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THERE IS A moment in every production where you wonder exactly why you’re doing it, when you ask yourself just what is the point of it at this precise moment in time?
The air vibrates with this big dirty ‘Why?” and the question can loom even larger and dirtier when you have been mad enough to think that you can conceive, write and perform in the piece.
The talent of collaborators helps of course, and I am particularly blessed in that regard, working with Adam Gibney, Louise Lewis, Ella Clarke, Veronica Dyas, Niall Toner and Les Keye.
But the nagging question persists, and while you want to discuss it with the rest of the team, you don’t want to derail the train with doubt, so really your only choice is to keep going despite the internal questions, despite the wondering.
Last weekend was a moment like that for me. I questioned the whole enterprise. And just as I was thinking – I will ring Kris Nelson at Tiger Fringe and tell him thank you very much it was really nice of him to include Eating Seals and Seagulls’ Eggs in the programme but that it would probably be best, for all involved, if we somehow could just not do the show – my phone rang.
Self-discovery
It was a scholar that I had contacted about the show, to see if he had the time to chat and perhaps to get a quote from him. I had heard him speak the year before and he had mentioned Peig in his lecture. He was delighted he said, to get the email. And that whatever he could do he would do. He talked about the need to challenge orthodoxies. He talked about how the meandering interconnectedness and rich imagery of Peig’s stories offer meaning and self-discovery, ideal for nurturing creativity and innovation.
How tradition is not some dead artefact but a living resource which helps us rediscover our history in order to shape our future. How tradition represents a valuable asset that can foster that very creativity.
This was not a Celtic Scholar or an Irish language Scholar, but a Doctor of Business Studies and Enterprise and his assertion was that to deny Peig is to deny ourselves the opportunity to develop an innovative self-reliant Ireland, a unique and cosmopolitan nation that is properly able to compete in a turbulent global economy.
He believes no country can be truly innovative if people do not know who they are, where they are from and where they are trying to go.
‘The most hated woman in Irish history’
And that of course, was my starting point. Peig, the most hated woman in Irish history, is really a reflection of us. In the true sense she represents the complexity of us and she challenges us to examine and celebrate who we are. The Sayers family were Protestant Cromwellian landed genrty whose descendent ended up being one of the most famous storytellers in Europe in a language they wouldn’t originally have spoken.
She was literate in English but illiterate, in the “pen and paper” sense in Irish. She is hated and adored and she could be simultaneously funny, irreverent, pious.
Looking at my own bilingualism through this extraordinary prism it helped explode it out and stopped me making bald statements or hard and fast decisions. I began to look at what it was to be bilingual after having been racially abused on the 123 bus for speaking Irish, by an Irishwoman, in her sixties.
She shouted very loudly, that it was my fault that no Irish people had jobs and that it was the likes of me that was taking them off them and that it was because of me that her daughter couldn’t get work and that I should go back to where I came from. And then she got up from the seat beside me and moved away.
Verbally attacked for speaking Irish… in Ireland
I had been verbally attacked for speaking Irish in Ireland. It was really a very odd experience and it made me reflect on many things about us and our society and I thought ‘I just have to look at this’. Being a theatre maker I thought the best place to do that was in the theatre.
The piece is a mediation. It’s a contemplation. It’s a wondering about us. And where we are and where we might be going.
I hope Eating Seals and Segulls’ Eggs will be beautiful and stimulating to look at, to listen to, to watch. I hope it will create a world of it’s own. And I hope too that the audience will find it occasionally funny and that they will enjoy their time in the theatre with us.
Eating Seals and Seagulls’ Eggs is on in the Project Arts Centre, Cube as part of the Dublin Fringe Festival from 14-20 September at 9pm. Tickets are from €11. More details can be found here>>
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Madness! Life saving services should be the last to get cut. I’d rather see TD’s on 52 grand a year(1000 euro a week with no expenses is still too much). There is still too much fat to be trimmed before cutting what is really needed. What idiots are coming up with this rubbish!
I think this would be terrible. The fire brigade do such a good job, if they have no overtime then the incentive to do extra shifts is lost leaving them short staffed most of the time. This could possibly result in fires not being attended to or worse, lives could be lost.
Agreed,
If they aren’t going to pay them overtime how are they going to fill the needed hours?
Are they going to guilt trip them into it? "lives could be lost if you don’t do the late shift tonight"
There’s plenty of other places costs could be cut before these guys/girls.
@ Ray Boyse. In DFB we have met with EVERY concession that has been asked of us. We have already reduced manning levels on certain appliances and in other roles. Our training centre which is now being closed, has been run with a skeleton staff for months now. Training had more or less ceased anyway as essential upskilling and refresher courses had been cancelled or postponed. People have given out about benchmarking and pay increases over the years, which in fact only really mirrored the rate of inflation. In return we upskilled regularly (in that I mean we are delivering more primary care through the use of different medications on the ambulance, using new and more effective equipment) and we are also delivering more services on the Fire & Rescue side of things. Since then we have received what amounts to more than a 20% pay cut yet we are still expected to deliver the same service. You may argue that we are lucky to have a job but a job in the Emergency Services should be seen as a job for life. We didn’t benefit greatly from the Celtic Tiger, we didn’t get bonuses, our pay increases simply matched inflation and anyway in that time we all upskilled. We work nights, weekends, bank holidays, Christmas and New Year, we get abuse, verbal and physical and we are prepared to put our lives on he line to protect life and limb. In return for that we expect to be modestly remunerated and not vilified for taking a job that is secure. Our budgets have already been cut substantially and the reason that the service has remained the same is because WE HAVE MADE IT WORK. We are constantly making suggestions to make the service better value. There is no actual logical mathematical calculation in reducing our budgets, it is simply a blunt initiative simply because money has to be saved.
A sobering thought for you all. Firefighter deaths in the UK Fire Service were ZERO for the years 1996 to 2002. Following cutbacks in their service this figure increased to THIRTEEN for the years 2003 to 2007. Not to mention the risks it will pose to the general public and their property. These cuts will end up COSTING more money, not saving it.
Minister have 7.5 million in expences last year the fire service short fall this year 1.4. Next year is 4.4 million. That is still less than ministers expenses. One man one vote mister kenny one one term
agree wiyh you paul – just as bad in retained stations – callouts are being screened, refresher courses at a standtill, this years income barely on par with 2001 levels. You will find that many firefighters with long service will retire and will not be replaced – leaving stations understaffed and no experienced personel
Within the ranks of Dublin Fire Brigade, there are numerous staff with a host of 3rd level degrees and qualifications. We provide the services within our working day for more than money. The provision of Fire and Emergency ambulance services in Dublin is second to none in Europe. The proposed cuts will effect only one group of people, namely, you, the public. Various proposals have been put to management within Dublin Fire Brigade and Dublin city council. They have been largely ignored, leaving us where we are today, on the verge of a reduction in the services we provide to you, the public. Overtime is there to facilitate sick or injured Firefighters, Paramedics, and advanced paramedics within the service. If there is no overtime, there is no staff to cover illness, injuries and unforseen leave that happens in all employment, especially one as stressfull and phyically demanding as this. If we have no overtime to cover this leave then Fire appliances and ambulances will be withdrawn from service as there will be no staff to crew them. In Germany the fire service is partially funded by the insurance industry. We do after all limit their liability with regard to payout, as we save the property they insure. In every county in the Irish Republic the local authority charge all users of the fire service for services rendered. This charge is taken from house insurance, car insurance etc. which you pay for. In Dublin Business are charged for call outs. If the city council refuses to charge for services, how can they pay the people that provide those services?? They are after all business people. The members of Dublin Fire Brigade do not regared what we do as a business, we regard it as a necessity. Our business is looking after people. Who looks after us and our families? There is a ban on recruitment within our service. Training of Firefighter/Paramedics in Dublin can be achieved in 2 years, however it takes years of experience to make a multi functional individual in this service of true value. Experience is haemorrhaging from the ranks as members retire, and these have not been replaced. As public servants allow us to do our job to the best of our ability, after all, we serve you.
Why is it always frontline services that get hammered?
@ Ray Boyse.
Can you honestly justify the wastage that exists at government level, the endless billions being pumped into the black hole that is the the banking sector and actually agree with a cut in funding of front line emergency budgets ?We’ve already saved 3.5 million through CPA, remember our staff level is only 900. This is a sad fact but people only ever realise what or how much we do when they need us. We’re not looking for superstar status or bonuses or anything like that, all we ask is for proper recognition of the work we do, some respect and a somewhat decent living, surely we’re entitled to the above considering the daily risk we take and the sacrifice of family time that comes with working nights/weekends/holidays etc etc. We were promised ‘ring fencing’ of emergency budgets, it hasn’t happened. Millions would be saved if they nationalised the whole service, as numerous reports have recommended but they won’t because it will massively reduce the amount of senior management. As Mr Brennan already states we make an unworkable system work ! If your not convinced or anyone else out there needs convincing, come join us for a night of two or a weekend. You’ll soon realise, the system that we do make work is a very delicate one at that…take care.
Well said Donal…. Put in such a way that sums up emergency service workers’ reasonings and mind set…. And hopefully any open minded private sector or politician reading it will empathise
God bless all the front line civil servants. You do a great job. Thank you all.
Ive Read all comments Donal .. Fair play , well written ..it’s Unfortunate that a lot of the public buy into government/ media propaganda , without realising these cuts will severely effect them , the taxpayer !!
Minister have 7.5 million in expences last year the fire service short fall this year 1.4. Next year is 4.4 million. That is still less than ministers expenses. One man one vote mister kenny one term
if we had anything like the riots in Uk we’d be in serious trouble. What about those 70 days a year some public servants were looking for to prepare for retirement. Couldn’t they be donated for the betterment of our country. When will we all realise we are all one?
seems to me, like the majority of public sector organisations, DFB is top heavy, Too many chiefs and not enough indians. The Firefighters are getting it in the neck at the moment and it’s only set to get worse. If only people could see the real conditions faced daily, and I’m not talking about the job itself I’m talking about the lack of support and respect given to the DFB frontline. The waste ALL happens way up the line, decisions made by people who have no real experiance or understaning of what is required but refuse to ask those who do. a managment system that ridicules it’s workforce for their, hard earned, annual leave while same managment have double this time!
come on people, wake up and smell the coffee, it’s only propaganda that the frontline have it easy. that’s what they want you to believe, it takes the heat and distracts from the fact that the top end of the public sector is still milking the last few Euro while they still can, and yet this is where the least amount of change has occured.
I reckon it’s gonna take some sort of disaster to show how mismanaged the fire services and hospitals are, then the public will be up in arms about ‘how was this allowed to happen?’ well the answer is because you allowed it to happen!
they’ve done all the tests, they know what needs to be done but they refuse to do it!
I agree with everything above. But wouldn’t it be great if the DFB or SIPTU could come up with some solutions rather than drawing lines in the sand. Budgets are there for a reason – when they’re overrun, the taxpayer pays. What has the Croke park agreement delivered here? Are there opportunities? Maybe not, but it would be great to see a balanced assessment & some constructive ideas. We need our fire brigade. We need to reduce the budget deficit..
I couldn’t agree more or have said it better than most of the previous comments, sadly this is the same all through the Public Service, many of the public believe the lies they’re fed by the media and politicians that everyone is earning almost a grand a week (nowhere near it, unfortunately) and we do sweet damn all work (try it and see for yourself). All we ever hear is “benchmarking” but, as Donal explained wonderfully, the whole purpose of benchmarking was to keep our wages in line with inflation. We have all met with the demands of the Croke Park Agreement, and more, so much so that despite what the politicans say about the continued moratorium and they’re still looking for reduced numbers in the Public Service through natural wastage etc we’re now in a situation where we don’t have enough numbers. Hospitals don’t have enough nurses, don’t talk about doctors, Templemore is now basically closed and gardai numbers are plummeting, we’ve just seen how bad the Fire Service is. How bad does it have to get? Several hospitals have indicated that they’re budgets are going to run out in October and the Minister has already clearly said they won’t be getting any more money so a conflict is looming, some fire stations have around the country have indicated they may have to close at nights and go “on call” to save money. Do fires not happen at night? Maybe we’ll see agencies appear to fill the gap, they’ll supply agency firemen, gardai and nurses… oh wait they already supply agency nurses, not much of a leap then is it?
have your say