Bone Road - A Journey in Words and Music with
Geraldine Mills and Tommy Hayes
Join us for this hour of travel from Mayo in 1883 to avail of the Tuke-assisted emigration scheme in the company of Geraldine’s grandparents as their story unfolds amid the soundscape of Tommy’s bodhrán & bones.
James Hack Tuke, a Quaker from York had visited the west and seen the desperate conditions in which they were living. Famine continued to hit every other year since the great hunger of 1845-47 and their tiny holding couldn't support them. The idea behind the scheme was that whole families would go and therefore ease the congestion and the demands on the land.
Arriving in Boston on 4th July 1883 with 6 children and his wife Geraldine’s great-grandfather worked in the Warren Manufacturing Company, Rhode Island. They only stayed 2 years out of loneliness, and they all came back again, landing in Cobh.
Their story back home is traced in the poetic and tender words of Geraldine and accompanied in percussion on bones, bodhrán and other instruments by Tommy Hayes. An event not to be missed.
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Geraldine Mills is a poet and short story writer from County Galway and has been published widely in both genres. Bradshaw Books published her first two poetry collections, Unearthing Your Own and Toil the Dark Harvest. Arlen House has published her three short story collections: Lick of the Lizard, The Weight of Feathers and Hellkite as well as her poetry collections, An Urgency of Stars and the collaboration with US poet Lisa C. Taylor, The Other Side of Longing. Little Island published her children’s novel Gold in 2016.
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Tommy Hayes has been at the forefront of traditional Irish music for over 30 years. In a career that has exemplified diversity he has performed and recorded with most of the great names in traditional music and beyond. Tommy has been a member of a number of ground-breaking bands during his during his career. He was a member of Stockton’s Wing and Puck Fair with Brian Dunning and Micheal O Domhnaill, Altan, The Eileen Ivers Band and Riverdance. With many recordings to his name, a degree in music therapy and a deep interest in the environment, Tommy’s percussion reaches into the soul of the earth.
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EVENT SPONSOR
Quitman O'Neil Packaging Ltd.