WAVEFIELD Recordings in Clonakilty was namechecked by legendary John Spillane when he accepted the price for ‘Best Folk Album’ at the prestigious RTÉ Folk Awards.
Fíoruisce – The Legend of the Lough, recorded in Clonakilty and released last September, claimed the coveted award, further cementing Spillane’s status as one of Ireland’s most innovative and respected musicians.
‘I am completely thrilled and deeply honoured to win this award. Fíoruisce - The Legend of The Lough was a labour of love that I’ve been working on for over 10 years and I am incredibly grateful that it has received this honour. I’m delighted that my little local legend that explores big themes such as water rights, possession and restriction of natural resources has found its place amongst the great music that is being created today,’ said John.
‘Huge thanks to my wife Cathy and all my family for their continued support, to Wavefield Recordings, Clonakilty and especially to all the brilliant singers who put their heart and soul into this project.’
Fíoruisce - The Legend of The Lough is an ambitious concept album, a three-act Gaelic folk opera composed by Spillane.
The bilingual work is a reimagined Gaelic version of Fior-usga, a Victorian Cork fairytale collected by Thomas Crofton Croker in the 1800s.
The story is a surreal tale culminating in a drowned kingdom, which as lore says, becomes The Lough in Cork city as it is known today.
Enter this world through Spillane’s hugely ambitious concept album recorded at Wavefield Recordings, Clonakilty, which features the voices of some of the most talented folk and sean nós singers of the age including Ríoghnach Connolly, Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin, Niamh Farrell, Nell Ní Chróinín, John Spillane himself of course, and more.
Described by Spillane as his ‘magnum opus,’ this project draws on his lifelong dedication to storytelling, the Irish language, and music.
The text is inspired by the wonderful richness of the literary and oral Gaelic storytelling tradition.
The influences of an t-Athair Peadar Ó Laoghaire and the stories concerning the Fiannaíocht are evident in this work. Other inspirations include Seán Ó Tuama’s work through Compántas Chorcaí, an Irish theatre production company, his inspiring lectures on poetry at UCC and his An Duanaire 1600 - 1900 Poems of the
Dispossessed.
Using these elements, Spillane crafts an Irish-speaking ancient world.
The album weaves common threads of Irish mythology, depicting scenes of war, curses, lullabies, lamentations, shapeshifting tricksters, scenes of love, a great fleadh, and eventually the climax – the drowning of the kingdom.
