Buncrana and Robert Emmets hoping for All Ireland places at Scór Sinsir Uladh

It would take a lot more than a global pandemic to deter Buncrana playwright Patricia 'Tinney' Doherty.

On March 21, 2020, Patricia and her band of CLG Bun Cranncha troubadours were due to compete in the Ulster final of Scór Sinsir, with their evocative drama, 'Sean Carraigeacha na hÉireann'. The peninsula had its fingers crossed the group would reach the prestigious All Ireland finals, in Killarney’s INEC, that April.

Well, we all know what happened next, but, 19 months later, the group is travelling to Silverbridge in County Armagh to compete in the Novelty Act section of Scór Sinsir.

Patricia, who wrote and directed the CLG Bun Cranncha drama, revealed 'Sean Carraigeacha na hÉireann' was a tale of the ancient rocks of Ireland, which invite the audience's imagination and emotions on a journey of appreciation, commentary, admiration and hope, through the ages, in gratitude for worshipping at the altar of the games of the Gaels and their many heroes.

She added: “We were thrilled to have reached the Ulster final in 2020, but I am now looking forward to finishing what we started and, hopefully, going through to the All Ireland final.

“‘Sean Carraigeacha na hÉireann’ is a small poetic piece featuring Aoife Lennon, who is the narrator and bard and Lauren Mulholland, an greasaí, who is also the Brehon Laws. Ireland's laws, the Brehon Laws, is the law that inspired the whole of Europe and still exists in every country in Europe today.

“We also have Seamus McDaid, from Topline Buncrana, who plays Paid, an feirmeor beag, and Lisa Gallagher, An Cailleach Béarach, Roisín Dubh, Bamba, Mise Éire, all of the names Ireland is called.

“‘Sean Carraigeacha na hÉireann’ is bilingual, Irish and English. It’s about the old rocks of Ireland. The Stone of the Brehon Law because everything in Ireland was in stone. We have the milestone, which has relevance for all of us throughout our lives and even biblically, everything was written in stone. Our first magic was rubbing two stones together to create fire, with the Tuath Dé Danann coming to Ireland,” said Patricia.

Patricia said Ireland's culture was steeped in stone, if we took the time to explore it.

She added: “The play has beautiful quotes like, ‘The cold, grey stones of Ireland.’

“It contains lovely pieces, pieces I think are beautiful. We do the milestone, we talk about the bard. How he came from town to town, sat on a stone and how he would be recognised by the High King of the area.

“On the Fair Day, people in Ireland traditionally took their rest on the stone. Our ancestors were wise and clever because we were the Island of Saints and Scholars. Everything we did was done to perfection.

“The Brehon Laws still hold to this day. People were respected. If you had garb you had traded in because you did not have the money, the jewellery, the old Celtic jewellery, and everything you would have handed in, would have been given back to you for the Fair Day so that you would not lose face. I thought that was beautiful, so we have that included in our drama, which has beautiful singing and the Celtic drum beat. We would also like to thank Gabrielle Grant for donating us the costume material,” said Patricia.

Robert Emmets GAA from Castlefinn will also represent Donegal tomorrow afternoon, in the Ballad Group category.
Senan Catterson, Aaron McCormack, Damien McGlinchy, Shane McBrearty and Sean Killen will be singing but this is really a seven piece outfit. Coach Rachel McCready took both songs and put her own unique stamp on them with new harmonies and twists to make them really fun and interesting.

Helen McMenamin did her usual behind the scenes work getting sponsorship and much more. The club thanks Mary and all at SVP for the use fo the centre and also Fr Hegarty for the hall.

Ádh mór oraibh. Dún na nGall abú.