òran mór

Glowing with the approach of St. Patrick's Day

I always loved that ole bit of poetry that goes “In Spring, a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of St. Patrick’s Day…” or something like that.

Whatever the quote (yes, I know the real one), it is that time of year when we find people really DO want to listen to a variety of Irish songs and tunes…some they know, and some they have yet to discover. Well, we have a bunch of dates coming up that you may want to mark on the calendar…and we hope to see you soon so we can play the stuff you know, and maybe introduce you to a new favorite!

• March 15, 7-10pm  @ Ri Ra, Portsmouth, NH
• March 16, 11:30a-1:30pm @ Brooksby Village Retirement Community, Peabody, MA (as Sligo Road w/ Terry Weir) 
• March 17, 1-4pm  @ Ri Ra, Portsmouth, NH
• March 17, 7:30-10:30pm  @ Feile Restaurant, Wells, ME
• March 21, 5:30-8:30pm  @ The Port Tavern, Newburyport, MA (as Sligo Road w/ Terry Weir)
• March 22, 7-10pm  @ Ri Ra, Portsmouth, NH
• March 29, 7-10pm  @ Ri Ra, Portsmouth, NH

A few months ago, a new Irish pub opened in Seabrook, NH on Rte. 107, called Kate O’Shea’s. We had heard good things about it from our friends Mark and Claire Tobyne, as well as Reagh Greenleaf, who has played a few gigs there. Everything we heard was that it’s a comfortable, cozy place, with friendly staff and good food.

Ian from Kate O'Shea's Irish Pub, with our friends Mark and Claire Tobyne

Well, they weren’t lying. I stopped in last week to confirm an upcoming gig with owners Ian and Kerri, and they were very welcoming and friendly. Then again, I like any pub where the owners book live music.

Don’t take my word for it, though! Come on down to check out Kate O’Shea’s Irish Pub for yourself this Friday night (Feb. 19). We’ll be playing there starting at 7:30 pm, and hope to make our debut at Kate’s a great night. We’re looking forward to seeing some friends there, and maybe even dragging Mark and Claire up on stage to sing us a song.

Kevin Dolan as he looked when I first met him in the early '90s

I was psyched the other day when I got an email from an old friend of mine, Kevin Dolan. For anyone who’s read my bio on this site, you’ll know that Kevin was a big influence when I was first considered moving from the punter’s seat to the stage. He and Marty Quirk were extremely supportive when I would show up at The Wild Rover in Manchester, bodhran in hand. Not only did they let me join in on the occasional song, but we had many long conversations about music, songs, and life in general.

Anyway, when I got Kevin’s email, it had been a while since we had last spoken. But he was excited to send me a link to a YouTube video that his bandmate Simon Crawford had put together for one of Kevin’s songs. Called ‘Freedom Road,’ it’s a tribute to the men and women in uniform that serve our country. I thought it was definitely worth sharing…

I’ve always been a fan of Kevin’s songwriting and I even do one that he wrote called ‘Kings Highway‘ — I got that one from a bootleg called “Kevin is Dead.” Long story behind that name…and I dare not get into it here.

As you may know, I don’t usually suggest CDs here, but you might want to check out one of the albums Kevin did with his band, Acoustic Nuisance. Our friends at Ossian USA can hook you up with their first one, and the live album they did a few years ago is on CD Baby.

Of course, nothing beats seeing Kevin perform live. I’m trying to get him to have him come down to Portsmouth to sit-in with Dave and I on a Monday night at Ri Ra, but that hasn’t worked out yet. In the meantime, if you’re up north for a ski weekend, he plays every Sunday at The Shannon Door Pub in Jackson, NH. You should definitely pop-in for a pint, a bite and a song from himself.

Great hearing from you, Kev. Freedom Road is a fine song. Good on ya, me ol’ china!

Just a quick note to let y’all know that we’ll be performing with Terry Weir this Sunday (1/24) as Sligo Road at The Port Tavern in Newburyport. We always have a great time, the people are great, and the food and drink are excellent.

However, if you were planning to stop by RiRa’s on Monday night (1/25) to see us, you’ll be out of luck. They’ll be closed for a private function, so we get the night off. We’ll be back the following Monday, of course.

Such is the life of musicians…which reminds me of a joke, which should tide you over until we see you in-person again:

We're not getting in, no how...

So there we were at RiRa last night, with Ramona Connelly joining Pete and I, and we decided to play Amelia’s Waltz.  That beautiful melody, written by NH treasure Bob McQuillen, has long been a favorite fiddle tune for Ramona and me.

During the tune a woman walked over behind Pete to listen a little closer – and when we were done she said to him “That was beautiful … that’s my waltz.”  Pete smiled, and she added, ” I’m Amelia … Bob McQuillen wrote that for me.”  Now she had our attention and we enjoyed the first chance for all of us to meet ‘the’ Amelia.

After we’d chatted for a minute. I asked her to confirm or correct the interesting story I’d heard about how she’d been named ‘Amelia.’  The tale had started with Charles Lindbergh’s historic flight in1927.  As two large wooden crates had been built for his plane’s ocean journey back to the states,  they were given to the ship’s captain, Admiral Guy Burrage.  He built them into a humble cottage in the woods near Contoocook NH.  In about 1980 Amelia’s mother, Deana Stiles was living in that cottage, and Amelia was born right there.  I had heard that, with the Lindbergh connection, she’d been named after Amelia Earhart – but last night I got ‘the rest of the story.’   She said her mother loved Joni Mitchell’s song ‘Amelia’ — which does reference Earhart, but has some broader threads.  As her mother played flute at contra dances with Bob, he wrote the waltz for Amelia when she was about 3. 

One more note – I see that the cottage was bought and moved to Canaan, Maine, where it’s been restored as the centerpiece of Lindbergh’s Crates Museum there.

All in all, quite a special moment for us all – seeing the real Amelia there as we finished playing her song.