Volume 9, Issue 3

Billy the Kid Claims His First Victim
by Edward T. O’Donnell

On August 17, 1877, young William Henry McCarty became a killer and outlaw. Attacked by a barroom bully in Arizona, the seventeen-year old killed the man with his pistol and fled to nearby New Mexico where he tried to start a new life as a ranch hand. But he would soon find himself embroiled in a bitter and bloody rancher feud, a conflict that propelled him to national infamy as “Billy the Kid,” the most notorious outlaw in the west.

Billy the Kid was born William Henry McCarty in New York City to Irish immigrant parents Catherine and Michael McCarty on September 17, 1859. Like many of their fellow Irish immigrants, the McCarty’s lived in poverty in a run down tenement on the Lower East Side. When Billy’s father died soon after his birth, he and his mother headed west, eventually landing in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

There in 1873 Billy’s mother married another Irishman, a miner named William Antrim. Her death the next year from a long bout with tuberculosis hit Billy hard and set him on a downward spiral. He accompanied his step-father to a silver strike in Arizona, near a place called Globe City. His step-father alternated between abusing and ignoring Billy, leaving him to fall in with a rough crowd in the mining town. By age sixteen, Billy was known as a violent and reckless young man who possessed little regard for authority. Shortly after his arrest for stealing laundry, he set out on his own, supporting himself as a ranch hand, cattle rustler, and gambler.

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Volume 9, Issue 3

150 Years of Belleek
By Marjorie McKintry-Miller

The village of Belleek, the most westerly village in Northern Ireland, lies quietly along the banks of the Lough Erne. Visitors are lured by the town’s picturesque beauty, thriving shopping district, and abundance of outdoor activities. The gentle rolling emerald landscape is made for walking and the waters are filled with trout and salmon that entice anglers of all ages. Still, what draws most people to the village is Belleek Pottery, the home of the world’s finest parian china for the last 150 years, and one of Ireland’s greatest treasures.

Accounts differ greatly has to how the pottery began. One legend states that in 1849, John Caldwell Bloomfield, who had just inherited Castle Caldwell and the surrounding village of Belleek, was attempting to whitewash a cottage “using the flaky white powder he dug up from his backyard” (Antique). The pearl-like luster of the finished product inspired a geological survey… and in the soil were found all the necessary ingredients to create a china unlike the world had ever known.

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Volume 9, Issue 3

Billy Doyle
By Denise Dube

All of Bill Doyle’s pictures tell a compelling story of Ireland’s history. It’s no wonder this 81-year-old photographic artist has, over his more than 60-year career, published five books, won The Daily Telegraph Photographer of the Year Award, three Carrolls Press Awards, Ireland’s Eye Photographic Award from The Irish Independent Newspaper, and a few from unnamed competitions in Japan, German, England and the United States.

During his career he took many pictures for magazines, including Ireland of the Welcomes and was the first staff photographer for Cara, Aer Lingus’s inflight publication. There are probably more, but getting the humble photographer to admit his achievements is difficult, at best. It was only through research and word of mouth that his accolades were uncovered. He is one of Ireland’s best photographers. Some might say his fame goes past Irish borders. Doyle never uttered a word about a Bill Doyle television documentary being filmed. It was only through communications with his long-time friend and fellow photographer, Leo Doyle, that it was finally revealed.

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Volume 9, Issue 2

ReJoycing Bloomsday
By Pat-Ann Durcan

James Joyce’s love-hate affair with Dublin was uneasy at best. His dislike for his hometown was no secret, yet Ireland’s capital often became the bones of his works. Characters played out past friendships, and it was by no accident that Ulysses’ Leopold Bloom schlepped his way through Dublin on June 16th, 1904. As it was on this very day that Joyce and his wife-to-be, Nora Barnacle, took their first walk to the village of Ringsend. But was it fate or simply coincidence that he wrote, “Today 16 of June 1924 twenty years after. Will anybody remember this date?” Little did he realize that Bloomsday would be born.

Every year, cities from Los Angeles to Tokyo play host to Joyce’s work, but nowhere are the festivities more lively than in Dublin itself. Fans in Edwardian dress spread about the city in search of nutty gizzards to copycat Bloom’s breakfast and hunt out the address where he finally rolled into bed. But it wasn’t until 1954 that June 16th came to be known as Bloomsday. On the thirtieth anniversary of Ulysses’ setting, a small group of Dublin writers set out in horse-drawn cabs to retrace Leopold Blooms steps. It was an easy challenge to undertake as Joyce made no effort to rename the city’s pubs, streets, or bridges. Joyce wanted to “give picture of Dublin so complete that if the city one day suddenly disappeared from the earth it could be reconstructed out of my book.” It was because of this attention to detail that fans from across the world come to relive the epic story and take away with them a taste of Joyce’s Dublin.

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Volume 9, Issue 2

Summer Holiday in GALWAY
by Michael P. Quinlin

Galway Bay and the surrounding area is a favorite holiday destination for the Irish. The Arts Festival adds to the City of the Tribes’s reputation as one of the most successful and influential art enterprises in the country. A major attraction for all of European it is attended by over 150,000 people each year.

This year, as an American convenience, tourism officials have opened the Ireland West Airport in Knock, County Mayo. Currently there are 3 weekly flights from JFK Airport, New York an 2 weekly flights from Boston Ireland West.

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Volume 9, Issue 2

WHO IS MOTHER Mcchree?
By Brenna Briggs

Growing up Irish in the 1950’s in northern Indiana and western Pennsylvania meant that once a year, you wore something green to school on St. Patrick’s Day and a room mother treated your class to cookies with green icing. Then, if you had an Irish parish priest you made him come to the school auditorium where you would serenade him with When Irish Eyes Are Smiling, An Irish Lullaby, and, of course, the ultimate tear-jerker: Mother Machree. Father Paddy would have (or have had) a real Irish mother, and that song was supposed to make him sentimental. When my mother would sing Mother Machree to her parish priest, Father O’Hara, in the late ‘30’s in Glassport, PA, her sister Rita accompanied her on the piano and would give her the thumbs up signal if the song was having its effect and tears were spotted. I don’t remember my parish priest, Thomas Peyton, C.S.C., ever crying after the Mother Machree song, but he always seemed very touched and thanked us profusely. Then we would put off being Irish until next St. Patrick’s Day (after watching the special Lawrence Welk Irish show).

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Volume 9, Issue 2

Jimmy Rankin Solo answers call of the wild
By Seamus Bellamy

The Rankin Family is, in two words, shatteringly famous.

It’s a fair shake to say that even the most devout fans of the underground Serbian death metal scene be fibbing to say that they’d not at least heard Fare The Well Love at least once since it’s release in 1989.

Much of the Rankin Family band’s success was arguably due to the excellent song writing and soulful vocals of Jimmy Rankin. If you’re a fan of the band’s award winning ten CD catalogue and are looking to hear the Mabou, Cape Breton musician at his best push the old material to the side and turn your attention to the songs Rankin’s sung since striking out on his own.

Jimmy is set to offer his latest solo effort Edge of Day to a devoted fan base and love-at-first-listen converts on May 1st. In conversation, Rankin is candid about the differences between writing as part of a group and the intimidating pleasure of writing for oneself.

“There’s definitely a sense of freedom, that’s for sure. I can do pretty much whatever I want to do, although I did that with the Rankins anyway,” Jimmy said in a recent interview.

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Volume 9, Issue 1

Mystery Of the Cloak Unveiled
By Mary Sayler

Cloaked in mystery describes the history of the cloak. As elusive as a scarlet-lined magician’s cape, this sleeveless garment can conceal almost anything, including its origins, beneath a round of cloth. How long that round has been around is anyone’s guess, but shorter, earlier versions of the cloak were not always totally tubular. Laid flat on the ground, a primitive pattern might be a large square of fur or animal skin and, later, a simple rectangle of woven cloth. Regardless of the geometric shape, the fabric usually had a hole cut in the middle, so the cloak could slip over the head, similar to the ponchos still worn in many cultures.

By very early Bible times, sleeved coats had already made a debut, but even Joseph’s many-colored coat (or long-sleeved coat as some translations describe it) did not displace the cloak. In the second chapter of Second Kings, for example, an outer mantle seemed to soak up the supernatural powers given to its owner. When the power of God rested on Elijah’s shoulders, the prophet could perform such miracles as staving off starvation during a drought and raising the dead to life. Prior to his own death (or being taken up by God in a mysterious moment), Elijah used his cloak to part the Jordan River so that he and his companion, Elisha, could walk across on dry land. Shortly after this incident, the younger prophet realized that his mentor would not return, so Elisha quickly gathered up Elijah’s cloak, taking on its mantle of mystery and parting the waters again to get home.

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Volume 9, Issue 1

Quest For The Perfect Pint
by Denise Dubé

For me, even after more than a few visits to the Emerald Isle, there was still one mystery left to be unraveled. What’s the fascination with “the perfect pint of Guinness?”

More importantly, is there really a perfect pint of any stout, lager or ale? Yes, there most certainly is. And if you stand behind the counter of any pub you better know how to pull one – whether it’s Guinness or anything else that comes out of a tap.

I learned that lesson some time ago when I begged Anne Mooney Gough to let me spend a few hours behind Mooney’s bar serving her regulars. Gough is the sixth generation to own Mooney’s one of the three pubs in An Rinn in County Waterford, Ireland. An Rinn -- or Ring in English -- is a Gaelic speaking town of about 2,000.

The stone-fronted tavern holds memorabilia and history from all six generations. Pictures of the Clancy Brothers singing decades ago hang beside portraits of long gone patrons. Ancient posters for popular cigarettes are crammed beside old bottles, tools and even train signs. The oldest is an iron sign hung out in front of the pub. It comes from Anne Mooney’s ancestor, Siobhan MicCoda’s original pub or shebeen, a 300-year-old thatched cottage that sat a few hundred yards from the present establishment. (Shebeens were well-known unlicensed and illegal pubs.)

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Volume 9, Issue 1

All-Ireland Results

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Volume 9, Issue 1

Mission for Meghan
By Katie Hamilton

In September of 2005, Championship Irish dancer Meghan Henry was diagnosed with a Wilm’s Tumor in her kidney, signaling the beginning of her brave fight against cancer. Meghan’s battle is far from over; however, she is not fighting alone. The Irish dance community has rallied around this seventeen-year-old dancer, demonstrating the power of prayer, hope and support that others can bring.

“She is such a beautiful, honest girl that, if she didn’t get sick, you would say, this is a teenager who has seen everything going on around her and decided to stay on a good and healthy track,” said Meghan’s aunt, Diane Budz.

Throughout treatments and tests, Meghan, a dancer with the Trinity Academy based in the Chicago-land area, continued attending practices and focusing on staying in shape.

“Dancing was my life,” said Meghan. “Sometimes I go to dance and get sick but I try my best to keep up with everyone. Some days I can’t. It helps me, to exercise and see my friends.”

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Volume 9, Issue 1

Tenors Win Over America Hearts

The rich full tone of a tenors voice has filled concert halls for nearly three centuries. Therefore it is no surprise when the Irish Tenors tour the country they beckon opera advocates and music-lovers everywhere to hear them sing.

A transition from church choirs, singing competitions to the Operatic performance is not an easy road. Yet, Ireland has managed to train and send forth singers comparable to the Italians.

The Irish Tenors, John McDermott, Anthony Kearns and Ronan Tynan, first came together in 1998 for a concert at the Royal Dublin Society Main Hall. Their powerful interpretation of traditional Irish ballads and arias precipitated their self-titled CD to the top of the Billboard world music charts.

Shortly there after in March 2001 Anthony Kearns, Ronan Tynan and Finbar Wright captivated millions with songs of longing and remembrance when they taped “The Irish Tenors Ellis Island”. It was produced Daniel Hart, Bill Hughes, Phil Byrd and in association with PBS in New York.

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Hornpipe Magazine

Irish dance, music, film and culture

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