RSS
Entertainment


Home Page > Entertainment > Galway fiddler Pete Kelly shows he's still premier

Blogs


comment on article Make a comment
print this article Print
email this articleE-mail

Galway fiddler Pete Kelly shows he's still premier

By
PAUL KEATING,
Irish Voice Columnist

Published Thursday, June 18, 2009, 4:08 PM
Updated Thursday, July 23, 2009, 5:48 PM

 

Bookmark and Share

Pete Kelly and Shannonaires 2009 and guests
Pete Kelly and Shannonaires 2009 and guests
Photo by Paul Keating

One of the fascinating aspects of traditional Irish music is that it is a great magnet for making friends who may last your entire lifetime and band families together with the common bonds it engenders. 

This past weekend certainly was indicative of that as two separate and thoroughly enjoyable occasions came back to back on Friday and Saturday and were worth noting in this space.

On Friday night at the Kerry Hall in Yonkers, a wonderful tribute to Galway fiddler Pete Kelly was organized by the Kerry Association in conjunction with the Michael Coleman branch of CCE and the HOPe charity based there. 

The hall was filled with well-wishers who appreciated the accomplishments of the humble 73-year old musician from Ballymoe who has quietly and most assuredly made his mark on the Irish American music and dance community since arriving on these shores coming up on 50 years ago in 1959.

Classically trained and also a very experienced musician in Irish bands before arriving here, he was well qualified to start his own school of music, teaching Irish music full time to young Irish Americans whose parents wanted them to keep the tradition alive. 

That first generation of students were organized into a band called the Shannonaires who would tour Ireland seven times under his tutelage, and several were on hand to help honor him in Yonkers including my own wife, Deirdre Danaher, who joined Maureen Coyne, Bernie and Bridget Mulligan, Loretta and Monica Egan, Kathy and Mary Normanly, Kathy Brown, Mary Murphy and one of the night’s organizers John Reynolds. 

According to Pete in his remarks that night, 1973 marked the first time that a junior group of Irish American musicians traveled over to Ireland thanks to parents like Bernie Mulligan of Woodlawn and Dan Danaher of Inwood and many others who helped them in their historic efforts. 

Pete’s school produced hundreds of fine musicians, many who still play and teach today, before he gave up teaching full time and suffered some crippling injuries in a bad fall off a ladder.

1 2 Next page >
print this article Print
email this articleE-mail


Be the first to make a comment.

It may take several minutes for your comment to appear.


Click to learn more from DiscoverIreland.com.


Connect to IrishCentral with your Facebook account

or sign-in directly

Welcome to IrishCentral!
Please provide the following information in order to create your account

Username:
E-Mail Address:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy


Welcome to IrishCentral!
All we need is the following information and you will be part of the #1 Irish community in the US

E-Mail Address:
First select a unique username:
Username:
Now choose a password:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Thank you!

Just one more step and you will be part of the largest Irish community in America! Tell us a little more about you to start enjoying all the features of IrishCentral.

Additional Information:

First Name:
Last Name:
Date of Birth:
Zip:
Gender: Male  Female 
Country:
Degree of Irishness:
Household Income:
Level of Education:

Subscribe to our newsletters:

The Best of IrishCentral - Daily Newsletter
Special Offers from our sponsors

or
Skip

You can edit your information at any time, just go to "my account" when you're logged in.

Log into IrishCentral with your Facebook account

or sign-in directly

E-Mail:
Password:
 Remember me Forgot my password