Na Píobairí Uilleann

Chairman, NPU

An Píobaire

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8 1 10 20120206 10 ~ OBITUARY ~ MUIRIS Ó RÓCHÁIN 1944-2011 P ERHAPS THE FIRST SIGNIFICANT REPORT on the Willie Clancy Summer School came in an Irish Times editorial in July, 1976, when the then deputy-editor, Donal Foley, wrote about the streets of Miltown Malbay being full of “spontaneous music until dawn,” and opined that the School was “the right kind of cultural occasion”. The editorial also re- ferred to the School’s co-founder and director, Muiris Ó Rócháin, as “the guiding spirit” of the occasion. Muiris was an inspirational figure in Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy, as the school progressed from the modest enrolment of the first year, 1973, to the internationally recog- nised cultural event it is today, where upwards of 1,000 students, from as many as forty coun- tries, come to learn traditional music. This suc- cess owes much to his vision, energy and warm personality, attractive characteristics which he skilfully used to win widespread support for the School. His capacity for friendship and personal con- tact was effectively demonstrated shortly after Willie Clancy’s death, when the committee, of which Muiris was secretary, sought support for an initiative to commemorate the Miltown piper. The response was immediate and positive. Correspondence came from Conradh na Gaeilge, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, Na Píobairí Uilleann, senior personnel in RTÉ, members of The Chieftains and Na Filí, Gael Linn, and musicians and enthusiasts from all over the county and country. It was a measure of Muiris’s energy and commitment to a cause that such a diverse support base could be as- sembled at relatively short notice. His prag- matism steered the School across some troubled waters in its formative years; and, while working closely with Na Píobairí Uil- leann, he retained contacts with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. Muiris was born in Dingle and the Sráid Eoin Wren in his home town was a life long passion. He was educated locally and at UCC, and, while a young teacher in Cahirciveen and Wa- terville, collected folklore from Irish speakers in south Kerry. On these occasions he was ac- companied by his life long friend, Seán Ó Dúill. Afterwards he moved to Dublin and be- came part of the Gaelic cultural scene in the capital. In 1970 he took up a teaching job in Clare, at Spanish Point Secondary School, and married local primary schoolteacher, Úna Guerin. As principal, Úna transformed Moy National School into a thriving Gaelscoil. Their daughter, Máire, is resident in the US and works in the film industry, and son, Séamus, is a secondary teacher and accomplished piper. A committed Irish speaker, he was delighted with the establishment of Raidió na Gaeltachta and TG4. For a period in the 1970s he was a re- porter for Raidió na Gaeltachta, gathering local news—meetings, funerals, festivals, marts and cattle prices—and, in pre-automatic, operator- dependent days, calling it all in through the local telephone exchange. The flow of Munster Gaelic was often disrupted by English exple- tives when the connections broke down. Muiris was widely read and had a comprehen- sive range of interests: Irish literature and cul- ture, folklore, local history, travel, and rural life. An expert cattle trader, he loved the tangle of the deal, and the competitiveness and cama- raderie involved at fair and mart. He gave his

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