Tentative plans are afoot that may lead to the establishment of an annual Bishop Berkeley summer school. Cloyne, east Cork, is proud of its philosopher bishop, and it comes as no surprise to hear that his legacy to philosophy, letters and the pursuit of a better quality of life for those less fortunate could yet become the subject of annual lectures and debates at a school dedicated to his memory.
If the friend of Swift and Pope could have a great American educational institution named after him, why not a summer school in Cloyne, where he served as bishop from 1734 to 1753?
The whisper is that personnel from Trinity College Dublin, where he lectured occasionally on Greek, Hebrew and Divinity until 1724, having first entered the college in 1700, have been holding preliminary discussions with enthusiasts associated with the Cloyne Literary and Historical Society. It is understood that if the school does get up and running it may be held each September. Those behind the scenes are not anxious to elaborate on details still unconfirmed.
But interest is real and expectations are high.
In the Book of Cloyne, edited by Padraig O Loinsigh, who has done much over the years to keep Cloyne's rich treasure trove of folklore and history alive, the editor, who is also chairman of the society, has written eloquently about Berkeley. He shows that the abstract philosopher, who even called forth Swift's ironic tongue, was a practical man when it came to dealing with issues of the day as he experienced them.
In The Querist he asked a practical question: "Could a foreigner imagine that one half of the people were starving in a country which sent out such plenty of provisions. . ? Is it not wonderful that with such pastures and so many black cattle we do not find ourselves in cheese?" Having read Berkeley's comments on such matters Swift was moved to the opinion that the bishop had at last come down to earth. De Valera and Arthur Griffith were avid fans of the book, O Loinsigh says.
The Cloyne society has now reached its 21st year. In that time it has produced much for the archives, not least the Pipe Roll of Cloyne, Rotulus Pipae Clonensis, which included records of episcopal tenures as well as land tenures, and was published in a limited edition of 400 copies.
Recently it also had a reading from Donal Buckley, a farmer, archaeologist, astrologer, Celtic mystic, musician, painter and practitioner of the art of psychometry, the power to divine images from inert objects merely by picking them up.
The agrarian poet runs 180 sheep on his 92-acre holding in Carrigtwohill, near Midleton. For the society he read mainly from his essay-poem, Cluain Uamha, the Cave Meadow, which gives Cloyne its name. He had a packed audience at Ballymaloe House and was accompanied by original music from Mary Keane, a music teacher who gives instruction in music theory and choral direction in the Cork area.
The combination of the readings from Cluain Uamha and the musical accompaniment, entitled Aon Mhor Og, was a powerful one, and the likelihood is that this was not just a once-off event and that we will hear more from this pairing. Donal Buckley has a sunny disposition, which is why he's known as Domhnall na Greine. His poetry reflects a more studied side.