Lismore’s Taproot festival dug deep
LISMORE’S first Festival of Music and Literature (aka Taproot) was a resounding success in the words of the chairwoman of the Gaelic Heritage Centre, Jennifer Baker.
Jennifer and Patron Mairi Campbell and a group of willing volunteers organised this ‘fabulous weekend’ which boasted literary and musical icons such as Liz Lochhead, James Kelman, Donald Meek, Norman Bissell and Davy and the Clincarts.
Mairi brought her five star Fringe show ‘Pulse’ to a packed hall on Saturday night and this was followed by a concert featuring Dirt Roadsters and Delightful Squalor, a duo who created total magic on stage: Cera Impala and Lake Montgomery.
Mairi said Taproot was ‘a unique and beautiful thing’. ‘The blend of word and music worked extremely well and it was very sociable too. It was really special to play Pulse on Lismore, where the story begins,’ she said.
Alice Fernbank and Svend Erik told stories about giants and spent Friday with the school children in workshops and storytelling.
The festival has evolved from the book week which takes place on Lismore annually and had the aim of celebrating the rich mix of performance art and culture and its intertwining with Scottish Gaelic history, literature and music.
The festival began on Thursday evening with a film classic The Field, followed on Friday with workshops and performances by the participating artists and an evening of traditional ceilidh music and dances with Lismore’s own music makers. Festival-goers had nothing but praise for the artists dripping with talent and enthusiasm.
Blessed with fine weather, the island atmosphere was one of welcome and magic, mixed with conviviality and goodwill with literary sessions and recitals by Liz Lochhead from her highly entertaining poems and prose, and James Kelman movingly reciting extracts from his book ‘The Dirt Road’.
Poets and writers Donald Meek and Norman Bissell hosted thought-provoking sessions in the Heritage Museum, as well as sessions from Lismore’s own published authors Martyn Murray, Jennifer Baker and Pauline Isobel Dowling.
Saturday night, after the spectacular Pulse stageplay by Mairi Campbell, featured the talented musicians Cera Impala and Lake Montgomery (Delightful Squalor) from the US and Scotland’s own ‘The Dirt Roadsters’ plus contributions from singers and musicians from the island.
The Sunday finale after Bob Hay’s historical island walk took place in the Lismore Kirk. Mairi Campbell rounded off the festival with a breathtaking solo viola performance of Bach. The Lismore Voices also sang a new song: a poem recently written by Donald Meek in praise of the late Donald Black, a well-loved Liosach whose vision inspired the work of the Gaelic Heritage Centre.