Thomas McCarthy, renowned for his evocatively sorrowful voice, passionately embodies the tales of joy and agony endured by the Traveller community throughout generations. Alongside his exceptional singing talent, McCarthy is known for his song-collecting abilities. Documented in Songlines on RTÉ One, director Pat Collins embarks on an Irish journey with McCarthy, engaging with local Travellers in a project endorsed by the Irish Traditional Music Archive.
The intriguing documentary is teeming with pride, but also with a sense of melancholy. On their journey, they encounter siblings Trish and Martin Reilly in Drogheda. Trish recalls the bitter experiences of being ripped away from her parents at the tender age of eight, placed into care, and exposed to the prejudices that society harbours towards the Traveller community. The wounds from these experiences persist.
Trish speaks candidly about the discrimination against Travellers, referring to it as a systemic issue prevalent in the care system. The community was stigmatically referred to as “dirty filthy tinkers”, yet Trish insists, “This is not the way I have seen myself”. She goes on to perform Broken Lines, a heartfelt melody encapsulating her experiences in care.
Songlines, directed by Collins, is a follow-up to an earlier film about McCarthy named Songs Of The Open Road. However, McCarthy plays a less prominent role in this new film, instead, he acts as a guide through the Irish landscape. Songlines isn’t solely about him. The narrative occasionally drifts; one moment McCarthy is in Macroom, Co Cork, and then suddenly in Tullamore, Co Offaly. The culmination doesn’t hold any climactic revelation. Instead, it simply invites viewers on this exploratory journey embedded in the rich musical traditions, guided by McCarthy. The objective is the journey, not the final destination.
Despite its lack of a focal point, the film remains gripping as a travelogue. In Waterford, Kitty Cassidy speaks of her inherited adoration for music from her father, the renowned storyteller John Cassidy. She muses, “You sing – the voice comes out with the song”. Meanwhile, in Navan, Ellen McDonagh attributes singing to heritage reconnection. Despite her family’s illiteracy, they express their life experiences through the creation of melodies that narrate their life events.
McCarthy holds memories of a potent bond to his history too. Remembering the passing of his mother, he reflects on the profound effect it had on his vocal career: “The week following my mother’s demise, I had an important performance lined up. What would she have desired for me? She’d have wished to see me performing.” He halts, as though understanding the implications of his words only just then. “These melodies don’t belong to me. They were passed on to me by my mother and her kin.”