\u2018When his name is mentioned, people smile\u2019. These words from poet Michael Longley capture the warmth and affection felt by the arts community in Ireland toward film director, singer, teacher and author, David Hammond (1928 \u2013 2008).<\/p>\n
Made to mark the 10th anniversary of his death, Hammond: Duais an Dorais<\/strong>, which will be broadcast on TG4 on Wednesday 29th<\/sup> August, 9.30pm, examines through contributions from friends, family, former colleagues, and archive footage of, and from, the man himself, the life, the creative talent and continuous legacy of David Hammond.<\/p>\n Presented by his close friend, composer and musician Neil Martin, the programme traces Davey\u2019s professional life from his background in education, through his career at BBC Northern Ireland (where he managed to transform his shy friend Seamus Heaney into an excellent broadcaster), to his mentoring and nurturing of up-and-coming talent, and of course his musicianship.<\/p>\n There are nostalgic and heartwarming stories and clips from his television work including, The Magic Fiddle, the award-winning Dusty Bluebells and Sarah Makem.<\/p>\n Other contributors, including writers Glenn Patterson and Brian Keenan, artist Neil Shawcross, broadcasters John Kelly from RT\u00c9 and BBC Northern Ireland\u2019s Marie-Louise Muir and musician D\u00f3nal Lunny (who recalls a raucous hospital visit involving whiskey and cigars) all combine to give viewers a sense of Hammond\u2019s warm and witty personality.<\/p>\n Sarah Makem\u2019s great-granddaughter Stephanie and Seamus Heaney\u2019s son Mick recall Hammond\u2019s empathy and wonderful ability to engage people. And contributions from Davey\u2019s family, accompanied by archive footage, photography and memories of their holiday home in Donegal (often featuring regular visitors, the Heaneys) reveal how their remote cottage became a place of fun, music and refuge for anyone who came knocking.<\/p>\n As well as an inspiring body of work and wonderful memories, Neil Martin tells how on visiting his friend for the last time, Davey gave him four special books containing hundreds of traditional songs collected by Sam Henry in early 20th<\/sup> century Ulster.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an invaluable archive of local songs that Davey had preserved in the knowledge that it would be preserved in generations to come,\u201d says Neil.<\/p>\n \u201cDavey left many things to many people throughout his life, but this was his parting gift to me.\u201d<\/p>\n Hammond: Duais an Dorais is a timely reappraisal of David Hammond\u2019s television and radio output, and why it remains relevant for a new generation of musicians, broadcasters and audiences.<\/p>\n In the words of Seamus Heaney: “He was a great Ulsterman and a great Irishman, a man of rare energy, one of the transformers in Irish life. He was a courageous romantic, a heroic democrat, free of sectarianism and free of ideology.”<\/p>\n Hammond: Duais an Dorais (A Parting Gift) has been produced as part of the inaugural Amharc documentary initiative by\u00a0DoubleBand Films\u00a0for\u00a0TG4 and BBC Northern Ireland with support from\u00a0Northern Ireland Screen\u2019s Irish Language Broadcast Fund. The programme\u00a0is mostly in Irish with English language subtitles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u2018When his name is mentioned, people smile\u2019. These words from poet Michael Longley capture the warmth and affection felt by the arts community in Ireland toward film director, singer, teacher and author, David Hammond (1928 \u2013 2008). Made to mark the 10th anniversary of his death, Hammond: Duais an Dorais, which will be broadcast on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":876,"featured_media":91676,"parent":72851,"menu_order":36,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/template-pr.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n