Mohawk Valley Irish Cultural
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MOHAWK VALLEY IRISH CULTURAL Volume 14, Issue 4 EVENTS NEWSLETTER Apr 2017 Rain Fails to Dampen Utica’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade “And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.” – G. K. Chesterton Cold snap, snow, rain? To some, it means hunkering down and waiting for fairer weather. To Central New Yorkers, that’s called “March,” and they know that a little inclement weather can’t dampen the indomitable spirit of the Irish and Irish-at-heart community. Capping a two-week period that had already brought both the bitter cold that caused the postponement of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and, mere days later, a historic blizzard, Utica’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade stepped off on March 25th, with dancers and vehicles of all sizes braving Photo by Alex Cooper, Utica O-D the rainy conditions. The parade, led by Grand Marshal Vaughn Lang, featured over 120 units, all marching to the delight of kids of all ages. The spirit of giving also reigned, as 558 food items and $743.15 in cash were donated as part of the parade’s annual food drive to support Mother Marianne’s West Side Kitchen (the “$3.15” coming from Bernie Adorino’s 8 year old son, Nick, who collected bottles and cans for the drive!). As always, the job of selecting the winning units was difficult, but the parade judges announced the following winners: Bag Pipes Floats 1: Mohawk Valley Frasers 1: Stevens-Swan Humane Society 2: Syracuse Scottish Pipe Band 2: Cornhill Neighborhood Assoc. 3: Scotia Glenville Pipe Band 3: Fairles Wish Marching Units Vehicles 1: Johnston School of Irish Dance 1: New York State Police 2: Butler-Sheehan Academy of Irish Dance 2: Cars fleeing NYS Police (April Fool!) 3: Dogs of Ireland Fire Departments Other 1: Maynard Fire Department 1: Utica Safe Schools Build a Bike 2: Whitesboro Fire Department 2: Wilcor International 3: New Hartford Fire Department 3: Sullivan Contracting Inc. Mohawk Valley Irish Cultural Events - 1 Utica St. Patrick’s Day Raffle Winners Announced The luck of the Irish came through for seven happy ticket-holders. On March 26th, as a roomful of hopefuls at the Celtic Harp held their collective breath, Utica St. Patrick’s Day officials drew the names of seven lucky prize winners in the 2017 St. Patrick’s Parade Raffle. The popular raffle is conducted by the Great America Irish Festival each year to defray the costs of putting on the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Taking home the prizes this year were: 1st Prize (party for 20 in the 1888 Tavern, FX Matt Brewing Company) – Sandra Robinson 2nd Prize (private catered dinner for 4 by O’Connor’s “A Moveable Feast”) – Gordon Tibbitts 3rd Prize ($100 Certificate for The Tailor & The Cook Restaurant) – Scarlett Pepe 4th Prize ($100 certificate to the Celtic Harp) – Brett Roberts 5th Prize (two tickets ($76 value) to “Irish Night at the Stanley”) – Dennis Breheny 6th Prize ($50 certificate to Gerber’s 1933 Tavern) – Bill Chromczak 7th Prize (four weekend passes to the 2017 Great American Irish Festival) – Vincent Scalise Congratulations to all, especially our new very very very best friend, Sandra Robinson! News from the Utica NY Area Irish Coalition – Sue Romero In January 2016, representatives of six Irish cultural organizations in the Utica, NY, area met at Nail Creek Pub to discuss plans for the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin. Each group had been active for many years in the area, but this was the first time they had all joined forces to one purpose. Marking the centenary of Ireland's independence from England seemed a fitting time to do that. The events - a documentary screening and a lovely dinner with music, poetry and speeches - helped us all feel connected to the commemorations happening in Dublin and all over the world. These events went so well (and meeting in local pubs to cook up plans for fun Irish cultural events was so much fun) that we just kept going. In September 2016, we were able to bring another fine event to the area when Dublin-based storyteller and singer Helena Byrne performed at the Kirkland Arts Center. Next, we’re working on a Bloomsday Pub Crawl. This event is done every year in Dublin and many other places around the world including Syracuse, but hasn't happened in Utica yet. Irish author James Joyce chronicles one day in the life of his fictional character Leopold Bloom in his novel Ulysses. The day is June 16, 1904, which has come to be known as Bloomsday. Our pub crawl will include historical and literary elements as well as readings from the book, and of course there will be refreshments at each pub. Later in the year when the new Irish Cultural Center building is complete, we plan to host a day of workshops. Many of our own members have skills in Irish arts like fiddle playing, dance, and language, so they'll be on hand to teach some of the classes. We also hope to invite well-known teachers from other places like Boston and New York. These plans are still on the drawing board and wide open for suggestions. So, if you’ve been to something like Bloomsday or Irish arts workshops and came away with great memories, we’d love to hear about it and incorporate as many good ideas as we can. And we’ve made it really easy for you to chime in by creating an online suggestion box. Just go to our website. You’ll find a survey form on the home page. And make sure to like our Facebook page for all the event details as we announce them. Mohawk Valley Irish Cultural Events - 2 Martin McGuinness, IRA Leader Turned Peacemaker, Dies at 66 Martin McGuinness, a former Irish Republican Army commander and Sinn Fein political leader who helped negotiate peace in Northern Ireland after decades of sectarian violence and later became a senior official in its power-sharing government, died after a brief illness March 21st, 2017. He was 66. A polarizing figure for his involvement in IRA activities beginning in the 1960s and early 70s, including 1972’s Bloody Sunday, McGuinness had grown to be a savvy and persuasive negotiator and peacemaker. He and Sinn Fein’s President Gerry Adams changed the history of the islands of Ireland and Britain by persuading the IRA to take the political path despite grave warnings that peace could not be achieved, and that men like Michael Collins had died trying to achieve the same. McGuinness was one of the main architects of the Good Friday Agreement which formally cemented the Northern Ireland peace process, and later, took part in two of the most iconic moments in recent Irish history during his time as a leader of Sinn Fein. In the first, in 2007, he embraced long-time hard line unionist rival the Reverend Ian Paisley and forged a consensus on how to govern Northern Ireland through power- sharing. Then, in 2012, he met with Queen Elizabeth during a trip she Photo of Martin McGuinness’ funeral taken by made to Belfast in his capacity as the North’s deputy first minister. Once MVICE reader, Roberta Van Tassell O’Shaughnessy fierce rivals, they came to realize that the only hope for the future was a joint working relationship that produced positive results. Martin McGuinness’s work is done, but his memory and achievements will last forever and always be synonymous with peace in Ireland. May he rest in peace. (passages lifted – albeit with reverence – from various media sources). “An Irish Night at The Stanley” Delivers Nonstop Entertainment The Stanley Theatre was awash in the Irish spirit last Friday as three musical acts gave their all to a packed house; all part of the (now annual) event known as “Irish Night at the Stanley.” Taking the stage first was local favorites The Blarney Rebel Band, who ably kicked off the show with a crisp selection of crowd favorites and original music, including the first-ever live performance of their “Pile High the Pennywall,” backed by a choir of 20 talented students from Proctor and Sauquoit high schools. Amping it up a notch was Philadelphia’s BarleyJuice, who presented a high-energy set that included their biggest hit, “Beware the Weekend Irish,” well-chosen mashups of Irish/conventional songs, and they closed with the fiery ending of the Who’s “Baba O’Reilly.” And as always, bringing the house down was Kansas City’s The Elders, with a fast-paced set of Elders classics and new material. Especially memorable were “Luck of the Irish,” “The Story of a Fish (with the now-famous “Capitol Theater Fish-Sticks”), “Appalachian Paddy” and of course the moving “Men of Erin.” The mood of the room was not lost on frontman Ian Byrne, who endeared himself to the appreciative crowd with “We love coming to Utica. It’s like coming home.” Joining each band throughout the night were dancers from The Johnston School of Irish Dance and The Butler- Sheehan Academy of Traditional Irish Dance, and the evening closed (at least at the theater!) with the very popular meet-and-greet/photo session in the lobby. Thanks go to Debbie Kessler of Kessler Promotions, the CNY Labor Council, and to Stanley director Jerry Kraus for making it all possible. Here’s looking to next year! Mohawk Valley Irish Cultural Events - 3 “How to Defuse a Bomb: The Project Children Story” – Review by Tom Malley Many people in the area are familiar with the term Project Children, especially those in the Irish culture.