Once
again, the O'Leary Clan held their annual
Gathering in their Irish home of Inchigeelagh in
County Cork. Old and new friends came from
all over the world for the weekend of 11th. to
13th. September 1998, as previously centred on
Creedon's Hotel.
The theme this year was
Art O'Leary, "the Outlaw", since this is the
225th. anniversary of his death at the hands of
the military, instigated by one Abraham Morris,
of Hanover Hall. Art was a colourful
character, and his untimely death at the age of
26 led to the composing of the beautiful Keen by
his wife, Eileen ni Connell. This piece of
Irish poetry had been studied in depth at the
recent Summer School, and at the Clan Gathering
we concentrated on the Historical events.
On the Friday evening there was a Reception
and welcoming speeches from the Committee.
This was followed by Refreshments and
entertainment , with traditional music and airs
and songs led by our resident pianist, John
Hamilton.
On Saturday we set off early on
a bus tour to see the various sites associated
with Art. Starting with Carrignanimma we
walked across the fields to inspect the leacht
set up at the spot where he was shot. This
was the work of our colleagues in Carrignanimma,
and they have also contributed a fine memorial
plaque in Irish to commemorate his death.
We were given a rousing talk on the topic at the
site by Joe O'Leary, whose farm is close to this
monument.
Then we went on to Rathleigh
House the beautiful Georgian home of Art and his
family near Macroom.
We were given a good
reception there and shown round by the present
owner, Eddie Vaughan, who also talked to us on
the features of this lovely house, still well
cared for and in excellent condition although
about 250 years old.
Our next stop was in
Macroom in the Square in the centre of town,
where Art and Eileen first met and fell in love.
The town hall is on the same location, but has
been rebuilt since those days.
After this
our tour took us to Kilcrea Friary, where Art is
buried. His tomb is well preserved, and
the headstone has been recently restored by
Duchas and is easily read. One of Art's
sons and a grandson are also buried in this
tomb. At this point we were joined by John
Sheehan who is currently the President of the
Cork Archaeological and Historical Society, who
gave us an inspiring talk of the history of the
Friary and its associations with the McCarthy
and O'Leary families. We also had the
pleasure of meeting Lady Elizabeth O'Connell,
who is related to Eileen by marriage, and to the
last of the O'Leary chieftains.
That
evening we were given a slide show by John
Sheehan covering many of the topics of the
afternoon, and including old photographs of the
Friary and the adjoining Castle at Kilcrea.
The rest of the evening passed very
pleasantly also, with a Group Photograph, a
sumptuous Dinner, and
traditional music provided by the well known
uillean piper Diarmuid Grainger supported by his
musical trio with airs and songs.
On
Sunday, the fit and able went on a conducted
tour of the village on foot, and were given a
historical talk by our host, Joe Creedon.
We then convened to hear Peter O'Leary on the
topic "The Life and Times of Art O'Leary".
This talk covered the history of the events of
1773, the background of the Penal Times, and the
subsequent history of his descendants.
After lunch we held the final Clan meeting, and
then held our usual outside Mass in the Old
Cemetery presided over by Fr.Dan Crowley from
Boston. Then we all went home, physically
exhausted but mentally refreshed. And now
we are all looking forward to next September!
The Life And Times Of Art O'Leary is
Here