THE CELTIC CONNECTION • DECEMBER/JANUARY 1994/1995
Page 7
Exploring Hearts and Minds, We all Share a Pilgrimage
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INTERVIEW By MAURA McCAY REASA O'Driscoll's winter solstice celebration has drawn capacity audiences in Vancouver for the past three years. She has recently toured Europe with Magic of the Celts, a presentation in poetry, song and story, both in the Irish language and in English. I spoke with Treasa and asked her to share a little about her background.
"I was born in the west of Ireland in County Galway. From the age of 11 onwards, I was educated in the Irish language, in a school which was a spawning ground for teachers who were carriers of the Irish cultural tradition. A few such schools were started at the beginning of the century and the last year of their existence was actually the year I graduated, in 1964."
One teacher in particular, Mair-ead Nic Dhonncha, took a special interest in Treasa and encouraged her to sing in the old sean nos style, where the singer is unaccompanied and the melody flows out of poetry.
"When I heard her speak, I was astounded by the beauty of native Irish speech. I felt as though up to that point I hadn't lived in the real Ireland. The sound of the Irish language, spoken by somebody whose first language it was, inducted me into another world which seeded a lifelong interest in the Celtic continuum.
"Many years later, I developed this performance called The Magic of the Celts, where I put the traditional songs into a literary and spiritual context. And I've discovered some interesting things along the way. I would note particularly the prevalence of three features. These are presence, poetry and pilgrimage.
"You will find a lot of speculation as to where the Celts actually originated and I'm not about to enter into that arena of scholarship. I'm more interested in what went on in the mind and the hearts of our ancestors than in the naming of historical facts.
"This is what has led me to discover the three features that are always prevalent. Consider Celtic Christianity, the way it was carried into Europe. The Christ within was the centre of Celtic spirituality as opposed to a God outside or an angry God but the divine within and the seeing of divinity in every person that we meet. The direct presence was known not simply inferred, and this is how I know it myself today.
"The sense of presence also prevailed in terms of work. The antidote for toil is meditation. Meditation in relation to work implies that one is totally present to the task at hand. That's why we have so many occupation songs, because the singing and rhythm helped people to connect with what they were actually doing.
TREASA O'DRISCOLL
"Every encounter we have, even with -people we are familiar with, is an opportunity for learning and increased awareness. There are messages being
passed between people which often constitute signposts along the way.
"We know now that many times we can be engaged in something but our minds can be a hundred miles away. This is part of the split in human beings which leads to other problems.
So, being present also implies being 'in the presence of, whether you see that as a divine presence or not. But it's also being present to a more holistic way of life and is the beginning of health.' That secret is embedded throughout the whole Celtic continuum.
"Poetry was central to life from the very earliest days because poetry is the fruit of inspiration and imagination. The first poem ever recorded goes back to the 500 BC Song of Amergin when our first ancestors, the Milesians, first set foot on Irish soil.
"How something was said was as important as what was said, from earliest times We know that laws, religion, science, everything was taught through verse, the harp being struck to sustain the voice.
man mind had mysterious powers. What somebody said might happen.' It was poets, harpers and judges in that order of merit because the power of the word was so clearly recognized and it's still the same today but we don't acknowledge it and often speak without due consideration for what we are transmitting.
"So each person, who wants to embark on the Celtic way, must bear in mind these aspects of presence, poetry and pilgrimage. Whether we mean going from place to place, actually travelling or in the sense of the Pilgrim's Progress, the inner journey moving from this world to a world yet to come, we're always on a pilgrimage.
"Every encounter we have, even with people we are familiar with, is an opportunity for learning and increased awareness. There are messages being passed between people which often constitute signposts along the way.
Presence, poetry and pilgrimage are at the core of Treasa's upcoming Winter Solstice celebration called Roses for Mary.
"This will be my fourth annual winter solstice event. The winter solstice, which falls on the twenty-first of December, preceded Christmas as a Celtic festival. It focuses on the light in the darkness, which we can identify with readily. We can all experience the light of our own understanding, penetrating the darkness of our ignorance as we go through life.
"In other years I've had a different emphasis but this year I have been working with the motif of the rose. It is the symbol of beauty in many cultures. It has always been the flower that's associated with Mary and also with Aphrodite. I will be reciting various poems which have revealed to me the secret of the rose and recognizing that Mary is like a rose that is forever opening, filling the world with Her fragrance.
"I would like to think that every member of the audience represents a rose for Mary, through each awakened heart. Many hearts are now awakening to the fullness of feeling. That's the only way the heart awakens — through sadness and pain. And on the other side is joy. This is part of everybody's pilgrimage.
"So, the realization of love as a force and as a vibration comes through pain. I would like to think that in the exchange between audience and performers, an actual offering is being made to Mary to acknowledge her part as the force of the divine feminine now at work in the world, bringing about so much change and being the essence of peace."
"The tradition of poetry stretches far back and the power of the word was recognized. This also gave rise to the illuminated manuscripts, their visual splendor had to be commensurate with the Word of God.
"The poet, Novalius, said in the 1800's 'those were the days when words were like magic. The hu-
Treasa O'Driscoll performs Roses for Mary with composer Betsy Hanson and poet-euryth-mist Mary Weber in Victoria on December 17, 18 and 19 and in Vancouver, on December 21. For tickets in Victoria call (604) 595-4232 or (604) 383-3032, in Vancouver, call (604) 737-8858 or (604) 280-3311.
FRIDAY DECEMBER 9TH through MONDAY JANUARY 2nd
CLOSED DECEMBER 25TH
The popular miniature railway f,a, donned rt» festive apparel with
LIGHT! MUSJCI DISPLAYS!
T I M E S
December 9th-16th, 5 PM-9 PM (Weekends 2 PM-9 PM December 17th-janua,y 2nd, 2 PM-9 PM _(Closed December 25th)
Children and Seniors: $1.00 Adults: $2.15 Families: $4.30
BARGAIN DAYS
CHILDREN'S FARMYARD
Open December 17th-January 2nd (Closed December 25) • Wheelchair accessible •
INFORMATION: 257-8531 Family Package
(2 adults and th«lr children, 12 yrt. and under) _Train and Farmyard: $8.00_
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THE MAGIC OF THE CELTS
An Evening of Poetry, Song & Story to Evoke the Celtic Soul with Treasa O'Driscoll
Treasa O'Driscoll draws on a rich oral tradition of poetry, story and
song to demonstrate the fundamentally spiritual outlook of the Celts and its relevance to the consciousness of our time.
"She created an excitement and an Intimacy that transported the audience back tn time to the poetic tradition in Ireland when poets and minstrels entertained tn castle halls."
— Gloucester Dally Times
Magic of the Celts is pUre ritual. Treasa O'Driscoll takes the audience on a journey into another world where people undergo q_ process of transformation.
— Robert Sardello, Author of Facing the World with Soul and Love and the Soul
TREASA ALso OFFERS an experimental one Cr two day workshop entitled The Secret Rose, the way of
presence, poetry and pilgrimage. Between 12-20 participants can be
accommodate^ m this collective exploration of What it is to embody the grail of Celtic legend.
For bookings cmi (604) 266-3434 or write Treasa O'Driscoll c/o #741-9^6 W\ Broadway Vancouver* B.C. V5Z 1K7