The “Bright Fire” of Bealtaine’s May 1 came early to polish April’s capricious weather inside the cheerful 3rd floor of the West 49th Playwright Tavern on Sunday, April 26. This enduring institution has been the location of numerous Celtic Fire festival events mounted by the women’s group Nollaig na mBan NY.
Fifteen energetic celebrants gathered to share lunch, poetry, history, stories and experiences on this first day of Celtic summer.This event and many others restore awareness of the Celtic cultural traditions and also benefit, via a small donation, a selected charity. In this case the Ukraine effort through the tireless efforts of the Ukrainian Women's League of America’s New York chapter.
Maura Mulligan, the founder of Nollaig na mBan NY, welcomed us all with a flower each, a tradition on this nature-centric day, as well as some bite-sized history and background. Traditionally a fire is lit on the hill of Uisneach in Co Westmeath the previous evening to mark the day. This spot was the ancient seat of the High King of Ireland, a spiritual and political center and where Ireland’s namesake, the goddess Ériu, is buried. Homeowners anticipating spring cleaning were happy to hear that sweeping floors is forbidden so seeds and pollen from spring growth can welcome the summer. Salons can also be avoided as washing your face in the May 1 morning dew maintains youth and beauty. In olden times if two lovers paired up by sundown on Bealtaine eve, they could get married on Midsummer’s Day. No wonder it is impossible to book a wedding venue in June!
First in our program was Marie Bridget Dundon, beautifully reading two love poems: Christopher Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love,” and “The Nymphs Reply,” a response by Sir Walter Raleigh. Youth, love, flowers and other gifts do not make for a lasting relationship so says the practical nymph. Mary Fee followed with Thomas More’s “The Last Rose of Summer.” I think we all agree that the memory of such gifts can last however!
This author wrote and read a short piece centered on a favorite American song. Hearing Don McClean’s “Miss American Pie” recalled the drama of the New York City summer blackout of July 1977. Love here conquers unexpected darkness and fear, and instead makes this first New York visit magical and life-changing.
Dan Brown, playwright, musician and marvelous photographer of many Celtic events, presented “The Salmon of Knowledge,” inspired by the question of Fate as destiny. This legendary tale concerns a fish who ate hazelnuts from a magic tree loaded with knowledge. The poet Finnegas waits for seven years to catch the fish and eat it to enjoy this gift, but his apprentice, Fionn Mac Cumhaill, gains the knowledge accidentally by tasting the fat to soothe his burned thumb as he prepares it. He instead becomes the wisest man in Ireland, who recalls facts by merely sucking his thumb.
Mary Courtney regaled us with a wealth of songs, opening with “Samradh, Samradh” (“Summertime, Summertime”), all about the sights and sounds of summer. Eddie Fee danced an impressive reel on the lightest feet to delight the gathering - how could any event miss out on some footwork with foot-tapping tunes? Many planned and encore melodies followed, including “Caledonia,” in honor of Mary’s delightful guest Bill Kidd, a Scottish MP in town to represent his country at the UN’s nuclear disarmament conference. April 26 was the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, and was the reason our enthusiastic UNWLA members were unable to attend as they were engaged in related events elsewhere.
Allyce Fucigna read Mary Oliver’s “The Summer Day,” leaving us to ponder “what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” On what would have been her birthday, Karen Daly shared a lovely brief memory of her mother’s generosity and reminder to her family that there are always those worse off who welcome help.
Dee Nolan shared remembrances of her grandmother’s summer garden in Dublin, and of learning the significance of the Yew, one of the Celtic Cycle of Life trees. A popular long-living evergreen conifer, Yews are used for privacy hedges, for decorative topiary and for their tolerance for shade. Interestingly their startling red berries are one of the few non toxic parts of the tree. Pets and livestock beware!
“Blackberry Picking” by Séamus Heaney was read by Mary McIntyre and reiterates the message of Sir Walter Raleigh’s “The Nymph’s Response,” where the fleeting joy of blackberry picking leaves the image of rotting fruit and decay in its wake.
The film poem “Bealtaine Embodiment,” written by poet Grace Wells and read by Shelley Ann Quilty, was gorgeously performed and left us all planning to watch this visually beautiful short film, to be found easily on Youtube. Light from the ‘last flame’ of winter, the Bealtaine fire, has the power to entreat the May Queen out to protect and nurture summer’s bounty and made for a powerful ending. Its lush imagery of fire, flowers, ribbons and butterflies entreats us to savor the world, and in doing so, chance to stumble on the divine.
Mary Courtney’s music energized us to prepare to leave, albeit reluctantly. Our consummate Tavern host Norman had been noted several times just inside the doorway engrossed in a reading or a song, his delight evident in applause and smiles. We had enjoyed hospitality, food, words and music enough to step lightly into a rare dry afternoon where those blossoms were indeed falling from brief splendor above, but carpeting the grimy streets with velvet and paving the way for the May Queens entourage.
Donations to the UNWLA can be made online at unwla.org/donate/. Different programs needing help can be chosen and a range of books and articles accessed easily on the website. Nollaig na mBan NY encourages all to attend the next “Fire Festival” of Lughnasa, celebrating the Celtic Harvest and the sun god Lugh, on Aug. 1.
