'AMACH - into the field', experiencing the stories
A remarkable storytelling project in Co. Leitrim Ireland
There is quite a gap between my ‘Ale House Wives’ series and getting started on my ‘Winter Mischief & Magic’ series, so I went to write an interlude connecting article, but that is taking too long too … so let me tell you what I have been exploring.
I live in Co. Leitrim and there is a young woman here that is an extreme powerhouse for getting people of Co. Leitrim motivated and engaged in reviving and continuing their deep and wonderful seasonal traditions. The ‘conductor of all of this is Edwina Guckian, who’s family has run their traditional Leitrim farm living there in the same home for many generations. Edwina is very deep rotted in Leitrim.
Edwina’s first traditional passion is Sean Nós dancing, an older more traditional and more casual form of Irish Dance that is performed with regular everyday clothes and hair, and for women no need for make-up, really. Edwina has been dancing this since a child. Here is a sample from some of her students on Sheemor fairy hill in Co. Leitrim, that includes a moment of Edwina near the end …
Edwina moved forward with dancing to use it to re-enact local legends, such as the landing of the Tuatha De Dannan in Leitrim
Through the covid lockdown time she became more fascinated with the old Mummers Folk Play traditions of winter, and has motivated the people of Leitrim to re-engaged in this. Every small town and some villages around Co. Leitrim are now active in workshops making the traditional straw helmets and costumes and teaching mumming performance.
Before any costumes are made, the oats need to be grown to provide the straw, and a short video about that … Edwina is not credited here, but she orchestrated this.
And now onto ‘AMACH - into the field’ doors erected in fields, each with a phone number, and visitors listen to the stories related to the ‘townland’ and farm they are standing on, while listening on their phones.
Edwina came up with this idea as a rebuttal against the spreading of monoculture tree plantations through Leitrim. These plantations are usually funded by absent overseas ‘vulture’ investors.
Once a local landowner is enchanted by the immediate cash offer the heritage, traditions, and community of that land, spreading 100s to 1000s of year has gone forever, and the stories start to fade away.
Instead of whipping up marching protests, Edwina with help from ‘Save Leitrim’ ‘Creative Ireland’ and several local farmers, including wonderful storyteller farmer active with the Leitrim Hawthorn Project, Gerry Bohan, set up an ‘exhibition of 21 doors on 21 of the 1000s of townlands of Leitrim.
We were given most of the month of October to visit these doors, phone up the numbers on the sides of them, and listen to the stories while outside on the townland seeing it and sensing it, within what I often quote as ‘clairvoyance of the land’.
Alas after I had only visited 7 of the doors I went down with a virus then pneumonia, that put me out of action for almost 4 weeks, so no more door visiting for me, for awhile.
Towards the end of October, ‘AMACH - to the field’ project was featured on national RTE 9 O’Clock News, plus in national and local newspapers, including interviews with Edwina and local farm door hosts. Demand for visiting the doors soared!
The hosting farmers had already been kind allowing public access for a month and holding back access of their farm animals, for safety. Now, they volunteered to extend the ‘exhibition’ until 21st November, incredible kindness.
This was good news for me, because once recovered I was back on the road visiting these doors and listening to the stories again.
I have now visited 20 of the 21 doors. The 21st is a challenge as I am disabled and that one involves quite a long walk uphill to get to the door. 20 to 30 minutes for a healthy able person, but a whole day for myself to get there and back. There is a good forecast for the last day of this, so I may try the adventure then.
Each one of these doors with stories is incredibly different in style of storytelling and what they are willing to share. Even the stories of the origins of the doors are fascinating.
The subjects in these stories include describing the landscape that is seen from the door. Some history of the townland, farm, and any ruins of buildings. We hear some stories about people from the past, landlords, tenants, owners and past family members.
We hear some farming history of crops once grown and animals read in the past and compared to now. We hear about the local wildlife, and native trees and fauna. We also hear wonderful stories of folklore, especially from the local ‘fairy forts, holy wells, and local people who have ‘the cure’.
You can try this link on Facebook, to get a sampling of some of the stories
‘AMACH - to the field’ door stories sample
I have been posting my own reviews of the stories I visit on my Facebook Profile, but I am slow with that. I think I have covered 14 of the doors then.
On YouTube I have playlist growing featuring my door visit videos, but I am even slower with this, with only 8 doors featured so far, but growing.
From all of the video reviews, and all of the AMACH doors I have visited, to me this is, perhaps, the ‘heart mother’, storytelling door on this AMACH - to the field project.
Derrens, once a working farm, among a community of working farms networked together … now replaced with a big tree plantation, earning for overseas investors. There are still two remaining oaks here, from the days passed …
Edwina passionately and gently explains the motivation behind the whole ‘AMACH - to the field’ project and the passion of the ‘Save Leitrim’ group. I was quite emotionally moved by this visit.
Here is my review video …
You can phone up to hear Edwina tell this story of Derrens at 071 934 4570, then press 8, and for people outside of Ireland +353 71 934 4570, then press 8
During these days when focus on world matters, those horrible wars, that are motivating divisions among our friends, families and our social media contacts. This is focus that is far away from our communities that are around us. Absent owner plantations and corporate developments are what seems to happen when we are busily focused on world events and creating division’s amongst ourselves.
I firmly believe that most of our waking living time should be focused on our local communities, especially the wild waters, native trees, wildlife, and season changes. Also on preserving and celebrating the local folklore that create our understanding, passion, and respect for these things.
And if we do this as community whether our families goes back many generations here, or whether we are recent blow-ins like myself. This is where we live. This is where we love.
Of all of the ‘AMACH - to the field’ doors, to me this Derreens storytelling door is a ‘must visit’, if only to remind us … “what do we truly value?”
I am so impressed with the work done by Edwina! Like Greta Thunberg, it just goes to show us how powerful one person's work can be in influencing the world in a positive way. Thank you so much for your work in documenting this, John. Your passing it along is such a gift.
What a wonderful asset Edwina is to County Leitrim and to Ireland herself! Thank you for telling us about it, John, and for documenting what you experience. I love the video of the Sean Nós dancers and the door storytelling project. Do you know if Edwina is working with people in other Irish counties (Like my County Kerry) to encourage traditional Irish culture?