Sad to learn of the death of Doc Watson. Been a bad year for the music legends – Earl Scruggs, Barney McKenna not to mention Levon Helm. I guess we sometimes take them for granted until they’re gone.
Looking forward to seeing you back on the banks of the Foyle – safe travelling to you, Decky, Mick and all of the crew.
Just to let people know that the great guitar player Doc Watson has died.RyanL
Christy's reply
Just read your note about Doc Watson,the good man now gone to rest…
Back in 1968 I was playing a Folk Club in Stockton-on -Tees, England. I stayed in the house of Rita Angel and her family. I was gifted two LPs, both of them by Doc Watson and his son Merle . For many years afterwards I played their music constantly. Ten years on and I played a concert in The Gaumont State Theatre, Kilburn, London in 1978. Andy Irvine, Liam O’Flynn and I played alongside Doc and Merle Watson and it was a night to remember.May the great picker rest in peace.
Hows it going Christy? Havent corresponded since the great gig at RFH in London…Myself and son Conor even managed to shake your hand at the end….Remember I told you about The Staves (3 close harmony sisters from Watford)….Went to see them at The Tabernacle in Notting Hill…..The girls sounded great….but cant take away from the arena itself….If you ever wanted a small (300-400) gig in London…the sound at The Tabernacle is absolutely perfect….Them Staves are heading for the big time me thinks….PS Will ye be hitting the shores of Cape this summer?
Christy's reply
I have not been near a tabernacle since I last served mass in St Conleths, Newbridge back in 1957…thanks for the nod Goatboy, have put it on the list
Ahh Christy, I wasn’t asking you (yet) to step up to do a gig at my Blaa Festival. I saw the mention of the Ham Festival and I know that there is a Strawberry Festival in Wexford….so I said to myself, shar why not an Blaa festival in its home town. So you never know…maybe next year! I might do a scout around, maybe I’ll sweet talk with Vince Power, mind you, when he tried to get the Fleadh Mór off the ground he wasn’t supported at all, even with the locals. Have a read, next time you’re in the Forum, I’ll send one up!
I still believe that Vince’s Fleadh Mór could have become a great annual event. Not only was he not supported in his home place but his efforts were actually baulked. The site, the setting and the location were all perfect and the line up was simply fantastic. I look forward to hearing more about your own Festival….and to getting more familiar with a Blaa
Hi Christy, how’s it going. It is John Hall and I have not been in touch in while, just getting used to your new system. Just to let you know that I will be making my annual trip up to Derry tomorrow to see yourself and Declan at the Millennium Forum on Friday. That is if I get there that is, flying Ryanair for the first time and I have to tell you I don’t like using these non-unionised carriers. So hopefully, I will see yourself and declan on the banks of the Foyle. Happy Days!
Christy's reply
DearJohn…Michael O’Leary is a dedicated follower of The Ballad…Im sure RyanAir will pull out all the stops to get you to Derry in time
Hi Christy I hope you are well and not melting. I noticed a few posts back you replied to wolfsoundz about ‘lost years’. I wonder if it’s positive or negative for you that the ‘lost years’ are documented and recorded for posterity. I am particularly grateful for a recording from Cambridge Folk Festival way back when I can’t even remember getting there never mind your singing. Definitely St Jude was minding me because I don’t remember how I got home. Your post reminded me of Prine’s ‘Jesus – The Missing Years’. 🙂 xx
Christy's reply
Dear Anuk….always good to see your name come up..hope you have a good Summer and enjoy The Diamond Jubilee…. my sources report fierce excitement over here in certain quarters…there wont be a dry leg in some parts
If for a moment you read my words I believe you will respond to me. I have a favor to ask when you come to Cork.
Today at mass in our little parish Church of Aglish I was invited to say a few words to fellow parishioners.
Much could be gained on our journey of healing by listening to these few words.
Begin:-
Good morning friends, neighbors and fellow believers in Our Lord Jesus Christ.
My name is Christopher Heaphy, and I am a survivor of the Industrial School system, which wreaked havoc on so many young lives, including my own, throughout most of the 20th Century.
Some other survivors of the system are here with us in our lovely parish church this morning. You are all most welcome .
One of these is the former Mayor of Clonmel Michael OBrien, who is here today with his lovely wife Mary. Cead mile Failte agus buiochas duit.
I would also like to thank our PP Fr. Gerry, who has had the courage to let me address you all this Ascension Morning on a subject which is causing controversy and consternation at all levels of the Irish Church.
If every churchman was as compassionate and understanding as our Parish priest, I would have no need to talk to you like this. Mile buiochas duit.
Today is the third anniversary of the publication produced by the Commission to Enquire into Child Abuse, better known to all of us as the Ryan report.
These are five volumes of dreadful, disturbing content, which outline in graphic detail the horrors visited on a helpless, homeless and truly hopeless sub class of innocent Irish children, who were stigmatised, isolated and incarcerated across the length and breadth of Ireland; this system of Irish gulags was masterminded and instituted by politicians and civil servants representing the Irish people, and administered efficiently, sad to say by mostly Roman Catholic orders of men and women who might have been expected to know better.
The only crime these innocent orphans committed was that they were poor, and/or one or both of their parents had succumbed to any of a host of health hazards, then prevalent.
Many of those orders seemed to imagine that they were in the way of making a surplus or profit at the expense of these poor children and operated on this basis. These monies were used elsewhere. Ill spare you a description of the resulting horrors.
Beside the five volumes of the Ryan report there is a copy of the Pastoral Letter of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, to the Catholics of Ireland, and ….the Pastoral Response from the Irish Catholic Bishops Conference.
Both documents leave an awful lot to be desired. So much so, I wonder if the magnitude of the crimes, visited on us by the Industrial Schools system, has yet been appreciated by the these clergy who are now the superiors of the perpetrators or miscreants of the cruel system.
Instead of being anxious to undo the terrible damage done to these/ us children, I hope they are not locked in to a mindset, by which they will attempt to wash their hands, and try for closure where there is none, and where there will not be none, until hell freezes over.
Jesus himself kept his most terrifying words for just such situations.
The Catholic Church, which may have once made a surplus/profit from the administering of Industrial Schools, must leave no stone unturned in their efforts to alleviate the ongoing sufferings and hardships, that my generation of children, and those before and after, have had to endure.
Let the Catholic Churchs Bank balance do the suffering, if needs be.
A poorer Church could be a better Church.
Things are bad, and until accountability of some kind is arrived at, things will only get worse.
A Church which denies help and compassion to these little ones, as we were, and continues on its weary way of not seeing the wood for the trees, can at best be engaged with or indulging in religiosity, a terrible indictment, self inflicted.
On February 8th 2010, I wrote to the Holy Father, and in my letter I declared that my Church, my country and the general Irish public, have inflicted enormous cruelty, pain and hardship on me throughout my life.
There was hope in my heart as I awaited a reply.
There was no reply, a deafening silence, even though I had hand delivered my epistle, to a bishop, requesting that it be delivered to the Pope.
The same apathy and indifference that crucified us as children, is being shown to us as I talk. But we are not going away.
The future history books of Ireland will tell our sad story.
Shame, where is thy blush? (stop! Youre making me look into my very soul, where the marks of sin are so thick and black they will never be washed away. )
Over one hundred and seventy thousand children, including myself and two brothers, Liam and Sean, were committed to the industrial schools between 1937 and 1970.
This happened as a result of District Courts activities, the reason for the sentence being poverty.
The average length of confinement was seven years; Sean, Liam and myself served thirty five years between us. Sean was three, I was five, and Liam was seven. We were no more than babies: our crime was being poor.
On May 11th1999, the Government of this country, apologized to us, on behalf of the state and on behalf of the Citizens of the state, for
collective failure to intervene in our suffering,
failure to detect our pain,
and failure to come to our rescue.
Some ten years later, on may 20th 2009, the Ryan Report was published.
In the light of what this revealed, the above apology went nowhere nearly far enough.
A month later the Ryan report came before the Dail. On that day Michael OBrien and myself sat up in the public gallery, and cried as we listened to speeches, by T.Ds, which were a reflection and expression of what our lives were like as children.
That day, Enda Kenny, father of three children, made the following powerful remarks.
I quote:
The report of the Ryan Commission shames us all.
It shames us as a State and as a Society.
We stand complicit in the criminalising of little children, as a consequence of their poverty.
But thats just the beginning.
This State was responsible for the destruction of life itself.
It was responsible for the destruction of that precious, formative gift: childhood.
We should all be haunted by what Ryan found out. Because he has revealed a Great Famine of Compassion. A plague of deliberate, relentless cruelty.
We stand shamed – and we must not excuse ourselves of that shame.
Unquote.
This denunciation of our nation, puts us in the company of monstrous super-race regimes, racist inspired geneticists, exterminators, fascists, and slave traders.
But we did this to our own, the most vulnerable in our society, the most deserving and the least demanding.
Shame, where is thy blush?. (stop! Youre making me look into my very soul, where the marks of sin are so thick and black they will never be washed away. )
These are the words of our present Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, energised by what he had discovered within the covers of the Ryan Report.
As a survivor of an Industrial school, I thank our Taoiseach for his ringing words, which paint a picture of cruelty that no child should ever have to endure, especially Paisti na hEireann.
But words are no longer enough.
We seek Atonement for what has happened to us, from the state, the Irish people and the Church.
The time for talking is over.
Now we have to go and look in all the corners, crevices, park benches, railway bridges and wherever the victims of this disgrace may be sheltering…and bandage their wounds…comfort their anxious minds, bring them back home if possible and provide them with whatever they may need to compensate for their lack of education, their scarcity of social skills and the shriveled humanity that we by our meanness forced on them.
Our bank of Youth was burgled by this system.
As well as being incarcerated, we were physically abused, and dehumanised; it was very difficult to stand in line, be patient and wait our turn, when we already knew that there was not enough as usual, for everyone.
It was, the survival of the fittest.
When there is an epidemic of bed wetting in an institution, it doesnt take a medical expert to realise what was going on.
We were, like the Good Lord, being crucified and made a mockery of, and no one came to our rescue.
Peter denied knowing Christ. We were denied all along the line.
Remember I have not mentioned the unmentionable, sexual abuse.
Through our sufferings they crucified again the Son of Man and made a mockery of Him. Why?
The full brunt of Mans inhumanity was visited on Christ, but out of it came our Redemption.
This foreshadows what happened to us, and for that reason, what happened to Jesus strikes a deep chord in our hearts.
——————————————————————————————————————————————
Is there Light at the end of the tunnel?
There can be, but only if the perpetrators of our misery answer our humble plea for Atonement.
They must ask us for forgiveness, and we will forgive; they must also ask our Heavenly Father for the same thing, as Jesus did, on the grounds that they knew not what they did.
But insofar as they did know, we are asking from the State, the Irish people, the Religious Congregations and the Catholic Church itself for a National Annual Day of Atonement, where all of the perpetrators together, according to their lights, ask our forgiveness, and the forgiveness especially of those who are in various degrees of trauma, physical pain and feel excluded from the mainstream of Irish life, as a result of what was inflicted on them.
We must not forget the ones who did not survive; there are little, mostly unmarked graves dotted around our beautiful island, from Letterfrack, all the way around to Artane, containing the remains of gentle souls, who could not survive another day of not being loved. They fear no more the heat of the sun or the furious winter rages.
The Irish people pride themselves on being compassionate, sensitive and generous. I believe they are.
But they must prove this now and grasp with both hands this notion of a “National Annual Day of Atonement”, when all the victims of Industrial Schools will be remembered and honored, and which will be an everlasting annual reminder for everyone, that such disgraceful treatment of the weakest in our society, must never, never again be allowed to happen.
The Popes Pastoral letter of March 2010, and the Pastoral Response of the Irish Bishops a year later, concentrate almost totally on Counseling and Acts of Reparation, which will be helpful in healing our minds and renewing our souls.
Prayers and spiritual exercises may bring comfort to survivors on the street, living rough, addicted to drugs and maimed in heart and mind and body; but their needs extend into the physical domain and they still fear the heat of the sun, the winter storms and all the horribleness life continues to throw at them. They need shelter, food, medical care, and friendship, not generally available to them on whatever mean streets they have washed up on.
So we ask, implore our Mother Church, the Religious Congregations, and the Irish Missionary Union to help us help those who live on the streets.
Please help us to bring home our wounded of heart and broken of spirit.
Help us to bring them back to their homeland from wherever they may be.
Help us by giving spiritual, financial, social and neighborly support to a project we started a year ago in Midleton, namely Sunlight Housing Foundation.
This project has been financed out of our own pockets; we are at present housing ten survivors, and have a waiting list of 14. But without support from the State and Church, this project will have to be abandoned at the end of this year.
Please help us to help them live out the rest of their days in dignity, comfort and peace. It is a small price for a Church or Nation to pay, to reverse and undo the damage done to those innocents.
It could be a Sign, if only a tiny one, that the nettle has been finally grasped, by those Christians who should have done better.
It could be a sign that these Christians finally realise that what you do, to the least of these, my brethren, you do it to me.
Go raibh miele maith agat.
Christopher Heaphy
If you support our humble plea for an Annual National Day of Atonement then please send an email to:- irishdayofatonement@gmail.com. Your message of support will be delivered to Government and Church. Thank you.
In the second link, I am the ugly one on the right.
Christy's reply
You describe the catholic church here as “Our Mother Church” I dont wish to be included in that remark. I abhor the catholic church and its righteous pastors. I took a “moment”to read your post. I will support the victims of abuse in any way I can but please do not associate me ,in any way, with your”mother church”
Jus a quick query as to any gig (AT ALL) that u might be doin during mid August, As I;ll be about. back from the motherland of La Quinta Brigada & will travel anywhere on the island of ours to take in a gig…I know ur doin stradbelly but thats @ end of d month & unfortubately won be there!! Also did ya ever cover Foggy Dew..? Un Abrazo fuerte tio
Christy's reply
ah Vivir, I’m afraid that, like yourself, we’ll be on the holliers….a shame that there is no gig to coincide with your visit….I used to sing “Down The Glen one Easter Morn” back in the late 60’s but seldom since…hope you have a rare auld time
Hi, just to let you know that guitar picking legend Doc Watson is in a critical condition in hospital. He suffered a fall at his home last monday and had to have colon surgery. seems he was responding on friday but has had to have more surgery yesterday. RyanL
Well Christy had a lovely time in school on Friday with a very attentive crew ended up doing City of Chicago, Back Home,Galtee Mountain Boy, Viva la, Scapegoats, Brendan Voyage and when the bell rang we were all aboard the Honda 50 lash on the suncream
Christy's reply
its a grand start to the day to read your report…you are still lashin out the tunes…great too that the young ones are getting to hear songs, to know that there are different forms of music available to them..heard from Benny recently and remembered our nights in CJ’s
(They also do a trad version of Hit ‘Em Up Style (by Beyonce) which is something. Their version is far superior in my opinion.)
Still hoping to see more September or October Ireland dates by C Moore….
Christy's reply
Paddy Moloney never ceases to amaze….he encounters and embraces music everywhere he goes…it was uplifting this morning (before the breakfast) to hear him rattle out the pure drop with his latest musical accomplices. To see Matt Molloy tonguing the flute, Sean Keane bowing the rosin, young Conneffe skinning the goat and all the other lads and lasses tearing into the ecstatics…Im sure I spied young Tim Edey at the back wrestling with his paolo soprani….I played with many of these over the years..when I played with Paddy Moloney almost 30 years ago it was a memorable session when himself and Liam O’Flynn played together on Bright Blue Rose. I first heard them play to together in 1968,twas the night my sister Anne married Davoc Rynne, we danced and played til dawn…the hens never got a wink that night
Ger Supple
May 25, 2012 at 8:35 pm
Location: Clonsilla, Dublin 15 (originally from Goleen, West Cork)
Hello Christy, I hope you’re well. I’ve got great enjoyment listening to you singing songs through the years, including at a concert you did in a school in Ballydehob in 1971 or 1972 (I think!), do you remember that? I love your voice and the energy, commitment and integrity with which you sing. I have many favourites that you sing, including Lakes of Pontchartrain, Another Song is Born, St. Brendan’s Voyage, Easter Snow, Victor Jara, Among the Wicklow Hills, The Sun is Burning, Lovely Young One, Peace in the Valley Once Again and 2 ‘beauties’ you recorded recently, Ballydine and My Little Honda 50!
I’ve written a song about the recession called “we’re in a difficult position”. I have recorded it in MP3 format. Several people who have heard it are encouraging me to give it to you, as they believe ’tis a song you might like to sing. I’d be delighted if you’d sing it. Would you be interested? Can I send it to you? If you’d like to have a listen to it, please let me know how I can get it to you. With great respect and best wishes, Ger
Christy's reply
thank you, all well here Ger,after a great night at the Goilín singers club last night, we’re hoarse from the good of it all. I suspect that gig in The Hob was 1975 ish when I did a major tour of Cork with Jimmy Crowley. We also played Kealkill, Bantry and Cork City herself.During that almighty journey Jimmy taught me “Johnny Jump Up” which I subsequently recorded with Barney McKenna one memorable night…..
Would you play at a Blaa festival in Waterford if I tried to organise it? There’s an idea!
Looking forward to the gig in the Button Factory. I was there for the Kildare night…I know, ‘What’s a Waterford man doing at a Kildare night?’ was great night indeed! Make sure you have plenty of Factor 50 in this weather!
Christy's reply
as far as I know this years gigs are already in place…I do the gigs and my colleague arranges them…his details are on the home page.. a Blaa festival James..tell us more
Hey Christy,
Of course we heard of the ‘Ham Festival’ in Claremorris. Wasn’t it back in the 70’s. It was called the Ham because there was a Pig factory in the town. It was revived a few years ago, but didn’t last,———they ran out of Pigs !!!!!, and the TIGER arrived to replace them !!!.
Look what the Tiger did to us all.
Regards,
Patsy
Christy's reply
I thought perhaps I had dreamt the saga…Planxty arrived into Claremorris to play at a Ham Festival. There was a stale very smoked ham ( nicotine stained?) in the window of the venue…that was the only indication of a “festival” ,that and 2 weeks Bar Extensions…the Licensed Vintners were a powerful lobby in their day…they have gained no less then they deserve
Dear Christy Moore,
An Irish friend gave me “UNCOVERED”. Yes, I do like it pretty much. It’s a very good idea to do this DVD so one can not only feel but also see the joy you all have had when performing the songs. I can’t thell which tune I like the most.
If you like to have a look at: http://www.martindardis.com/ He’s the man who preserves and provides a lot of Irish songs (with easy-to-play! chords). I owe him a lot.
Have a good time and all the luck for the next gigs!
Maybe I will come to your next concert in Germany – next year (?)! Time is passing by a bit faster when the years of age increases.
Slàn
Angie
Christy's reply
thanks Angie.. there is a DVD called “Come all you Dreamers” recorded live in Barrowland Glasgow…It is the best record of my work
Hi again, only saw you once at Ballybunnion but was first of many times :). I don’t remember it being part of a festival. It was at the Atlantic Hotel.
Agnes Nealis
May 24, 2012 at 5:37 pm
Location: the sun will shine at harvest time to welcome paddy home
Dear christy aged 67
we got that from hilary.You didn’t forget us.we were at the travellers friend the day before the gig…we checked out the whole building there was a room for sound and a purple room all the doors were unlocked .we saw the big stage.We gave them to a woman who wasn’t impressed at our exploring .and mom thought they would never make the distance.Dad said they would.We came home through the mountains.We met a goat on the side of the hill …he was dancing a reel in the flickering light.
Will you be sitting down at the standing up gig?
Sad to learn of the death of Doc Watson. Been a bad year for the music legends – Earl Scruggs, Barney McKenna not to mention Levon Helm. I guess we sometimes take them for granted until they’re gone.
Looking forward to seeing you back on the banks of the Foyle – safe travelling to you, Decky, Mick and all of the crew.
Just to let people know that the great guitar player Doc Watson has died.RyanL
Just read your note about Doc Watson,the good man now gone to rest…
Back in 1968 I was playing a Folk Club in Stockton-on -Tees, England. I stayed in the house of Rita Angel and her family. I was gifted two LPs, both of them by Doc Watson and his son Merle . For many years afterwards I played their music constantly. Ten years on and I played a concert in The Gaumont State Theatre, Kilburn, London in 1978. Andy Irvine, Liam O’Flynn and I played alongside Doc and Merle Watson and it was a night to remember.May the great picker rest in peace.
Hows it going Christy? Havent corresponded since the great gig at RFH in London…Myself and son Conor even managed to shake your hand at the end….Remember I told you about The Staves (3 close harmony sisters from Watford)….Went to see them at The Tabernacle in Notting Hill…..The girls sounded great….but cant take away from the arena itself….If you ever wanted a small (300-400) gig in London…the sound at The Tabernacle is absolutely perfect….Them Staves are heading for the big time me thinks….PS Will ye be hitting the shores of Cape this summer?
I have not been near a tabernacle since I last served mass in St Conleths, Newbridge back in 1957…thanks for the nod Goatboy, have put it on the list
Ahh Christy, I wasn’t asking you (yet) to step up to do a gig at my Blaa Festival. I saw the mention of the Ham Festival and I know that there is a Strawberry Festival in Wexford….so I said to myself, shar why not an Blaa festival in its home town. So you never know…maybe next year! I might do a scout around, maybe I’ll sweet talk with Vince Power, mind you, when he tried to get the Fleadh Mór off the ground he wasn’t supported at all, even with the locals. Have a read, next time you’re in the Forum, I’ll send one up!
http://www.irishexaminer.com/business/kfidqlkfcwmh/rss2/
I still believe that Vince’s Fleadh Mór could have become a great annual event. Not only was he not supported in his home place but his efforts were actually baulked. The site, the setting and the location were all perfect and the line up was simply fantastic. I look forward to hearing more about your own Festival….and to getting more familiar with a Blaa
Hi Christy, how’s it going. It is John Hall and I have not been in touch in while, just getting used to your new system. Just to let you know that I will be making my annual trip up to Derry tomorrow to see yourself and Declan at the Millennium Forum on Friday. That is if I get there that is, flying Ryanair for the first time and I have to tell you I don’t like using these non-unionised carriers. So hopefully, I will see yourself and declan on the banks of the Foyle. Happy Days!
DearJohn…Michael O’Leary is a dedicated follower of The Ballad…Im sure RyanAir will pull out all the stops to get you to Derry in time
Hi Christy I hope you are well and not melting. I noticed a few posts back you replied to wolfsoundz about ‘lost years’. I wonder if it’s positive or negative for you that the ‘lost years’ are documented and recorded for posterity. I am particularly grateful for a recording from Cambridge Folk Festival way back when I can’t even remember getting there never mind your singing. Definitely St Jude was minding me because I don’t remember how I got home. Your post reminded me of Prine’s ‘Jesus – The Missing Years’. 🙂 xx
Dear Anuk….always good to see your name come up..hope you have a good Summer and enjoy The Diamond Jubilee…. my sources report fierce excitement over here in certain quarters…there wont be a dry leg in some parts
Hi Christy,
If for a moment you read my words I believe you will respond to me. I have a favor to ask when you come to Cork.
Today at mass in our little parish Church of Aglish I was invited to say a few words to fellow parishioners.
Much could be gained on our journey of healing by listening to these few words.
Begin:-
Good morning friends, neighbors and fellow believers in Our Lord Jesus Christ.
My name is Christopher Heaphy, and I am a survivor of the Industrial School system, which wreaked havoc on so many young lives, including my own, throughout most of the 20th Century.
Some other survivors of the system are here with us in our lovely parish church this morning. You are all most welcome .
One of these is the former Mayor of Clonmel Michael OBrien, who is here today with his lovely wife Mary. Cead mile Failte agus buiochas duit.
I would also like to thank our PP Fr. Gerry, who has had the courage to let me address you all this Ascension Morning on a subject which is causing controversy and consternation at all levels of the Irish Church.
If every churchman was as compassionate and understanding as our Parish priest, I would have no need to talk to you like this. Mile buiochas duit.
Today is the third anniversary of the publication produced by the Commission to Enquire into Child Abuse, better known to all of us as the Ryan report.
These are five volumes of dreadful, disturbing content, which outline in graphic detail the horrors visited on a helpless, homeless and truly hopeless sub class of innocent Irish children, who were stigmatised, isolated and incarcerated across the length and breadth of Ireland; this system of Irish gulags was masterminded and instituted by politicians and civil servants representing the Irish people, and administered efficiently, sad to say by mostly Roman Catholic orders of men and women who might have been expected to know better.
The only crime these innocent orphans committed was that they were poor, and/or one or both of their parents had succumbed to any of a host of health hazards, then prevalent.
Many of those orders seemed to imagine that they were in the way of making a surplus or profit at the expense of these poor children and operated on this basis. These monies were used elsewhere. Ill spare you a description of the resulting horrors.
Beside the five volumes of the Ryan report there is a copy of the Pastoral Letter of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, to the Catholics of Ireland, and ….the Pastoral Response from the Irish Catholic Bishops Conference.
Both documents leave an awful lot to be desired. So much so, I wonder if the magnitude of the crimes, visited on us by the Industrial Schools system, has yet been appreciated by the these clergy who are now the superiors of the perpetrators or miscreants of the cruel system.
Instead of being anxious to undo the terrible damage done to these/ us children, I hope they are not locked in to a mindset, by which they will attempt to wash their hands, and try for closure where there is none, and where there will not be none, until hell freezes over.
Jesus himself kept his most terrifying words for just such situations.
The Catholic Church, which may have once made a surplus/profit from the administering of Industrial Schools, must leave no stone unturned in their efforts to alleviate the ongoing sufferings and hardships, that my generation of children, and those before and after, have had to endure.
Let the Catholic Churchs Bank balance do the suffering, if needs be.
A poorer Church could be a better Church.
Things are bad, and until accountability of some kind is arrived at, things will only get worse.
A Church which denies help and compassion to these little ones, as we were, and continues on its weary way of not seeing the wood for the trees, can at best be engaged with or indulging in religiosity, a terrible indictment, self inflicted.
On February 8th 2010, I wrote to the Holy Father, and in my letter I declared that my Church, my country and the general Irish public, have inflicted enormous cruelty, pain and hardship on me throughout my life.
There was hope in my heart as I awaited a reply.
There was no reply, a deafening silence, even though I had hand delivered my epistle, to a bishop, requesting that it be delivered to the Pope.
The same apathy and indifference that crucified us as children, is being shown to us as I talk. But we are not going away.
The future history books of Ireland will tell our sad story.
Shame, where is thy blush? (stop! Youre making me look into my very soul, where the marks of sin are so thick and black they will never be washed away. )
Over one hundred and seventy thousand children, including myself and two brothers, Liam and Sean, were committed to the industrial schools between 1937 and 1970.
This happened as a result of District Courts activities, the reason for the sentence being poverty.
The average length of confinement was seven years; Sean, Liam and myself served thirty five years between us. Sean was three, I was five, and Liam was seven. We were no more than babies: our crime was being poor.
On May 11th1999, the Government of this country, apologized to us, on behalf of the state and on behalf of the Citizens of the state, for
collective failure to intervene in our suffering,
failure to detect our pain,
and failure to come to our rescue.
Some ten years later, on may 20th 2009, the Ryan Report was published.
In the light of what this revealed, the above apology went nowhere nearly far enough.
A month later the Ryan report came before the Dail. On that day Michael OBrien and myself sat up in the public gallery, and cried as we listened to speeches, by T.Ds, which were a reflection and expression of what our lives were like as children.
That day, Enda Kenny, father of three children, made the following powerful remarks.
I quote:
The report of the Ryan Commission shames us all.
It shames us as a State and as a Society.
We stand complicit in the criminalising of little children, as a consequence of their poverty.
But thats just the beginning.
This State was responsible for the destruction of life itself.
It was responsible for the destruction of that precious, formative gift: childhood.
We should all be haunted by what Ryan found out. Because he has revealed a Great Famine of Compassion. A plague of deliberate, relentless cruelty.
We stand shamed – and we must not excuse ourselves of that shame.
Unquote.
This denunciation of our nation, puts us in the company of monstrous super-race regimes, racist inspired geneticists, exterminators, fascists, and slave traders.
But we did this to our own, the most vulnerable in our society, the most deserving and the least demanding.
Shame, where is thy blush?. (stop! Youre making me look into my very soul, where the marks of sin are so thick and black they will never be washed away. )
These are the words of our present Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, energised by what he had discovered within the covers of the Ryan Report.
As a survivor of an Industrial school, I thank our Taoiseach for his ringing words, which paint a picture of cruelty that no child should ever have to endure, especially Paisti na hEireann.
But words are no longer enough.
We seek Atonement for what has happened to us, from the state, the Irish people and the Church.
The time for talking is over.
Now we have to go and look in all the corners, crevices, park benches, railway bridges and wherever the victims of this disgrace may be sheltering…and bandage their wounds…comfort their anxious minds, bring them back home if possible and provide them with whatever they may need to compensate for their lack of education, their scarcity of social skills and the shriveled humanity that we by our meanness forced on them.
Our bank of Youth was burgled by this system.
As well as being incarcerated, we were physically abused, and dehumanised; it was very difficult to stand in line, be patient and wait our turn, when we already knew that there was not enough as usual, for everyone.
It was, the survival of the fittest.
When there is an epidemic of bed wetting in an institution, it doesnt take a medical expert to realise what was going on.
We were, like the Good Lord, being crucified and made a mockery of, and no one came to our rescue.
Peter denied knowing Christ. We were denied all along the line.
Remember I have not mentioned the unmentionable, sexual abuse.
Through our sufferings they crucified again the Son of Man and made a mockery of Him. Why?
The full brunt of Mans inhumanity was visited on Christ, but out of it came our Redemption.
This foreshadows what happened to us, and for that reason, what happened to Jesus strikes a deep chord in our hearts.
——————————————————————————————————————————————
Is there Light at the end of the tunnel?
There can be, but only if the perpetrators of our misery answer our humble plea for Atonement.
They must ask us for forgiveness, and we will forgive; they must also ask our Heavenly Father for the same thing, as Jesus did, on the grounds that they knew not what they did.
But insofar as they did know, we are asking from the State, the Irish people, the Religious Congregations and the Catholic Church itself for a National Annual Day of Atonement, where all of the perpetrators together, according to their lights, ask our forgiveness, and the forgiveness especially of those who are in various degrees of trauma, physical pain and feel excluded from the mainstream of Irish life, as a result of what was inflicted on them.
We must not forget the ones who did not survive; there are little, mostly unmarked graves dotted around our beautiful island, from Letterfrack, all the way around to Artane, containing the remains of gentle souls, who could not survive another day of not being loved. They fear no more the heat of the sun or the furious winter rages.
The Irish people pride themselves on being compassionate, sensitive and generous. I believe they are.
But they must prove this now and grasp with both hands this notion of a “National Annual Day of Atonement”, when all the victims of Industrial Schools will be remembered and honored, and which will be an everlasting annual reminder for everyone, that such disgraceful treatment of the weakest in our society, must never, never again be allowed to happen.
The Popes Pastoral letter of March 2010, and the Pastoral Response of the Irish Bishops a year later, concentrate almost totally on Counseling and Acts of Reparation, which will be helpful in healing our minds and renewing our souls.
Prayers and spiritual exercises may bring comfort to survivors on the street, living rough, addicted to drugs and maimed in heart and mind and body; but their needs extend into the physical domain and they still fear the heat of the sun, the winter storms and all the horribleness life continues to throw at them. They need shelter, food, medical care, and friendship, not generally available to them on whatever mean streets they have washed up on.
So we ask, implore our Mother Church, the Religious Congregations, and the Irish Missionary Union to help us help those who live on the streets.
Please help us to bring home our wounded of heart and broken of spirit.
Help us to bring them back to their homeland from wherever they may be.
Help us by giving spiritual, financial, social and neighborly support to a project we started a year ago in Midleton, namely Sunlight Housing Foundation.
This project has been financed out of our own pockets; we are at present housing ten survivors, and have a waiting list of 14. But without support from the State and Church, this project will have to be abandoned at the end of this year.
Please help us to help them live out the rest of their days in dignity, comfort and peace. It is a small price for a Church or Nation to pay, to reverse and undo the damage done to those innocents.
It could be a Sign, if only a tiny one, that the nettle has been finally grasped, by those Christians who should have done better.
It could be a sign that these Christians finally realise that what you do, to the least of these, my brethren, you do it to me.
Go raibh miele maith agat.
Christopher Heaphy
If you support our humble plea for an Annual National Day of Atonement then please send an email to:- irishdayofatonement@gmail.com. Your message of support will be delivered to Government and Church. Thank you.
END.
Link:
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/humble-plea-for-atonement-must-be-answered-194553.html
http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2012/0521/ireland/abuse-victim-uses-pulpit-to-urge-atonement-194583.html
In the second link, I am the ugly one on the right.
You describe the catholic church here as “Our Mother Church” I dont wish to be included in that remark. I abhor the catholic church and its righteous pastors. I took a “moment”to read your post. I will support the victims of abuse in any way I can but please do not associate me ,in any way, with your”mother church”
All Out Of Sorts:
The leaders of sixteen,
Yeats ,The Brother
Brendan Behan
Luke, Ciaran, Ronnie and Barney
Finbar Furrey’s Da
All dead now and gone
Went to Haugheys’
To make sure they put him down
In the ground like
Needed a piss
Caught a bus
Felt like a dance
Eight hundred years
We had been down
Let’s leave it at that
Lets do just that
Buenas A Mhaceeen, Christy,
Jus a quick query as to any gig (AT ALL) that u might be doin during mid August, As I;ll be about. back from the motherland of La Quinta Brigada & will travel anywhere on the island of ours to take in a gig…I know ur doin stradbelly but thats @ end of d month & unfortubately won be there!! Also did ya ever cover Foggy Dew..? Un Abrazo fuerte tio
ah Vivir, I’m afraid that, like yourself, we’ll be on the holliers….a shame that there is no gig to coincide with your visit….I used to sing “Down The Glen one Easter Morn” back in the late 60’s but seldom since…hope you have a rare auld time
How rich to have such memories of music connected to life!
(As if there were a difference) 😉
Hi, just to let you know that guitar picking legend Doc Watson is in a critical condition in hospital. He suffered a fall at his home last monday and had to have colon surgery. seems he was responding on friday but has had to have more surgery yesterday. RyanL
Well Christy had a lovely time in school on Friday with a very attentive crew ended up doing City of Chicago, Back Home,Galtee Mountain Boy, Viva la, Scapegoats, Brendan Voyage and when the bell rang we were all aboard the Honda 50 lash on the suncream
its a grand start to the day to read your report…you are still lashin out the tunes…great too that the young ones are getting to hear songs, to know that there are different forms of music available to them..heard from Benny recently and remembered our nights in CJ’s
Chieftains with Carolina Chocolate drops. I believe the CCD’s will be performing in Galway and Dublin this fall: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akjH9QEejWA
(They also do a trad version of Hit ‘Em Up Style (by Beyonce) which is something. Their version is far superior in my opinion.)
Still hoping to see more September or October Ireland dates by C Moore….
Paddy Moloney never ceases to amaze….he encounters and embraces music everywhere he goes…it was uplifting this morning (before the breakfast) to hear him rattle out the pure drop with his latest musical accomplices. To see Matt Molloy tonguing the flute, Sean Keane bowing the rosin, young Conneffe skinning the goat and all the other lads and lasses tearing into the ecstatics…Im sure I spied young Tim Edey at the back wrestling with his paolo soprani….I played with many of these over the years..when I played with Paddy Moloney almost 30 years ago it was a memorable session when himself and Liam O’Flynn played together on Bright Blue Rose. I first heard them play to together in 1968,twas the night my sister Anne married Davoc Rynne, we danced and played til dawn…the hens never got a wink that night
Hello Christy, I hope you’re well. I’ve got great enjoyment listening to you singing songs through the years, including at a concert you did in a school in Ballydehob in 1971 or 1972 (I think!), do you remember that? I love your voice and the energy, commitment and integrity with which you sing. I have many favourites that you sing, including Lakes of Pontchartrain, Another Song is Born, St. Brendan’s Voyage, Easter Snow, Victor Jara, Among the Wicklow Hills, The Sun is Burning, Lovely Young One, Peace in the Valley Once Again and 2 ‘beauties’ you recorded recently, Ballydine and My Little Honda 50!
I’ve written a song about the recession called “we’re in a difficult position”. I have recorded it in MP3 format. Several people who have heard it are encouraging me to give it to you, as they believe ’tis a song you might like to sing. I’d be delighted if you’d sing it. Would you be interested? Can I send it to you? If you’d like to have a listen to it, please let me know how I can get it to you. With great respect and best wishes, Ger
thank you, all well here Ger,after a great night at the Goilín singers club last night, we’re hoarse from the good of it all. I suspect that gig in The Hob was 1975 ish when I did a major tour of Cork with Jimmy Crowley. We also played Kealkill, Bantry and Cork City herself.During that almighty journey Jimmy taught me “Johnny Jump Up” which I subsequently recorded with Barney McKenna one memorable night…..
Would you play at a Blaa festival in Waterford if I tried to organise it? There’s an idea!
Looking forward to the gig in the Button Factory. I was there for the Kildare night…I know, ‘What’s a Waterford man doing at a Kildare night?’ was great night indeed! Make sure you have plenty of Factor 50 in this weather!
as far as I know this years gigs are already in place…I do the gigs and my colleague arranges them…his details are on the home page.. a Blaa festival James..tell us more
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpiZJXWbmW0
Damien Dempsey urging us all to do the right thing next thursday. I think Bono was out meeting the Queen when this video was made…..
well done Damien….thanks Panch
Hey Christy,
Of course we heard of the ‘Ham Festival’ in Claremorris. Wasn’t it back in the 70’s. It was called the Ham because there was a Pig factory in the town. It was revived a few years ago, but didn’t last,———they ran out of Pigs !!!!!, and the TIGER arrived to replace them !!!.
Look what the Tiger did to us all.
Regards,
Patsy
I thought perhaps I had dreamt the saga…Planxty arrived into Claremorris to play at a Ham Festival. There was a stale very smoked ham ( nicotine stained?) in the window of the venue…that was the only indication of a “festival” ,that and 2 weeks Bar Extensions…the Licensed Vintners were a powerful lobby in their day…they have gained no less then they deserve
Dear Christy Moore,
An Irish friend gave me “UNCOVERED”. Yes, I do like it pretty much. It’s a very good idea to do this DVD so one can not only feel but also see the joy you all have had when performing the songs. I can’t thell which tune I like the most.
If you like to have a look at: http://www.martindardis.com/ He’s the man who preserves and provides a lot of Irish songs (with easy-to-play! chords). I owe him a lot.
Have a good time and all the luck for the next gigs!
Maybe I will come to your next concert in Germany – next year (?)! Time is passing by a bit faster when the years of age increases.
Slàn
Angie
thanks Angie.. there is a DVD called “Come all you Dreamers” recorded live in Barrowland Glasgow…It is the best record of my work
Hi again, only saw you once at Ballybunnion but was first of many times :). I don’t remember it being part of a festival. It was at the Atlantic Hotel.
Dear christy aged 67
we got that from hilary.You didn’t forget us.we were at the travellers friend the day before the gig…we checked out the whole building there was a room for sound and a purple room all the doors were unlocked .we saw the big stage.We gave them to a woman who wasn’t impressed at our exploring .and mom thought they would never make the distance.Dad said they would.We came home through the mountains.We met a goat on the side of the hill …he was dancing a reel in the flickering light.
Will you be sitting down at the standing up gig?