Eight facial reconstruction surgeries later, my cancer and most of my face were gone. Until the cancer came back
My first encounter with the word '
cancer
' came in the late 1990s. I had spent two months in the Bon Secours Hospital in Glasnevin when my illness was first discovered. It was a large tumour on my face making its way steadily towards my brain. Eight facial reconstruction surgeries later and it was gone, along with much of my face – only to return again 10 years later.
There is something truly terrifying about looking at yourself in a mirror and not recognising who is on the other end, an Elephant Man moment that lingered, with only the passage of time a real healer. There is a deep sense of loss, a finality, yet a sense too of the beginning of something brand new.
Having had more than 50 growths removed, part of an illness called Gorlin syndrome, and then to find out you have severe Crohn's disease, certainly has an impact on the mind.
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For me there is almost a beauty in facing these obstacles. Time and time again, I have had to push myself through the pain barrier to realise there is a freedom that awaits on the other side.
Before I helped to form the band Stockton's Wing in 1977, it was my intention to join the priesthood. I had applied to enter the seminary in Kiltegan. My mother thought it was not a good idea, so I took her advice.
The name Stockton's Wing is something I get asked about a lot. The band had entered a music competition called Céili '78, as part of Limerick Civic Week. It was a Sunday night and we had to decide on a name by first post on Monday. Sitting in Mike and Kieran Hanrahan's house in Ennis, their brother Gerard had just bought Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run album.
He was reading the lyrics to the song Backstreets with its line 'Slow dancin' in the dark on the beach at Stockton's Wing, where desperate lovers park to meet the last of the Duke Street Kings.' And that is where we first came across the name Stockton's Wing. It's a little place in New Jersey.
There were 35 bands in the traditional music category at Céili '78 and 35 in the rock section. Both events took place simultaneously, ours at the Glentworth Hotel; the rock section at the Savoy Cinema.
Stockton's Wing won out among the traddies, while
U2
won the rock event. That is about all we ever had in common. But we had our own modicum of success too. We went on to tour the world and share the same stage as Prince, Michael Jackson, Jackson Brown, Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli and Sammy Davis jnr in the US. Closer to home, we performed with Planxty, Moving Hearts, De Danann and many more. This was commonplace too with those groups throughout Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.
After more than 30 years with the band, I decided to concentrate on my own music, and spent many happy years accompanying singers Seán Keane and Finbar Furey.
More recently, I feel very blessed and privileged that my music has been recorded by groups such as Lúnasa, Capercaillie, Four Men and a Dog, Cherish the Ladies, Natalie MacMaster, the Nova Scotia Symphony Orchestra, Mike McGoldrick, the Kilfenora Ceili Band, Noel Hill, Scythian and many, many others besides.
From those early days, fast-forward 35 years to when my illness began. As a young man, I felt very connected to Our Lady, both parents having a devotion to Lourdes. So, I sought the intercession of our Blessed Mother. I went to visit a grotto on one of my first days in recovery.
Like Henry David Thoreau, I sat and listened to my thoughts and there was a song in them. I sat for what seemed like minutes, but in fact I was there for hours. Overwhelmed with a feeling of joy and elation, I felt the true meaning of my life had yet to reveal itself to me.
Within weeks of what for me was a form of spiritual newness, I began writing words and music at a prolific rate. The language was universal and the music was of the heart, almost bypassing the mind. Reach out for the love that surrounds you, see it in yourself, see it in others, be humble, share in it, for love is truly all there is.
The results have found their way into a book, featuring these various compositions and musings. Titled Duchas, Dóchas sa Dorchadas. From Heritage, Hope in the Darkness, it will be published later this year.
Maurice Lennon won the senior All-Ireland fiddle title in 1977 at the age of 17. Founder member of Stockton's Wing he performed with them worldwide and, in 2023, was awarded the TG4 Gradam Ceoil Award for composition. Based between France and Ireland, he tours with his own trio, which includes Ciara Brennan and Chris Dawson
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