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By SEAN SMITH
Special to the BIR
If you look at the combined resumes of fiddle-guitar duo Nollaig Casey and Arty McGlynn, it’s nearly impossible not to be impressed.
Casey has played violin with the RTE Symphony Orchestra and fiddled for two of Ireland’s most groundbreaking traditional music bands, Planxty and Coolfin, also toured and/or recorded with people like Sinéad O’Connor, Nanci Griffith, Ricky Skaggs, Rod Stewart, Emmylou Harris, Mary Black, Moving Hearts, Elvis Costello, Christy Moore, Cherish the Ladies ,and Sharon Shannon.
By SEAN SMITH
Special to the BIR
In addition to Summer BCMFest [see story below], here are some other Irish/Celtic-related music events taking place in Boston this month:
• The Burren Backroom series will present the legendary Sliabh Luachra duo of Matt Cranitch and Jackie Daly on July 20. The two are among the finest living exponents of the distinctive style and repertoire found in traditional music from Cork and Kerry, and in addition to their partnership have long and distinguished careers as soloists and in other collaborations.
By R. J. DONOVAN
Special to the BIR
We face choices every day. Which flight to take, which job to accept, which person to date? You try to make an informed decision, but the question quietly lingers: What if you had chosen differently? How might your life have been impacted?
By KIERA MURRAY
BIR Correspondent
The June sun was beginning to set over the Andover Bookstore courtyard casting a golden light on the evening. The fire pit crackled, and the tune “Cockles and Mussels” floated through the warm air as Andover resident and first-time author Ellen Alden sat at a table surrounded by glossy stacks of her debut novel, signing copies for a fast-growing line of family, friends, and fans.
“The ICC in Canton will host a number of concerts this summer and fall,” says Maudy Dooher, director of Programming & Membership. “Following on the heels of a fantastic Irish festival we will have Emish appear on July 15 for a great night of Irish music and a guaranteed ‘rare ‘ole time.’ “
“Join us on our outdoor patio before the event for summer cocktails,” Dooher says. “Our restaurant will be open at 6 p.m. Call the ICC to purchase tickets or to reserve a table at 781-821-8291 or purchase online at Eventbrite, tinyurl.com/jhr4v89.”
BY BILL O’DONNELL
Irish President In UN Rebuke – The ninth president of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, is a 75-year-old veteran politician from the west of Ireland who has rarely been hesitant to air his opinions and ideas. This was evident in a speech he made recently to the Immigrant Council of Ireland that severely criticized members of the United Nations Security Council for not doing enough to aid migrants and help provide funding for refugees during the current crisis.
"in all of their dreams, could they ever have dreamt that 160 years later, two great-great-grandsons of shoemakers from Ireland would be sworn in as President and Vice President of the United States of America?"
BY ED FORRY
You’ve got to admire Joe Biden, a man who shares so many of our common Irish-American roots.
The Friends of Irish Research will present The School of Irish Genealogy at
the Irish Cultural Centre on June 25 at 1 p.m. Richard Reid will discuss advanced methods on the genealogy search tool FamilySearch, and Robert Murphy will talk about dual citizenship.
Users generally only need some basic information to get started on FamilySearch, such as parents’ and grandparents’ names, county or town locations, and partish names if known, says Reid.
Color is the operative word in Ireland these days – brilliant color from the greenest of fields and occasional blue skies to flowering plants, trees, and bushes whose colors pop when sunshine hits them in gardens, yards, and along the roadside.
Flowers flourish on the Emerald Isle – especially in the nearly tropical south - and present a mixed palette of yellow (gorse and iris), pink, white and red (rhododendrons), white (wild garlic), orange (montbretia), and most other colors in the flower world throughout the year.
Yes, yes, Kevin Crawford says he and his Lúnasa band mates are well aware that their 20th anniversary is coming up in the next year, and they will most assuredly do something to mark the milestone.
“We’ve only really just started putting out feelers,” said Crawford during a recent stop at Boston College while on tour with his fellow Lúnasan Cillian Vallely and guitarist (and Worcester native) Patrick Doocey. “We just don’t know the direction yet. We want to celebrate, but also want to have something to market.”
That would seem to suggest, oh, perhaps making a new album?