October Irish Music & 2019 Dance Association Deireadh Fómhair

The mission of the Irish Music and Dance Association is to support and promote Irish music, dance, and other cultural traditions to insure their continuation.

www.IMDA-MN.org Irish Music & 2 Dance Association

The IMDA Board is: President: Julia Rogers Vice President: Jan Casey Treasurer: Maureen Engelhardt Secretary: Open Board Members: John Concannon Kathie Luby Amber Ladany Aja Beers Gemma Forbush Editor: Kathie Luby

IMDA Board Meetings are open to the membership. The Board meets regularly on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:00 pm at the Dubliner Pub, St. Paul. Members are encouraged to verify the time and location shortly before, as meeting times and locations can change. Irish Dancer Sets His Sights on National Competition .

Contact Information by Jan Casey E-mail: [email protected] Jordan Lukas Grubidge of Coon Rapids became Newsletter Submissions interested in Irish dance when he saw a friend at school We welcome our readers to submit articles of interest, news, and notices of events practicing. Jordan, who is 7 years old, studies Irish dance with to be published in the newsletter. The deadline is the 18th of the preceding month. O’Shea Irish Dance and also studies at the Center for Irish Send to: [email protected] Music (playing harp and whistle). Jordan is a dedicated student, attending classes a few times a week, practicing every day and he tells us that “I stretch a lot.”

Jordan reinforced his interest in Irish dance by spending a long time sitting by the musicians at his first feis and watching the dancer’s feet. He tells us “This is when I really started to love Irish dance and music because I saw it come together and it was really beautiful.” Soon after, he began his study of Irish music at the Center for Irish Music. Jordan is delighted with his dance teachers at O’Shea; he tells us that Miss Natalie O’Shea has “helped me learn my basics and understand how my muscles work together in my dancing” and that Cormac O’Se’s choreography helps him “do what I love best – showing off my fancy moves.” He says that his teachers believe in him and encourage him to do his best all the time. His recommender tells us that he is intense in his study of Irish dance – taking advantage of ‘free time’ to do extra practice and spending extra time at major competitions to watch the ‘big kids’ - “and during the breaks in their dancing, he would stand up and try out some of the fancy moves they would make.”

Jordan has shared his dancing in community – participating in his school talent show and cultural night, dancing at Irish Fair and IMDA’s Day of Irish Dance as well as being part of O’Shea’s holiday shows. Jordan is already an active volunteer, helping at the Center for Irish Music’s Éigse gala and being part of Irish outreach events throughout the year.

Jordan used his IMDA Educational Grant for training and for travel expenses for Nationals in Vancouver, BC. He tells us that he enjoys traveling to majors, where he gets to watch and learn from great dancers across the country. He tells us “Every time I dance, my love of the sport and the Irish culture grows and grows.”

The Irish Music and Dance Association is delighted to help this dedicated young dancer continue to pursue his goals.

Jan serves on the board of the Irish Music and Dance Association and coordinates the IMDA Educational Grant Program.

www.IMDA-MN.org Irish Music & 3 Dance Association

IMDA’s Decade of Dance Award Applications Sought

The Decade of Dance Award provides a means of recognizing a very special commitment that some dancers make to Irish Dance. For some, ten years represents a large portion of their young lives. They share a particular element of Irish culture with audiences in all kinds of settings, from community festivals and con- cert halls to nursing homes and schools. Along the way, they delight audiences, make friends, and serve as very visible and engaging ambassadors for Irish culture to the greater community. The award is open to danc- ers who study in Irish dance schools as well as those who participate in Irish dance performance groups. While many of the award recipients are young people, IMDA is happy to recognize adults who have made this significant commitment as well.

Dancers tell us that the presentation of this award is very meaningful for them and their families. Danc- ers who began their study in September 2009 or before and have continued their study continuously may ap- ply now to receive the award at IMDA’s Day of Irish Dance on Sunday, March 15, 2020. The award is availa- ble for Twin Cities dancers who have performed at an IMDA St. Patrick’s Day Irish Celebration or Day of Irish Dance.

Applications are available on the IMDA website: www.imda-mn.org/decadeofdance.html.

Dancers must apply by Dec. 2, 2019.

Look for IMDA on Give to the Max Day

November 14

Save the Date

Details in the November Newsletter will provide exciting news of our new initiative.

www.IMDA-MN.org Irish Music & 4 Dance Association

The Gaelic Corner By Will Kenny

I am writing this column on a duine, to "make underground water truly beautiful autumn day, warm, against someone," is to intrigue or sunny and breezy, the kind of day secretly plot against them. that pays us back a little for some of the other weather we endure Uisce beatha, "the water of life," is here in Minnesota. In fact, my wife "whiskey," although a separate and I took a little break to go sit by word for "whiskey, "fuisce the water at the small lake we have in our (FWISH-kuh) is more common. Now, you may or may neighborhood. not add water to your whiskey when you drink it, but when you talk about whiskey and about water, you need "Water" is uisce in Irish, pronounced ISH-kuh. It is to know which is which. And that raises a very used for water in general, but by itself uisce implies interesting grammatical issue with these particular Irish "fresh water," the kind you find in our lake. There is a words. separate word, sáile, for "seawater" or "saltwater." We see this word in the common phrase thar sáile, "past Some of you may already be aware that Irish, unlike seawater," to mean "overseas" or "abroad." English, often changes the sounds at the front of words to indicate grammar. In English, we change the end of If we need to be more explicit, we can refer to uisce the word "dog" to produce "dog's" to indicate milis ("sweet water"). The freshest water is that which possession. To do that in Irish, we change the initial comes out of a spring, perhaps at the bottom of your sound of madra (MAH-druh) to WAH-druh, indicating well. That is fíoruisce, or "true water." When I tell you the sound change (called a "mutation") by inserting an h: that what you said is chomh glan le fíoruisce, "as clean mhadra. as spring water," I mean it's "clear as crystal."

Then there is "salted water" as opposed to the That means that in certain situations, fuisce should be "saltwater" of the sea. This "somewhat salty" character spelled fhuisce. But the problem is that the fh is captured in the word goirt. Uisce goirt is "brackish combination is silent, and that means that uisce ("water") water," and goirt applies to things like "salted and fhuisce ("whiskey") sound exactly the same: ISH- fish" (iasc goirt) or "salted meat" (feoil ghoirt). (A kuh. duine goirt, a "salted person," is kind of a lout.) The solution: fuisce never changes to fhuisce, even Goirt is also widely used in expressions related to when grammar says that it should. Most other words tears, which are seen as slightly salty. Chaoin sí go starting with f show the mutation -- fuil, said FWILL, for goirt, "She cried (lightly) saltily," that is, "She wept "blood" can become fhuil, said ILL -- but not fuisce. bitterly." We also say, Chaoin sí uisce a cinn, "She Confusing whiskey and water is never a good idea. cried the water of her head," meaning "She cried her eyes out." This month Gaeltacht Minnesota welcomes a new group of beginning students who are taking our If you are ag caitheamh uisce salach ar dhuine -- introductory course through Saint Paul Commmunity "throwing dirty water on a person" -- you are Education. C'mon in, the water's fine! (if a little confusing at first, admittedly) disparaging or even vilifying that person. And if you say about something, Ní fiú uisce na bprataí é, you are Learn more about Gaeltacht Minnesota at saying that it is worthless or useless, as you are www.gaelminn.org comparing it to the water that is left over from boiling potatoes. Más deas do dhuine a chóta is deise do dhuine a léine "If a person's coat is close to him, his shirt is closer," We know that water can run underground, but "underground water," uisce faoi thalamh, can imply that is, secrecy. Uisce faoi thalamh a dhéanamh i gcoinne "Blood is thicker than water" www.IMDA-MN.org Irish Music & 5 Dance Association

Invitation to the IMDA’s St. Patrick’s Day Weekend

Cross Cultural Initiative

In March of 2018, the IMDA added a new cross-cultural component to its Landmark Center activities on St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The IMDA believes that exposure to the music, dance and customs of ethnic groups other than one’s own can help bridge gaps, foster understanding and promote mutual respect. The IM- DA Cross Cultural Grant aims to provide funding for unique, collaborative projects that showcase the rich traditions of communities the world over.

. Here are the details:

Written proposals regarding joint cross-cultural performance pieces will be accepted via email by the IMDA through 11:59 pm on November 15, 2019. Each proposal should identify one or two principal contact persons, and include the name, mailing address, email address, and phone number for each such person. Pro- posals (and questions, if any, about proposal requirements) should be sent to [email protected].

The maximum award amount is $1500. Groups must complete the income/expense worksheet for their application to be considered complete.

Each proposal must involve: (a) at least one local person or group that performs primarily Irish music, dance, or other performance based piece and (b) at least one local person or group that performs primarily “non-Irish” music, dance or other perfor- mance based arts, especially that of an American ethnic minority or an ethnicity from a South American, African, Arabic or Asian country or culture.

Each proposal must describe or explain what each participant (or participant group) will do as part of the joint performance piece.

The proposed performance piece must be between 15 and 30 minutes long.

The IMDA will review all proposals and select the winning proposal by November 30, 2019. The IMDA reserves the right to contact any proposer to seek additional information. The IMDA also reserves the right to not select a winning proposal if the IMDA determines that no proposal will adequately achieve its cross-cultural objectives.

Grant recipients will be required to perform their piece at the IMDA’s Day of Irish dance and/or St. Pat- rick’s Celebrations at Landmark Center. The IMDA will work to provide additional opportunities for perfor- mances at other events throughout the year as we are able.

Questions and applications should be sent to [email protected] or by calling Julia at 651- 341-3618.

www.IMDA-MN.org Irish Music & 6 Dance Association

Sean Clerkin Receives Irish Fair’s 2019 Curtin Conway Award

The Curtin-Conway Award honors Leah Curtin and Roger Conway, two of the original organizers of the Irish Fair of Minnesota. The honor is presented annually to someone who has made significant contributions to the Irish cultural community in the Twin Cities and/or Minnesota. The award includes a $1,000 donation by the Irish Fair to the Irish cultural charity of the recipient's choice, and the name of the honoree is placed on a plaque that is on public display at the Celtic Junction. Following is the Irish Fair’s description of Sean Clerkin’s contributions:

“Born in Dublin, and raised in Monaghan City, Co. Monahan, Sean left Ireland at the age of 17 for adventure on the high seas when he joined the merchant marines. Sean sailed the world for 8 years on the SS Himalaya, until with the encouragement of a fellow sailer, arrived in Minnesota in 1963. He quickly became involved with the vibrant Irish Community, meeting the love of his life Judy, who he married in 1965.

“Leah Curtin, who this award is named after, met and saw something in Sean, asking him to help with her vision of celebrating Irish Culture, when she organized the first Irish Heritage Festival in 1980, which was held at the St Paul Armory. Sean continued to be part of the organization’s committee as the festival outgrew the armory, moved to St Thomas University, and finally to Harriet Island in 2001.

“As a member of the Sons and Daughters of Ireland, he, and Judy, started the Minneapolis St Patrick’s Day Association, holding a parade in downtown Minneapolis each year, which celebrated its 51st anniversary in 2019. For the past 30 years, the Minneapolis St Patrick’s Day Association has raised and donated 100% of their profits to the American Diabetes Association’s Camp Needlepoint, a summer camp for children living with diabetes. Sean and the Minneapolis St Patrick’s Day Association continue to be tied to the Irish Fair of Minnesota through the booth and silent auction which is in our market place each year.

“Boxing and the Minnesota Irish have a long storied history, which Sean has contributed to, having been involved with Golden Gloves for over 40 years as a coach and leader. He is president of Upper Midwest Golden Gloves, is on the National Golden Gloves Board of Directors, and was named to the Golden Gloves Hall of Fame in 2013.

“You can find Sean at the The Firehouse Gym in Columbia Heights, coaching the art of boxing, and at the fabled Murray’s Steak House in downtown Minneapolis, where he is the night manager.

“Sean and Judy are the proud parents of 4, Grandparents to 4, and Great Grandparents of 1.”

www.IMDA-MN.org Irish Music & 7 Dance Association

Celtic Collaborative Becomes Out of the Mist Celtic Theatre

Over the last several months local Twin Cities theatre group, The Celtic Collaborative, has been in discussions about its future. Founded nearly a decade ago, the Celtic Collaborative has produced both tradi- tional Irish drama and new work. It has also published literature, including: The Harp and The Loon, an an- thology that explores the link between Minnesota and Ireland; and Danny Who? Four decades in Irish Music, the author’s reflections on growing up Irish-American in St. Paul, MN.

Earlier this year, the Collaborative board decided it was time to clarify its mission and, in doing so, Out of the Mist Celtic Theatre was born! The mission of Out of the Mist Celtic Theatre, a name inspired by the misty shores of Ireland, is to provide an opportunity for audiences in the Twin Cities to experience the Celtic cultures through presentations of high-quality performing arts.

This fall, Out of the Mist Celtic Theatre will host a series of events and activities to gather momentum as it builds to full-scale theatre productions in 2020. Starting in October, Out of the Mist will host a series of play readings, lectures, and poetry readings.

. The first of these will be a reading of plays by Dublin’s Abbey Theatre founders, W. B. Yeats and Lady Augusta Gregory, on October 6th. . The theatre will host award-winning poet Ethna McKiernan on October 13.

Both events will begin at 7:00 pm at the Celtic Junction, 826 Prior Ave. N., St. Paul, MN 55104

Tickets are available at the door and also at: http://outofthemisttheatre.bpt.me.

The Board of Out of the Mist Celtic Theatre welcomes anyone interested in becoming part of the group to join them at the Board’s annual meeting on Wednesday, October 2 at 7:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Amherst Wilder Foundation building, 451 Lexington Parkway, St. Paul, Minnesota. The theatre seeks actors, directors, writers, producers, and design/tech folks.

The board is especially interested in volunteers to help with communications, media relations, and social media.

For more information, contact the theatre online at www.outofthemisttheatre.org, on Facebook @Outofthemisttheatre, or E-mail at: [email protected]

www.IMDA-MN.org Irish Music & 8 Dance Association

IMDA EDUCATIONAL GRANT AWARD EXPERIENCE

By Danielle Enblom

I just returned from my time in Quebec, which was funded by the IMDA grant. It was far more fruitful than I could have hoped!

My grandmother grew up in Quebec, north of Quebec City. She left her poor factory town at age 18 and learned to speak English. Aside from visits home in the summers to stay at my great grandpar- ents' cabin with my mom and her siblings, my grandmother never re- ally looked back. I heard her speaking French on the phone to her sib- lings from time to time, and of course her strong accent still reverber- ates in my mind whenever I think about her. However, she did her best to live an American, English speaking life. I think she felt above the life she left behind, proud to speak Parisian French, rather than the often looked down on French of her childhood, and was proud to be American. She really did become a self-made woman here.

Fast forward to 8 years ago. I took a road trip with my grandmoth- er to Quebec, just as she was in the early stages of her Alzheimer's, just as she was beginning to return to memories of her childhood more readily than those from the day before. On this trip, with some prompting, my grand'manan shared with me that her parents would often have friends over to the house, put cornmeal on the floor, and dance squares, or sets, all night with a fiddler playing in the corner! Now, she had seen me grow up in Irish music and dance with ceilis, house dances, and Irish sessions being a central part of my life since the age of 10 and she never once shared that traditional music and dancing were a regular part of her life back in Quebec. Immediately after this road trip, I went back to Belfast where I lived for 3 years. Her Alzheimer’s progressed, I became preoccupied with completing my MA, heal- ing from my brain injury, and training to be a Waldorf teacher. So, I never really had the time to pursue what she had shared with me, until now!

After meeting a Quebecois fiddler and ethnomusicologist at a festival in NY this Feb, I learned that there was indeed a lot of traditional dance and music in my grandma's region and town and that she would have had exposure to it. At that point, it felt significant to finally begin to learn more about this style of dance, which is so close to the forms I practice, and a part of my history. So I wrote the grant!

I then reached out to dozens of cousins and aunts and uncles in Quebec, primarily to ask for advice on how to get to the camp to study dance via bus. These communications were all in French, so it was challenging enough to simply enquire about the logistics of transportation. However, one aunt commented on the dancing, and we began an ongoing conversation about the dance traditions in my grandma's home town and region. It is so exciting to learn about my familial ties to practices that have been central to my own life!

www.IMDA-MN.org Irish Music & 9 Dance Association

And it gets better! I attended the music and dance camp only hoping to learn some steps and gain some insight, which I did. If noth- ing else, the cultural experience of attending Quebecois dances, which are so similar to Irish set dances, but so uniquely Quebecois would have been worth my trip alone! I also befriended Normand Legault. Normand is a fabulous step dancer, and a fellow ethnochoreologist who has been doing important archival work since the 70’s. He is one of a few significant tradition holders of traditional dance (social and solo) in Quebec. During my time at camp, Normand provided individ- ual instruction so I could learn at a more advanced level, and it was such a treat! After sharing my story with him, he informed me that he has video footage of dancers from my grandma's home town and re- gion from the 70’s, and had it with him! So for a few days, I spent time watching and studying this footage. Not only was it an incredible privilege to get to view this footage, I also learned that one of the step dancers in the video is from my grandmother's home town and has the same last name as my great grandmother! We don't know his first name, so I have some sleuthing to do, not to mention some dance steps to practice!

Now, I also have to add that I have also been connecting with my grandfather's side of the family, also Quebecois, with recent generations living in Manitoba and Alberta, and I've learned that my great grandfa- ther Laurent, and his brother Barney were musicians in Manitoba in the early 1900s! Barney played the fid- dle, and Laurent the spoons and harmonica. Who would've ever thought that I would spend most of my life fiddling and dancing, just by chance really, and come to find twenty-three years later that it has been in my blood all along, just waiting to be discovered!

More sleuthing to be done indeed! Who is this mystery man in Quebec, and what fiddle tunes did Barney play!!

As you can imagine, this is incredibly exciting for me, and quite meaningful. I look forward to working with the IMDA to decide how to present the work, and am ever so grateful for the opportunity!

www.IMDA-MN.org Irish Music & 10 Dance Association

Celtic Junction Arts Center October Events

The Celtic Junction Arts Center is an all-ages, family-friendly venue. Please support us in our tenth year of concert and event programming! For a full listing of upcoming events, visit https://celticjunction.org/ events/

Steph Geremia & The Flyaways in Concert October 11 @ 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm. Advance tickets $17, $20 at the door. Irish American flautist and singer Steph Geremia (Alan Kelly Gang) has a love for Ireland’s North Connaught tradition. She performs with Scottish powerhouse, Aaron Jones (Old Blind Dogs) on bouzouki/guitar/vocals and fiddle maestro, Ben Gunnery (Riverdance / Barrage).

Fall Festival and Pumpkin Sale! October 12 @ 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm. Free. Celebrate the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain with us! We're having a pumpkin and apple sale outside with live music, small giveaways, bouncy house, face painting and more. All proceeds benefit CJAC's programming.

Celtic Junction Arts Center Fundraiser October 12 @ 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm. $100. Have a great time with friends, old and new, at our annual Celtic Junction Fundraiser. Our emcee will be comedian Joshua Will, fan-favorite from our annual Celtic Holiday Hooley show! Join us for drinks in our remodeled lobby and gallery space, and enjoy a private viewing of Maureen Fleming’s Wildfires photography installation.

At 6pm, learn about the impact of CJAC’s four arms – Event, Classes, Li- brary, and Outreach – through an entertaining and interactive program with music, laughs, Irish language, and dance. At 8pm, have your raffle tickets in-hand for a chance to win two-roundtrip Aer Lingus flights to Ireland!

www.IMDA-MN.org Irish Music & 11 Dance Association

Maureen Fleming WILDFIRES Photography Installation – Opening Re- ception October 12 @ 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm. A part of CJAC's Fundraiser. Dancer-choreographer Maureen Fleming searches for an understanding of this internal and universal dimension through her installation, featuring original dance photography created and presented during her Fulbright in Ireland at NUI Galway.

Poetry Reading with Ethna McKiernan October 13 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm. $5 at the door. Ethna McKiernan will be reading her own work, including poems from her recently published, Swimming with Shadows. Presented by Out of the Mist Celtic Theater.

Pourparler in Saint Paul October 17 @ 4:00 pm - October 20 @ 12:00 pm. Do you teach folk/traditional/creative dance or music in schools and/or community events? Come share with others who do this vital work for an extended weekend of dancing, sing- ing, playing music, sharing ideas and networking.

OUTLANDER: Scotland’s Music October 27 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm $10 in advance, $15 at the door. A dynamic concert of traditional Scots and Scottish Gaelic music and song from the popular Outlander novels and the Outlander series soundtracks

Colloquium: The Hurley-Makers Son with Patrick Deeley October 29 @ 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm. Free! Patrick Deeley, author of The End of The World and 2019 recipient of The Law- rence O’Shaughnessy Award for Poetry, will read from his memoir The Hurley- Makers Son. A discussion will follow.

www.IMDA-MN.org Irish Music & 12 Dance Association

Northwoods Songs: Irish Songs from Lumberjacks and Great Lakes Sailors By Brian Miller

Northwoods Songs features a new song each month pulled from my research into old songs collected in the pine woods region that stretches from New Brunswick west through northern Minnesota. In the 1800s, a vibrant culture of singing and song-making developed in lumber camp bunkhouses and on Great Lakes ships. The repertoire and singing style were greatly influenced by Irish folk repertoire and Irish singing styles. Many singers in the region had Irish background themselves.

Each installment of Northwoods Songs is also published online at www.evergreentrad.com. My hope is that others will learn some of these songs and make them their own as I have. -Brian Miller

THE FAIR AT BONLAGHY

I went to the fair at Bonlaghy, I bought a wee slip of a pig, And as I was passing the poorhouse, I whistled the Swaggering Jig. Then it’s hi for the cups and the saucers, And hi for the butter and bread, And hi for the bonny wee lassie, That danced the Swaggering Jig.

www.IMDA-MN.org Irish Music & 13 Dance Association

As I being down by the poorhouse, I whistled so loud and so shrill, I made all the fairies to tremble, That lived near McLoughrim Hill. Then it's Hi! for the cups and the saucers, And hi for the butter and bread, And hi for the bonny wee lassie, That danced the Swaggering Jig.

As a lover of Irish dance tunes and the Irish song tradition, I have long been on the lookout for jigs, polkas, barn dances and other tunes that have a history of being used both as dance tunes and as the melodies for songs. They are rare birds within the instrumental tradition but these “singable” tunes are some of my favorites.

In the 1930s, the great County Derry song collector Sam Henry collected “Bellaghy Fair” sung to a variant of the slip jig called “The Swaggering Jig” (aka “Give Us a Drink of Water”). Around the same time, Ohio collector Mary Eddy collected a fragment of the same song in Steubenville, Ohio from Mary M. Cox (nee Marion) whose parents were born in Ireland and who learned several songs from an Irish uncle. The Ohio version has Bonlaghy instead of Bellaghy. Bellaghy is a village in Derry. Bonlaghy did not come up in my Google Maps searches of Ireland but Google Books led me to The Gentleman and Citizen’s Almanack for the Year of our Lord, 1732 which lists Bonlaghy, County Longford as the site of one of the “principle fairs of Ireland” happening on July 15th of that year.

The Ohio melody is unique from “The Swaggering Jig” as played by tune players and as sung by Sam Henry’s (unknown) source. It is also only a fragment—missing the second part. The above melody is my attempt to stretch the Ohio melody out over the two parts. I also blended the Ohio text with the Sam Henry text.

Visit a full archive of all Northwoods Songs columns and songs online at www.evergreentrad.com

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. www.IMDA-MN.org Irish Music & 14 Dance Association

Smidirini* (*Irish for ‘Bits and Pieces’)

By Copper Shannon

. Go mbíodh biseach ort gan mhoill! Paddy O’Brien (may there be improvement on you without delay). We hope you’re soon feeling better.

. Hip, Hip, Hooray! Best wishes to Maeve O’Mara of Irish on Grand. Wishing her well in her recovery and rehab with her new hip!

Looking for the IMDA Community Calendar?

The IMDA Community Calendar is your go-to place to find out what’s happening in Irish music, dance, liter- ature and cultural events in the Twin Cities and beyond.

Find it at www.imda-mn.org/calendar.

The calendar on our website is updated often – and is “searchable” for your favorite artist, venue or type of event. Check it out – and return often!

The Center for Irish Music

Come check us out at The Celtic Junction Arts Center

836 Prior Avenue, St Paul MN

Please check the website for information on our full range of instruction in traditional Irish music, language, culture and fun.

For class schedule and other information call or email 651-815-0083 [email protected]

Or visit our website

www.centerforirishmusic.org

Dedicated to Handing Down the Tradition

www.IMDA-MN.org Irish Music & 15 Dance Association

An Leabhragan (The Bookcase) The Last to See me M Dressler Skyhorse Publishing 2019 (paper)

I bought this book in Mendocino, CA last month, and unfortunately missed the author's talk at her pa- perback book launch in the Gallery Bookshop by one day. Too bad, because if M Dressler (no first name; no period, just "M") can tell a story in person as well as in her novels, she'd be worth showing up for. The Last To See Me is a thrilling ghost story---from the point of view of the ghost. Emma Rose Finnis, an "Irish stub- born" daughter of immigrants from the old country, died over a hundred years ago in the small California coastal village of Benito (a thinly disguised Mendocino, right down to the McCallum House, renamed the Lambry House, and the Evergreen Cemetery, with its denizens of lumber and fishing accidents and numer- ous illnesses sleeping up on the hill). If you've ever been to Mendocino, you'll know exactly where all the action takes place.

Emma Rose was just nineteen when she died, but she's too fiercely determined to go away without surviving and experiencing some of the knowledge of being human. Most of her kind has been driven out by the ghost hunters, the "cleaners", hired by the town council to dispatch anything unpleasant and supernatural in their picture-perfect village. Emma Rose refuses to be turfed out, and attempts to turn tables on the hunter sent to dispatch her. She tells us the Irish have always survived, even in difficult circumstances; being dead appears to be just another obstacle in her defiant existence. Emma Rose is not without sympathizers, and her world is as real and palpable to her as living peoples' world around her, people unaware of her parallel exist- ence.

This book is what used to be called a ripping yarn----and just in time for the month we're all in the mood for such a tale. Although the protagonist is a ghost she is deeply human, and as haunted by the past as the present is haunted by her. The living and the dead alike experience love, longing, fear and hope---and I found myself rooting for Emma Rose's survival. This is perfect for a cold night with a howling wind outside and a cup of tea next to your reading chair.

Sherry Ladig is a Saint Paul-based trad musician and a former reviewer for the Hungry Mind Bookstore's newsletter, Fodder. Sherry welcomes suggestions for books of Irish and Irish-American interest to review--- or, write a review yourself! Sherry may be reached at [email protected].

Happy autumn reading!

www.IMDA-MN.org Irish Music & 16 Dance Association

Ceili Corner By Bhloscaidh O’Keane Check www.lomamor.org for all up-to-date Irish folk dancing information.

IMDA Membership

Demonstrate your support of live Irish music, dance and cultural activities by becoming a member of the Irish Music and Dance Association. Become a supporting member by making a financial contribution. Member bands, businesses and organizations receive priority listing in the IMDA Community Resources List. All IMDA members receive the newsletter by e-mail. ’ Name: Today s Date:

Address: Where did you hear about us?

Membership Type (circle one) Individual $20 ______Family $25 ______by US Mail $35 ______

Band/Organization/Business $25 ______Name ______(Name of Band/Organization/Business)

Interests (circle all that apply) Music Dance Theatre Language Voluntee

E-mail Address: ______Phone Number: ______Your monthly newsletter is delivered electronically via e-mail. Please advise us at [email protected] if your e-mail address changes . Supporting members who contribute at least $35 annually may receive their newsletter by U S Mail. ___ Request US Mail Revised 11/201

Tear out the above form and send it with a check made out to “IMDA” to: The IMDA Membership Coordinator c/o Jan Casey 400 Macalester St. St. Paul, MN 55105

Or visit the IMDA website (www.imda.org) to pay electronically.

www.IMDA-MN.org