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449_3 | During this period, she also auditioned for the 1984 science fiction/action film The Terminator, reading for the lead role of Sarah Connor, which eventually went to Linda Hamilton. In Fletch (1985), an action comedy, she appeared with Chevy Chase as the colleague of a Los Angeles Times undercover reporter trying to expose drug trafficking on the beaches of Los Angeles. She also starred in the horror comedy Transylvania 6-5000 as a nymphomaniac vampire alongside future husband Jeff Goldblum. They also starred in the sci-fi thriller The Fly (1986), loosely based on George Langelaan's 1957 short story of the same name, where Davis portrayed a science journalist and an eccentric scientist's love interest. It was a commercial success and helped establish her as an actress. In 1987 she appeared with Goldblum again in the offbeat comedy Earth Girls Are Easy. |
449_4 | Recognition and critical acclaim (1988–1992)
Director Tim Burton cast Davis in his film Beetlejuice (1988) as one of a recently deceased young couple who become ghosts haunting their former house; it also starred Alec Baldwin, Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder. It made $73.7 million from a budget of $15 million, and Davis's performance and the overall film received mostly positive reviews.
Davis took on the role of an animal hospital employee and dog trainer with a sickly son in the drama The Accidental Tourist (1988), opposite William Hurt and Kathleen Turner. Critic Roger Ebert, who gave the film four stars out of four, wrote: "Davis, as Muriel, brings an unforced wackiness to her role in scenes like the one where she belts out a song while she's doing the dishes. But she is not as simple as she sometimes seems [...]". The film was a critical and commercial success, and she received an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for her appearance in it. |
449_5 | Davis appeared as the girlfriend of a man who, dressed as a clown, robs a bank in midtown Manhattan, in the comedy Quick Change (1990). Based on a book of the same name by Jay Cronley, it is a remake of the 1985 French film Hold-Up starring Jean-Paul Belmondo. Despite modest box office returns, the Chicago Tribune found the lead actors "funny and creative while keeping their characters life-size". Davis next starred with Susan Sarandon in Ridley Scott's road film Thelma & Louise (1991), as friends who embark on a road trip with unforeseen consequences. A critical and commercial success, it is considered a classic, as it influenced other films and artistic works and became a landmark feminist film. Davis received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her role. It also featured Brad Pitt in his breakout role as a drifter; in his 2020 acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actor, Pitt thanked director Ridley Scott and Geena Davis for "giving me my first shot." |
449_6 | In 1992, Davis starred alongside Madonna and Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own as a baseball player on an all-women's team. It reached number one at the box office, became the tenth highest-grossing film of the year in North America, and brought Davis a Best Actress Golden Globe Award nomination. She played a television reporter in the comedy Hero (also 1992) alongside Dustin Hoffman and Andy Garcia. Although it flopped at the box office, Roger Ebert felt Davis was "bright and convincing as the reporter (her best line, after surviving the plane crash, is shouted through an ambulance door: "This is my story! I did the research!")". |
449_7 | Career downturn, hiatus, sitcom and other television roles (1993–2009)
In 1994's Angie, Davis played an office worker who lives in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn and dreams of a better life. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who felt she could have been better in this movie or another one set in Brooklyn, and was a commercial failure. In her other 1994 release, Speechless, Davis reunited with Michael Keaton to play insomniac writers who fall in love until they realize that both are writing speeches for rival candidates in a New Mexico election. Despite negative reviews and modest box office returns, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Musical or Comedy for her performance. |
449_8 | Davis teamed up with her then-husband, director Renny Harlin, for the films Cutthroat Island (1995) and The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), with Harlin hoping that they would turn her into an action star. While The Long Kiss Goodnight managed to become a moderate success, Cutthroat Island flopped critically and commercially and was once listed as having the "largest box office loss" by Guinness World Records. The film is credited to be a contributing factor in the demise of Davis as a bankable star. She divorced Harlin in 1998 and took an "unusually long" two years off to reflect on her career, according to The New York Times. She appeared as Eleanor Little in the well-received family comedy Stuart Little (1999), a role she reprised in Stuart Little 2 (2002) and again in Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild (2005). |
449_9 | By the mid and late 1990s, Davis's film career had become less noteworthy and critical acclaim had waned. In a 2016 interview with Vulture, she recalled: "Film roles really did start to dry up when I got into my 40s. If you look at IMDb, up until that age, I made roughly one film a year. In my entire 40s, I made one movie, Stuart Little. I was getting offers, but for nothing meaty or interesting like in my 30s. I'd been completely ruined and spoiled. I mean, I got to play a pirate captain! I got to do every type of role, even if the movie failed." |
449_10 | Davis starred in the sitcom The Geena Davis Show, which aired for one season on ABC during the 2000–01 U.S. television season. She went on to star in the ABC television series Commander in Chief, portraying the first female president of the United States. While this role garnered her a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series in 2006, the series was cancelled after its first season; Davis admitted she was "devastated" by its cancellation in a 2016 interview. "I still haven't gotten over it. I really wanted it to work. It was on Tuesday nights opposite House, which wasn't ideal. But we were the best new show that fall. Then, in January, we were opposite American Idol. They said, 'The ratings are going to suffer, so we should take you off the air for the entire run of Idol, and bring it back in May. I put a lot of time and effort into getting it on another network, too, but it didn't work". She was also nominated for an Emmy Award and a SAG Award for Outstanding Female Actor in a |
449_11 | Drama Series. She was awarded the 2006 Women in Film Lucy Award. |
449_12 | Davis was the only American actor to be cast in the Australian-produced film Accidents Happen (2009), portraying a foul-mouthed and strict mother. She stated that it was the most fun she had ever had on a film set, and felt a deep friendship and connection to both of the actors who played her sons. Written by Brian Carbee and based on his own childhood and adolescence, the film received a limited theatrical release and mixed reviews from critics. Variety found it to be "led by a valiant Geena Davis", despite a "script that mistakes abuse for wit". |
449_13 | Professional expansion (2010s)
Following a long period of intermittent work, Davis often ventured into television acting, and through her organization, the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, saw her career expand during the 2010s. In 2012, she starred as a psychiatrist in the miniseries Coma, based on the 1977 novel Coma by Robin Cook and the subsequent 1978 film. She played a powerful female movie executive in the critically acclaimed comedy In a World... (2013), the directorial debut of Lake Bell. Bell found her only dialogue to be her favorite in the film and called it her "soapbox moment". |
449_14 | In 2014, Davis provided her voice for the English version of the Studio Ghibli animated film When Marnie Was There, as she was drawn to the film's abundant stories and strong use of female characters. She played the recurring role of Dr. Nicole Herman, an attending fetal surgeon with a life-threatening brain tumor, during the 11th season of Grey's Anatomy (2014–15). In 2015, Davis launched an annual film festival to be held in Bentonville, Arkansas, to highlight diversity in film, accepting films that prominently feature minorities and women in the cast and crew. The first Bentonville Film Festival took place from May 5–9, 2015. Davis appeared as the mother of a semi-famous television star in the comedy Me Him Her (2016). |
449_15 | In the television series The Exorcist (2016), based on the 1973 film of the same name, Davis took on the role of grown-up Regan MacNeil, who has renamed herself Angela Rance to find peace and anonymity from her ordeal as a child. The Exorcist was a success with critics and audiences. In 2017, Davis starred in the film adaptation Marjorie Prime, alongside Jon Hamm, playing the daughter of an 85-year old experiencing the first symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, and appeared as the imaginary god of a heavyset 13-year-old girl in the comedy Don't Talk to Irene. Vanity Fair felt that she "shine[d]" and stole "every scene" in Marjorie Prime, while Variety, on her role in Don't Talk to Irene, remarked: "There's no arguing the preternatural coolness of Geena Davis—a fact celebrated in self-conscious fashion by Don't Talk to Irene, a familiar type of coming-of-age film whose most distinguishing feature is the presence of the actress". |
449_16 | In 2018, Davis returned to Grey's Anatomy, reprising the role of Dr. Nicole Herman in the show's 14th season, and executive produced the documentary This Changes Everything, in which she was also interviewed about her experiences in the industry. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it was named first runner-up for the People's Choice Award: Documentaries. In 2019, she joined the voice cast of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power as Huntara. Also in Netflix in 2019, she joined the cast of Glow as Sandy Devereaux St. Clair, a former showgirl turned entertainment director of the Fan-Tan Hotel and Casino. In 2022, Davis' likeness will be used for the character of Poison Ivy in the DC Entertainment comic book series Batman '89, set between the events of Batman Returns (1992) and The Flash (2022).
Personal life
Marriages and family |
449_17 | Davis began dating restaurateur Richard Emmolo in December 1977 and moved in with him a month later. The two married on March 25, 1981, but separated in February 1983 and divorced on June 27, 1984.
In 1985, she met her second husband, actor Jeff Goldblum, on the set of Transylvania 6-5000. The couple married on November 1, 1987, and appeared together in two more films: The Fly and Earth Girls Are Easy. Davis filed for divorce in October 1990, and it was finalized the following year.
After a five-month courtship, Davis married filmmaker Renny Harlin on September 18, 1993. He directed her in Cutthroat Island and The Long Kiss Goodnight. Davis filed for divorce on August 26, 1997, a day after her personal assistant gave birth to a child fathered by Harlin. The divorce became final in June 1998. |
449_18 | In 1998, Davis started dating Iranian-American craniofacial plastic surgeon Reza Jarrahy (born 1971), and allegedly married him on September 1, 2001. They have three children: a daughter, Alizeh (born April 2002), and fraternal twin sons, Kaiis and Kian (born May 2004). In May 2018, Jarrahy filed for divorce from Davis, listing their date of separation as November 15, 2017. Davis responded by filing a petition in which she claimed that she and Jarrahy were never legally married.
Activism
Davis is a supporter of the Women's Sports Foundation and an advocate for Title IX, an Act of Congress focusing on equality in sports opportunities, now expanded to prohibit gender discrimination in American educational institutions. |
449_19 | In 2004, while watching children's television programs and videos with her daughter, Davis noticed an imbalance in the ratio of male to female characters. She went on to sponsor the largest-ever research project on gender in children's entertainment (resulting in four discrete studies, including one on children's television) at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. The study, directed by Stacy Smith, showed that there were nearly three male characters to every female one in the nearly 400 G, PG, PG-13, and R-rated movies analyzed. In 2005, Davis teamed up with the non-profit group Dads and Daughters to launch a venture dedicated to balancing the number of male and female characters in children's television and movie programming. |
449_20 | Davis launched the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media in 2007, which works collaboratively with the entertainment industry to increase the presence of female characters in media aimed at children, and to reduce inequality in Hollywood and the stereotyping of females by the male-dominated industry. For her work in this field she received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Bates College in May 2009; and an honorary Oscar, the Academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, in 2019.
In 2011, Davis became one of a handful of celebrities attached to USAID and Ad Council's FWD campaign, an awareness initiative tied to that year's East Africa drought. She joined Uma Thurman, Chanel Iman and Josh Hartnett in television and internet ads to "forward the facts" about the crisis. |
449_21 | Athletics
In July 1999, Davis was one of 300 women who vied for a semifinals berth in the U.S. Olympic archery team to participate in the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics. She placed 24th and did not qualify for the team, but participated as a wild-card entry in the Sydney International Golden Arrow competition. In August 1999, she stated that she was not an athlete growing up and that she entered archery in 1997, two years before her tryouts.
Filmography
Film
Television
Music videos
Awards and nominations
Notes
References
External links
Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
Geena Davis Video produced by Makers: Women Who Make America |
449_22 | 1956 births
Living people
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from Massachusetts
American activists
American female archers
American feminists
American film actresses
American television actresses
American voice actresses
American women film producers
Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (television) winners
Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winners
Boston University College of Fine Arts alumni
David di Donatello winners
Female models from Massachusetts
Feminist artists
Film producers from Massachusetts
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award winners
Mensans
New England College alumni
People from Wareham, Massachusetts |
450_0 | Palo Santo is the second studio album by the English electronic trio Years & Years, released by Polydor Records on 6 July 2018. Executive produced by the band, it is the follow-up to their debut album Communion (2015). After the success of their Communion, the trio felt pressured in making their succeeding record. Influenced by religion and spirituality, lead singer and principal songwriter Olly Alexander wanted to connect religious transcendence to pop music after perceiving parallels between a church's sense of belonging and gay nightclubs. The trio met with frequent and new collaborators such as Mark Ralph, Greg Kurstin, Steve Mac and Jesse Shatkin to produce most its tracks. Named after the South American "palo santo" (Spanish for "holy wood"), which was commonly used to fend off bad spirits, though Alexander used its name as a dick joke referring to men he knew, it is the group's last album as a trio. |
450_1 | Palo Santo is a concept album, set in the titular fictional world, where traditional rules regarding gender and sexuality are nonexistent. Its lyrical content deals with "the murky, complicated side" of desire, as well as the connection between religion and carnality, using religious iconography in dealing with themes of sexuality, queerness and guilt. Its visual imagery took inspirations from science fiction and technology where androids yearn to experience emotion. Sonically, the album is a dance-pop and electropop record influenced by 1990s pop and R&B music. Palo Santos release was accompanied by a short film of the same name. Its promotional campaign features a single aesthetic of a dystopian future in Palo Santo, both of which were prominently used for the album and its accompanying film. |
450_2 | Upon its release, Palo Santo received widespread praise from music critics, some of whom lauded its deeper emotional resonance compared to its predecessor and Alexander's refusal to embrace moral didacticism and his vibrant display of character. Commercially, the album debuted at number three the UK Albums Chart and became the band's second album to top the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart. Five singles were released from the album: "Sanctify", "If You're Over Me", "All for You", "Play" and "Valentino with "Sanctify", "If You're Over Me" and "Play" making the top forty on the UK Singles Chart, and "If You're Over Me" and "Play" became top ten hits. The trio supported the album with the Palo Santo Tour, which commenced in October 2018 in North America and ended in June 2019 in England. |
450_3 | Background and recording |
450_4 | After the release of their debut studio album Communion (2015), the trio (Olly Alexander, Michael Goldsworthy, Emre Türkmen) were under pressure to duplicate its success in making their next record. Complications arose when Alexander had a highly publicised breakup with Neil Amin-Smith, who was formerly a violinist in the British band Clean Bandit. Alexander reflected that it was a completely different situation from recording Communion, explaining that "Because on your first album, you basically have your entire life to make that record because, you know, you've got so much time and so many experiences and you've never made one before." Executives at Polydor Records recommended him to "guest on some dance hits, buoy the band's profile, and play the Spotify game", but the trio focused on producing the album instead. Alexander also reflected that immediately following the conclusion of their tour supporting Communion, they only had 18 months to finish the next album. He recalled of the |
450_5 | limited time frame, "it went by so fast. I definitely felt it was quite overwhelming thinking, 'Oh, we're never going to be able to pull this off,' and at times it was a real struggle." He met with various songwriters, such as Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter, as well as Greg Kurstin and Mark Ralph, who had previously contributed to Communion. |
450_6 | Composition
Themes and influences |
450_7 | Palo Santo draws influence from images of spirituality and religion, also prominent themes in the band's previous work. It was named after the South American-endemic wood palo santo (Bursera graveolens, Spanish for "holy wood"), which was used as an incense by the Incas to cast off bad spirits. Pitchfork contributor Cameron Cook suggested it may have been influenced by the fact that dancing is considered the "devil's work" in most Western theologies, and that there was a thrill in shaking one's "blasphemous hips while invoking the Lord". He also pointed out that to the band's impulse to connect pop music with religious transcendence was a "sacred experience" to Alexander, its principal songwriter. Alexander, who grew up next door to a church, was intrigued by the rituals performed there, such as a decoration of oranges for the Christingle and reciting the Lord's Prayer, despite not believing in organised religion himself. He remarked, "I was so yearning to be a part of something, I |
450_8 | think that's why, obviously, religion is really powerful. All the ritualism and symbolism and I'm just really drawn by all of that stuff." He further observed that "traditionally, the church has like very much shut out gay people" and he has tried to subvert it "a little bit". Viewing songwriting as a cathartic and mysterious healing ritual, he noticed "odd parallels between a church's sense of belonging, and the celebratory freedom that exists in a space filled with dancing, thrashing bodies, and filthy, sexy pop". Following his breakup, Alexander read the novel Dancer from the Dance by Andrew Holleran, which portrayed "the club...like a church; a church for gay people to go and dance." This idea inspired the album. He later chose the album's title upon discovering the meaning of "palo santo", which he considered apt as he had met "a lot of guys who think they have some holy wood"; he remarked, "thinking that your dick is holy? I've known guys like that." |
450_9 | Palo Santo is intended as a concept album. Based around the concept of "post-human failure", it is set in the world of Palo Santo, a futuristic dystopian society populated by human-hunting androids. Alexander opined that he saw that it was his chance to flip society's normal social rules on their head and begin to question ideas such as "What is an android's sexuality?", "What is an android's gender?", and "How would an android experience love?". Pundits also noted its lyrical themes have mainly dealt with "the murky, complicated side" of desire, as well as the connection between religion and carnality, using religious iconography in dealing with themes of sexuality, queerness and guilt. Critics noted the record as primarily consisting of dance-pop and electropop beats influenced by 1990s pop and R&B.
Songs |
450_10 | All tracks on Palo Santo were co-written by Alexander. The album opens with "Sanctify", produced by Kid Harpoon. Inspired by Dancer from the Dance, Alexander wrote the song about his past relationships with straight-identifying men, whose conflicted feelings he discusses in evocative lyrics about obscuring masks and sinful confessions, as he reassures them that what they are doing is not wrong. The following track, "Hallelujah", was co-written with Goldsworthy, Kurstin, Michaels, and Tranter. Its lyrics talk of getting onto the dancefloor and letting loose, dancing with strangers "until our bodies are singing 'Hallelujah'". Kurstin and Ralph co-wrote the third track, "All for You", as "one to get deep on the dance floor and release your inner demons", referring to the feeling of relief after leaving a toxic lover. The fourth song, "Karma", written with Daniel Traynor, Sarah Hudson, Clarence Coffee Jr., talks about trying good fortune on for size, navigating the game-play that happens |
450_11 | within a budding romance. A short version of "Hypnotised" was used for a promotional campaign by the fashion company H&M, for their collection with Turkish-Canadian fashion designer Erdem. |
450_12 | Following "Hypnotised" is "Rendezvous", written by the whole trio. In the song, Alexander sings of being disappointed to discover that a relationship is merely physical. He described the seventh song, "If You're Over Me", as about being friends with an ex-lover, lamenting that "spoiler alert—it doesn't often work. In fact, in my experience, the relationship often ends up ruined." Written with Steve Mac, Alexander added that the song "is about the emotional torture that ensues —– meeting up and making out, then breaking up all over again, then making out some more". The eighth track, "Preacher", written with Jesse Shatkin, is a song about unlearning guilt and embracing one's self. Alexander wrote the ninth song "Lucky Escape" by himself to confront the more unlikable aspects of our own emotions. Following this is the titular song "Palo Santo". Written with Hudson, the song was inspired by someone Alexander was caught in a love triangle with who uses the "palo santo"-infused incense |
450_13 | sticks to cleanse and purify his personal space. The interlude "Here" closes the standard version of the album, which features a stripped-down performance from Alexander. Three bonus tracks appear on the album's deluxe edition: "Howl", written by the trio with Ralph and Alex Hope; "Don't Panic", written with Kid Harpoon; and "Up in Flames", which was co-written with Kurstin. The Japanese release of the album includes "Coyote", written with Ralph; and a remix version of "If You're Over Me" featuring South Korean singer Key from the boy group Shinee as its closing track. |
450_14 | Release and promotion |
450_15 | Palo Santo was released by Polydor and its parent company Universal Music Group on 6 July 2018. In the United States, it was released by Polydor's sister label Interscope Records. On 6 March 2018, Polydor released a PSEN Messenger bot to formally launch the album's promotional campaign, which included cryptic clues and video clips. The campaign also posted various billboards displaying QR codes, and involved having an android internet bot taking over the trio's Twitter account, and publishing an instruction manual on "How to Treat a Human", as well as a graphic novel that could be accessed through the band's Instagram Story. "Sanctify", its lead single, preceded the album's release on 7 March 2018. It attained a position inside the top forty of the UK Singles Chart. The follow-up single, "If You're Over Me", issued on 10 May 2018, became a top ten hit on both the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singles Chart. Two promotional singles were released: the titular track "Palo Santo" on 22 |
450_16 | June 2018; and "All for You", on 27 June 2018. On the eve of the album's street date, a PSEN Televisual music video for "All for You" was released featuring phone numbers for UK and US viewers to call. Those numbers contained a pre-recorded message from Alexander sharing his robotic expertise on "feelings and emotions". |
450_17 | The release of the album was prefaced by the "Palo Santo Parties", hosted by the trio in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Berlin and London, where they performed various selections from Communion and Palo Santo. The Palo Santo Tour, in support of the album, began in North America in October 2018, and will conclude in 2019. In addition, the trio also made various televised appearances to promote the album: they performed "Sanctify" on Sounds Like Friday Night, "If You're Over Me" on Late Night with Seth Meyers, BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend, and The Graham Norton Show They also performed both singles at the 2018 Summertime Ball. On 29 November 2018, the album was re-released digitally, with the addition of "Play", a collaborative single with English DJ Jax Jones. |
450_18 | Short film
The release of Palo Santo was accompanied by a short film of same name. The short film is a futuristic sci-fi musical, set in the world of Palo Santo, where androids have taken over and crave the feeling of true emotion. The remaining humans, like Alexander, are recruited to perform for The Showman (Pansringarm). It features a neon colourscape, a dance breakdown, and a narration by Dench as the "Mother of Palo Santo".
Directed by Fred Rowson and filmed in Thailand over four days at the beginning of 2018, the 15-minute short stars Alexander, Ben Whishaw, Vithaya Pansringarm, and is narrated by Judi Dench. It marked the second time Alexander, Winshaw, and Dench have worked together, after starring in the West End production of Peter and Alice in 2013. |
450_19 | It also contains the music videos for "Sanctify", "All for You" and "If You're Over Me", with the short film expanding on the story introduced therein. Following the same storyline, on the band's YouTube channel other clips and live performances have been uploaded.
Dancing direction and choreography, for the whole project, were provided by Aaron Sillis with dancers all coming from the "Sillis Movement", Sillis's official dance crew.
Reception
Critical response |
450_20 | Palo Santo has received critical acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 81 based on 16 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". NME contributor El Hunt gave the album five stars, the highest possible rating for the magazine, observing that the album "links the intense escapism of pop music with the sanctuary the queer community seek in their own special, sacred spaces," before concluding that "Filthy, sexy, thoroughly debauched pop at its finest; Palo Santo feels like a magical album." Alim Kheraj of DIY awarded the album a similar rating, noting that what Palo Santo has that Communion lacks is an "inventive ballad", and described it as an "overwhelmingly intimate record that makes you wonder just what Years & Years could be capable of next". |
450_21 | Reviewing for The Guardian, Laura Snapes gave the record a four-star rating, writing that "Palo Santo packs a deeper emotional resonance than Communion, which blurred its high emotional stakes beneath a breezy whirl." Describing the album as "astute, and convincingly ambitious", she stated that the "empathetic outlook and refusal to embrace reductive ideas of good and bad is a tonic during an era in which moral didactic-ism has worryingly infiltrated pop culture. It's probably not what anyone expects a male pop star to do in 2018." The Independent music correspondent Roisin O'Connor gave the album the same rating, discerning sexuality as being "at the heart" of the album, and praising Alexander's courage to put a vibrant, dynamic character who asserts themselves and their sexuality on full display. |
450_22 | Giving the record a 6.5 rating, Pitchfork contributor Cameron Cook described it as a "promising second album because it evolves past the sound of the band's debut." Cook opined that "at its low points, the record lacks the bite to drive home the razor's-edge duality of sacred and profane that Alexander seems to thrive on", further observing that "At their best, Years & Years are capable of godlike sublimity. To take up permanent residence in the heavens, all they need to do is exorcise a few colorless spirits." Alfred Soto of Spin, however, was unsatisfied with the album as their follow-up record, pointing out Goldsworthy and Türkmen's lack of input, and writing that Alexander is "a serious dude—intoxication he limns well, but euphoria gives him trouble, as if it were a foreign language."' Despite praising "Up in Flames" as Alexander's "most confident" performance, he lamented that it was not on the standard edition of the album and called its not being chosen as the lead single an |
450_23 | "expected perversity". |
450_24 | Chart performance
Palo Santo debuted on the UK Albums Chart at number three with 20,297 copies. In the rest of Europe, the album opened at the top ten in Ireland and the Flemish region of Belgium, and attained a top forty position in the national charts of Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the Wallonia region of Belgium. In the United States, Palo Santo debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number 75 with 9,000 units, including 4,000 pure album sales. It also topped the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart, the band's second album to do so after Communion debuted at the top in 2015.
Track listing
Notes
signifies an additional producer.
signifies a vocal producer.
Personnel
Years & Years
Olly Alexander – piano, production, vocals
Michael Goldsworthy – bass, electric bass, percussion, synthesizer bass, background vocals
Emre Türkmen – beats, percussion, programming, synthesizer, background vocals
Additional musicians |
450_25 | Julian Burg – engineering, mix engineering
Clarence Coffee, Jr. – vocal production, background vocals
John Davis – mastering
Samuel Dent – engineering assistance
John Foyle – additional production, mixing
Michael Freeman – mixing assistance
Tom Fuller – engineering
Serban Ghenea – mixing
Grades (Daniel Traynor) – engineering, instrumentation, production, programming
John Hanes – mix engineering
Michael Hauptman – photography
Jonathan Hucks – engineering
Key – vocals
Kid Harpoon (Thomas Hull) – production
Greg Kurstin – drums, engineering, mix engineering, percussion, production, synthesizer
Chris Laws – drums, engineering
Ted Lovett – creative direction
Steve Mac – keyboards, production
John Parricelli – guitar
Alex Pasco – engineering, mix engineering
Dann Pursey – engineering
Mark Ralph – additional production, mixing, production
Jesse Shatkin – bass, drum programming, drums, engineer, guitar, percussion, piano, production, programming, synthesizer |
450_26 | Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing
Two Inch Punch – mixing, production |
450_27 | Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
Tour
To promote the album, Years & Years embarked upon the Palo Santo Tour which began in New York City on 24 June 2018 and concludes in Lembang on 16 March 2019. The tour included shows in nineteen countries, including the band's first UK arena shows.
See also
List of Billboard number-one electronic albums of 2018
LGBT music
Religion and sexuality
Notes
References
2018 albums
Polydor Records albums
Years & Years albums
Albums produced by Grades
Albums produced by Greg Kurstin
Albums produced by Steve Mac
Religion in science fiction
Science fiction concept albums |
451_0 | Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park (, ), is one of the fifteen Spanish national parks, and the only one located in Lleida, Spain.
A wild mountain region in the Pyrenees, with peaks rising to 3017 m (Besiberri Sud) and with nearly 200 lakes, many of them of glacial origin, the park comprises a core area of 141 km2 and a buffer zone of 267 km2 surrounding the park. The park's name in Catalan is Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici, freely translated as "The winding streams and St. Maurice lake".
The park has an elevation range of 1600 to 3000 metres and contains four major vegetation zones: lower montane, upper montane, subalpine and alpine.
The fauna includes Pyrenean chamois, brown bear, marmot, ermine, roe deer, among other mammals and numerous birds (black woodpecker, common crossbill, lammergeier, golden eagle). |
451_1 | The park was created in 1955 after Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, first Spanish national park in the Pyrenees in 1918. Its administrative seats are in Espot and Boí. The park is mainly located in the comarques of Pallars Sobirà and Alta Ribagorça. Since 2007 it has been designated as a protected Ramsar site.
Geography
The national park comprises , divided into two different levels of protection: the core area and the buffer zone surrounding the park. This buffer zone creates a gradation from the inner side, more strictly protected than the external parts of the park.
The core area is located in the comarques of Pallars Sobirà and Alta Ribagorça, and includes the main entrances of the park:
On the west side, from the village of Boí, is the Aigüestortes plain. Aigüestortes means "winding waters" and is largely flat which allows the river to meander and flow slowly. This area indicates the existence of an old lake, today covered by sediment. |
451_2 | To the east, near the village of Espot, is Sant Maurici lake, one of the most famous of the region, from where one can see the spectacular twin peaks of the Encantats. This picture is one of the symbols of the park and is the logo of the park.
This area also includes part of the municipalities of Vielha e Mijaran and Naut Aran in the Val d'Aran; Vilaller and Vall de Boí in the Alta Ribagorça; La Torre de Cabdella in the Pallars Jussà; and Espot, Alt Àneu, Esterri d'Àneu, La Guingueta d'Àneu and Sort in the Pallars Sobirà.
The buffer zone also contains the forest of la Mata de Valencia, Gerber and Cabanes valleys, Colomers and Saboredo valleys, the Besiberri valley, the lakes of Cabdella and Montardo peak.
History |
451_3 | Human settlement of the Pyrenees dates back at least to the period of glacial melting. Inside the borders of the national park, there is no record of stable human habitation during this time, but recent archeological studies have found evidence of temporary settlements from 8,500 years ago in the Neolithic Age.
During the 19th century, the high Pyrenees became more populated, fueled by strong demand for natural resources with intense forestry, farming, and fishing. At the beginning of the 20th century, hydroelectric electrical power plants were built, resulting in a great transformation of the landscape. |
451_4 | On 21 October 1955 the national park was created, becoming the fifth Spanish national park. On 30 March 1988, the Catalan government took ownership of the park, together with an additional buffer zone, according to the Catalan laws. From that date, management of the wild protected areas has been managed by the autonomous government, which has introduced increases to the budget and staffing, along with stricter rules.
Since then, forestry exploitation, fishing, camping and any exploitation of natural resources has been forbidden. However, an allowance is made for cattle breeding and the operative hydroelectric generation. Traditional uses of natural resources which are compatible with the protection of the wilderness are only allowed in the buffer zone.
In 1996 the national park was enlarged, to a total area of 14,119 hectares. |
451_5 | In 1997, after litigation between Catalan and Spanish laws, it was agreed that autonomous regions can also take part in the management of the national parks.
Biology
The park has an elevation range from 1600 to 3000 metres and different orientation of the valleys. For that reason very different ecosystems can be found inside the park.
Vegetation
The park has a great variety of alpine vegetation owing to the large range of altitudes. In the lower parts of the valleys, around 1500 m high, typical European deciduous forests with pubescens oak Quercus humilis, European ash Fraxinus excelsior, beech Fagus sylvatica or common hazel Corylus avellana can be found. However, former meadow and pastureland which have been historically exploited by humans are now typically occupied with grasslands and shrubs, dominated by common box Buxus sempervirens or secondary forests with Scots pine Pinus sylvestris. |
451_6 | From 1500 m to beyond 2000 m, the dominant vegetation is mountain pine Pinus uncinata forest. Growing at altitudes up to 2400 m, it is the tree best adapted to survive the long, hard winters of the High Pyrenees. At this altitude, alpenrose Rhododendron ferrugineum, and blueberry Vaccinium myrtillus which prefers cooler locations, can be found. Heather Calluna vulgaris" or common juniper Juniperus communis prefers more sunny and dry areas. In the north faces at less than 2000 m, there are important silver fir Abies alba forests. La Mata de Valencia is the largest Pyrenean fir tree forest.
In the alpine meadows, above 2300 m where trees cannot survive, it is possible to find various other alpine flora species, such as Gentiana alpina. |
451_7 | Approximately 8% of the species of the park are endemic to the Pyrenees. Around 7% they are plants with boreo-alpine or artico-alpine distribution, with most of them having arrived in the Pyrenees during the last Ice Age. The most important group of the national park flora belongs to the Eurosiberian group, the typical species from central Europe.
Animals
Animals are not easily spotted in the national park. However, there are about 200 species from the phylum Chordata present, of which two-thirds are birds. Some of the most important ones are capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta), golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) and bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus). Also possible to see are black woodpecker (Dryocopus martius), red-billed chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria), white-throated dipper (Cinclus cinclus), citril finch (Serinus citrinella) among others. |
451_8 | Most representative mammal species are Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica), brown bear (Ursus arctos), stoat (Mustela erminea), alpine marmot (Marmota marmota) (which is not native), fallow deer (Dama dama) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) which were also introduced in the national park during the second half of the 20th century.
Among the amphibians, the Pyrenean brook salamander (Euproctus asper) is significant but not easy to spot. The common frog (Rana temporaria) is more or less common. It's necessary to be aware of vipera aspis (Vipera aspis), a viper with a poisonous bite, but it does not usually attack without provocation.
In the lakes and rivers, brown trout (Salmo trutta fario), the local trout, shares the region with other introduced species.
Geology and climate |
451_9 | Aigüestortes National Park is an important item in the Pyrenean geology. The predominant rocks are granite and slate, both very old Paleozoic rocks. These emerged from the sea in the Paleogene, during the Alpine orogeny, giving rise to the Pyrenees.
Successive quaternary glaciations covered these mountains with huge glaciers. The lakes, the waterfalls, the sharpened peaks, the vertiginous ridges and the U-shaped valleys are the footprints of the erosive action of those ancient glaciers. Today, they have virtually disappeared, except for small glaciers in the central Pyrenees.
Today, lakes are the most important contribution of these glaciers, which are fed by rivers and waterfalls.
The climate in the park is predominantly cold. The mean temperature is around 0 to 5 °C. In the upper parts, temperatures hardly reach above 0 °C during winter. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 900 to 1300 mm – Mostly as snow in the mountains. |
451_10 | Management and information
44% of the territory is government owned. Only 6% of the land has private owners, with the village of Espot extending into the eastern part of the park. Even so, exploitation of natural resources is forbidden in the strictly national park.
Public use is one of the most important objectives for national parks and people have the right to visit and walk within it.
Information centres
The park has information centres widely distributed in the area. Boí is one of the main centres of the park. It has also a public library and an exhibition about the settlement of the Pyrenees and the adaptations to live in the mountains.
The Park Information Center at Espot also provides an exhibition about the three leading things of the park: rock, water and life.
The Museum of the Shepherds is in Llessui, where the exhibition shows the traditional life and work of the shepherds from this valley. |
451_11 | Senet has an information center explaining the evolution of the park in the relation between humans and animals: a history about competition, exploitation and good fellowship.
During summer months a little information centre is open in Estany Gento, and a cable railway runs in the higher valley of Torre de Cabdella. There are some explanations about the water and the national park.
From all of these centres, it is possible to participate in different organised activities.
Tourism
Tourist activities are regulated. Walking access is free, but it is forbidden to collect any rocks, plants, flowers or mushrooms, and hunting and fishing is prohibited. Camping is also prohibited.
It is not possible to enter the park by private car. In Espot or Boí, walkers can hire 4x4 taxis which can transport them to a number of popular locations within the park, such as the Aigüestortes plain or Sant Maurici lake. |
451_12 | At the Val d'Aran entrances during the summertime, there is also a taxi service that provides easier access to the Colomers or Restanca shelters. At the Vall Fosca, the southern entrance of the park, a cableway connects Sallente with estany Gento, where some nice day walks begin.
Trekking
Summertime is a good time for trekking. There are a lot of possibilities, but it's necessary to be aware of the difficulty of some of the paths and be in good physical condition.
The transpyrenean path, GR-11 marked with red and white lines, crosses the park from one side to other. |
451_13 | At the information points, hiking brochures available (also in English) which are recommended and shows many of the easy paths with descriptions. Some of them are:
At Boí valley, from Llebreta Lake to Llong Lake, following Sant Nicolau River. Along this path, a footbridge allows the handicapped people with wheelchairs to visit the Aigüestortes plain.
From Espot and the Sant Maurici Lake, an interesting path goes up to the waterfall and Ratera Lake. From this lake, after 15 minutes additional walking, it is possible to arrive at a viewpoint looking over the Sant Maurici Lake. A second option is to walk up to Amitges shelter which provides walkers with experience of the high mountains.
From the parking area of Clot Gran, near the Port de la Bonaigua, to Gerber valley and lakes.
From Banhs de Tredòs, at the Val d'Aran, walk to Colomers shelter – this provides a very spectacular walk with a number of lakes. |
451_14 | From Estany Gento, walk to Tort Lake and arrive to the Colomina shelter or Saburó Lake.
A very interesting tour for several days:
Camins vius (Living Paths). This route is a walk along the historic valley paths, most dating back to medieval times and some of more ancient origin, through villages surrounding the national park, passing through Alta Ribagorça, Val d'Aran, and Pallars Sobirà.
Carros de foc (Chariots of Fire). This route completes a circular tour around some of the shelters that exist in this area. The competitive option (Sky runner) must be completed in less than 24 hours but it's better to have at least four or five days in order to appreciate the experience that this route provides. |
451_15 | Other mountain activities as rock climbing, alpinism, snowshoeing or backcountry skiing are also allowed (with some regulations) in the national park. The mountain shelters, the only places where visitors are permitted spend a night into the park, are available to stay for allow traversing the higher peaks in the park.
Mountain biking
Cycling is only allowed on paved routes inside the park (just to Sant Maurici Lake or Aigüestortes plain) and is strictly regulated. Some routes are available in the peripheral area, most of them with medium or hard level.
Pedals de Foc: is an organized route for riding around the park (not inside) for several days and possibility of backpacking transfer.
Refuges |
451_16 | Trekkers can find up to ten guarded refuges in the park and its periphery. These are open during four months (end of spring and summer). During the winter, every refuge has its own opening calendar (usually around Christmas and Easter). It's necessary to book them in advance. The refuges are the following:
Amitges
Colomers
Colomina
Ernest Mallafré
Estany Llong
Josep Mª Blanc
Pla de la Font
Restanca
Saboredo
Ventosa i Calvell
Additionally, there are two unguarded but well-equipped refuges (Mataró and Besiberri).
Surroundings
There is a rich architectural heritage in the region, including the Catalan Romanesque churches of the Vall de Boí. UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in November 2000. A good example is the Sant Climent de Taüll church.
Gallery
References
External links
Guide to Parks in the Catalonia Pyrenees.
Official site in Catalan or Spanish
official site, with some information in English |
451_17 | Parks in Catalonia
Protected areas of Catalonia
National parks of Spain
Protected areas of the Pyrenees
Protected areas established in 1955
1955 establishments in Spain
Pyrenees conifer and mixed forests
Ramsar sites in Spain |
452_0 | Yang Yanzhao (楊延昭) ( 958 – 9 February 1014), named Yang Yanlang (楊延朗) before 1012, was a military general in ancient China's Northern Song Dynasty. For over 2 decades he defended Song's northern border against the Khitan-ruled Liao Dynasty, helping Song thwart Liao's repeated invasion attempts between 999 and 1004.
He was one of Yang Ye's 7 sons. History of Song mentions that he was called Yang Liulang (楊六郎, literally "Yang's 6th son") by the Khitans who feared him. In the largely fictional legends of Generals of the Yang Family, Yang Yanzhao is Yang Ye's 6th eldest son to explain this nickname, even though historians believe he was actually the eldest or 2nd eldest son.
Early career
Yang Yanzhao's given name was originally Yanlang (延朗). As a child, he was quiet but enjoyed playing military strategy games. His father Yang Ye (then still called Liu Jiye), a distinguished general, had commented that Yanlang resembled him, and would bring him along on military campaigns. |
452_1 | In 986, the Song Dynasty armies embarked on a large-scale northern campaign to take the Sixteen Prefectures from Khitan-ruled Liao Dynasty. Yang was the vanguard general for his father Yang Ye's troops during the attacks on the prefectures Yingzhou and Shuozhou. He fought on despite an arrow piercing his arm in the attacks of Shuozhou. After his father's death, he was named a vice-commissioner of honor ceremony (崇儀副使) and sent to Jingzhou. In the years that followed, he had a stint in Huainan to oversee the recovery from floods in Yangtze River and Huai River, eventually becoming the metro inspection commissioner (都巡檢使) of the Baozhou area on the Song border, where he would remain for the rest of his life. |
452_2 | At the border, Yang continued his father's tradition of instilling strong discipline in his troops by setting good examples. He had few servants and associates for his position and would endure the same hardship as his soldiers. He befriended Yang Si (楊嗣), another brave general at the border, and commoners would gradually call the duo the "two Yangs". |
452_3 | War against Liao
In the winter of 999, Yang was guarding the small city of Suicheng (遂城, still in today's Xushui County) when the invading Liao army laid siege and attacked it continuously. Xiao Chuo, Liao's charismatic empress dowager, personally oversaw the attacks. With little resources in the city, Yang's outnumbered soldiers became more frightened by day. Yang quickly recruited fit men from the city's population to strengthen the troops defending the city, providing them with weapons and armor. He also ordered his men to pour water on the outside of the city's defensive walls. Since the temperature was freezing, water quickly turned into ice, making Liao's attempt to climb the city walls impossible. Finally the Liao forces had no choice but to retreat, and Yang chased after them and obtained much armor. |
452_4 | News of the victory was initially not reported to Emperor Zhenzong of Song by Fu Qian (傅潛), the regional military commissioner in charge of 80,000 soldiers. For fear of suffering a defeat, Fu Qian had tried hard to avoid confronting the invading Liao army. Previously, when the "two Yangs" and other generals repeatedly requested for soldiers and orders to attack, Fu always scolded them rudely. Once Emperor Zhenzong found out, he removed Fu from the post and summoned Yang Yanlang. Yang described the situation at the border and answered all questions to the emperor's satisfaction. Impressed, Emperor Zhenzong told several princes, "Yanlang's father had been a famous general for the previous emperor. Yanlang now defends the border and commands his army just like his father. It is highly commendable." Yang was appointed the regional inspector (刺史) of Mozhou (莫州, today's Maozhou) and given many awards. As always, instead of bringing the gifts back to his family, he distributed it among his |
452_5 | soldiers. |
452_6 | When the Liao forces invaded again in the winter, Yang fought them on but kept on retreating, finally luring his enemy to the west of a mountainous place called Yangshan (羊山, in today's Xushui County), where he had set up an ambush. The Liao force was annihilated and Yang presented the severed head of a Liao general to Emperor Zhenzong. Together with Yang Si, Yang Yanlang was promoted to become a military training commissioner (團練使) in 1001. Speaking to his ministers, Emperor Zhengzong characterized the "two Yangs" as loyal and brave, adding, "Many in the imperial court are jealous of them, but I will defend them with (my) power." When in 1002, the "two Yangs" were attacked on the way to reinforce the besieged Baozhou and lost many of soldiers, Emperor Zhenzong pardoned them, saying, "(Their) bravery is renowned, (I) will just watch their future accomplishments." |
452_7 | In 1004, Liao Dynasty initiated a major invasion to the south, and came to a standstill with the Song forces in Chanzhou (in today's Puyang). Emperor Zhenzong came to the frontier and strongly boosted the morale of Song soldiers. Liao decided to negotiate a peace treaty, but Yang Yanzhao voiced his strong opinion against it, saying "as the Khitans (Liao) are at a standstill in Chanzhou, thousands of li away from their home in the north, their soldiers and horses are very tired. Despite their large numbers they could be easily defeated now." However Emperor Zhenzong eventually decided for a peace treaty, known as the Chanyuan Treaty, which specified that Song must pay annual tributes to Liao. To voice his protest, Yang Yanzhao fought a last battle during Liao's retreat and killed and captured countless Liao soldiers. |
452_8 | Later years
According to History of Song, Yang Yanzhao was an intelligent and brave general who commanded a disciplined army for several decades on the frontier. Any reward he received he shared with his soldiers, never bringing anything home. During battles he would fight the enemies with his soldiers on the battleground, while he often attributed victories to his subordinates, therefore his soldiers were very loyal to him. When he died at the age of 56, Emperor Zhenzong was very saddened and ordered a special envoy to bring his coffin home. Many people along the way wept when they saw his coffin.
His 3 surviving sons, Yang Chuanyong (楊傳永), Yang Dezheng (楊德政), Yang Wenguang all became officials.
In fiction
In Generals of the Yang Family, Yang Yanzhao is the 6th son of Yang Ye and She Saihua. He was the only son who returned from the battlefield to the family after the defeat in Golden Beach. In the stories he is also referred to as Yang Jing (楊景). |
452_9 | In the stories, he married Princess Chai, a descendant of Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou. Like others in the Chai family, Princess Chai holds a death-exemption certificate from Emperor Taizu of Song. Their son Yang Zongbao also became a Song general.
Notes
Sources
950s births
1014 deaths
Song dynasty generals
The Generals of the Yang Family characters |
453_0 | Gweedore ( ; officially known by its Irish language name, ) is an Irish-speaking district and parish located on the Atlantic coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. Gweedore stretches some from Glasserchoo in the north to Crolly in the south and around from Dunlewey in the east to Magheraclogher in the west, and is one of Europe's most densely populated rural areas. It is the largest Irish-speaking parish in Ireland with a population of around 4,065, and is also the home of the northwest regional studios of the Irish-language radio service RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, as well as an external campus of National University of Ireland, Galway. Gweedore includes the villages Bunbeg, Derrybeg, Dunlewey, Crolly and Brinlack, and sits in the shade of County Donegal's highest peak, Errigal. |
453_1 | Gweedore is known for being a cradle of Irish culture, with old Irish customs, traditional music, theatre, Gaelic games and the Irish language playing a central and pivotal role in the lives of the local people. This, along with its scenery and many beaches, has made the area a popular tourist destination, especially with visitors from Northern Ireland. Gweedore and the neighbouring districts of Cloughaneely and the Rosses are collectively known locally as "the three parishes"; they form a social and cultural region distinct from the rest of the county, with Gweedore serving as the main centre for socialising and industry.
Etymology
Gweedore is the anglicisation of the original and official Irish name Gaoth Dobhair. Gaoth refers to an inlet of the sea at the mouth of the Crolly River, known as An Ghaoth. It is the boundary between Gweedore to the north and The Rosses to the south. Dobhar is an old Irish word for water. Therefore, Gaoth Dobhair translates as "the aqueous estuary". |
453_2 | The name Gweedore or Gaoth Dobhair refers to the traditional district and Catholic parish of the same name, not to one village or town. The villages of Bunbeg, Derrybeg, Dunlewey and others are collectively known as Gweedore.
Language
Gweedore has a population of 4,500 and is divided into three District Electoral Divisions (E.D.s) or wards:
Machaire Chlochair with a population of 2,651 and an estimated 77% native Irish speakers.
Cnoc Fola/Mín an Chladaigh with a population of 1,326 and 83% Irish speakers.
Dún Lúiche with a population of 695 and 76% Irish speakers. |
453_3 | The predominant spoken language of the district is Irish, but English can be widely heard as well. All schools, religious services, and advertisements are through Irish. Thousands of second-level and some third-level students from all over Ireland attend summer schools at Coláiste Cholmcille (Columba's College), Coláiste Bun an Inbhir, Coláiste Chú Chulainn, Coláiste Mhuire and Coláiste an Phiarsaigh in Gaoth Dobhair every summer to further their knowledge and understanding of the Irish language. This is a Gaeltacht, an area where the Irish language is the first language, providing an unbroken link with millennia of Irish history and culture. |
453_4 | Since most of the inhabitants of the village are bilingual, it is common to hear English vocabulary used within an Irish sentence and vice versa. A rich subset of unique vocabulary and phrases has arisen from this bilingualism and owing to this, the parish has attracted some curious interest from both lexicographers and etymologists in the past. For example, the Irish suffix -ailte or -eáilte is used to form a Gaelicised version of English verbs, as in wreckailte "tired".
History |
453_5 | The Plantation of Ulster in 1609 added a twist to the fate of the parish. Irish-speaking families who were driven from their fertile lands in the Lagan Valley and the surrounding areas made their way to the poor boglands of west Donegal. Some of them made it as far as Gweedore and could go no further west. Around the same time, English and Scottish colonists began to arrive when this uncharted territory was converted to baronies. It appears the parish was very sparsely populated up until the 17th century. The first people to arrive lived on the islands or by the shore in clusters, pockets of houses built close together and in each other's shade.
Up until the early 19th century the parish was only lightly populated and it seems the people had an amicable relationship with the landowners. |
453_6 | The standard of life was to deteriorate with the arrival of new landlords in the 19th century, in particular Lord George Hill (1801–1879) and his son Arthur. The people of the parish led by James McFadden (), the parish priest in 1875–1901, challenged the landlords with the founding of the Land League and the Plan of Campaign. The killing by parishioners of Royal Irish Constabulary District Inspector William Limbrick Martin (locally known as An Mháirtínigh) outside the local church, Teach Phobail Mhuire, in Derrybeg on Sunday 3 February 1889, while rushing Father McFadden with a drawn sword, was the climax of the Land War in Gweedore. The case was recalled in the 1928 memoirs of Tim Healy, who defended Father McFadden and his parishioners.
An Irish American journalist, W.H. Hurlbert, also investigated the landlord-tenant dispute in Gweedore in minute detail in his book Ireland under Coercion, published in 1888. |
453_7 | Many books have been published in Irish, and several in English, detailing Gweedore's rich history. One of the most prolific of local historians was Cáit Nic Giolla Bhríde.
Freak storm
On the afternoon of 23 June 2009, a severe thunderstorm struck Gweedore. It was centred on the adjoining villages of Bunbeg and Derrybeg, and lasted for several hours, causing two rivers to burst their banks, flooding houses, shops and factories, ripping up roads and destroying bridges. Lightning which lasted for two hours damaged power lines and caused a major breakdown of mobile phone service, leaving people trapped by the floods unable to contact help. Up to 20 houses were cut off from the outside world after three access bridges were carried away by the swollen rivers. |
453_8 | Described as the worst storm "in living memory", it was also the most severe since 1880 when five people drowned in Derrybeg. Owing to the highly localised nature of the storm, the areas of maximum rainfall missed the network of rain gauges but Met Éireann estimated that between 2 pm and 6 pm, up to of rain fell at the core.
Economy
In the 1980s and 1990s, Gweedore had a thriving factory industry, where up to 20 large companies were established producing rubber, carpets, body toning equipment and cleaning agents. However, by 2001 most of these companies had closed due to competition from Eastern Europe. Up to 4,000 jobs were lost, and this had a serious economic and social effect on Gweedore and surrounding areas. The factory in the townland of Crolly has been manufacturing porcelain dolls since 1939 under the name Crolly Dolls. |
453_9 | In 2003, the estate was renamed Páirc Ghnó Ghaoth Dobhair (Gweedore Business Park) and the Gaeltacht body, Údarás na Gaeltachta, started a campaign to try to entice businesses to Gweedore in hope of reviving the local economy. A Scottish company opened a call centre on the estate, but this subsequently closed. Other businesses include a number of supermarkets, convenience stores, beauticians, hairdressers, contractors, garages, pharmacists, pubs, cafes and three well-established hotels: Derrybeg Hotel, Teach Jack and An Chúirt Hotel.
Education
Primary level
All five primary schools in the area are Irish-speaking schools. Children are not taught English until higher infants level (5–6 years old).
Scoil Chonaill, Bunbeg (An Bun Beag)
Scoil Mhuire, Derrybeg (Doirí Beaga)
Scoil Phádraig, Dore (Dobhar)
Scoil Bhríde, Mín an Chladaigh
Scoil Adhamhnáin, Lunniagh (Luinneach) |
453_10 | Secondary level
The only community school (post-primary) is Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair, established in Lunniagh in 1977. As with the local primary schools, all students are educated through the medium of Irish and most sit their public examinations in Irish.
Third level
In 2004, NUI Galway expanded to Gweedore when it opened Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, providing third-level education through the medium of the Irish language to over 80 students every year. Several diplomas are available as well as a new bachelor's degree in business studies. |
453_11 | Physical features
Gweedore is close to Errigal, the tallest mountain in County Donegal, which overshadows the picturesque Dunlewey Lough. It is surrounded by the deep glens and lakes of the Poisoned Glen, through which the Cronaniv Burn flows, and further on, Glenveagh national park and castle, the largest national park in Ireland. Bád Eddie ("Eddie's Boat"), the Cara na Mara ("Friend of the Sea"), is the wreck of a ship which ran ashore on Magheraclogher Strand due to rough seas. The Crolly River (Irish: Abhainn Chroithlí), also known as the Gweedore River, and the Clady River (Irish: An Chláidigh) are two of the main rivers flowing through Gweedore.
The Gweedore coastline consists of long sandy beaches and rugged cliffs with small islands, including Gola Island and Tory Island. |
453_12 | Transport
Gweedore railway station, opened on 9 March 1903, closed for passenger traffic on 3 June 1940 and finally closed altogether on 6 January 1947. The chief railway engineer was Taggart Aston, from Belfast. He was responsible for the design and construction of many of the bridges on the Letterkenny to Burtonport Extension narrow-gauge railway (L&BER), a company jointly owned by the State and the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway (L&LSR). Coaches that operate from Gweedore include Collins Coaches Donegal to Glasgow, Feda Ó Dónaill, Coyle's Coaches, John McGinley, Patrick Gallagher Coaches, Crónán Mac Pháidín private hire coaches, and a bus route serving the local airport. For many years the Lough Swilly Railway company provided a bus service for the area, which transported people to places such as Letterkenny and other surrounding parishes.
Sport
Sports played locally include Gaelic football, golf and soccer. |
453_13 | Gaelic games
The local Gaelic games club, CLG Ghaoth Dobhair, is located in Machaire Gathlán and provides facilities for all GAA sports. The Gaoth Dobhair senior team is the most successful club in the Donegal Senior Football Championship and Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta. It won the 2018 Ulster Senior Club Football Championship. Players such as Kevin Cassidy and the McGee brothers—Eamon and Neil—are known nationally for their exploits with the senior Donegal county football team. Newcomers, such as Odhrán Mac Niallais, Kieran Gillespie, Michael Carroll and Cian Mulligan have secured places in the senior county football team in recent years. Hurling was never a popular sport in Gweedore, with the exception of a briefly successful minor team in the late 1990s. |
453_14 | Golf
Gailf Chumann Ghaoth Dobhair, the local golf club, is also situated in Machaire Gathlán. The 14-hole course hugs the picturesque north-west coast and holds several high-profile tournaments throughout the year, most notably, 'The Clannad Classic', sponsored by the world-renowned local folk band.
Soccer
Soccer clubs active in the area include Gweedore Celtic, Gweedore United, Glenea United and Dunlewey Celtic. All teams take part in both county and national competitions. Scottish soccer player Paddy Crerand's mother hailed from Gweedore. Still a regular visitor to the area, Crerand broadcast an episode of his MUTV show The Paddy Crerand Show live from the Ostan Gweedore Hotel in March 2012. Aiden McGeady's paternal grandparents also hail from Gweedore and he spent many of his summer holidays in the parish.
Currach racing
Cumann na gCurach, based at Machaire Gathlán, is a voluntary group that organises currach races and takes part in numerous races all over the country. |
453_15 | Arts and culture |
453_16 | Music |
453_17 | Gweedore is famed for its traditional Irish music scene, which is prevalent in local taverns, especially at Hiúdaí Beag's Tavern in Bunbeg. Gweedore has produced a number of well-known musicians. Clannad were formed in 1970, and have since gone on to sell over 15 million records. Lead singer Moya Brennan has also enjoyed a successful solo career, providing musical scores for several Hollywood films. Altan (initially Ceoltóirí Altan), another highly successful local band, is led by Coshclady fiddler Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh. Gweedore's most successful musician is Enya, born as Eithne Ní Bhraonáin; she first appeared on stage in Amharclann Ghaoth Dobhair as a member of Clannad, before going on to become one of the world's biggest-selling artists, with sales exceeding 80 million. Other local singers include Aoife Ní Fhearraigh, Brídín Brennan, Na Casaidigh, Proinsias Ó Maonaigh, Gearóidín Bhreathnach, Seamus McGee and Maria McCool. The well-known 1970s group Skara Brae also had strong links |
453_18 | with the district. There are two active choirs in the area. Cór Mhuire Doirí Beaga, led by Baba Brennan and Eileen Nic Suibhne and Cór Thaobh 'a Leithid, led by Doimnic Mac Giolla Bhríde. Both have recorded successful albums. |
453_19 | The song "Gleanntáin Ghlas' Ghaoth Dobhair" was written by local musician Francie Mooney, expressing an exile's final farewell to the green valleys of Gweedore. It has become a modern Irish classic and it has been covered by the likes of Clannad, Paul Brady, Dáithí Sproule, The Johnstons and most notably by Altan. Other well-known songs to have come from the area are "Trasna na dTonnta" and "Báidín Fheilimí".
Festivals
The popular Scoil Gheimhridh Frankie Kennedy ("Frankie Kennedy Winter School") took place in Gweedore every New Year until January 2014 in memory of the eponymous Belfast musician, who was married to its founder, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, until he died of cancer in 1994. It has been replaced by the Scoil Gheimhridh Ghaoth Dobhair ("Gweedore Winter School"). |
453_20 | Several attempts have been made recently to revive festivals in the summer months, including Féile Earthcore, Loinneog Lúnasa and Féile Ceoil Ghaoth Dobhair. The annual Saint Patrick's Day Parade which goes from Bunbeg crossroads to Derrybeg attracts thousands of participants and spectators each year. |
453_21 | Theatre
Gweedore has a rich history of theatre and drama productions. The local theatre Amharclann Ghaoth Dobhair was constructed in 1961. A local theatre group known as Aisteoirí Ghaoth Dobhair ('actors of Gweedore') was established in 1932. Their first production was called In Aimsir an Mháirtínigh, an original play by Eoghan Mac Giolla Bhríde which was staged in the parish hall in Derrybeg. Their plays and pantomimes, which were all staged in Irish, became a staple of Gaeltacht social life, drawing audiences from as far as Belfast and they performed throughout Ireland and Scotland. Members of the theatre group have gone on to create TV shows including CU Burn (Seán Mac Fhionnghaile), and have appeared on Ros na Rún (Gavin Ó Fearraigh). Many of Gweedore's musicians were associated with the group. Aisteoirí Ghaoth Dobhair are still active and performed shows at An Grianán Theatre in Letterkenny as part of the Earagail Arts Festival in 2010 and 2011. |
453_22 | Art
Gaoth Dobhair is home to two art galleries which house work by some of the area's best-known painters. An Clachán claims to be the largest art gallery in Donegal, whilst An Gailearaí at Áislann Ghaoth Dobhair has staged exhibitions based on the work of the world-renowned Derek Hill.
Religion
The Roman Catholic parish of Gweedore has four churches: Teach Pobal Mhuire (St Mary's) in Derrybeg (built in 1972, after the previous 'old chapel' had flooded on many occasions), Teach Pobail an Chroí Naofa (Sacred Heart) in Dunlewey (built in 1877), Teach Pobail Naomh Pádraig (St Patrick's) in Meenaweel (built in 1938) and Séipéal Cholmcille (St Columba's) in Bloody Foreland (built in 1933). The only Protestant church in Gweedore is St Patrick's Church of Ireland, in Bunbeg.
Media
Radio |
453_23 | The regional studios of the Irish language radio station RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta are in the townland of Derrybeg. Two radio shows are broadcast from Gweedore each day, as well as regional news every hour.
Gallery
Place names in Gweedore
Because Gweedore is in the Gaeltacht and partly due to the provisions of the Official Languages Act 2003, only the original Irish versions of placenames have any legal status, and these are used on road signage. However Anglicised versions were created for most placenames and are still in informal use in English.
Alphabetical listing |
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