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Irish House Party Rocks The House

The Irish House Party played to a packed house of over 140 on Saturday February 4th at the New York Irish Center in Long Island City (only five mins. from Grand Central Station on the 7 train). This was the third show as part of their first North American tour.

The show draws its inspiration from one of the Ireland’s most popular and enduring traditions; The House Party. Made up of three elements; storytelling, singing and Irish dancing and performed by champion all Ireland musicians and dancers, The Irish House Party gave us an enriching and invigorating evening of traditional entertainment.

There were six performers from The Irish House Party collective on stage; three Dublin based - Declan Quinn (flute & vocals), Gerry Nolan (guitar & vocals) and Eugene Quinn (irish banjo & vocals), and three U.S. based - Katie Linnane (fiddle), Gary Grant (guitar) & Isaac Alderson (uilleann pipes, whistle, flute & saxophone).

During the course of the evening, the group entertained the rapt New

York Irish Center audience with stories, music and dancing, all shot through with a rich sense of humor and a deep respect and love for the rich traditions of Irish culture.

One of the many highlights of the evening was the dancing of Katie Linnane (a native of the Bronx). Katie performed two jigs, one on stage and one on the floor among the audience. She also played the fiddle for two sets.

Isaac Alderson’s soulful solo piece on the Uilleann pipes, provided another of many memorable moments from the evening. The band finished the festivities with a lively rendition of Molly Malone, the audience singing along heartily before rising to their feet to give the Irish House Party a standing ovation.

The evening was a great experience and the audience was left wanting more. This was the latest in an ever growing concert series at the New

York Irish Center. In the past year and a half, we have hosted Luka Bloom, Ashley Davis (with Cormac De Barra) and The Guggenheim Grotto and look forward to more exciting concerts in 2012. On Saturday April 28th, we are hosting Grammy Award Winning Singer, Susan McKeown. Remember to check www.nyirish.org for details on this and all upcoming shows.

The Irish House Party show has gained a reputation as being the most authentic Irish show. The next time you are in Dublin, make sure to catch their dinner show in Merchants Quay.

Howard Maxwell

Gettin’ to the roots of Genealogy

On Saturday January 28 over 30 genealogy enthusiasts participated in an introductory session Getting Started: Tracing your Irish Ancestors. The session focused on; tips to get started, the impact of Ireland’s history and geography on genealogical sources, how to source and interpret vital records and concluded with a review of key resources – both Irish and general – to maximize record and data collection. Two lucky prize winners, Geoffrey Collins and Josephine McManus were

recipients of The Irish Family and Local History Handbook (by Blatchford Publishing) and a Certificate of Irish Heritage (www.heritagecertificate.ie) respectively. Watch out for the next introductory session to take place at the New York Irish Center. Bridget Bray

CENTER EVENTS

New York Irish CenterThe Story

of the Shamrock

The shamrock is a three-leafed old white clover and has become a visual reminder of Ireland and everything Irish. The name shamrock is derived from the Irish word, seamróg. This little flower was a major help to Ireland’s patron saint St. Patrick, back in 432 AD when he returned to Ireland. He brought Christianity to Ireland. According to legend, St. Patrick is said to have used the shamrock to explain the Blessed Trinity to the pagan Chieftains of Ireland. The Chieftains were skeptical but curious about the Holy Trinity and demanded an explanation. A great man for thinking on his feet, St. Patrick bent down, picked a shamrock, and showed it to them, and explained how the three leaves are part of the one plant, and how similarly the Holy Trinity; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the elements of one true God.

Since the time of St. Patrick, the Shamrock has come to represent many types of organizations around the world, many of them with ties to Ireland.

For the New York Irish Center, the shamrock is a fitting visual representation, as it reflects what the New York Irish Center stands for; Community, Culture and Heritage. As with the shamrock, all three elements come together in our own little slice of Ireland, here in New York. The New York Irish Center is a unique place for the Irish and their friends to come together in community.

Here are a few places around the world where you may not expect

to find Ireland’s little flower; The shamrock signified the First Division of the Second Corps of the Army of the Potomac in the American Civil War, which contained the Irish Brigade. It was red as were all of the division insignia of that corps and still can be seen on the regimental coat of arms of “The Fighting Sixty-Ninth”.

The Erin Go Bragh flag, originally of Saint Patrick’s Battalion, uses an angelic Cláirseach, a medieval Irish harp,

cradled in a wreath of clover. A flag strongly symbolic

of Irish nationalism, it is often seen on Saint Patrick’s Day, usually displayed during the

parades. Soldiers of the Royal Irish Regiment

of the British army use the shamrock as their emblem, and wear a sprig of shamrock on Saint Patrick’s Day. Shamrocks are exported to wherever the regiment is stationed throughout the world. Queen Victoria decreed over a hundred years ago that soldiers from Ireland should wear a sprig of shamrock in recognition of fellow Irish soldiers who had fought bravely in the Boer War, a tradition continued by British army soldiers from both the north and the south of Ireland following partition in 1921.

Jane McCarter

Kitty SullivanHarpist & Storyteller

Tuesday, March 6thDetails @ www.nyirish.org

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Irish Movie NightFriday, March 23th

Feature & a ShortDetails @ www.nyirish.org

www.facebook.com/NewYorkIrishCentertwitter.com/#!/NYIrishCenter

Photos - Felicitas Maxwell