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THE CELTIC CONNECTION • MARCH 1993
Signficant Increase at Annual Novena
DONEGAL — The annual Novena in the Cathedral attracted huge crowds. The Novena, which is conducted by the Redemptorist Ord"er, has always been well attended but this year there was a significant increase. It started out with the usual six services daily but some were so crowded that a new 10:15 PM. session had to be introduced. An estimated 23,000 people attended daily. — L.F.
r--!-^ #11^ Rogue Folk Club 11 w home of Celtic music in \ aucoiiver ^^i^W at The VV.l.S.E. Hall (1SS2 Adanac St.)>
.Friday March 5th 830 Blues, Tex-Mex, Bluegrass etc. The Tony Trischka, Ken Hamm Band Tickets $11 ($8 members) Saturday March 13* 8:30 Rick Scott Nathan Curry Tickets $11 ($8 members)
Friday March 19* 8:30 Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick Tickets $15 ($12 members)
Saturday March 6* 8:30 Country Dance Admission $7 ($6 members)
Friday March 12fc 8:30 Dirty Dozen Brass Band Tickets $16 ($14 members) Sunday April 4* 8pm June Tabor & Mark Emerson Tickets $12 ($9 members)
Annual membership $16 -monthly magazine, discounts
Saturday April lO* 8:30
The House Band
Tickets $13 ($10 members)
Advance Ti\ at Black Swan, Highlife, Rufus' For info. & reservations, call 736-3022 j.
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THE MUSIC SALT WATER
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CARRAIG BOOKS
Books about the Irish in Canada, especially Quebec: Grosse lie Gateway to Canada - OGaiiagher
Voyage Of the Naparima (pub. as Famine Diary in Ireland) Irish for a Day - Schmitz
Mail or phone orders. Check or money order. No credit cards, please. Write for price list. Tel: 418-651-5818
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A LITTLE BIT OF MADNESS
An Irish Temper Excites Fans at Rugby Match
Bridie O'Malley lived in Finglas West, Dublin, she was a member of the West Finglas Tenants Association, and she washed the uniforms for the WFTA football team.
Covered with muck and reeking of body odor, the red and white uniforms would lay piled on Bridie's kitchen floor on wash day, which seemed like every day to Bridie. It was no easy job, and sometimes, to take the monotony out of it, she'd amuse the kids by showing them how the uniforms could stand all by themselves, hardened by the muck.
Bridie was sick and tired of the whole messy lot. She wondered to herself why the lads didn't wash for themselves. It all seemed a bit unfair — the women did the washin' when the men did the playin'. Thoughts like these made her feel resentful; she was reaching the boiling point.
"just as she was hanging up the
last piece of clothing, the line broke and all the laundry fell into
the muck.
Now Bridie, unknown to herself, had been called by some, "Mad 'Malley". That was because of the times she had lost her temper in public and made a holy show of herself. One of those times was on a day that WFTA were playing. Bridie's hubby, Shamus O'Malley delivered the nice, clean uniforms to the players for the match that day, while Bridie did another load of washin'. Then something awful happened —just as she was hanging up the last piece of clothing, the line broke and all the laundry fell into the muck.
Bridie screamed and cursed. She thought of her husband off at the game and nobody to help her pick up the line; she became all the more furious. She just grabbed her coat and ran out the door, bulling...
The lads had their gear on; they looked great in the red and white. The game was ready to begin; the starting whistle blew. Suddenly, a woman went tearing onto the pitch, her eyes blazin' and her hair looking like she'd run out of the house with-
BAIRBRE MURRAY
out putting a comb through it. It was "Mad 'Malley" barking something at the lads. They were so surprised at her, they stood like frozen statues; you'd think she'd cast a spell on them. She was headed towards the ball, all the while babbling on about how she'd washed her last jersey and how sick she was of the whole lot, and they could do their own *!@!* washin' in future, because she'd had it!
She grabbed the ball, calling the poor lads a bunch of mud-wrestling 'eejits; the sight of her running down left-wing with the ball broke the spell and the lads were after her. There was quite a bit of tackling, and then a big scuffle, and before anyone knew what was happening, a rugby match broke out with Bridie O'Malley right in the thick of it.
She could hardly be seen with all the lads on her trying to get the ball back. All of a sudden Bridie stood up, straight as a poker, and spreading her arms out, sent the lads flying into the muck. The fans standing on the
side-lines with their feet squelching in the soggy ground gave a big cheer. Bridie gave a quick glance around, and with a little sly grin on her face went running off with the ball under her arm. She was seen hopping on a 40 bus and was gone.
The fans hadn't seen that much action in ages. The referee called an intermission to recover from
theshockof whatjust happened. He also asked if anyone had a ball that the team could use; as luck would have it, a man in the crowd had one on hand, and kindly donated it.
Bridie O'Malley was not heard from for a whole week. She had
tone to town that day, and ooked herself into the Gresham Hotel on O'Connell Street where she ate chocolate and drank champagne the whole time she was there. She also practiced spinning the ball on one finger, and got really good at it! Meanwhile, the Tenants Association called a meeting to discuss what had happened; it didn't take long for them to decide that Bridie O'Malley would no longer have the privilege of doing the washing for WFTA's Football Team. She was fired.
They voted Maggy Gaffney in, (even though she wasn't there) as chief washer of the WFTA football uniforms. When Maggy
"She hung the offer to play rugby for Ireland just inside her hall door for all the world to see.
got the news, she said she was flattered, but she did not deserve such a position, especially since she had the equivalent to the WFTA Football Team living in her house. In short, she had enough to wash. After that, the position was put up for grabs.
In talking to a friend later, Bridie said she didn't know what came over her with WFTA; she was mortified just thinking of it.
"But," she said, "I'm feelin' much better now." She was even approached by the Management of the All-Ireland rugby team and asked if she'd consider being on the team. They'd heard all about her fine display of tackling and running. The only catch was that she couldn't take the ball and get on a bus with it.
Bridie smiled a little and fixed her hair and asked for the offer in writing; when she got it she said, "Thanks, but no thanks." She went and got a nice gold-coloured frame, and then she hung the offer to play rugby for Ireland just inside her hall door for all the world to see.