By Claire Corrigan
It was something of a magical night on Easter Monday at Áras an Mhuillinn which saw acclaimed local composer, Enda Seery, perform eight new songs in honour of two special Westmeath ladies.
‘A New Ireland in the Orchard Air’ was composed by Westmeath native, Enda, especially to celebrate the life of Eilis and Emily Elliot from Glasson and the active role they played in the 1916 Easter Rising.
Alongside his three siblings, Siobhan Farrell (née Seery) (flute), Ciaran Seery (button accordion) Padraig Seery (fiddle) with John Burke (guitar), Paul Taffe (fiddle) and Kathryn Nea (singer), Enda, who holds multiple whistles titles and has performed on numerous broadcasts, premiered eight short musical pieces in the presence of dozens of relatives and friends of the Elliot sisters.
Enda was commissioned to compose the suite in honour of the two local activists of the Easter Rising, Eilis and Emily Elliot from Tonagh, Glasson, near Athlone.
Both women were founding members of Cumann na mBan and were part of the garrison at the Four Courts during the insurrection.
Speaking with Topic, poet John Ennis said he wanted to fulfill the the last line in his poem dedicated to the sisters which reads, ‘Maybe time will honour with symphony worthy of their name sisters such as these, Blossoms attend still, Wander where they will: Where once they walked, petals of the apples fell on their hair as they plotted a new Ireland in the orchard air’.
“It struck me when I was writing the poem, how are these women going to remembered? Sound always supersedes the word and has a greater resonance and tonight is a culmination of that. Enda has done something very important in that it’s a work in eight sections. It’s jigs and rigs, hornpipe, and any one can be played as an entire suite. It’ll be a memorable night and it’s on the appropriate night because it’s 100 years ago to Easter Monday that the women didn’t know if they would last until Easter Tuesday and they did.”
Streamstown native Enda said he was honoured when John asked him, back in November, if he would write the songs in honour of the brave Westmeath sisters. “I’ve been composing for about 12 years but this is my first time to be commissioned to compose for a particular event, so I was delighted.” The full-time music teacher and musician said he was a little bit worried about finding enough inspiration to write the songs, but after reading about the sisters, he soon had the eight pieces completed. “They didn’t tell me that I had to complete this many pieces; they kind of left it up to me. They want the songs to be a celebration of their lives rather sombre. I have two slow reflective pieces in it but the rest are more cheerful, upbeat jigs and reels, polka and hornpipe, so they wanted it to be a celebration of the two ladies.
“In the back of my mind, I knew that they were heavily involved in the Easter Rising and they had huge respect for Irish culture, such as singing and dancing. I knew they used to have impromptu sessions, so I just wanted it to be lively. The two reflective pieces I hadn’t intended on composing but they just came to me. I thought it might be nice just to have a little bit of a reflection on their lives too.” The suite consists of two jigs, two reels, a hornpipe, polka and two slow pieces.”
John McCann, grandson of Eilis Elliot, remembers his grandmother as a water lover. “She loved the river. Every chance she had, she’d be in her boat on the river. She was a very strong swimmer and just loved nature.”
As well as the musical performance, reels were accompanied by sean nós dancers who added extra sparkle to an already lustrous affair – one the two feisty and spirited sisters would have been sure to enjoy.
