October 1 Irish Music & 2011 Dance Association Deireadh Fómhair 29th Year, Issue No. 10 The mission of the Irish Music and Dance Association is to support, coordinate, encourage and promote high quality activities and programs in Irish music, dance, and other cultural traditions within the community and to insure the continuation of those traditions. Inside this issue: MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Tune of the Month 2 IMDA Honors Lar Burke November 12 Gaelic Corner 3 The Irish Music & Dance Association is proud to announce its seventh IMDA Irish Funeral 4 Honors recipient. The Twin Cities own Lar Burke will be honored on Saturday, 10 (or so) Questions 6 th November 12 at the Celtic Junction in St. Paul. October Calendar 8-9 Harvest Home Fest 11 Lar Burke has been entangled in the arts for most of his life. He belonged to a writers group that started the “ Lake Street Review ” in the 1970’s. Sean T. Kelly An Leabhragán 12 first introduced Lar to St. Paul’s Irish community, whom he credits with linking CD Release Party 13 him into the Irish theater community. From there, Lar went on to be a founding member of Na Fianna Irish Theater, which got it’s start in the late 1980’s. He has The Ceili Calendar 14 been in numerous plays over the years and some of you may have caught him in Smidirini 15 “The Spraying of John O’Dorey” at our IMDA St. Patrick’s Day Celebration at Landmark Center. Many of us also know him from his 20 years at Irish Books and Media. His love of theater and writing has Lar traveling to the Listowel Writers Week in County Kerry each year (he has only missed one in the last 18 years) where he takes in the events, fiction writing workshops and gets to see his colleagues and friends from over the years. Many already know Lar and have encountered his wit and charm. If you have not yet crossed his path, here is your chance! We will celebrate his contributions to our community with song, theater, music, dialogue and much more. There will be coffee, tea, a cash bar and potluck desserts and snacks. Doors open at 7 pm with The Honors Program beginning at 7:30pm. Admission is $5 and goes to help cover the cost of the event and all remaining goes into the IMDA Educational Grant Fund. We look forward to seeing you there! www.IMDAwww.IMDA----MN.orgMN.org Irish Music & 2 Dance Association The IMDA Board is : Tune of the Month by Amy Shaw President: Lisa Conway Treasurer: Mark Malone Last month we lost another giant of the music. Mike Rafferty died on Sep- Secretary: Jan Casey tember 13 th at the age of 84. He was an outstanding exponent of East Gal- Board Members: Suin Swann Ruth McGlynn way flute playing, a style which is unhurried, flowing, and lyrical. A native Patrick Cole of Larraga in the rural parish of Ballinakill, East Galway, Mike emigrated Editor: John Burns to the U.S. in 1949. He eventually settled in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jer- IMDA Board Meetings are open to the membership. sey, where he and Teresa, his wife of 59 years, raised five children. Natu- The Board meets regularly on the First Tuesday of each rally, making a living to support his family took a lot of time, and for about month at 6 pm at Perkins in HarMar. Members are encouraged to 15 years Mike didn’t play much. He later returned to the music with great verify the time and location shortly before, energy, encouraged by Joe Madden and other musicians who had emigrated as meeting times and locations can change. more recently. After his retirement in 1989, Mike appeared on many re- Contact Information cordings, including three fine albums with his daughter Mary, an accordion Write to: player and one-time member of Cherish the Ladies. (This month’s tune Irish Music and Dance Association comes from one of those father-daughter albums.) He released his first solo 236 Norfolk Ave NW Elk River, MN 55330 album, Speed 78 , in 2004 (at the age of 78!). One of his best recordings, Call: 612-990-3122 The New Broom , a duo album with fiddler Willie Kelly, came out just two E-mail: [email protected] years ago. Mike was also active as a teacher, and was an instructor at the Swannanoa Gathering, Augusta Heritage Center, Boxwood Festival, and Newsletter Submissions Irish Arts Week in the Catskills, where I was lucky to take a class from him We welcome our readers to submit articles of interest, a few years ago. Just last year, he was honored with the prestigious NEA news, and notices of events to be published in the newsletter. National Heritage Fellowship Award. It’s amazing how much he accom- The deadline is the 20th o f the preceding month. plished at an age when most people are slowing down. Rest in peace, Mike. The extensive interview of Mike Rafferty by Paul Wells and Mike Ca- sey from 2002 is well worth reading. It’s available online at http:// www.firescribble.net/flute/rafferty.htm. 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. www.IMDAwww.IMDA----MN.orgMN.org Irish Music & 3 Dance Association The Gaelic Corner By Will Kenny I'm not sticking my neck out in the least when I say that the mapping of body-part metaphors between The "neck" of a bottle, by the way, is scrogall languages is always interesting. (Rather than "stick buidéil ,scrogall also being used for a "neck" of land, my neck out," I might "put my head in danger," mo but never for a body part. But when you encounter a cheann a chur i mbaol , in Irish.) "bottleneck" on your daily commute, that's scrogall tráchta , a "traffic neck." "Neck," in Irish, is commonly muineál , but there's a little more flexibility in Irish than there is in English. As for those of you who are up to your necks in work? Another word, bráid , also Well, the expression for that is Tá means "neck," but it can be seacht gcúramaí an tsléibhe orm : "I used for "throat" as well, have to do the seven tasks of the although the word scornach mountain" or "I bear the seven cares might be more common for of the mountain." I have no idea "throat." what those seven challenges might be, but being merely "up to my neck" doesn't sound so So the simple statement that "his neck was bad in comparison! broken" (in an accident) is briseadh a mhuineál . And an obstinate or stubborn woman "has an unyielding If you are traveling to Ireland this year, you probably neck on her," that is, she is "stiff-necked": tá muineál know it. Why not make your time in Ireland a little righin uirthi . richer, a little more fun, with a little extra eolas (knowledge)? Our new course, " Irish for Tourists ", But we use that bráid word in bráisléad brád , a offered this fall through St. Paul Community "neck (or throat) bracelet," (a necklace). Then there is Education will give you a preview of some of the Irish the expression faoi bhráid , literally, "under the you'll see in place names and street signs, and hear in throat." When I put something "under your throat," I common greetings. The class will meet at Central High am not threatening you! I am putting it right in front for one hour on three Mondays, October 10th through of you, where you can't miss it. When I talk about the 24th, 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Moladh a chur faoi bhráid , "putting a suggestion under throat," I mean I submitted a recommendation Registration opens in early September, and you must to someone. sign up through Community Ed, not through Gaeltacht Minnesota. Visit our web site atwww.gaelminn.orgfor Hopefully, when you stick your neck (or head) out more information and a convenient link directly to this and make a suggestion, you won't "get it in the neck." course page on the Community Education site. In Irish, there's no neck directly involved. Rather you take the blow i mbun na cluaise , "at the base of the And while you are there, sign up for our free monthly e ear." -newsletter, The GaelMinn Gazette. It's a great way to keep up to date on our events, as well as to get a few And when you see creatures running "neck an neck," tips (in English) for studying Irish. whether they are racehorses or political candidates, in Irish they are gob ar ghob or "beak to beak." Gob Is minic a ghearr teanga duine a scornach refers to a bird's beak or bill, but it is commonly used It's often that a person's tongue has slit his own throat for humans as well, usually the mouth, sometimes the nose. When you butt into a conversation, that's do Will ghob a chur sa gcomhrá , "putting your beak in the conversation." www.IMDAwww.IMDA- ---MN.orgMN.org Irish Music & 4 Dance Association Irish Funeral by Mike Faricy My wife and I were in Dublin when we received the call her mother, Lizzy Mullaney , had passed away. The following morning found us heading West under sunny skies towards Ballyfarnan, County Sligo. The town boasts a small Garda station, and a monument to a local blind flute player, Josey McDermott.