BY JOHN FITZGERALD
PART ONE
The day started unpromisingly, with black clouds threatening to unleash a deluge, but these gradually gave way to a clear blue sky and the balm of warm sunshine- real pattern weather, as the man on the gate put it.
There was excitement among pattern committee men and women. Donnacha O’ Dualin, Radio Eireann’s noted folklorist and presenter of the Highways and Byways programme-a broadcasting legend in his own lifetime- had stated his intention to honour the Coolagh community with his presence at their open-air festival.
When he arrived at Jamsie O’ Neill’s field, his “take me to your leader” request was answered with a helpful gesture from a gate man at the entrance.
“There’s your man”, he indicated, pointing to a lone figure holding a microphone and rattling off at breakneck speed a commentary on a “close-run” pillow fight. The blow- by-blow account reaching the seasoned RTE broadcaster’s ears sounded more, he thought, like a report on a tense and nerve-racking showdown at the Olympics, so seriously did this ginger-haired commentator take the action he surveyed through binoculars from a makeshift wooden platform in the field.
Sean Holden had to take a break from his pillow fight report to introduce Donnacha to the Coolagh Pattern. Wiping the sweat from his furrowed brow, Sean guided the high profile visitor around the bustling happy venue.
In one section of the field, a camogie match was in progress. Strapping young women from the rival teams of Graigue-Ballycallan and Mooncoin wore deadly serious expressions as they zigzagged athletically and curvaceously around a mud sodden pitch.
Chanting supporters maintained a constant barrage of catcalls, slogans, heartfelt applause, and spontaneous-if less than helpful- hurler on the ditch advice to Kilkenny’s future sporting elite.
Jockeys for the Donkey Derby paraded beside their humble charges for the next race in another corner. The Callan Primary School Brass band, lined up dutifully inside a red and blue weatherproof tent, was belting out its own rendition of The Moon behind the Hill.
The pillow fights raged on without the benefit of Sean’s thrilling commentary. The combatants faced each other sitting on a long steel pole, belting away at their opponents. Feathers flew in all directions from burst pillows and cushions, wafting across the field on a light autumn breeze.
Defeated contestants fell off the pole into a soft bed of straw. Waves of laughter, cheering, and elated exclamations swept over the field from the pillow fight arena, blending with roars of encouragement to the camogie teams.
Neddy Walsh had invented the “pillow pole”, Sean informed Donnacha. It had taken him three years to get his design off the drawing board and into service at Coolagh. It was proving a success, much to the relief of the Pattern Committee whose members wondered how it would stand up to the rough and tumble of a hectic day’s usage. Field trials had pointed to a probable satisfactory performance, but even the best-laid plans could “misfire”, critics had warned.
But Neddy’s invention worked like a dream. Seasoned pillow fighters, many of whom had travelled from the far corners of Ireland to test their skills-praised the texture and quality of the pole, which had been oiled to render it slippery and therefore more challenging for them.
“Do you think I could have a word with the donkey trainers and jockeys, Sean?” the visitor tentatively asked. “No sooner said than done”, retorted the darling of Coolagh Pattern Day. Forty years of commentating at Coolagh had made Sean an acknowledged expert on the revived tradition.
Donncha learned immediately that Mansion Harry, trained by James Mylan, had won a race by ten lengths. The secret, according to James, was to achieve a “quick away” and to feed the asses well.”
A donkey called Knockbutton Flyer had run nicely too, as had Sam’s Delight, introduced by Sean as a “grand old piebald ass”. But the main talking point and centre of attention at the Pattern Derby was Jessie, a light greyish donkey with a pleasant, unassuming friendly temperament.
The RTE man approached a delighted teenage girl who was standing beside a triumphant Jessie, clapping the animal on the back. “And what’s your name”? he asked. “Claire Ducey”, she replied shyly. Claire told Donnacha that this was her first race and she could hardly believe she had won. Jessie had seemed to come out of nowhere to take the lead.
She further informed the folklorist that this multi-prize winning donkey, trained by Paddy Condon, had three Coolagh classics to her credit. “A sterling achievement”, Donnacha conceded haughtily.
Admiring the action too was Jim Conway, one of the stalwarts of the Kells Pipe Band. He had procured his present set of pipes fifty years before, and he said he wouldn’t part with them for “a bag of emeralds”. He had piped in Dublin at the Talton Games in the 20s with the band. The Kells pipers had been playing marches and hymns since 1900.
(To be continued)
My book Callan in Pictures and Words is available from Amazon.
