Victoria Keating & Aine O'Gorman - The Poor Ground (single)
Victoria Keating and Aine O'Gorman are singer-songwriters from West Cork. Eve Blaire of BBC Radio Ulster called Aine’s debut single ‘Lydia’ “Absolutely stunning”, while 3 time Grammy award winning producer Ryan Freeland said of ‘Lydia’ “what a beautiful track”. Aine’s last single ‘Desolation’ was viewed over 170,000 times on Facebook during the first lockdown.Victoria has worked with Christy Moore extensively since 2011, providing harmony vocals on five albums. She has also provided harmonies on Declan Sinnott’s second solo album. She has toured extensively with Christy and with Declan Sinnott playing sold out venues such as The Acoustic stage, Glastonbury and Vicar Street Dublin. She is building a loyal fanbase on her weekly show ‘Little Rooms, Big Music’ and is recording her first album of original material with Declan Sinnott and Martin Leahy. The Poor Ground is the latest offering from Victoria and Aine.
They came together to write this song in March 2017, after the bodies of 796 babies and children were found in a septic tank on the grounds of the Tuam Mother and Baby Home. Victoria and Aine finished the song over the summer and recorded it with the very talented Martin Leahy. Released on social media on Monday, the video has had a hugely emotional reaction. Many viewers commenting on how powerful the song and video are. The video has been shared 120 times in just 6 days with two global pages sharing it to their followers of almost 450,000.
From the most tragic events the most beautiful art is often born and this song is no exception. Powerful lyrics, the haunting blend of the two voices, the hypnotic rhytm of the drum resembling the heartbeat give you chills. Everything crafted carefully for the sake of the song and its message. More than in any other case, here the video forms an essential part of the piece. At times it's almost unbearable to look at and you can't even begin to imagine the horrors that were happening behind those walls.
The Poor Ground serves its purpose, reminding us that dark times in history shall never be forgotten and shall always be remembered so the history doesn't repeat itself.
"beneath the blessed cross they carried us away
we're your darkest secret
don't forget us"