Seán Ó Ríordáin's remarks on family

Hello folks,

A while back I watched "Mise, Seán Ó Ríordáin" on TG4.  At one point Louis de Paor (the narrator) is talking with Ó Ríordáin's brother's family and he reads them a short section (from his diary, perhaps?) that Seán wrote about them.  It went something along the lines of (as Béarla):

"They are the people I love most in this world.  They have the honesty shared only by those who are very old or are very young.  I think of them and my heart swells, and I must think of something else.  Is this the kind of unbearable love God has for us all?"

I would love to find the proper text (as Gaeilge agus as Béarla) to read at my wedding.  Does anyone know it or know where it can be found?  Ó Ríordáin's diary seems to be under lock and key at UCD and only available to researchers and teaching staff, not random guys from Canada.  Is there another source?

Go raibh maith agat,

Caoimhín

Caoimhín, I have a friend who works in the languages section in UCD - I'll ask her if she can either help or else give any advice on how to find the text.

Beir bua,
Michelle 

michelle:

Caoimhín, I have a friend who works in the languages section in UCD - I'll ask her if she can either help or else give any advice on how to find the text.

Beir bua,
Michelle 

Wonderful!  Go raibh míle maith agat, and I appreciate it greatly!

Hi Caomhín,

your best bet is probably to find the details for the documentary in question and get in touch with the researcher who worked on it through TG4. 

Just checked the reference in the UCD catalogue here - http://www.ucd.ie/library/special_collections/archives/modern_lit/oriordain.html which you've probably seen.

Sometimes with archival material, the library will send digital photos or photocopies to overseas researchers for a fee, or the manuscript is available on microfiche, but that doesn't seem to be on offer for this collection. In any case, you'd need to know where in the 37 years of diaries the quote comes from, so asking the researcher who worked on the documentary would still be the simplest way in.

Not much of the diaries seem to be published though there are sections on this Gael linn recording - http://music.napster.com/se%C3%A1n-%C3%B3-r%C3%ADord%C3%A1in-music/album/fil%C3%ADocht-agus-pr%C3%B3s/13548804. Still, you could check whatever the standard biography of him is, just in case the documentary researcher got the quotation from a published source.  

Good luck,

Aude

Breac:

Hi Caomhín,

your best bet is probably to find the details for the documentary in question and get in touch with the researcher who worked on it through TG4. 

Just checked the reference in the UCD catalogue here - http://www.ucd.ie/library/special_collections/archives/modern_lit/oriordain.html which you've probably seen.

Sometimes with archival material, the library will send digital photos or photocopies to overseas researchers for a fee, or the manuscript is available on microfiche, but that doesn't seem to be on offer for this collection. In any case, you'd need to know where in the 37 years of diaries the quote comes from, so asking the researcher who worked on the documentary would still be the simplest way in.

Not much of the diaries seem to be published though there are sections on this Gael linn recording - http://music.napster.com/se%C3%A1n-%C3%B3-r%C3%ADord%C3%A1in-music/album/fil%C3%ADocht-agus-pr%C3%B3s/13548804. Still, you could check whatever the standard biography of him is, just in case the documentary researcher got the quotation from a published source.  

 

Good luck,

Aude

Hi Aude,

Very good point -- I hadn't considered the process of narrowing down the time that had been written.  The documentary wasn't a TG4 production, unfortunately.  It was made by Animo (http://animo.ie/television/documentaries/seanoriordain1.asp), and I have yet to contact them.  If I could lay my hands on a copy of the documentary I could likely transcribe it from that recording.

I don't believe the relevant passage is in Filíocht agus Prós.  I have ordered a copy of "Seán Ó Ríordáin:  Beatha agus Saothar" by Seán Ó Coileáin in hopes that it found its way there.  I think of the passage as one that defines one crucial component of Ó Ríordáin's life so I hope it will be in there, but I'm trying to cover my bases.

I will contact Animo to see who has distribution rights for "Mise, Seán Ó Ríordáin" and if they can put me in touch with the researcher or otherwise shed any light on the passage.

Thanks for your input -- it's a great help!

Sláinte,

kjw

The full documentary Mise, Seán Ó Ríordáin is now available on YouTube, courtesy of TG4 Amhran:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tt5TkGSOv4  cuid a haon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sDwZZSxBKA  cuid a dó

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRCa3F5KNf8  cuid a trí

(as Gaeilge, with English subtitles)

If you haven't seen it, set aside 50 minutes or so and do it.  It's truly the best documentary I've seen yet (and documentaries are my preferred genre, and I've seen a lot of them!).  The narrator, Louis de Paor, is a great poet in his own right:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIuHmO2LVwc  Croíbhualadh

Enjoy!

kjw