MOHAWK VALLEY IRISH CULTURAL

Volume 14, Issue 8 EVENTS NEWSLETTER Aug 2017

“No Rain! No Rain! N…” What? No Rain?

The 2017 Great American Irish Festival gave its attendees just what they have come to expect – the absolute best in Irish and Celtic culture, music, dancing and fun – plus something no one could have predicted: a full weekend without rain. It all added up to another unqualified success for the festival that has grown to be the pre-eminent Irish festival on the east coast. (I conducted an informal poll – while they did miss The Elders, no one seemed to miss the rain.)

From July 28-30, the Herkimer County Fairgrounds came alive with the sights, sounds and smells of the annual Great American Irish Festival. Kicking things off with a Happy Hour performance was the Capital Region’s favorite sons, Hair of the Dog, marking their return to the festival after a one-year hiatus. And from that point on, it was a race to catch every act on four stages, sample tasty foods (and beverages), practice some retail therapy, witness awesome feats of strength and stamina in the first-ever Heavy Games, and so much more.

While fans gave the usual GAIF favorites – Eileen Ivers, Enter the Haggis, Barleyjuice, Glengarry Bhoys, to name a few – the expected raucous receptions, some of the new bands also made an impression on fans who had never had a chance to see them before.

FullSet, six young unbelievably talented singers and musicians from Ireland who have earned multiple “best band” and “band to watch” awards, came in with high expectations, and they did not disappoint, with three incredible sets over the weekend. Also coming up strong was The Colin Farrell Band, featuring fiddler Colin Farrell of Elders and Lunasa fame, stepping out front to head up an all-star trad outfit (and an after-hours impromptu session at a Utica bar!).

Next Generation Leahy is Doug Leahy (of the acclaimed Leahy family) and his family, carrying on the storied Leahy musical legacy. Their Friday night set featured the incredible and wide-ranging playing, singing and dancing talents of Doug, his wife Jennifer and several of their kids, delivering the high-energy, infectious Celtic- based music that audiences world-wide have long associated with the Leahy heritage.

Another band of siblings, The Screaming Orphans, filled the big tent in all three of their sets. Showcasing the skilled musicianship and dulcet harmonies the four Diver sisters from Donegal, the Screaming Orphans were quickly adopted by the attending throng. Finally, the American Rogues, with their high-energy mix of Celtic rock, rock roots, patriotic, military and classical music, gave rousing performances to the loud and appreciative crowd.

Saturday morning saw the 10th running of the Ranger Run 5K, the first-ever Highland Heavy Games, the annual EUSPBA Pipeband Competition, the Massed Pipe March, and another round of great music throughout the grounds. The Cultural Building was alive with lectures, performances and displays, including a packed house of attendees to Craobh Dugan’s presentation of “The Irish and the Erie.”

As the cars and people arrive en masse for the Irish Mass, Sunday -- again with no threat of rain – saw more outstanding performances, with Barleyjuice and FullSet playing outstanding sets to end the weekend on a high note.

And next year? Mark the dates July 27-29 on your calendar. While you’re at it, annotate it with “No rain.”

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Colm Keegan Performs in Sherrill

Singer/songwriter Colm Keegan, best known as a principal singer in the world-renowned group Celtic Thunder, will perform a VIP solo show in Sherrill on Aug. 5, at 6:30 PM.

The show is being hosted by Sherrill residents Patricia and Colleen English at St. Helena’s Church, 210 Primo Ave, and all ticket holders are entitled to a meet and greet session prior to the show.

Keegan is taking a break from his normal touring routine this summer to perform up and down the east coast in intimate settings that maximize his interaction with his audiences. These shows are taking place in private homes, community centers, church centers, and small public venues, and in each city Keegan is working directly with a local host.

His summer 2017 tour follows the release of his first solo CD, “I’ll Never Be Alone,” and each performance will include songs from the CD along with some of his favorite Celtic classics.

Born in Dublin, Keegan is featured on many of Celtic Thunder CDs and DVDs, the group repeatedly rocketing to No. 1 on Billboard’s World Music Chart. With Celtic Thunder, he performed on some of the biggest stages in the United States, Canada, and , as well as at a private show at the Pentagon.

He also spent a year touring with Celtic Woman, completing two European tours, an Asian Tour, a five-month North American Tour, and the recording of the “Believe” CD and DVD.

As a student at University College Dublin, Keegan had extensive choral experience that allowed him to perform in such venues as St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York

His first solo CD, released in November 2016, topped the World Music Charts. A performer who has entertained thousands over the years, Keegan noted, “These VIP shows are a one-time opportunity for me to perform for small audiences and interact with people on a really personal level. I’m so excited about this tour.”

Tickets are $75, and are available on-line.

Mohawk Valley Frasers, Rhode Island Highlanders Take Top Honors at GAIF

It’s difficult to say who enjoyed the 2017 Great American Irish Festival EUSPBA Bagpipe Competition more – the team who put it together (led by Pat O’Hara and Carole Hackett), the hundreds of people outside the ropes who braved, well, okay… perfect weather, to watch the competition, or the 19 units who gave their all in a classic showdown.

When the dust settled (see, there are some benefits to having a little rain now and then), the hometown Mohawk Valley Frasers took first place in the Grade 5 Division, besting second and third place finishers Feadan Or and Syracuse Scottish, respectively. An elated Rhode Island Highlanders group grabbed first place in Grade 4, followed by Schenectady Pipe Band and the Capital District Youth Pipe Band. The Buffalo Bagpipe Club topped Capital Region Celtic to take top honors in Grade 3. And in the first Junior Competition, it was Capital District Youth Pipe Band coming out ahead of Talcott Mt and the Celtic Friars. With 19 bands competing, this year’s competition boasted the largest turnout in its history.

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Ambruso, Perri Take Top Honors In Ranger Run 5k

Alec Ambruso and Amanda Perri were the top male and female finishers in the 2017 Great American Irish Festival’s Ranger Run 5k road race. Over 200 runners participated in the run on Saturday, July 29th, under a hot sun. The run, named in memory of festival director Matt Sullivan’s father, Tim, started and finished on the festival grounds and traveled through the village of Frankfort.

Ambruso, a 20-year old Utican, blistered the course to cross the finish line in 17:26 to barely edge out Ilion’s Michael Polidori by four seconds, while Perri – a 23-year old from Troy -- conquered the 3.1 miles in 20:27.

Other top age division finishers are as follows:

FEMALE MALE 1-14: Hunter Ough (30:10) 1-14: Xander Olsen (26:03) 15-19: Caitlin Grace (27:14) 15-19: Andy Ford (18:24) 20-29: Amanda Loitsch (24:37) 20-29: Adam Bankert (18:32) 30-39: Leah Wessinger (24:13) 30-39: Michael Polidori (17:30) 40-49: Jennifer Charvat (21:05) 40-49: Mike Flack (21:21) 50-59: Robin Harrigan (28:17) 50-59: Terrence Doyle (22:05) 60-69: 60-69: Dana James Brewer (25:17)

CNY Scottish Games and Celtic Festival Marks Its 76th Year

The 76th Central New York Scottish Games and Celtic Festival will be held at Long Branch Park on August 12th. Long Branch Park is conveniently located west of Syracuse and a wee stone’s throw from the NYS Thruway (Note: it’s also a stone’s throw from Nova Scotia, if you can throw a stone that far). The Festival goes from 9 AM until 8 PM and will feature bagpipe and drumming competitions (solo and band), drum major competitions, Highland “Heavy” Athletic Games, and highland dance competitions. The band competitions are held in a natural amphitheater. There is plenty of shade and the park is absolutely breathtaking. Performing this year are Searson, Charlie Zahm and the McDonald School of Irish Dance. Tickets for the festival are $10 for adults, $7 for seniors, $4 for children from 5 to 12, and children under 5 get in free ($1 off at all levels for advance sale tickets; call (315) 399-4116 by July 21st). For more information, visit the CNY Scottish Games and Celtic Festival web site (here).

Buffalo Irish Festival Celebrates its 36th Year

The 36th annual Buffalo Irish Festival will be held on August 25-27 at Buffalo’s Outer Harbor (the former “Pier Site”). This move affords additional space for this rapidly-growing festival. And additional space may well be needed, given the impressive lineup on tap this year, which includes The High Kings, Dervish, Enter the Haggis, Glengarry Bhoys, Seamus Kennedy, The Dady Brothers, Makem and Spain and many more. Rounding out the lineup will be Irish dancers, pipe bands, an Irish mass, and much more. Admission is $15 for adults and $10 for kids and seniors. Presale tickets -- $10 for adults, and $8 for seniors and kids 5-12 -- are available at all Consumers Beverages locations, Buffalo Bisons’ Ticket Office and Tara Gift Shoppe; also Pre-Sale Weekend Pass ($20) are available through TicketFly.com. Anyone attending the “32-County Parade” before 5:30 PM on Friday gets into the festival for free. For more information, check their website, or contact the festival coordinator at (716) 743- 9348. Buffalo’s Outer Harbor is located at 325 Fuhrmann Blvd., Buffalo, NY.

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“The Irish and the Erie” Comes Back to Where it All Began

As many of our proud locals know, July 4, 2017 marks the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the digging of the Erie Canal, right here in Rome, NY. To commemorate the bicentennial – and to highlight the major role that members of the Irish community had in ensuring its success (a prospect which was questioned by no less than Thomas Jefferson!) – Craobh Dugan’s Mike Hoke has put together an hour-long program called “The Irish and the Erie – The Irish Contribution to the Building of the Erie Canal.”

On the heels of an overwhelmingly well-received performance at last weekend’s Great American Irish Festival, members of Craobh Dugan will be reprising the event on the lawn at Rome’s Jervis Library, on August 3rd at 6:30 PM (inside, should it rain).

The show -- written, compiled and arranged by Mike – pairs historical narratives with appropriate songs and dance tunes (including some Craobh Dugan original material) to connote what life was like for the Irish canal worker, the recruiting process, the work day itself and the social interaction. The program, in long- or short-form, is available to other venues as well. Interested organizations can contact Bill Fahy at [email protected], or visit the Craobh Dugan web site, at www.uticairish.org.

From the Irish Kitchen (recipes suitable for clipping)

This month’s recipe – Blueberry Bread Pudding - By Margaret Johnson This delicious blueberry bread pudding recipe may be made with fresh or frozen blueberries. A little fresh lemon juice flavors the pudding, and it is wonderful with plain cream or a dessert sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

5 large eggs 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 2 cups heavy (whipping) cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup sugar 8 croissants, cut into 2-inch pieces 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 cups blueberries

METHOD

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spread the croissants out on a baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes. Arrange half the croissants in the bottom of the baking dish and sprinkle with half the blueberries. Repeat with remaining croissants and blueberries. Pour the custard over the croissants and let soak for 30 minutes.

Place the dish in a large baking pan. Add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the pudding is set and the top is golden. Remove the baking dish from the water and let cool on a wire rack. Serves 6 to 8

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

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“Rain Dogs” -- Book Review by Mark Sisti

Oh, how we danced and we swallowed the night, For it was all ripe for dreaming Oh, how we danced away all of the lights. We’ve always been out of our minds - From “Rain Dogs” by Tom Waits

Adrian McKinty’s series featuring DI Sean Duffy took a while to grow on me, but as McKinty grew more comfortable with the character, the distinctive traits that set Duffy apart from the hundreds of other highly flawed, cynical, hard- drinking fictional detectives began to emerge, and eventually he became one of the great characters in current detective fiction, and the series became one of those whose entries I eagerly anticipated. So I was excited to come across the just published sixth book in the trilogy (yes, sixth book in a trilogy; don’t ask.) However, as I began to read, references were made to events from a previous book I didn’t remember reading. Doing a little research, I discovered that the prolific S.O.B. had slipped in a fifth book last year that I missed entirely. Being one of those who need to read series books in order, I went out of my way to search out his 2016 entry, “Rain Dogs.” Boy, am I glad I did. By now we know Duffy’s story: a Catholic policeman serving on an otherwise all-Protestant police force in civil-war- torn in the 1980s, navigating not only the paramilitary groups on both sides but also the corrupt and heavily explosive political climate. And explosive is the word; Duffy is about as likely to get into his car without automatically checking to see if a bomb had been planted as he is to go out without pants. In this entry, McKinty gives us something we haven’t really gotten in a Duffy novel – a crackling good mystery. It begins, innocuously enough, with a stolen wallet. The crime is not the type that a high-ranking detective would ordinarily be called in to investigate, but the victim is part of a Finnish delegation scouting sites in in which to expand their business, so there are international political implications. This incident is easily resolved, but the following morning a young journalist, who was reporting on the Finn delegation visit, is found dead in the courtyard of castle. With several CCTV cameras running and a cast-iron portcullis weighing two and half tons barring the only entrance so as to make undetected escape impossible, it seems like suicide is the only possible answer. However, certain things seem off-kilter, and Duffy is reluctant to sign off on suicide as the cause of death. Among the things bothering him (in addition to the victim’s shoes being on the wrong feet) is the fact that her notebook, which he had noticed earlier, is nowhere to be found. Investigation reveals that the reporter had received a tip regarding a pedophile ring operating out of a nearby experimental reform school. When a police officer the reporter had spoken with dies in an explosion, Duffy is sure the reporter was murdered and the Finns are somehow connected. To get his arrest, however, he not only has to solve the ultimate locked room mystery, he also has to battle political forces who would choose bringing industry into struggling Northern Ireland over justice. But with his relentless determination, his contempt for authority and his immutable sense of right and wrong, letting the guilty go free is not an option. As Duffy says to a shadowy government official trying to get him to back off, “Maybe I’m not a great detective. Maybe I’m not even a good detective. But I am f***king persistent.” The mystery is smart and intricate – you will want to keep reading if only to find out how it was done – but it is the writing that makes this book such a standout, coming off like a more structured Ken Bruen, with scattered literary allusions, short sentence fragments that push the pace and the remarkably eclectic musical soundtrack that accompanies Duffy’s life. No one does the dark and gritty atmosphere of 1980s Northern Ireland like McKinty, where all senses coalesce to paint an environment that drips doom and gloom. McKinty makes you feel like you should put on a raincoat and muffler to read. Rain isn’t merely heavy, it’s “apocalyptic... a storm over the condemned city of Belfast. Elemental rain: cold and tinged with hail.” The villains are deliciously cold and dangerous, the relationship between Duffy and his partners is warm and genuine and the dialogue seems so natural it’s hard to believe someone actually wrote it. And, to top it off, a challenging mystery to solve. All in all, an absolutely brilliant book, the best of a great series. But the best news? I have the sixth book in the trilogy still waiting for me. And there are changes ahead for Sean Duffy.

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RANDOM RAMBLINGS

“Nuacht as Craobh Dugan” ---news from the Dugan Branch Chris Hoke writes: “Once again, Comhaltas headquarters is having a raffle (or as they call it “Big Draw”) which is used as a fund-raiser for the branches. The prizes are 5000eu, 500eu, 250eu, weekend at Fleadh Cheoil, 4 tickets to Bru Boru, 150eu gift card, and collection of Traditional Irish CDs and DVDs. The tickets cost only $5 each. And it really is a great deal for us.....the branch gets to pocket 80% of the sales we make (or $4 of every ticket we sell). The drawing is the first weekend in December… Performances in August include: Aug 3 – “The Irish and the Erie” at Jervis Library in Rome, 6:30 PM; Aug 4 - Ceili Dance Class at Seton Center, 7 PM; Aug 8 - Open Session at Nail Creek Pub, 7:30 PM; Aug 11 - Ceili Dance Class at Seton Center, 7 PM; Aug 15 - Open Session at Stockdale’s Pub, 7:30 PM; Aug 18 - Ceili Dance Class at Seton Center, 7 PM; Aug 25 - Ceili Dance Class at Seton Center, 7 PM; Aug 26 - Performance at Clinton Arts and Music Fest, 1:30 PM in KAC.”

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

Aug 3 “The Irish and the Erie” Jervis Library Rome 6:30 PM Free Aug 3 Kevin and Kate McKrell The Parting Glass Saratoga Springs 9 PM Free Aug 5 Colm Keegan St. Helena’s Church Sherrill 6:30 PM $75 Aug 6 Kevin McKrell The Parting Glass Saratoga Springs 8 PM Free Aug 6 Syracuse Irish Session J. Ryan’s Pub Syracuse 4-7 PM Free Aug 6 Kilgore McTrouts Coleman’s Irish Pub Syracuse 4-7 PM Free Aug 8 Nail Creek Sessions Nail Creek Pub Utica 7:30 PM Free Aug 10 Kevin and Kate McKrell The Parting Glass Saratoga Springs 9 PM Free Aug 11 Blarney Rebel Band Piggy Pat’s Washington Mills 6-9 PM Free Aug 12 Traditional Irish Session Kitty Hoynes Pub Syracuse 2-5 PM Free CNY Scottish Games and Adults $10, Srs $7, Aug 12 Long Branch Park Syracuse, NY 9 AM – 8 PM Celtic Festival Kids 5-12 $4 Aug 13 Donal O’Shaughnessy Coleman’s Irish Pub Syracuse 4-7 PM Free Aug 13 Kevin McKrell The Parting Glass Saratoga Springs 8 PM Free Aug 15 Traditional Irish Session Stockdale’s Oriskany 7:30 PM Free Aug 17 Kevin and Kate McKrell The Parting Glass Saratoga Springs 9 PM Free Aug 18-19 The McKrells The Parting Glass Saratoga Springs 8 PM $10 Aug 20 Syracuse Irish Session J. Ryan’s Pub Syracuse 4-7 PM Free Aug 20 Traditional Irish Session Irish Amer Ass’n Albany 2:30-6 PM Free Aug 24 Kevin and Kate McKrell The Parting Glass Saratoga Springs 9 PM Free Aug 25 Causeway Giants Brae Loch Inn Cazenovia 7 PM Free $15 Adults ($10 Fri 5-mid; Sat 12- adv); $8 kids & Aug 25-27 Buffalo Irish Festival Outer Harbor Buffalo, NY mid; Sun 12-10 seniors; $20 for weekend (presale) Aug 26 Traditional Irish Session Kitty Hoynes Pub Syracuse 2-5 PM Free Aug 27 Flying Column Coleman’s Irish Pub Syracuse 4-7 PM Free Aug 27 Kevin McKrell The Parting Glass Saratoga Springs 8 PM Free Aug 29 Blarney Rebel Band Clinton Green Clinton 7 PM Free Aug 31 Kevin and Kate McKrell The Parting Glass Saratoga Springs 9 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 strive for accuracy, don’t hold your breath waiting for it. It always makes sense to call ahead to confirm some of these further-out trips.

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