At The End Of The Day - Background
At The End Of The Day - The Musical is based on real events, however, it should not be considered a true representation of actual persons, events or time scale,
which may have been altered for dramatic effect. Below is background information encountered while I was researching the drama.
Inspiration
After Caisleáin Óir, the story of the Bruckless drownings, which I first heard about when I was very young, became the obvious choice for my next musical project.
I knew that there wasn't enough of a story for a full musical, but as I watched Nora Kavanagh telling the story of the patchwork quilt 'Love Across The Waves' by Arranmore
and Tir Boghaine Women's Groups on Joe Mahon's "Lesser Spotted Ulster" TV programme, I quickly realised that I could tie the two stories together, and
At The End Of The Day - The Musical was born.
About The Name
Although the musical went under many working titles, "At The End Of The Day" was finally settled upon, mainly because most of the action takes place at the end of the day; the boats heading out to fish in Bruckless Bay, MPs meeting in the House of Parliament, Matthew and Nuala's first meeting, Ceilis in Nuala's sister's house, and especially Nuala's favourite time of day, at the end of the day, when the sun in the sky meets the sea.
Coincidentally, nowadays, the phrase "at the end of the day" can often be heard during political debates and interviews on radio and television, for example, "there is a lot of work that needs to be done, but, at the end of the day, it won't be done unless it is properly funded."
The Bruckless Drownings
On February 11th, 1813, a large number of open sailing boats were fishing herring in Bruckless Bay when a sudden violent storm drove them onto the rocks
around St. John's Point. Most records state that 42 men were lost leaving 30 widows and 102 children. This figure originates from a report on the storm by
Rev. Edward Stopford, the Anglican rector of Killybegs, yet other eyewitness reports state that up to 80 men were drowned, the vast majority of them coming
from the areas of Kilcar, Teelin and Malinbeg. A death toll of this magnitude makes the disaster the worst fishing loss and the second worst peacetime
maritime disaster in Irish recorded history being only topped by the sinking of the MV Princess Victoria in 1953 in which 133 people perished.
Many authors then and since ascribed a supernatural cause - local author T.C. McGinley recounted a folk tale that the storm was brewed up by a witch performing incantations over a basin.
She was wreaking revenge for being scorned by the fishermen.
(Extract from an article in Donegal Annual 2012 by Aidan McConnell)
On the night of the 11-12th of February 1813 a Great Drownings occurred at Bruckless Bay and as many as 400-500 Herring Fishermen from Inver to Loughros Point were drowned.
The Teelin-Kilcar area was the worst hit. ("There were 90 widows on the two sides of Teelin Bay", I heard the late Conall (Darby) McShane say!)
(Extract from a research document by Seosamh Ua Gallchobhair from Teelin in 2008)
Tarrach
Tarrach, the 'spirit' that Biddy Devenney calls upon while she performs incantations over the basin of water, is a made up character, loosely based on St. Asicus.
St. Asicus, also called Ascicus and Tassach, is the patron saint of the Diocese of Elphin. The patron saint of coppersmiths, St. Asicus is buried at the top of a field between Donegal Town and Ballyshannon near Ballintra. He was a skilled coppersmith and silversmith, and his copper work can be seen on the shamrock patterned beaten brass altar screen in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Sligo. He was one of the earliest of St. Patrick's disciples, and after St. Patrick established the diocese of Elphin in County Roscommon, circa. 450 AD, he appointed Asicus as its first bishop. He was later Abbot-Bishop of Ireland.
It is said that he was a humble man and often troubled by thoughts that he was not worthy of his high office in the Church. He left Roscommon and travelled to Rathlin O'Beirne Island in Donegal Bay where he resigned his office and became a hermit, living for a while at the top of Sliabh Liag (Slieve League) along the area called The Pilgrim's Way.
He remained there for seven years until he was found by the monks of Elphin who persuaded him to return to Elphin with them. However, he was not in good health and died on the journey back to Elphin (circa. 490 AD). He is buried where he died, near the village of Ballintra between Ballyshannon and Donegal Town in County Donegal. His feast day is the 27th of April.
You can find his grave along the road from Ballyshannon to Donegal Town, just before the turnoff to Rossnowlagh, at a place called Racoon.
In local folklore, it is said that when St. Asicus left Rathlin O'Beirne island, he prophesied that if the island was ever left uninhabited,
there would be three boats lost soon afterwards. Some 1,500 years later, following automation of the lighthouse on Rathlin O'Beirne island,
the last inhabitants of the island, the lighthouse keepers, were withdrawn from the station at the end of September 1974, and subsequently,
fishing boats, the Evelyn Mari in 1975, the Carraig Una in 1976 and the Skifjord in 1981 were lost, not far from the island.
This prophecy is referred to in an RTE programme "Disasters" by a local man who was interviewed after the second fishing boat was lost.
He said "The Saint that was here, Saint Asicus, said when he left the rock, he left the island here, that if it was ever uninhabited,
that there would be three boats lost very close to the uninhabitation of it. You must believe it now, there's two gone already!".
(https://youtu.be/AbVOIwN2pyI?t=11m7s)
Five years later, St. Asicus's prophecy was fulfilled.
Coincidently, a radar beacon operated by solar power was established at Rathlin O'Birne Lighthouse on 27 January 1994, with the callsign (Racon),
and code identification Morse 'O' - the same letters as the place that St. Asicus is buried (Racoon).
St. Asicus may have correctly predicted the sinking of three vessels, however, he would not have caused their sinking. The made up character,
Tarrach (Tassach with Rs instead of Ss), is powerful enough to cause a storm that would sink them,
and is more like the character 'Prospero' in William Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest'.
Donegal Members of Parliament
Donegal was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning two Members of Parliament (MPs) between 1801 and 1885. Established in the year 1801 by the "Acts of Union 1800", the constituency comprised the whole of County Donegal. In 1885, it was divided into separate constituencies of East Donegal, North Donegal, South Donegal and West Donegal. They were abolished in 1922.
The Failing of Roche's and Leslie's Banks
The economic downturn following the end of the Napoleonic wars brought sharp repercussions to the Irish banking sector.
By 1820 the number of private banks in Ireland had fallen to 20, which was about half of those in existence in 1804.
A particularly dramatic difficulty developed during May 1820 with the failure of Roche's Bank in Cork,
a crisis subsequently followed by credit problems at Leslie's Bank in the same city. Within a few months,
the financial contagion had spread across Munster and into south Leinster. Towards the end of 1820,
the thorny issue of extending financial support to a weakening Leslie's Bank occupied senior officials and politicians.
Writing to Nicholas Vansittart, Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary noted in confidence that the application by Leslie's Bank
for parliamentary relief "is very strong, as it is a most honourable house, guarded by the best possible Securities "On these and other grounds I am for the grant.
But I ought to add that the Lord Lieutenant and Mr [William] Gregory are strongly against it" (CSO/RP/1820/861).
Jumping Sprat
Sprats are highly active, small oily fish. They travel in large schools with other fish, and swim continuously throughout the day.
I witnessed this as a youth on one occassion, while rod fishing at Cassan Sound on Saint John's Point, near Dunkineely,
a shoal of larger fish chased sprats so far inshore that the sprats had no option but to jump onto the beach or rocks in order to escape their chasers.
One local rod fisherman on the rocks near the pier, with sprats out of the water jumping around him, catching a mackerel or pollock with almost every cast -
filling two "10-10-20" hundredweight bags in less than an hour.
Fair Days in Dungloe
Fair days were held in Dungloe on the 4th of each month. A day at the fair was an exciting event, a break from the incessant struggle for existence.
And it didn't cost much. The passage from the island to the mainland was free, and the five mile journey from Burtonport to Dungloe was made on bare feet.
Shoes were discarded, tied together, and thrown across the shoulder at Burtonport, and when the travellers reached the outskirts of the town,
they washed their feet in a roadside stream and donned their shoes once more.
It must have been a painful enough journey because the roads were not tarred; they were surfaced instead with knapped stones that were not even rolled.
However, at the end of the journey there would be lashing of "tay", white bread (loaf), butter and red jam to be had in one of the "aetin houses" for the
princely sums of fourpence (in old currency). And you could buy biscuits that someone described as being "almost as large as the harvest moon" for a
halfpenny each and sugar-sticks as thick as a man's wrist, and sugar candy. Who could ask for more?
But the best entertainment was at the stalls (or stannins, as they were called) where articulate "stannin men" eulogised their wares and
amused their listeners with funny yarns.
"Arranmore Links" by Barney and Aidan Gallagher.
Wine at St. Patrick's Purgatory
"I was considerably surprised when, upon my remarking, that with only one meal of bread and water in twenty four hours, the pilgrims must become faint.
The woman with whom I was speaking said "Oh no the wine revives us and gives us strength."
"Wine!", said I, "then you have wine, who pays for the wine?"
"Oh" said she, "it costs nothing, but I see your honour doesn't understand." And then she explained to me the pleasant contrivance by which the
pilgrims are regaled with wine free of expense to them or anybody else. The water of the lake is boiled and being blessed is called wine and it
is given to the faint and greedy pilgrims as hot as they are able to swallow it. One of the women shewed me her lips covered with blisters
from the heat of the wine she had drunk and I no longer doubted of the fillip it must give to
one's sensations to have some half boiling water poured into an empty stomach I was assured the effect was wonderful and I well believed it."
Ireland in 1834: A Journey Throughout Ireland, During the Spring ..., Volume 2
By Henry David Inglis
The Signal Towers
Construction of the signal station at Glen Head and a number of others in Donegal was overseen by Major-General Sir Charles Ross, and the engineer involved may have been Sir William Smith, who was responsible for a number of the Donegal signal towers. Construction began at Glen Head in 1804 and was completed by September 1806.
The structure at Glen Head is one of upwards of eighty such buildings that were constructed along the west, south, south-east and north-west coastlines of Ireland by British authorities between 1804 and 1806 in reaction to the various French invasion attempts in the 1790s, particularly the 1798 French landing at Killala in County Mayo. Signal towers were generally built to the same plan, although some slight regional variations are found. They worked on a signalling system using ball and flag methods, where various messages could be transmitted from station to station, quickly raising the alarm in case of the sighting of enemy vessels and fleets etc. A fifty foot mast was positioned on the seaward side of the signal tower where the flags and balls would be hoisted so that the next signal tower could see the message and pass it on to the adjacent one and so forth. In order to cut construction costs etc., signal towers are, as a rule, located on high ground with a clear line of sight over the sea and to the neighbouring towers to either side (in this case Malin Beg to the south and Dawross Head to the north-east). Therefore, the presence of a signal tower guarantees spectacular views and situations, as is the case at Glen Head. Following The Royal Navy's (under Nelson) victory over the French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, the threat of invasion diminished substantially, and by 1809 the decision was made to abandon the signal towers that are dotted along the Irish coastline.
King George's Stockings
According to "The Travellers New Guide Through Ireland" by John Cumming, published in 1815, "King George the fourth is said to have always worn stockings from the Rosses.
Little tufts of wool left on sheep after shearing - to appease the fairies/wee folk who would be displeased if the entire fleece were taken."
German Waltzing
Shocking many when it was first introduced, the waltz became fashionable in Vienna around the 1780s, spreading to many other countries in the years to follow. During the Napoleonic Wars, infantry soldiers of the King's German Legion introduced the dance to the people of Bexhill, Sussex, England from 1804.
It became fashionable in Britain during the Regency period, having been made respectable by the endorsement of Dorothea Lieven, wife of the Russian ambassador.
Diarist Thomas Raikes later recounted that "No event ever produced so great a sensation in English society as the introduction of the waltz in 1813".
Influential dance master and author of instruction manuals, Thomas Wilson published "A Description of the Correct Method of Waltzing" in 1816.
The waltz, and especially its closed position, became the example for the creation of many other ballroom dances.
Making Matches
Matchmaking was commonplace in Donegal during the early 1800s. Indeed, 90-95% of marriages were arranged by both sets of parents.
They would sit up the whole night, talking over the terms, drinking whiskey and smoking tobacco. When the match was agreed, a day was appointed for the marriage,
and the priest would be booked.
Typhus
Typhus is caused by Rickettsia prowazekii and spread by body lice from person to person. It causes headaches, chills, high fever and rash.
It can remain viable in dead lice for weeks. Also known as 'Jail fever' Typhus was common in the impoverished communities of west Donegal
in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. (https://www.tcd.ie/medicine/tercentenary/alumni/dr-william-smyth.php)
A major epidemic occurred in Ireland between 1816 and 1819, during the famine caused by a worldwide reduction in temperature in 1816.
This temperature reduction was caused by the dust from the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), and 1816 became known as the "Year Without a Summer".
An estimated 100,000 Irish perished. Typhus appeared again in the late 1830s, and yet another major typhus epidemic occurred during the Great Irish Famine between 1846 and 1849.
The Irish typhus spread to England, where it was sometimes called "Irish fever" and was noted for its virulence.
It killed people of all social classes, as lice were endemic and inescapable, but it hit particularly hard in the lower or "unwashed" social strata. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhus)
Communications during the early 1800s
Communications as we know it, was practically non-existent during the early 1800s. Radio waves had not been discovered yet, and sending a message by post would have been slow,
if affordable. News of tragic events, such as the Bruckless Drownings, would have taken four or five days to reach Dublin, by which time it would probably have been deemed 'old news'.
Reduction of Excise Duties during the 1820s
The Irish Still Fines Bill was enacted to prevent illicit distillation. Fines were imposed for offences of illicit distillation on townlands and baronies, and County Grand Juries were directed to foot half of the expenses of the extraordinary police that had been established by one of the acts. They seized property, forcing open houses, and indulging in all descriptions of violence.
According to General George Vaughan Hart, the still fines law had introduced poverty, demoralization, and misery, into a part of the country where they were previously comparatively unknown. He understood that since the crown land fining system had recommenced, 25,000 persons had embarked at Derry for America; and that preparations were now going on there which induced people to think the number would be greatly increased. The effect of the existing law was to produce a total change in the character of many of the inhabitants of the north of Ireland. He complained that there was nothing in Ireland but a system of punishment. In Ireland, the people knew nothing of the law but its severity.
https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1819/jun/29/irish-still-fines-billopen_in_new
https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1820/jun/07/irish-still-fines-bill#S2V0001P0_18200607_HOC_6open_in_new
https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1820/jul/14/irish-distillery-acts#S2V0002P0_18200714_HOC_17open_in_new
https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1819/may/20/illicit-distillation-in-irelandopen_in_new