Unleashing the Olagón
The ancient Irish folktale Táin Bó Cúailnge and its musical and poetical retelling
The ancient Irish legend Táin Bó Cúailnge is a tale of greed, envy and hubris which has been passed down from generation to generation for centuries. At the centre of it is the Olagón - a cry of anguish from deep within.
Best selling author Colm TóibÃn meets the international artists who have come together for the premier of the retelling of The Táin, and how, through poetry, music and an ancient singing style, they reimagine and retell the story as a commentary on modern day Ireland
He meets Pulitzer Prize winning poet Muldoon, Ó’Lionáird, the lead singer of The Gloaming and master of the ancient sean-nós style of singing, who made a cameo in the film version of TóibÃn’s novel Brooklyn, and American composer Dan Trueman who has put the rich and varied themes of Olagón to music, along with the four-time GRAMMY award-winning Chicago sextet Eighth Blackbird.
As they put the last touches to the piece at Princeton University, Colm explores with the cast the reasons they are retelling this tale. What does this tale of an epic battle and tragic outcome tell us about Ireland now?
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- Tue 20 Mar 2018 00:32GMTÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service East and Southern Africa, South Asia, West and Central Africa & East Asia only
- Tue 20 Mar 2018 03:32GMTÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service Online, Americas and the Caribbean, UK DAB/Freeview & Europe and the Middle East only
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- Tue 20 Mar 2018 11:32GMTÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service except News Internet
- Tue 20 Mar 2018 21:32GMTÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Tue 20 Mar 2018 23:32GMTÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service Australasia, Online, UK DAB/Freeview, Americas and the Caribbean & Europe and the Middle East only