Geordie Hanna
The Fisher’s Cot
The Hanna Family – no number; 70 minutes; 2002
Geordie Hanna was one of
those singers whose scant recorded output belied the enduring influence of his
singing. Prior to the release of The Fisher’s Cot, the only available
recordings were the 1978 Topic LP On the Shores of Lough Neagh (which
has never been reissued in CD format and also features his sister Sarah Anne
O’Neill) and a cassette (I think) titled Geordie Hanna Sings, released by
the Eagrán label, though he does also feature on several compilations. Thus, The
Fisher’s Cot, released fifteen years after his tragic death in 1987 is a
thoroughly welcome addition to the recorded archives of Northern song. 
The Fisher’s Cot is very much a homemade recording, catching Geordie
singing, recounting tales and being interviewed by Séamus Mac Mathúna on
cassette tapes and the only enhancement made to the original recordings has
been to adjust the sound level. Intriguingly, for those with a knowledge of
Northern Irish history, most of the recordings were made in the house of his
neighbours Bernadette and Michael McAliskey. Bernadette (née Devlin) was a
leading light in the Civil Rights Movement which rose up in the late 1960s
seeking to eradicate political and social inequalities in Northern Ireland.
Famously, she was elected the UK’s youngest ever MP in 1969 and, notoriously,
she assaulted Reginald Maudling, the British Home Secretary, in the House of
Commons in 1972 shortly after the iniquitous events of Bloody Sunday. She did
not stand for re-election in 1974 and, the following year, co-founded the Irish
Republican Socialist Party in 1975. Heavily involved in support for the 1981
IRA hunger strikes, she and Michael survived a UDA attempted assassination that
year.
Bernadette provides a
tribute to Geordie in the liner notes and writes in warm remembrance of her
late friend, particularly about his musical gifts:
Geordie’s reputation as one of the finest traditional singers of our time is beyond dispute. The wealth of the knowledge he possessed is well known, yet he never forgot how he came by a song, he never resented passing it on from him to whoever would use it on again. “He can sing none the best” was as much criticism as the least musical rendering would get from Geordie. I thought it was music to hear him talking. The way he used language was a gift in itself. And it was a gift he never abused. Geordie could tell you yarns, relate everyday events with a phrase or saying that was never said before and nobody could repeat to the same effect.
The closing sentence of that
paragraph is worth bearing in mind when listening to Geordie’s singing style.
Ron Kavana has referred to this as “the most gentle and seductive style of
traditional singing I have ever recorded”[1]
while John Moulden put his finger exactly on the button by describing how the
effectiveness of his singing derived from his “breaking up of the tune and
words into short phrases delivered with great force”[2].
Fintan Vallely has also remarked on Geordie’s “memorably intense engagement
with the actual songs themselves – their subjects, their stories, their
personalities and action. For him they were full of information and mystery.”[3]
Such eloquent unanimity from
such disparate sources cannot possibly be ignored and the sheer length of The
Fisher’s Cot and the breadth of its contents offer ample scope for
exploring the subtleties of the Hanna repertoire. On the evidence of the
nineteen songs collected here, that repertoire was expansive and drew upon
songs learnt both locally and on his and Sarah Anne’s travels to festivals
around Ireland. It encompassed songs known throughout Ireland and further
afield (Paddy’s Green Shamrock Shore, Green Fields of America, The
Flower of Street Strabane) alongside less familiar material learnt from
sources as varied as Cathal McConnell (The Shores of Lough Bran) and the
Keane sisters (The Month of January). Most importantly, however, it was
firmly rooted in the songs of his locality (the countryside around his
birthplace of Derrytresk on the Tyrone shore of Lough Neagh).
So, On Yonder Hill
came from his father Joe, while The Tidy Thatch Cottage, Erin’s Lovely Home
and The Lisburn Lasses were learnt from Jimmy Robinson from Maghery. Two
songs, Brocagh Brae and The Emigrant derived from the pen of John
Canavan from Ardboe, a place whose praises Geordie sings on Old Arboe,
learnt from his neighbour Dan McCann (though said eulogy fails to mention the
mayflies that plague the area in Spring!).
It is an enthralling
collection and the impact of Geordie’s singing is readily accessible despite
the presence of tape hiss and the occasional background noise. More to the
point, it thoroughly emphasizes the quiet certainty, the overriding intimacy of
Geordie’s singing and, unquestionably, merits its place in any song lover’s
collection.
This is an original review by Geoff Wallis.
Unfortunately, the liner does not
give details of a contact website or email address, though Claddagh had copies of the CD when I last
visited Dublin. Should tracking down a copy of the CD prove difficult the liner
includes a contact telephone number – please email for details.