Lament for Rogers O’Neill - Ilse de Ziah - Irish Cello

LAMENT FOR ROGERS O’NEILL. Was said to have been written in 1904 by Francis O’Neill “on the death of a young collegian of brilliant promise in Chicago.” Rogers O’Neill was the last surviving son of compiler Captain Francis O’Neill (three younger brothers had all died in childhood, on the same day, from diptheria) who contracted spinal meningitis and died at the age of 18. In addition to his academic success, Rogers was also a promising violinist. What heartbreak now around the world with parents losing sons and daughters to disease, floods, and war, I play this lament for the difficult feelings of sadness and loss that people are juggling at this moment in history. We have just got to a turning point in the pandemic (here in Ireland anyway), have huge work to do in saving our planet and dealing with the consequences of terrible flooding and other issues, and then someone decides now is a good time to add to the misery and start a war. Times are tough, it’s all wrong and it can feel overwhelming. This