American Ireland Fund Dinner Gala 2013 Honors IAW&A Supporters

This year our friends at the American Ireland Fund will honor two great supporters of the IAW&A, Loretta Brennan Glucksman, Chairman of The American Ireland Fund and James E. Quinn, former President of Tiffany & Company which annually provides us with the Eugene O’Neill Award trophy.

At this time, some tickets are still available for the May 9 Gala.  Details  are available HERE.

Loretta Brennan Glucksman Chairman, The American Ireland Fund honored with with The American Ireland Fund 2013 Humanitarian Award

James E. Quinn Former President, Tiffany & Company honored with The Leslie C. Quick Jr. Leadership Award

American Ireland Fund Dinner Gala 2013
Date: Thurs., May 9, 2013
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Grand Hyatt New York, 109 E. 42nd Street

Friday in Fairfield: Standing Ovation for IAW&A “Road” Salon with Gaelic American Club

by John Kearns
Photos by Cat Dwyer

On Friday, April 19, 2013, with the support and organization of the Irish Consul General in New York, Irish American Writers and Artists (IAW&A) hit the road for our first “away” Salon at the hospitable, friendly, and impressive Gaelic American Club (GAC) in Fairfield, CT. Connecticut musicians, writers, poets, playwrights, and actors shared their work and the stage with a group of regular Salon presenters from New York City.

It took the two cars nearly two hours to reach the GAC from Midtown East and from the Upper West Side, but we arrived on time. (A tip for anyone driving to Connecticut on a Friday evening: bring Malachy McCourt with you to provide stories and impromptu singing. You won’t mind traffic jams nor need a radio.)

Peggy O’Leary had planned to be my co-host for the evening but was unable to make it because of a family emergency. However, her play, ‘Tis Worth Remembering (An Irish-Amercan Christmas Story) was read, as planned, by Alison Flannery and Byrne White.

Breda O’Sullivan bravely took up the co-hosting duties, limping to the podium two days after an operation on her leg.

Co-Host & Trouper Breda O’Sullivan

In her opening welcome, Breda O’Sullivan quoted from writer, broadcaster, BBC host and Booker-Prize Judge, Frank Delaney:

We Irish prefer embroideries to plain cloth.  To us Irish, memory is a canvas, stretched, primed, and ready for painting on. We love the “story” in “history,” and we love it trimmed out with color and drama, ribbons and bows. Listen to our tunes, observe a Celtic scroll: we always decorate with our essence.

Co-Host John Kearns

Speaking for the artists who had made the trek from Manhattan, I quoted Yeats’s poem, “To a Young Beauty” to express our appreciation for the Irish Consulate and the GAC for organizing this rare reward for our work: “I know what wages beauty gives/How hard a life her servant lives…”

I was asked to say a few words about Irish American Writers and Artists and the Salon.  I described some of our charitable endeavors for Haiti, Mexico, and Breezy Point and read from our Mission Statement. Emphasizing that we are an arts organization, that we are non-sectarian and non-religious, and that we honor living Irish-American artists through our annual Eugene O’Neill Lifetime Achievement Award and deceased artists through our online Irish American Hall of Fame, I offered that although the Irish have a long history in America, what we are doing with the IAW&A feels very new.

This brought forth a noticeable reaction from the NYC contingent.

I related the history of the Salon and how it has grown and prospered over the nearly two years since its birth.  I invited the audience of 140-strong to join us and urged them to join us.

Breda O’Sullivan started off the evening’s entertainment by introducing musician, Damien Connolly.

Damien Connolly

Damien Connolly began composing tunes when he was 15 years old. Most of his compositions however, were created after his arrival in America. The first tune he played on the B/C button accordion was a waltz he calls “Tell Me Now.” The waltz itself is very simple but strangely unique. The tune, which is at once sentimental yet lighthearted, reminds Damien of the friendships he enjoyed while living in Ireland. For the second tune, Damien called his wife Sally to join him on wooden flute. The tune–“Sally Gally“–is in fact named after his wife because of its upbeat and happy rhythm. Damien is in the process of recording a CD featuring his recordings, due out sometime this summer.

Sally Connolly

Since we had started out with music, I read a poem about Irish and African music crossing the Atlantic, “Transmigration of Soul,” published in the North American Review last spring before introducing Seamus Scanlon.

Seamus Scanlon

Seamus Scanlon was delighted to hear so many Irish accents and spoke briefly in Irish before reading “The Long Wet Grass” and “On Her Birthday” from his crime fiction collection As Close As You’ll Ever Be. (“A Masterpiece.” – Peter A. Quinn!)

Seamus O’Cuinn

Breda welcomed Seamus O’Cuinn to the stage.

Seamus O’Cuinn read seven poems focusing on Irish American and Irish themes from his two books, Grandpa Was No Saint and  A View from the Heart.

Irish Books and Media described his poetry as, “A wonderfully human collection of poems which pay homage to the author’s Celtic heritage, both in the old world and new, celebrating places and people who came before him and those who came after him. There are poems touched by wry humor and others holding gentle insight.” Ireland of the Welcomes Magazine wrote, “..one man’s gentle view of life and love, and love and death, between Ireland and America.”

Kathleen Donohoe

I introduced IAW&A board member and winner of last year’s Crossroads Irish Festival Prize for Fiction, Kathleen Donohoe.  Kathleen read from her novel, You Were Forever, which is about the women of a Brooklyn, New York family of firefighters.

I followed Kathleen’s reading with my poem, “Aboard the Aran Seabird: Leaving Inishmore,” published in Feile-Festa and  introduced Tom Mahon.

Tom Mahon

Tom Mahon presented a mult-media piece from a larger work called The Wide Valley. It recounted a young boy’s innocent search for the deadly flu virus on his father’s farm in 1918. Already his baby sister had died from it, and his school was shut because his teacher and four students were being ill, including his best friend Lester Hitchcock, who he learned had died the night before.

After Tom’s presentation, we took an “Irish ten-minute” break ….

The harp not mute on Fairfield’s walls

Full house at the Gaelic American Club

To start the second half, Marie Reilly spoke about the music of Longford/Leitrim and presented some tunes from her newly released CD – The Anvil. The Anvil is a collection rarely heard musical gems dating from the early 1800s with a unique style of fiddle playing through eight generations. The CD is a dedication to Marie’s late father, Michael Reilly.

Marie Reilly

Con O’Halloran

Marie was accompanied on guitar by Con O’Halloran. Con performed a song he co-wrote with his friend, Bobby Mulvaney. He and Bobby had been working together around the early nineties, and had worked very hard from June until December  1994. They decided to go into Dublin’s city centre for a few pints and a bite to eat.  It was a cold, wet and windy night, and having left the pub, they walked along Grafton St. . and in a store doorway there was a large pile of garbage/trash/cardboard. And just as they passed, a small person’s head appeared and he asked us, “Hey, mister, any odds?”…..meaning he needed some money for a hot meal. They asked him why he was hiding under the garbage and he replied that this was his bed for the night.. The two musicians felt sorry for him, gave him some “odds”, and that’s how “Sleeping Rough” came to be .

Con is really looking forward  to attending more Salons  in the near future. “They are very interesting for all who attend , and   one will leave with pleasurable thoughts for the experience!”

Noel McGovern

Noel McGovern read from his book, When I Was Young and Foolish, a sad tale of four sisters. The oldest was refused entry to America at Ellis Island because of poor eyesight and was sent back home to Ireland where they all learned to live with rejection. They grew old together in the shadow of a rugged mountain and toiled in the meadows of an unforgiving bog and an old school house on the side of a lonely windswept hill.

Deputy Consul General of Ireland Peter Ryan

Deputy Consul General of Ireland Peter Ryan came to the mic and praised both the GAC and the IAWA, underscoring how important it is to keep Irish culture alive and for artists to make connections with one another.   He asked the audience to indicate that they would like to see more IAW&A Salons at the GAC by shouting in Irish, “Sea!” It was unanimous: the GAC would like us to come back!

Allison Flannery

Alison Flannery, actress, read two scenes from Peggy S. O’Leary’s Irish-American Christmas play, ‘Tis Worth Remembering with Byrne White. The first scene depicted Christmas in Ireland in 1962 as a couple struggles to come to terms with emigration. Alison originated the role of Mary, the wife in the first production. The second scene took place with the couple’s children reflecting on the move and its outcome fifty years later during Christmas in the United States.  The play was produced by the Clan Na Gael Payers in November 2012 in Fairfield.

The setting, on a split stage, is a farm kitchen in 1962 Ireland and a living room in America in 2012. All action takes place on Christmas Eve and flows between the two settings. The story, of one families emigration, struggles, adjustments and success, unfolds in memory flashbacks and life lived in the moment. A cast of twenty four ages 5 to 75. Some music.

Byrne White

Byrne White said, “This has been my first Salon experience. And from the perspective of an actor and and Irish American, I can’t say which broadened my experience more, the opportunity to present in a different way to a different kind of audience, or the unspoken kinship I felt to be among such a deeply talented and varied range of artists. My thanks to the IAW&A and to the Deputy Council General of Ireland’s office for this unique opportunity.”

I read one more poem “Better This Way,” about seeing a beautiful woman telling a story in a bar but not being able to hear what she’s saying.  Then I invited Kevin Holohan to the podium.

Kevin Holohan

Kevin Holohan read a comic extract from his satirical novel The Brothers’ Lot, gleefully skewering the Brothers of Godly Coercion on their annual recruitment drive for vocations: illustrating the Brothers’ delusions of grandeur, their low estimation of the boys and their career prospects and the boys’ deployment of willful obtuseness and exasperation as weapons of resistance and obstruction.

Malachy McCourt read a hilarious tale from his book, A Monk Swimming, about a restaurant with a very strict policy about checking coats.  When the bartender insisted that Malachy check his coat before he could have a drink, Malachy went out to his car, removed the clothes he had worn under the coat, returned to the restaurant, and happily allowed the coat check woman to take his coat.

He concluded the evening, as is Salon tradition, by getting the audience to join him in siging, “Wild Mountain Thyme.”  It was 11 o’clock at this point and the ballroom was still full.  Over 140 voices joined in singing, not just the chorus, but the entire song.

Malachy McCourt

As the song concluded, the entire crowd gave Malachy a standing ovation.

Go raibh mile maith agaibh to everyone involved!

More fun at Fairfield’s Gaelic American Club:

Damien Connolly and his wife, Sally

Peter Ryan, Jude, Malachy McCourt

Seamus Scanlon, Two Fairfield Friends, Tom Mahon, Kathleen Donohoe, Kevin Holohan, Malachy McCourt, Marie Reilly, John Kearns, Cat Dwyer

Daisy Kearns is in this one.  But, where’s Seamus?

Salon & Birthday Party at The Cell, Tuesday, April 16th

By Mark William Butler

Photos by Cat Dwyer

It was party time at the IAW&A Salon at The Cell Theatre on Tuesday night, as we poured some drinks and cut some cake in a birthday celebration for our special guests, the Seven Towers Agency (seventowers.ie), as well as our own Tara O’Grady.  Seven Towers, an independent, non-profit publishing house based in Dublin, turned seven this year, and we were honored that they chose to celebrate this special occasion with the IAW&A, as we joined forces to present a provocative evening of fiction, memoir, poetry, theater and music.  And away we go…

The night kicked off with Mary Tierney presenting a scene she directed from Janet Noble’s latest play, Louise Brooks: For the Hell of It, which was read by Patricia McAneny and Steve Greenstein.  The play is based on the life of the legendary silent film actress.

Patricia McAneny and Steve Greenstein

Margaret McCarthy read two poems from her manuscript In the Becoming, based on the story of Deirdre, the heroine of Irish myth.  The two poems describe the journey Deirdre initiates, and give her a direct voice to tell her story and serve as a metaphor for finding voice, both as a woman and an artist.  The poems/poetic monologues became the basis for McCarthy’s stage play, Deirdre Retrograde, which had a reading at La Mama.  She is seeking a full production of the play and would like to publish the poetry collection as a book.

 

Margaret McCarthy

John Kearns then read the ending of his short story, “Flight,” the first tale in his collection, Dreams and Dull Realities.  Terrance, a five-year-old boy swinging on his backyard swing set after a morning at kindergarten, imagines he can fly like the birds in his yard and the astronauts he’s seen on TV.  He goes as fast and as high as he can on the swing and leaps… only to come painfully back to earth.

Kearns with IAW&A Logo

At this point the stage was turned over to three of our friends from Seven Towers, who continued the craic in style.

Lissa Kiernan read two poems, “Dear Brooklyn” and “New York Blues Rhapsody” from Census 3: The Third Seven Towers Anthology.

She was followed by Doog Wood who read poems from his most recent work and from his first collection, Old Men Forget (7 Towers) and concluded with a poem from Dublin-based poet Ross Hattaway’s new collection Pretending to Be Dead (7 Towers).

Doog Wood

John Liam Shea then wrapped up the first half by reading a short passage from his new novel, Cut and Run in The Bronx.  The book is both a critical and commercial success, and his hilarious passage dealt with the responsibilities of the NYPD and the responsibilities of a community.  The book was released by Seven Towers in November.

John Liam Shea

After a short break (when it was determined that you can wash down birthday cake with Guinness) we resumed the festivities.

 

Blowing Out the Candle

Pat Fenton read “The Last Winter Dance Party,” part of a short story collection in progress about the fading of innocence in America as the 50’s came to an end in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, the Irish working-class hamlet where he grew up.  It is seen through the eyes of the character Billy Coffey, which in real life is actually the author himself.

 

Pat Fenton

Pat O’Hara read a scene from his play, Hey, Dogs.

Pat O’Hara

Singer/Songwriter/Birthday Girl Tara O’Grady was proud to announce the release of her third album, A Celt in the Cotton Club.  But instead of singing on this night, she returned to reading from her unpublished memoir, Transatlantic Butterflies & the November Moon. The excerpt ponders the past life of trees, personifying each maple and elm, as Tara wonders if it is not heaven, but Central Park, where New Yorkers go to die.

Tara O’Grady

Kira Citron read a first person essay entitled “Her,” which details a day in the life of a PR person and the famous author she has been assigned to escort around NYC one day in the fall of 2004.  It was inspired by actual events.

Kira Citron

Marni Rice presented work from one of her collaborative projects with Choreographer Xio Evans:  They have co-founded The Xio Evans Marni Rice Experimental Dance Theater to create performance works dedicated to issues of social justice.  They performed an original creation entitled Missing to an original musical composition by Marni Rice and Dave Rave called “Looks Like Rain.”

 

Xio Evans and Marni Rice

Tom Mahon read a poetry/prose piece in the form of a fictitious letter written to Jamie Dimon, the President & Chairman of Chase Manhattan Bank, by an inhabitant of The Wide Valley.  The citizen recounts the original JP Morgan’s criteria for lending money, which was solely based on Character.  This citizen translates Character to mean Integrity, and the citizen doesn’t see Mr. Dimon’s Character as honorable.  When his bank faltered in ’09 it needed almost a Trillion Dollars to survive, which Jamie Dimon used to buy Washington Mutual, the largest consumer bank in the country.  That money came from the government and the government is dependent on the people, and this particular, irate citizen of The Wide Valley doesn’t like that one bit.

 

Tom Mahon

Guen Donohue then brought the evening to a close by sharing her brand new poem, “It Moves Fast,” and then in keeping with tradition, and her desire to “be Malachy McCourt”, sang us out with the eerie-beauty of an American-Trad Song, “Lord, Blow The Moon Out, Please.”  Guenevere wanted to share the poetry of the tune which is a featured melody in Passing Through, the play she is currently acting in at Theatre For The New City.  This production also marks Guen’s NYC Directing Debut.

 

Guen Donohue

And finally, one for the road… “Courage doesn’t always roar.  Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow’.” – Mary Anne Radmacher

See you next time!

“Passing Through,” Directed & Featuring Guenevere Donohue at Theatre for the New City

IAW&A member, regular Salon presenter, and MC of last month’s Salon at the Cell, Guenevere Donohue, is directing and acting in a new play called Passing Through at the the Theatre for the New City.  The play runs through April 28th.

You can get tickets and information from the Theatre’s website:

http://www.theaterforthenewcity.net/passing.htm 

Brian Linden as Coin Counter and Playwright Tristan Grigsby as Visitor

Guen Donohue as Henrietta and Jaime Gonzalez as Otto

Tristan Grigsby as Visitor and Mary Round as Woman

Cast List

Tristan Grigsby- Visitor

Brian Linden- Coin Counter

Jaime Gonzalez- Otto

Guenevere Donohue- Henrietta

Bob Laine- Man

Mary Round- Woman

Bob Laine as Man and Jaime Gonzalez as Otto

Don’t miss this thought-provoking and entertaining new drama!

http://www.theaterforthenewcity.net/passing.htm 

Ashley Davis Returns to Joe’s Pub

Please join IAW&A board member Ashley Davis on April 24th for a special evening at Joe’s Pub in NYC.

Irish harper, Cormac De Barra will be with her on this show, as well as a new young talented player from Texas to be introduced on the night of. She plans on doing her “greatest hits” from the her three albums, along with a few sneak peaks from the new album currently being recorded.

Use IAW&A discount code JPTIXA213 when ordering tickets at http://www.joespub.com/component/option,com_shows/task,view/Itemid,40/id,6639

“All those astounding…words…” at the April 2, 2013 Salon

by Karen Daly

Photos by Cat Dwyer

Leave it to Malachy for the perfect summation of the IAW&A Salon at the Bar Thalia on Tuesday, April 2, 2013. John Kearns hosted a mix of new and seasoned presenters who shared stories, poetry and song. There were three very fine Salon first-time appearances: internationally known singer Donie Carroll, poet Bernadette Cullen, and writer/actor/comedian Fiona Walsh.

Kathy Callahan was first up with a poem.  Check out Kathy’s short video on YouTube: “Mystery of Faith and Intention” will be included in the documentary Springsteen and I, scheduled for release later this year.

Kathy Callahan

Novelist and short story writer Kevin R. McPartland reports that his novel Brownstone Dreams is close to publication. Kevin has read sections of this   gritty tale of love and tragedy set in the Park Slope, Brooklyn of his youth at previous salons and we, too, await its publication. Tuesday’s reading was amusing and thought-provoking.

Kevin McPartland

First-time reader Bernadette Cullen read three distinctive poems:  “Thoughts on Looking at Christina’s World,” an imagined monologue by the subject of Andrew Wyeth’s famous painting; “On the Edge” was Bernadette’s effort at symbolism, “a celebration of quirk” and “On Writing Mass Cards,” a narrative about a woman’s dispensing Mass cards.

Bernadette Cullen 

A creative writing instructor at City College and producer for WBAI radio, Brendan Costello, Jr., read “Not Yet,” an emotionally raw piece about visiting his father in the hospital. It dealt with guilt, death and the ways we try to cope with tragedy: “The horns of this dilemma are made of serpent’s teeth.”

Brendan Costello

John Kearns showed the breadth of his talent with four short poems. “Declaration” was about leaving his hometown, Philadelphia. At a party, a young pregnant woman who was giving up her baby for adoption asked John to write her a poem. The next day he wrote “Cheap Reproduction.” “Without Purpose” describes a night of fun and forgetfulness driving around with friends. He ended with a snapshot poem depicting “Twilight.”

 John Kearns

Fiona Walsh shared a piece with the working title, Relics, the beginning of a solo show about her childhood eating disorder. A lifelong writer and currently a comedian and DJ in New York, Fiona astonished the audience with her honesty, images and delivery. She wrote and performed Great White American Teeth at the Irish Rep and 1st Irish Theater Festival and she has written an award-winning short story.  Visit www.fionawalsh.com.

Fiona Walsh

Sarah Fearon tested some ideas for her comedy routine and based on the response, found some keepers for an upcoming event. Sarah shared the thoughts that ran through her mind while waiting for the accountant to do her taxes…and they weren’t all about her deductions. You can hear more from Sarah on April 18 at 8pm in Park Slope, Brooklyn at Funny Pages, An Evening of Humor Curated by Marian Fontana, the Old Stone House, 336 Third Street, Brooklyn.   http://www.brooklynreadingworks.com

Sarah Fearon

An honor to have the traditional folk singer and musician Donie Carroll come to the Thalia and give us three songs. Well-known in the US and Ireland, Donie is busy with his new release, Divil of A Noise.  He sang “Two Thousand Years after Jesus,” a song he wrote about the discrimination against tinkers/travelers and two songs of exile, “Murphy Can Never Go Home” and “Far Away in Australia.”  More about Donie and his music at www.doniecarroll.com/.

Donie Carroll

Jim Rodgers returned to read an excerpt from his novel, Long Night’s End. On a hot July evening Johnny Gunn finds himself on the sweltering 7 train returning home to Sunnyside, with a wicked thirst and a bad attitude. He stops at McCormick’s Pub to have few with his pals only to run into Big Joe Scanlon, the neighborhood tough guy. A raucous brawl erupts, forcing Johnny and his pals to move on to the nearby Kerryman. There Johnny spots the voluptuous Molly Farrell and drowns his angst in pints of stout. Just another manic night for Johnny as he descends into his private hell.  And another terrific reading for Jim.

 Jim Rodgers

Tom Mahon has been reading sections of his prose/poem The Wide Valley set in upstate New York. Tonight Tom was passionate about love and war. He told how two Irish immigrant families created one of the early dynasties in a farming community. It began with a boy and girl meeting on the ship from Ireland. Separated in New York, the girl goes to the South. When the Civil Was breaks out, the boy joins the Union army, is wounded at Gettysburg and tended to by Walt Whitman. Whitman writes the girl to ask if she’ll marry the boy if they live through this war.  And they do, against all odds, meet, marry, and he moves her family north to The Wide Valley where their brothers and sisters marry.

Tom Mahon

Ray Lindie read from a play in progress called West of Mayo about an elderly Irish immigrant couple who raised a first generation family in America. An actor and bartender, Ray read both parts and will read more as the work progresses.

Ray Lindie

Sh*t, says Malachy…Malachy McCourt likes to inform as well as entertain and provoke. Tonight he decided to read some passages from a book called Merde. Going from merde to Yeats, as perhaps only he can, Malachy ended the night leading us in “Down by the Salley Gardens.”

Malachy Talking Shite Again

At the next Salon on Tuesday, April 16^th,  we will be celebrating the 7th birthday of Dublin-based publisher 7 Towers Agency at the Cell Theatre at 338 W.23^rd St. at 7pm.  Don’t miss this special IAW&A Salon event!

IAW&A’s First Road Salon Set for Fairfield, CT on 4/19/13

Thanks to the support and planning of the Consulate General of Ireland, the Irish American Writers and Artists Salon will be presenting its first “road” Salon at the Gaelic American Club of Fairfield, CT on April 19, 2013 from 7:30-9:30 pm with a short intermission.

The Salon will feature a group of regular presenters from the New York City Salons along with a group of presenters invited by the Gaelic American Club.

The New York IAW&A presenters are:

Malachy McCourt: Co-Director of Irish American Writers and Artists and Limerick native who, in addition to his acting credits, has published a New York Times best-selling memoir, A Monk Swimming, as well as a history of the song, “Danny Boy,” a history of the Claddagh ring, and Malachy McCourt’s History of Ireland. 

Seamus Scanlon: Galway native and author of the recent crime fiction collection described as a cross between Joyce and Tarantino, As Close As You’ll Ever Be.

Kathleen Donohoe: Co-Director of Irish American Writers and Artists and 2012 winner of the Crossroads Irish-American Writing Contest for an excerpt of her novel, You Were Forever.

Tom Mahon: a writer of short and long fiction, experimenting with a prose/poetry series that’s turning into a multimedia project.

Kevin Holohan: a Dublin native whose first novel The Brothers’ Lot was published to critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic in 2011.

John Kearns  (Co-Host):  Treasurer and Salon Producer for Irish American Writers and Artists and author of Dreams and Dull Realities and The World, poetry, and ten NYC-produced plays.

In addition, Marie Reilly, one of the event’s organizers, will perform traditional music on her fiddle, with guitar accompaniment by Con O’Halloran:

Marie Reilly: A premier Irish fiddler from Co. Longford who performs with a unique, distinctive Leitrim style passed down through eight generations, Marie has won numerous championship competitions at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, Fleadh Great Britain and a myriad of festivals throughout Ireland, England, Scotland and the USA.  Marie appeared on national television in Ireland, performed in concert at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin, Glucksman Ireland House at New York University and at the Lincoln Center OurLand Festival, the Edgerton Center for the Performing Arts at Sacred Heart University, CT and the Cell Theatre, New York. Marie recently released a CD, The Anvil, dedicated to her father, Michael Reilly from Drumreilly, Co. Leitrim.

Con O Halloran and his family came to CT in 2000 from Ireland and has been singing and playing guitar for a long, long time. Con had been a member of, and had formed several traditional and musical folk and ballad bands over the years, including The Mariners, Kippure and Shelta being the most recent before leaving Ireland. Con got together with his sister Judy who moved to CT in 1998 and formed Camac.

The Connecticut presenters are:

Musical Duo Damien and Sally Connelly:

• Damien Connelly: born in County Clare, emigrated to Fairfield CT, Damien is a first place winner in many Fleadhanna on the accordion and melodeon.  In 2000, he recorded his first accordion and melodeon CD, Tippin Away, accompanied by Pete Mancuso, which was generously praised by Joe Burke, Joe Derrane, and Bobby Gardiner. His second CD  will be released shortly.  Damien has performed at Carnegie Hall, NYU, and Boston College. He is the founder/leader of the Open Intermediate Session of Fairfield, CT. In 2008 Damien released The Irish Accordion Tutor, Vol I, Intermediate-Advanced, which ia available at: www.damienconnolly.com.
• Sally Trestler Connelly: grew up with a love of traditional folksy music, coupled with the fun and fellowship it brings. Blessed with a beautiful voice she also, plays the silver flute and the Irish flute. In 1999, while at Brown University, Sally received a scholarship to study Irish music in Ireland, where she met her future husband Damien.

Seamus O’ Cuinn: is a retired English teacher who taught thirty-eight years at the college and high school levels. He has twice been named Connecticut’s and New England’s Poet of the Year by the New England Association of Teachers of English. Writing under both his Irish and English name, James Quinn, he has published over three hundred poems in literary magazines, as well as four chapbooks, and two full-length books of poetry, titled Grandpa Was No Saint (1995) and A View from the Heart (2005).

Noel McGovern: a County Fermanagh native who emigrated to America in 1965, Noel hosted an Irish radio show on WGCH For 32 years and currently is a co-host on WVOF. A member of The Clan n Gael Players , Noel has appeared in over 20 plays including Always, which toured in Ireland in 2009. Noel is currently documenting treasured childhood memories in a book tentatively titled When I Was Young And Foolish.

Peggy S. O’Leary: is a founder and Artistic Director of The Clan na Gael Players who have been presenting plays by or about the Irish since 1987. She has also worked as a stage manager, actor’s agent, actress,  and producer.and owner of Blue Moon Theatrical Presentations, specializing in audience participation shows and children’s workshops.. Peg began writing plays for children when her kids were in elementary school and has been expanding her body of work since. Several of her participation shows, The SS Dreamship; Mick and Molly ‘til Death Do Us Part; Poor Neil O’Neil’s Wake/Hooliet have been produced as have many one acts. Inspired by emigration stories, she penned her first full length play ‘Tis Worth Remembering produced in November 2012.

Breda O’Sullivan (Co-Host): born in Galway, raised in Dublin by native Irish speaking parents from Ballyferriter, Co. Kerry, Breda came to the United States for four months in 1988. Twenty something years later she has nested in Fairfield but maintains strong roots in Ireland. As a member of the GAC she has chaired the social committee and is a director on the board of Feile. She has organized a wide range of musical events and participated in several Clan na Gael productions as well as co chairing the Cultural Pavilion at the Fairfield County Irish Festival.

Seating is cabaret style and the bar will be open during the Salon.  There is full food service in the pub and in the back dining room. As guests  come to enjoy the performances, the Gaelic American Club  does not have food service in the performance area.  However, guests can bring their own snacks.

Venue: Gaelic American Club

Address: 74 Beach Road, Fairfield, CT 06824

Website: http://www.gaconline.org/index.html

Time: Doors open at 7 pm.

Hope to see you there!

Other “road” Salons with other IAW&A presenters are in the works!  Stay tuned.

IAW&A Member and NJ Salon Host Mike Farragher on CBS

IAW&A Member and New Jersey Salon host, Mike Farragher, was on CBS on Saint Patrick’s Day, promoting his new book, This is Your Brain on Shamrocks 2: 50 Shades of Green.

Watch the video: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/video/8640526-new-book-this-is-your-brain-on-shamrocks-2-released/#.UUYJL21_N68.facebook

Enjoy!