O'er the seas on a Gaelic crusade
Atop his currach, Brian o-h'Eachtuigheirn plays traditional Irish music last week with his daughter, Alexis Frees, near the North Jetty in Venice. They are traveling down the Gulf Coast and up the Eastern Seaboard in the 26-foot-long traditional fishing boat to spark interest in preserving Irish culture.
Buy Photo STAFF PHOTOS / JENNA ISAACSONPublished: Monday, November 3, 2008 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, November 3, 2008 at 1:02 a.m.
NOKOMIS - Brian o-h'Eachtuigheirn and his daughter, Alexis Frees, are rowing the Gulf Coast and Eastern Seaboard in a currach -- a traditional Irish fishing boat -- to spark interest in preserving Irish culture.
The ultimate mission is to inspire people of Irish heritage and people interested in the culture to learn the country's native Gaelic language, which is dying out with each new generation.
O-h'Eachtuigheirn fears that Ireland's identity will disintegrate if its language perishes.
"In most cultures, language is a defining characteristic of a nation and a culture," o-h'Eachtuigheirn said.
Born and raised in Ireland, o-h'Eachtuigheirn, 67, came to the United States in the 1960s and started several Irish cultural centers that teach dance, music and language.
Frees, 40, is following his footsteps.
The pair have ties to Southwest Florida because o-h'Eachtuigheirn attended law school here and established a law firm and a cultural center in Palmetto.
Two weeks ago, the pair began their journey from Dunedin, where they have friends. They made it as far as North Jetty Park in Nokomis last week.
A mishap with their boat delayed them (someone damaged the canvas hull when the boat was left unattended), but the two will venture down to Gasparilla Island this weekend and to Fort Myers early next week.
The 26-foot-long boat, made in Nova Scotia from slats cut from a cedar telephone pole and wrapped in canvas and tar, is more seaworthy than it looks, o-h'Eachtuigheirn said.
To this day, Irish fishermen steer boats just like it through giant swells in the Atlantic.
And Brendan the Navigator, an Irish explorer, is believed to have crossed the Atlantic in a currach in 472 A.D.
"This design is 2,000 years old," o-h'Eachtuigheirn said.
Rowing just 20 miles a day, the two plan to skirt Florida's peninsula and travel up the coast all the way to Nova Scotia.
Two summers from now, the plan is to row the boat from Cape Breton Island to Ireland, alongside a sailboat staffed with people to take shifts rowing.
This story appeared in print on page BN1
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