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St. Colman's Cathedral

80 Years
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Eurocarillon
2003

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Diaspora 2016 – “Come Back to Erin”

The title and the spirit of this project is inspired by the emigrant song “Come Back to Erin” composed by Charlotte Alington Barnard (1830-1869), who used the pseudonym “Claribel”, and made famous by the legendary Irish tenor John McCormack and others. It was also the title of a silent movie shot in New York, Kerry and Queenstown (Cobh) and released in 1914. The poet imagines the emigrant “Riding the white waves that fair summer morn” across the seas from Ireland but returning some day, “Come back to Erin to the land of thy birth”. This song is typical of the genre. Similar in style is the poem “The Bells of St Colman’s” by Bryan MacMahon (1909-1998) in which the poet imagines that for departing exiles the sound of these bells, “Full chiming and rhyming across the bright waters”, becomes a poignant symbol of the homeland and a joyous welcome back on their eventual return. Down through the years, many visitors to Cobh, especially during the summer months, are descendants of those who emigrated through this port, mostly to North America, and have come back to the town on a nostalgic visit. They often recount how their grandparents heard the bells as their ship departed while the spire of the Cathedral was their “Last Glimpse of Erin”. Stories of the town’s emigration history also live on in many local families, having been handed down from generation to generation.


Image courtesy of Cunard Line

 

Technical comments/enquiries to the webmaster. Copyright Cormac Gebruers, June 2016.