Ciaran MacMathuna
Encyclopedia
Ciarán Mac Mathúna, was an Irish broadcaster and music collector. He was a recognised authority on Irish music and lectured extensively on the subject. He travelled around Ireland, England, Scotland and America collecting music.
According to Sam Smyth in the Irish Independent
, Mac Mathúna was "on a mission to collect songs and stories, music, poetry and dance before they were buried under the coming tsunami of pop music".
He presented Mo Cheol Thú
for 35 years. Upon his retirement in 2005, MD of RTÉ Radio
Adrian Moynes described Mac Mathúna as "inseparable from RTÉ Radio". Upon his death in 2009, the Irish Independent
described him as "a national treasure".
, spending his early years in Mulgrave Street. He was schooled at CBS Sexton St
, and later graduated from University College, Dublin with a BA
in modern Irish
and Latin
. Subsequently, he completed a MA
in Irish.
where his job was to record Irish traditional musicians playing in their own locales. This entailed visiting such places as Sliabh Luachra
, County Clare
and County Sligo, and the resulting recordings featured in his radio programmes:
Director-General of RTÉ
Cathal Goan
later recalled that Mac Mathúna interviewed him for his first job at the station. Goan assisted in the organisation of Mac Mathúna's music collection for the RTÉ Libraries and Archives
.
Mac Mathúna's long-running Sunday morning radio series Mo Cheol Thú
(You are my music) began in 1970 and continued until November 2005, when he retired from broadcasting. Each 45-minute programme offered a miscellany of archive music, poetry and folklore, mainly of Irish origin. It was one of radio's longest running programmes. The last episode was broadcast on 27 November 2005 at 8.10 am.
Mac Mathúna won two Jacob's Awards
, in 1969 and 1990, for his RTÉ Radio
programmes promoting Irish traditional music. He received the Freedom
of Limerick City in June 2004. He was also awarded honorary doctorates by NUI Galway and the University of Limerick
. In 2007, he received the Musicians Award at the 10th annual TG4
Traditional Music Awards.
Joe Kennedy in the Sunday Independent
in 2007 compared Mac Mathúna to "an amiable rock, rolling gently along, still picking up some moss and morsels of music that he may have missed".
He died on 11 December 2009.
Taoiseach
Brian Cowen
paid tribute, saying: “He was encyclopaedic in his knowledge of Irish traditional music and its artists and for many decades, wherever good Irish music was played and enjoyed, Ciarán was to be found in its midst”. Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
Martin Cullen
described Mac Mathúna as "a man of great intellect with a wonderful commitment to and understanding of Irish folklore and the traditional arts". Niall Stokes
, editor of Hot Press
, spoke of being "in the process of losing a great generation of Irish folk pioneers" — musician Liam Clancy
had died just days previously — and called for a "[continuation of] justice to the extraordinary work they did in reviving the true spirit of Irish folk and traditional music and re-instating it at the heart of the Irish experience [...] in our public policy, and in particular our broadcasting framework". A billboard advertisement for Mo Cheol Thú with the caption “The Touch of the Master’s Hand’’ was positioned in Terenure College Chapel where his corpse was carried.
Mac Mathúna's funeral on 15 December 2009 was attended by hundreds of people, including aides-de-camp of the President and Taoiseach, RTÉ Director-General Cathal Goan
, poet Séamus Heaney
and others. Heaney said at the funeral:
and Planxty
. The corpse was then taken to Mount Jerome Crematorium.
Journalist Kevin Myers
said Mac Mathúna's legacy would be the "rebirth of Irish music", adding:
According to Sam Smyth in the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
, Mac Mathúna was "on a mission to collect songs and stories, music, poetry and dance before they were buried under the coming tsunami of pop music".
He presented Mo Cheol Thú
Mo Cheol Thú
Mo Cheol Thú was an Irish radio programme which aired for 45 minutes each Sunday morning on RTÉ Radio 1 from 1970 until 2005. It was one of radio's longest running programmes. Presented by Ciarán Mac Mathúna, the programme ended when he retired in 2005. The last programme aired on 27 November 2005,...
for 35 years. Upon his retirement in 2005, MD of RTÉ Radio
RTÉ Radio
RTÉ Radio is a department of Irish national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Radio broadcasts four analogue channels and five digital channels....
Adrian Moynes described Mac Mathúna as "inseparable from RTÉ Radio". Upon his death in 2009, the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
described him as "a national treasure".
Early life and education
Mac Mathúna was born in LimerickLimerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
, spending his early years in Mulgrave Street. He was schooled at CBS Sexton St
C.B.S. Sexton Street
CBS Sexton Street is a Christian Brothers Secondary School located in Limerick, Ireland. Past students include J. P. McManus, Karl Spain, Diarmuid Scully and Ciaran MacMathuna. The school is also renowned for hosting the J. P. McManus Scholarship Awards. The school has approximately 500 students...
, and later graduated from University College, Dublin with a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in modern Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
and Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
. Subsequently, he completed a MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in Irish.
Career
After college Mac Mathúna worked as a teacher and later at the Placenames Commission. In 1954, he joined Radio ÉireannRTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1 is the principal radio channel of Irish public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926...
where his job was to record Irish traditional musicians playing in their own locales. This entailed visiting such places as Sliabh Luachra
Sliabh Luachra
Sliabh Luachra is a region in Munster, Ireland, located around the River Blackwater, on the County Cork/County Kerry/County Limerick borderland.-Music and literature:...
, County Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
and County Sligo, and the resulting recordings featured in his radio programmes:
- Ceolta Tire
- A Job of Journeywork — listened to by Johnny McEvoyJohnny McEvoyJohnny McEvoy is an Irish singer of Country and Irish genre born in Banagher, County Offaly, Ireland.He was part of a duo called "Ramblers 2", and has been in the entertainment circuit since the 1960s.-Hits:...
- Humours of Donnybrook — Al O'Donnell and Luke KellyLuke KellyLuke Kelly was an Irish singer and folk musician from Dublin, Ireland, notable as a founding member of the band The Dubliners.-Early life:...
performed a famous version of "On Raglan RoadOn Raglan Road"On Raglan Road" is a well-known Irish song from a poem written by Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh named after Raglan Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin. In the poem the poet, walking on a "quiet street", recalls a love affair he had with a young woman...
" on this show in 1979
Director-General of RTÉ
Director-General of RTÉ
The Director-General of Raidió Teilifís Éireann is chief executive and editor in chief of RTÉ. The current Director-General is Noel Curran, and is the most senior person in the Public Service Broadcaster, Noel Curran replaced Cathal Goan in the role in February 2011.The RTÉ Board appoints the...
Cathal Goan
Cathal Goan
Cathal Goan is a radio and television producer. He played a main role in the launch of TG4. He was appointed Director-General of RTÉ in 2003, announcing his departure in 2010....
later recalled that Mac Mathúna interviewed him for his first job at the station. Goan assisted in the organisation of Mac Mathúna's music collection for the RTÉ Libraries and Archives
RTÉ Libraries and Archives
The RTÉ Archives and Libraries are a collection of photographs, sounds recordings, video footage and written records in various formats across a wide range of topics pertaining to Irish life and society....
.
Mac Mathúna's long-running Sunday morning radio series Mo Cheol Thú
Mo Cheol Thú
Mo Cheol Thú was an Irish radio programme which aired for 45 minutes each Sunday morning on RTÉ Radio 1 from 1970 until 2005. It was one of radio's longest running programmes. Presented by Ciarán Mac Mathúna, the programme ended when he retired in 2005. The last programme aired on 27 November 2005,...
(You are my music) began in 1970 and continued until November 2005, when he retired from broadcasting. Each 45-minute programme offered a miscellany of archive music, poetry and folklore, mainly of Irish origin. It was one of radio's longest running programmes. The last episode was broadcast on 27 November 2005 at 8.10 am.
Mac Mathúna won two Jacob's Awards
Jacob's Awards
The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients were selected by Ireland's national newspaper television...
, in 1969 and 1990, for his RTÉ Radio
RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1 is the principal radio channel of Irish public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926...
programmes promoting Irish traditional music. He received the Freedom
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
of Limerick City in June 2004. He was also awarded honorary doctorates by NUI Galway and the University of Limerick
University of Limerick
The University of Limerick is a university in Ireland near the city of Limerick on the island's west coast. It was established in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick and became a university by statute in 1989 in accordance with the University of Limerick Act 1989...
. In 2007, he received the Musicians Award at the 10th annual TG4
TG4
TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....
Traditional Music Awards.
Joe Kennedy in the Sunday Independent
Sunday Independent
The Sunday Independent is a broadsheet Sunday newspaper published in Ireland by Independent News and Media plc. The newspaper is edited by Aengus Fanning, and is the biggest selling Irish Sunday newspaper by a large margin ; average circulation of 291,323 between June 2004 and January 2005,...
in 2007 compared Mac Mathúna to "an amiable rock, rolling gently along, still picking up some moss and morsels of music that he may have missed".
Personal and later life
His wife Dolly MacMahon (using the English version of her surname) was a singer of traditional songs. She came from Galway and met her husband in 1955. He had two sons named Padraic and Ciarán, one daughter named Déirdre, and four grandchildren at the time of his death: Eoin, Colm, Conor and Liam.He died on 11 December 2009.
Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
Brian Cowen
Brian Cowen
Brian Cowen is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 7 May 2008 to 9 March 2011. He was head of a coalition government led by Fianna Fáil which until 23 January 2011 had the support of the Green Party and independent TDs.Cowen was also leader of Fianna Fáil from 7 May...
paid tribute, saying: “He was encyclopaedic in his knowledge of Irish traditional music and its artists and for many decades, wherever good Irish music was played and enjoyed, Ciarán was to be found in its midst”. Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism (Ireland)
The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is the senior minister at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in the Government of Ireland.The current minister is Jimmy Deenihan, TD. He is assisted by:...
Martin Cullen
Martin Cullen
Martin Cullen is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála for the Waterford constituency. Cullen was a member of Seanad Éireann and served as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government , Minister for Transport and Minister for Social and Family Affairs and...
described Mac Mathúna as "a man of great intellect with a wonderful commitment to and understanding of Irish folklore and the traditional arts". Niall Stokes
Niall Stokes
Niall Stokes is the award-winning editor of the long-running fortnightly Ireland music and political magazine Hot Press based in Dublin. He has edited the magazine since 1977. He has been a longstanding champion of Irish music, most famously U2 in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s...
, editor of Hot Press
Hot Press
Hot Press is a fortnightly music and political magazine based in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had a circulation of 19,215 during 2007...
, spoke of being "in the process of losing a great generation of Irish folk pioneers" — musician Liam Clancy
Liam Clancy
William "Liam" Clancy was an Irish folk singer and actor from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. He was the youngest and last surviving member of performing group The Clancy Brothers. The group were regarded as Ireland's first pop stars...
had died just days previously — and called for a "[continuation of] justice to the extraordinary work they did in reviving the true spirit of Irish folk and traditional music and re-instating it at the heart of the Irish experience [...] in our public policy, and in particular our broadcasting framework". A billboard advertisement for Mo Cheol Thú with the caption “The Touch of the Master’s Hand’’ was positioned in Terenure College Chapel where his corpse was carried.
Mac Mathúna's funeral on 15 December 2009 was attended by hundreds of people, including aides-de-camp of the President and Taoiseach, RTÉ Director-General Cathal Goan
Cathal Goan
Cathal Goan is a radio and television producer. He played a main role in the launch of TG4. He was appointed Director-General of RTÉ in 2003, announcing his departure in 2010....
, poet Séamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He lives in Dublin. Heaney has received the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Golden Wreath of Poetry , T. S. Eliot Prize and two Whitbread prizes...
and others. Heaney said at the funeral:
Over a lifetime he helped the population of Ireland to realise the beauty, strength and value of their native cultural possessions, above all their musical culture. The musical instrument which Ciaran played to magical effect, and which entranced generations of listeners, was his own voice.Musicians to perform at the ceremony included Peadar Ó Ríada, Cór Cúil Aodha and members of The Chieftains
The Chieftains
The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
and Planxty
Planxty
Planxty is an Irish folk music band formed in the 1970s, consisting initially of Christy Moore , Dónal Lunny , Andy Irvine , and Liam O'Flynn...
. The corpse was then taken to Mount Jerome Crematorium.
Journalist Kevin Myers
Kevin Myers
Kevin Myers is an Irish journalist and writer. He writes for the Irish Independent and is a former contributor to The Irish Times, where he wrote the "An Irishman's Diary" opinion column several times weekly...
said Mac Mathúna's legacy would be the "rebirth of Irish music", adding:
Well, if Ciarán Mac Mathúna can die, I suppose anyone can. Actually, I had always thought that he was immortal. He certainly appeared to have all the ingredients.
External links
- Mo Cheol Thú in the RTÉ archive
- Citation from University of LimerickUniversity of LimerickThe University of Limerick is a university in Ireland near the city of Limerick on the island's west coast. It was established in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick and became a university by statute in 1989 in accordance with the University of Limerick Act 1989...
- Portrait by Dr. Thomas Ryan RHARHARHA is an acronym that may refer to:* Regional Health Authority* Religious Heritage of America* Rental Housing Association of Puget Sound* Residence Hall Association...
- 1990s portrait from Burns Library, Boston College's photostream