Ireland - Comhaltas Archive

TREOIRTWENTY YEARSA' REELIN'MAUREEN MULVEY-O'LEARYSt Albans Church, Amherst Island, August 1997. From left to right Maggie Qark (~ddle) , Robin Moon(vocals, guitar), Shirley Baird (hammered duldmer), Dan Ambrey (vocals, mandolin),Anna-Marie Wilson(vocals),jack Hickman (bodhran, tin whistle), Dennis Wilson (vocals, guitar, banjo)Kingston, Ontario, Canada is a musicaltown with deep Irish roots. 200 Imarks the 20 th anniversary of theKingston Ceili Band, and hence it is asuitable time to recognize its founder,Jack Hickman.Jack was born in Winnipeg, on theedge of the Canadian prairies, andspent his teenage years in BritishColumbia. He worked in lumbercamps, and eventually joined theMounties. In 1975, he moved toKingston and took up a position asChief of Correctional Security for theRegion of Ontario. The positionserved his musical interests well, andthe image of another great Irishmusical police chief, Francis O 'Neil,comes to mind.Jack recalls how in the late I 970s thebest of Irish entertainment wasavailable at Muldoons and Finnegans,two pubs run by the McConnells inKingston. The Comhaltas tour cameto town in 1981 and provided thefinal impetus to form a local band.Jack, along with Nancy Ossenberg,Monica Gubbins, Sue Callan-Balkey,Frank Blakey, and Alien Andersonwere among the founding members. Itwas closely linked to the KingstonComhaltas branch, that was foundedin the same year by Anne McConnel1.The band quickly developed a widefollowing, and in 1985 was selected to'Folkore' 1982: From left to right NancyOssenberg (~ddle) , Allen Anderson (whistle),jackHickman (bodhran)represent Ontario at the CanadianHeritage Festival in Prince EdwardIsland. Shortly thereafter it recordedits first and only album. Today, theKingston Ceilf Band is a well-knownsymbol of Kingston, and is regularlycalled upon to play for conferencesand events of civic significance e.g. the"First Nights Celebration" for theamalgamated city in 1997; theLieutenant-Governor of Ontario'sLevee in 1999; and Kingston'scelebration of the new millennium in2000. The band frequently "flies theIrish flag" performing on cruise shipsthrough the famous Thousand Islandson the upper Saint Lawrence. BonnieDawson, the rising young composerand accordion player with "NightSun" began her career with the CeilfBand, as have many other folkmusicians from Kingston. The CeiliBand continues to play for ceilis forthe Comhaltas branch and for theKingston Irish Folk Club, and topromote Irish music, dance andculture throughout the region.The long-term success of the Ceiliband is largely due to Jack's efforts. Itis an understatement to say that therewould be no Ceilf Band without him.In addition to his musical talents(bodhr.in, tin whistle and harmonica),Jack has supplied the "vision" of theband, and an infectious love for Irelandand its music. While the Celtic Tiger ispreventing Ireland's young musiciansfrom immigrating to Canada, Irishtraditional music continues to flourishbecause of people like Jack Hickmanand his band.28