Seosamh O Heanaigh (Joe Heaney)

More praised than rewarded in his native country, Seosamh O hEanaigh (Joe Einniu) was a great sean-nós singer from Conamara.
He was born in An Aird Thoir near Carna, in the Co Galway Gaeltacht, in 1919. Carna still has a rich tradition of storytelling and singing. Among Seosamh’s neighbours was his lifelong friend*, another accomplished singer, Sean ‘ac Dhonncha, who died in 1996 . He acquired a remarkable store of songs as well as the stories which lay behind them, a store he was happy to share with other singers.
In 1955 he won the prestigious first prize for sean-nós singing at the Oireachtas. Then in 1957 and 1958 he sang regularly at the Oícheanta Seanchais, Irish nights in Dublin’s Damer Hall, which introduced sean-nós singers, storytellers, traditional dancers and raconteurs from the Gaeltachtaí to city listeners. O hEanaigh’s recordings for Gael-Linn brought his unique voice and style to the attention of a wider audience at home and overseas.
Strong-minded and proud, his refusal to compromise his art with use of instrumental backing or harmonies meant he was always struggling to earn a living. Admirers and friends were shocked to discover in the mid-Nineties that in 1965 he had walked out on his wife and young family in Clydebank, Scotland.
For people who have not grown up in the Gaeltacht, sean-nós is an acquired taste. Luke Kelly commented in one interview: “Joe Heaney’s singing may sound to the uninitiated ear maybe even a bit crude and a bit hoarse, but Joe Heaney is a marvellously subtle singer. His phrasing, the way he states what he has to state, it’s beautiful.” He made a big impression when her performed at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1965.
While there are scores of great songs and airs in the sean-nós, the lyrics are all-important. The linguistic learning required to access them was not to be availed of by merry ballad boom audiences. The Donegal Gaeltacht songs of Clannad and the O Domhnaills were often scorned in Conamara for their instrumental sugar-coating. (Donegal singers, on the other hand, said that the Conamara singers were getting all the attention).
Seosamh O hEanaigh was forced to emigrate, first to Britain and later to the United States. Even when working as a doorman in a New York hotel his singing and storytelling were highly regarded among devotees and practitioners of the folk arts. His talent was finally rewarded when he was appointed lecturer and artist in residence in Washington State University at Seattle, where he taught the art of sean-nós to a new generation. The university now holds a great archive of O hEanaigh on tape and video. In 1982 he was honoured with a National Heritage Award by the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington.
He returned frequently to Ireland, often turning up to sing at a session in O’Donoghue’s. Those who enjoyed his singing revered him. Luke Kelly named him as one of his main influences. Grouping him with Seamus Ennis, Sean O Riada, Liam Clancy and Luke Kelly, Christy Moore said they were “responsible for the way music is in Ireland today, all kinds of music, and Irish society has been affected by them.”
In the latter years of his life he suffered from emphysema. He died on May Day, 1984, and is buried in Carna.
*Anamchara was the term used by Riobard Mac Goráin of Gael-linn to describe their friendship. It means “soul-friend.” ©Ronan Nolan. 2000-2007.

Discography

O Mo Dhuchas: From My Tradition, Seosamh O hEanaigh, Gael Linn Gael 051
Say a Song, Seosamh O hEanaigh, NWAR 001d
The Road from Connemara, Seosamh O hEanaigh, Topic 518d

Book
Seosamh O hEanaigh: Nár Fhágha Mé Bás Choiche, by Liam Mac Con Iomaire, Cló Iar-Chonnachta (includes CD), 2007. 521 pages. €35.

Feile Comortha Joe Einniu

Carna, Co Galway, April 30 – May 2
michealocuaig@hotmail.com