Recital of renowned Manx poem released online

Former headteacher Dollin Kelly memorised Betsy Lee to perform in 1992

A recording of "one of the most-renowned interpreters" of the Manx national poet's work has been released online for the first time.

The 90-minute archive piece of the poem Betsy Lee has been made available by Culture Vannin.

The recording features the the late Dollin Kelly, who first performed T E Brown’s poem from memory at the Erin Arts Centre in 1992.

The story of lost love forms part of the Fo'c's'le Yarns series of Manx dialect poems, which are widely regarded as the single most important works in Isle of Man literature.

Born in Douglas in 1830, T E Brown's sequence of long, narrative poems earnt him international recognition as a leading poet.

The piece has been made available to mark the poet's birthday on 5 May.

Culture Vannin said the recital was "a chance to listen to one of the most-renowned interpreters of the Manx National poet’s work".

'Manxness'

The organisation's James Franklin said "not enough people realise the drama and depth" within the piece.

It was "so much more than just a poem" which "used to be widely recognised as the most perfect attempt at capturing Manxness on paper", he said

"But, as with all ‘yarns,’ the telling is so important, which makes this performance from Dollin so important,” he added.

Mr Kelly, who died in 2020, was known as an advocate of Manx heritage and received his first 736-page copy of the Collected Poems of T E Brown at the age of 11.

He went on to memorise the poem in its entirety to perform at a festival in Port Erin in 1992, which was subsequently recorded for release on cassette.

The tape also included the Betsy Lee Suite by Manx composer Steven Dallimore, which accompanied the Mr Kelly's original performance.

The piece has now been published online with the support of Mr Kelly's family.