Ireland 100 concert is 'emotional, moving, magical'

"It being the 23rd of June, the day before the fair
When Ireland's sons and daughters and friends all gathered there
The young, the old, the brave and the bold came, their duty to fulfill
The parish church near Clooney, a mile from Spancil Hill."

The emotive lyrics of folk ballad Spancil Hill, in which an Irish emigrant longs for home, took on whole new meaning at a recent landmark gig, as Limerick rapper and spoken word artist Denise Chaila reimagined them in a whole new way.

Chaila's performance was part of Ireland 100: An Old Song Re-Sung, a major gig that took place recently at Dublin’s RDS, which was produced by RTÉ and South Wind Blows to commemorate 100 years of the Irish State.

With over 100 performers involved - including Dermot Kennedy, Damien Dempsey, Tolü Makay and Colm Mac Con Iomaire – some of the highlights will be broadcast in special programmes on RTÉ One and RTÉ Radio 1 tonight, with a full version of the gig available on RTÉ Player.

The premise of the concert is that each contemporary Irish artist involved takes a classic Irish song or spoken word piece and reimagines it. Woven into the show are key themes of Ireland’s 100-year story of achievements, failures, challenges and changes.

"There were people in the audience whose eyes I met who were really, really engaged", Chaila effuses, reflecting on the one-of-a-kind gig. "That doesn’t always happen. The whole show was really emotional and very moving, but there's one verse in Spancil Hill where there was a whole room of people just singing together in a way that was actually quite special.

"There was something magical about watching an older woman to my left-hand side closing her eyes and singing along to Spancil Hill – a song that she has probably grown up singing - and then recontextualizing this song - this story - about my diasporan journey in [another] context."

She put her own stamp on the folk ballad by combining it with her powerful spoken word piece, Dual Citizenship, which deals with the nature of living in Ireland while having a Zambian background. The piece opens with a question Chaila herself has been asked over the years: "But where are you from originally?"

She said, "Dual Citizenship is all about diaspora, and trying to accept belonging and finding home when you sort of feel rejected by a bunch of places."

Of her own connection to Spancil Hill, she says her parents’ home is not far from it, but aside from that, "It was one of the first songs that really made me feel really secure in the Irish diaspora when I travel, because it's about a man who leaves during the famine and he's dreaming about home."

Chaila said she "felt special and humbled" when asked to be part of the Ireland 100 event. "It was really, really wonderful. It was super intimidating. I was sharing a dressing room with Loah and Lisa Hannigan and we had the best chats and I saw people who I haven’t seen in years, maybe since before Covid.

"It’s so lonely if you don't meet with people. This is such a community."

Who else really impressed her on the night? "Oh my God, there was a performance by the London Irish Elders Choir. And it was sincere, it was heartfelt. They were wonderful. They just really reached their hands into my chest and pulled my heart out. It was incredible."

Also: "Tolü Makay did an ode to Sinéad O’Connor that night which is so, so moving. Her voice is so honest."

Also featuring in the concert are Dublin-based metal-trad fusion band The Scratch. Lead vocalist and guitarist Jordan O’Leary spoke to RTÉ.ie just before the band embark on a major Irish, UK and European tour and release their new album, Mind Yourself, this week.

He said, "It was an amazing event. We did a version of The Pogues’ Sally MacLennane.

"It was definitely a different buzz on the night - there was a lot of really beautiful orchestral stuff going on and the house band were amazing. It was unreal."

On how they made the song their own, O’Leary mused, "We actually made it a lot heavier. I'm not sure the organizers were expecting it to go that way!"

"But judging by the cheer we got, I think it was good - but seeing it go out now on TV, that’ll be the first reference to what it was like. We were just so focused on the performance at the time."

O’Leary echoed Chaila’s sentiments on the enormity of the event and the pressure to do it justice. "You’re s*****g yourself to be honest! We were all very nervous. It felt like a very big event.

"It's all being filmed, whole day rehearsals, with around 2000 people in the actual RDS audience. We were definitely a lot more nervous than we would be at one of our own gigs!"

On which acts to watch out for on the night, O’Leary also mentions Tolü Makay, saying she "smashed" her performance, and namechecks John Francis Flynn, saying, "He did a Ewan McColl song and it’s been in my head ever since."

With the combination of the crème de la crème of Irish musicians there and much-loved songs, could a compilation album be in the works?

"The calibre of songs played would make an amazing compilation album for sure," O’Leary finished.

Ireland 100: An Old Song Re-Sung, Monday 30 October, 9.30pm on RTÉ One, RTÉ Player and RTÉ Radio 1.

A full version of the live show will also be available exclusively on RTÉ Player.