october 2002
www.celtic-connection.com
Page 3
Fairy-Tale Match for Welsh Town Claims King Arthur
Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy
CREIGNISH, N.S. - Two Celtic music dynasties were joined in holy matrimony on October 5, when Nova Scotia's most celebrated fiddler, Natalie MacMaster, married fellow fiddling sensation Donnell Leahy.
Breathtaking in her strapless gown and clutching a bouquet of red roses, MacMaster stepped quickly past a windswept gathering of well-wishers and reporters into the historic Stella Maris church in Creignish just up the road from her childhood home of Troy.
About 250 guests packed the candlelit church, and many had travelled from the Lakefield, Ontario, headquarters of the internationally acclaimed Leahy clan.
Much of the music for the traditional Roman Catholic ceremony was handled by relatives of the bride and groom.
Joining the bride's uncle Buddy MacMaster, her Beaton kin and famous U.S. fiddler Mark O'Connor, were Leahy sisters Erin, Maria and Jennifer, along with many other local musicians.
Leahy grew up with 10 siblings on a farm settled by Irish ancestors in 1825. Their father taught the brood to play fiddle, while his Cape Breton mother Julie passed on her singing and stepdancing skills.
The family band exploded onto the Celtic music scene in 1997 with its hit song The Call to Dance, and went on to win Junos, crack the Billboard world music charts and tour with Shania Twain.
It's a fairy-tale match for the vivacious MacMaster, whose hard work and talent have earned her two Junos, 11 ECMAs and last year's Grammy nomination.
The hard-touring couple plans to live in Lakefield, near Peterborough, Ontario, but plan to eventually build a second home in Cape Breton.
Both touring this fall, the pair has no immediate plans to collaborate professionally, but didn't rule it out. After their engagement in May, MacMaster delighted Halifax fans at her Marquee Club CD launch by bringing Leahy onstage for a piano-fiddle duet.
A town in north-east Wales is claiming it is the true home of the legendary King Arthur, boasting that some of the earliest references to the Dark Age warrior place him in the area.
The claims, made on a new website, are based on the work of local historians Steve Blake and Scott Uoyd who published a book called The Keys to Avalon two years ago. They include:
- The Uangollen area, 190 miles north-west of London, has a
THE WEIR
AN INTIMATE EVENING OF GHOSTLY TALES
By Conor McPherson
SPONSORED BY
OCTOBER 17 - NOVEMBER 16
SINGLES NIGHT OCT. lb. 8PM ■ HALLOWEEN PERFORMANCE OCT 31.8PM GUY'S NIGHT OUT NOV 6.8PMIMEN GET IN FREE WITH PURCHASE OF ADULT TICKET)
TICKETMASTER 604.280.331 1 SUBSCRIBERS 6IH.687.16W CORPORATE & GROUP SALES 604.687.5315 WWW.ARTSCLUB.COM
ARTS CLUB THEATRE COMPANY « BILL MIllERD ARTISTIC MANAGING DIRECTOR
GRANVILLE ISLAND STAGE Hfei
H WWW.STUDENTRUSH.COM
THKUMtUUKMiN
an *
number of place names and traditions attached to Arthur and his companions;
- Gwenhwyfar is the original Welsh name of Arthur's queen Guinevere and the site of a local stone cross is the only place with this name in Britain:
- The Holy Grail resided at nearby Dinas Bran Castle for many years;
- The ruins of Valle Crucis Abbey, in their picturesque setting, stand on the site of "the real Glastonbury," a town closely linked with Arthur;
Uangollen is not alone: many other parts of the British Isles claim ownership of at least part of the King Arthur legend. They include Somerset, Cornwall and Winchester in England - as well as Scotland and South Wales. Visit their website: www.llgollen.org.uk.
Get Tickets At
CC.COM
Tickets available at all ticketmaster.ca
centres or Charge-By-Phone: 604-280-4444
Ticket limit is 8 per person. AH dales, acts and ticket prices are subject to change without notice. All tickets are subject to applicable
taxes and service and handling charges. ^5Ci i arChannhi.