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Music Archives

Cathie Ryan: Home is Where the Music Is

By Ian Worpole
October / November 2007

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My mum had a phrase that fascinated me – whenever something like the vacuum cleaner showed signs of failure, she would say, “Oh, it’s going home.” I’ve always had a vision of what a strange and wonderful place that particular Home may be, filled with weary appliances. It’s a powerful phrase, and as I grew older and maybe wiser, I realized it is more usually indicative of the … [Read more...] about Cathie Ryan: Home is Where the Music Is

Remembering Tommy Makem

By Terry Golway
October / November 2007

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When Tommy Makem died on August 1,the worldlost not only a great musician and storyteller but an original thinker, who was passionate about Ireland, and  unfailingly gracious. We'll not see the likes of him again. It was a coincidence, of course, that legendary folk singer Tommy Makem and hotel mogul Leona Helmsley departed this world within two weeks of each other last … [Read more...] about Remembering Tommy Makem

Music to Fall For

By Ian Worpole, Contributor
August / September 2007

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A few months ago I wrote a column for Irish America called “Songbirds,” a review of my favorite female singers of the Celtic idiom. There were many to include, so many that my editor described it as a bit breathless, but even so, I received a letter from a reader pointing out a serious omission, Áine Minogue, a spellbinding Irish harper/singer now settled in New England. It … [Read more...] about Music to Fall For

While Mem’ry Brings Us Back Again

By Sharon Ni Chonchuir, Contributor
June / July 2007

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Memory is the bond that ties us to home, even when we are far away. And now a stirring book produced by The Aisling Irish Community Center in Yonkers explores the connections Irish immigrants to New York have with their native land. While Mem’ry Brings Us Back Again spans the era from 1927 to 1964, and consists of heartfelt narratives by immigrants describing their … [Read more...] about While Mem’ry Brings Us Back Again

The Pogues: They’re Back! (Almost)

By ian Worpole, Contributor
June / July 2007

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Ian Worpole never managed to be in the right place at the right time to catch The Pogues live, but there’s always next year, and in the meantime there’s the re-release of all of the band’s CDs. Back in the early ’80’s I’d been resident in America for a few years, and, as happens, was starting to lose touch with my old English roots a bit. Sure, I would go back and visit each … [Read more...] about The Pogues: They’re Back! (Almost)