MOHAWK VALLEY IRISH CULTURAL

Volume 13, Issue 3 EVENTS NEWSLETTER Mar 2016

Utica St. Patrick’s Day Parade – 192 Years of Irish Pride, Family Fun

It’s a tradition unlike any in Utica’s storied history. The Utica St. Patrick’s Day parade, originated in 1824 by Utica’s first mayor and pre-eminent Irishman, John C. Devereux, once again takes to the streets on Saturday, March 12th. Presented by the Great American Irish Festival, this family-friendly event will step off at Oneida Square at 10 AM and travel north on Genesee Street, ending at Columbia Street. Many spectators find the reviewing stand area in front of the Stanley Theatre a prime location to enjoy the parade, but the fact is there is not a bad viewing spot along the route. The parade -- the culmination of a full week of Irish-centered activities in honor of National Irish Month -- will be proudly led by this year’s Grand Marshal, Christopher McGrath.

Parade Committee Chairman Judy Weeks and her team have assembled an impressive array of pipe bands, marching units, floats and other unique vehicles; however, it’s not too late to get involved. The committee invites everyone in the community to showcase their civic organizations, musical groups, school groups, businesses or families in the parade. Participants are encouraged to incorporate an Irish theme into their float or entry. For more information, contact Judy at [email protected].

Robert H. Wood Great Artists Series Presents Danú…for Free!

The Herkimer County College Foundation will host an evening with Danú on Friday, March 4, 2016 at 7 PM in the Sarkus-Busch Theater located in the Robert McLaughlin College Center at Herkimer College. The performance is open to the public free of charge. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Hailing from historic County Waterford, Danú is one of the leading traditional Irish ensembles of today. For over 20 years, Danú’s virtuosi players on flute, tin whistle, fiddle, button accordion, bouzouki, and vocals (Irish and English), have performed around the globe and recorded seven critically acclaimed albums. Their live DVD, One Night Stand, was filmed at Vicar St. Dublin. Winners of numerous awards from the BBC and Irish Music Magazine, Danú has toured throughout Europe and North America with stops at The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and Symphony Space in New York City. Danú takes its audiences on a musical journey to their native Ireland, offering a moving and memorable concert experience.

The Robert H. Wood Great Artists Series is a result of a generous endowment made to the Herkimer County College Foundation by the late Robert H. Wood, a long-time resident of Ilion, NY. For more information call the Herkimer County College Foundation Office at 315-574-4015. Doors open at 6:30 PM.

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Grand Marshal’s Reception to be held at The Stanley Theater

Marking the ceremonial “passing of the Shillelagh” from the previous parade Grand Marshal to this year’s, the Grand Marshal’s Reception will be held on March 8th, 2016, in the lobby of the beautiful Stanley Theater. Last year’s Grand Marshal, Steve McMurray, will be on hand to do the honors, when – flanked by an assemblage of past Grand Marshals – he hands off the shillelagh to this year’s honoree, Christopher McGrath. The reception, which runs from 5-8 PM, costs $10, which goes to defray the costs of the parade. Food and refreshments are included, and providing traditional Irish music throughout the evening will be Craobh Dugan.

The Utica St. Patrick’s Day Parade Hosts Food Drive

As a way of giving back to the community, and in remembrance of one of the most horrific and defining periods in Irish history, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee is again conducting a food drive for this year’s parade. On March 12th, St. Patrick’s Day Parade attendees and marchers are asked to bring non-perishable food items to the parade, which will be collected and turned over to Mother Marianne’s West Side Kitchen at the St. Joseph-St. Patrick Parish Center. Named for Blessed Mother Marianne Cope, who grew up in West Utica and went on to devote the last 30 years of her life to the lepers of Hawaii’s Molokai, this program also claims a unique tie to the local Irish community: It is located across the street from the future Mohawk Valley Irish Cultural Center; the site of the original St. Patrick’s Church, which was built by a burgeoning Irish population who had come to America to escape the Great Hunger in the 1850s.

Food drive chairperson Chris Hoke reports that last year’s drive was a huge success, resulting in over 2500 pounds of food and $1400 in cash that translated to much needed meals for several hundred of our “hungry neighbors.” Confident that Uticans will continue to open their hearts (and pantries), she has arranged for several alternative ways in which people can help. Volunteers will be lining up on the side streets with wheelbarrows to collect donations before the parade starts, flanked as always by the great folks at Adorino Construction. They will also gladly accept any cash donations that are offered in lieu of food, and volunteers will be trailing the parade with green containers for such monetary donations; all of which go to Mother Marianne’s Kitchen. If you are interested in volunteering for the Food Drive in any capacity, please contact Chris at (315) 827-4291.

Gaelic Storm at State Theatre of Ithaca

On Saturday, March 5, 2016, the genre-bending Gaelic Storm rolls into the State Theatre of Ithaca for a very special performance supporting their latest CD, “Matching Sweaters.” From bluegrass fans and country cowboys to Deadheads, rock & rollers and Celtic fanatics, Gaelic Storm has built one of the most diverse fan bases in modern music. With a career that began as a pub band in Santa Monica, California, through their appearance as a Third Class party band (“third class” is a location, not a rating!) and now to the present, they’ve topped the Billboard World Chart five times and regularly headline the largest Irish Festivals across the country. Oh, and there’s Kiana Weber.

“Matching Sweaters,” which earned a spot on iTunes World Albums’ “Best of 2015” album list, features Patrick Murphy and Steve Twigger at their song-writing best, moving from drinking songs (“Another Stupid Drinking Song”) to energetic instrumentals (“The Narwhaling Cheesehead”) to rootsy pop/rockers (“Whiskeyed Up and Womaned Out”), gluing everything together with the spark and spirit of a band that’s spent close to 20 years on the road. And then there’s Kiana Weber.

Tickets for the 8 PM show range from $20-$30, and are available on-line or by calling (607) 277-8283. The State Theater of Ithaca is located at 105 West State Street, Ithaca, NY. And of course, there’s Kiana Weber.

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31st Annual “North Country Goes Green” Festival

From March 11-13, Watertown plays host to their 31st annual “North Country Goes Green” Irish Festival, at the Dulles State Office Building. The festival, promising three days of constant musical entertainment, features a lineup that includes the Prodigals, BarleyJuice, the Dady Brothers, the Jerry Dixon Band, and more. And this year, the festival amps it up a notch, with a concert from the fabulous High Kings! That’s right; on Saturday, March 12th, the High Kings will be performing at the Dulles State Office Building in a separately- priced show starting at 7:30 PM. Your $20 admission for Saturday’s concert also includes a one day pass to the North Country Goes Green Irish Fest. Ticket must be present to gain entrance into the fest. Daily admission to the festival itself is $6 per person, with children 12 and under admitted free if accompanied by a parent. Tickets are available at Watertown Kinney Drugs Locations or by calling DPAO at 782-3577, or at the door during the festival. For additional information, visit http://www.ncirishfest.com/.

Enter the Haggis is Back Again… and Again

For those of you who can’t wait until the Great American Irish Festival to see Toronto’s Enter the Haggis, you’re in luck… doubly in luck, actually. That’s right, Trevor, Brian, Mark, Craig and Bruce celebrate ETH’s 20th anniversary with their “Cheers and Echoes Tour,” with return trips to the Westcott Theater in Syracuse on Mar 5th, and to the Egg at the Empire State Plaza in Albany on March 26th (if you do attend both, we’d recommend coming back home in between the shows, if only to shower). With their signature Celtic rock sound and instrumentation of bagpipes blazing over a powerhouse rhythm section, they’ve long been a fan favorite in Central New York and throughout the continent. Tickets for the performance at the Westcott Theatre (524 Westcott St., Syracuse NY) are $15, and for the Albany show are $28. Both shows start at 8 PM.

Goitse – Irish Music With a Twist

Also pulling double duty this month is Ireland’s award-winning quintet, Goitse. Goitse -- the name is a Donegal Irish word (pronounced gwi-cha) meaning “come here” – offers up two chances for audiences to do just that, with stops in the Old Songs Community Arts Center (37 South Main Street, Voorheesville) and at the Center for the Arts in Homer, NY. Forged in the white-hot creative crucible of Limerick University’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, the quintet has made a name for themselves as one of the most sought after bands amongst connoisseurs of Irish Traditional music, having won feverish critical plaudits for their Dónal Lunny-produced second album, “Transformed.” As we all witnessed in their 2011 GAIF appearance, their distinctive sound lies in the quality of their own compositions interspersed with well-known traditional tunes, which make each set entertaining and unique. The gripping rhythm section sets a breath-taking pace for the music, while the sweet, charismatic voice of Áine Mc Geeney draws audiences into the music in a way very few performers are able to do.

On March 5th, they’ll be joining forces with Girsa – also GAIF veterans – in “A Celtic Festival” at Homer’s unique venue (72 S. Main Street). The all-girl Girsa has captured the hearts of audiences everywhere with their melodious voices, electrifying musicianship and witty banter. Their energetic and enthusiastic performances of Traditional Irish music, song and dance have been met with outstanding acclaim. Tickets for that show range from $20-$28. On March 11, Goitse takes the stage alone at the Old Songs Community Arts Center, for a 7:30 PM show as part of the Old Songs Concert Series. Tickets for that show are $23; $5 for children age 12 and under, and are available on-line or by calling Old Songs at (518) 765-2815.

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Some Irish Myths Debunked

We all know our facts about Ireland, right? St. Patrick driving out all the snakes. Four leaf clovers. Corned beef. And all the great music: When Irish Eyes, I’ll Take You Home Again Kathleen, Danny Boy.

Well, sorry to break the news, but this stuff is about as authentically Irish as Tom Cruise’s accent in “Far and Away” (“DIS IS MOI LAHND!”) Let’s take a look.

The old joke goes “St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland but what he didn’t tell you was he was the only one who saw any snakes.” Well there’s truth in that joke: there is no evidence whatsoever that there were ever snakes in post- glacial Ireland. Still, we Irish are never ones to let the truth get in the way of a good story and ordinarily we wouldn’t quibble, but when it results from a bad translation, we can make an exception. While most historians claim that the snake myth is a metaphor for ridding Ireland of the serpent symbolism of the Druids practicing their religion at that time, I much prefer the explanation of Mike McCormack, national historian of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, who suggests the legend stems from the Viking misinterpretation of Saint Patrick’s name. Paud in the old Norse language meant a toad, and when the Vikings heard of a saint called Paud-rig, who had lived in Ireland before their coming, they concluded it meant toad-expeller. Let’s stick with the old story; somehow I can’t see parades being held throughout the world to honor Saint Toad Expeller.

While on the subject of Ireland’s patron saint, pretty much every Irish advertisement you see will have all the typical Irish symbols, rainbows, pot o’gold, leprechauns and four-leaf clovers. The problem is, legend has it that St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Christian concept of the Trinity to the pagans. Think about it: Trinity? Four-leaf clover? Do the math. Yes, the shamrock is actually a three-leaf clover. Four-leaf clovers may be especially lucky, but they’re not a symbol of Ireland.

And, oh, those beautiful traditional Irish songs. Beautiful? Sure. Traditional Irish? Let’s examine:

“I’ll Take You Home Again Kathleen” was written by Thomas P. Westendorf, a German-American school teacher in Plainfield, Indiana, for his wife. Neither of them was born in or had ever been to Ireland. Incidentally, a little advice for future songwriters: if you tell your wife you wrote a song for her, it’s probably a better idea to use her name instead of that of another woman. Thomas Westendorf’s wife’s name was actually Jenny.

For many people, Irish music means “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling,” but the song is actually as American as apple pie (which is arguably Dutch or German, but I digress.). It was written by American lyricists George Graff, Jr, Chauncey Olcott, who was born in Buffalo, and composer Ernest Ball, who was born in Cleveland, so perhaps they should have named it “When Lake Erie Eyes Are Smiling.” OK, perhaps not. Olcott, incidentally, also wrote another song considered a traditional Irish classic, “My Wild Irish Rose,” and was the first to have a huge hit with another tune of questionable Celtic origin, “An Irish Lullaby (Toora Loora Loora)”

Even that most quintessential of all Irish songs, “Danny Boy,” although set to the Irish tune “Londonderry Air,” contains lyrics originally written for a different tune by Frederick Weatherly who never actually visited Ireland and who was (gasp) English and (double gasp) a lawyer.

It all reminds me of many years ago when I first saw the Clancy Brothers. They were joined on stage by their young nephew Robbie O’Connell, who had recently arrived from Ireland. Robbie had the audience in stitches as he sang a song about when he first came over and tried to play real Irish music for American audiences who had their own ideas about what real Irish music consisted of:

You’re not Irish, you can’t be Irish, you don’t know “Danny Boy” Or “Toora Loora Loora” or even “Irish Eyes” You’ve got a hell of a nerve to say you came from Ireland So cut out all the nonsense and sing “McNamara’s Band”

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OK, I can hear you now, “Stop taking away all our fun! Just have a nice corned beef sandwich and relax.” Sorry, but that’s another one. Corned Beef has about as much to do with Ireland as it has to do with corn, which is to say, nothing. In the late 1800’s, Irish immigrants living in New York City's Lower East Side were looking for an inexpensive substitute for their own boiling bacon they had in Ireland and learned about this cheaper alternative from their Jewish neighbors, who cured the beef much the same way the Irish had cured their pork. The Irish added cabbage and root vegetables while cooking the Corned Beef and made it their own. A little limerick (don’t even get me started on that) from a gentleman named Frances Shilliday tells the story:

“I just want to put something straight About what should be on your plate, If it's corned beef you're makin' You're sadly mistaken That isn't what Irishmen ate.”

One final myth to debunk: it’s not “Irish” to get drunk, belligerent and obnoxious on St. Patrick’s Day. The Irish celebrated their patron saint with a quiet religious holiday for centuries, perhaps more than 1,000 years, until we here in the States turned St. Patrick’s Day into a day of drunken debauchery. Let’s celebrate it the traditional Irish way this year. Celebrate your Irish heritage, drink responsibly, no trouble, no fights. And no green beer; green beer is a sin and an insult to beer.

From the Irish Kitchen (recipes suitable for clipping)

This month’s recipe – “Chocolate Beer Cupcakes With Whiskey Filling And Irish Cream Icing” – “These cupcakes are made from scratch with a stout beer, then filled with an Irish whiskey-chocolate filling and topped off with some Irish cream icing. These are perfect for St. Patrick’s Day.”

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Irish stout beer (such as Guinness) 2/3 cup sour cream 1 cup butter 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons butter 2 cups white sugar 1 teaspoon Irish whiskey, or more to taste 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 cup butter, softened 3/4 teaspoon salt 3 cups confectioners' sugar, or more as needed 2 large eggs 3 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur (such as Baileys), or more to taste

METHOD

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners. Bring Irish stout beer and 1 cup butter to a boil in a saucepan and set aside until butter has melted, stirring occasionally. Mix in cocoa powder until smooth. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Beat eggs with sour cream in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low until well combined. Slowly beat in the beer mixture, then the flour mixture; beat until the batter is smooth. Divide batter between the prepared cupcake cups, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool the cupcakes completely. Cut cores out of the center of each cupcake with a sharp paring knife. Discard cores. Bring cream to a simmer in a saucepan over low heat; stir in bittersweet chocolate until melted. Mix in 2 tablespoons butter and Irish whiskey until butter is melted; let mixture cool to room temperature. Filling will thicken as it cools. Spoon the filling into the cored cupcakes. For frosting, whip 1/2 cup butter in a bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Set mixer to low speed and slowly beat in confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, until frosting is smooth and spreadable. Beat in the Irish cream liqueur; adjust thickness of frosting with more confectioners' sugar if needed. Spread frosting on filled cupcakes.

If you try this recipe, feel free to share your experience with all of us, and then give me some. As always, if you have a recipe you’d like to share, please contact Beth Loftis at [email protected].

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Book Review: “The Insurrection in Dublin” By Mark Sisti As you no doubt are aware, next month marks the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising, which will merit the review of an appropriately-themed book. In the meantime, please enjoy this similarly-themed review, reprinted from our Mar 2010 issue.

“The Insurrection in Dublin,” James Stephens’ account of Dublin during the Easter Rising, is not a book for historians, political scientists or military tacticians. It will not tell you why the rebellion happened, and it will not tell you the details of how it happened. But what it will do better than any other account you can read is re-create the atmosphere in Dublin throughout the Easter week, because Stephens – a noted Irish author – relates the events surrounding the insurrection contemporaneously as he observes them happening. He presents these events in a real-time format, without the benefit (or disadvantage) of being able to go back and interpose knowledge learned later. The result is a mesmerizing first-hand account of this seminal period that is rarely read – but should be.

Stephens’ account follows a natural and logical progression that magnifies the feeling of being an actual participant in the events as they occurred. We get to perceive happenings in the same way the Dublin citizens perceived them. Stephens writes of going to bed Sunday thinking of learning to play the dulcimer, and “[o]n the morning following I awoke into full insurrection and bloody war, but I did not know anything about it.” As he walks the streets of Dublin he encounters nothing but questions and rumors. At the time, he has no facts, so he gives us none, but passes along rumors as he receives them. Such a practice may be bad journalism, but it makes for compelling storytelling. It is not until mid-afternoon that he notes, “it sank into my mind that what I had heard was true, and that the City was in insurrection. It had been promised for so long, and had been threatened for so long. Now it was here.” He is unable to learn anything concrete, as the only sources of information are the rumors flying everywhere and the equally untrustworthy reports from the British-controlled newspapers.

On the second day, he wakes with the expectation that the insurrection is finished, but he soon learns it is worse. Once again he attempts to sort through the rumors: “No English or country papers came. There was no delivery or collection of letters. All the shops in the City were shut. There was no traffic of any kind in the streets. There was no way of gathering any kind of information, and rumour gave all the news.” On this second day, however, the reality of the insurrection becomes inescapable, as he begins to observe both the battles and the bloody aftermath of the battles. Stephens affectionately notes that, while many of the women on the street assailed the Volunteers with cries of, “Would you be hurting the poor men,” in typical Irish fashion, an equal number were shouting, “Would you be hurting the poor horses?” and adds, “Indeed, the best people in the world live in Dublin.”

The natural progression of perception gives the essay its structure. On Monday, he heard stories of the insurrection; on Tuesday he witnessed its horror; on Wednesday it strikes close to home, as a close friend is killed. By this time he, and the other Dubliners, are able to separate the fact from the rumors, and there are more first-hand observations. Stephens writes after witnessing a particular severe shelling, “One's heart melted at the idea that human beings were crouching inside that volcano of death, and I said to myself, “Not even a fly can be alive in that house.”

By the end of the week, Stephens is experiencing the weariness that most of the Dubliners must have feeling, an aspect of the rebellion rarely discussed. Hunger and looting are commonplace, and he writes powerfully of the terror of listening to the artillery guns at night. He describes a young woman scraping up the brains of a dead man so they can be buried with the corpse. But even amidst this horror, her reaction is, once again, typically Irish: “There is not," said she, “a cat or a dog left alive in Camden Street. They are lying stiff out in the road and up on the roofs. There's lots of women will be sorry for this war," said she, "and their pets killed on them.”

As fascinating as his accounts of the actual insurrection are, equally captivating are his recollections of the leaders of the rebellion, many of whom he knew personally. His personal observations paint a clearer picture than would a full biography. He understands the incongruity of these schoolteachers, writers and scholars having to be the ones who led the rebellion, and writes, “It is mournful to think of men like these having to take charge of bloody and desolate work, and one can imagine them saying, ‘Oh! Cursed spite,’ as they accepted responsibility.”

In a flash of prescience, or perhaps just insight into human nature, Stephens wrote in his forward, written after some, but not all, of the leaders had been executed, “… the book is finished, and, so far as Ireland is immediately concerned, the insurrection is over. Action now lies with England, and on that action depends whether the Irish Insurrection is over or only suppressed.”

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Craobh Dugan “Tune of the Month” – A Nation Once Again by Skip Mansur

Recently I was browsing a number of Irish Song playlists to try and select an appropriate one for the month of March featuring St. Patrick’s Day. One particular comment caught my eye and made me laugh: “This list is a waste of time. Here’s a real Irish song.” The song he was referring to is A Nation Once Again. So, in tribute to Ireland, this month we feature his tune suggestion. As noted in Wikipedia, “A Nation Once Again” is a song, written in the early to mid-1840s by Thomas Osborne Davis (1814–1845). Davis was a founder of an Irish movement whose aim was the independence of Ireland. Wiki continues: “A Nation Once Again” was first published in The Nation on 13 July 1844 and quickly became a rallying call for the growing Irish nationalist movement at that time. In 2002, after an orchestrated e-mail campaign, the Wolfe Tones’ 1972 rendition of “A Nation Once Again” was voted the world’s most popular song, according to a BBC World Service global poll of listeners, ahead of “Vande Mataram,” the national song of India.

Our local group Craobh Dugan plays this tune as a March in the Key of G (although could also be an Air). For those inquiring minds, the lyrics use a simple ABABCDCD rhyme scheme, with verses of eight lines, and alternating lines of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter.

When boyhood's fire was in my blood It whisper'd too, that freedom's ark I read of ancient freemen, And service high and holy, For Greece and Rome who bravely stood, Would be profaned by feelings dark Three hundred men and three men; And passions vain or lowly; And then I prayed I yet might see For, Freedom comes from God's right hand, Our fetters rent in twain, And needs a Godly train; And Ireland, long a province, be. And righteous men must make our land A Nation once again! A Nation once again!

A Nation once again, A Nation once again, A Nation once again, A Nation once again, And Ireland, long a province, be And Ireland, long a province, be A Nation once again! A Nation once again!

And from that time, through wildest woe, So, as I grew from boy to man, That hope has shone a far light, I bent me to that bidding Nor could love's brightest summer glow My spirit of each selfish plan Outshine that solemn starlight; And cruel passion ridding; It seemed to watch above my head For, thus I hoped some day to aid, In forum, field and fane, Oh, can such hope be vain? Its angel voice sang round my bed, When my dear country shall be made A Nation once again! A Nation once again!

A Nation once again, A Nation once again, And Ireland, long a province, be A Nation once again!

Here is the Wolfe Tones’ version the commentor was referring to: NationOnceAgain.

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RANDOM RAMBLINGS

“Nuacht as Craobh Dugan”---news from the Dugan Branch Chris Hoke writes: “Our performances this month are: Mar 1 - Open Session at Nail Creek Pub, 7:30 PM; Mar 3 - Kirkland Town Library, 7 PM; Mar 5 - St. Mary’s School in Clinton, 6 PM; Mar 6 - Performance at Woods Valley, 2-5 PM; Mar 7 - Performance at Ladies AOH Meeting, 7 PM at Seton Center; Mar 8 - Performance at Grand Marshal Reception at the Stanley Theater, 6-8 PM; Mar 10 - Performance at Lutheran Home, 7 PM; Mar 12 - St Patrick’s Day Parade; Mar 12 - The Utica Maennerchor 1 PM - 4 PM; Mar 12 - Performance at St. John’s Church New Hartford, 5:30 PM; Mar 13 - Open Session at Woodland Hop Farm & Brewery, 3 PM; Mar 15 - Performance at Acacia Village, 7 PM; Mar 17 - Open Session at Stockdale’s, 7:30 PM; Mar 18 - Performance at Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute Happy Hour, 5 PM; Mar 20 - Performance at Woods Valley, 2-5 PM; Mar 27 - Open Session at Woodland Hop Farm & Brewery, 3 PM; Mar 27 - Performance at Presbyterian Home, 7 PM.”

Irish Comedy Tour Visits Proctors What do you get when you drop a shot of laughter into a pint of boisterous, belly-laughing hooligans straight out of the party atmosphere of a Dublin pub? You get The Irish Comedy Tour, featuring irreverent comedians Mike McCarthy, Derek Richards, Damon Leibert and Derrick Keane, and you get them at Proctor’s Theater, on Friday, March 4, 2016. Warning: stereotypes will be enforced and inhibitions released! Tickets for the 7:30 PM show are $35, and are available on-line, or by calling the Box Office at (518) 346-6204. Proctor’s Theater is located at 432 State Street, Schenectady.

Westcott Brings in Glengarry Bhoys Graham and the Bhoys are back in the ‘Cuse as they descend upon the slanted floor of the Westcott Theater (524 Westcott St, Syracuse) on March 17th at 8 PM (doors open at 7:00). Tickets are $15 and are available at the door or on-line.

Utica St. Patrick’s Day Parade Raffle Tickets On Sale! Raffle tickets to help offset the cost of the 2016 St. Patrick’s Day Parade are now available. All tickets are $1, with prizes to include: 1st: a party for 20 in the 1888 Tavern, FX Matt Brewing Company; 2nd: private catered dinner for 4 in your home by O’Connor’s “A Moveable Feast;” 3rd: a $100 Certificate for The Tailor & The Cook Restaurant; 4th: a $100 certificate to the Celtic Harp; 5th: two tickets ($76 value) to “Irish Night at the Stanley,” featuring the Elders, Hair of the Dog and the Blarney Rebel Band, and 6th: four weekend passes to the Great American Irish Festival, July 29-31, 2016. Contact Janie Bassett at [email protected] or send her a text at (315) 368-8400 for tickets. The drawing will be at 3 PM on March 20th at the Celtic Harp.

Irish Flag Raising at City Hall On Wednesday, March 9 at 11:30 AM, what has become a revered tradition will continue, as the Irish Flag will be raised over Utica’s City Hall, while Friday, March 11th will find the new Grand Marshal, Chris McGrath, painting a green stripe on Genesee Street in front of the Stanley at 11:30 AM.

Mass honoring Saint Patrick: Lest anyone forget the reason for this special and reverent Irish holiday, the John C. Devereux Chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Ladies AOH have arranged for a Mass honoring St. Patrick on March 11th, 2016, at Saint Joseph-Saint Patrick‘s Church, 702 Columbia St. in Utica. There will be Irish music beginning at 6:30, and the Mass proper begins at 7 PM. All are welcome. By the way, if you want to learn more about St. Patrick, Craobh Dugan’s Tom Malley will be giving a talk at the Little Falls Library (East Main St., Little Falls) at 12:30 PM on March 17th; St. Patrick’s Day proper.

MVCC Offers “8000 Years of Irish History in Eight Weeks” Can you really learn 8000 years of Irish history in 8 weeks? Of course not. But you can learn enough to give yourself a basic knowledge of Irish History. You will learn about the places, names and history that you always knew but never understood. What were the plantations? Why is Cromwell the most hated man in Irish history, even more than Bono? What were the causes and results of the Great Hunger? What year was the Dublin Insurrection of 1916? You won’t learn all 8000 years, but you will learn enough to make you want to learn more on your own. The course will meet at MVCC’s Utica campus on Mondays from 6:30-7:30 PM, from March 22nd to May 10th. To register, go to https://cced-reg.mvcc.edu/.

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Celtic Club Calendar Finally, here’s the Irish Musical and Cultural calendar for March:

Mar 1 Nail Creek Sessions Nail Creek Pub Utica 7:30 PM Free Mar 3 Irish Storyteller Dierdre McCarthy Herkimer College Herkimer 12:30 PM Free Mar 4 Danú Herkimer College Herkimer 7 PM Free (yes, free!) Mar 4 Blarney Rebel Band Piggy Pat’s Washington Mills 6-9 PM Free Mar 4 Irish Comedy Tour Proctor’s Theater Schenectady 7:30 $35 Mar 5 Enter the Haggis Westcott Theater Syracuse 8 PM $15 Homer Center for $28, Srs $25, Mar 5 Celtic Festival w/Goitse & Girsa the Arts Homer 7 PM Students $20, Mil, Vets and <18 free Mar 5 Gaelic Storm State Theatre of Ithaca Ithaca, NY 8 PM $20-$30 Mar 6 Syracuse Irish Session J. Ryan’s Pub Syracuse 4-7 PM Free Mar 6 Blarney Rebel Band Celtic Harp Utica 1 PM Free Mar 8 Grand Marshal’s Reception Stanley Theatre Utica 5-8 PM $10 Mar 11 BarleyJuice The Parting Glass Saratoga Springs 9 PM $5 Mar 11 Goitse Old Songs, Inc. Voorheesville 7:30 PM $23; 12 under $5 Dulles State Office Mar 11-13 North Country Goes Green Watertown varies $6 per day Building Mar 12 Utica St. Patrick’s Day Parade Genesee St. Utica 10 AM Free Mar 12 Parade Day w/Blarney Rebel Band Piggy Pat’s Washington Mills 1-4 PM Free Dulles State Office Mar 12 The High Kings Watertown 7:30 PM $30 Building Mar 13 Traditional Irish Session Woodland Brewery Marcy 3-8 PM Free Mar 13 Donal O’Shaughnessy/Brian Hyland Coleman’s Irish Pub Syracuse 4-7 PM Free Mar 15 Traditional Irish Session Stockdale’s Oriskany 7:30 PM Free Mar 17 Blarney Rebel Band Celtic Harp Utica 5:30 PM Free Mar 17 Glengarry Bhoys Westcott Theater Syracuse 8 PM $15 Mar 18 Donal O’Shaughnessy Piggy Pat’s Washington Mills 6-9 PM Free Mar 18 Causeway Giants Kitty Hoynes Pub Syracuse 9 PM Free Mar 18 “Go Green!” w/Craobh Dugan MWPAI Utica 5-8 PM Free (cash bar) Mar 19 Rattlin’ Bog Park Coffeehouse Holland Patent 7:30 PM $10 Mar 20 Traditional Irish Session Irish Amer Ass'n Albany 2:30-6 PM Free Mar 20 Syracuse Irish Session J. Ryan’s Pub Syracuse 4-7 PM Free Mar 20 Flyin’ Column Coleman’s Irish Pub Syracuse 4-7 PM Free Mar 26 Enter the Haggis The Egg Albany 8 PM $28 Mar 26 Traditional Irish Session Kitty Hoynes Pub Syracuse 2-5 PM Free Mar 27 Traditional Irish Session Woodland Brewery Marcy 3-8 PM Free

If you have anything you want to share with us, feel free to send it to us ([email protected], [email protected] or [email protected]), and we’ll be happy to include it. As always, while we try not to make mistakes, we’re going to get blamed for them anyway. It always makes sense to call ahead to confirm some of these further-out trips. Also, don’t forget to change your clocks ahead on March 13th. (It’s supposed to be at 2 AM, but we don’t recommend messing with your clock at 2 AM). Have a fun, safe, reverent and responsible St. Patrick’s Day, and until we meet again, please take with you this thought:

“For each petal on the shamrock, This brings a wish your way: Good health, good luck and happiness, Today and every day.”

Mohawk Valley Irish Cultural Events - 9