R - Comhaltas Archive

Winter. His talent is a showcase for theSli go style of fiddling populari sed byM ichae l Coleman. Conway credits histeacher, Martin Wynn, and mentorAndy McGann, for their influence.Conway, himself, is a teacher of thetradition and notes that his mostpromising student, Patri ck Mangan, w illbe featured along w ith McGann onConway's upcoming CD. Theconvenience of Dunne's hospitality toCon way's job resulted in the birth ofthe Wednesday night seisiun atDunne's Pub in December 1997.Conway stresses th at the se isiun is nota performance where the tunes are ·announced; rather, it is more like a jamsession where mu sicians of all levels oftalent join in. Conway explains 'Thegoal is to fa ithfully mimic or imitate anauthentic Irish seisiun as if one were inDoolin, Clare. That's why there isminimal amplification. The objective isto create an acousti c sound.'On a recent Wednesday night,music ians joining Conway includedJoEllen Bosson on fiddle, Dan Milneron guitar, Paddy Shields on bodhran,Muriel Eaton on harp, and KiraSherwood, a classica l violinist fromMontana who is also a student ofConway's. The musicians vary eachweek and the group can grow to adozen or so when the seisiun gets intofull gear. Other mu sical guests have .included Mike Rafferty, Don Meade,Andy McGann, and Jerry O'Sullivan.Uilleann PiperO'Sullivan, a Grammy nominee, islauded as the bets uileann piper inNorth Ameri ca. He recently offeredDunne's seisiun-goers a taste of hiscriti ca lly acclaimed CD. The Gift.O'Sulliva n is enthusiastic about theDunne's seisiun. He comments'Because of Bri an, the musica l standardis a lot better than in other se isiuns.Sean is incredibly welcoming and veryrespectful of the musicians. That degreeof hosp itality is rare. Sean goes theextra mile. The atmosphere is veryfriendly and everyone is welcome evenif they're rank beginners. Dunne's is agood social scene where friendships areforged.' .Each musician signs Dunrie's guestbook so that th ey might all be invited ·back at some time in the future for aDunne's reunion seisiun. Conway ispleased w ith the feedback he hadreceived about his co llaboration w ithDunne. He laughs w hen he notes th atthe Dunne's se isiun has more of areputation in Ireland than it does inWhite Pl ains; but, he is quick to pointout th at the crowd at Dunne's is themost apprec iative he has everexperienced in his 27 years of playingthe fidde. He suggests this might bebecause the music is new toWestchester.Jea nnie Mchale of White Pl ains wasenjoying dinner at a table of otherWednesday night regulars. She notedthat the Wednesday night experi ence atDunne's w as 'a great outlet for soc ialand cultural interaction.' FrancisHarri gan of Rye added 'You don't havetQ go the city anymore to hear livetraditional music. Sean is a great hostand the talent is terrific. The variety ofpeople attracted to the music includesa mix of age and not everyone is Irish.'He recounted how a baseball teamcame in one Wednesday evening torelive the highlights of their game.Rather than relegating the mu sic to thebackground with their excitedcommentari es, the ball players paid thehightes compliment to the musicians byplacing the music in the foregroundwhile their conversations provided thebackground noise.Westchester resident Kathleen Bi ggins,host of WFUV's A Thousand Welcomesa noted authority on traditional Irishand Celtic music, agrees withHarri gan's assessment. She comments'It's a real treat walking into Dunne's fora topflight seisiun with some of the bestmusicians the Irish tradition offers.Normally, you 'd have to go intoManhattan for that type of atmosphere,but Sea n and his staff and Bri an and theother musicians bring the 'craic' ri ght tomy own backya rd . It's incrediblyimportant to have thi s type of outlet sonearby. It's an early enough night sothat parents can bring the kids fordinner and let the[ll w itness thecamaraderie the musicians and seisiungoersshare. It may inspire the childrento learn music, thereby keeping thetradition alive and thriving.'For some 'ca int, craic, agus ceo l'(conversation, fun, and music), stopinto Dunne's Pub any Wednesdayevening you are in Westchester.Betty Commins was an activemember of the Coventry branch ofCC E. At any functi on involving thebranch or Midland reg ion. Betty wasalways there helping out, providingher home made soda bread andcakes. She put all her efforts into themany interests she was involved in.Betty was a life long member of thePioneer assoc iati on and when herremains was brought to St ThomasMoors Church w here she attendeddaily mass, the loca l pioneers formeda guard-of-honour. One of the pastspiritual directors Father DanO 'Connor now living in Cork madehis way back to Coventry for thefuneral.Betty wi ll be greatl y missed by allwho knew her. She has left atremendous legacy to Comhaltasnamely Ca rmel, Eilish and Verenawho do trojan w ork for theorganisation. To them and herhusband Pat we extend our sinceresympathy on behalf of the MidlandRegion of Comhaltas.D6nal