Poignant yet upbeat ceremony at Uisneach for scattering of Manchán's ashes

In what proved to be a poignant and moving ceremony on a day that veered between the stormy and the sunny, the remains of Manchán Magan were scattered in front of a crowd of thousands on the Hill of Uisneach on Saturday.

The filmmaker, writer, linguist, travel documentary maker and general good egg died from cancer on October 2 of this year and Saturday’s ceremony marked the month’s mind memorial and the scattering of the ashes.

An estimated two and a half to three thousand people attended the event.

Shuttle buses had been laid on from Mullingar because of the numbers attending and among those who were present for the event were leading figures from the world of media and entertainment as well as those with the links to Ireland’s cultural scene and with a passion for the language and history of Ireland.

“It was really beautiful and very fitting,” said one attendee. “There was a formal ceremony that felt rooted in nature, in the elements, in everything Manchán loved.”

Those elements were on full display. As the crowd made their way up the hill towards the small lake, where musicians had gathered under a canvas shelter, the skies opened.

“It was horrible rain,” recalled the attendee, “and then, as Liam Ó Maonlaí started singing the song he had performed at Manchán’s funeral, the hailstones came. But when he moved into I Can See Clearly Now (The Rain Is Gone), the rain stopped by the third line. The sun came out – and there was a rainbow. It felt like magic.”

The ceremony blended Irish spiritual traditions with tributes that reflected Magan’s lifelong curiosity about global cultures.

‘The Dingle Druid’, Juli Malone, led a ritual of remembrance, while David Clarke – owner of the farm that forms Hill of Uisneach – welcomed the crowd and explained how touched he was that Manchán had chosen that sacred site as his final resting place.

Three members of a North American First Nation, from Canada, who had travelled specially to attend, offered their own blessings.

A musician who had sung at Magan’s funeral performed an old Irish air, followed by a communal dance and chant that lifted the spirits of the crowd.

Towards the end of the ceremony, Magan’s wife, Aisling Rogerson, shared the opening lines of her late husband’s yet-unpublished final book. “There was a lot of sadness,” one mourner said, “but also celebration and even giddiness. Every kind of weather, every emotion — all of it together.”

Led by Aisling, the crowd then made their way in silence to the summit of Uisneach, where a harpist played as Manchán’s ashes were scattered to the wind. “Just as that happened, a flock of geese took to the sky,” said the attendee. “It was perfect timing — like a final sign.”

Though the ground was wet and muddy, the atmosphere was one of warmth and wonder. As the sun broke once more through the clouds, the ceremony drew to a close with music, poetry and a sense of profound gratitude for a man whose work had inspired and delighted so many.

“It was a very fitting send-off for someone who had such a huge impact,” said the attendee, adding that Aisling had said that to see so many people in attendance did really make the loss easier to bear.

“It was a very special occasion,” our correspondent said.