THE CELTIC CONNECTION * MAY 1996
Page 15
Working to Counter Irish History Revisionism
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
VANCOUVER — On April 26,1 went to see Danny Doyle, billed as "Ireland's finest folk ballad-eer," at the Scottish Cultural Centre. I had heard of Doyle, so I went with an open mind to hear this folk legend.
The evening opened with Danny Burns and his Ballad Band. It was great to see fiddler Mary Brunner, who recently suffered two accidents within a short time, back playing all the jigs and reels again.
The Vi Moore Dancers were up next and it was good to see them after their marathon appearances during St. Patrick's week. I noticed they had added green cummerbunds to their basic black costumes — very nice.
And finally there he was, Danny Doyle, with his brown hat and guitar. He has a commanding voice and is a real professional with full command of his guitar.
I knew most of the songs he was singing but when Danny sang them, they came alive with new meaning and vibrancy for me, especially the ones about historical battles — it was as if I was there.
One very poignant song was The Rose of Saigon, which is a true story which Danny heard in a bar in the Bronx. It's about two brothers from Kerry who emigrated to the U.S. and eventually joined the U.S. Army. They were both shipped out to Vietnam and the song tells the story of what happened to them.
Danny loves talking about 1916 and the War of Independence, when incredible women and men shaped the history of Ireland. Danny says it wasn't just a dozen of them but a galsxy of these people. These stories which are now history were passed down to him by his mother and grandmother, when he was only about seven years old.
Jameson Irish Whiskey Unsung Hero Award
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
VANCOUVER — In our last issue of The Celtic Connection, we announced the new Unsung Hero Award sponsored by Jameson and Bushmills Irish Whiskey to be awarded each month.
To date, we have received only one nomination, so we have decided to allow more time for more nominations and a winner will be picked mid-summer.
Everyone in the Irish, Scottish and Welsh communities knows someone deserving of this award, someone dedicated and unselfish who gives of his/her time and effort to advance our culture and heritage.
To nominate a person for this award, write a letter of not more than 300 words to The Celtic Connection telling us why you think this person should qualify.
The following letter is the nomination which we have received to date and we will endeavour to publish as many of these nominations as possible to honour those people who give of their time and energy to enrich their communities.
Address your letters to The Celtic Connection, Unsung Hero Award, #741-916 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC V5J 1K7 or Fax (604) 434-3749 or via E-mail to maura_mccay@mindlink.bc.ca.
The following is a nomination for the above award:
Greetings:
Many years ago, I had the good fortune to be able to volunteer to work on the United Irish Cultural Centre of San Francisco. It was one of the most moving and rewarding experiences of my entire life.
The project was accomplished through volunteer work and fund raising. It was a monumental effort to cut through all the political differences and the red tape to come together to build the centre.
While there were many who gave tirelessly, there were two men whose contributions were central to the project, and without whom the centre could not have been built.
Two building contractors worked without pay for the duration of the building. They are Andy Heavey of Galway and Patrick Brosnan of Kerry.
Not only were they the glue that held the project together, they made it fun. I can look back on the time that I volunteered with these great men, and say that those were the best days of my life.
Right now, Pat and Andy are living in Santa Rosa, California, and getting on in years. They still see each other regularly and they are the best of friends. The United Irish Cultural Centre of San Francisco is planning to publish a book on the subject of the volunteers who worked to build the centre, and I understand it will come out this year.
Yours truly Joshua S. Denton, Vancouver
Danny is particularly incensed about a revisionist movement taking place in Ireland now to discredit those beloved people for all their work. Danny says this movement is coming out of Trinity College, Dublin, and it is questioning the validity of the Rising of 1916 and in particular the leaders of this Rising.
To counter this movement, Danny has put together a one-man show called "A Terrible Beauty." He says he wrote the show from his own family's ex-
Eeriences but says that he also ad read "a hell of a lot" about the history of the time.
Danny, may you continue to keep the work of our ancestors alive, vibrant, and ever new for the coming generations.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Is Dream of Peace Out of Reach?
Dear Editor:
Wheneverl read hate filled drivel as spewed forth by Pronsius O'Luachra (Celtic Connection, April 1996), I despair of ever living long enough to see a permanent peace in Ulster and Ireland, "a nation once again."
In his recent speech to the Vancouver Institute at UBC, Albert Reynolds hit the nail on the head when he said "First peace, then one island" and accompanying that, inevitable prosperity, meaning the Irish won t have to work any more for the English in England, Mr. O'Luachra.
As one wag said when Ireland was partitioned, "thank God we've got rid of the English, now we can fight amongst ourselves" and not all Irish disagree with partition. Indeed the Protestant majority in the north welcomed the establishment of a "protes-tant government for a protestant people".
An IRA leaning friend of mine recently castigated me as a killer of animals because I'm not a vegetarian but when I chided him about the IRA's senseless slaughter of innocent men, women and children he said that was okay because that's war and innocent people always suffer in war. Some logic!
If only Sinn Fein and the IRA (synonymous terms in my opinion) had offered carrots instead of bombs for the past 25 years and cajoled, wheedled and played on the heart strings inherent in every Irishman, north and south, orange and green, to join together for the island's spiritual and economic fulfilment for the good of all, maybe my dream of a united Ireland would be here by now.
Gearoid Floid North Vancouver, B.C.
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