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McComiskey's Time to Shine

By
Paul Keating
,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
Published Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 4:09 PM
Updated Thursday, July 23, 2009, 6:09 PM
Read more: Mae Caplis McComiskey, Catskill Mountains, Mick Moloney, Liz Carroll


YOU couldn't really fit many more people into the Shamrock House on the Thursday night of the Catskills Irish Arts Week in East Durham. Numbers won't really tell the story when traditional Irish music and the friendship and camaraderie that go with it combined to transform the historic old roadhouse into a living testament to the hold the music has over us at times.

We have gotten used to the Thursday evening ceili orchestrated by Billy McComiskey operating on another level each year, but this year would be hard to top no matter how long that custom continues.

For this year, McComiskey, the 56-year-old accordion player born and raised in Brooklyn, New York was the focus of attention on the occasion of the CD release for his first solo recording in 27 years, Outside the Box, and the assembled family and friends made it a night to remember.

McComiskey's family and musical roots are so intertwined with the Catskills that there was no other place more fitting than the Thursday night soiree at the Shamrock House for this first launch. In fact, at the ceili in Leeds on Wednesday the Catskills connection was accentuated when a gathering honored Mae Caplis McComiskey and her brother Andy and remembered Matt Caplis, who indoctrinated the teenage McComiskey to the world of Irish music in the mountains.

The Shamrock dance hall was packed, all tables full and 20 sets up on the floor and the overflow similarly swelled round the corner into the bar area. One might be tempted to say that they were all family and close friends of the legendary box player, one of the finest Irish musicians that Irish America has ever produced, but that might be exaggerating it a bit, as some only know him by name and reputation.

Thanks to McComiskey's efforts over the years this particular ceili had taken on a real crossroads atmosphere, with many of his fellow musicians from his adopted and now long standing home base in Baltimore mixing with New York area musicians, along with some special guests which this year included Catherine McEvoy and Angela Crehan Crotty from Ireland.

The music played for the ceili was as magical as always, spurred on by the discerning crowd who knew why they were in the hall in the first place.

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McComiskey's Time to Shine | Entertainment in Ireland and Around the World | IrishCentral


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