‘Tradition-bearer’ Dinny McLaughlin led a revival of music and culture, funeral told

Inishowen musical icon and teacher Dinny ‘Whiteharra’ McLaughlin was a “tradition-bearer” with the mind of a genius and the heart of a lion who enriched the lives of many young children, mourners at his funeral have heard.

His requiem Mass at St Mary’s Church in Cockhill on Friday, which was filled with music provided by some of the many he taught over decades, heard how the fiddler, composer, dancer and teacher had “borne his cargo of tradition for 89 years”.

Tributes from the world of traditional music had followed his death on Tuesday.

His fiddle, that he named Aisling, his dancing shoes, a book of songs and his rosary beads were brought to the altar as symbols of his life.

Buncrana parish priest Fr Francis Bradley described Mr McLaughlin as a “tradition-bearer” who brought  “a sense of identity and belonging” to his people.

The youngest  of six, he was born in 1935 into a family where “money was scarce and luxuries few”.  In the family home at Shandrum near Buncrana, in which he lived all his life,  “his quick eye and keen ear meant he gathered the lore and melodies he saw and heard in his day”.

From the age of six, after hearing Pat Mulherne from the neighbouring townland of Fallask play,  he desperately wanted a fiddle. It was at céilís and gatherings in local houses that he would “pick up so much of what he would later pass on to other generations”.

He would go on to contribute, along with Pat Mulherne, to a revival of music, dance, language and culture in that part of Inishowen.

His talent as a teacher at music and dance schools around Donegal and Derry, meant he nurtured and developed the gifts of many, Fr Bradley said.

His former students include Donegal musicians Ciaran Tourish,  Liz Doherty,  Roisin McGrory and Damian Harrigan. He was a “strict and demanding” teacher  “for he knew he had to draw out the treasure he could see within”.

“Like so many other geniuses he had his flaws,” but due to his talent, “Dinny still produced a good harvest,” Fr Bradley said.

While he never married, Fr Bradley said, “he had a wife - Aisling, his beloved fiddle”.

“Dinny McLaughlin was a man with the mind of a genius, the heart of a lion, the eye of a sniper, the ear of a fox, the fingers of a surgeon, the feet of a ballerina and yes, the soul of a priest,” Fr Bradley said.

A tribute to her uncle read on behalf of his niece Rose Lynch described how he gave great attention to all his nieces and nephews, was interested in their welfare and development and taught them music.

As a teacher he was “generous with his time and patience”, gifts he brought to national schools throughout Inishowen, over time teaching “many outstanding and famous musicians”.

“He made a significant difference and enriched the lives of many young children throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s," the tribute read.

Mr McLaughlin’s burial took place in the adjoining cemetery.