FÉILE BHRÍDE (St Brigid’s Cathedral, Kildare)

THE HEADLINING musical event of the Féile Bhríde celebration boasted a strong line-up on paper, including Luka Bloom and Máire Ní Bhraonain. On the night, it turned out to be a star-studded event with special guests like Sinéad O’Connor and Christy Moore joining in.

Held in the reverential surroundings of a Church of Ireland Cathedral, the occasion transcended any form of organised religion, and more appropriately resembled a Celtic feast. A commemoration of the life of an extraordinary woman and a celebration of the arrival of Spring: the chill in the air suggested that winter still had a part to play.

The Cathedral is sited just off the main square in Kildare town. The accompanying cemetery resembled nothing more than a scene from a James Herbert novel, with the mist creeping around the headstones. The bright neon light illuminating the granite of Kildare Round Tower, also in the church grounds, seemed out of place, and out of time. The queue forming outside the church seemed to tingle with expectation, before even a note was played.

When the doors opened and we were admitted to the Cathedral itself, the mood heightened. A pipe-organ (which we later learnt was played by none other than Liam O’Maonlaí) ground out its notes as the lights dimmed. The distant altar and stained-glass window were bathed in a greenish light, lending the place an eerie glow.

Our host turned out to be Luka Bloom, who bade us all “welcome to the first day of Spring.” There were no amplifiers or microphones, simply the power of the human voice and a palpable silence in the audience, so quiet that the proverbial pin would have seemed to collapse rather than merely drop. What followed was over two hours of celebration through the media of song, dance and spoken word.

The Crooked House Theatre Group performed a strange dance and prayer to Brigid, linking the Catholic saint back to the pagan Earth Goddess and reclaiming the arena of sexuality for women. Juno Moore sang acapella, before poet Katie Donovan recited a famine tale of how 600 starving peasants were drowned in a Mayo lake, having been refused food by their town governors. Luka then treated us to a new song, also about famine-times, accompanied by Liam O’Maonlaí on bodhran and his nephew Conor Byrne on flute.

Nóirín Ní Riain then had the audience joining in a prayer, as we sung “Amen, Truly I say to you/This day you will be with me in Paradise” and rarely has prayer sounded so good. She then recited a Brendan Kennelly poem before leaving us with a song from the American Shaker religion. She was followed by the Young Christian Students’ Choir from Newbridge, who performed ‘Sing To The Mountains’ and ‘Dominican Magnificat’, lending both songs a strong sense of life and swagger.

Conor Byrne then returned centre-stage, accompanied by Jimmy Higgins on bodhran, to play a slow air, followed by Bride Smith on tin whistle playing two jigs, penned by herself while on volunteer work in Africa.

The Screaming Orphans, an all-female quartet from Donegal, then took to the boards, first wooing us all with an Indigo Girls’ cover version. The guitar, violin, accordion and bodhran intermingled seamlessly as their voices lilted and harmonised to perfection. ‘Black, Black, Black’, a song from the native American tribes followed and the divine harmonies were once more in evidence. I have to admit, The Screaming Orphans are the first band to make me want to be a groupie.

Sinéad O’Connor made a surprise appearance, performing a plaintive ‘Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace’. Shivers careered the length and breadth of my spine, and not all were from the cool of the church. She finished to tumultuous applause, everyone present realising they had just heard something very special. An impish grin, a quick bow and she was gone, to be quickly replaced by the return of Liam O’Maonlaí, singing two songs as Gaeilge in the sean nós tradition. Liam’s deeply resonant voice drifted skyward, finding a home in the high rafters. Liam was followed with equal aplomb by the beautiful voice of Maire Ní Bhraonain, singing a beautiful ‘Siúl A Rúin’ unaccompanied, followed by a song from her native Donegal.

Luka returned to the stage, guitar in hand, accompanied by Liam on concert whistle, Conor on flute, Bride on tin whistle and Jimmy on Bodhrán, for a blistering ‘You Couldn’t Have Come At A Better Time’. ‘The Man Is Alive’, also taken from his debut album Riverside, seemed to suit the mood perfectly. Luka then introduced the next singer, who he described as his favourite Kildare man.

Christy strolled on, bodhrán in hand, and proceeded to remove his sweater, revealing the customary black poloneck. The applause was deafening as he launched into song. ‘The Well Below The Valley-o’ saw Christy flanked on either side by Liam and Jimmy, three bodhráns beating simultaneously, finished in a thunderous crescendo.

All that was left was to get everyone back on stage for a rousing rendition of ‘The Curragh Of Kildare’, performers and audience alike singing the anthem of the Lillywhites. When it was over the applause seemed to last for ever. Then everyone was shaking hands and slapping backs and the realisation dawned: the magical night was over.

• John Walshe