When Tommy McDermott, now 73, was a schoolboy in his native Rosslea, he sat beside his mother as she crocheted and knitted and took down the words of some of her favourite songs as she sang, among them, 'Young Matt Hyland'.
That was back in the 'blackout' days of World War Two. Now, almost 60 years on, Fermanagh's best-known traditional male balladeer has cut a CD which features 14 tracks, among them the one his late mother used to sing, 'Young Matt Hyland'.
"It all started when, one day, I said to my mother after she had sung it, 'that's a lovely song', and she said that none of us would be bothering to sing any of those old songs when she was dead and gone. So, I said I would bother, and I got a pen and she dictated the words. Luckily, I had a good ear for music and I wasn't long lifting the air, and that is how and why I got interested in traditional singing".
Indeed he did.
In 1965, he won the All-Ireland senor men's ballad at the All-Ireland Fleadh in Thurles and, the year before, he had sung, 'Young Matt Hyland' on an RTE comhaltas programme: "The song is a lovely story and, as I said, it was one of my mother's favourites. She sung it so beautifully and, in fact, it became very popular after I sang it on RTE", Tommy said this week.
So, what of this CD, 'In The Shadows of Sliabh Beagh'? How did it come about? Well, it wasn't entirely his own idea, as he explained: "It was more or less followers of traditional culture had been at me to put some of these good songs on disc. I had fully intended doing that anyway and, funnily enough, it's only now when I'm, 73 that I got round to it".
No, he had no trouble at all selecting the 14 that are on the disc, and he revealed that he had 16 more songs for a future tape. Ironically, every good traditional singer has a repertoire of around 30 songs, so Tommy falls into that category.
The bulk of the songs relate to the Roslea area where he was born and reared, moving shortly after his marriage to Agnes to Lisnaskea in 1956.
"So, most are from the Sliabh Beagh area, althought here are quite a few from other parts of the country, all traditional stuff that I'm very fond of. It was really to promote the songs from around the Roslea area, I want people to hear them, especially young epople who might learn them and keep singing them".
In this regard, Tommy reported that Fermanagh had a vibrant young traditional singing reputation, and he proceeded to rattle off some of these talented youngsters, names such as Timoney, Clancy and Keaney (who is related to another Fermanagh All-Ireland champion singer, Rosie Stewart), all from the Belcoo area, Julie Anne McCaffrey, from Arney, Maria Connolly from Wattlebridge (an Ulster champion this year on the fiddle) and, over by Derrylin, Damien McKenna.
Tommy, incidentally, sings all 14 songs unaccompanied by any musical instrument: "As far as I'm concerned, if you put music to traditional songs, they cannot be termed as 'traditional'. In some areas, the emphasis is on ornamentation rather than the diction, so i would be very firm on the diction. There is no point in singing words if you can't hear them".
So, what's on the disc - which plays excellently on computer as well?
Well, there are those songs which are native to the Sliabh Beagh area, among them, 'The Lovely River Finn', 'The Shades of Sweet Kilmore', and 'The Roslea Martyrs' (McMahon, Smyth nd Connolly of 1797 fame). Then, there are one or two surprises, including two he got from his grandfather, Robert McDermott and, happily, both are humorous pieces, particularly, 'The Wedding of Laghy McGrath'.
It's centred on the Pettigo/Lough Derg area where his grandfather originated and carries the immortal refrain, 'My I get mixed up in the wheels of a train, if ever i go to a wedding again'. The song profiles a number of weird wedding guests, but we won 't spoil the surprise.
Local hands, this time, from the Kinawley and Lisnaskea areas, were at work in two more of the songs: for 'The Auld McMahon Spade', the CD notes explain, we are indebted to Matt Doogan for composing it and to Hugh Collins, 'the poet from Lisnaskea', for putting the air to it. Then, there is 'St Kevin and the Gander' which Tommy got from the late Tommy O'Rourke. He is the father of Paddy, the present chairman of Fermanagh CCE.
Tommy, indeed, is a founder member of Roslea CCE branch, and was its first chairman in 1954. Later, when he settled in Lisnaskea, he helped found the Lisnaskea branch of comhaltas, in 1965, is still a member and is vice chairman of the Roslea branch.
This is a delightfully-produced CD. The singing is crystal clear, the 14 songs a nice blend of happy and sad and, then, there are the people behind the scenes. They include the producer of the disc, Sean Connolly, those responsible for the graphics, Majella and Paul Connolly and, finally, Michael Tierney Audio for the sound.
Michael is a long-time admirer, both of traditional singing and Tommy McDermott: "It is my first tape. I would not be into audio production, but I wanted Tommy to put these songs on tape so that they will always be there. The disc itself? It's beautiful. There are songs I hadn't heard before, despite the afct I would have been involved with the traditional music and song scene for years through putting up amplification at concerts".
Copies of the CD, 'In The Shadow of Sliabh Beagh' are now available at outlets in Roslea and Lisnaskea.
