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THE CELTIC CONNECTION • NOVEMBER 1991
Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann Takes Calgary by Storm
Several musicians from the entourage of 18 musicians, dancers and singers on tour of North America.
By JOHN McCREANOR
Comhaltas Ceolt6rf Eireann, Ireland's premier cultural movement, left an indelible mark on the Calgary community on the evening of September 26.
Represented by a multi-talented entourage of 18 musicians, dancers and singers, Comhaltas presented a memorable concert to a capacity audience of over 500 people.
This was a moving and dramatic illustration of Ireland's traditional arts and was a fitting celebration of the founding of Comhaltas in Ireland, 40 years ago.
The show was masterfully presented by Fear-an-Ti (M.C.), Paddy Fallon, a veteran of many international Comhaltas tours. Padd/s delivery was impeccably timed and he developed a tremendous rapport with his audience. Many tears of joy were shed as he delved into his seemingly endless repertoire of humorous tales about life inlreland and elsewhere.
Composed of many current and former All-Ireland Champions on their various instruments, the group blended smoothly into a cohesive entity throughout the performance. However, there
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was ample opportunity for the audience toenjoy thesuperb individual talents present, such as Laoise N( Cheallaigh's sweet tones on the Irish harp and Ivan Goff's haunting melodies on the uileann pipes.
Fiddlers Ann O'Connor and Brian Lavery were not to be outdone as they enchanted their listeners with some beautiful slow airs and reels. Similarly, Thomas Doorley and Deirdre Havelin gave spellbinding renditions on the concert flute, while MicheaJ 6 Raghallaigh provided a dazzling display on the concertina.
Liam Webster and John Bass showed tremendous agility in their handling of the two-row accordion, while Brian Friel certainly held his own, in fine style, on the banjo.
Four of Ireland's top traditional dancers, Ciara d'Arcy, Carol Leavy, Conrad McAuley and Ronan Morgan, gave scintillating displays of step and figure dancing at various points in the programme. Two Traditional singers, Lean Bean Uf ShE and Gerard McQuaid, made outstanding contributions to the evening's proceedings. These included emotional renditions of the beautiful "R6isfnDubh" and a lesser known song of tribute to the Irish patriot, James Connolly.
This magnificent performance was justifiably greeted by a standing ovation from the audience and it will be remembered for a long time to come A
John McCreanor is Chairman of the Calgary branch of the Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann.
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