Racontour Archive 2008 - 2019

S1 Ep9: D1 YC Parkes Castle and Wild Rose waterbus

Non Yeats POI: Parkes Castle. GPS location 54.264611, -8.33396  [http://www.google.com/maps/place/54.264611,%20-8.33396%20] A restored plantation castle of the early 17th century, picturesquely situated on the shores of Lough Gill, once the home of Robert Parke and his family. The Courtyard grounds contain evidence of an earlier 16th century Tower House structure once owned by Sir Brian O'Rourke who subsequently was executed at Tyburn, London in 1591. The Castle has been restored using Irish oak and traditional craftsmanship. Access for visitors with disabilities to ground floor.  Next to the castle is the Wild Rose waterbus which takes you out on Lough Gill. George McGoldrick is your affable host on this one hour trip. It sails daily at 12.30, 3.30, 4.30 and 6.30, but check in advance lest there be a change of plan - Mobile:tel:+353872598869 Opening Hours: 9th April - 30th Sept: Daily 10.00 - 18.00 Last admission 45 minutes before closing   Average Length of Visit:  1 Hour DIRECTIONS: This is the last proper stop off on Day One of the tour. If heading back in to Sligo, take a left after the car park and we'll have some poetry for you along the way.

S1 Ep8: D1 YC Dromahair

Non Yeats P.O.I. Dromahair. GPS location 54.220799, -8.297467 [http://www.google.com/maps/place/54.220799,%20-8.297467] Dromahair lies in the hilly north west of Leitrim amid some stunning unspoiled natural landscapes. The "Sleeping Giant" mountain formation (comprising Keelogyboy, Leean and Benbo) is visible on approaches to the village, as is Lough Gill below the Slieve Dae?ne and Killerry mountain. The village itself is also idyllic, located on the banks of the River Bonet, which flows into Lough Gill. Much of Dromahair was modelled on a village in Somerset by the Earl of Leitrim, and the central streetscape still follows the pattern set down by him. Looking for a good lunch before getting the waterbus in the afternoon? Try the The Riverbank Restaurant. Stay on the R287 by taking a right coming into Dromahair - the restaurant is on the left and is marked on the map. It has a full licence and is open from Friday to Sunday. Evening meals are from 6.30 pm to 10 pm and Sunday Lunch from 12.30 to 3.00 pm.Bar [http://pm.Bar] Food is Served, daily from 12.30 to 9pm The poem Sean quotes in the audio piece is from Yeats's 1893 collection, The Rose: - The Man Who Dreamed Of Faeryland He stood among a crowd at Dromahair; His heart hung all upon a silken dress, And he had known at last some tenderness, Before earth took him to her stony care; But when a man poured fish into a pile, It Seemed they raised their little silver heads, And sang what gold morning or evening sheds Upon a woven world-forgotten isle Where people love beside the ravelled seas; That Time can never mar a lover's vows Under that woven changeless roof of boughs: The singing shook him out of his new ease. He wandered by the sands of Lissadell; His mind ran all on money cares and fears, And he had known at last some prudent years Before they heaped his grave under the hill; But while he passed before a plashy place, A lug-worm with its grey and muddy mouth Sang that somewhere to north or west or south There dwelt a gay, exulting, gentle race Under the golden or the silver skies; That if a dancer stayed his hungry foot It seemed the sun and moon were in the fruit: And at that singing he was no more wise. He mused beside the well of Scanavin, He mused upon his mockers: without fail His sudden vengeance were a country tale, When earthy night had drunk his body in; But one small knot-grass growing by the pool Sang where - unnecessary cruel voice - Old silence bids its chosen race rejoice, Whatever ravelled waters rise and fall Or stormy silver fret the gold of day, And midnight there enfold them like a fleece And lover there by lover be at peace. The tale drove his fine angry mood away. He slept under the hill of Lugnagall; And might have known at last unhaunted sleep Under that cold and vapour-turbaned steep, Now that the earth had taken man and all: Did not the worms that spired about his bones proclaim with that unwearied, reedy cry That God has laid His fingers on the sky, That from those fingers glittering summer runs Upon the dancer by the dreamless wave. Why should those lovers that no lovers miss Dream, until God burn Nature with a kiss? The man has found no comfort in the grave.

S1: Welcome to Yeats Country

Tour curator John Ward welcomes listeners about to embark on a range of sites that inspired a young Yeats to conjure up his Celtic Twilight. All of the well-known sites, plus a few non-Yeats treats are included culminating in a visit to Yeats's grave at Drumcliffe.  Please see the dedicated Yeats page https://www.racontour.com/yeats/ [https://www.racontour.com/yeats/] which has an overview of what the ful tour entails including pointers on the planning of the route over three days. To really get the most out of this guide though, you need to listen to it on our Yeats Country Guide playlist on Spotify where the stories are combined with songs: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7MFBdeOsoiScwyxo0zVty9?si=98c7331a3bad4451 [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7MFBdeOsoiScwyxo0zVty9?si=98c7331a3bad4451] Assuming you are doing so, after this audio piece, we have The Waterboy's epic version of a Celtic Twilight poem from the 1899 collection, The Wind amongst the Reeds: - The Hosting Of The Sidhe The host is riding from Knocknarea And over the grave of Clooth-na-Bare; Caoilte tossing his burning hair, And Niamh calling Away, come away: Empty your heart of its mortal dream. The winds awaken, the leaves whirl round, Our cheeks are pale, our hair is unbound, Our breasts are heaving our eyes are agleam, Our arms are waving our lips are apart; And if any gaze on our rushing band, We come between him and the deed of his hand, We come between him and the hope of his heart. The host is rushing 'twixt night and day, And where is there hope or deed as fair? Caoilte tossing his burning hair, And Niamh calling Away, come away. You'll have noticed Mick changed some of the lines around, but if someone is going to tamper with the master, let it be Mick! Besides, it was artistic licence. we love how he turned the opening lines into the chorus. It also made for the most perfect opening track as we ask you to come away with us on our epic tour of Yeats Country.   An Appointment with Mr Yeats, the Waterboys album of WB Yeats poems-become-songs first released in 2011, was recently remixed and remastered with six previously unreleased bonus tracks. It was released in late May 2022. Highlights of it feature throughout the playlist, including Steve Wickham's rendering of Come Gather Round Me, Parnellites which features straight after a visit to Connolly's where Parnell had been in Sligo.  Says Mike Scott: "I remixed the Yeats album during the 2020 lockdown, using all the skills I picked up while making the last several Waterboys records. Then it was mastered by my colleague Don Jackson. I'm thrilled with how it's come out. Not distractingly different, but fuller and richer, more powerful." No word of a lie, Mike!

S2 Ep9: D2 YC Rosses Point

Rosses Point GPS Location: 54.304105, -8.561783 [http://www.google.com/maps/place/54.304105%20-8.561783]  Yeats loved Rosses Point and first experimented with the paranormal here, encouraged by his cousin's housekeeper who had the ˜second sight'. Today excellent restaurants and pubs meet all your needs, even if they can't predict your future! Yeats stayed at Elsinore House when he was in Rosses Point. It is now a ruin and is just below the statue in the picture above on the way to the pier. There's talk every few years of doing up the derelict site, but as you'll see, nothing has happened! DIRECTIONS: After Rosses Point, make your way back to Sligo Town. In town, we have listed the key Yeats sites you may wish to visit.

S2 Ep8: D2 YC Rathcormack

Rathcormack GPS Location: 54.31955, -8.48289 [http://www.google.com/maps/place/54.31955%20-8.48289] Rathcormack is a small village at the base of a valley. You may wish to take note of an art installation honouring Countess Markievicz by the roadside. Rising on a brae from it towards Sligo, get ready to turn right at the top of the brae for Rosses Point - it is signposted although, please note the sign is for Kintogher. Directions - get to Rosses Point via Google Maps ensuring you take the right turn off at the top of the brae and NOT be taken into town only to double back! GPS Location: 54.304105, -8.561783 [http://www.google.com/maps/place/54.304105%20-8.561783]