The Irish-American Heritage Month Celebration Salon greeted salon-goers on a warm 70 degree night, with outdoor diners enjoying the uncharacteristically warm weather at the Ellington located at 2745 Broadway. Attendees were welcomed by the sound of traditional Irish tunes played on string instruments by Dylan James, Craig Tichy, John Kearns, and Leah Rankin as they filed into the Straus Room of the Upper West Side restaurant.
Sarah Fearon, comedian, performer, and IAW&A Board Member, hosted for the evening. Taking the stage shortly after 7 p.m., she introduced first Peggy O’Donoghue, whose performance marked her first time on stage at an IAW&A event. The retired professor related a story about a visit to her native Limerick in the 1980s to introduce her family to her newborn daughter, which led to O’Donoghue’s mother purchasing an extra lottery ticket “for the baby,” which turned out to be the winning ticket!
On the back of this story of good fortune, poet Gordon A. Gilbert Jr. took the stage to read two monologues from his play “Monologues from the Old Folks Home.” The first was a parody of Emily Dickinson’s classic poem “Because I could not stop for Death,” and the second was a bawdy, ribald report from a fictional veteran in his play. His work elicited much laughter from the full-to-the-brim Straus Room.
Stepping into the spotlight next was Karen Daly, former IAW&A Board Secretary and longtime member of the organization. She recounted tales of her youth growing up in Prospect Heights (which the natives refer to as St. Theresa’s), Brooklyn, and how it has changed over the years. The finale to her presentation was a reflection on a recent visit to the neighborhood of her youth, where a man in a shop where Sinclair’s Bakery used to stand asked her if she was from the neighborhood, to which she answered “Well, no. Not anymore.”
Following this introspective reflection on memory and change, Leah Rankin, John Kearns, and Dylan James stepped up to play three Irish trad tunes: “Inisheer,” “Reel of Rio,” and “Killarney Boys of Pleasure.” Playing cello, guitar, and banjo respectively, these three musicians caught the audience in rapt attention as they clapped and stomped their feet along to the beat of these waltzes and reels.
After a brief intermission, playwright and short story writer Mark Butler kicked the salon back into gear with one of the first pieces of writing he ever made: a poem for his grandfather which he wrote in the early 1980s. He finished up his set with a song he wrote for Malachy, which was a humorous, self-referential tune accompanied by tambourine about trying to write an Irish song.
Next up was taxi driver and playwright John McDonagh, renowned for his quick wit and astonishing storytelling, as could be clearly seen in his story of the evening: political street theater in which he sarcastically protested in favor of Bernie Madoff at the financier’s sentencing in 2008. After being interviewed by some world media outlets live on television, he had to be led back to his car by a contingent of NYPD Officers as witnesses arrived to testify against Madoff and subsequently attempted to pummel McDonagh.
Following McDonagh’s story, novelist and essayist Judith Rogers shared an intimate personal essay about the psychedelic (which she differentiates from hallucinogenic) experience of intense swimming. She elucidated how the experience was almost like a form of meditation as she reflected on her life journey, finishing up with the rumination that “the first half [of life] is often wasted, and the second half is [spent well].”
The evening concluded with further performances of Irish Trad songs by Craig Tichy and Dylan James on guitar & vocals, and banjo, respectively. The final song was a rendition of "Wild Mountain Thyme", founder Malachy McCourt’s favorite song to sing at IAW&A salons, as Sarah Fearon called out his famous quote: “Sing the song, children!”. As the seasons change, this trad tune provided a perfect close and hopeful reminder for these dark times: “Oh, the summer time is coming, and the trees are sweetly blooming, and the wild mountain thyme grows around the blooming heather.”
Glasses raised for Mervyn Succat
Slainte Salon / By Lori Cassels
There was a Bushmills’s Whiskey tasting at Slainte Oakland when we arrived. Tempting but kept with the usual Guinness Zero as the hosting of a salon was about to commence. Your host/diarist greeted all with a gem she learned from the late and inimitable co-founder of Irish American Writers & Artists, which was wishing all a “Happy Maewyn Succat Day”. As Malcahy would say: “Did you think he was born St. Patrick?”
It would be a music night of guitar players, so I read my poem “Guitar” and my childhood memory of monochrome and boring music until I was invited to strum my neighbor’s guitar. Then the color of music entered my life.
Nancy Cassidy, a multi-platinum singer songwriter kicked off the night of guitar music even during the sound check, we enjoyed her engaging “Runaway Train” and then on to “When I Get Home” that led into “Song of Joy.” Her warm voice and easy stage manner consists of songs of comfort, community, compassion and hope. Nancy picked up the room with two fun songs “”Fishin” and “My Rooster”, the last one, well not quite a singalong more of a cluck-along! Finishing her set of originals were “I Love Me,” a sweet timeless song in the style of Malvina Reynalds; and “All Things Are One”. By the end of her set we all understood why Nancy is a popular songwriter workshop leader in California and we were lucky to have her grace our salon. And grateful for our next performer Kyle Alden who graciously and ably accompanied Nancy on her set.
Singer/songwriter and folk musician Kyle Alden is known for his award-winning songs based on the poems of W. B. Yeats. He won the Season of Yeats festival two years in a row where songwriters recognized the musical aspect of Ireland’s most famous poet, The work is featured in his CD recording “Songs from Yeats: bee-loud glade.” His masterful musicianship and warm voice elevated the words of Yeats. Kyle finished his set with an original, “The Swing”, performed in an alternate tuning of DADGAD, used in many an Irish song, was a warm hug of a song.
