The Christmas season is a very busy time of year at Boston's Irish Pastoral Centre, with festive events and outreach programs for Irish immigrants, their families, and people of all backgrounds in need of support.
Founded in 1987 by Father Dan Finn and other community activists, the Centre's current executive director is Mary Swanton, an immigrant herself from Co. Limerick who told the Echo that the Centre is particularly proud of the work it does to support the senior population through its aging well programs, recreational opportunities, and exercise classes.
Among those classes is a popular one run by fitness instructor and consultant Eileen Smith, whose mother emigrated from Dromahair, Co. Leitrim. Her musically-enhanced class blends popular music with gentle exercises designed to increase balance, strength and flexibility.
With Christmas approaching, Smith decided to play Irish and Irish-American Christmas songs exclusively during a recent exercise session, starting with the rousing "Christmas Time Again!" by Irish musicians Sharon Shannon and Wallis Bird.
"It's good to see everyone enjoying themselves while at the same time benefiting from the classes. They come out of the cold and get their blood flowing. They're staying healthy and having fun," said Smith.
The second number, the wildly popular "Fairytale of New York" by Shane MacGowan, Kirsty MacColl and the Pogues was one of mixed tempo, which allowed the group to take it easy for a few minutes before the beat raucously accelerated mid-way during this haunting tune about dreams, relationships, and hope.
Other lively songs included "Christmas in Killarney" by Irish-American tenor Owen McNulty, better known by his stage name, Dennis Day. His version was very popular when it was released in 1950, but a year later another Irish-American, Bing Crosby, took the song to even greater heights when it was featured on his Christmas album.
Day's parents were Irish immigrants, while Crosby's lineage has recently been traced to West Cork. As a boy, Day sang in the choir of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, and he later became a regular on the Jack Benny television program.
Crosby's "White Christmas" remains an iconic staple of Christmas music, and its pace allowed the seniors to cool down a little during the session.
The Irish Rovers got the group into high gear again with "Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake" and "Bells Over Belfast," followed by several slower songs, including Celtic Thunder's version of "Going Home for Christmas." The class ended with the beautiful and nostalgic "Christmas Eve, Ellis Island" by Phil Coulter and James Galway.
After the class, 90-year-old Peggy Gorman from Galway said that the classes help her with her arthritis and that its gentle exercises help her maintain strength and mobility. Peter Geraghty, who will be 91 in February, told the Echo that he and his wife, Mary, try to walk a few miles each day and that they appreciate the classes and other programs offered by the Irish Pastoral Centre.
Peggy Conneely, whose roots are in Connemara, is the senior coordinator at the Center. She said that she is pleased that the seniors respond so favorably to the various programs run throughout the year, especially to those being offered during this Christmas season.
