Father and son combine talents as Macahar, and launch new book

Síofra Grant

Comhcheangal, meaning fusion, is the title of a new book by Kevin and Naosán Ó Mórdha, who perform as Macahar – that name a fusion of the words Mac and Athair, son and father.

Earlier this year, Kevin put it to Naosán that they could combine their talents for poetry (Kevin) talent and music (Naosán). Now they have produced a new poetry book Comhcheangal, which comes with a CD to accompany Kevin’s poems.

It was launched on Thursday October 29 in MisterVini to an audience that was spilling out the door.

When the Westmeath Examiner arrived, the seats were already filled, including members of the Inklings writing group in one corner providing support to Kevin.

Audience members bustled about the bar, chatting to the two performers, looking at the pile of books on offer at the top of the room, and most importantly, enjoying classes of wine.

When it was time for the launch to begin, MisterVini owner Bernard Smyth introduced the two men with a lovely speech as Gaeilge, before Kevin hopped up and said: “Ok everybody, that’s it,” which received a good laugh from the crowd before he officially welcomed them to the launch.

He thanked all those involved with the creation of Comhcheangal, from the book cover and album designer and the photographer, to the organisers of Mullingar Literary Festival, and Áras on Mhuilinn and Fáilte Ireland for allowing them to perform at their events.

He singled out fellow members of Inklings for “facilitating me to get back to writing poetry on a regular basis in a cosy and encouraging environment – I say thank you”. That mention received a massive cheer from the Inklings side of the room.

“As you know, I’m Kevin, this is my son Naosán and together we are Macahar. I say I’m a poet and I wrote some words on pages, and Naosán is a writer of music and what we do is combine our music and poetry.

“As many of you here know, we recently uploaded our album, Comhcheangal, to streaming platforms and today we officially launch our first book.

“We’ve been thinking about this music and poetry combination for a while now, for a few years, in all honesty, and I’m lucky to have this opportunity to bring an album and a book to fruition.

“But most of all it has been a great privilege to produce something of this nature, a beautiful song. The opening lines of the book say it all.

“What does a father get? When does a father get the opportunity to share an intimacy of thought with his son? I hope I have not lost one drop from the cup hand that held the moments within the shared rooms where we spent time together creating what is our historic… and a little bit later on the same page I say… union, a bond, co-kindled an equal time together, or I may say a time together of equals, a symbol that a relationship remains, bound together not only in blood but in action, deed and unity of thought.”

Kevin’s poetry is bilingual, and he reads a poem in Irish and then in English.

“For me, poetry is often a story, the understanding of a story, the expression of emotion and music forms the theme to that story.

“This evening we’re going to spend a little time, a short time, telling a small part of the story, a bit of mine and a little bit of Naosán’s.”

Before getting into their performance, Kevin explained how much the book means to them. “The book is a second baby step into getting our spoken word and music out there, it is in two parts, the first part comprises the poetry and music of Macahar.

“There is a CD attached at the back of the book with 12 bilingual poems and accompanying music. Part two is made up of a number of bilingual poems by Naosán.”

Then it was time for the recitation. As Naosán prepared the music, Kevin gave the audience a little background on his first poem, which explores his feelings about moving around the country a lot as a young man.

“I was born in Belfast in 1967 and lived through the Troubles. Then in 1975, we left Belfast and moved to County Cavan for a short while then on to County Monaghan.

“And after that, I’ve been living in Mullingar for 36 years now and Naosán was born and bred here.

“And I was out in London one day, and when you’ve lived in so many places and how places form a part of you, a question started to form in my head. Where am I from? Sometimes I’m quite unsure.

“In truth, I’m from all of those places and this is ‘Gan Fréabhacha’, ‘Without Roots’.”

What followed was an evening of Macahar’s incredible and unique work.

• Comhcheangal is available on streaming and at Just Books in Mullingar.