The boys and ghouls at Ri Ra will be no different. They’ll be getting into the spirit of things with costumes and specials all night, so Dave and I have decided (at the last minute) to perform tonight’s show in costume. Now to find something that won’t get in the way of playing or singing…

Of course, it only makes sense to celebrate Halloween in an Irish pub, since the holiday started as a Celtic pagan celebration! There is a really interesting description of the holiday at The Irish Genealogy Toolkit, which starts:

“To find the origin of Halloween, you have to look to the festival of Samhain in Ireland’s Celtic past. Samhain had three distinct elements. Firstly, it was an important fire festival, celebrated over the evening of 31 October and throughout the following day. The flames of old fires had to be extinguished and ceremonially re-lit by druids.

Happy Samhain, everyone!

It was also a festival not unlike the modern New Year’s Day in that it carried the notion of casting out the old and moving into the new. To our pagan ancestors it marked the end of the pastoral cycle – a time when all the crops would have been gathered and placed in storage for the long winter ahead and when livestock would be brought in from the fields and selected for slaughter or breeding.

But it was also, as the last day of the year, the time when the souls of the departed would return to their former homes and when potentially malevolent spirits were released from the Otherworld and were visible to mankind.”

Apparently, the holiday also marked the end of the apple harvest season, since it was believed that the puca – or evil fairies – would spit on any unharvested apples making them inedible.

Looks like I’ll be having a couple of Magners Ciders in celebration tonight.

Hope you’ll swing by…and watch out for any banshees!

If you want to catch one of our shows, stop by The Moffatt-Ladd House on Saturday at 1 p.m. for a set that will feature several new songs. A full calendar of the festival’s events are at the website, and the schedule has all our other performance times listed.

We've come to LOVE playing The Barn at The Moffatt-Ladd House...the acoustics are great!

FYI – We’ll also be playing in Prescott Park at noon on Saturday to kick off the NH Fish and Lobster Festival (known locally as The Fishtival). The PMFF and the Fishtival have been working together on some overlap during the last couple of years because they are so interwoven thematically. Ours will be a short set, but that event is well worth checking out.

• When I went to college in Manch-vegas, I spent more than a bit of time there.
• When I lived in Mont Vernon, I’d go every Thursday night to hear Marty Quirk sing.
• I became friends with some of the regulars and they invited me to join Manchester’s Ancient Order of Hibernians.
• The Rover is where I learned to play bodhran, where I first got on stage to sing, and where I had my first St. Patrick’s Day gig as part of the band, Shillelagh.

The trinity celebration

Well, I’m happy to say I’ve got a bit of a homecoming in a couple of weeks, as Dave and I will be playing the Wild Rover Celtic Festival. This is a tremendous event that includes three features:

1) The 21st Annual Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day 5K Road Race, which is benefits the Make A Wish Foundation. (I remember working a mile marker for this race when I was with the Hibos.)

2) A St. Baldrick’s fundraiser. This is a fun event that involves people shaving their heads for money, and that money goes for childhood cancer research. This local event is part of a national campaign which has seen 187,000 “shaves” raise more than $114 million since 2000.

3) And, of course, there’s live music and exhibits throughout the day. My friends Marty Quirk and Kevin Dolan will be playing earlier in the afternoon, and after we play there will be a U2 tribute band called New Years Day. There will be several schools of Irish dance taking the stage for demonstrations, and countless booths from local vendors and exhibitors to visit, including our good friends from Celtic Crossing in Portsmouth and the Seacoast Irish Cultural Association (SICA).

The race starts at 10 a.m. and the festival starts at 11 a.m. We’re tentatively scheduled to play between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m., so we hope you’ll stop by to visit and enjoy the day.

And if you decide to shave your head…lemme know and I’ll kick in a few bucks.

Would you shave YOUR head? These guys are doing it to help children with cancer.

The day kicks off with the 21st annual 5k road race to benefit the Make A Wish Foundation

An example of the Portsmouth gardens...the garden at Martin Hill Inn

Many of the antique colonial homes in the Port City’s historic South End have small, hidden, but elegantly designed gardens. Once a year, the homeowners and proud gardeners open the gates and welcome the public to enjoy their gardens. Along the way, some of the featured gardens have music, and we’ll be joining in the fun this year.

Dave and I will be playing from 9 a.m. til noon on Saturday, June 18 at the Strawbery Banke Gardens at 14 Hancock St. We hope you’ll come out to enjoy the day and swing by for a little music as well.

Our nicest stage yet...Strawbery Banke Gardens

Well, Patsy had a bit of an accident over the winter that’s generated some serious medical bills, so there’s going to be a fundraiser for him at Mr. Dooley’s in Boston this Sunday, May 8 starting at 4 pm. I’m encouraging as many people as possible to get down there. There’s going to be some fantastic music, and all the proceeds will go to help this legendary performer and his family.

I hope you’ll be able to join me at Mr. Dooley’s to help a man who has helped so many others.

Jim will be playing with Ken Perlman this Saturday night (2/12) at 8 pm. You can get details about the show here.

Believe me when I tell you — if you’re looking for a great show at a great venue, be sure to step out this weekend to catch this performance. You’ll not only get a treat, you’ll be keeping live music live.

Cynthia Neale

Members of òran mór go where the music and all things Irish lead them, and this coming Saturday I’ll be heading to the Barnes and Noble at the Newington Mall.  Acclaimed children’s author Cynthia Neale (The Irish Dresser, A Story Of Hope During The Great Hunger and Hope In New York City, The Continuing Story Of The Irish Dresser) will be signing her books to the accompaniment of live traditional music played by me, Cynthia’s husband Tim, and friends Martha & Howard Windrow.

Look for us in the Children’s department beginning at 1 pm!

Tom Cocchiaro, Communications Manager for the Chamber, was kind enough to take a couple of shots of òran mór in action and they finally arrived.

Thanks again to the Chamber for having us be part of the fun.