Aibrean 25 1903 - 25 April 1903
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Great in achievement, but greater in promise, was Feis Mhuigheo ; a rally, a gathering together of many feet and many minds, a raising up of many hearts ; a slogan, a trumpet call, an inspiration. It showed work done ; showed problems grappled with and overcome ; showed undreamt-of potentialities of future achievement. Mayo had lost heart, lost faith in itself, had forgotten to be itself ; had lost its old gaiety and buoyancy and nimbleness of intellect, was losing its old cleanness of heart and fervour and reverence of spirit. It had broken away from its moorings, and drifted far ; evil days had followed, and days more evil were looming ahead. Young men arose - young priests and young laymen - and said that this thing should not be ; that this lonely old woman's heart should be comforted, and made glad ; that hope should be born again in this listless soul ; that this anchorless barque should be brought back to its moorings. The project enkindled many minds, and Mayo became again a land of enthusiasms ; difficulties were seen, faced, and fought, yielding one by one - none but those who know the West, and Mayo in particular, can realise how great the difficulties were and how numerous ; a whole county had to be educated, enthused, organised ; the towns had to be interested ; the countrysides had to be gone through and folk told of the awakening. This, and much more, was undertaken and accomplished. In every town in the county local workers planned and organised for weeks. All the thought and all the toil had its consummation in Ballyhaunis on Wednesday and Thursday last. The Feis was successful, and more ; nay, marvellous, when you consider the conditions and the difficulties. One of its features was the quite surprising outburst of literary activity ; another was the large mass of folklore collected. There was a note of triumph in An Craobhin's complaint that the secretary had been inconsiderate enough to send him 450 pages of proverbs to read! Another feature of the Feis was its representative character. The country folk, it is true, did not gather in as well as they did at Galway ; they were availing of the first fine weather since Christmas to plough and sow. The towns of the whole county were, however, splendidly represented. Choirs and individual competitors came from far and near, not only from Mayo, but from the adjoining counties. As a gathering of Connacht Gaels, the Feis had indeed one of its most notable phases. Look round the room at one of the crowded concerts. There is An Craobhin, magnetic and joyous as ever. That bearded, spectacled priest beside him is Father Walter Conway, of Glanamaddy. The thin worn man with the keen face and burning eyes is Father John O'Reilly, of Clare Island. That kindly, grey-haired priest is father Canning, of Ballyhaunis, and the simple, unassuming old man beside him is Archdeacon Kilkenny, D.D., of Claremorris. Yonder big, burly, genial man is a parishioner of the Archdeacon's - Dr. Conor Maguire, Chairman of the Feis. Near him are the two Father O'Doherty's - father Michael of Ballaghadereen, and Father Donnchadh of Maynooth, the President of the League of St. Columba. Beside them, still hale and unbent, is their father, Michael O'Doherty, of Kiltimagh. Here is Father Munnelly, all the way from Tireragh, and here Father O'Byrne, who, exiled from the Irish-speaking West, never misses an important Connacht hosting. That almost boyish-looking priest is Father Grehan, of Elphin, and this old man, with the pale, ascetic face, and the magnificent torrent of Irish, is Father Mac Evilly. Truly, in Connacht, as elsewhere, the best men are with the Gael. The concerts, some minor blemishes excepted, were animating and successful. Two concerts were carried on simultaneously, and both were packed each night. The Ballaghadereen Craobh gave a delightful performansce of "An Posadh" and the Claremorris Craobh produced "Casadh an tSúgáin". Altogether the first Mayo Feis was a thing to be remembered; great, as we have said, in achievement, but still greater in promise. |