Commemorative concert for Liam Lynch approaches
A commemorative concert for General Liam Lynch will take place on Saturday, 1st April at 7.30pm to mark the 100th anniversary of his death on the Knockmealdown Mountains in 1923.
The concert is taking place at Palace Theatre, Fermoy Community Youth Centre, with tickets costing €15.
Liam Lynch was one of the most significant figures in the War for Irish Independence, where he commanded the 2nd Cork Brigade and later the 1st Southern Division, which comprised 35,000 Irish Volunteers and an additional 10,000 Cumann na mBan and Fianna Éireann members.
The concert is being organised to reflect Liam Lynch’s own involvement in the Gaelic League in Fermoy, which promoted traditional Irish music and song, and the teaching of the Irish language.
It was in the Gaelic League Liam met the love of his life, Mitchelstown girl Bridie Keyes, but due to the War for Independence he postponed marriage and was tragically killed in an engagement with Free State forces on 10th April, 1923.
MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT
The concert will comprise of a several traditional Irish musical groups, including Dublin group Sult, the Cork Pipers Club, Mitchelstown Comhaltas, and Fermoy group All To One Side.
Sult was formed by the three Ní Scolaí sisters in Dublin – Emer, Caoilfhionn and Sorcha. The three sisters are All-Ireland Comhaltas champions in Harp, Concertina, and Uilleann Pipes, with Emer also being a previous winner of the O’Carolan Cup, Feis Ceoil, and Royal Irish Academy Rising Star.
She is renowned for her slow airs on the harp, winning both the Sligo, Ennis, and Drogheda Fleadhs, while Sorcha is regarded as one of the most gifted young Uilleann pipers in Ireland, and has appeared on RTE on several occasions and the Fleadh TV.
The group has previously performed and played at events such Electric Picnic, All Together Now, the National Concert Hall, Cairde na Cruite, International Harp Festival, and the Pearse Museum, and have played beside national figures such as Moya Brennan, Mick O’Brien, Louise Mulcahy, Seán Keane, Noel Hill, and others.
The second group, the Cork Pipers Club, consists of Diarmuid Grainger (historian) and John Mitchel (Uilleann pipe maker). Diarmuid Grainger published the book 'Witness to Freedom, a Day-by-Day Account of the War for Independence in Cork', while John Mitchel is well known for his research into the history of piping in Ireland. He is regarded as one of the leading craftsmen in the world for making Uilleann pipes.
The Mitchelstown Comhaltas group is led by Kayren Hayes, and the group recently performed a concert in Mitchelstown on St. Patrick’s Day alongside Claisceadal na gCarad, to a packed hall at the St. George's Arts and Heritage Centre.
The final act is All On One Side, a local Fermoy group led by musician, Gerry Feerick. The group is well known for their great love of Irish music and song in the North Cork area, and have played at many community events over the past number of years.
The commemorative concert will tell the story of Liam Lynch’s life through Irish music and song, connecting his to the different eras of Irish history, with ancient airs and songs in Irish and English.
Tickets are €15 and available at the reception in the Youth Centre or from Tomás on 085-7318348.