The Boside Artists' Newsletter
THE BOGSIDE ARTISTS NEWSLETTER - Issue 1
Date 26/2/03
Published by "The Bogside Artists"
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Hi,
No. We are not going to tell you how to
make a million by farming bagpipes in Donegal. Nor do we
wish to add to the deluge of unwanted horseshit already
in your email box. Instead, we will amuse, inform, edify
and even hang around later for your questions. If you got
something that is useful, true or funny, drop us a line.
Mailto: bogsideartists@bogsideartists.com
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THIS ISSUE'S CONTENTS
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1.DERRY 2.EDITORIAL. 3.ON THE GRAPEVINE.
10 Winning Ezine Publishing Tips1. Share your personality with your subscribers. Your subscribers are more likely to want to buy from someone they feel like they know. 2. Involve your ..... 4.OUR DIARY. 5.USELFUL SITES.
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1. DERRY
Derry or "Londonderry", to give it its formal title,
boasts some of the most beautiful women to be found
anywhere on the planet, with Belfast running a close
second. That probably explains why Derry men are crazier
than most and Belfast men crazier than anybody. Derry
however, has a colorful history every bit as interesting
as its indigenous beauties. Each issue of our Newsletter
will offer a little snippet or two of information on the
subject (history, that is) about which, especially since
the onset of the "troubles", numerous learned tomes have
been written.
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_ Derry gets its name from the ancient Irish word "daire"
meaning an oak grove. The oak tree was venerated by the
Celts and is likely that Druids used the grove for their
rituals. The "daire" was situated on a crannog or small
island in the river Foyle. As the waters receded, the
surrounding area turned into bogland, whence derives the
name Bogside. The hill itself once boasted a fortress not
unlike that overlooking Lough Swilly called the Grianan
of Aileach.
In the sixth century Saint Colmcille (Columba 521-597)
established a monastery on the hill. There is no proof of
this, but it is more than likely, as founding monasteries
was what Columba liked to do best. This, of course,
attracted people to live nearby and so the settlement
grew.
The monastery indeed was intact well into the 17th
century when the colonists arrived from Scotland and
England. Derrys boomtime however, was in the 12th and
13th centuries when the MacLochlainn dynasty moved in.
They used their wealth to build the settlement up and
when they died out, Derry fell into decline. It was not
until the arrival of the De Burgos that relative
prosperity returned to the growing town. The skeleton on
Derry's coat of arms derives from the De Burgos.
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2. EDITORIAL.
The Bogside Artists are a mysterious trio to many. Ergo,
let me introduce us. As this will take up more space than
I feel entitled to use, I'll be brief. In our NEXT
Newsletter, you will find a fuller and more comprehensive
edition at our website. We will even have our own photos!
Consider this a mere introduction.
KEVIN
Kevin Hasson's formal education began with The Christian
Brothers school in the Brandywell area of the city. It
later moved to the Creggan and renamed itself St. Peters.
That was in the early `70's. "Art even then, was the
thing I was most interested in", he says. "My dad was a
very talented man who used his skills and imagination to
entertain us. Creativity therefore, as a bulwark against
poverty, constituted the environment I grew up in."
For his first ever trip abroad Kevin found himself on a
relief mission to the starving of Calcutta. It was an
experience that transformed him. In Frankfurt, he met
his American wife to be. Once married, he settled down
in America. Finally, he returned home with his family.
He wasn't home a fortnight when he linked up once more
with Tom, whom he had first met at St. Peters. Art was
the thing they had most in common. Kevin and Tom both
play guitar. Kevin likes old movies.
TOM
Apart from several brief stays in England, Tom Kelly has
spent all of his life in the Bogside, where he still
lives. He is, in fact, leader of a small non-
denominational Christian church called "Wellspring" in
the heart of The Bogside. Part of Wellspring's agenda is
to explore all aspects of Irish culture, particularly
where it addresses the pure Christian message. Wellspring is
self-sufficient and uses The Bogside Artists' studio for
its meetings.
Prior to joining forces with his brother William, and his
pal Kevin, Tom worked for ten years in cross-community art
projects in the city as a means for getting the two
communities to understand one another. He was a pioneer
in the field. Tom says: "Our society has done incalculable
harm to our natural pride and sense of self-worth.
Christianity addresses this." Tom has completed many murals
in the city that depicted life, as it existed a long time ago.
He called these `heritage murals'. They were made for schools,
hospitals and community centers.
Tom is a fine singer and musician and has produced
Wellspring's one and only CD, a compilation of well-known
Irish gigs and a few original numbers from Wellspring's
composers.
WILLIAM
Tom's older brother William Kelly also worked in England.
First he went to Queens University after a formal
education at St.Columbs College. St.Columbs incidentally
boasts no less than TWO Nobel Prize winners - Seamus Heaney
and John Hume. Renowned playwright Brian Friel was also educated there.
William decided to leave uni and went to Carlisle,
England, to work ......
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