The Willis Clan have carved out quite the reputation for their musical skills and now have a new reality TV show on TLC. There is a moment during a Willis Clan performance when the stage lights seem to go away and you’re swept into that ancient time and place where Irish music and dance were born as rituals that could bind a community together, banish fear and lift sorrow by … [Read more...] about The Willis Family
Issues
A Challenging Woman: Remembering Inez McCormack
Inez McCormack, the late labor leader and human rights activist from Northern Ireland, once said that her greatest achievement was “seeing the glint in the eye of the woman who thought she was nobody, and now realizes she’s somebody.” McCormack would have had a glint in her own eye had she witnessed the turnout for a recent screening of a documentary on her life in … [Read more...] about A Challenging Woman: Remembering Inez McCormack
What Would Jimmy Do? “Jimmy’s Hall” at Tribeca
In August 1933, James Gralton became the only Irish citizen to have been deported from Ireland. Despite having no evidence to substantiate their charge that he was a subversive communist, de Valera’s government, in collusion with the Catholic Church and complacent county politicians, forcibly removed Gralton from his country without trial. He never returned and died 12 years … [Read more...] about What Would Jimmy Do? “Jimmy’s Hall” at Tribeca
What Would Jimmy Do?
“Jimmy’s Hall” at Tribeca
In August 1933, James Gralton became the only Irish citizen to have been deported from Ireland. Despite having no evidence to substantiate their charge that he was a subversive communist, de Valera’s government, in collusion with the Catholic Church and complacent county politicians, forcibly removed Gralton from his country without trial. He never returned and died 12 years … [Read more...] about What Would Jimmy Do?
“Jimmy’s Hall” at Tribeca
Foot Tapping…
Modern Trad in New York
There is always a welcoming buzz of familiarity at the Irish Arts Center. On a night in late April, This Is How We Fly made their New York City debut. The quartet of fiddle, clarinet, drums, and percussive dance had drawn in a full house for opening night: few sharply-dressed Wall Street types, an award-winning violinist (who looked borderline indecent without his haughty … [Read more...] about Foot Tapping…
Modern Trad in New York