Gearing up for the trad music Catskills Irish Arts Week

Back in 2005, I recruited Joanie Madden, Brian Conway, Billy McComiskey and Brendan Dolan to be part of the CIAW staff and put them together in a shape-up band that I introduced as the Pride of New York Ceili Band of which I have written about before in this space. 

One of the objectives was to encourage them to record and produce a CD that would document their brand of New York trad music that defines the era of the old masters in the brash but contemporary urban New York City scene that remains a brimming reservoir for the pure drop. 

I am proud to say that the objective has been met and that the highly anticipated “Pride of New York” CD will be launched at the Shamrock House Ceili on July 16 in East Durham.

Along with the 95 classes in all the traditional music instruments, singing Irish songs in the Irish and English language, set and sean nos dance classes and step dancing with Donny Golden from Monday to Friday, there are other attractions that non-students are welcome to attend, like the daily lectures, open-air concerts and ceilithe (eight all week) every evening. 

Keeping on topic, the weekday lecture series kicks off with a screening of the seminal video documentary “From Shore to Shore: Irish Traditional Music in New York City” giving a slice of life from the Big Apple in the 1980s and 1990s which will be hosted by its producer Patrick Mullins visiting from Texas.

On the Wednesday afternoon, Galway flute player Mike Rafferty, a longtime New Jersey resident, will be honored for his musical contributions over many decades.

During the week, youth will be well served with a Catskills launch of the well-received Girsa CD touting the teenage Pearl River lassies who sported and played from the Catskills to Pearl River as they learned their music and now hold so much promise for the future as well.

On Friday afternoon, July 17 , Bronx-born Brendan Dolan (Pride of New York member) offers a historic look backward to an earlier era of Irish music in the Catskills that was a large part of his research at NYU where he recently completed a master’s in Irish studies.

That evening at the Quill Festival Grounds in East Durham the weekend concert series (M-F from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.) draws to a close with a special tribute to the late great Joe Madden, who made one of his last concert appearances in East Durham last summer in a wonderful Galway musicians night. 

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