An Exciting Bridge to the Future

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An Exciting Bridge to the Future

April 2, 2008

From the hob by Paul Keating

THE convocation of people from all around North America to celebrate Irish music and dance at the Comhaltas North American convention expect to see a slice of Irish culture as practiced by the local host community.

The New York-New Jersey host committee of last weekend’s event established the theme as the “Bridge to the Future” to reflect the very ethos of Comhaltas in handing down the music and the challenge was to present that concept in a dramatic fashion at the centerpiece of the weekend gathering, the Saturday night banquet as the post-supper entertainment.

Tom Madden, part of the organizing committee and fleadh activist suggested a simple notion of having a group of 10 senior musicians lead off with a set of tunes followed by current teachers and their students. During the fourth tune, each would be tapped on the shoulder and one by one replaced by an area teacher to finish out the tune before starting another set of tunes. Similarly, the last batch of ten would replace them in mid tune.

If the crowd of 700 gathered in the grand ballroom of the Parsippany Hilton were blindfolded as this transfer unfolded onstage, it would be hard to tell who was who from the gorgeous music that filled the room. The ceremonial presentation moved the entire audience as it made the most eloquent statement that the bridge to the future is best maintained by living the tradition from generation to generation.

It was one of the highlights of the entire weekend that offered the most insatiable followers of Irish music and dance as much as they could handle over 72 hours at the Northern New Jersey hotel which became an indoor fleadh from Thursday night to Sunday evening.

With 400 set dancers on hand looking forward to 16 hours of ceili time, the ceili bands in harness had their work cut out for them. No need to worry as the seasoned musicians who made up the Pete Kelly, Green Gates, Pride of New York and Pride of Moyvane bands gave them all they could handle.

It would be hard to beat the four bands that pounded out dance music so sublime all weekend that you couldn’t tell who enjoyed it more, the musicians or the dancers. I think it was a tie because everyone was smiling afterwards with no sign of fatigue.

The musicians received cheers and thunderous applause at every ceili, and the dancers got music so lively and the tempos so driving that they were dancing on air or what seemed like it on the cleverly designed Russian pine dance floor created by Bob Bahrs.

Once again, dancing masters Padraig McEneany and his wife Roisin proved to be popular with the students eager to learn the latest county sets making the rounds in Ireland these days as they taught almost eight hours of classes over the weekend.

Meanwhile, Maura Mulligan garnered more eager dancers at an early Saturday morning ceili dance workshop before she also hosted an afternoon tea soiree in Irish. Micheal O’Maille entertained a capacity crowd in his Irish class also that Saturday morning.

The Hilton has a wide-open atrium in a central location that literally served as a weekend crossroads for musicians from all over the world. It was teeming with people playing and talking to old and new friends at all hours.

A piano anchored one corner of it for sessions while the hotel bar afforded a more intimate session locale. The venerable Peter Horan, over from Sligo just for the convention, could often be found in a quiet session playing the fiddle and flute in the corner of the bar that could have been dubbed “Peter’s Place” as he attracted musicians drawn by his musical magnetism.

That very same atrium area became the focal point and performance space by series of music school showcases that gave even greater evidence of the hold the music has on the youngest generation. Those shows interspersed with over 25 music or dance workshops on Saturday.

When you add in a special early evening reception to honor 35 people nominated for founders awards for their long time dedication to CCE before the gala banquet, you had the makings of an action-packed Saturday that would rival the Ringling circus.

A Comhaltas convention banquet has a curious choreography to it in that it precedes the ceili and thus there is clock ticking over the meal and attendant speeches that serve the ceremony so the dancers aren’t held at bay longer than necessary. It was handled with aplomb and stopwatch efficiency this time, but one highly anticipated speech could not be curtailed and it received the attention it deserved.

When the CCE ardstiurthoir or director general, Senator Labhras O’Murchu, took the stage his reputation as an orator-extraordinaire preceded him as the crowd slowly silenced their supper chatter. Speaking without benefit of notes, there is a strength and clarity to his voice that builds as he seeks to inspire those in the audience.

Like others basking in the current glow of the Celtic Tiger, he acknowledged the role North America played in bringing it into fruition. He spoke of how Comhaltas reflects “the characteristics of the Irish race –vision, tenacity and dedication.”

Presaging the evening show that came after his oration he said, “Comhaltas in North America has been the jewel in the crown of the movement … this year’s North American convention in Parsippany is a showcase for your achievements and these by any standards are quite extraordinary. Not only does Comhaltas owe the organizers of this convention its gratitude, but so also does the Irish nation. As the icons of traditional music in North America built this bridge to the future, they built it out of titanium. Long may it continue.”

Continue it did, long into the night as Joanie Madden, who emceed that Bridge to the Future interlude at the banquet, led her mates, Brian Conway, Billy McComiskey and Brendan Dolan collectively known as the Pride of New York Ceili Band through the ceili which started on time for the first time ever in our area or anywhere that I can recall. Four or five sessions sprung up elsewhere either in the atrium or nearby avenues or nooks.

Sleep deprived attendees still observed their Sunday obligations attending an Irish Mass concelebrated by Monsignor Charles Coen and Fr. Sean McDonnell, the Mid-Atlantic regional chaplain who also brought in his combined choirs from his past parish St. Christopher’s and his new parish where he is pastor, Our Lady of Mercy.

After a leisurely brunch, the farewell ceili treated the hardy dancing devotees to the music of the Pride of Moyvane, whose swing and lift was even more amazing since the band members had been working or playing all weekend at all hours.

As the multitudes made their way home after an exhausting and thoroughly enjoyable weekend, smiles and compliments to the organizing committee were on everyone’s lips. The bridge to the future was a well-traveled road in Parsippany, New Jersey in 2008.

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