Bits and Pieces

Two anecdotes about the State of the Nation in April 2026, and some music

Fuel Protest

The ‘soundtrack’ for this video wasn’t done on purpose; it comes from a group chat I’m in with a few close friends who are Orthodox. I didn’t realise that the music was playing out of my phone as I was recording.

There’s something fitting about the sound though. I did feel as though something significant, maybe even positively ominous, was manifesting when I heard the - considerably loud - noise of the protesters as I got off the bus in Cork this afternoon, my first time in the city in a week.

Could this be the beginning of an actual grassroots movement of Irish people? Will something actually come of it?

I wouldn’t get my hopes up, but I will say, the atmosphere at today’s ‘protest’ was noticeably pleasant. It was much more pleasant than an anti-immigration protest I was at in Cork last summer, for example. And, interestingly, the people behind these recent protests are the people who, as John Waters says, actually make and mend the world. They are even more fundamental to the world’s spinning than that, producing and delivering the food that we eat. They could be called the producers’ producers, or something.

Maybe that fact gives them a confidence, a more secure sense of self and worth that’s absent in other parts of the ‘resistance’ ‘movement(s)’ in this country.

——————————

Brazilian on a Bus

I slept for about three hours last night, thanks to a wedding followed by a substantial journey from the hotel to the airport in Barcelona. Wine had been drunk, too, so I wasn’t exactly feeling fresh. When I arrived in Cork, I got on a bus into the city.

Also on the bus was a Brazilian man speaking very loudly on the phone, presumably to a friend. His loudness I could not bare, especially having slept so little. I looked back at him before getting up, just to make sure it was safe to ‘interrupt’ him. I’ve interrupted some people in this manner before, and it doesn’t always end well.

Once I had assessed that it was safe, I wasted no time. I walked back to him, a little angrily, got fairly close, kneeling on the seat in front of him, and, as calmly and as assertively as I could manage, asked the man to speak more softly. He was a bit embarrassed, and not quite apologetic, but thankfully, he had the decency to cooperate with my request.

I enjoyed the next fifteen minutes or so in peace.

I like to think that I was doing the Brazilian a service, too.

——————————

First Four Part Arrangement

I recently made a four part arrangement of a Peadar Ó Riada piece (Go mBeannaítear Duit, a Mhuire) for a schools’ choir competition taking place later this month. This recording is definitely rough, not least because my falsetto replaces what would be the female voices, but all things considered, I am pleased with how it turned out.

If you dare to listen, I suggest wearing headphones, and turning up the volume.

——————————

One of the Coolest Instruments There Is?

Lastly, here are two pieces played on a very old, disused harmonium next to North Cathedral in Cork: ‘Lagan Love’ (a well known Irish song) and ‘Port na bPúcaí,’ what Tony McMahon called a ‘strange, haunting tune which comes from the Blasket Islands’.

Again, headphones are advised.

That’s it for now.

Thank you for reading,
Fergus