'What a sight to behold': All-night festival in Co Cork pays tribute to Seán Ó Riada
Composer Peadar Ó Riada and his daughter Ruth standing next to the a statue of Seán Ó Riada in Séipéal Ghobnatan, Cúil Aodha. Picture: Dan Linehan
As dawn breaks on an overcast day in July 2011, Ruth Ní Riada is standing in a field in Cúil Aodha. Mist is rising from the river and through the stillness a French horn sounds the emotive opening notes of her grandfather’s Mise Éire, an outdoor orchestra swelling to a stirring crescendo on a stage by the banks of the Sullane.
“When Mise Éire was being played it was very cloudy but as soon as they started playing, a small hole appeared in the clouds and the sun shone down on the stage,” recalls Ruth. “It was just surreal. You’d look back on it and think, did that actually happen or did I imagine it?”
