“Well the weather tonight is Irish,” seemed to be the joke of the evening as four hundred lucky audience members packed into downtown New York venue Le Poisson Rouge on a wet October evening. The long celebrated Other Voices program made a leap from Dingle to New York to film two nights of music and the written word as a part of the Imagine Ireland campaign. “We don’t know … [Read more...] about Other Voices NYC
Issues
Music Reviews
A look at recently-released music of Irish and Irish-American interest. For the Holidays... The Blair Band • Christmas with the Celts This Christmas, Ric Blair and his merry band of Celtic musicians released a studio album to accompany a DVD of their very popular Public Television special, Christmas with the Celts. Filmed in Nashville in front of an eager sold out audience, … [Read more...] about Music Reviews
Once: The Musical
The beloved Irish film adapted to the stage. It is hard to forget the little Irish movie that could, Once. Released in 2006, Once was shot in Dublin over a 17-day period, with a scant budget of $150,000. It became an Indie sensation with stars Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard of the Frames winning an Oscar for Best Original Song and winning far more fans with their … [Read more...] about Once: The Musical
The Old First Ward
Photo Album: Family Pictures These photos were taken [80] years ago in front of my grandfather’s house on Kentucky Street in Buffalo’s well-known “Old First Ward.” This section, on the South Side of the city, is Buffalo’s little Ireland, and would relate to Leopold Bloom’s trip through the streets of Dublin. Everyone on these streets is of Irish ancestry, and it is a world … [Read more...] about The Old First Ward
Sláinte! The Night of Cakes
No Christma-a-as! No Christma-a-as!” Such was the town crier’s chant in the streets of 17th-century Dublin when Ireland felt the hammer blow of Oliver Cromwell’s Puritan iron fist. Garlands of greenery were pulled down and publicly burned. Revelry was forbidden. Priests were imprisoned. But the Irish people found ways to celebrate their most loved holiday despite the … [Read more...] about Sláinte! The Night of Cakes





