Ahern hails musical legacy of O'Riada collection
The great musical legacy of Sean O’Riada will live on for many generations to come, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said today as he received the entire O’Riada collection on behalf of the nation.
The collection, which includes original scores, correspondence, possessions and 2,000 books, is to be housed in University College Cork’s Boole Library after the university was given more than half a million euro by the Government to purchase and preserve it.
The presentation was part of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern’s tour of the Lewis Glucksman Gallery at UCC and was made to the accompaniment of surviving members of O’Riada’s ensemble.
The O’Riada collection contains books, instruments, walking sticks, graduation robes, tin whistles, piano, furniture and fishing rods.
There is also a large family photographic archive and correspondence between the composer and the Abbey Theatre, RTE and the Irish Times, as well as love letters between him and his wife Ruth.
The original scores of all the major O’Riada works, described by the university as a national treasure in their own right, also form part of the collection.
Mr Ahern said the presentation of the archive was of “immense musical and historical significance” and that O’Riada had a “profound impact” on the revival and appreciation of traditional Irish music.
“In receiving this archive, we gain a fresh understanding of a musician whose works are amongst the most well known modern Irish compositions today,” he said.
“Given the breadth and diversity of this collection, musical scholars and all those with an interest in Irish culture and language, will now have a unique opportunity to explore the many facets of Sean O’Riada’s life.
“The musical scores, books and instruments all help to understand how his work developed.
“In addition, Sean’s extensive business correspondence with Radio Eireann, the Abbey Theatre and Gael Linn, provides us with an insight into key Irish institutions that have defined us as a people.
“Even the inclusion of Sean’s fishing rod adds a touch of authenticity to this archive,” the Taoiseach said.
Mr Ahern paid tribute to O’Riada’s family for preserving the archive and said the university – which had long been associated with the musician – was the natural home for the collection.
O’Riada achieved national prominence in the 1960s when he wrote the score for Mise Eire, a documentary about the Irish War of Independence.
He founded a group called Ceoltoiri Cualann (The Musicians of Cualann), which helped to revive Irish traditional music.
As well as his composing work, O’Riada was also a playwright, a newspaper columnist and a strong enthusiast for the Irish language.
He died in 1971 at the age of 40 from sclerosis of the liver and his family preserved his collection at his home in Ballyvourney, a Gaeltacht area in West Cork.
The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism provided UCC with the €500,000 required to acquire it from the family, as well as another €100,000 to pay for conservation and public display.
The Taoiseach was in Cork for a number of engagements, including the Government’s weekly cabinet meeting which was held in the city to mark its recognition as European Capital of Culture 2005.
Mr Ahern also announced the transfer of the Crawford Municipal Art Gallery to the Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism, which he said would allow it to receive the necessary funding for it to continue to play a central role in the city’s cultural life.
