by Kirby Lindsay, posted 25 February 2013
On Sunday, March 3rd, (and every first Sunday of the month) from 4p – 8p, an old-fashioned, authentic Irish Ceili will take place at Doric Lodge #92. Everyone – Irish or not – is welcome to come join the gathering with music, dance, language and a potluck dinner, all to celebrate Irish heritage and Irish culture.
Since Fall of 2012, this monthly Ceili has brought people together at the Lodge – using the wooden floor, ideal for dancing – as a setting for embracing this rich and community-based heritage. “Most of our people are not in the Irish community, yet,” Kieran O’Mahony said, smiling, about people who attend the Ceili. He welcomes everyone to come explore, enjoy and/or embrace Irish culture. He also hopes to see more families, and their kids, turn off the television and come join the fun!
The Energy Is Back
O’Mahony came to Seattle thirty years ago, and he recalls similar gatherings held here then. “We had a Ceili every month in Ballard,” he remembers, “but nobody could tell me why we stopped.” The habitual gathering faded away, “and all this great energy disappeared,” O’Mahony mused.
Now, the energy is back, bringing us an opportunity for wholesome, and enriching, entertainment on Sunday evening. Alice Tilton has heard that message loud-and-clear from attendees who tell her repeatedly, ‘Thank you for having something family-friendly.’ As they put the pieces together, Tilton explained, “it wasn’t really our goal to do something else for adults.”
Tilton and O’Mahony (along with Andrew Anderson and Bob Howell,) belong to a traditional, four-piece Irish band called Carrigaline. The band plays at the Ceili at Doric along with musician friends who attend – and anyone else that chooses to come along and bring their instrument or voice to contribute. The Ceili is also a project of the Seattle Irish Dance Company, who perform there and teach others the Ceili and Set dances.
“Everyone sits around and eats, and chats, and dances,” Tilton explained of the basic concept behind a Ceili, “They bring their instruments, shoes, food…”
“The children just love it,” O’Mahony observed. Youth can spend the afternoon dancing, to live music, while parents enjoy food and friendship, and everyone can participate in a ½ hour language lesson led by O’Mahony. He teaches nursery rhymes in Celtic to kids, parents, and anyone willing to learn – and gives homework to those determined to pick it up.
‘So Authentic’
Ceilis take place regularly in B.C. and Portland, but this is the only one O’Mahony and Tilton know of currently held in Seattle. “The focus is on teaching the culture, and carrying it on,” O’Mahony explained, including encouraging elders who attend to talk, and sing, and share.
Since it started last year, the Seattle Ceili continues to expand. “Musicians want to play,” O’Mahony reported, with some coming from the B.C. and Portland events, as well as Bellingham and Bremerton and places in between. For now, he also said, they’ve got “lots of volunteers,” to allow the Ceili to offer more and more to attendees. “People just love it,” O’Mahony said, “because it is so authentic.”
‘Share The Culture’
“We want to share the culture,” Tilton said. She acknowledges, however, that she has had less exposure to her Irish heritage, having been born in what O’Mahony jokingly called ‘County Yakima.’ While raised on Celtic music, she was classically trained and only started playing Irish folk music three years ago.
She met the other members of Carrigaline at an Irish house party – a Ceilidh – and felt instantly at home with the music. “I’ve been to other Ceilis,” she said, and has found the music offers her a challenge, or, as she acknowledged, “it is always a learning experience.” Tilton reads music, but most Ceili-experienced musicians play 100s of Irish folk songs from memory. For the Ceili, and the dancers, the musicians will play each song three times, with slight variations made with each repeat.
“Done properly,” O’Mahony said, “the musicians and dancers are working together, lifting each other up.” From everything he and Tilton report, the emphasis of the Ceili is on enlightening attendees about the beauty, the magic and the fellowship of Irish culture. “Get people hooked in,” O’Mahony said, “and they discover the layers [of the music.]” He could be talking about the many different facets of Irish culture, and its history here in the Pacific Northwest.
All Welcome
“It’s all ages, all backgrounds, all experience levels,” Tilton encouraged. She wants everyone – Irish, a percentage Irish, or without a drop of Celtic blood within – to feel welcome to come and take part.
The next two Ceili will be held on the first Sundays (Mar 3rd & Apr 7th,) at Doric Lodge 92, from 4p – 8p. However, in April, Carrigaline, and the Seattle Irish Dance Company, will tour Ireland – with a special appearance at the Joe Heaney Commemorative Festival in Carna – which will push the May Ceili a week late. Follow details about the event on the Carrigaline website, or Facebook.
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