So why chairs?
Well, came the reply, when I was a little fella I used to watch an RTE programme called “Hands”. To my mind it was the finest television programme ever made; I still think this – and, I’ve watched a lot of tele over the years. Anyway, one of the episodes featured a gentleman by the name of John Surlis – he made a chair using the simplest of hand-tools and talked about wood and trees. I was captivated. But, it took a long time before I ventured down the road of working with wood and trying to make chairs – but, John Surliss and that amazing programme were the seed. It just took about 20 years for it to germinate.
I went on to explain to Dermot about the first chair I’d made and how it had all developed from there. He listened patiently. I suppose I should have been kinder, saved his ears, and simply shrugged and said, why not?
We were standing in the woods and chatting, collecting some Hazel for a chair I was making for him, and the sun shone in great shafts through the leaves and branches – it was a good day, an amazing day.
Seanchai – Greenwood Hazel Armchair – Jason Robards – Hedgerow Crafts
Dermot had phoned me the day before and explained that he was making a series of six programmes for RTE and needed a ‘Statement’ chair – the idea was that each episode would feature a well-known person relating a story about particular events in their lifetime, and they would be sitting in the chair, in the open air, as they told it. He had seen some of my chairs and had an eye on one in particular. Did I still have it, or something similar?
Erm! No! Sorry……..but, I blurted out, I can make one for you…………..
He said something along the lines of – Grand! We’ll be up tomorrow to film, if that’s ok with you? Oh! And, we need the chair for Thursday, we start filming on Friday.
What’s a fella to say to that?
Well, when I got off the phone I said a lot, but most of it cannot be repeated out-loud or in gentle company, so less said the better.
Anyway, Dermot duly arrived and a few minutes later Cormac pulled up and began to unpack his camera gear. We talked a bit, and then set to – there was a lot to do. I explained the thoughts I’d had about the chair they needed – a storytellers chair; a chair for a Seanchai. I’ve seen and admired many storyteller chairs over the years – all majestic, ornate, imposing, and elaborate, of incredible craftsmanship – chairs fit for kings and queens; thrones to be sat in while the people pay homage. I thought that maybe what we needed was a big comfortable chair that the Seanchai could sit back and relax into while relating their tale; a chair in which they could be at ease, did not impose itself on them or their audience – did not distract from the tale, but played a supporting role. Not a traditional Storytellers chair, or at least not the modern interpretation, but just an outsized version of a very simple traditional chair that could have been found next to any fireplace in times past.
In making this chair I was revisiting the kind of chair I have not made in a while – a chair made from freshly cut Hazel saplings – a very traditional, very simple greenwood chair. It seemed fitting, and, of course, time was of the essence, so no fancy footwork required. However, I couldn’t help myself and moved away from the usual method of putting it all together and used through wedged tenons. My thinking was that if it was to get a lot of use in a very short time and get dragged about all over the country, I had better give it a fighting chance of staying in one piece – a bit of extra effort, but worth it for the peace of mind. There was no time for worrying about all the details I usually worry about, or the minor things that went wrong in the making. All the little flaws seemed to give the chair a well-worn, well-used, look and feel that seemed appropriate – it would get a lot more knocks before all was over.
Seanchai – Greenwood Hazel Armchair – Jason Robards – Hedgerow Crafts
So, we worked, we talked, we had a few good laughs and it all seemed to come together – possibly more by happy chance than any great design on my part.
Seanchai – Greenwood Hazel Armchair – Jason Robards – Hedgerow Crafts
Seanchai – Greenwood Hazel Armchair – Jason Robards – Hedgerow Crafts
At the end of the day, Dermot drove off with a newly made chair and Cormac a few hours of footage that would be edited down to about 20 seconds at most. It had been an incredible experience and I was still trying to get my thoughts and emotions around the idea that one of my chairs, my work, was going to be on TV, albeit, in the background.
Seanchai – Greenwood Hazel Armchair – Jason Robards – Hedgerow Crafts
So, the chair and its creation was a little adventure, a story all of its own, and it would go on to become a small part in six other stories. For me, it is a part of my story, my journey and adventures in life, woodworking and chair-making. But, more than that, it is a direct connection with John Surliss, and ‘Hands’. How? Well, for me, this is the best part of this whole story, the most exciting, and something I could never have dreamed of or hoped for. It turns out, 40 years ago, Cormac filmed the episode of ‘Hands’ featuring John Surlis. I cannot explain, put into words, what this means to me, or how I feel – I am utterly humbled. I’ll leave it there.
Seanchai – Greenwood Hazel Armchair – Jason Robards – Hedgerow Crafts
So, Dermot, Cormac – it has been a wonderful experience; I cannot, and will never be able to, thank you enough for this.
Thank you.
The programme is called, “Saoi Sa Chathaoir”.
The first episode features the absolutely legendary Micheal O Muircheartiagh, and is on RTE One at 7:30 pm, 23rd June.