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A long row for an old language

By ROBERT FARLEY
Published November 25, 2006

Benefit's new date

A benefit event for the voyage scheduled for last Friday was canceled, Oh-Eachtuigheirn said, because Denny Doherty of the Mamas and the Papas had a medical emergency. It has been rescheduled for Jan. 13 at St. Brendan's Catholic Church, 245 Dory Passage on Island Estates in Clearwater. For information and tickets, call (813) 850-9135.

Online: For updates, check the group's Web site at www.gaelicadventure.org.

When he steps onto the shores of Ireland, he will be welcomed with parties and concerts. Maybe U2 will play.

And, of course, people will be toasting his and his mates' voyage in the native Irish tongue.

In this dream, Brian Oh-Eachtuigheirn, 65, has successfully rowed clear across the Atlantic Ocean in a 26-foot traditional Irish boat called a currach.

It's the one that now sits on a perch in a Clearwater church parking lot, looking like a glorified rowboat with an upturned nose. Its hull is nothing more than canvas stretched across a skeleton fashioned from a single telephone pole.

There is no keel and only a small breakaway sail. The boat is mainly propelled by oars, two each for the four crew. The oars look like long sticks that thin out at the ends, allowing them to flex in the water and propel the boat.

"She goes like the hammers of hell," Brian promises.

First, they will sail from Clearwater to Nova Scotia, hugging the coast and stopping every 30 miles or so, throwing parties and concerts to raise money for their voyage. Longtime friend Denny Doherty of the Mamas and the Papas promises to serenade crowds with California Dreamin' at a half dozen-or-so stops.

Then, next summer, onward to Ireland.

It is more than a thrill ride. Along the way, Brian hopes to raise money and awareness for his life's passion - reviving the spoken Irish language in Ireland.

On a recent Sunday, Brian convened his crew to prove the currach's seaworthiness in the forgiving waters of Clearwater Harbor.

Yes, he's going to leave any day now. Not today. Not next week. But soon.

Irish hero's grandson

A longtime theater actor and director, Brian (pronounced Bree-en) is straight out of central casting. Long white hair, a white beard and an Irish brogue that tells you he will be there at "one turty."

A natural storyteller, Brian captivates with tales about childhood summers rowing small boats abandoned by vacationing Dubliners or his friendship with John Lennon.

But somehow, Brian leaves out one bit.

He is the grandson of James Connolly, who helped lead the failed Easter Rising in 1916 seeking Irish independence from Britain. Following the surrender, Connolly, a socialist leader who was so badly wounded he was unable to stand, was tied to a chair and then shot by a British firing squad.

How much that influences Brian's passion is "a very difficult question" he said, and why he often doesn't talk about it.

But the imprint is as clear as Brian's ability to quote this from his grandfather: "There is no greater mark of slavery than that the language of the conqueror is on the lips of the slave."

Brian doesn't want to replace the English language in Ireland. Rather, he wants the Irish to be bilingual. "It's the key to the whole Irish question, I think. It holds the history of the people. If you don't have your own language, you basically have lost the soul of your people."

In the 2002 census, 1.6-million people, or about 40 percent of Ireland's population, claimed to speak Gaelic fluently.

Brian moved to the United States and in 1972 co-founded the Irish Cultural Arts Center in New York City and later one in Los Angeles. He also created the Brave Hearted Woman Theater Company in Nova Scotia. He has never gotten paid a dime from any of that, he said.

Earlier this year, Brian sought to declare bankruptcy. It stemmed from a land dispute in California, he said. He says he had a rent-to-own contract on a property that the owner failed to honor, and he refused to pay when his landlord raised the rent. The landlord obtained judgments against him for unpaid rent. Brian declared bankruptcy, he said, to prevent the sale of land he owns in Canada.

So how does he make a living?

"Well," he begins, and then settles into a long pause. "I'm an attorney. But I don't often tell people that. People tell terrible jokes about lawyers."

Over the years, his eclectic resume has included commercial fisherman, cab driver, building superintendent, truck driver and high school teacher. These days, he muddles through with some loans from friends.

The Florida Bar confirms Brian's status as a lawyer in good standing. And the bankruptcy details education loans to attend Nova Southeastern.

Friends from New York say Brian may be someone whose plans for next month can stretch into next year, but his strength is as a planter of seeds. Heck, he's already convinced people to row to Nova Scotia in a 26-foot boat that you could put your foot through if you stomped.

Divine inspiration

Back in April, Brian was injured aboard a 36-foot sailboat. He broke his pelvis and a few ribs.

No, the seas were not rough that day. The Asgard Abu was sitting in the parking lot of the Irish pub Four Green Fields in Tampa. Brian was living aboard.

The injury would again delay the voyage, but it prompted him to seek the sea air, which led him to Clearwater Beach and a bit of divine inspiration.

Brian and a friend were driving aimlessly when they came upon St. Brendan's Catholic Church.

Brendan was an Irish monk who, according to legend, sailed a currach from Europe to North America 1,000 years before Columbus.

Monsignor Michael Devine showed him inside, where a series of stained glass windows tell the story of Brendan's voyage.

"We like to think he's the first to discover America ," said Monsignor Devine. "Whether that's legend or not..."

In 1978, a man sailed a currach from Ireland to Newfoundland and concluded that Brendan's voyage, often dismissed as myth, could have happened.

One thing was clear, Brian said of the church: "Here is the place to go into the water."

'Not crazy impossible'

The crew who laugh insanely when asked about the journey, quickly note that there will be a safety net. They will be escorted by a 36-foot sailboat. They'll take turns rowing the currach, picking up new crew along the way.

"The thing that makes this not completely insane is that they've got the trip along the coast," said Pete Brennan, who will help prepare the logistics of their nightly stops. "They'll learn a lot about the boat then. And if they make it as far as Nova Scotia, they'll have done something pretty special. It can be done. It's not crazy impossible."

Brennan, a Bronx native who sports a shamrock tattoo on his shoulder, jokes that he met Brian in "church" - actually, Flanagan's Irish Pub in Dunedin.

David Wiggins, 56, of Clearwater joined the crew after meeting a friend of Brian's at the Junction in Clearwater a few weeks ago.

Wiggins, who did a couple of tours in Vietnam and was injured while helping to build the Memorial Causeway Bridge, was between jobs. He was game.

"Maybe I'm just a challenge nut," Wiggins said.

A short sea trial

One recent Sunday afternoon, Brian aimed to show that his currach was more than an exhibit. It took six men to haul the 350-pound boat from atop a pickup truck to the water's edge.

The takeoff was a bit awkward. Two of the four had never been in the boat before. Brian gave some last-minute instructions.

"Now, here's the story everybody, we don't do anything till I tell you. Follow Jack's stride. Wait for him. That's it, lads."

Slowly, they fell in sync. The crew negotiated several circuits in Clearwater Harbor. On its trip in, the boat bumped the concrete dock. But no harm. The boat took on no water. Success.

As they unloaded the boat, someone reached for an empty Thirst Buster cup from Circle K.

"Don't lose that," Wiggins says. "That's our bilge pump."

Brian is again thinking ahead to his trans-Atlantic journey. They will leave any day now. Not next week. Not next month. But soon.

[Last modified November 25, 2006, 00:42:02]