Irish Boston History & Heritage

County Clare fiddler Martin Hayes and Chicago guitarist Dennis Cahill are performing two concerts at the Berklee College of Music in Boston on Saturday, October 9, 2010 at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.  The concerts take place at the David Friend Recital Hall , 921 Boylston Street in Boston's Back Bay.  Tickets are $30 and can be ordered online via Ticketmaster or by calling 1-800-745-3000 Well-regarded in music circles for their inventive interpretation of traditional Irish dance music, the duo have forged one of the most remarkable partnerships in acoustic music today. Their performances distill the essence of Irish music while exploring and expanding the tradition in both intimate and electrifying ways. They have collaborated with filmmakers, modern dance choreographers, theatre directors, and classical and jazz musicians, yet their identity remains uniquely their own, rooted solidly in the tradition of East County Clare where Martin was raised. The Boston Irish Tou...

Bryn Terfel , one of the world's leading bass baritone singers, is featured guest artist at the opening night of the 2010-11 season of the Boston Symphony Orchestra .  BSO music director James Levine is conducting. The all-Wagner program includes selections from the Flying Dutchman , Die Walkure , and Die Meistresinger von Nurnberg . Born in Pant Glas, North Wales, Terfel is a Grammy, Classical Brit and Gramophone award-winner with a wide repertoire that encompasses Lieder, American musical theatre, Welsh songs and sacred repertory. For a calendar of the 2010-11 BSO season, click here . For other concerts and cultural activities in greater Boston throughout the year, visit IrishBoston.org .

Irish Massachusetts: Northern Ireland is Showcased at Grand Central Station... :

A documentary film on Irish ballad singer Liam Clancy is being shown at the Irish Cultural Center at Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts on Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. " The Yellow Bittern: The Life and Times of LIam Clancy " is a loving portrait of Liam Clancy, his brothers and musical colleagues over the past 50 years.  It has personal footage, including commentary from Clancy before he died. The free showing, which is open to the public,  is part of Elms College's Irish Film Series.  The Irish Cultural Center at Elms College opened in 1999 to celebrate Irish culture, history, and travel in the Springfield area of western Massachusetts. For a full schedule of upcoming events at the Irish Cultural Center at Chicopee College, click here . For year round information on Irish cultural activities in Massachusetts and the New England states, visit IrishMassachusetts.com .

On the 50th anniversary of the historic television debate between candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon in 1960, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is convening a panel of experts to reflect on the event and on how presidential debates have changed since then. The panelists include: Ted Sorensen and William Wilson, both Kennedy advisors; and journalists Russell Baker, Marty Nolan and Sandy Vanocur, who each covered the 1960 debate.  Tom Oliphant, the Pulitizer Prize winner and former Boston Globe reporter, is the moderator. This event, which runs from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., is part of the Kennedy Library Forums , a series public affairs programs throughout the year.  John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum Columbia Point, Boston 9:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. 1 866 JFK-1960 jfklibrary.org

The classic war anthem, When Johnny Comes Marching Home , was first performed at Tremont Temple in Boston on Saturday, September 26, 1863 by Patrick S. Gilmore and his Orchestra. Gilmore originally published the song - also known as the Soldiers Return March - under the pseudonym Louis Lambert for reasons unknown, but later acknowledged that he authored the piece.  The song appeared during the height of the American Civil War, and was meant as an optimistic tribute "dedicated to the Army and Navy of the Union."  Henry Tolman & Company of Boston was the publisher. Gilmore expert Michael Cummings surmises that Gilmore took the song for an earlier Irish marching song called Johnie I Hardly Knew Ye, which was apparently sung by Irish regiments fighting for the British in Ceylon in the early 19th century. Cummings, who founded the Patrick S. Gilmore Society   to preserve Gilmore's memory, notes that the song wasn't a hit during the Civil War, but emerged de...

Lunasa , one of Ireland's best traditional music ensembles, is performing at the Hibernian Cultural Center in Worcester, Massachusetts on Sunday, September 19, at 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door.  You can order tickets by calling 508 792-3700.  For more details on the event, click here . Lunasa features some of Ireland's most accomplished musicians, including piper Cillian Vallely, flutist Kevin Crawford, fiddler Sean Smyth, bassist Trevor Hutchinson, and guitarist Paul Meehan. The Center, which is home to the Worcester chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians , is located at 19 Temple Street in Worchester.  For directions click here . For a full list of Irish concerts in Massachusetts and the New England region throughout the year, visit IrishMassachusetts.com. For information on visiting Massachusetts, go to MassVacation.com .

Honoring the commitment to the arts of President and Mrs. Kennedy during the Kennedy Administration, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum is featuring piano wunderkind Elew to showcase a unique style of solo performance he calls Rockjazz. The free concert takes place on Thursday, September 16, 2010,  from 8:00 - 9:00 p.m. at the JFK Library, located at Columbia Point in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood.  Reservations are suggested. Winner of the Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition in 1999, Elew, whose full name is Eric Lewis, has toured the world with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra , and has performed at the White House for President and Mrs. Obama. Elew's performance is part of the Kennedy Library Forums, a series of public affairs and cultural programs taking place year round at the facility.  For a schedule of upcoming events, click here . John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum Colum...

A halfway to St. Patrick's Day celebration featuring top Irish entertainers gets underway the weekend of September 17-19, 2010 at the Blue Ocean Music Hall in Salisbury Beach. Fiddle champ Eileen Ivers and her band Immigrant Soul opens the festival on Friday, September 17, followed by Irish punk rockers Black 47 on Saturday, September 18, and Irish tenor John McDermott on Sunday, September 19.  You can purchase tickets to the shows online. The Boston Irish Tourism Association is raffling off a pair of free tickets to each show.  To enter the contest click here . Loated in the seaside town of Salisbury Beach on Boston's North Shore, the Blue Ocean Music Hall opened in November 2009 and already is one of the coolest concert venues in Massachusetts. For year-round information on Irish cultural events in Massachusetts and the New England region, visit IrishMassachusetts.com. For tourist information in Massachusetts, visit MassVacation.com .

Fiddle champion Charlie Daniels was presented with a life-sized statue of himself at the Indian Ranch concert venue in Webster Massachusetts over Labor Day weekend.  Hand-carved by local artist Glenn Sherman, the six foot statue  depicts Daniels' signature Western belt buckle, his white cowboy hat and even his famous fiddling technique. Daniels and his band were playing at Indian Ranch for a record twenty-one times when the statue was presented to him by the Robert family, owners of the venue.  Concert organizers wanted to thank Charlie for "two decades of great shows," according to Suzette Raun, president of Indian Ranch. For full details on the Indian Ranch summer concert series, click here . For year round music and cultural events in Massachusetts, visit IrishMassachusetts.com .

The Stanhope Grille at Back Bay Hotel and Eastern Standard Restaruant at Hotel Commonwealth are cited as two of the city's most popular breakfast places for business executives, according to a story in today's Boston Globe  by reporter Jenn Abelson. Over the past year, breakfast business is up by 20% at Stanhope, according to Jay Gilman, director of sales and marketing, while breakfast is up 10% at Eastern Standard.  Boston restaurants are adapting to the new trend by expanding their menus and operating hours to accommodate busy businessman and women, writes Abelson. For a fuller list of Boston area hotels serving breakfast, click here .

Shannon Heaton A ten week course offering Irish music lessons on the fiddle, flute, whistle, concertina and other traditional instruments runs from September 18 through November 20, 2010 at Harvard University. The classes are organized by the Boston chapter of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann , an association of traditional Irish music with branches throughout the world. The CCE Boston Music School classes are taught on Saturdays at Vanserg Hall at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  The instructors include some of the area's finest traditional musicians, including accordion player Mike Reynolds, fiddlers Tina Lech and George Keith, flutist Shannon Heaton and her husband guitarist Matt Heaton, bodhran player Steve Brown and more.   For a full list of faculty click here . The program was founded to preserve and cultivate traditional Irish music for students of all ages.  The Boston Music School is directe...