Sad farewell to a great man of the land the sea
A GLOOM hung over the village of Baile an Fheirtéaraigh last Wednesday as mourners packed into Séipéal Naomh Uinsinn to pay their last respects to Domhnall (Danny) Mac Síthigh from nearby Baile Eaglaise who died tragically on the Iberian coast during a unique and inspiring camino voyage in a traditional West Kerry naomhóg.
The weight of sadness in the church was lightened only by the knowledge that Danny, aged 66 years, had died doing what he loved, pursuing a dream and in the company of friends.
The funeral mass was celebrated by Fr Eoghan Ó Cadhla, Fr Jim Sheehy and the Dean of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostella Fr Joe Coughlan who had travelled from Spain for the funeral. Last year Fr Coughlan honoured Danny and his fellow crewmen, Breanndán Ó Beaglaoich, Breanndán Ó Muircheartaigh, Liam Holden and Glen Hansard, at a High Mass in the cathedral when they completed their initial Camino na Sáile from Dublin to Santiago de Compostella, after a voyage of three summers.
Having succeeded in that quest they decided to continue their camino down the coast of Spain with the aim of crossing the Straits of Gibralter to Morocco over another three summers. Singer Liam Ó Maonlaoi and boat builder Pádraig Ua Duinnín from County Cork were to be among a rotating crew in the naomhóg and in an article published in these pages before they set off Danny wrote: “We will tussle with land, sea and the elements from 30 May to 29 June 2017 on our fourth pilgrimage of the Camino by Sea Voyage. The blisters on our hands and other hardships of the Voyage will be offset by our joyous team spirit and the blessings of the pilgrimage…If we fail to complete our Voyage, it will not be for the lack of effort.”
That effort ended tragically on Friday, June 9, when the Naomh Gobnait capsized after being hit by a wave as the crew approached the Minho river estuary between Spain and Portugal. All four stayed with the boat, which was still sound, and they eventually washed up on a beach where Danny died despite the efforts of emergency services to revive him. Others in the crew were treated for hypothermia.
At the Mass Breanndán Ó Beaglaoich and Liam Ó Maonlaoí, who along with Peadar Ua Duinnín were with Danny when he died, sang songs of the sea, the Dingle Choir sang the hymns and Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh sang ‘Faoiseamh Faoistine’, a poem written by Danny about finding peace of mind by the water’s edge.
Danny was happy to describe himself as a ‘writer and a bit of a farmer from Baile Eaglaise’ but, as his many friends knew, he was also a bit of a cultural ambassador for Corca Dhuibhne and the Irish language, a scholar, a story-teller, a man of great wit and profound wisdom, generous, welcoming, a free spirit guided by a sense of fun and adventure.
In a eulogy at the end of the Mass Bosco Ó Conchúir celebrated Danny’s life and his contribution to the community: “Táimid buíoch dó as a bheith mar lóchrann inár measc ag soilsiú póirsí an léinn is an eolais dhúinn, ag tabhairt cóstaí is tíortha coimhthíocha is farraigí dheoranta chun ár samhlaíochta – é mar réalt eolais againn ár dtreorú ar chosáin ár n-oidhreachta.
Táimid buíoch dó as a líofacht Ghaelainne, a shruth cainte, a roinnt linn --- líofacht a dhein saibhriú ar gach aoinne a chuala í… Táthars buíoch dó as a charadas - bhí aithne is cion ag an saol mór Gaelach ar Danny agus aithne is cion aige orthu.
Fear cleachtan, comhluadar breá, dob ea é.” Following the Mass, piper Fergal MacAmhlaoibh led the funeral out of Baile an Fheirtéaraigh and again led the cortege from the main road to Dún Urlann cemetery, a stone’s throw from Danny’s home in Baile Eaglaise. Following the tradition of introducing the deceased to their resting place, and guided by the wisdom of the sean fhocal ‘An timpeall chun an teampaill agus an congar chun an bhoird’, Danny’s coffin was shouldered around the cemetery before being interred in the family tomb where Breanndán Ó Beaglaoich from the crew of Naomhóg na Tínte sang ‘Beauty Deas an Oileáin’, a song by Blasket Island poet Seán Ó Duinnshléibhe about a famous victory achieved by the islanders at the Ventry Regatta.
Danny is survived by his wife Máire, their children Cormac, Róisín and Orlaith, and his siblings Gearóid, John Joe, Pat, Joan and Áine.