A Sampling from Irish Fest Music Archives
by Barry Stapleton, Director Irish Music Archives
BURL IVES
With a name like Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives it may seem surprising to
many that his name would be celebrated in an Irish music archives. Like many
genealogists know, names often only reflect the paternal side of a person.
Burl Ives always gave credit to his grandmother for giving him his start
as a singer. Both of his grandmothers were Irish with his maternal grandmother
being an O’Flynn before marriage and his paternal grandmother a White. Burl
states that, “I am fortunate both carried with them, and gave me as a little
boy, many of the beautiful songs which I know now are of Irish derivation.”
Burl was born in Hunt, Illinois on June 14, 1909. He was the son of
tenant farmers in the “Bible Belt” of Illinois and was singing publicly by
the age of four. His grandmother Kate White was one of his greatest influences
during these early days. Burl would stroll over to his grandmother’s house
after his grandfather, Cyrus White would go into the fields to work. Cyrus
was a God-fearing man who didn’t drink or smoke and felt that any singing
should only be done in praise of the Lord. But when Cyrus left the house
Kate would light up her pipe and occasionally chew tobacco while she taught
Burl all the old folk songs she knew and loved.
Burl was a quick study when it came to music and soon he was singing
at church functions and community functions. He went to school at Eastern
Illinois State Teachers College from 1927-29 before leaving. He travelled
throughout the United States for the next two years and learned many more
folk songs. He then went to Juilliard in New York where he began singing
professionally. He then spent many years in Broadway productions and also
performed on the radio as a soloist and as part of the popular folk group
“The Weavers.” His folk singing persona during his radio and concert performances
was known as “The Wayfaring Stranger.”
During the 1950s and 1960s Burl appeared regularly on TV and radio
and toured America promoting American folk music. He was very successful
in film and played the role of Big Daddy in Tennessee Williams “Cat On a
Hot Tin Roof.” He won an Oscar for his performance in the film, “The Big
Country.”
Burl is also remembered every Christmas as the narrator for the classic animation film of “Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
He toured Ireland in 1952 and 1953. Upon returning from these tours
he put together an album of Irish Songs. During production of this album
Burl wanted to research more Irish songs and found that there were very few
Irish folk songs published in the States so he published his own book of
Irish songs in 1955.
In his Irish album “Songs of Ireland” he states: “Many of the songs
I learned in my boyhood were almost unchanged from the originals, but it
was not until I visited Ireland that I felt them as part of the Irish countryside
and Irish life of the past and present. Indeed, an Irish song in its homeland
is a thing of even greater beauty. …Whatever it is that makes the quality
of a land and the temperament of a people was so akin to me that I recognized
immediately a home for my spirit.”
In 1948 Burl recorded “Blue Tail Fly” with the Andrews Sisters and
it become one of his signature songs. In 1962 he had four more songs in the
top forty, two of them “A Little Bitty Tear,” and “Funny Way of Laughing”
entered the top ten. He recorded into the 1970s and in 1979 he retired to
his home in Washington State where he died in 1995.
Burl Ives was on the front line of folk music his entire life. He
was a gentle giant. His performances were spirited and through his diverse
talents he became one of America’s best-loved entertainers. His presence
on the musical scene not only served to sustain an awareness of neglected
American folk songs, but would contribute to the resurgence of interest in
folk music that occurred in the early 1960s.
BILLY MURRAY
Billy Murray was one of the most prolific artists of the early acoustic
era (1895-1925) of the recording industry. He sold more records than any
other artist of his generation. Known as “The Denver Nightingale,” Murray
was mostly known for his comic songs but his repertoire included patriotic
songs, sentimental ballads, love songs, vaudeville skits and refrains for
dance band numbers. Most of his recordings were done as a solo artist but
he also did many duets, trios, quartets and quintets.
He was born William Thomas Murray in Philadelphia on May 25, 1877.
Both of his parents, Patrick Murray and Julia Kelleher Murray were from County
Kerry, Ireland. In 1883 the family moved to Denver, Colorado. In an article
attributed to Murray in 1917, he talks about his early musical success:
“In 1896 I was trouping with a minstrel show, and finally landed in
‘Frisco.’ The Edison Jobbers in San Francisco were Bacigalupi Brothers, and
one of the members of the firm, or one of their customers, attended a performance
at which Matt Kief (Keefe), the famous minstrel, and myself sang ‘The County
Mayo’ (‘The Lass From The County Mayo’)… As a result, Matt and I were engaged
to go to the store and make some records of the song. At that time many dealers
had devices by which eight records could be made at once, and Matt and I
were set to work in front of one of these.
“None of these cylinders are known to exist today.”
Murray was soon recording for all the major labels by 1900. In 1905
Victor was boasting that Murray’s “The Yankee Doodle Boy” was the top-selling
record in its history. He broke that record the following year with “The
Grand Old Rag.” Some of these early recordings remained in catalogs for over
15 years.
According to Joel Whitburn in his book “Pop Memories 1890-1954, The
History of American Popular Music”, Billy Murray had 169 charted singles
and 18 number one songs. He is listed as number five in the top 100 artists
of this era. Some of his famous recordings included Irish-American hits such
as; “Bedelia,” “My Irish Molly-O,” “The Irish Girl I Love,” and “Harrigan.”
Besides “Harrigan,” he was also famous for introducing other George M. Cohan
songs such as “Give My Regards To Broadway,” “The Yankee Doodle Boy,” and
“The Grand Old Rag.” You may think that the last song is spelled wrong but
it isn’t. Murray sold many records for the first year with this title until
the public demanded that Cohan change the lyrics. Cohan changed the lyrics
to “The Grand Old Flag” and Victor Records changed the label, but the recording
with Murray singing the old lyrics remained the same.
In 1909 Murray signed a joint contract, along with other artists,
with Victor Records that lasted for ten years. Murray remained one of the
country’s most popular artists through the 1920s. Besides his solo recordings
he began doing more work with other artists. He claimed to discover Ada Jones
who also became a major artist and with whom Murray did many duets with.
He also performed with the American & Premier Quartet and the Heidelberg
Quintet. All of the artists that ever worked with Murray remembered him as
an energetic individual with a well-developed sense of fun.
Besides music, Murray’s other love was baseball. Murray would spend
days at the ballpark. Baseball is what solidified his relationship with Cohan.
He would practice with the Yankees regularly and played right field for them
in exhibition games around the country. He found ways to play hooky from
recording sessions just to play or watch baseball. He knew every player on
all of the sixteen major league teams and also played for a theatrical baseball
team, the Long Island Good Hearted Thespians Society. Because of his association
with baseball he was also credited with making popular the great American
song “Take Me Out To the Ballgame,” although no known recording exists. His
last recording was made in 1943 and he died in 1954. He married three times
but had no children.
February 1: St Bridget’s Day
February 1 is St Bridget’s Day. St. Bridget is one of the three early
Irish saints who influenced the course of Christianity in the country, the
other two are St. Patrick and St. Colmcille. She was known for her powers
and her eccentricities. Some of the stories are fabulous, some require less
suspension of belief of natural effects. Born in 451 or 452 of princely ancestors
at Faughart, near Dundalk, County Louth, she died February 1, 525, at Kildare.
Bridget founded the religious settlement at Kildare, or church of the oak,
on the Curragh.
The main significance of the Feast of St. Bridget would seem to be
a christianization of one of the focal points of the agricultural year in
Ireland. St Bridget’s Day is also the start of spring in Ireland. Every manifestation
of the cult of the saint is bound up in some way with food production. A
relaxation of the rigors of winter weather was expected at this time, for
according to tradition what the saint had promised:
Gach`re la go maith
O`m la - sa amach
Agus leath mo lae feinigh
Every second day fine
From my day onwards
And half of my own day
On St. Bridget’s, farmers’ wives made a cake called bairinbreac. Farmers
gave presents of butter and buttermilk to poor neighbors. Some killed a sheep
and sent portions of meat to friends. It was believed that the saint travelled
around the countryside on the eve of the festival, bestowing her blessing
on the people and their livestock.
Her life also begat a number of stories. Among them:
• When Bridget asked for land for her community, she was told she
could have all the land that her cloak would cover. As she laid her cloak
down, it spread over almost the entirety of the plains, allowing her to build
on the choicest of land in Ireland.
• Bridget as a child once gave away all of her father’s armaments when he went in to visit a king.
• Bridget once needed to hang her cloak while she was working in the
fields, and the only thing available to use as a hook was a sunbeam.
• Bridget had her own brewer.
• When Earl Strongbow was dying, he affirmed that he saw St. Bridget
approaching his bed, and she struck him on the foot, and the wound she gave
him mortified, and of this he died. This happened six hundred years after
Bridget’s death.
• Bridget had the same status as bishop. She is often portrayed as
holding a crozier. Her religious community was divided between men and women.
She also held equal rank with the archbishop; if he had an episcopal chair
(cathedra episcopalis), so St. Bridget had a virginal chair (cathedra puellaris),
and was pre-eminent above all the abbesses of Ireland, or of the Scots, for
sanctity and power.
• She also founded a school of art, including metal work and illumination,
over which St. Conleth presided. From the Kildare scriptorium came the wondrous
book of the Gospels, which elicited unbounded praise from Giraldus Cambrensis.
According to this twelfth-century ecclesiastic, nothing that he had ever
seen was at all comparable to the “Book of Kildare”, every page of which
was gorgeously illuminated.
• She was interred at the right of the high altar of Kildare Cathedral,
and a costly tomb was erected over her. In after years her shrine was an
object of veneration for pilgrims, especially on her feast day, February
1. About the year 878, owing to the Scandinavian raids, the relics of St.
Brigid were taken to Downpatrick, where they were interred in the tomb of
St. Patrick and St. Columba.
St. Broccan Cloen, who died in 650, wrote the following as a part of the history about the saint:
Ni bu Sanct Brigid suanach
Ni bu huarach im sheire Dé,
Sech ni chiuir ni cossens
Ind nóeb dibad bethath che.
Saint Brigid was not given to sleep,
Nor was she intermittent bout God’s love;
Not merely that she did not buy,
she did not seek for
The wealth of this world below, the holy one.
Dane County Shamrock Club
The Dane County Shamrock Club met on Tuesday, January 13, 2004, and
enjoyed the last tape of the “Irish Waterways” as well as a presentation
from Joel Van Oosbree. The presentation was on his semester in Belfast in
affiliation with the Habitat for Humanity. It included some slides.
We’re in the midst of our membership renewal period. A reminder to
all that we look forward to your participation in our club activities for
2004; we have a number of interesting plans. The planning for activities
around Saint Patrick’s Day continue at full steam. A recap of what those
activities are:
• Shamrock Shuffle Road Race (5K) starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday, March 14, 2004.
• Flag Raising Ceremony and Irish Person(s) of the Year Award at the Capitol at Noon.
• Saint Patrick’s Day Parade starting at 1:30 p.m.
• Dane County Shamrock Club Saint Patrick’s Day Celebration on Wednesday, March 17, 2004, at the Coliseum Bar starting at 5 p.m.
The Dane County Shamrock Club urges members of all other clubs to
join us for the road race and the other ceremonies on March 14. These activities
are open to all Irish and those aspiring to be Irish.
Madison’s 2004 St. Patrick’s Day Parade
MARCH 14 ON THE CAPITOL SQUARE
2004 Parade Theme: “THE PIPES ARE CALLING”
PARADE DAY EVENTS
• 10 a.m. SHAMROCK SHUFFLE RUN, sponsored by Famous Footwear. St.
Patty Shuffle/run/walk: Will start at Willy St. – Spaight – through Orton
Park – Rutledge – Baldwin – Morrison – Thornton (turn at Spaight) and return.
• 10:30 a.m. PARADE MASS at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, 404 E.
Main St. Madison, WI. With music by Madison Folk Harp Society “Mad City Harpers”
and “Navan”
• 12 noon FLAG OF IRELAND RAISING CEREMONY in the Capitol hosted by Dane County Shamrock Club.
• 1:30 p.m. MADISON’S ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE on the Square, sponsored
by Park Bank. 2004 Parade Theme is “The Pipes are Calling.” Media sponsors:
Charter Communications, WOLX 94.9, TRIPLE M 105.5, 105.1 THE BUZZ, Web site
sponsors Wired Republik Parade web site: www.stpatsmadison.com
• 3 p.m. ST. PAT’S EVE PARTY at the Park Ponderosa Ballroom, Mc Farland.
Sponsored by the Celtic Music Association and Celtic Cultural Center Web
site www.celticmadison.org
More details on this and other St. Patricks Day Events will be posted on the web sites in the coming weeks.
Rock County
UPCOMING EVENTS
• FEBRARY 17 – Chili Mix (6 p.m.) and Regular Membership Meeting (7 p.m.) featuring video of Ireland
• MARCH 16 – St. Patrick’s Day Party at the Senior Center; 5:30 p.m.; (no regular meeting)
Everyone bring some of your favorite chili and we blend it all together
for a delightful meal. Come and enjoy good food and good company. Then enjoy
a fine video of Ieland.
On March 16, the Shamrock Club is working with the Senior Center,
as we did last year, sponsoring the St. Patrick’s Day Party (last year’s
party was one of the best ever held at the Senior Center). There will be
a fine Irish menu at 5:30 p.m. and great Irish entertainment at 6:30. “Casey’s
Fancy” will entertain us again this year and there might be some other Irish
entertainment also. This fine evening of Irish food and great music can be
enjoyed for the small fee of only $5.50 per person. You can make your reservations
at our February meeting.
Shamrock Club Of New Dublin
Greetings from New Dublin. We had a busy month of December but were
able to celebrate Christmas together on December 7th at the Pine Tree Supper
Club. Fifty members were in attendance. Our own Gerald Murphy lead us in
song with some wonderful Christmas carols. The Shamrock Club also sponsored
and decorated a tree for the Chamber of Commerce Santa Land.
We are pleased to announce our Irish Man and Irish Rose for 2004 St.
Patrick’s Day festivities. They are Michael O’Connell and Suzi Snyder. Congratulations
to them both. We are entering a busy time for our club and will begin meeting
every Monday evening at 7 p.m. at Sommer’s Midtown in downtown New London.
Anyone interested in attending or helping on a committee please feel free
to join us.
We hope you all enjoyed a blessed holiday season
Milwaukee President's Message
Ladies and Gentlemen, Shamrock Club Members All;
Welcome to all our new members! Our St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations
are just a month or so away and our schedules are filling up fast. Good volunteers
are hard to find but year in and year out our members have stepped forward
and made our annual events hugely successful. Volunteer positions are still
available so call early and call often. Door personnel, bartenders, food
servers and others are needed along with a number of co-ordinator slots between
the Mass, the Parade and the Post Parade Party. Contact Kris Pluskota, Dan
Malloy or Chuck McLaughlin about helping out.
February seems like a slow month but the Bradley Center still has
several events, the Color Guard Pipes and Drums, under director Richard Pfieffer,
are preparing for the new marching season and our St. Patrick’s month events
will be fine tuned.
The Shamrock Club is planning on attending the Milwaukee Admirals
Game on February 2 at the Bradley Center. Contact Sharon Murphy at smurphy@
wi.rr.com for tickets.
Come to the February meeting and be introduced to our new Irishman
of the Year, Irish Rose, and Shamrock Club Parade Marshal. There will also
be entertainment by Shamrock Club member Erin Canon on harp.
Shamrock Club Milwaukee March Events
The date of the Shamrock Club Milwaukee chapter’s March meeting has
been changed to March 11 from March 4. There is a concert in the ICHC’s Hallamor
on the night of the fourth. The meeting time, 7 p.m., will remain the same.
Volunteers are needed on Friday night, March 12, to set up for the
Post Parade Party. Contact Chris Pluskota to help out. Also, we need someone
to coordinate the kitchen service for the Post Parade Party. Entertainment
for the party will include the Trinity, Glencastle and Cashel dance schools;
Leahy’s Luck, Blarney, Celtic Keep, Bantry Bay and West of Ennis. The Post
Parade Party, as well as the Mass and Parade, will take place on Saturday,
March 13. See the Emerald Reflections or our website for more information.
19th Annual Special Mass to Honor St. Patrick
Will be held prior to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Saturday, MARCH 13, 2004 at 8:30 a.m. at St. Patrick’s Church
723 South 7th at Washington Street, Milwaukee
Sign reader for hearing impaired
Shuttle Bus: from ICHC rear parking lot (2133 W. Wisconsin Ave.) to
St. Patrick’s Church and after Mass return to Parade Route or parking lot
for just $3 per person. Bus to leave sharply at 7:45 a.m. for the Church
Tickets for bus can be purchased by mail or at the Shamrock Club March General Meeting
ATTN: breakfast WILL be served.
Due to many requests breakfast will not be cancelled.
All You Can Eat Pancakes will be served at the school next door to the church.
For Bus reservations or information contact:
Chuck and Bonnie McLaughlin
12007 W. Walker Street, West Allis, WI 53214; Phone: (414) 771-0458
Send self-addresed, stamped envelope. Make checks payable to Shamrock Club
Mail reservations for BUS ONLY
Name______________________________________
Address_______________________________________
City/State/Zip_____________________________________
Phone: Number of Reservations______ Amount $_________
Bus Reservations will not be taken after March 7
St. Pat’s Mass Flower Donations and Memorials
Memorials and donations will be taken at the Milwaukee February general
meeting to help defray the cost of flowers for the St. Patrick’s Mass, March
13, 2004. Names will be printed in the Mass Booklet. Mail orders can be taken
up to February 27, 2004. Make checks payable to the Shamrock Club. Contact
Chuck and Bonnie McLaughlin; 12007 W. Walker St., West Allis, WI 53214; (414)
771-0458. Thank you.
Shamrock Club
38th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Saturday, MARCH 13, 2004
Noon – Downtown Milwaukee
The Shamrock Club Parade will step off at 3rd and Wisconsin a little
after noon. The route will go to Plankinton, then to Old World Third Street,
to Juneau, over to Water Street, and then south towards Wisconsin Avenue.
There will be t-shirts and baseball caps on sale along the parade route,
and at the Water Street bars.
For more information on the parade, contact Tim O’Brien (414) 444-1989;
Mick McDermott, (262) 786-6363, or hjmick@aol.com; or Dan Malloy at (414)
315-2424, (262) 432-0181 Ext 112, or email at dmalloy@aadus.com. Or view
www.stpatricksparade.org
Shamrock Club Post Parade Party
Saturday, MARCH 13, 2004 1–6 p.m.
(Doors Open at 12:20 p.m.)
Irish Cultural and Heritage Center – 2133 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee
Four stages of continuous entertainment:
--HALLAMOR
2:30 [Glencastle Irish Dancers];
3:00 [Leahy's Luck];
4:15 [Cashel Dennehy];
5:00 [Trinity Irish Dancers]
--PARLOR B
1:00 [Bantry Bay]
2:10 [Celtic Keep]
3:20 [St. Brendan’s Voyage
--UPSTAIRS
1:30 [Blarney]
3:15 [Caledonian Scottish Dancers]
3:45 [Blarney]
--BASEMENT: CHILDRENS AREA
3:00 [Silent Singers]
3:45 [McTaggarts Thrill Show]
Bands, Irish Dance Schools, Scottish Dancers, Bagpipe Bands, Children’s Area Food and Beverages available!!!
Adults $6 / Children (6-12) $3
Volunteers needed: call Kristine and Daryl Pluskota (414) 768-8876 or send email to dkplus@tds.net.
All volunteers receive an entrance pass, meal ticket and beverage
ticket for each two hour shift worked. Also, an invitation to the Volunteer
Thank You Party held each year in February is extended to those giving of
their time. Volunteering provides a wonderful chance to socialize and meet
new friends while making money for the club. Please, lend a hand!
Color Guard News and Notes
“PRIDE AND HONOR”
As we enter into a new year, the members of your Shamrock Club of
Wisconsin Color Guard, Pipes and Drums, wish to extend our hopes and prayers
that each and everyone / family enjoyed a Blessed Christmas a Happy New Years
Eve and the Year 2004 will bring to everyone – happiness, prosperity, health
and the fulfillment of all your hopes and dreams!
Since the end of the 2003 performance schedule (Sister Bay, Oct. ’03)
the Color Guard Pipes and Drums have continued to work tirelessly to represent
the Shamrock Club of Wisconsin with “Pride and Honor”. The Unit continues
to welcome / recruit new members, introduce / expand / rehearse / add new
musical selections to their repertoire and work with a sincere desire / commitment
towards building upon the success the group achieved during the 2003 performance
schedule.
St. Patrick's Help Fund received donations at Thanksgiving and Christmas from the Color Guard Pipes and Drums.
As just one of the representatives of the Shamrock Club of Wisconsin,
“your” Color Guard, Pipe and Drums stepped forward by displaying the “True
Spirit” through their participation in charitable events. With the guidance
of the St. Patrick’s Help Fund organizers – Bob and Katie Voss – the members
of the Unit donated / gave from their hearts towards assisting those in need!
For Thanksgiving, the members of the group donated several turkeys, hams
and all the fixin’s: soup, rice, potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, biscuits,
cranberry sauce, plus apple and cherry pies – enough food to feed quite a
few people/families. For Christmas, again, the members of your Color Guard
Pipes and Drums came forward to assist in the St. Patrick’s Help Fund! Winter
coats, sweaters, gloves and scarves, sweatshirts, winter caps, shirts/slacks,
sport coats and so much, much more were given to help the needy of St. Patrick’s
Parish.
The members of your Shamrock Club of Wisconsin Color Guard, Pipes
and Drums deserve a pat on th back – a thank you – for what they have done
and given! In addition, “special thank yous” should be given and these folks
should receive “special recognition” for all they have done and given: Bob
and Rosie Smocke, Dick and Pat Tierney, Rich Pfeiffer, Joe Hughes, and Bob
and Katy Voss – God bless you all!!
Next up for your Shamrock Club of Wisconsin Color Guard Pipes and
Drums will be the St. Patrick’s Day Mass, Parade and the “After Parade Party”
at the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center. We will make you all proud!! Please
come out and support your Shamrock Club of Wisconsin Color Guard, Pipes and
Drums! 2003 was not a fluke – 2004 will be even better!
Your support means a lot! Please come and cheer on the Shamrock Club of Wisconsin’s Color Guard, Pipes and Drums!
If you would like to have the Shamrock Club Color Guard, Pipes and
Drums appear in a parade, special event or family occasion – or you would
like to join the Unit as a banner carrier, color guard, piper or drummer,
please contact:
Richard Pfeiffer, Director
Shamrock Club Color Guard, Pipes and Drums
Telephone: (414) 769-1250
E-mail: milwpiper@cs.com
Schooner Fare In Concert
Yankee folk music will return to Milwaukee on Saturday, April 24 when
Maine folk trio Schooner Fare performs at Alverno College’s Pitman Theater,
3401 S. 39th Street. Reserved seat tickets for the 8 p.m. show are $20 and
$17 with all tickets for those ages 18 and under $8.
Proceeds from a raffle the night of the concert will benefit the Down
Syndrome Association of Wisconsin. The association provides educational programs
and support to individuals with Down Syndrome as well as to their families.
Schooner Fare’s Steve and Chuck Romanoff and Tom Rowe are one of folk
music’s most popular and enduring acts. They recently celebrated their 28th
anniversary and are widely regarded as “Maine’s musical ambassadors.” They
are well-known to Wisconsin audiences from frequent appearances at Milwaukee
Irish Fest.
For tickets and information, call Kathy Schultz at (414) 332-8521.
Nominations for Milw. Officers
Nominations for Shamrock Club officers will take place at the March
and April general meetings. Nominees must be present at the time of nomination,
and must be members in good standing, with current dues paid. The elections
will take place at the May general meeting.
Celtic Women First Friday
FEB. 6, 2004. Topic: “The Ward Irish Music Archives.” Speaker: Barry
Stapleton, director of the music archives, largest collection in North America
and housed at the Irish Fest offices in Milwaukee. Barry will highlight Irish
and Irish-American entertainers in American popular music from the 1850s
to the present time. The archives opened to the public in January 2004.
MAR. 5, 2004. Topic: “Irish Poets Yeats and Kavanaugh: Compare and
Contrast.” Speaker: Jim Kearney, a Marquette High School instructor for 25
years in English; Jim teaches Irish literature including poetry. Yeats and
Kavanaugh are his all-time favorites who have defined Irish poetry. He is
also “Cathaorleach” (chairperson) of Conradh na Gaeilge, Gaelic League in
Milwaukee.
All lectures are held from 5:30 – 7 p.m. at the ICHC in Parlor A.
Admission is $5. Everyone is welcome including men and non-members as well
as Celtic Women members. Tea and biscuits are served. Please join us for
a delightful few hours of Celtic education and entertainment. You may call
the ICHC at 414-345-8800 for more information.
PARKING NOTE: There is an alley behind the ICHC; entrance off from
23rd Street. The small lot immediately south of the alley and adjacent to
23rd street, is an ICHC lot. Park there at any time.
The larger lot next to it belongs to Downey Corporation with restricted
parking times for ICHC use. We may use it any time after 3:30 p.m. and anytime
Saturday or Sunday.
The areas on either side of the ICHC building are not to be used for our parking at any time.
Thank you for attention to the parking regulations.
Milwaukee Irish Honoree Nominations
Nominations for the Irish honorees for 2004 must be in by the start
of business of the Shamrock Club Milwaukee board meeting. The meeting starts
at 6 p.m. on January 29, 2004, at the ICHC. Drop off nominations at the ICHC
or mail them to Shamrock Club, 2133 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI
53233. Fax (414) 345-8805. Honorees must be members in good standing.
Spring Hallamor Concert #1:
CATHIE RYAN
Friday, February 20, 2004
Long noted as a jewel in the Irish musical crown, Cathie Ryan has
been named “Irish Traditional Vocalist of the Decade” by The Irish American
News.
Cathie Ryan is first generation Irish American who was born in Detroit
of parents from County Kerry and County Tipperary. As lead singer of the
Irish supergroup, Cherish the Ladies for seven years, she earned rave reviews
and toured the world. Now thoroughly grounded in her solo career, she has
recently recorded her 3rd CD Somewhere Along the Road masterfully produced
by John McCusker, formerly of Battlefield Band.
Her writing like her singing, follows the best instincts of tradition,
her desire to create songs with enough room inside for listeners to find
their own lives reflected. (She draws from the ancient culture of Ireland
and the interior culture of her own experience to tell stories of strong
women, hard times and human joys.)
Cathie Ryan is strongly rooted in tradition but always moving her
heritage forward. Her mix of songs in English and Gaelic, of familiar and
original tunes, opens new vistas to listeners of both modern singer/songwriter
and traditional tastes.
Cathie was recently named one of the Top 100 Irish Americans by Irish America Magazine.
Friday, February 20, 2004
Opening Act: 7 p.m. Concert: 8 p.m.
Irish Cultural and Heritage Center of Wisconsin
2133 W. Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53233
(414) 345-8800
Tickets: $19 Advance/reserved, $21 Door
Plans Begin for Volunteers’ Party
The Milwaukee chapter of the Shamrock Club is starting plans for the
Volunteer Party. If you were in charge of a Shamrock Club function or on
a committee, please forward your list of volunteers (names and complete addresses)
to: Sharon Murphy at 8320 W. Bluemound Rd., Suite 213, Wauwatosa, WI 53213
or smurphy@wi.rr.com.
Shamrock Club Milwaukee Admirals Game
The Shamrock Club of Wisconsin is having the second annual Milwaukee
Admirals Hockey game outing. We will be attending the February 2, 2004 game
against the Philadelphia Phantoms. The game starts at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are
$13 for adults and $8 for children 14 and under. Send your ticket orders
(money and number of tickets) to Sharon Murphy at: 8320 W. Bluemound Rd.,
Suite 213, Wauwatosa, WI 53213. Make your checks payable to: Shamrock Club
of Wisconsin.
Bring your friends and show them how much fun the Shamrock Club members have. Let’s make this a grand party.
Easter Rising Mass
Sunday, April 11, 2004 -- 9:30 a.m.
Celebrate the Mass In Honor of the 1916 Easter Rising
Continental Breakfast
Irish Cultural and Heritage Center
2133 West Wisconsin Avenue,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Article Published In Irish America
Brian Witt’s article entitled, “A Tale of Two Henrys and Their Tractors”,
about Harry Ferguson and Henry Ford, has been published in the February-March,
2004 Irish America Magazine. The piece was first presented in the September,
2003 Emerald Reflections.
RTE News Items
NEW FIGURES SHOW DRAMATIC RISE IN CRIME
New figures show there was a dramatic rise in the number of serious
crimes committed in Ireland in recent years. The Garda Commissioner’s annual
report for 2002 shows that armed robberies rose by two-thirds that year,
while the number of rape cases notified to gardaí increased by a quarter.
The number of people murdered remained static at 52, but there was
a significant increase in the number of homicide cases investigated. However,
the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, has said provisional figures
for 2003 show that reported crime figures have started to drop.
IRELAND’S SECOND OLDEST PERSON DIES
The death has taken place in Galway of 109-year-old Brigid Derrane,
who was Ireland’s second oldest person. Brigid, who was born on the Aran
Islands, was a member of Cumann na mBan and spent some time in jail following
the 1916 Rising. She was a friend of many of the leading figures in the War
of Independence.
She had lived in the US, where she was a campaign worker during John
F Kennedy’s election bid in 1960. She became the oldest woman ever to receive
an honorary degree from UCG at the age of 103. She had been living at St
Francis’ Nursing Home in Galway for a number of years, where she died December
29.
CELTIC MANAGER IN UK NEW YEAR HONOURS LIST
Among those honoured in the British New Year honours list is the Glasgow
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill, who receives an OBE. The former captain of
the Northern Ireland soccer team is from Kilrea in Co Derry. Two other prominent
sportsmen in the North receive MBEs. They are Irish rugby international David
Humphreys from Belfast and amateur golfer Garth McGimpsey, from Bangor in
Co Down.
The Chief Executive of Co-operation Ireland, Tony Kennedy, from Belfast
also receives an OBE. Co-operation Ireland is a charity that has worked for
over 20 years to promote peace in Ireland through practical co-operation
between ordinary people in both parts of the island. Evelyn Greer, a member
of the Special Olympics International Board, receives an OBE. Meanwhile,
PR Consultant and former RTÉ London Editor Mike Burns receives an
MBE for services to UK-Irish relations.
St. Patrick’s Help Fund
St. Patrick’s Help Fund needs all kinds of non-perishable foods, and
pampers. Please place in container at each meeting. However, donations can
be brought to the ICHC any time during the week. It is not restricted to
just meetings. A big thank you to everybody who has contributed to help the
needy people at St. Patrick’s. Questions? Call Katy Voss (414) 352-6479.
New Members
NOTE: Please send your dues to your Membership Chairperson in your
chapter. All names and addresses are listed in Emerald Reflections.
Milwaukee – Elizabeth A. Powers; Jennifer “Red” Thibeau; Michael and Jo Ann Tierney.
MEMBERSHIP REPORT MILWAUKEE CHAPTER
• NOV.: 30 memberships up for renewal, 26 paid, 4 dropped for nonpayment.
• DEC.: 22 memberships up for renewal, 14 paid, 8 due.
• JAN.: 30 memberships up for renewal, 3 paid, 27 due.
Please: when making out membership checks, make payable to the Shamrock Club of Wisconsin, and not to me.
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