Festival Schedule - Irish Heritage Club

2016 IRISH FESTIVAL
Main Stage Schedule
SATURDAY, MARCH 12
SUNDAY, MARCH 13
10 am
10:30
11:00
Carrigaline
No Programming
Traditional Irish Musicians
(10:00 - 12:15)
11:30
Noon
Emmet
“That Irish Guy”
McElhinney
12:30
Balefire
Irish Dancers (12:15 - 12:45)
Irish Folk Music
1:00
1:30
2:00
Comerford
(12:00 - 1:30)
Irish Dancers (12:45 - 1:30)
Smilingest Irish Eyes Contest (1:30 - 1:45)
Tara Academy Irish Dancers
(1:30 - 2:00)
Showtunes Theatre Company
Fire & Ice
“Finians Rainbow” Favorites (2:00 - 2:30)
2:30
Irish Dancers (1:45 - 2:45)
Saint Patrick’s Day Parade closing Ceremoies
(2:30 - 2:45)
3:00
3:30
4:00
Grafton Street
Irish Dancers (2:45 - 3:15)
Most Irish looking Face Contest (3:15 - 3:30)
Katie’s Hope - Music & song about an
(2:45 - 3:45)
Irish Emigrant Family (3:30 - 4:00)
Tara Academy
Irish Dancers (3:45 - 4:45)
4:30
The Homerulers
5:00
Slieveloughane Irish Dancers
Showtunes Theatre Company
“Finians Rainbow” Favorites
Drawing for Free Ireland Vacation (4:45 - 5:00)
Traditional Irish & Scots music
(4:00 - 6:00)
The Gothard Sisters
Irish Music & Song (5:00 - 6:00)
5:30
6:00
6  IRISH WEEK 2016
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All times on schedule are approximated
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2016 Irish Festival at the Seattle Center Armory
Loft Gallery
Saturday & Sunday
Antique Irish Postcards &
Bartlett Engravings
John and Alice Cooper grace the Irish Festival again with their
exhibition of thousands of antique Irish postcards, plus 48 original
reproductions of Bartlett’s Views of Ireland dating from the 1840s,
just a few years before the Great Potato Famine. The Coopers’
collection provide an interesting glimpse into the social history,
cultural history and material culture of Ireland, especially in the late
1800s and early 1900s, the “Golden Age of Postcards”.
Delorean auto display
Outside the Armory, Saturday & Sunday
from 1–4 pm
The futuristic-looking
Irish-made DeLorean
DMC-12 sports car that
was made famous in
the 1985 movie ‘Back
to the Future’ will
again be on display
outside the Armory
at the Seattle Center.
9,200 DeLoreans were manufactured in Belfast in
1981 before the company went bankrupt. Pacific
Northwest DeLorean Club members are a community
of enthusiasts dedicated to preserving the DeLorean
heritage by bringing the community together for social
events and to exchange technical expertise.
Visit pndc.org for details.
 FEATURED EXHIBIT 
Lily Kempson McAlerney
An exhibit of photos of Seattle woman
Lily Kempson McAlerney is on display in
the Gallery area of the Armory Loft.
Born in 1897, Lily was a dedicated Trade
Unionist who participated in the 1913
Dublin Strike/Lockout as well as in the
1916 Rising. The photo at right shows
James Connolly and Lily in 1914 when
she lived with the Connolly family.
Connolly was one of the 1916 leaders
who was executed when the Rising
collapsed. Lily escaped to Seattle where
she married Matt McAlerney in 1917 and
raised a family in Seattle’s Central District.
From the 1930s until her death in 1996,
she received an annual pension from the
Irish government for her role in 1916.
tara academy of irish dance • www.taraacademy.com
IRISH WEEK 2016  7
2016 Irish Festival at the Seattle Center Armory
upper Level Workshops
Loft Activities
Photo Exhibit highlighting
a Seattle Woman’s involvement in the 1916 Rising - Lily
Kempson McAlerney, Labor
Leader, Insurrectionist
Sunday: 12:00 - 5:00 pm
Rare Books & Maps
of Ireland
Charles Hadrann, Historian and Genealogist
Numerous original and reprinted rare Irish books and manuscripts
of great historical and genealogical interest are available for free
examination and perusal, courtesy of the Irish Heritage Club’s own
genealogist and historian. Charles will also be available to answer
questions and help you with your research. His only request - please
handle all documents with care and respect!
Lunch & Dinner Daily
Ri
The ch Flav
o
r of
I re l a n d !
Soda Bread · Northwest King Salmon
Fresh baked Pot Pies · Fish & Chips · Great Steaks · Salads
Burgers · Made-In-House Desserts · And of course, Harp
Lager, Guinness Stout & Seattle’s Best Irish Coffee
HAPPY HOUR · Mon. - Fri. 3-6 pm ·
All Appetizers
$4
Families Welcome • Children’s Menu
www.tsmchughs.com
21 Mercer Street (One Block from Seattle Center)
206-282-1910
What butter or whiskey will not cure, there’s no cure for.
8  IRISH WEEK 2016
Lily (Kempson) McAlerney was born in County Wicklow, Ireland on
Jan. 17, 1897. When she died in Seattle, four days after her 99th birthday,
she was the last surviving combatant from the 1916 Easter Rebellion, the
week-long armed insurrection in Dublin that fought for an independent
Ireland.
Lily and her family moved to Dublin when she was young. She lived in
poverty: eight members of her family lived in two rooms. Lily found work
at Jacobs Biscuit Factory, but objected to the harsh child labor conditions.
During the 1913 lockout, Lily, along with her friend Rosie Hackett and
other Jacobs workers, went on strike for better conditions.
On November 13, 1913 Lily was sent to Mountjoy Prison for her
actions during the lockout. She raised bail after two weeks, and avoided
a reform school by saying her age was 17 when she was actually 16.
Lily remained in the labor movement, and in a May 1914 picture of the
Delegates at the Irish Trades Union Congress in Dublin, Lily is pictured
standing next to Irish Citizen Army leader James Connelly.
Lily lived with the Connelly family in Belfast in 1914 and when she
was 17, Lily took an oath of allegiance to the Irish Republic. She and five
girls who had also taken the oath stopped by a photographers shop and
rounded up enough money for a small negative-size print. In that image
above, one of the few items she brought to Seattle after fleeing Dublin,
Lily is sitting front and center with James Connelly’s daughter, Ina, on her
right.
When the Easter Rebellion started on Aug. 24, 1916, Lily was part of
the St. Stephens Green Garrison under Michael Mallin and Constance
Markievicz – a woman she had known well from her time at Liberty Hall.
Lily, who carried a revolver that day, was part of the initial group that took
over the Royal College of Surgeons, across from the park. The bullet holes
can still be seen in the college’s columns. She also ran messages to the
General Post Office where the rebels were headquartered.
When the rebels surrendered, Lily escaped being captured because
she was trying to deliver a message when she got word of the surrender.
She went home, took her sister’s passport, and at some point fled to
Liverpool. From there, she boarded a ship to America.
Lily arrived at Ellis Island on July 9, 1916 and took a train to Seattle
where her uncle worked on ships. After staying with him briefly, Lily
lived in the Madison Valley and found work as a housekeeper. She met
Matthew McAlerney, a 27-year-old from Co. Down who had emigrated
in 1911 and Lily and Matt were married in 1917 at St. Joseph’s Church on
Capitol Hill. They had seven children: Alice, Kathleen, Matthew, Jim, Betty,
Peggy, and John. Lily died in 1996, four days after her 99th birthday.
2016 Irish Festival at the Seattle Center Armory
upper Level Workshops
Loft Activities
Saturday
Both Days - 1:00 - 2:00 pm
Basic Irish Genealogy
Lecturer: Jean Roth, Irish Interest Section,
Seattle Genealogical Society
Get some idea of the background to your family surnames and have a look at some
of the basic guides to tracing family history. Learn where to start and what resources
are available to help.
2:00 - 3:00 pm
from brian boru to
the foggy dew
In an hour-long mix of poem, music, history, life and letters, poet Anne-Marie Fyfe and
historian/literary-critic, Cahal Dallat (with mandolin, traditional flute and accordion)
explore the intersections of history with poetry, song and story, over 900 years from
11c Brian Boru’s March by way of Robert Emmett and the Fenians, to Yeats’ Easter
1916 and that great post-1916 anthem, The Foggy Dew (written by Cahal’s greatuncle): with readings/excerpts from Thomas Moore, WB Yeats, Padraig Pearse, Alice
Milligan & Roger Casement.
Both Days - 3:00 - 4:00 pm
reflections on the
life and legacy
of Seattle woman Lily Kempson McAlerney
and her role in the 1916 rising
Lecturer: Casey McNerthney, Lily’s Great-Grandson
When Casey’s great-grandmother Lily Kempson McAlerney died in Seattle in 1996, she
was the last surviving combatant who fought in the 1916 Rising in Dublin during Easter
Week 1916.
sunday
12:00 Noon - 1:00 pm
Learning the Irish Language
Lecturer: Liam Boyle
Irish (Gaeilge) was the predominant language of the Irish people for most of their
recorded history. Learn some basic words and phrases in Irish.
2:00 - 3:00 pm
gasworks walls & Marble Halls
Irish poets Anne-Marie Fyfe & Cahal Dallat trace the tangled weave of Irish music
(from the early harpers through to The Chieftains & The Dubliners) exploring James
Joyce’s—and Ireland’s—great cultural dilemma: whether to opt for the West of Ireland
authenticity of the tragic (Galway gasworks employee) Michael Furey singing the
plaintive Lass of Aughrim (in Joyce’s best-loved short story, The Dead), to join the
‘modern tide’ of commercial music, or to aspire to the Marble Halls of high European
culture… Cahal’s history is interwoven with traditional Irish (and a touch of classical)
playing on his musette accordion, mandolin & traditional flute—and with Anne-Marie’s
choice of readings from Joyce, Yeats & contemporary Irish writers.
Spend St. Patrick’s Day
On Top o’ the Hill!
Join us at Sully’s Lounge, located in
the heart of historic Queen Anne.
A great neighborhood spot with a
touch of Irish charm.
Thursday, March 17:
We will be opening at
12pm on the Big Day.
Our back deck will be
open, covered, and
heated!
The only Irish bar in Seattle that doesn’t
charge cover on St. Paddy’s Day!
1625 Queen Anne Ave. N.
(206) 283-3900
www.SullysLounge.com
IRISH WEEK 2016  9
2016 Irish Festival at the Seattle Center Armory
Children’s Activities
Custom 1916 lego display
A 1916 Lego Display re-creating scenes from the 1916 Rising in Dublin is
being prepared by Dan Parker, one of only 13 LEGO certified professionals
worldwide. At last year’s Festival, Dan recreated Lego images of Irish poet W
B Yeats and of some of the mythological figures featured in his poems and
writings.Children will also be able to create their own Lego figures.
IRISH ARTS AND CRAFTS - Children and adults alike are invited to create a
tissue paper shamrock to wear around their wrists or in their hair! Irish themed
coloring pages will also be available.
Contests
“Most Irish-looking” Face
Saturday at 3:30 pm
“Smilingest Irish Eyes”
Sunday at 1:45 pm
All children 12 & Under are invited to participate onstage in these fun contests
- just be at the Main Stage when the contest is announced. What determines
who has the “Most Irish-looking Face” or the “Smilingest Irish Eyes”? As the
song says, the winners are those kids with eyes that “twinkle as bright as can
be” and smiles that would “steal your heart away,” and not necessarily the kids
with fair skin, freckles, red hair, green eyes, etc. .
Open 7 days a week
Sweaters, capes, scarves & hats from
Ireland & Scotland
Irish dance ghillies, hard shoes
& poodle socks
Claddagh & Celtic jewelry, Belleek china,
Galway crystal
CDs, music books & DVDs;
books in English & Gaelic
Bewley’s, Barry’s & Lyons teas,
& various food items
7518 15TH Ave. NW in Ballard
(206) 784-9343
www.GalwayTraders.com
10  IRISH WEEK 2016
Activities
in the Loft
Irish Reels
Film Festival
Saturday & Sunday from
Noon - 5 pm
Listings available
at irishreels.org
All screenings are FREE. Visit
IrishReels.org for the complete
schedule and other screening details.
Note that films are not rated and may
contain graphic language
or adult situations.
Parental discretion is advised.
Call (206) 330 4913 with questions.
Program subject to change.
2016 Irish Festival at the Seattle Center Armory
Performer highlights
the gothard Sisters
Fiddling, dancing and singing sensations the Gothard Sisters
provide a highly choreographed, fast-paced and polished show
which can be appreciated by audiences of all ages.
Watch champion Irish step dancing used in a fascinating variety
of intricate showpieces, fast fiddling, lively music on the guitar
and bodhran, raw energy and beautiful ballads. Sit back and
be entertained and inspired by these rising stars from here in
Seattle. These girls have been playing violin and dancing since a
very young age, and they grew up performing on stages in the
Pacific Northwest. They started out with rigorous classical violin
training and competitive Irish Dance, leading them to leadership
positions in the local Youth Symphonies and bringing them to
the Irish Dancing World Championships three years in a row. The
three sisters have also developed their talents on various other
instruments including guitar, bodhran and voice in the pursuit of
creating a fuller, more compelling show. For more information see thegothardsisters.com.
Carrigaline
Traditional Irish music from multi instrumentalists who are steeped in the tradition from
west Kerry to Galway. Sara McDermott learned her Irish fiddle music at University of
Limerick and Galway. Bob Howell is a teacher of percussion and specializes in Irish bodhrán.
Andrew Anderson is a vocalist who sings in Irish as well as English. He plays an array of
stringed instruments including the harp, cittern and banjo. Kieran O’Mahony who is a native
of Carrigaline, a picturesque village in County Cork, plays Uilleann pipes and whistles.
Katie’s Hope Musical Drama
Told through drama, song, and dance, Katie’s Hope tells the story of a fictional family
immigrating to America from Ireland during the famine years. You’ll enjoy “American Wake”
songs, Ceili dances, and Irish Blessing songs, a truly inspiring and enjoyable experience.
featured Poets
Anne-Marie Fyfe & Cahal Dallat
Anne-Marie Fyfe’s fifth poetry
collection, House of Small Absences
(Seren Books) has just been
published. Born in Cushendall,
County Antrim, Ireland, Anne-Marie
now lives in London where she works
as an arts organiser. She has won the
Academi Cardiff International Poetry
Prize, has run Coffee-HousePoetry’s
readings & classes at London’s
leading live literature venue, the
Troubadour, since 1997, is Poetry
Co-ordinator for the annual John
Hewitt International Summer School
in Armagh City, & is a former chair of
the UK’s Poetry Society. Check out
her wesite: www.annemariefyfe.com
C.L. Dallat, poet, musician and critic,
(b. Ballycastle, Co. Antrim, Ireland)
now lives in London where he
reviews literature and the arts for
the TLS and Guardian among others,
and has been a regular contributor
to BBC Radio 4’s weekly Saturday
Review since 1998. His first poetry
collection, Morning Star, was
published in 1998, he has won the
Strokestown International Poetry
Competition in 2006, and his latest
collection is The Year of Not Dancing
(Blackstaff Press, 2009). Check out his
website: www.cahaldallat.com
Professional Repairs,
Appraisals & Sales
1314 E John St
Seattle, Washington
206-324-3119
www.bviolins.com
IRISH WEEK 2016  11
2016 Irish Festival at the Seattle Center Armory
Performer highlights
Emmet “That Irish Guy”
Mc Elhinney
Born into a musical family in Omagh, Co.
Tyrone in 1974, “That Irish Guy” has been
steeped in folk music from a very early
age. His great uncle, Tommy Makem, of
Makem and Clancy brothers fame, was a
huge influence on his chosen path into
folk music. It was to America he found a
niche market for authentic Irish folk songs.
His songwriting influences range from his
Uncle Tommy Makem to American folk luminaries such as Guy Clark, John
Prine and Townes Van Zandt whose songs he regularly includes in his set list.
Enjoy some favorite tunes sung by members of the cast of “Finian’s Rainbow”.
Showtunes Theatre Company brings “Finian’s Rainbow” to Benaroya Hall on
March 19th and 20th, 2016. This old-fashioned musical premiered 69 years
ago on Broadway, and its message of racial harmony, justice, and social
equality remains just as relevant today. “Look To The Rainbow”,“Old Devil
Moon”, and How Are Things in Glocca Mora?” are but a few of the lyrical
tunes in this magical tale of Finian McLonergan and his daughter Sharon.
Tickets at showtunestheatre.org or call 206-215-4747.
12  IRISH WEEK 2016
the homerulers
The Homerulers, a Seattle threesome, build on traditional Irish and Scots
music with grace and cutting edge rhythms. On fiddle, Susan McCroskey
Burke performs regionally with many bands, and her debut CD,” Journey
Home,” embraces both Scots and Irish traditions. (susanburkemusic.com).
Dan Carollo, performs internationally and was steeped in Irish music during
his recent years there. He recorded ‘Miles from Dublin” and “Communion of
Saints, “ which reflect his spirited and reflective voice. (celtograss.com). Bruce
Singleton is a seasoned Seattle piper and flute player, spearheading the
Seattle Irish Pipers Club and the Seattle Tionol. Together, they weave a spell of
Irish stories and places, with verve and fire.
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in Ireland!
Some lucky person will leave the Irish Festival with a coupon
good for two weeks in a fully-furnished Galway townhouse
that sleeps six, located near the Salthill Seapoint Promenade
and 400 yards from Galway Bay. Airfare not included. The
drawing will take place on the Festival’s main stage at 5:30 pm
on Sunday. You do not have to be present to win, but you must
visit the Irish Heritage Club booth to enter the drawing.
Ádh mór - Good luck!!