Big plans for Sean Clarach weekend

CHARLEVILLE Heritage Society will honour Jacobite Poet Seán Clarách Mac Domhnaill at a memorial weekend from May 29-31 next.

Seán Clarách was born in the townland of Rath nearby Churchtown in 1691. He received his initial education at a local Hedge School and was awarded one of four places reserved for Catholics at the Roger Boyle School in Charleville, where he became fluent in Latin, Greek and in the English language.

Following the deaths of his parents he moved into Charleville and was to remain there for the rest of his life. He became a leading poet of his day, was the Chief Poet of Munster and a one of the Poets of the Maigue (File na Maighe) and he held his Court of Poetry at his home in the Kiltoohig area of the town. Seán Clarách died in 1754 and is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery.

The programme for the memorial weekend will begin on Friday evening 29th May with a seminar on his life and times at the Charleville Park Hotel, with Professor Liam Ó Murchú of the History Department U.C.C., Fr. Miceál de Listún, Limerick and Denis J. Hickey, Churchtown and Limerick. On Saturday there will be a free bus tour to places associated with the poet such as Churchtown where he was born and Kilmallock and Croom the final resting places of Andreas Mac Craith and Sean O Túama, the other members of Filí na Maighe, respectively.

On Saturday night there will be a memorial concert at Charleville Park Hotel featuring Donncha Ó Dúlaing, Seán Ó Sé, Keivn Owens, the musicians of Craobh an Rath Comhaltas group, Billy O’Brien, Charleville Folk Group, Jacob’s Ladder, John Murphy, Jim Barry and Irish dancers.

After 12 noon Mass, which will be in Irish, a plaque will be unveiled at the cemetery to mark the 261st anniversary of the death of Seán Clarách in 1754.