The proximity of the New York Fleadh in Pearl River meant shuttling back and forth from my New Jersey home at different times over the weekend past.
On my journey back to the Pearl River Middle School on Sunday afternoon, the familiar strains of Tommy Mulvihill singing Mike Carroll's ode to the Irish immigrant culture, "Keep the Tradition Alive," seemed especially poignant and timely.
The flourishing fleadh scene again is alive with the sound of music mostly in the hands of another promising generation of young people who turned out in great numbers for the annual event in Rockland County.
Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann is known for its series of fleadhanna since its inception in 1951 that serve as both a network and a tool to encourage teachers and student musicians to study and hone their skills.
As a provincial fleadh in North America, successful competitors who place first or second at the New York Fleadh are qualified to go onto Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann which will once again be in Tullamore, Co. Offaly along with the Scoil Eigse (music summer school) from August 17-24 (www.fleadh 2008.com).
The number of competitors is greatly influenced by relative supply of good teachers in a geographic zone that makes travel practical and worthwhile, and currently in the northeast U.S. that seems to be extending all the time these days.
As my regular readers will know, it is golden age again in the New York and New Jersey area anchored in the Pearl River area where this annual event was successfully implanted some years ago, thus ensuring not only a good base of operations but a social scene that is as important as any slate of classes.
Each year the experience mounts and the commitment to improve or try new things to enhance the Mid-Atlantic Regional Fleadh seems always to be high on the agenda of the savvy and talented crew that pieces this together under the current direction of regional chair Frank McCormick and treasurer John Reynolds.
Their total reliance on the amazing office tandem of fleadh secretary Terry Rafferty - at this game 19 years now without missing a beat - and event manager Tom Madden provides a great support system. An easy-going management style helps coalesce the committee and teachers who rely on each other for support and guidance in building a program that benefits the competitors with a special emphasis on children and families which is very much in the Comhaltas movement mode.
Proud grandparents happily survey a scene that is reminiscent of their own parental encouragement in Irish music a generation ago that produced so many of today's outstanding teachers.
The move to the smaller middle school in Pearl River made for a better traffic flow and a central cafeteria where so many familiar faces could be seen or casual conversations between strangers were easily managed. Most other transitional kinks worked out okay as people got used to the new facility, with easier access than the multi-level high school of recent years.
A large friendly group of volunteers was amassed in "meitheal" fashion by Rose Flanagan all weekend, giving life to the adage that "many hands make for light work," which is quite often a real challenge for Irish organizations looking for greater participation while combating burnout or indifference.
With over 200 competitors signed up for multiple competitions in Irish instrumentation and singing, the place bustled with excitement on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and, again on Sunday from 10 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. when the senior ceili band placements were announced.
There was great excitement this year when four bands were entered, two from the Boston Music School run by the Hanafin-Cooley branch of CCE, one each from Baltimore and Pearl River.
Like many of the younger ceili bands (under-12, 12-15, 15-18) the standard was very high and the progression was obvious as the afternoon played out.
When the Pearl River Ceili Band garnered the first place trophy, the hometown crowd roared in agreement with the panel of five judges over from Ireland to adjudicate at the fleadh who listened attentively to all the bands brought before them. According to their remarks following the respective heats, they were impressed with the overall quality and standard.
Those judges were part of the Allow Ceili Band contingent of 10 musicians, including eight who performed at the Tullamore All-Ireland Fleadh last August when they captured the prestigious senior title after coming in a close second the year before.
Joining them on the New York visit was a man credited with giving most of the musicians a musical head start as a primary school principal and Limerick legend, Con Herbert, who organized the group visit from the Irish side. He took up an accordion slot when the band played the fleadh ceili as featured guests on Saturday night.
A special provincial fleadh grant of *5,000 was awarded from the CCE Culturlann in Ireland to recognize this initiative on the part of the fleadh committee.
Hosted by the dedicated Pearl River Ceili Club who are also a meitheal in motion, the ceili at the Clarkstown Reformed Church on Strawtown Road was a masterpiece. Sixteen sets made tidy use of the timber floor as extra acreage was not to be found in the hall filled to the brim.
The Allow Ceili Band showed their own mettle and prize winning form with lovely dance music all evening as they fought off the jet lag of the previous day's delayed arrival to New York with but one tea break, albeit a long one, halfway through with a fine array of snacks and treats that the aerobic dancers gobbled up without guilt knowing they'll burn the calories before the night is out.
The Allow Ceili Band was comprised of Cork and Limerick musicians. On fiddle were Meabh Buckley and Geraldine O'Callaghan. Flutes were Humphrey Murphy and William Pearse, Eimear Buckley on concertina, Adrian McAuliffe on banjo, accordions were John Carroll and Con Herbert with Clodagh Buckley on keyboards and Pat Mulcahy on drums. In the informal sessions, Clodagh took out her fiddle and Con took up the concertina as well.
Meanwhile, there was no shortage of merriment at the fleadh hotel, the Holiday Inn in Orangeburg, where Mike Rafferty and Joe Madden started one session at 8 p.m. in one function room while a gang of younger musicians started another in another room with one more in the bar area.
Never one to miss special music occasions, Joanie Madden belatedly arrived at the ceili in time to join the Allow's departure back to the hotel where the music sessions picked up steam again well after midnight.
In fact, one of the visitors from Freemount, Co. Cork, John Murphy, a very good traditional singer himself, said that near dawn, Joanie took out a tin whistle to play an air "that would bring water to your eyes."
The fleadh weekend had many moments that would bring "water to your eyes," along with a heaping helping of pride for the people who worked so hard to plan it and make it run so smoothly and with such enjoyment and for all those who came from near and far to participate.
Many of them could still be seen in the middle of a furious post-fleadh session at the Porter House in nearby Montvale, New Jersey. It is what makes a real fleadh so special and why it creates so many memories.
Some people mistakenly think that it is the medal that rests on the chest after the competition that is important, but the experience of the recent New York fleadh tells me the heart beating underneath brings out the real winners.