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Knot meaning and significance
By Barbara Wynn Malatesta
They left behind a richly textured, complex legacy and heritage that is reflected in their evocative, mysterious and imaginative artifacts. The artwork of the Celts evolved from primitive spiral, step and key patterns of the Bronze Age to intricately laced plait work patterns and unbroken knots of the Christian period (See Celtic Art by J. R. Allen).
While many of the Celtic clans were independent groups loosely connected to one another, they all shared a common religion based on nature, which was passed on through the oral tradition. Much of the meaning ascribed to Celtic artwork, particularly to the intricately woven knot and circular patterns found in manuscripts, artifacts and stone carvings, derives from their deeply held spiritual beliefs and wisdom.
The Celts believed in the interconnection of all things and viewed existence as a seamless weaving of the physical and supernatural realms. While no reliable historical source can tell us exactly what the knot patterns meant to the Celts, it is highly likely that through artistic expression and representation, they communicated their fiercely held convictions.
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Volume 2, Issue 6
Ceili dancing in America
by Lorcan O'Roidecain
In New York City during the 1950's there were only four places that ran regular ceilis. They were held at Cumann Breandan in Brooklyn, The Bronx Gaelic League, the New York Gaelic Society, and the Philo Celtic Gaelic Society in Queens. The month was divided so that each group could run its ceili on a Saturday night without interfering with another group. The ceili-goers could then rotate to one another's locations and taste one another's soda bread and tea in addition to sharing in each group's favorite dances.
In Brooklyn, we always did the Humours of Brandon, the High Caul Cap, the Walls of Limerick, the Sixteen-Hand Reel, a few waltzes thrown in so we could catch our breath, and a cup of tea to refresh our souls.
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Volume 2, Issue 6
How to qualify for the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
By Mike Bergin, ADCRG
STARTING EARLY IN 1969 ...
In Ireland, An Coimisiún was formally organizing a world event of Irish dancing competition, soon to become the World Championships. Concurrently the Irish Dance Teachers Association of North America (IDTANA) were meeting to discern ways to qualify the better dancers for this event. It was determined that a special North American national championships should be held on Thanksgiving weekend.
At this time, the fledgling IDTANA had their hands full with organizing enough feiseanna to satisfy the growing enthusiasm of Irish-Americans. The very idea to have an oireachtas was ambitious but visionary thinking.
There were numerous calls and correspondence to An Coimisiún representatives Marie Walsh, Tom Farrelly and Cormac McGinley, to establish the ground rules. Marie suggested that we call it an oireachtas, and so the first Oireachtas Rince in North America was established.
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Volume 2, Issue 5
Heartfelt map of the Irish soul ... in installments
With offerings ranging from feature stories on attractions throughout the island of Ireland, to historical treatises and biographical articles, Ireland of the Welcomes presents a panorama of Irish arts, crafts, music, dance and theater.
Each edition provides a microcosmic window on all that is Ireland, north and south. But to truly get the total benefit of the magazine one must fully read each of the 6 issues published annually. A year's worth of reading will undoubtedly create a desire for more and may lead the reader to the magazine's comprehensive archives service.
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Volume 2, Issue 5
Fond Mem'ries: A child's Christmas in Dublin
by James J. McAuley
If my maternal grandfather, Pappy McCarthy, were to find himself caught up in this feverish season of gross materialism, hype, and Disneyfication - he'd have a conniption fit. Pappy, a tall, deceptively jovial Corkman with a splendid mustache, conducted himself with the dignity befitting a descendant of the great McCarthy clan. As a devout Catholic, confronted with the naked greed that counts off the Shopping Days of Christmas, he would be quick to scarify the souls of all within range of his voice.
My Mammy - Maureen, Pappy's oldest daughter - brought me and my sister Anne to spend Christmas in Pappy's Victorian redbrick terrace house on Rathdown Road, off Dublin's North Circular Road, when I was small. For Pappy, Christmas was the second holiest season of the liturgical year, next to Holy Week itself. Nothing remotely resembling a pile of gift-wrapped goodies under a Christmas tree could be seen. But there was a large crib on a sideboard in the back parlor, with Mary and Joseph, and baby Jesus in a manger, and some animals and shepherds, and a big silver star above the stable, which had a straw roof and a mossy floor. (The three wise men were not added until January 6, "Little Christmas".) The crib stayed on the sideboard until February 2, the Feast of Saint Brigid, the ancient Irish herald of spring.
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Volume 2, Issue 5
The Lone Star Irish - How the West was really won
Nowhere in the history of the Irish in America have the Irish people made such a distinct mark in an unfamiliar terrain as they did in Texas. Natives of Ireland were among the first settlers in Spanish-ruled Texas, and the story of the Irish in Texas is in many ways coincident with the founding of the republic and the development of the state. The heritage of the Irish seems in retrospect to have peculiarly suited their migration to a new land, for the English dominance of Ireland must have been to the new colonists in Texas a close parallel to the oppression they eventually found in the new country.
It is not surprising that as many as twenty-five Irishmen probably signed the Goliad Declaration of Independence, that four signed the actual Republic of Texas Declaration of Independence, and that 100 were listed in the rolls of the army of San Jacinto, comprising one-seventh of the total Texan force in that battle.
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Volume 2, Issue 5
Late Dancer memorialized with trophies in Houston, New Orleans
by Ursala Parks
At every feis there is a trophy awarded to a dancer that measures up to immortality of the person whose name is scribed on the memorial. Usually this competition is reserved for the end of a feis and is overlooked by young dancers and families that attend. It is their loss.
A man so well remembered must have contributed much to the cause of Irish dance in these areas and so it was with Paul Tynan who left us far too early at age 42.
Paul Tynan's family are Dubliners that immigrated to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1949 when Paul was two years old. It wasn't until the age of 13 that Paul began his dancing career, first under direction of Marie McClusky, and later at the Francis Gibbons School.
Paul had a gift for dance and won the Men's Senior Championship and several North American Championships. His wife, Elizabeth Tynan, has a 1963 feis medal that he received in Drogheda, Ireland for second place. Paul competed in the first World Irish Dance Championship in Dublin, and won the Overseas Trophy.
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Volume 2, Issue 4
Back to school: Body, mind, and spirit
The heat of summer is dying out slowly but surely and in many areas the first signs of autumn are starting to appear. It is back to school times for children all over but especially for those most dedicated students - the thousands of Americans who will head back to schools of Irish dance across the nation.
Heading back to dance school has another element involved - preparing for competitions that could lead to national and international appearances. To ensure that each dancer is as prepared as possible for school and the competitive season, it is important to consider and take care of each area that affects that ability of a dancer to perform. While the following is not a comprehensive list of areas of concern, it is an outline that provides ideas to be considered.
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Volume 2, Issue 4
Medallion cast commemorating 2000 nationals in San Francisco
by Kris Lambert
Jewelry has memorialized people, places and events for thousands of years. From statues to walls, coins to paintings, the desire to hold tightly in our memories, and our hands, something of great importance to us remains strong.
Today, souvenirs of choice seem to be sweatshirts, tee shirts, hats and bags. While useful for a short while, they do not offer a lasting memento. This was why it was so pleasing to find a special commemorative pendant available at the North American Irish Dance Championships in San Francisco. Not only does the pendant celebrate the Championships in this, the year of the millennium, but also serves as a symbol of the spirit of the magical host city.
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Volume 2, Issue 4
County "Coleman" alive with music, dance
by Emily Murphy
Set among the green hills of farmland, deserted cottages, and stonewalls, south County Sligo is picture postcard Ireland. Picturesque as they are, deserted cottages testify to the massive emigration that the area has suffered.
The fact that like so many small villages and towns, there isn't much employment. Many people work in Sligo town, 20 miles away but the best opportunities for the young are in metropolitan centers.
A hundred years ago, this meant industrial cities in England and America. Today, this means Dublin. But wherever these people have gone, they've taken the music of their home with them.
Gurteen is in the heart of Sligo's traditional music and dance area. Master fiddler and dancer Michael Coleman is the area's most famous export. He went to New York in 1917 where he grew in popularity as one of the first Irish musicians to be recorded. His recordings were a hit with Irish immigrants.
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Volume 2, Issue 4
FOOTWEAR! The Competition's foundation
Varied shoes and styles can be fitted to individuals
While the history of footwear involved in Irish dancing does not have the color of a similar survey of costuming, this is because Irish dancing footwear has been and remains a matter of function over fashion. And, in fact, the advent of professional shoemaking for Irish dancers is a development of the past century.
Pictures and reports of Irish dancing and competitions of a century ago make it clear that shoes, although the true foundation of any dancer's precision and style, were simply a matter of wearing the best you had. Photos of young dancers of that time, both male and female, show that sturdy, high top, brogans were the footwear of choice.
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Volume 2, Issue 3
I see the bright lights of Memphis and the Adam Mark Hotel
The host city for the 2000 Southern Region Oireachtas rolled out the red carpet to welcome over 500 dancers and their families attending the 4th Annual Memphis Feis, May 27.
In preparation for the main event the fathers from Inis Acla school labored the day before the feis building a plywood state. Wood is preferred by the dancers over the parquet floors most hotels provide. Often the parquet floor is slippery with no give, making it difficult to dance. This year, risers were added to the championship state, further enhancing the view for adjudicators and spectators.
Friday registration gave the dancers an opportunity to receive their numbers the night before competition, relieving the usual feis morning congestion. Each dancer received a program book and their scores with judges comments, as part of their registration fees.
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Volume 2, Issue 3
Health & Fitness
Chris Ellis
Flexibility is a key element to concentrate on when trying to improve your Irish dancing. Flexibility means better agility, more control, higher kicks and, over all, it decreases your risk of injury. It can be defined simply as the range of possible movement in a joint or muscle. A number of factors affect flexibility and individuals vary in the degree of flexibility they possess. In addition, flexibility is specific to each joint therefore a person that has good ankle flexibility does not necessarily have good hip flexibility.
Rules for stretching:
Stretching is best done when warmed up (Warm up - see HORNPIPE Volume 2, Issue 1).
Stretch in a slow and controlled manner. NEVER bounce a stretch. Always hold your stretch for at least twenty seconds. A stretch should never hurt. If it hurts you have gone too far and it is no longer helping you become more flexible. You are also putting yourself at risk of injury.
- Proper body alignment is very important.
- Breathe as you stretch. We have a tendency to hold our breath when stretching.
- Think about the muscles that you are stretching as you stretch them. Studies show that when you do, the stretch becomes more effective.
- Everyone can improve their flexibility! Take it slowly and be patient. Look for improvement over time, not overnight. Stretching every day is the key!
Stretching's most frequently asked questions:
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Volume 2, Issue 3
From apron to high art
Although the story may be longer, we need to start with the Gaelic League's campaign to revitalize and "de-Anglicize" Irish culture and life ways. While there are differing opinions as to whether the modern Irish dance movement started with Gaelic League activities in Dublin or with Gaelic League expatriates in London, it is certain that the League's members had a commitment to all things Irish and to the cataloguing and preservation of Irish dancing.
Historical accounts of Gaelic League dances refer little to costuming but to the types and quality of clothes worn by participants. Many Gaelic League dancers believed that dance costuming was too "stage Irish" and wanted nothing to do with costuming that might cast the Irish in a peasant role or in a comic cliché.
Treatises about the evolution of Irish dance to its international acclaim of today, makes clear that initial dance competitions in Ireland saw competitors turning out in their Sunday best which inevitably represented their social class.
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Volume 2, Issue 3
Natalie MacMaster: Ordinary angel of Celtic music
She's almost ethereal but unquestionably a down-to-earth woman. Her musical talent is matched equally by her all-blond-and-alabaster beauty. Her style is quiet confidence overlaid with joie de vivre for her work - that trait of a masterful performer.
In a business full of worldly conceits, she is a woman with a clear faith in her religion. Her attention is sometimes on the lives of saints and sometimes transfixed by the Simpsons. Natalie MacMaster is an ordinary angel of Celtic music.
In backstage conversation, this rising star is a polite, friendly, but a reserved young woman who is winding up a three and a half week tour and anxious to get home. MacMaster, 27, has been a touring performer around the globe since age 12. Her ability to build a rapport with her audience and the charming interaction is palpable. And she is patient with all the questions she's heard before.
Natalie still lives in her native Nova Scotia, but, doesn't live out in rural Cape Breton. She has a place in Halifax where the airport is convenient and she can be with her family by car in a short time. Her parents don't mind her being gone so much as she spends a lot of time with them upon her return.
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Volume 2, Issue 3
The Irish experience
Irish-Americans were a force of great reckoning in organized labor. In a most unlikely place - the mines of Butte, Montana.
In considering all the places and contexts in which Irish immigrants made their mark on the fabric of the New World names such as New York, Boston, Chicago and San Francisco loom prominently.
And, despite a notable list of contributions in politics, business and the arts in those metropolitan centers, the one arena in which the earliest Irish Americans were a force of great reckoning was organized labor. It can be argued that their most forceful effect was felt in a most unlikely place - the mines of Butte, Montana.
As the cities of the east jammed insufferably and the transcontinental railways were complete, thousands of new Irish-Americans found themselves in the nation's midsection with nothing to go back east for, no immediate employment, and a zest for adventure. They started off in every direction in search of opportunity.
The discovery of vast quantities of silver and other precious metals in the Hill in Butte brought many immigrants to the area seeking work as miners and associated workers. With the Irish being the predominant group, it was inevitable that the miners would eventually rebel against low wages, unsafe conditions in the mines and the generally oppressive working atmosphere.
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Volume 2, Issue 2
Smith-Houlihan Academy of Irish Dance
Kris Lambert
The familiar hum of a reel, blended with the rhythmic hammer of nails into a wood floor are only a few sounds you might experience if you were to visit the new home of the Smith-Houlihan Academy of Irish Dance in Norwood, Massachusetts. Like a conductor directing his orchestra through a beautiful symphony, Michael Smith can usually be found in front of a group of dancers taking them through the increasingly difficult steps he has choreographed for their next competition.
Michael has always had a love affair with dancing. The youngest make of 11 children from Dorchester Massachusetts, Michael started Irish dancing at the age of 4 with Mary Costello Madden and later with Mrs. Matthews of Dun Dalk. By the time he reached adolescence, not unlike many other successful teachers, his love of dance moved into other dance forms, including jazz, modern and tap. "There was a time that I left Irish dancing altogether and took only tap", Michael says with a wistful glance. He did however return to his roots and went on to place second at the North American Championships three times and seventh at Worlds in Ireland.
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Volume 2, Issue 2
Ireland in the summer, a song, a dance, a pure moment of joy
Pat O'Reilly
There are two versions of festival: one scheduled to last a week, and one that runs over a weekend. I say "scheduled to last" because it is not uncommon for people to turn up a few days early or stay on a few days afterwards. In fact, the best music sessions often happen after the crowds have gone home.
A typical weekend or week long festival has daily workshops with a ceili, music session and or concert every night. The wrap-up ceili is on the following Sunday afternoon. Depending on the event, there can be workshops in any or all of traditional Irish music, song, and dance. Usually, each event has a gala concert on one night and impromptu music sessions throughout the week.
No need to book in advance for the workshops - in most cases, there is no facility to take advance bookings. However, it is advisable to make accommodations arrangements in advance.
While there are events like these all year round in different parts of the country, the peak "summer school season" is from the first week in July to the last week in August.
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Volume 2, Issue 2
The Irish experience: rise to power
Not since the Roman Empire has a group of immigrants affected the course of a nation's history as much as the Irish have affected the United States.
Hornpipe will look at the impact of Irish immigration, and the subsequent evolution of an exiled people to political pre-eminence in their new homeland, in a series of articles starting with this issue.
These articles will look at cities and areas commonly known to have been overwhelmingly affected by the newly arrived Irish and how the Irish evolved as they spread out across the land.
Despite any claims to the contrary, the story of the rise of the Irish immigrant class to the pinnacles of American political power starts in the squalid tenements of New York City in about the middle of the 19th century. New York City's history is inexorably tied to the story of Ireland and its provisioning of the fledgling democracy with a class of people who found the vote to be their path to power and prosperity.
By the 1850's there were more Irish in New York City than any place in the world, outside Ireland. The 150,000 Irish New Yorkers of the time, immigrants who had filled the coffin ships in hopes of a new life, free of famine, pestilence and British oppression, brought with them bright hopes and dreams. The dreams would quickly vanish in a miasma of prejudice and poverty.
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Volume 2, Issue 2
Summer camps:
When, where, and how much! Questions about Summer Camp.
Summer is approaching at the speed of daylight savings time. School will be out and vacations planned. The question for Irish dancers s to take a summer hiatus from dance and competition and risk losing the edge or find a holiday school or camp and keep on striving for the most progress?
Clearly, the answer is an individual decision but here are some questions and thoughts that might help dancers to decide their summer plans.
Do you need a break?
The competition involved in Irish dancing is not only physically rigorous but it requires enormous mental concentration and can be emotionally taxing. These combined elements may take more out of an individual the more he or she puts into the dance. It is a thing of passion, you know, and any interest that entails that much combined energy can exhaust the participant into needing a break. There is a reason that dance seasons of all types don't go the year around.
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Volume 2, Issue 1
Oireachtas Fever
by Monica Driscoll Beatty
Intensive preparations engrossed my family for several weeks leading up to the 1999 New England Oireachtas. In addition to the extra regearsals scheduled by their teachers, my daughters, thirteen-year-old Meaghan and nine-year-old Shannon, practiced daily at home. The lively notes of reels, jigs, and sets echoed off their bedroom walls. They consumed at least four boxes of band-aids in a successful effort to prevent foot blisters. I had never seen my daughters work so long and so hard.
The Friday night before the Oireachtas finally arrived. We curled hair, polished shoes, inspected costumes and packed dance gear. We checked and double-checked our list of necessary items: solo costumes, team costumes, ghillies, hard shoes, white socks, headbands, scrunchies, hair spray, bobby pins, safety pins, ribbons, black tape, shoe-laces, camera! In bed at last and brumbling about the uncomfortable rollers in their hair, the girls drifted off to sleep.
On Saturday morning we crawled out of bed in the dark, gulped down a quick breakfast of toast and apple cider and were on the road by 7:30 AM. After the forty minute drive to Framingham, Massachusetts, we unloaded the car. Heaped with garment bags, duffel bags and suitcases, we made our way through the parking lot into the Sheraton Tara Hotel.
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Volume 2, Issue 1
The difference an ocean can make
Biken' in Ireland, part 3
By Fred Meredith
Part of Nancy's preparation for our trip, besides making all of the arrangements, was to rent every imaginable kind of movie filmed in Ireland. For two months we steeped ourselves in the landscapes, lore and celluloid pseudo-history of the Emerald isle. Plots, periods, and characterizations, except possibly the concept of John Wayne as an Irishman, only added to our enthusiasm for the trip. But still, nothing prepared us for the reality of being in the Irish countryside - not even the long drive from Shannon Airport to Blackrock, County Louth or the next day's van tour of historic sites.
I think it was the bicycles that made the difference. Riding bicycles is when bombardment of the mystical, mythical, and magical beauty that is Ireland really began for us. Initially concerned that we might not adjust well to riding on the left side of the road, our fears were put to rest when we discovered how much difference an ocean can make in the manners of motorists. In Ireland many people bicycle, especially many older people. Images I won't soon forget are the middle-aged woman in a long dress and high heels, pedaling carefully into town and the old man holding his cane across the handlebars as he pedaled his one-speed into town. They ride their Raleighs for transportation and it is generally understood in Ireland that they have every right to do so on public streets and roads. If only that were the case here.
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Volume 2, Issue 1
Irish-American customs
St. Patrick's Day and the celebration
The story of the Irish in the New World is not just the tale of triumph over appalling circumstances, it is also the story of a people determined to keep their identity in a land that didn't always welcome them after they had arrived.
Too many well-intentioned folks in this country seem to think that St. Patrick's Day is all about green beer. Hornpipe would like to share a little of the real story of St. Patrick's Day with our family of readers.
The actual meaning of the St. Patrick's Day celebration may have diminished in the United States especially in recent times. As generations of Irish-Americans grow up the strong communities that were enclaves to the old country traditions are disappearing especially as you move west through the heartland of America. There are, however, more Americans of Irish descent than the Irish. Trying to find the traditional celebrations can be difficult but they can be found.
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Volume 2, Issue 1
The Broken Heel:
Peace is a commitment
Thinking about the world dance competition set for Belfast in the spring, it came to mind that it may be the first trip to the counties of Northern Ireland for many Irish Americans who felt less than comfortable traveling to the area during the decades of the "troubles".
The peace is a commitment for all of Ireland. To get a firsthand account of relations between the north and south, I wrote to my close friend, Jim McAuley, a Dublin native and "pote" laureate of Cheney, Washington, who spent 30 years teaching writing in the States and has since retired to County Wicklow. The following is from our correspondence, which may be useful for folks traveling to Belfast and other parts of Ireland in the spring.
Jim McAuley
The Shebeen
Ballyknocken
County Wicklow, Eire
Dear Yerself:
Well, after a year and a half I suppose you've ingratiated yerself to the local cultural and spiritual leaders and are foisting yerself off as a sage shanachie returned from many years in exile carrying the message of Irish culture to poor, benighted Americans. If they buy that, more's the pity for them...
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Hornpipe Magazine
Irish Dance, Music, Film, and Culture
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