Thomas McCarthy Sings In Tribute To Liam Weldon
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- Опубліковано 21 жов 2024
- See current films by Myles O'Reilly on / mylesoreilly
This month I want to introduce you to a project that has been slowly building and gathering strength since the summer of 2019, in the beforetime. I was contacted one morning by a woman named Lorraine Kennedy. My wife Aideen and I had just spoken at length in the kitchen about purposefully leaving attitudes open to collaboration with other filmmakers and content producers. Maybe it was more like a one way conversation actually, directed at Aideen, who has learned to nod enthusiastically whenever I talk at her enthusiastically! Anyway, that morning over a coffee, she agreed with me, collaboration is a good thing. Be open to it. I've become like a lone wolf hunting on my own 90% of the time but every now and then I'm lucky to meet and work with a team of sounders. I adore the extra magic that creates, when you share a creative vision with someone else.
Lorraine Kennedy had a proposition. She asked did I know of the late great singer and musical anarchist, of sorts, Liam Weldon. I did of course know Liam's song which Lankum's Radie Peat has covered with hair raising deftness for the opening of This Ain't Know Disco EPI. Dark Horse On The Wind is an extremely immediate and powerful ballad that sounds utterly timeless, with rousing political lyrics that universally ring true today, and are almost applicable to every and any hierarchical civilisation there has ever been. It's a cry to humanity. A song for the overlooked, hard done by and persecuted. (Listen here • Dark Horse On The Wind )
Lorraine wondered would I be interested in learning more about Liam, and maybe collaborating with her and photographer Colm Keating on a film about Liam's life? I met with Lorraine and Colm, and cut a long story short, after I spent one minute in their company, I was in love with them. Two absolute beauts. We spoke about Liam for hours, and by the time the meeting was over it was already very clear to me what a film about Liam Weldon would be. Nothing short of inspiring.
Immediately Lorraine set about organising all the interviews, the performances and locations, and invited myself and Donal Dineen along to all of them to spy on events. Many great musicians were more than happy to collaborate with us. Radie Peat (Lankum), Lisa O'Neill, Daoirí Farrel, Damien Dempsy, Niamh Parsons, Paddy Keenan to name very few! We filmed singing sessions in Tailors Hall, The Cobblestone and Goilín singers club. We visited all of Liam's old haunts, and met with many characters who remembered him, and in the course of 6 months gathered enough content to piece together an incredibly musical film about Liam, that's for certain.
We found some absolute diamonds too, from the RTE archives. Never seen before footage, not since it was aired anyway. Clips of liam in the 60's, 70's and 80's just before he died. He was a man who shrugged the attention of the media but not when he wanted to be heard. When he had objections about the government and it's treatment of his people, his fellow dubs, and his adopted Traveller family. This also means the cumulative running length of footage Lorraine did find, must only amount to about 10 minutes. Imagine that. 10 minutes of visual evidence of who he was to look at in 3 dimensions. Thankfully Colm Keating has hundreds of amazing photos of Liam.
All of these elements helped us track and trace the waves that his particular stone made when it dropped in the clear water of his time, that still move through us today. Not crystal clear waves but still strong enough ripples to make out, amidst the erratic water surface caused by all the other noise, mild in comparison. Such was the strength of Liam's personality. We had spent so much time focusing on the waves that Liam made, and the fingerprint that his actions and songs have left behind, that towards the end of production it truly felt as though he was there with us. It's my ultimate objective that when you first enter the cinema to see our film, you will leave with Liam too. So very strong and pronounced is this energy that we inherit. His dear wife, now in her eighties, Nellie Weldon, was a beautiful woman to sit and speak with. Her interview is among the most precious. AND the music. Good lord. So much music inspired by Liam.
This scene speaks for itself. Here is the moment we meet Traveller singer and song collector, Thomas McCarthy. On this evening a large group of incredible musicians surrounded a fire in a field in Kildare and we sang and played songs in tribute to Liam all night. I hope this brings some sense of the magic we have captured.
Much love and respect.
X Myles
!['Songs Of The Open Road [Trailer]': A portrait of Irish Traveller Thomas McCarthy | Pavee Culture](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kvZFTuztyLE/mqdefault.jpg)
!['Songs Of The Open Road [Trailer]': A portrait of Irish Traveller Thomas McCarthy | Pavee Culture](/img/tr.png)
such a beautiful piece of work. well done to all involved,
The magic of Ireland is showing itself. I'm delighted to be lookin' at it through your lens Myles , much love to ya.
I'd probably rank Liam as one of the most important traditional singers of modern times, what Darach Ó Catháin and Seosamh Ó hÉanaí were for the Sean Nos tradition he was for English-language Irish song. Its a shame that he doesn't get more mainstream recognition. Brilliantly atmospheric film too.
Great. Wonderful. Beautiful. Five Star.
How not to love Ireland for its magic and beauty? Wonderful story about singers and travelers from the past. Thank you Myles from Poland for your movies!
For a town folk as myself it is heartbreaking to see something so pure from, actually, another era.
I don't know what to else to say. I'm looking forward for your film Mr.O'Reilly. Greetings from Greece.
Bless you.
A properly transporting video to watch
What a jewel! I would love to see the movie!
Great song/singer.. thanks for the share
Pure unadulterated magic!!
So beautiful thanks for this it's a treasure!
The song is like a version of Barbara Allen, a very old traditional English song I think. The ending is similar anyway.
Thank you, Myles! I hope to see the film.
Beautiful Myles, simply beautiful. Thank you for capturing this!
Thank you for doing this beautiful work.
Pure magic
2 generations and a world has disappeared.
How can I watch the film? I'm happy to pay to watch it.
It was up on UA-cam until last month, don’t know why but they set it to private.
My real name is katrina Marie Mccarthy I believe I decend from your family Hod bless 🙌 you 🙏 ❤️ Such a joy and pleasure to know where my singing came from ×××
G that looks like king ward opening the bottle
Right,,,,,wjen money came ... greed came in.. from all levels
Ask him about mikeen McCarthy
is it just me or is it sped up?
So easy to speak in English but to think elsewhere...... is that punishment or liberty?