Cé hé Radvan Markus?

Radvan Markus - at home in Prague 7

Radvan, can you tell us a little about yourself - maybe starting with your name, which is not a typical Czech name? 


My surname is connected with my father’s family, who were actually Jewish. My father came from Vienna to Prague, where he married my mother. 
His native tongue was German, but I was not brought up bilingually - I was raised through Czech. 
Despite this, German was very much present in in the family. My parents quite often resorted to German, especially when they didn’t want me to understand what they were saying! 
Fortunately, I learned the language at quite an early stage and I could soon understand.

What is your current position in the Charles University? 

I'm senior lecturer in the Irish language and Irish studies. 


When did you start becoming interested in Irish? 

Back in the middle of the nineties, when I was still at secondary school. That was a time when the country was very much opening to influences from the outside, from the West, especially. There was quite an interest in Irish culture as well, and I think my first encounter with the culture was through music. 
I got some audio cassettes from a friend whose father went to Ireland and I fell in love with the traditional music. And it all went from there.

And do you remember the name of the group [on the audio cassettes]? 

I think it was several groups - one of them was The Dubliners. 


And then did you study Irish at university or how did you get to the where you are today professionally? 

I started [to learn Irish] on my own because I planned to visit Ireland and wanted to learn some Irish phrases. I managed to get a photocopy of a textbook, but I had no clue whatsoever how to pronounce the language. 
But then in Ireland, I bought a textbook with a cassette and tried. At first I didn't get too far, but later, when I started to study English at Charles University, there were some teachers of Irish coming over, so I started to take proper lessons. 
During that time I also worked as a translator from English to Czech and the publisher I was working for at the time told me that there was a possibility of getting a grant from Ireland for the translation of an Irish book and I thought it would be a good idea to translate a book from Irish. 
So I asked my teacher at that time, Pádraig Ó Liatháin, to recommend me something. His choice was L’Attaque by Eoghan Ó Tuairisc as an interesting historical novel that would be appealing to the readers. What he did not mention was that it is very much a modernist text with lots of allusions and experimental literary technique. 
So it was quite difficult even to read the book, but I actually do like challenges when I translate. This, I think, was the start of my serious engagement with the language. 


And tell me about your connection with Irish music. 

So I mentioned the beginnings of my interest, and shortly after that, I started to meet other musicians in Prague who were interested in Irish music.  I already could play several instruments, I played the guitar and the clarinet at the time and started to play the flute as well. And at the beginning of the millennium, I ended up as the flute player in the Irish band Dún an Doras. We had quite a lot of gigs and recorded two CDs – the band no longer exists, it split up, I think in 2005. Then I started to have some problems with my tendons, so I had to take a break, but I returned to music after a few years, started to play in sessions and to teach the flute at the Bernards Summer School, and then around 2017, we started the current band [Conamara Chaos]

…which is, I think, the best known and maybe most successful Irish music band in the Czech Republic?

I'm not sure whether it is. 
There are several bands. Many of them are good. Some of them are more successful than us as well, perhaps more accessible to the general public. 
So I don't know, but I really enjoy the gigs we have and at least in Prague, we can attract decent crowds, which I am really thankful for.

And it was you who founded the band, who found the others, you brought them together, you said, hey, let's do this, yes? 


Actually, it started with the launch of my translation of Máirtín Ó Cadhain’s Cré na Cille, as I really wanted to have some music for the event. So I told the guitar player from the former band, Dún an Doras (my wife), who plays the fiddle and several other people I had played with before, and we formed a band. We soon found out that we enjoyed playing together, so we continued.

And why the name – Conamara Chaos? 


Actually it’s an icy area on a moon of Jupiter. 
When I found out about that region, I thought, what a great name for a band. Mainly because of the fact that the name comes from the region of Connemara, in the west of Ireland, to which I feel a deep connection. I visited the place several times, spent some time there at language courses, but also researched the local folklore and looked for advice for the translation of the work of Máirtín Ó Cadhain, who actually comes from that area and based many of his stories there. 
I thought it's a good name to express this connection as well.

I suppose you could say Connemara is a very Irish part of Ireland, quite different to Dublin? 


Yes, I suppose so, but I do like Dublin as well and I still think it has a specific atmosphere, despite all the tourists. I also really like the city’s literary history. 
I feel at home at Dublin when I go there, which is quite often, as I visit Ireland several times a year, usually to attend conferences.

And do you drink Guinness? 

I do! 


Where?

It depends. Wherever  I go with my friends and colleagues - in Galway we usually end up in Tigh Neachtain. Last year I took my family to Ireland and one place I really fell in love with was Tory Island. 
It is a great place for local culture and bird watching, but they also have a great pub with really good Guinness, which is also very cheap- just three euro 50. It's a very friendly place as well.

So what are you working on now with Conamara Chaos? 

I think we'll take it easy for a while, also because of the fact that bodhrán player is actually leaving, so we need to find a new percussionist. We do have a candidate, so hopefully this will work out. 
We plan some gigs with dancers in the autumn, hopefully there will be a concert in Malostranská beseda in January, and slowly I'd like to work towards another CD because I think we already have quite many new songs and instrumentals, but it will take a while.

And is most of your work your own compositions?

Most of the instrumentals are our own. But the songs come from all sorts of places: some of them are traditional, others were written by singer-songwriters from Ireland, Britain as well as the United States. So it's a mixture.

And your fans, are they mostly Czechs? 

Mostly yes, but we get the expats coming as well, like you. 
And people connected to the Irish Embassy. We are quite grateful for the fact that they seem to enjoy the music! But yes, it is mostly Czech people, those who play Irish music, are connected to Irish dancing or simply like the genre.

So you obviously have quite a lot going on. 
Do you feel yourself just the right amount busy or too busy or not busy enough? 

That depends on the time of the year. Sometimes I feel too busy. 
 At this particular time, though, after the end of the semester, I actually do have some time for reading and research, which is great. 


Thank you very much, Radvan, nice talking to you!

You can follow Conamara Chaos on Facebook and their website.