Éamon a Búrc
Encyclopedia
Éamon a Búrc was a tailor and Irish storyteller or seanchaí.
Born to an Irish
-speaking family in Carna, County Galway, Ireland, Éamon a Búrc, was brought by his parents to Graceville, Minnesota
in 1880. Their passage was paid for by Archbishop
John Ireland
, who wished to fill up the Minnesota
prairie
with Irish-American farm families. After a severe blizzard
struck on 15 October 1880, the condition of the Connemara
refugees became an international scandal. The a Búrc family was evicted from their claim and resettled in a Saint Paul, Minnesota
shantytown which was dubbed the Connemara Patch
. Éamon and his father went to work for the Great Northern Railway of James J. Hill
. After losing a leg in a work related accident, Éamon returned to Ireland
and went to work as a tailor
at his home in the village of Aill na Brón, near his native Carna.
In the Fall of 1935, he was visited by Séamus Ó Duilearga
and Liam Mac Coisdeala, representatives of the Irish Folklore Commission
. They recorded his repertoire of legends and folk poetry on a collection of Ediphone cylinders. The recordings were later transcribed, filling more than 2,000 pages of manuscript.
The Encyclopaedia of Ireland states: "He was perhaps the finest storyteller collected from in the twentieth century. The longest folk-tale ever recorded in Ireland - taking three nights to tell and amounting to more than 30,000 words - was collected from him."
Born to an 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...
-speaking family in Carna, County Galway, Ireland, Éamon a Búrc, was brought by his parents to Graceville, Minnesota
Graceville, Minnesota
At the 2000 census, there were 605 people, 257 households and 149 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,007.7 per square mile . There were 283 housing units at an average density of 471.4 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 99.50% White, 0.17% Native...
in 1880. Their passage was paid for by Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
John Ireland
John Ireland (archbishop)
John Ireland was the third bishop and first archbishop of Saint Paul, Minnesota . He became both a religious as well as civic leader in Saint Paul during the turn of the century...
, who wished to fill up the Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
with Irish-American farm families. After a severe blizzard
Blizzard
A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong winds. By definition, the difference between blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have winds in excess of with blowing or drifting snow which reduces visibility to 400 meters or ¼ mile or...
struck on 15 October 1880, the condition of the Connemara
Connemara
Connemara is a district in the west of Ireland consisting of a broad peninsula between Killary Harbour and Kilkieran Bay in the west of County Galway.-Overview:...
refugees became an international scandal. The a Búrc family was evicted from their claim and resettled in a Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
shantytown which was dubbed the Connemara Patch
Swede Hollow
Swede Hollow was a neighborhood of Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was one of a large group of neighborhoods collectively known as the East Side, lying just to the east of the near-downtown Railroad Island neighborhood, and at the northwestern base of Dayton's Bluff...
. Éamon and his father went to work for the Great Northern Railway of James J. Hill
James J. Hill
James Jerome Hill , was a Canadian-American railroad executive. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwest, the northern Great Plains, and Pacific Northwest...
. After losing a leg in a work related accident, Éamon returned to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and went to work as a tailor
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
at his home in the village of Aill na Brón, near his native Carna.
In the Fall of 1935, he was visited by Séamus Ó Duilearga
Séamus Ó Duilearga
Séamus Ó Duilearga was an Irish folklorist, professor of folklore at University College Dublin and the founder of the Irish Folklore Commission.-Selected publications:* The Gaelic Storyteller, 1945...
and Liam Mac Coisdeala, representatives of the Irish Folklore Commission
Irish Folklore Commission
The Irish Folklore Commission was set up in 1935 by the Irish Government to study and collect information on the folklore and traditions of Ireland....
. They recorded his repertoire of legends and folk poetry on a collection of Ediphone cylinders. The recordings were later transcribed, filling more than 2,000 pages of manuscript.
The Encyclopaedia of Ireland states: "He was perhaps the finest storyteller collected from in the twentieth century. The longest folk-tale ever recorded in Ireland - taking three nights to tell and amounting to more than 30,000 words - was collected from him."
Source
- "The Encyclopaedia of Ireland," 2003; ISBN 0 7171 300 2.
- Bridget Connelly, "Forgetting Ireland; Uncovering a Family's Secret History," Borealis Books, Minnesota Historical SocietyMinnesota Historical SocietyThe Minnesota Historical Society is a private, non-profit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehood. The Society is named in the Minnesota...
, 2003. - Sean O'SullivanSean O'SullivanSean Patrick Paul O'Sullivan, CM was a Canadian politician who left politics and became a Roman Catholic priest....
, "Folktales of Ireland," University of ChicagoUniversity of ChicagoThe University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, 1966.