worked in Qatar alongside Dr Paddy Davern for three years as colleagues in the Hamad Medical Corporation Ambulance Service – a GP and paramedic (' He put a gun to my head: An Irish GP on his traumatic years treating Qatar's elite ,' August 16th). Like Paddy, we both cared deeply about the wellbeing of all healthcare providers, and were greatly perturbed by the harms we witnessed and personally experienced in our professional roles. In our senior roles we were daily confronted by colleagues and patients with burnout, depression, PTSD, and substance use problems. There was little attempt to promote wellbeing or support mental health. We are grateful for Paddy's searing honesty and bravery in coming forward and speaking up about some of his experiences and the personal costs. He is fortunate to have a loving family, peer support, a good treating GP and psychologist able to support him not only through the PTSD but also the lengthy medical complaints process. Paddy was liked and respected by all his colleagues. He is an experienced, astute, compassionate and professional GP with a deep understanding of principles and medical ethics. He was well known for standing up for the less powerful, the 'underdog' – perhaps part of his Irish DNA and shared by Australians. His actions stood in contrast to many who believed it was better to be feared than respected. He assisted many of us – fellow doctors; staff; exploited workers in overcrowded housing; housemaids in private homes; female paramedics repeatedly being exposed to sexual abuse or assault. Like many of our colleagues we found it impossible to adapt to the classist hierarchies; bullying; lack of accountability and transparency; homophobia; misogyny; and racism. Add to this a difficult physical environment, poor housing and interminable obscure bureaucracy. Many of our colleagues from countries like Australia left before their contracts were up. We came back to Australia traumatised. For both of us, it has taken years to recover, but it has also given us a greater focus and determination to help colleagues who have their wellbeing compromised by being health professionals. Unlike in more developed democratic countries, Qatar has no legal protections for workers. So before you go, ask yourself: Is the tax-free salary really worth it? Are you happy to be treated as a second-class citizen, and daily witness others being treated as even lower humans? How will it impact your own health and that of your family? And know where to get help if you need it. – Yours, etc, Dr AMEETA PATEL, Chair, Doctor's Health Service NSW, CRAIG CAMPBELL, NSW, Australia. Wagging the finger at Ireland Sir, – How refreshing to finally read a terrific and honest opinion on Ireland's position in the world when it comes to politics, Nato and present day wars (' Ireland is turning into chief 'finger wagger' on the world stage ,' Finn McRedmond, August 20th). She is so bang on when she refers to Michael D Higgins, Micheál Martin et al as finger-waggers. They have absolutely zilch power when it comes to preventing or making peace on the world stage. Outside of the Irish media, their comments do not get as much as a word or a line in any international TV news station or newspaper. Even Conor McGregor made bigger headlines in US newspapers and CNN in March when he met Donald Trump after Mr Martin smiled when chastised and sat motionless and still while Trump berated him. Until such time that Ireland pays its fair share for defending Europe like the rest they should keep their grubby little fingers clenched together. – Yours, etc, SEÁN McPHILLIPS, College Point, New York. Sir, – Bravo Finn McRedmond for calling out the collective delusions of Ireland's (mostly leftist) peaceniks. These delusions are of moral superiority if not grandeur, though the outrage is curiously selective, being absent when human rights abuses are committed by such luminaries as Fidel Castro or Bashar Al-Assad. Here in Malta people are aware of the moral component of foreign policy but have a realistic view of what a small neutral nation can achieve. In today's world, that is 'even less than ever'. Refusing to submit to this collective delusion does not mean that one is 'complicit in genocide' as Ireland's more excitable campaigners maintain – in fact it would be better to reserve one's energy and diplomatic and political capital for modest but achievable results, instead of indulging in the 'ecstasy of sanctimony'. The onslaught in Gaza will not be affected one iota by EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen or any other Eurocrat; and any national politician who bases a political campaign on such windmill tilting needs a reality and ego check. – Yours, etc, Dr ALEX HARTINGTON, Sliema, Malta. Sir, – Finn Mc Redmond's column is always terrific – but today's was a cracker. A sobering dose of realism. – Yours, etc. DON HORGAN, Dublin. Paper trails Sir, – Following Tony Corcoran's observation that he instinctively avoids taking the top copy from a pile of newspapers, instead rummaging below for a pristine copy, a few correspondents have noted they do the same (Letters, August 19th and 21st). I'm inclined to think this is universal human behaviour, something evident if you ever watch a child selecting bread from a sliced pan. – Yours, etc, BRIAN O'BRIEN, Co Cork. Sir, – As a follow-up to some of your recent correspondents comments on selecting a newspaper, I was reminded of an occasion when I was holidaying in the Lake District. I went into a newsagents to check some sports results. I had only opened the paper slightly when I was advised that the paper cost £1 if I wished to read it. That was me put in my place. – Yours, etc, FERGUS MADDEN, Dublin. Picking a president Sir, – Why are we always looking at the usual political suspects for the role of president? I would rather look outside the usual troupe of political grandees and seek to have someone who has worked to promote charitable works, business interests, or who has been to the forefront of causes that promote common values and integration. Why can't we, as the voting citizens of this State, decide on who we want and not who is imposed upon us? My preference, for example, would be for Fergus Finlay, who has worked tirelessly in the charity sector and who is worldly wise. What better champion could there be for the highest office in this State and who else could, or would, command the respect of everyone, both here and abroad. – Yours, etc, CHRISTY GALLIGAN, Letterkenny, Co Donegal. Sir, – I read with some dismay that, in his analysis of Heather Humphrey's suitability for the presidency, Harry McGee considers it a weakness the fact that the aspirant once requested two reporters outside her constituency office to 'f**k off' (' Strengths and weaknesses of FG's two Áras hopefuls, ' August 21st). I am not entirely sure what the elided letters might be, but if my guess is correct, I would regard her request (in the high modh díreach style) as indicating a distinct strength for the presidency. – Yours, etc, JOHN DUFFY, Foxrock, Dublin 18. Sir, – I am puzzled. In your article by Harry McGee, you tell us early on that Heather Humphreys is a Presbyterian. However, despite reading and rereading the text about the other hopeful, Seán Kelly, I can find no reference to his religious affiliation? Buddhist? Shinto? Or God forbid, he is a Catholic, which brings with it, no merit at all, in your eyes. – Yours, etc, T GERARD BENNETT, Bunbrosna, Co Westmeath. Fish kills and rivers and lakes Sir, – Imagine for a moment if the equivalent scale of poisoning that wiped out fish in Cork's Blackwater River this week instead struck a number of golf courses. Take a minute and picture every green on those courses rotting overnight. The outrage would be immediate, the response urgent, and the calls for accountability deafening. Yet when it is our rivers and lakes – living ecosystems, vital parts of our heritage, and the backbone of local communities – the response, penalties, and corrective action, if any, seems limited, and no real efforts appear to be put in place to prevent recurrence. This is not the first incident of fish being wiped out in a river or lake – and like previous events, it highlights the absence of a real prevention policy or decisive action. During Heritage Week we rightly celebrate our history, traditions, and landscapes. But what does it say about us if, in the same breath, we cannot muster the same urgency to protect the rivers and ecosystems that form the very foundation of that heritage? Heritage is not only about castles, crafts, and stories – it is also about living systems. The salmon, the trout, the rivers themselves: these are threads of heritage too. If we neglect them, then the celebration of Heritage Week rings hollow. As an award-winning landscape photographer, an associate member of the Irish Professional Photographers and Videographers Association (IPPVA) and an avid fly fisher since my teenage years, I have witnessed and photographed both the beauty and fragility of our waterways. They deserve the same respect, protection, and urgency we demand for any other part of our heritage. These repeated incidents put livelihoods, wildlife, and heritage at risk and we should not accept them as inevitable. – Yours, etc, TONY G MURRAY, Naas, Co Kildare. Spot the dog warden Sir, – There is an estimated 520,000 dogs in Ireland and each of those dogs will produce 'droppings' each and every day of their lives. That is an awful lot of dog poo. And yet, according to Kate Byrne's article ('No fines issued for dog fouling in 14 local authority areas last year,' August 20th), there were only 48 fines for dog fouling last year. No fines were issued in Cork and Dublin cities alone. Perhaps dog owners in both these cities are 100 per cent compliant and pick up after their dogs. But, a quick look at the streets of Dublin and Cork shows that this is clearly not the case. I don't know how many dog wardens we have in the country, but I have never seen one. Perhaps like many others they work from home? – Yours, etc, THOMAS G COTTER, Co Cork. A Rose by any other name Sir, – Can the age limit be removed for participants in the Rose of Tralee competition and I can then be a participant in this Lovely Ladies competition. – Yours, etc, GERALDINE GREGAN, Clarecastle, Co Clare. Ragwort and leafy Dublin Sir, – Frank McNally's Irishman's Diary entry on ragwort (An Irishman's Diary, August 21st) brings me back to my childhood in the Dublin suburb of Terenure (which The Irish Times catechism of cliche now requires me to describe as 'leafy'). Leafy or not, the local Garda station (and, if memory serves correctly, the library) used to prominently display a poster warning of the dangers of ragwort, which in the 1950s appeared to rank just below godless communism as a threat to our nation. When I returned to live in Ireland in the 2010s I was struck to see how this once noxious weed had proliferated in rural areas, apparently without destroying the livestock industry, and now it has even appeared in my garden in equally leafy Dundrum. I was delighted to see Frank mentioning the Irish name 'buachallán buí'. There is a jig commonly referred to in music collections and sessions as 'An Buachaillín Buí', but I once heard Séamus Ennis remark that its correct name is 'Na Buachalláin Buí' and explain that it meant ragwort. Maybe fellow musicians will believe me now. – Yours etc. ROGER O'KEEFFE, Dundrum, Dublin.
Irish Times
7 hours ago
- Irish Times
Priests demand Irish Catholic Church sever ties with Allianz over Israel links
The Catholic Church in Ireland has been called on to immediately sever its long-standing relationship with Allianz insurance because of the multinational's connection with Israel . In a statement on Thursday, the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) said that last June, a report published on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at the UN alleged Allianz helped 'to sustain and pay for Israel's actions in the Palestinian territories'. The UN report, led by the special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, found that asset management firms including Pimco , which is owned by German-based financial services company Allianz, was a significant buyer of Israeli treasury bonds. These bonds, the report argued, play a 'critical role in funding the ongoing assault on Gaza '. READ MORE The ACP pointed out that 'for decades, Allianz has been the trusted friend of the Catholic Church – even to the extent of enjoying representation on the Allianz board – with Catholic Church properties in Ireland including places of worship, schools, cars, etc almost all being insured by Allianz as a matter of course.' It said that 'outrage' in the church at events in Gaza would be increased exponentially by 'the revelation of the Irish Catholic Church's connection with Allianz and Allianz's connection with the state of Israel'. 'We ask that the response of the Irish Catholic Church should be immediate and far-reaching in cutting our links with Allianz,' it said. 'Nothing less is acceptable, as Irish Catholics will now be conscious of the Allianz connection – albeit by extension – and of our connection with the plight of the children we see on our television screens.' It noted how 'coincidentally' next Sunday, Catholic Primate Archbishop Eamon Martin, 'together with his fellow bishops', was 'leading a 'Day of Prayer and Reflection for Gaza' in the parishes and dioceses of Ireland'. The Archbishop, it said, had issued a pastoral letter calling for 'renewed commitment by the international community for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East'. It also encouraged Catholic religious congregations and dioceses to exercise high levels of due diligence in scrutinising investment portfolios to determine whether they were helping to sustain the 'appalling human rights abuse being inflicted on the Palestinian people'. The ACP noted, too, a petition by GAA members which had brought attention to the Allianz-GAA relationship and demands that it be ended. The association felt 'a similar demand is likely to emerge when the long and close commercial relationship of Allianz and the Catholic Church in Ireland becomes clear'. Almost 800 football, hurling and camogie players have signed an open letter asking the GAA to end its relationship with Allianz, claiming its financial ties were 'enabling the genocide of the Palestinian people'. The letter was delivered to Tom Ryan, director general of the GAA, at a protest outside Croke Park on Wednesday. Allianz is a sponsor of the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship, the Allianz Leagues, the Camogie Association and Cumann na mBunscol. In a response to the GAA petition, Allianz said: 'Our long-standing partnership with the GAA is about supporting Irish sport and communities. 'Allianz Ireland is part of a global group and, while the wider group operates internationally across insurance and investment, as a matter of principle we do not comment on individual customers or business matters. What we can say is that all Allianz business decisions are guided by strict legal standards and world-leading ESG principles.' A spokesman for Allianz had 'no comment' on the ACP statement.
Irish Times
7 hours ago
- Irish Times
O'Connell Bridge blocked by protest against Israel
O'Connell Bridge was blocked on Thursday evening by a protest against Israel 's bombardment of Gaza . Traffic was blocked along the quays and along O'Connell Street. Protesters blocked the main city centre thorough way from peak rush hour at 6.30pm. By 8pm, dozens of protesters were assembled on the bridge. They told The Irish Times they planned to block traffic for 'as long as possible'. Most of the protesters were masked and did not wish to speak to the media. One masked woman declined to say who the protest groups were, saying only they were representing a coalition of pro-Palestinian groups across Ireland. READ MORE [ Foreign ministers jointly condemn Israel's approval of settlement project east of Jerusalem Opens in new window ] 'This is a coalition protesting the encroaching invasion on Gaza city, the scale of how things are right now. We want to disrupt business as usual because the Irish Government is not acting as it should be. It's giving rhetoric support to Palestine but it's not actually acting,' she said. Some commuters got off buses to question and challenge protesters, but the woman said that overall people had been 'understanding'. 'We've had a shocking amount of people who have been inconvenienced and are still so supportive of this cause,' she said.
