Helen O’Donovan sings “Black Flowers” by Lynn Miles at the annual toast to Mother Jones at the Mother Jones Plaque, Shandon, Cork on the final day of the sixth Spirit of Mother Jones Festival & Summer School 2017.
Tag Archives: Cork
Song at the Spirit of Mother Jones Festival 2017
Karan Casey sings her new song “Mother Jones” at the Spirit of Mother Jones Festival 2017.
The new song was in the course of completion when Karan was asked to sing it at the Maldron Hotel during the 2017 festival. Well done Karan.
Spirit of Mother Jones Festival 2017 – Day 4
Today is Day 4 of the Spirit of Mother Jones Festival & Summer School 2017 and promises a full day of events. The main theme of most of today’s activity is around the Spanish Civil War (1936-1937) and we will also be honouring Michael O’Riordan who fought on the Republican side in the war and whose centenary is being marked this year. Michael was born at number 37 Pope’s Quay, under the shadow of Shandon Steeple.
Timetable for Day 4
Spirit of Mother Jones Festival – Day Three (Thursday, 3rd August)
Timetable for Day Three of the Spirit of Mother Jones Festival – Thursday, 3rd August 2017.
There is an environmental theme to today’s events which begin at 11.00am with what promises to be an interesting and topical talk by Councillor Marcia D’Alton on “The Environmental Battle for Cork Harbour”.
We will have Music at the Maldron Hotel at 1.00pm and at 2.30pm at the Firkin Crane we will be showing the thought-provoking documentary “A Plastic Ocean” by Australian journalist and film-maker Craig Leeson.
at 7.30pm we will have a lecture at the Maldron entitled “Climate Change – Our Response” by Fr. Sean McDonagh who has written extensively on environmental issues and is currently President of An Taisce.
All are welcome.
Photos from opening day of the 6th Spirit of Mother Jones Festival & Summer School
Above: The Lord Mayor of Cork, Councillor Tony Fitzgerald, Tony Fitzgerald being presented with an ornamental urn containing earth from the grave of Mother Jones at Mount Olive by Jim Goltz of the United Mine Workers of America – on the opening night of the 6th Spirit of Mother Jones Festival at the Maldron Hotel, Cork, last night. Photo via William Hammond.
Julianna Minihan who gave a most interesting talk about the life and work of U.S. social reformer and campaigner Florence Kelley,
James Goltz with framed proclamation from the International President of the United Mineworkers Union of America. This and two other proclamations presented by James to the Cork Mother Jones Committee can be seen in full on the Spirit of Mother Jones festival website.
Ethel Buckley of SIPTU who gave an informative lecture on “Revitalising the Labour Movement”
Ed Byrne, outgoing President of the ASTI who spoke on “Challenging Injustice, Inequality and the Unethical”
Ann Piggott of the Cork Mother Jones Festival (and former President of Cork Council of Trade Unions) presents a memento to James Goltz on behalf of the Cork Mother Jones Committee
Ann Piggot makes presentation to Ethel Buckley on behalf of the Cork Mother Jones Committee
Ed Byrne of the ASTI with presentation from the Cork Mother Jones Committee presented by Ann Piggott of the committee.
“Climate Change – Our Response!” – with Fr. Seán McDonagh
Warming of Planet Earth – Photo via NASA / Wikimedia (Public Domain)
Fr Sean McDonagh will present a talk entitled “Climate Change – Our Response” at the Maldron Hotel on Thursday 3rd August 2017 as part of a general “environment day” at the 2017 Spirit of Mother Jones summer school.
Fr. Sean McDonagh was born in Nenagh, Co Tipperary in 1944 and was ordained a priest in the Columban order in 1969. He was sent to work in Mindanao in the Philippines where he spent four years working in Oroqueita City. Later he worked amongst the T’boli indigenous people near Lake Sebu where he witnessed at first hand the destruction of the local forests. Thus began his environmental activism which has led to a huge literary output and his travels across the world explaining that environmental destruction leads to global poverty especially amongst the poor.
Fr. Sean McDonagh (right) meets Pope Francis
He highlights the causes and effects of climate warming, the lack of access to fresh water, the destruction of our oceans. He opposes the patenting of seeds and animals and warns of the dangers of genetic engineering which concentrates power and control over food production in a few unaccountable multinationals. In 2006 he published Climate Change: The Challenge to Us All in which he discusses the consequences of Global Warming. His is a passionate and urgent call to all, including the churches to become active in ensuring solutions are found.
Fr McDonagh has written numerous articles and papers for various newspapers and magazines around the world. He is a strong advocate for Pope Francis’s recent Encyclical on the environment, “Laudato Si – On Care for our Common Home”, described by many as the most revolutionary papal encyclical ever. He argues for the Church to become the catalyst for the change needed to safeguard the planet. Currently President of An Taisce: The National Trust for Ireland, Fr Sean has assisted many environmental organisations over the decades. He is a proud Tipperary person and enjoys the game of hurling.
Climate Change: As a result mainly of the combustion of fossil fuels, there is an accumulation of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxides in the atmosphere leading to the rise in average global temperatures by 0.6 C degrees in the past 100 years but scientists are predicting that the earth’s temperature could rise by between 1.4 C degrees this century. Many scientists also predict that this rise will have catastrophic results for the earth. High temperatures, heat waves, rising sea levels, violent storms, loss of food production, loss of wildlife, water shortages, the list is endless. But one thing is clear- it will have a major change on the world as we know it.
On Wednesday 19th July 2017, the Irish Government produced the National Mitigation Plan which detailed 106 ways to reduce the impact of Climate Change in Ireland. It promised a “fundamental societal transformation”. However Ireland is likely to be well short of reaching its target for a 20% reduction in emissions from the 2005 figures by the year 2020. Indeed emissions are projected by the Irish Environmental Protection Agency to increase 2015-2020 by between 10% and 20% in the transport sector and 5% in the agricultural sectors. These are the big emitters with Agriculture contributing 33% and Transport 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland.
Fr. Sean McDonagh
The Paris Agreement aims to restrict global temperature rises to well below 2% above pre-industrial levels and is committed as a whole to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Ireland is currently way off the mark! Will the latest glossy green brochure of the National Mitigation Plan be just another symbol of Irish indifference to climate change? Or are we all going to ensure we do not remain bystanders to the threat facing future generations?
Fr Sean McDonagh will present his views on Thursday evening 3rd August at 7.30 at the Maldron Hotel, Cork.
Songs of the Spanish Civil War
Songs of the Spanish Civil War with John Nyhan, Mick Treacy and friends.
This event takes place at the Maldron Hotel on Friday night 4th August at 9.30 pm. All are welcome. Singers and songwriters are welcome to come along and take part but please contact John Nyhan beforehand.
Many people are aware of Christy Moore’s inspiring song and the words of Viva La Quinta Brigada, which he credited to the book, Connolly Column written by Michael O’Riordan, and read while Christy was on holiday in Spain. The words concentrate on the Irish members of the International Brigades who lost their lives during the war, however there is a huge rich vein of songs and poetry associated with the Spanish Civil War.
Mick Treacy and John Nyhan hope to explore this rich vein of songs, stories and poetry during the forthcoming Spirit of Mother Jones festival.
A recent note from Mick indicates their intentions
“I will be working from this list hopefully but not in this order
The Ballad of Kit Conway, Viva la Quinta Brigada, Hans Beimler, Jarama Valley, Venja Jaleo, The Peatbog Soldiers, off to Salamanca, O’Duffy’s ironsides, Jamie Foyer, The Thaelmann Column, The Bantry Girl’s Lament, Come you Anti-fascists, Viva la Quince Brigata(Spanish) and Bandiera Rossa as well as poems by Charlie Donnelly, John Cornford , Donough Mc Donough and others.”
Mick Treacy
Mick Treacy.
Mick came to folk music through listening to The Weavers , Delia Murphy, Joe Lynch, Connie Foley and the one and only Margaret Barry in the fifties and then the Skiffle movement in Britain which was spearheaded by Ken Colyer one of the leading exponents of the Classic New Orleans Jazz style in Britain. The revival of interest in Folk song and music happened to coincide with this outbreak of people’s music making and before long there was a natural fusion which led to Skiffle groups becoming Folk Groups like The Ian Campbell group in Birmingham or The Quarrymen from Liverpool becoming the Beatles.
Mick went to England in late 1960 became part of the whole folk revival first listening and learning from Ewan McColl, Bob Davenport, Alex Campbell, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot and many more. By 1964 he was singing in Birmingham Town Hall in a fund raising concert for West Midlands Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and later joined an Irish Group called ‘The Munstermen’. This lead in turn to the founding of ‘The Holyground Folk Club’ which had three glorious years and hosted many of the world’s great folk artistes.
In 1967 he came to Dublin and sang in most of the venues of the day such as the Embankment, the Castle Inn, the Old Sheiling and many of the local Folk Clubs before returning to his native Mitchelstown where he settled down, got married and raised a family. He has always had an interest in the songs of the working people collecting many down through the years. He feels privileged to have shared the platform and stage with many pacifist and socialist poets, writers, singers and performers who shared his dreams.
John Nyhan.
John Nyhan
John was born in Cork City and now lives in Lombardstown, North Cork, where he plays an active role in the local community. He was heavily influenced by the Folk revival and has been playing and promoting music for over 40 years.
During the 70s he was a founding member of The Shandon Folk Club in Eason’s Hill, within an earshot of the Shandon Bells. Today he continues his voluntary involvement as a promoter of concerts and festivals. He is especially well known for the Bluegrass and Folk concerts he runs at The Village Arts Centre, Kilworth Co Cork. John is an avid collector of folk, bluegrass and songs of the people and has an encyclopaedic recall of singers and songs.
In the 1970s he worked as a peace campaigner in the North of Ireland as a member of Voluntary Service International. He was also a worker with the Simon Community.
A regular contributor to the annual Mother Jones festival, John organised the legendary session “The songs of Joe Hill” in 2015 and in 2016 performed his vast repertoire of mining songs along with Mick Treacy.
