Tributes paid to sean nós gold medallist
LONG before Corn Uí Riada was the blue riband title for sean nós singers, the winner of the best sean nós singer at Oireachtas na Gaeilge was awarded the ‘ bonn óir’, the gold medal.
In 1951 Máire Ní Cheocháin, later to become Máire Uí Chruadhlaoich, won the ‘ bonn óir’ at the Oireachtas in Dublin, becoming one of only a handful of Múscraí Gaeltacht singers to win the premier title.
Born in Cúil Aodha in 1924, Máire passed away after a long illness last week and was laid to rest on Monday.
Her friend Peadar Ó Riada, who now lives in the house in which Máire was born, An Draighean in Cúil Aodha, paid a heartfelt tribute to the singer.
“She was a beautiful singer and when she was in her late teens collectors such as Alan Lomax and Seamus Ennis came to record her singing - she was also heard frequently on Raidio Éireann programmes, such as those presented by Fionán Mac
Coluim in the 1940s.”
Máire was one of the founder members of Acadamh Fódhla, a hedge school institute of learning set up at the beginning of the millennium and she was elected a ‘saoi’ or wise woman of the academy, its highest honour, for her knowledge of traditional songs and excellence as a singer.
She recorded a CD produced by Peadar Ó Riada, Cu Cú Ín, which is widely regarded as a definitive work.
A pharmacist, she established a pharmacy in Ballincollig which became Uí Chruadhlaoich’s after she married Kevin Ó Crualaoi.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh sí.