Introduction
Cumann Merriman was founded in 1967 in honour of Brian Merriman, author of the eighteenth century Rabelaisian poem, Cúirt an Mheán Oíche (The Midnight Court).
Our aim is to encourage interest in the poet and in the history and tradition of Thomond, the ancient Munster district that includes parts of Tipperary and Limerick, along with the County Clare in its entirety.
We also strive to encourage interest in every aspect of Irish culture: the language, history, literature, dance, music et cetera. The Cumann organises two annual events: the Summer School and the Winter School, where all these are promoted enthusiastically.
You can find out more about us in the aptly titled About Us section of our website.
You can also subscribe to our English RSS feed. This will let you know whenever we add new information to our site.
News & Forthcoming Events
Updated: Monday, 11th January 2010.
Summer School 2010
The location and date of the next Summer School:
- Location
- Glór Theatre, Ennis
- Dates
- 18 to 22 August (Wednesday to Sunday)
- Theme
- TBA
- Director
- TBA
Please note that whilst the duration of this year’s School has been reduced, the range and scope of the programme remains the same. Keep an eye on our RSS news feed.
Winter School 2010
The location and date of the forthcoming Winter School:
- Location
- Meyrick Hotel, Galway
- Dates
- 29 to 31 January (Friday to Sunday)
- Theme
- Máirtín Ó Direáin, 1910 go 2010
- Directors
- Liam Ó Dochartaigh and Máire Ní Neachtain
You can now browse information on the theme, programme, fees and speakers for this School, along with information on scholarships, accomodation and travel. As the Winter School is run entirely through Irish, this information is available only in the Irish language section of our site. An English version of the press release is available, however.
Previous News & Events
Summer School 2009
Every generation has decisions to take about its future, its priorities, its place in the world. For this generation of political leaders, policy makers and citizens these decisions appear more complex than they have done for a long time. The quickly assumed certainty of the so‑called Celtic Tiger period has given way to a worrying uncertainty about tomorrow.
This was the focus of the 2009 Summer School. What were the challenges now facing us?
You can have a look at moments from the School by browsing this multimedia review page.
The 2009 Winter School
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 20 years since the Cumann Merriman Winter School was last in Galway. Trí oileán Árann was the theme in 1989, with the first lecture delivered by Breandán Ó hEithir.
We are delighted to be back for the 2009 Winter School look forward to great things here in this multifaceted City: Ó Conaire’s Cathair na dTrí nUisce, Ó Cadhain’s Gealchathair and Ó hEithir’s Baile an Chaisil.
Summer School 2008
Highlights of the 2008 Summer School included a discussion by Carmel Wynne of The Irish Times on sexuality in modern society. Economist and media commentator Marc Coleman addressed Ireland’s predicted recovery of population to 8 million people in this century and its regional implications. In a lecture illustrated by musical excerpts, Fintan Vallely discussed past and current trends in traditional music with a particular emphasis on the traditional music of County Clare.
Four hundred years after the Earls reached Rome, visitors to the Merriman Summer School had the opportunity to view a powerful theatrical portrayal of Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone (1550 – 1616), as they had never imagined him before! The Wednesday evening show, ‘Running Beast’ was performed by award-winning actor/writer Donal O’Kelly to music by Celtic Music Prize‑winning composer Michael Holohan. Donal’s stunning one man shows have played to capacity audiences internationally and ‘Running Beast’ reminded us why.
Winter School 2008
Niall Ó Dónaill published Forbairt na Gaeilge in 1951 and it is now fifty years since Rannóg an Aistriúcháin published Gramadach na Gaeilge agus Litriú na Gaeilge: An Caighdeán Oifigiúil (1958). This Winter School, the ninth to be held in Westport, looked back on this era in which the Government introduced a standard grammar for Irish, celebrating the Caighdeán and associated endeavours. Contemporary use of Irish in the media and in other fields was also discussed and debated.
Summer School 2007
The 2007 Summer School ran from the 19th until the 25th of August in Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare and some photos have been published on its multimedia review page. You can also hear a song from Jimmy Smyth, listen to an overview of the John Coolahan’s lecture, or download Seán Ó Laoire’s presentation, ‘Inhabiting the Land’ in PDF format or as a Powerpoint Show. Please note that there are 115 slides of high‑quality graphics in this document. Download over broadband if possible!
Winter School 2007
The 2007 Winter School, “Anocht is uaigneach Éire” Imeacht na nIarlaí 1607, was held between 26th – 28th January in Westport, Co. Mayo, and was directed by Liam Ó Dochartaigh.
The School’s review page, which will include photos, interviews and video clips, has unfortunately been delayed but will appear at some point in the (hopefully) not too distant future! Until then you can browse photos from the School’s press conference.
Note that as Merriman Winter Schools are run entirely through the Irish language, web pages covering them them are only available in the Irish section of our site.
Book of the Year
The book of the year, Éigse Chairbre by Bláthnaid Uí Chatháin was launched by An tOllamh Seán Ó Coileáin. The book examines the poetry of Carbery, County Cork, and the surrounding districts, between 1750 and 1850.
Summer School 2006
The 2006 Summer School celebrated the life and legacy of Michael Cusack, founder of the GAA, who lived during a period of intensified revivalist activity in Ireland: linguistic, literary, and sporting.
Browse our multimedia review page for photos, videos and sound clips, including an interview with Maeve Binchy.
Merriman in Berlin
In March 2006, Cumann Merriman organised a special School in Berlin to celebrate Ludwig Christian Stern’s 1905 German translation of Chúirt an Mheán Oíche. A selection of photos taken at this event is available on our retrospective page, along with some audio and video clips that captured a few moments from the School.
Winter School 2006
A multimedia review for the 2006 Merriman Winter School is also available. It contains photographs of various School events, interviews with speakers and participants, and a video interview with Bríona Nic Dhiarmada, author of Téacs Baineann: Téacs Mná, the Cumann Merriman 2006 Book of the Year.
An Chúirt on CD
To mark the bicentenery of Brian Merriman’s death two very special CDs were launched at the 2005 Summer School. Both feature significant but radically different readings of his poem Cúirt an Mheán Oíche.
The Seán Ó Ceallaigh CD
Seán Ó Ceallaigh (1896 – 1994) was born in Furoor, Lissycasey, Co. Clare. There were still many native speakers of Irish in the area during his youth. The Irish he learned so well was Clare Irish. Ó Ceallaigh would have heard Cúirt an Mheán Oíche recited by old Clare men — some of whom would have been growing‑up whilst Brian Merriman was still alive, thus creating a living link between this recital and the vernacular of Merriman’s era. He became headmaster of the Irish College in Carrigaholt and was afterwards TD for Clare between 1959 and 1969.
His son is Bishop Fiachra Ó Ceallaigh and with his permission and support the Clare County Library has issued this CD of his father’s recital of the poem. It has not been made available to buy but the Library has distributed copies freely to schools in the county. To obtain more information contact the Clare County Library on 00 353 65 682 1616.
The Cumann Merriman & Raidió na Gaeltachta CD
Liam Ó Dochartaigh, Director of the 2005 Winter School, arranged a dramatic reading of Cúirt an Mheon‑Oíche for that event. The readers were Eoghan Ó hAnluain, Áine Ó Ceallaigh, Audrey Ní Fhearghail, Alan Titley and Doireann Ní Bhriain. The producer was Darach Mac Con Iomaire.
The cast then travelled to Baile Mhuirne in the Músgraí Gaeltacht to give a second live performance. The reading was recorded subsequenty by RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta and it is this recording that features on the second CD. The same cast read the poem again on 31 October 2005 as part of Oireachtas na Gaeilge in Cork.
This CD is available from Radio Library Sales, RTÉ., Donnybrook, Dublin 4. You can also buy a copy online from the RTÉ website or ring them on 00 353 1 208 3326.
Extracts
We have linked some extracts from the CDs to this page so as to give a taste of the two readings.
Ba ghnáth me ag siubhal…
is the opening of the poem, and presents an interesting comparison between a modern, ‘dramatic’ reading and one, no less sophisticated, that is entirely informed by native oral tradition.
Múscail! Corraigh!
introduces us to the first character encountered by the narrator: the formidable Báile.
The Seán Ó Ceallaigh CD
The Raidió na Gaeltachta CD
Ar Lorg Shorcha
The 2007 Winter School included the premiere of Ar Lorg Shorcha, a documentary about Sorcha Ní Ghuairim, the famous sean‑nós singer from Carna.
Its director, Bríona Nic Dhiarmada, developed the film over several years and premiered it to a packed audience on Saturday 27th January 2007. It later aired on TG4.
Interviews with Bríona are available on the multimedia review page for the previous Winter School.
2005 Bicentenary
Cumann Merriman organised a number of special events for the bicentennary of Brian Merriman’s death. You can find a comprehensive list of these in the 2005 events section of our site.
You can also browse a multimedia review of the 2005 Summer School. Visit this page for pictures of people and events, and for interviews with speakers and participants.
Merriman in the Media
Around the end of 2005 RTÉ Radio 1 broadcast a number of programmes on Brian Merriman, The Midnight Court and Máirtín Ó Cadhain. You can still hear these on the RTÉ website.
You will need to have a suitable player such as Realplayer or Media Player Classic installed on your computer to listen to these programmes. Both players are free-of‑charge and contain no adverts, though RealPlayer requires its users to register their personal details first.
We have provided links directly to the programmes courtesy RTÉ Radio 1:
- The Appeal of the Midnight Court (43:58s)
- This documentary was made by Cathal Póirtéir to celebrate Brian Merriman on the bicentennary of his death. The programme is bilingual.
- Scríbhneoirí Faoi Chaibidil 9 (27:31s)
- Programme 9 — Brian Merriman, broadcast 2 December 2005. Alan Titley and Liam P. Ó Murchú discuss the poet and his poem.
- Scríbhneoirí Faoi Chaibidil 13 (29:58s)
- Programme 13 — Máirtín Ó Cadhain, broadcast 30 December 2005.
Contact Us
You can find out about forthcoming Cumann Merriman events, including the 2007 Winter School, by contacting us via our mail form, or by telephone during office hours on 00 353 86 382 0671. Individual committee members may be contacted through our mail form.
Our Press Officer can be contacted directly by e‑mail, or by telephone on 00 353 87 646 1661 during office hours.
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