Review: Ocean Child, Irish Cultural Centre

In 1854 the RMS Tayleur, setting off on her maiden voyage, was full of people emigrating to Australia, carrying their hopes for a new life. The Tayleur left Liverpool but, caught in a storm two days later, she ran aground off Lambay Island on the Dublin coast, leading to the death of around 350 passengers. The true number remains unknown.  

Ocean Child tells this tragic story through live music performed by the West Ocean String Quartet – Aoife Ní Bhriain, Niamh Crowley, Kenneth Rice, Neil Martin – joined by Louise Mulcahy on pipes, Michelle Mulcahy on harp, a boy soprano, and narration by Stephen Rea. The title refers to a single, unidentified infant who survived and became known as the Ocean Child, as authorities searched for any family connections.

Martin, who composed and wrote Ocean Child, plays cello and leads both the musicians and Rea’s narration, giving everyone on stage their cues. Rea narrates as beautifully as you’d expect of an actor of his calibre, bringing gravitas to the story. And while the delivery is very factual, mostly reading from contemporary newspaper accounts, he still manages to bring the survivors’ accounts to life and convey the emotion of people rescuing or trying to rescue each other, and later the faults found and faults ignored at inquest.

The evening starts with projected images of the dock, of ships of the era and of artefacts recovered from the wreckage in various museums. It’s a shame this doesn’t continue, as it feels like a bit of a missed opportunity to show us the press reports that are being narrated, or the rugged cliffs the survivors had to climb.

The music works beautifully, as a lament for those lives lost and the circumstances which brought them to seek new life. Louise Mulcahy’s uilleann pipes ebb and flow like the sea itself and Michelle Mulcahy’s delicate harp contrasts with intimate tenderness – moments of stillness within the storm.

Aside from the talent involved, Ocean Child immediately piqued my interest as I grew up on the coast directly in front of Lambay Island, I could see it from my childhood bedroom. I knew, vaguely, that there had been a shipwreck, but knew none of the details, nor that so many people were lost. Not only that but the first inquest, held shortly after the wreck, was held in what is now The Grand Hotel in Malahide, where I worked behind the bar during my college years. 

A beautiful and fascinating evening, with an abundance of talent, is an act of remembrance at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, as part of its 30th Anniversary celebrations. The next time I’m in Dublin and in that same bedroom, I’ll look out at Lambay Island a little differently. 

Composed and Written by Neil Martin
Performers:

Stephen Rea (narrator)
The West Ocean String Quartet: Aoife Ní Bhriain, Niamh Crowley, Kenneth Rice, Neil Martin
Louise Mulcahy (pipes)
Michelle Mulcahy (harp)

Ocean Child played at The Irish Cultural Centre