Volume 3, Issue 6
Who shot Michael Collins?
This hero of modern Irish history was shot to death at the height of his career by assailants unknown. This made him a legendary martyr of the fight for freedom and 2002 is the anniversary of his assassination.
It has been eighty years since Irish patriot and hero Michael Collins was shot dead in an ambush in his home county of Cork. The assassination cast a pale of the new Irish Free State that was then in a civil war. The murder brought peace but at what price? Were Ireland's further troubles, right up today, exacerbated by this single act? No one can say but there are plenty of historians and scholars with opinions.
Additionally, there remains a complete official mystery around the identity of the actual killer or killers. It is fairly well accepted that Collins' death was an act of his political rivals but like the Kennedy assassination, theories about the actual gunmen range from betrayal by his bodyguards to a lone gunman on a nearby hill to a British conspiracy.
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Volume 3, Issue 6
How did St. Valentine come to rest at a Dublin church?
By Dermot O'Gara
Just about everybody knows that St. Valentine is the patron saint of lovers. You may also know that he was a priest in Rome in the third century. And, if you're really on top of your game, you may even know that he died in jail, but you probably didn't know that his final resting place is Dublin.
In fact, the priests of the Carmelite Order have been looking after his remains in their priory in Whitefriar Street just off Aungier Street in Dublin, for more than 160 years.
We have a good deal of information about St. Valentine, but separating the fact from the legend is a bit like trying to separate a teenage couple at a school dance.
St. Valentine was martyred in 269 AD, supposedly for marrying couples against the wishes of Emperor Claudius II who felt that single men made better soldiers. Legend would have it that he died for his faith on February 14th of that year, and that this is why we celebrate on that day.
It is more likely, however, that the fact that we celebrate St. Valentine's Day at this time of year has more to do with the ancient Roman spring fertility festival of Lupercalia. Like many other pagan holidays this festival was Christianized in 498 AD when Pope Gelasius decreed that February 14th would be St. Valentine's Day.
But how did a Roman Martyr, who had never even set foot in what was later to become an island of saints and scholars, end up in a Dublin church?
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Volume 3, Issue 6
Celebrating the life and work of a global force in Irish dance
Maitiú O'Maoileidigh epitomized the dedication, energy, commitment that started moving this powerful art form onto stages the world over
Trophies that are awarded at feiseanna usually have little meaning to those in attendance other than the recognition of a superb effort by contestants. or in this case, a dance master. To understand the significance of this O'Maoileidigh Trophy is to capture a piece of the history of Irish dancing.
It is no secret that Belfast and Cork were the first to hold provincial feiseanna (1899) therefore claiming bragging rights for all of Ireland for dominance of dance. But the truth is that dance and musical talent abounded in the ancient capital of Connacht.
When the big band sounds of Tommy Dosrey and the dance halls were all the rage in 1940's America, the hillsides of Ireland were still filled with traditional music and its own dance. But hard economic times were moving the population to the city, and further, in the form of emigration.
Irish dancing in the provinces was a popular form of entertainment and a serious sport. Competitive Irish dancing up until the years following World War II was dominated by teachers and ceili clubs in rural communities from Limeric, Cork and Kerry. It wasn't until after WWII, as the new Irish nation was developing, did there begin a shift in dancing dominance. This is the legacy of Maitiú O'Maoileidigh, a visionary of modern Irish dance.
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Volume 3, Issue 6
Dancers shine at 2001 North American Oireachtas
They came by cars, planes, trains and possibly even boats to compete at the Oireachtas that swerved their North American region.
Packed in their kits along with costumes, shoes and the necessities of Irish dance were the hopes, dreams and aspirations born of endless hours of practice, watchful encouragement of teachers, and material and emotional support of family and friends.
From the youngest to the oldest they waited with nerves on edge, making a place for a last few practice steps before their turn on the stage before the lights and the adjudicators.
Each, in turn, performed with all that was in his or her body and heart and then leave it to fate - this time - to those who are able to see the strengths and weaknesses. No matter if they are listed below or not. Each opportunity to compete, each acceptance of the challenge carves a niche in the exciting world of Irish Dance a little deeper.
To all those who participated in these wondrous events Hornpipe extends its congratulations.
Results of the 2001 North American Oireachtas:
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Volume 3, Issue 5
Seamus Heaney: Nobel Poet for an Island of Poetry
by James "Seamus" McAuley
Seamus Heaney comes from a family farm near Derry city, or "Londonderry" as it was called by settlers sent there from London after King James I "awarded" title to that piece of territory to the Corporation of London during the Plantation of Ulster in the seventeenth century. That's another story, but one that has some relevance to the Seamus Heaney story.
Being of Catholic nationalist background, he was educated in Catholic schools in Derry - he attended the same school that Nobel Peace Prize winner, John Hume, went to - before going to Queen's University in Belfast, where he also taught for several years. In Belfast, he was associated with a group of young writers who have earned the province of Ulster the reputation of having more poets per square inch than any other piece of land in the English-speaking world.
His career as a teacher continued throughout his writing career, taking him eventually to the campuses of both Harvard and Oxford as a distinguished authority on all things poetic, both its theory and practice, its origins and history. Meanwhile, his poems were earning him a wider and wider readership.
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Volume 3, Issue 5
Christmas Eve 1601: Battle of Kinsale
Through one bad battlefield decision at the Battle of Kinsale, an otherwise anonymous southeastern port town, Ireland's hopes for independence from England were dashed for generations at the close of the Nine Years War.
The Nine Years War was fought because the Irish wanted freedom from English tyranny and the English wanted more land and power in Ireland. At the same time, the Protestant Reformation engendered conflict between Catholics and Protestants and Spain grabbed a chance to undercut England's powers.
The primary heroes of the Nine Years War were Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and Hugh O'Donnell, Earl of Tyreconnell. These last two powerful Gaelic chieftans held sway in Ulster, a place where the first English roots of domination were planted. Uprisings in Ulster launched the war and Hugh O'Neill renounced his English title of Earl of Tyronne and became the O'Neill, hereditary title of a clan chief. His victories against English forces drew him many new soldiers and popular support. Simultaneously, "Red" Hugh O'Donnell was hammering the English and captured Sligo Castle.
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Volume 3, Issue 5
TCRG survives world trade center attack
In her own words; LuAnn O'Rourke describes the events of September 11
I woke up Tuesday morning tired from the first class the previous night but glad to be back to my usual routine. I let my hair go with its natural curl that morning so I could sleep an extra half hour until 6:00. On to the 7:17 train with Steve and a kiss goodbye at Grand Central as I made my way through the normal crowd of the subway to the express train down to Fulton Street. I passed St. Paul's and the cemetery like I do every morning, stopped at Fine & Shapiro for my usual cup of coffee and made my way to my office at Empire BlueCross BlueShield on the 30th floor of World Trade One. Like clockwork I was at my desk by 8:10 and sifted through new e-mails and voicemails that came in since the day before. Suddenly I heard a boom and I was thrown from my chair and the building began to shake. I thought to myself, "My God, it's an earthquake; I'm going to die here." I looked out the window of my office to see tons of papers flying in the air. Something hit the building or exploded, maybe a helicopter hit the building? I ran out of my office where everyone gathered and asked, "What was that?" I must have grabbed my cell phone because I tried to call Steve, but to no avail. I remember someone saying to me "stop shaking," and then another voice said, "Let's get out of here." Crazy as it now seems, I ran back to my office to get my bag. When I came back, everyone was gone. I ran toward my boss's office on the west side of the building and everybody had left.
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Volume 3, Issue 5
New Steps pounded from Old Steps
It is difficult for a first-time viewer to fully appreciate all the forms of song, prose, music and dance presented in the two hour production of Riverdance. "Trading Taps" is a brief but vital scene in the historical events that reveal the influence of Irish dance. After intermission we are introduced to the melting pot of America ... The Americanization of Irish dance. The transformation is defined in "Trading Taps". Cadet Bastine, the elder statesman, Aaron Tolson, dance captain, and new comer Jason Bernard are the trio of tap dancers that trade steps with the formidable Irish dancers.
Watching the tap dancers was a respite from the precise dance steps and reserved emotion displayed by their Irish counterparts. Perhaps their dancing is familiar and more identifiable as American or it may have been the animation of the dancers that ignited the audience to erupt in applause.
Where did tap dancing originate?
There are two theories of thought about the history of tap dancing. It is largely identified with African-Americans as part of their heritage developed on the street corners of American cities particularly in New York and New Orleans. Even earlier than that, before emancipation, some historians concur that when slaves were forbidden to use drums, because of the annoyance to their owners, they began to pound out rhythms with their feet.
The other theory is the influence of Irish dancing. Only in the American melting pot could Irish jigs and reels be combined with African shuffles to form a new art form. In the tenement housing of New York the Irish and Blacks occupied the lowest rung of the American ladder and were often at odds with each other for work and that may have spilled over to dancing.
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Volume 3, Issue 4
Friendship of Ireland-Mexico; a story of treason and heroism
While Irish immigrants made great contributions to the growth of the United States from its beginnings, some found themselves abandoning their adopted land and taking up arms against other Americans. A particularly notable episode took place during the middle 1800's war between the US and Mexico.
By the 1840's a significant proportion of enlisted men in the United States Army were Catholic immigrants from Ireland. The Mexican government, aware of prejudice against immigrants to the United States, started a campaign after the Mexican War broke out to win the foreign Catholics to its cause. The Mexicans urged the Irish to throw off the burden of fighting for the "Protestant tyrants" and join the Mexicans in driving the Yankees out of Mexico. Mexican propaganda insinuated that the United States intended to destroy Catholicism in Mexico, and if Catholic soldiers fought on the side of Americans, they would be warring against their own religion.
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Volume 3, Issue 4
THE SEASON OF FESTIVALS: County Clare fest brings Feakle's magic to the world
by Thomas Miner
It could have been any rural community. Very little would distinguish this small village from the Midwestern farmlands of America...with one exception: the music.
Feakle, Co. Clare, is north of Limerick and west of Ennis and home to about 300 people, but come August, the village and the adjacent town of Scariff swell to the thousands. The Feakle International Music Festival is now entering its fourteenth year and features Irish traditional music and the talented Hayes family.
There are plenty of festivals to entertain yourself with during the summer months in Ireland. Every weekend offers opportunities, but choosing one festival to attend is an exercise in prudence. Nearly all the festivals are worthy of a visit one time or another if for no other reason than to go to the evening ceili. There are workshops by day and sessions by night. For most people, the instrument and the instructor will dictate the festival to attend. It seems everyone in Ireland plays an instrument, sings or dances.
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Volume 3, Issue 4
Dublin has assimilated many cultures
A number of Continental cities may lay claim to a longer municipal history than Dublin, but few, aside from Rome or Athens, have sustained centuries of war damage from civil conflict and foreign invasion. Yet, today Dublin is a gem among decrepit European capitols in part due to rebuilding from those countless conflicts as well as the ideas and resources brought there from other lands.
The first recorded reference to habitation at the site of Dublin was a settlement called Elbana noted in the writings of Ptolemy, an Alexandrian geographer of the Second Century A.D.
A recorded military victory by the people of Dubh-linn (Black Pool) over the kingdom of Leinster occurred in 291 AD. Warfare continued to intermittently wrack Baile Atha Cliath, Dublin's official name, for another 1,700 years.
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Volume 3, Issue 4
Hard Shoes: What do adjudicators expect from you?
by Mary Ann McGrath Swaim, TCRG
Walk a mile in my shoes...
Close your eyes and imagine yourself sitting hours upon hours, working for low wages, hardly if ever stopping for meals. Imagine streaming before you dozens upon dozens of costumed competitors, all allotted few precious minutes to give you their best. Imagine them waiting for you to devastate or delight them with the product of your labor. Imagine you have no universal formula or job description, that you may never have been trained to do this, or that it has been decades or months since you sat an adjudicator's exam. Imagine you may even have been grand-fathered into the system. Imagine that, unlike other professionals (lawyers, doctors, teachers) who are required to undergo continuing education in their expertise in order to maintain their certifications, your ADCRG status remains unchallenged so long as you pay annual dues and avoid moral mayhem.
Not all of the above need be imagined. Over a decade ago, IDTANA past-President, Michael Smith, ADCRG, established continuing education for members, and some called his move mighty. Others disagreed, and prevailed. The challenge, dear dancers, is to survive in the real world of the feis, such as it is.
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Volume 3, Issue 3
A healthy competitive spirit: FEIS ETIQUETTE
by Kris Lambert
The feis - or feiseanna, as it was once called - has taken many different forms since the original gathering of the clans in celebration of the changing seasons. It has always been the occasion for like-minded people to gather in celebration and share what they love to do: sing, play music, paint, sculpt, bake, share stories, preserve the Irish language and, oh yes, of course, dance. Many modern feis organizers have made attempts to preserve some of the beloved traditions in the form of baking, art and essay competitions. However, for most families, a feis is primarily a dance competition - a chance to showcase what you have learned in the company of those in your own age and skill level.
Competition in its purest sense can often be instrumental in the development of character. It is about taking pride in personal accomplishments. It is about doing your best. It is also about accepting the outcome.
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Volume 3, Issue 3
Dance and romance beguile a teenage 'exile'
by James J. McAuley
In the 1940's, it was government policy to instill in all Irish children a love of all things Irish, from Irish-made food and clothes to the Irish language itself. The economics of war and its aftermath taught us to put up with "black" whole-meal bread of the kind now served in gourmet restaurants and up-market bed-and-breakfast establishments. We went to school in loosely woven wool jumpers (sweaters) and flannel shirts which are now being stocked in the up-market tourist trap stores. Irish was a compulsory subject in the schools and for most government jobs. This policy led to middle-class Irish children being sent to summer schools in the Gaeltacht areas where tourist from all over the world now come to imbibe the ancient Celtic arts of music, story-telling, dance, and a smattering of Gaelic.
The culture-vulture tourist's experience is likely to be a far cry from that of a poor skelp of a lad in 1950, deported from Dublin for the summer to Colaiste na Rinne on the west slope of Helvick Head, on the Waterford coast. Summer school in those days placed all the emphasis on school and discounted the idea that summer might offer much in the way of fun.
In the hours between waking and sleeping we were subjected to total immersion in Irish. The utterance of anything resembling English was likely to earn a sharp reprimand in barely intelligible, but proportionately fluent, Irish. Repeat offences meant confinement to campus while the earnest milksop types were free to go to the village shop and buy ice-cram, red lemonade, or even cigarettes at a penny each, or go swimming in the cove below Helvic Head - with all transactions a conversations made, of course, through the medium of Irish.
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Volume 3, Issue 3
Honoring ancient teaching tradition: from first lessons to the nationals
A thousand years of Irish dancing teaching experience descended upon the lake side city of Toronto for the 2001 North American Irish dancing championships.
Old and young dance masters brought their star pupils, the ones practiced enough to qualify, into the gladiator's arena. The best of the best.
There were 3,900 dancers competing over 5 days representing hundreds of schools some coming from as far away as New Zealand and Australia. Only one from each age category will win the trophy and crowned champion of North America. It not only is a proud moment for the dancer but the teacher as well. It is testimony to the teachers' skill, knowledge and ability to convey to them the moment on stage that you are never prepared for.
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Volume 3, Issue 3
The path to social acceptance for Irish immigrants
Imagine the anguish of so many Irish escaping the starvation and class tyranny of British rule only to find its replica awaiting them on the pier in America, the land of opportunity.
Millions of Irish, and other immigrants, were manhandled by cruel officials, detained in squalid quarters, forced to alter their family names, scorned for their accents and poor clothing, and finally released onto the streets of New York, Boston, Philadelphia or other eastern cities. And there most of them were destined for even more pestilential living conditions, disease, poverty and the lowest labor for people who were at best tolerant and at worst brutal.
For the Irish, this plight was especially affronting inasmuch as they believed they came to a nation where they shared the language with the inhabitants, but those here did not see it that way. Many Irish, fresh from the boats and with a modicum of education and manners, quickly found employment in the households of the well-to-do as maids and servants.
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Volume 3, Issue 2
Are girls growing up too fast?
by Robyn Ross
What if Britney Spears took up Irish dancing?
The thought will probably cause anyone with a "TCRG" behind her name to shudder, but consider it for a moment.
If Britney traded her onstage bumping and grinding for good posture and pointed toes, her flesh-colored spangles for a knee-length costume patterned with Celtic knots, the preteen girls in her fan base would rush to keep up. Enrollments in Irish dancing classes across the country would soar, and parents would be battered with constant requests for at least a spiral perm if not a wig. During elementary-and middle-school recess boys would grow tired of watching their female classmates stand in circles and practice dancing - not suggestive shakes and thrusts, but the latest treble jib from Britney's video.
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Volume 3, Issue 2
Eire's Impressionists:
Continental influence mastered by Irish artists
The true magic of Ireland is its vibrant color and light. While its ground is mostly solid and its landscapes are breathtaking, the natural hues of Ireland radiating from a spectral wealth of moods of light lend an ethereal air to the place and the look of the people. This is a circumstance that lent itself to Irish painters being among the early and most dedicated students of the Impressionist school of painting.
Impressionist painting, which grew up in France and Belgium, came to the fore as the Realism school reached its zenith toward the middle of the 19th century. The limitations of Realism, including an inability to reach beyond the bounds of common vision, had long chafed on artists whose best work could only parody or pay tribute to discoveries of light, color and shadow that had gone before.
Honoring the masters was a noble pursuit that offered no real satisfaction to a painter interested in art as a form of individual self-expression. And while the term Impressionist describes a style in which the artist portrays his or her visual and emotional view of the subject, it might better have been called the Expressionist school for the basic philosophical drive that motivated the movement.
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Volume 3, Issue 2
Spirits and folklore at the Pale's edge
by Emily Murphy
The George's Qual Spirit Store is on the harbor in Dundalk, about half way between Dublin and Belfast. Dundalk gets its name from the Fort of Dealga, a fort associated with the legendary warrior Cuchulainn. Dundalk is built on the plains of Muirhevna, just below the picturesque Cooley Mountains where, legend has it, the Cattle Raid of Cooley took place. The Dundalk area is steeped in ancient history and folklore. It was once surrounded by the furthest outreaches of the Pale, the boundary created by the English to keep the wild Irish at bay. The remains of fortified manor houses and castles are abundant. Edward the Bruce, brother of the Scottish king, briefly reigned as King of Ireland from Dundalk. His grave can be seen in nearby Faughart. Because of its proximity to the border, Dundalk is often overlooked by visitors, but for those wanting to get off the tourist path paved with Irish kitsch, and made-for-tourists pubs, Dundalk is a gook place to look.
The Spirit Store is about as good as a pub gets. The pub itself has been in near continuous operation for 150 years, and is one of Dundalk's oldest pubs. It was re-opened last year by Dundalk locals Mark Mullholland and Mark Deary. The Marks refurbished and expanded the pub, and in doing so have created a local gathering place where people come together for a variety of social reasons. That is, they have re-captured the essence of the traditional Irish pub.
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Volume 3, Issue 1
Irish finally move uptown in Manhattan
When you visit New York City, stand on any street corner and look up. If you can pull your eyes away from the bizarre and unusual collection of humanity, you will notice that very little sky is visible because the buildings have obscured it from view. Then move your eyes slowly down the facades of two- and three-floor antebellum walk-ups, warehouses, turn-of-the-century industrial buildings, skyscrapers and an assortment of architectural wonders, and finish with a glance down the canyon of concrete. Each building houses a microcosm of the world. One of those buildings is a slender, five-story townhouse facing the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue.
Little announces the presence of the American-Irish Historical Society other than both the American and Irish flags. The turn-of-the-century building looks dwarfed and squeezed into position by the larger, more contemporary structures that border it on either side. Nonetheless, it is sturdy, spacious and elegantly decorated with mementoes gathered since the Society was founded in 1897.
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Volume 3, Issue 1
Music for the soul - Traditional Troubadors
No video boards, no banks of lights, just pure entertainment - a sesiún, as it was intended to be in a far-away land of village pubs and homes. A microphone here and there, a harp, keyboard, piano, fiddles, guitar, bodhrán, whistle, uillean pipes...and the Chieftains.
Having flown through a late-winter nor'easter that brought with it 24 inches of snow, Kevin Conneff has arrived in Utica, NY, and has just finished his lunch at the hotel. The Chieftains have created their own March Madness on a whirlwind tour of venues like California Center for the Arts-Escondido, Davies Symphony Hall-San Francisco, Saeger Theater, New Orleans, the Kennedy Performing Arts Center, Washington, Symphony Hall, Boston and finally Carnegie Hall Saturday March 17.
Their North American tour follows their most recent release, Water from the Well, and is not limited to large city venues. You can always find a sprinkling of visits at out-of-the-way places across the country, a strategy that, perhaps, has helped sustain the Chieftains in their 37-year career.
Water from the Well, nominated for a Grammy, is a welcome reminder of their musical roots and a return to pure traditional performance. Contrary to the accusations in critical reviews, the Chieftains never left their roots but merely listened to and absorbed musical influences from global settings and musicians. It is a continuing education program that delights them.
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Volume 3, Issue 1
Heavily Armed and Irish: a sketch of a little known aspect of organized crime
Despite all the glorious, and accurate, portrayals of the Irish as chief contributors to the United States' vast array of cultural, political and business achievements, there has been and is a dark underbelly to the activities of the Irish in this society.
Film and books regarding the depth of Sicilian control of the American underworld not-withstanding, the Irish created much of what is considered organized crime in this country and maintained it until the Mafia flexed its muscle and the Irish moved into politics.
The Irish introduced gang warfare to our culture almost as soon as the revolutionary era came to a close. By the end of the first quarter of the 19th century, street gangs appeared in predominantly Irish neighborhoods of New York's various boroughs. With names such as the Rabbits and the Five Points Boys, these roving bands of hooligans were largely formed as turf guards for businesses, both legal and illegal, that served, or preyed upon, the residents of the neighborhoods that spawned them.
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Hornpipe Magazine
Irish Dance, Music, Film, and Culture
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