This article is from page 1 of the 2012-12-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 1 JPG
A MAN of the people, a legend in his own lifetime, one of the greatest ballad singers Ireland has ever produced, a historian, a storyteller, a farmer and a hurler.
All were used to describe the late Robbie McMahon – the King of Spancil Hill responsible for making the song of the same name famous – who passed away last Thursday after a short illness.
The tributes were led by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann chief, Labhrás Ó Murchú, who gave the graveside oration at his funeral and described McMahon as “a giant of traditional Irish culture, whose legacy will live on for future generations in his songs”.
These words were echoed by his many friends – in his native parish of Clooney, around Clare and beyond as huge numbers attended the removal of his remains on Saturday evening last and his funeral on Sunday afternoon.
“His legacy will be the historical events that he has recorded through his own songs,” says Frank Whelan of the Clare branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, who was one of the driving forces behind the 2010 documentary on McMahon’s life entitled ‘Last Night as I was Dreaming’.
“He was much more than a singer, he was a social historian, because all his songs were stories,” added Mr Whelan. “The one thing about Robbie was that King or pauper – they were all equal,” says Mike Duggan, in whose pub in Spancil Hill that McMahon played host to a monthly singing session that became known throughout Ireland and beyond as ‘ Robbie’s First Fr ida y’. “It was his magnetism, it was his wonderful personality,” continues Duggan. “Thousands of people have come to ‘Robbie’s First Fr ida y’ over the years. No dignitary was too big, no person was too small for Robbie.”