Setting off from Derry, Macdara meets traditional singer, songwriter and activist Joe Mulheron to discuss the Connolly Column, the brigade of Irish volunteers who fought against Franco’s army in the Spanish Civil War and their remembrance in the Irish song tradition.
In Granada, Macdara meets with flamenco singer and commentator Juan Pinilla in Andalusia, the home of flamenco music and the first site of battle for the Connolly Column, to explore the wealth of Spanish songs from the Civil War period and to learn of the ruthless tactics employed by Franco’s regime to curtail and control Flamenco and broader Andalusian culture.
Directed by Bob Gallagher
Produced and Curated by Macdara Yeates
Commissioned by St. Patrick's Festival 2022
ABAIR
ABAIR is an annual multimedia project exploring the oral traditions of Ireland taking place as part of the St. Patrick’s Festival. Now in its fourth year, the 2022 programme looks to our closest neighbours in Scotland, Wales, France and Spain to examine their place in Irish song and story.