1 www.IMDA www.IMDA www.IMDA www.IMDA-MN.org MN.org MN.org MN.org Irish Music & Dance Association 31th Year, Issue No. 11 November 2013 Samhain The mission of the Irish Music and Dance Association is to support and promote Irish music, dance, and other cultural traditions to insure their continuation. IMDA Honors Tom Dahill The Irish Music & Dance Association is proud to present an evening honoring Tom Dahill. Tom is one of the original crew from back at the old McCafferty's as well as one of the pioneering entertainers at the First Irish Fair of MN back in 1980. Tom is a seasoned entertainer with a great collection of old favorites. He has plays Fiddle, Accordion, Uillean pipes as well as many others. He has performed at Events and venues in and around the Twin Cities as well as around North America. Audiences young and old are held captive by his showmanship and mastery of the songs. Tom has been a part of and worked with the Great Northern Irish Pipers Association, been a supporter and member of the IMDA and has worked with many organizations and dance groups around the Mpls/St. Paul area. Please join us in honoring Tom and all of his accomplishments and contributions in our community. The event will be at Celtic Junction in St. Paul, MN on Saturday, November 16 starting at 7:30pm (doors open at 7pm). There will be a multitude of various entertainers with music, song, dance, spoken word, recollections of Tom and much more. Guests are invited to bring a dessert to share and there will be a cash bar. We look forward to seeing you there! Inside this issue: Tune of the Month 2 Gaelic Corner 3 IMDA Grant Winner 6 November Calendar 10-11 Northwoods Songs 12 Ceili Corner 18 Smidirini 19 Annual IMDA Membership Meeting Saturday, December 7, 2013 Dubliner Pub, 1 p.m.
The mission of the Irish Music and Dance Association is to support and promote Irish music, dance, and other cultural traditions to insure
their continuation.
IMDA Honors Tom Dahill
The Irish Music & Dance Association is proud to present an evening honoring Tom Dahill. Tom is one of the original crew from back at the old McCafferty's as well as one of the pioneering entertainers at the First Irish Fair of MN back in 1980.
Tom is a seasoned entertainer with a great collection of old favorites. He has plays Fiddle, Accordion, Uillean pipes as well as many others. He has performed at Events and venues in and around the Twin Cities as well as around North America. Audiences young and old are held captive by his showmanship and mastery of the songs.
Tom has been a part of and worked with the Great Northern Irish Pipers Association, been a supporter and member of the IMDA and has worked with many organizations and dance groups around the Mpls/St. Paul area.
Please join us in honoring Tom and all of his accomplishments and contributions in our community. The event will be at Celtic Junction in St. Paul, MN on Saturday, November 16 starting at 7:30pm (doors open at 7pm). There will be a multitude of various entertainers with music, song, dance, spoken word, recollections of Tom and much more. Guests are invited to bring a dessert to share and there will be a cash bar. We look forward to seeing you there!
Since the IMDA will be honoring Tom Dahill this month, it seems fitting to share this hornpipe, which was composed by Cuz Teahan in 1975. As many readers will know, in the 1970s Tom had a traditional Irish band called The Dayhills, consisting of Tom, Barbara Dahill, and Charlie Heymann. (Ann Heymann was also part of The Dayhills at one stage.) The Dayhills toured the U.S. and Ireland and released a number of LP recordings. Naturally, their travels took them to Chicago, where they met Terry “Cuz” Teahan (1905-1989), the well-known accordion and concertina player who had immigrated from Castleisland, Co. Kerry. The Dayhills and Cuz really hit it off. Over the years they enjoyed many sessions together, and Cuz often appeared with The Dayhills when they were performing in Chicago. Besides being a source of great old tunes from his native Kerry, Cuz was a prolific composer of new tunes. In his tunebook, The Road to
Glountane, Cuz explains that he wanted to give his father’s fiddle to Tom, but Tom declined it since he already had a fiddle – one given to him by Pat (Paddy) Hill, a traditional singer and fiddler who had immigrated to St. Paul from Co. Tipperary. (This fiddle had originally belonged to Irish fiddler Tom Martin.) So Cuz gave Tom this tune instead. After all, one can never have too many tunes. Tom Dahill’s Fiddle was recorded by The Dayhills on their LP, The
Dear Little Isle (1977). It was also recorded the following year by the Co. Kerry box player Denis Doody, who called it Nehyls Fiddle (“an honest mistake,” said Cuz). The tune appropriately resurfaced this year, just in time for Tom Dahill’s IMDA event, on a wonderful new recording by Niamh Ní Charra, the fiddler and concertina player from Killarney. Titled Cuz: A Tribute to Terry “Cuz” Teahan, this recording features tunes that Cuz composed or passed down. It also includes a very informative booklet with great photos of Cuz. The only fault I can find is that the notes describe Tom Dahill as “one of a family of musicians based in Chicago.” Of course, St. Paul is Tom’s town and he is most definitely ours.
Usual disclaimers: Any transcription errors are my own. The notation here is not meant to be a substitute for listening. It is
simply an aid to learning the tune.
The IMDA Board is:
President: Lisa Conway
Vice President: Jan Casey
Treasurer: Mark Malone
Secretary: Juli Acton
Board Members: John Concannon Paul McCluskey Joan Portel Kathie Luby Editor: John Burns
IMDA Board Meetings are open to the membership.
The Board meets regularly on the First Tuesday of each month at 6:30 pm at the Dubliner Pub in St. Paul. Members are encouraged to verify the time and location shortly before, as meet-ing times and locations can change.
Contact Information Write to: Irish Music and Dance Association
Newsletter Submissions We welcome our readers to submit articles of interest, news, and notices of events to be published in the newsletter. The deadline is the 20th of the preceding month. Send to: [email protected]
The Dayhills Irish Band as pictured on The Dear Little Isle
As I write this, there are a good number of people located in Washington, D.C., who are behaving rather badly. Regardless of your political persuasion, we can certainly agree that many of the players are míréasúnta at best, and often mímhúinte and dímheasúil to boot. That is, they are "unreasonable" as well as "impolite" and "disrespectful." As in English, these words are formed by using negating prefixes: mí + réasúnta = un + reasonable; mí +
múinte = im + polite; and dí + measúil = dis + respectful. Now, in English, we use these prefixes very comfortably, somehow hooking up the right prefix as needed, even though many different prefixes more or less mean the same thing. We certainly can describe someone as "unreasonable" and "impolite," but we would never call anyone "imreasonable" and "unpolite". None of us would be able to spell out the rules for how these things work, but we automatically reach for the most appropriate prefix even when using a new word. That's one of the mysteries of language, and one of the challenges of learning a new one. For the negating prefixes do not generally map one-to-one across languages. In the example above, in English we used "un" in front of "reasonable" and "im" in front of "polite," but in Irish the prefix was mí for both of them. On the other hand, some politicians might be worried about members being "disloyal" and even "disobedient" when it comes to following the party line. "Disloyal"is mídhílis, but "disobedient"is easumhal (eas + umhal). The challenges of negating words go beyond just the poor mapping across languages. Let's go back to that word we used earlier, mímhúinte, for "impolite". In English, we tend to think of "rude" as a stronger term than "impolite", but in Irish, we only use mímhúinte, "impolite," without really having a separate word for "rude". Other very common words
that are expressed via a negative prefix in Irish, but not in English, include "wrong" -- mícheart = un + right -- and "light" (in weight), éadrom coming from éa + trom = un + heavy.
As in English, different negating prefixes are sometimes used with the same word to convey subtle differences in meaning. In English, we might see a report that "the black box from the downed plane remains
unlocated at this time." By that we understand that it has not been found. And that's a very different meaning from "dislocating your shoulder" or "being dislocated by the flood." In Irish, the word for "alive" is beo. Something that is díbheo is "lifeless," in the sense of having no energy, of being "listless." But something that is neamhbheo is "lifeless" in the sense of being "inanimate." When you paint a picture that has an abhar neamhbheo, "an inanimate subject", you are talking about a "still life." In a similar vein, since greann means "fun, humor, joking" and the like, you might expect díghreann to mean something that isn't fun or isn't funny. But it refers specifically to mean-spirited gossip, to mischievous talk designed to stir up trouble. One of my favorite words formed in this fashion is the verb díbholg. You can do this to, say, a balloon or a soccer ball. Bolg is the word for "belly," so when you díbholg something, you "unbelly" it. Or, obviously, you "deflate" it! Challenges like these make learning Irish very interesting, and there's no point in being mífhoigneach, "impatient," about it. At Gaeltacht Minnesota, we've been very patient about teaching Irish for more than 30 years. Learn more about what we do at www.gaelminn.org.
Ní bhíonn Dia le mírún daoine
God takes not part in people's bad intentions -- Will
North Carolina native Jennifer Licko may be new to Twin Cities audiences, but she is no stranger to Celtic music. Jennifer is an exceptional vocalist, especially in Scots Gaelic, and multi-instrumentalist who plays the piano, guitar, and bodhrán (Irish drum). Although she has lived for extended periods in Scotland, Ireland and Brazil, Jennifer now makes her home in the Twin Cities, drawn here by her husband’s job. She has been delighted to find the thriving Celtic and Irish music community. Her new band sort of happened “by accident.” When former band members were no longer available, she looked for some local talent and is now working with guitarist Patsy O’Brien and fiddler Zack Kline. Jennifer is very excited about the collaboration – and is really enjoying how well the music is coming together. She is also working with Northumbrian piper Dick Hensold as a Traditional Scottish Duo.
Jennifer is dedicated to effectively and accurately presenting the music, especially when singing in another language. She lived and studied in Scotland for several years, devoting herself to the study of Scots Gaelic. Jennifer has received a 2014 Folk and Traditional Arts Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board and is looking forward to presenting a series of concerts in the Spring as part of the grant, including a concert at the Celtic Junction as well as some outstate venues. Jennifer is performing a series of Celtic Christmas Concerts with her new band. The concerts are scheduled in Winona, Montevideo and Glencoe, as well as several locations in North Carolina. The concert will include familiar Christmas songs in English, Scots Gaelic and Irish Gaelic including Jennifer's original Irish Christmas song, Nollaig na mBan (Women's Christmas). Irish guitarist Patsy O'Brien, will also share some of the Christmas songs and traditions he experienced growing up in County Cork, Ireland. To top it off, Zack Kline will be blazing jigs and reels on the fiddle in his virtuoso style. Details and ticket information at www.jenniferlicko.com/2013christmas.html
IMDA Annual Membership Meeting Dec. 7, 2013 at 1:00 pm at the Dubliner Pub
IMDA members are cordially invited to attend this important meeting. In addition to a review of the highlights of 2013, the meeting will include election of board members and officers. Board members serve for a two-year term. The following board members’ terms expire in 2013. All are standing for election to new, two-year terms: Lisa Conway: IMDA President since 2004, Board Member since 2001. Lisa also partners with other organiza-tions in her spare time to promote Irish arts and culture. Always looking for new relationships with other Irish organizations, Lisa is currently working with Irish Fair of Minnesota, on behalf of IMDA, to host the Irish Got Talent and Best Legs in a Kilt contests. She was chosen "2013 Distinguished Irishwoman" by the St. Paul St. Pat's Association. Lisa was formerly a member of the Mooncoin Céili Dancers and a ballroom dance instruc-tor. She lives in the northwest metro with her daughter Clare and dogs Brian and Fergal, and is a Project Manager for a graphics communications company. Jan Casey: IMDA Vice President, IMDA Secretary 2007 to 2013, Board Member since 2005. Jan serves on the Entertainment Committee for our Landmark events, and co-chaired the planning for "IMDA Honors Ann Hey-mann" (2009) and "IMDA Honors Paddy O'Brien" (2010). Jan helped to define the IMDA Educational Grant Pro-gram, now in its eighth year, and coordinates the application process. Jan also manages IMDA's Decade of Dance Award program. Jan contributes regularly to the IMDA newsletter and IMDA's Facebook page. Jan and her hus-band Mike are both retired and live in St. Paul. You'll often find them at an Irish music concert, céilí or play. Jan has one grown son, Brian. Kathie Luby: IMDA Board Member joined the IMDA Board in 2013 and began her involvement with the Twin Cities Irish community in the mid-eighties by joining the Irish language class directed by Dennis Clarke that evolved to become Gaeltacht Minnesota. She continues to study Irish Gaelic with Gaeltacht Minnesota. She played several roles with Na Fianna Irish Theater for the fifteen years of its production of Irish plays. These roles included those of actor, stage manager, treasurer, secretary and chairman of the board of directors. Currently, Kathie sings in Irish and English with her five friends in the Giggin' Síles, performing at various Irish events in the Twin Cities throughout any given year. She is very happy to be working with the IMDA board of directors to serve the active and vibrant Minnesota Irish community that includes musicians, dancers, and all those who appre-ciate Irish culture. Mark T. Malone: IMDA Treasurer since 2003, Board Member since 2001. Mark has been a Business Man-agement Consultant for over 15 years, providing a wide variety of services to many businesses in multiple indus-tries. He has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1987, becoming inactively licensed in 2003. Mark’s experi-ence, although wide ranging, has been focused in recent years on computer systems implementation, business process engineering, regulatory compliance, and acting as interim CFO/Comptroller. Mark also served as Treas-urer and a Board Member of Fáilte Minnesota (both since 2003), as well as the Treasurer and Board Member (since 2003) of the Irish Fair of Minnesota. In addition to these elections, Juli Acton is standing for election as IMDA Secretary. The Board looks forward to hearing from members - we’re always interested in your ideas for IMDA’s future. See you at the Dubliner! Then stick around for the dancing!
Piper Meridith Richmond, of St. Paul and originally from Boston, used her IMDA Educational Grant to study with the Balmoral School of Piping this last summer. The Balmoral School is one of the most prestigious in North America and their summer program offers a full week of small group instruction locally at Macalester College. Meridith was excited about the opportunity to improve and refine all aspects of her playing, including phrasing, rhythm and execution.
Meridith first began piping lessons in 2009, while a student at Macalester. Since then, she as performed as a soloist and with the Macalester College Pipe Band in a variety of settings, including the Minnesota Scottish Festival. Meridith placed 2nd in her first solo competition and has earned several good placings in the time since.
Meridith started taking lessons on the pipes on a whim while she was a student at Macalester. The pipes seemed interesting and she was curious. She tells us that she has been “grabbed by bagpiping because of its unique nature and its intense community.” Since graduating from Macalester, Meridith has switched from borrowed school pipes to her own set of pipes and has worked hard to win a coveted spot in the very competitive grade 3 band at Macalester. She feels a strong connection to being part of the band – “a group of kind, good people genuinely motivated to work together, improve, and help you do the same” - and credits the band itself as one of the strongest influences on her piping. She also tells us that this connection is part of the reason she has stayed in the Twin Cities despite job offers elsewhere since graduation.
In addition to her work as an individual piper, Meridith has lent her organizational skills to the pipe band. She took the initiative to create a weekly group for piping students who were not quite ready to play in the band. (Players are ranked in grades from one to five in the bagpiping world; novices begin in grade five, and move up as they improve.) Meridith worked with this ‘pre-grade 5’ group to help them with the transition to piping as part of an ensemble. She also organized the band’s first “open house” event, welcoming over 100 friends and neighbors to a gathering to learn more about the band.
The Irish Music and Dance Association is pleased to help Meridith continue her study of the bagpipes.
Calling All Friends of The Eddies As Dave Webber puts it in his song, "My Lady of Autumn" (with some small adaptations to reflect more ac-curately our current situation): The light here is changing, the sky's overcast. Winter's almost here now, Autumn nearly past. But deep in this dark world some warmth I must find. Though Winter's coming to the city, It's still Autumn in my mind. There will be some warmth in this dark world on Saturday, November 9th. when The Eddies return to the Hat Trick bar and music room in downtown St. Paul. We will be singing from 8:00 until 11:00 or so and would be delighted to see you there. If you have been to the Hat Trick already, we need not say more. If you haven't been there, it is located on Fifth Street in between Jackson and Robert on the edge of Lowertown. You will walk in through the bar room and there, somewhat unexpectedly on your left, will be the friendly music room. Come early for the best seats. There will be a $7 cover charge. The Hat Trick offers table service for drinks and simple bar food. Happy Autumn!
New Show and New Tax Status for Celtic Collaborative Celtic Collaborative is mounting its latest show – a production with a decidedly seasonal flavor. “Demons and Monsters: Scenes from Dracula’s Celtic Album” is a theatrical collage drawing upon a Celtic lore abounding in demons, monsters, and monstrous forces, from the Weird Sisters of Macbeth to the unrelenting elements. Hosted by Master of Ceremonies, Count Dracula, the two performances take place in a Cass Gilbert-designed sanctuary where the Count flicks through his demented Celtic literary album and commands spectral scenes into life for the amusement – and horror – of his audience. The performances are Friday, November 1 and Saturday, November 2 at 8 p.m. Dayton Avenue Presbyterian Church, 217 Mackubin St. St. Paul. Tickets are $10. For more information, contact 651-295-4521. Celtic Collaborative is also pleased to announce that it’s now officially a non-profit organization – a development only made possible with the assistance and support of IMDA. Since 2011 Celtic Collaborative has produced four original collage shows: Nobel on Yer Bicycle: Ireland's Nobel Laureates (2011); Scenes from the 1916 Easter Rising (2011/2012); Scenes from a
Celtic Album (2012); and, Scenes from Dracula's Celtic Album (2013). Now in its third full year, Celtic Collaborative has also entered into a provisional agreement with Dayton Avenue Presbyterian Church, located in the Cathedral Hill neighborhood of St. Paul, to transform the church’s sanctuary, fellowship hall, lobby, and classroom spaces into a part-time cultural and performing arts center available for use by members of the Twin Cities performing arts community. As Celtic Collaborative moves forward, the organization continues to seek collaborative relationships with other cultural and performing arts organizations as well as individual performers. We are particularly interested in enlarging the opportunities to incorporate Celtic music and dance into our productions. Groups and individuals who might share this interest are invited to contact CC Artistic Director, Patrick O’Donnell at [email protected] or Managing Director, Rich Broderick at [email protected]. As a new non-profit, we are also eager to expand our board, with an eye toward including individual trustees with experience in fundraising and development, marketing and promotion, organizational management and other skill sets vital to success in the non-profit world. If that sounds interesting, once again please feel free to contact O’Donnell or Broderick. Meanwhile please take the opportunity to visit – and“like” – Celtic Collaborative on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/celticcollaborative?ref=hl).
I understand my false young man to England sailed away,
I picked up all my jewels, all on that very day, I left my aged parents, they now in sorrow pine,
I forsook my father’s castle on the lovely banks of Boyne.
No more down by those purling streams that swiftly glide away, Where me and my true lover for pleasure used to stray;
Come, all you pretty fair maids, mind how you spend your time, Just think of the fate of Flora from the lovely banks of Boyne
We return to the repertoire of Minnesota singer Michael Cassius Dean this month. As in previous months, the above melody is my own transcription of Dean’s singing on a 1924 wax cylinder recorded by Robert Winslow Gordon. The full text above comes from Dean’s own songster The Flying Cloud. “The Banks of Boyne” was printed as a broadside in London by a few different publishers in the early to mid 1800s. It is fairly rare in tradition outside of the Great Lakes lumbering region where it was sung by Dean and Ontario singer O.J. Abbott (though Abbott’s melody is different). The Traditional Ballad Index (a fantastic online index of songs) lists just two other versions: one from Nova Scotia and another collected in Ulster. I am often asked about the “Irishness” of music in the lumber camps—if and why there was such a strong Irish influence. Both the “if” and “why” questions are difficult, and also quite important to me and my research. I will not attempt a complete answer here but I am repeatedly struck by songs like this that are clearly set in Ireland, make no reference to lumbering or northwoods themes, and yet seem to have survived so well in the lumber camp singing tradition. Without analyzing singing style or the ethnic demographics of lumber workers, it is clear from the repertoire alone (at least as it’s represented in printed collections) that the Irish loomed large in songs of the lumbering regions.
An LeabhragánAn LeabhragánAn LeabhragánAn Leabhragán (The Bookcase)
A Seamus Heaney Retrospective*
The greatest known Irish poet of our time, Seamus Heaney, died in a Dublin hospital August 30, 2013, following a short illness. I would like to spend this month's column honoring the life of this prolific, profoundly spiritual poet, and one of the most widely-read poets of this age, or perhaps of any age. To call Seamus Heaney an "Irish" poet is at once a limitation and an all-encompassing description. He described the experience of being Irish, of the land and its heritage, in the very roots of his poetry. He also limned the human condition in a manner so universal and powerful that millions of readers he never met were deeply moved and inspired by him, from ordinary people to prime ministers, rock stars, human rights workers, former presidents (Irish, American, and others), bishops and fellow authors, many of whom attended his funeral in the Dublin church near the neighborhood he and his wife Marie lived in. At least a thousand people came to pay their respects, including the present and past presidents of Ireland, rock star Bono, bishops and archbishops, traditional musicians, teachers and writers. His funeral was presided over by Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin, who praised Heaney: "Greatness and graciousness belonged together in him." His long-time friend and associate Liam O'Flynn, master of the uillean pipes, played the lament Port na Pucai as one of Heaney's most famous poems, "The Given Note", was read. And millions of his fans and followers all over the world grieved the loss and passing of one of Ireland’s finest writers and humanitarians. Born on the family farm in rural Derry on April 13, 1939, his earliest poems spoke eloquently of the land, of connection to the land, the long continuance of identity in the Irish soil. His forefathers used a spade; Seamus Heaney dug with his pen. Educated on scholarship, Seamus Heaney taught for years while simultaneously writing poetry simultaneously writing poetry, translating classics such as Beowulf, and writing plays; for the last forty years he was a full time writer who garnered numerous awards, the most prestigious being the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995. He wrote often of the conflicted and dark side of Irish politics and violence, and sought to bring the moral issues of the heart to the attention of politicians, peacemakers, and those of us with more unremarkable lives. He could see the humanity and the possibility of redemption in hardened souls; he could see beauty in a clod of turf. He knew the power of his own
work, remaining all the while humble and philosophical in the face of illness ("blessed are the pacemakers," he famously said after a heart operation) and adversities. His collection of poems, The Human Chain, was published in 2010 after a stroke, and he never stopped being productive and courageous. His last text to his wife, shortly before he died, was "Noli temere"---don't be afraid---and serves as an apt summation of his life and works. Here's my favorite Seamus Heaney poem:
The Given Note
On the most westerly Blasket in a dry stone hut he got this air out of the night. Strange noises were heard by others who followed, bits of a tune coming in on loud weather though nothing like melody. He blamed their fingers and ear as unpractised, their fiddling easy.
For he had gone alone into the island and brought back the whole thing. The house throbbed like his full violin. So whether he calls it spirit music or not, I don't care. He took it out of wind off mid-Atlantic. Still he maintains, from nowhere it comes off the bow gravely, rephrases itself into the air.
Seamus Heaney April 13, 1939---August 30, 2013. Rest in Peace.
Recommended reading: Seamus Heaney Collected Poems, The Haw Lantern, Field Work. Recommended listening: The Poet and the Piper CD (Liam O'Flynn plays uillean pipes musical selections, alternating with Seamus Heaney reading his poems).
Sherry Ladig, frequent contributor to this column, is a former reviewer for the Hungry Mind Bookstore's column
Fodder and a current Irish trad musician based in Saint Paul, MN. Sherry welcomes suggestions for books to review---
or, write a review yourself. Sherry may be reached at [email protected]. Happy autumn reading!
*This article from last month is being reprinted in order to correct omissions made in content due to formatting.
An LeabhragánAn LeabhragánAn LeabhragánAn Leabhragán (The Bookcase)
The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan
Doubleday Ireland (available at www.transworldireland.ie)
The European economic collapse of the past seven years hit Ireland especially hard. The old-timers predicted the Celtic Tiger’s roar and riches could not last in Ireland; they were right. This first novel by Donal Ryan, winner of the 2012 Irish Book Awards' Book of the Year, spins stories of the Crash from many points of view: laid-off construction workers walking away from half-completed "ghost villas" (the Irish ones paid on the books and the Eastern European ones off the books), single mums, bitter old men, screwed-up creepy teens with not enough to do, crooked businessmen and honest Gardai, and the town slut, to name just a few. Each has his or her story, and all the stories weave together into a sort of modern Spoon River Anthology, Irish style. At first, reading one story after another, you see the effect of declining fortunes on individuals. Soon you see a whole community struggling with the bigger picture of identity and survival under duress. Adversity brings out the fight in some, capitulation in others; the landscape of resilience and recovery is shadowed and complex. There are no easy answers or solutions in this novel. The fates of many characters are undecided at the end of the last chapter, but one hopes for the best for some and retribution for others. As a newcomer, Donal Ryan’s prose is perceptive and moving, and I look forward to more from this talented author. Sherry Ladig, frequent contributor to this column, as a former reviewer for the Hungry Mind Bookstore's
newsletter, Fodder and a Saint Paul based trad musician. Sherry welcomes suggestions for books to review--
--or write a review yourself! She may be reached at [email protected]. Happy autumn reading!
MINNESOTA KEY IN REVIVAL OF THE GAELIC HARP The Celtic Junction, 836 N. Prior Avenue in St. Paul, is pleased to present "Meet the Gaelic Harp with Ann Heymann" on Friday, November 8 at 7:30 pm. The event will be one of five free public seminar-performances featuring a thousand years of the harp tradition of Ireland and Scotland. This historical instrument is depicted on every Irish coin and passport and is perhaps best known outside of Ireland on every bottle from the Guinness brewery. However its voice was lost publicly for over two hundred years until Ann Heymann became involved. A native Minnesotan, Heymann has been crucial in bringing the Gaelic harp's voice to life; indeed the Scottish Harp Society "Comunn na Clarsaich" says, "Ann Heymann is the pioneer who brought the Gaelic harp back to a living tradition." This program will introduce the instrument with its music, players and traditions to the Minnesota public. Don't miss this unique opportunity to become involved with the revival of this iconic tradition.
Become involved with this ancient music tradition at any of the seminar-performances “Meet the Gaelic Harp”:
Photo Credit: Honor Heymann
November 1; 7:30 pm Hutchinson Center for the Arts 15 Franklin St. SW, Hutchinson contact: Erika Durheim ([email protected] / 320-587-7278) November 2; 7:30 pm Red Rock Center for the Arts 222 E. Blue Earth Ave., Fairmont contact: Sonja Fortune ([email protected] / 507-235-9262) November 6; 7:30 pm Duluth Congregational Church 3833 E. Superior St., Duluth contact: Sam Black ([email protected] / 218-525-1911)
November 8; 7:30 pm Celtic Junction 836 N. Prior St., St. Paul Irish Music and Dance Association ([email protected] / 612-990-3122) November 10; 7:30 pm Rochester Civic Theatre 20 Center Dr. SE, Rochester contact: Sinead Chick ([email protected] / 507-282-8481) Future seminar/performances to be held in the same communities and venues: Gaelic Harpers & Their Stories (January 13-17) The Birds, the Bees & the Gaelic Harp (February 10-14) The Belfast Harp Festival (April 21-25) The Gaelic Harp & Its Three Musics (September 22-26)
For more information please contact Ann Heymann at [email protected] or 507-745-1075 This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board,
thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
First Saturday Afternoon Céilí - Dubliner Pub, 2162 University Avenue in Saint Paul, from 2:00 to 5:00. The suggested
donation is $2.00 per person. The dances are taught and called by Paul McCluskey.
Third Saturday Night Céilí - The Celtic Junction, 836 Prior Ave., No, St. Paul.
Irish Dance Classes:
Céilí Dancing - Wednesday Nights
Dubliner Irish Pub - 2162 University Avenue in Saint Paul. Learn Irish dancing in a genuine Irish pub with a wooden floor that has known a whole lot of dancing feet. Steps and dances are taught by Paul McCluskey, Súin Swann, and Kirsten Koehler. Basic beginning steps are taught beginning at 7:30, with advanced lessons and dancing continuing
until 9:30 PM. Year-round; no children, and must be of legal drinking age. Free.
Set Dancing - Tuesday Nights
Dubliner Irish Pub - 2162 University Avenue in Saint Paul. Set Dancing at 7:00 pm on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month, music by the Twin Cities Ceili Band. The cost is $5 for the band, beginners welcome, for more
information call Geri at the Dubliner (651)646-5551.
Check www.lomamor.org for all up-to-date Irish folk dancing information.
The Center for Irish Music
Come check us out at
The Celtic Junction 836 Prior Avenue, St Paul MN
Please check the website for information on our full range of instruction in traditional Irish
music, language , culture and fun.
For class schedule and other information call or email 651-815-0083 [email protected]
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Smidirini* By Copper Shannon (*Irish for ‘Bits and Pieces’)
♣ Deepest sympathy to MaryBeth Garrigan and her daughters Rebecca and Rowan (who perform together as Garrigan’s Quarrel). Husband and father Mark Stephen Garrigan passed away suddenly in July. Beannacht Dé lena anam (God’s blessing on his soul). Mark will be greatly missed.
♣ Beannacht Dé lena anam (God’s blessing on his soul). Irish music fan and all around lovely man Tom Kivel passed away in August. Tom and Gloria, his wife of 57 years, have been great supporters of Irish music and of IMDA and were the first sponsors of our children’s stage for St. Patrick’s Day. Our hearts go out to Gloria and their children, grand children and many friends.
♣ Comhghairdeas lenár gcairde a phós le gairid! (Congratulations to our friends who recently married!) Best wishes to Sheri O’Meara of Locklin Road and Tom Greenwald, who were married October 5 in a music-filled tent in their backyard in Grant. Sheri and Tom went on a short "honeymoonlet" in Bayfield, and look forward to a longer honeymoon next year in Ireland, during the Oyster Festival in Galway. Wishing them many happy years together.
♣ Comhghairdeas le (Congratulations to) all of the Rince Nua Irish Dancers who competed in the Cumann Rince Náisiúnta (CRN) USA Regional Championships in October in Sandusky, OH.
♣ Love traditional music? You have a unique opportunity to lend a hand to help Paddy O’Brien with his third volume of the amazing Paddy O’Brien Tune Collection. Paddy has been hard at work – he already has 300 tunes recorded, ready to be mixed and mastered and he’s working on the companion booklet with stories and information about the tunes. Paddy’s new Kickstarter project will help cover production costs and you’re invited to be part of the project. Get the whole story at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paddyobrien/paddy-obrien-tune-collection-volume-three. The project deadline is Nov. 30, 2013.
♣ Hat’s off to Bua, Brian Miller’s “other” band, who’s newest album “Down the Green Fields” has been named “Best Irish American Album of the Last Five Years” by Devon Leger of the Bluegrass Situation (www.thebluegrasssituation.com/read/six-best-irish-american-albums-past-five-years). According to Devon “The musicianship on this album is off-the-charts, but also remarkably restrained, and young Irish Gaelic (and American) singer Brian O hAirt is a revelation here. I just don’t know of another band that’s so perfectly nailed the traditional heart of Irish music in America so well.” The CD is available on Bua’s website – www.buamusic.com.
♣ Comhghairdeas le (Congratulations to) Megan McHattie and Patrick Cole (Great Northern Irish Pipers Club and Center for Irish Music Board Member), who are engaged to be married. May joy & peace surround you, contentment latch your door; and happiness be with you now, and bless you evermore.
