On 11 December, Lisa O’Neill will join Gemma Dunleavy, John Spillane, Karan Casey, Maija Sofia, Duke Special, Jonathan Nangle & Crash Ensemble, Christy Moore and more for Treaty: Songs – a Concert commemorating the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. ITMA made a documentary that provides a behind the scenes look at Lisa’s research into Arthur Griffith who led the delegation.
As well as being a national public archive and resource centre for Irish traditional music, song and dance, The Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA) has also been producing a monthly documentary series titled Drawing from the Well that connects artists with archival material to inspire new art.
Their latest episode features Irish folk singer Lisa O’Neill who is researching Arthur Griffith. Griffith was a newspaper editor and politician who led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that produced the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty and served as the president of Dáil Éireann from January 1922 until his death in August 1922.
He also wrote poetry and songs/ballads, one of his most famous being Twenty Men from Dublin Town. He also wrote The Spooks of the Thirteenth Lock from which an Irish band we have featured on Folk Radio also takes its name.
To mark the 100th year of the treaty and his death, Lisa was tasked with writing a song, to be performed at the National Concert Hall in December as part of Treaty: Songs.
Treaty: Songs 11 December, NCH, Dublin
December 1921 saw Irish representatives gather to debate the Anglo-Irish Treaty at the Kevin Barry Rooms at Earlsfort Terrace, now NCH. The treaty that would lead to the Irish Civil War and prove a defining moment in the history of the Irish state. These representatives from all corners of the country, gathered and stood on the brink. This new project sees some of our leading song-writers create portraits of a generation in a moment of suspended animation.
Lisa O’Neill, Gemma Dunleavy, John Spillane, Karan Casey, Maija Sofia, Duke Special, Jonathan Nangle & Crash Ensemble and more to be announced.
Special guest Christy Moore
The event will also be live-streamed (tickets here).
Drawing from the Well
Watch the documentary below which offers a behind the scenes look at Lisa’s research and provides a fascinating insight into Griffith and his love for songs and ballads. Lisa found the prospect of the research quite daunting and uses the analogy of one of Ivor Culter’s song titles to describe that task – Looking for the Truth with a Pin. Despite the mammoth task of navigating the mass of information held by ITMA, the staff there were on hand to help, and, as you will see, Lisa turned up some fruitful information alongside sharing a song or two:
ITMA – https://www.itma.ie/
Lisa O’Neill – https://lisaoneill.ie/
Treaty: Songs – https://www.nch.ie/