TImlin & Kane at the Capitol. And yes, that’s President Obama at right. Photo courtesy of Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick
People who know musician Gerry Timlin know that he’s rarely—make that never—at a loss for words. Or a joke. Or a story.
Until now. Timlin, a native of Tyrone, Northern Ireland, who has been performing for more than 41 years with Tom Kane as Timlin & Kane, falters and tears up when he talks about their March 14 performance at a very special venue—the Capitol building in Washington—in front of an audience that included the President and Vice President of the United States and the Prime Minister (Taoiseach) of Ireland.
“I don’t have the words to describe the feeling,” he says haltingly. “In my mind I was back at number 8 Main Street in Coalisland (County Tyrone) in my barber shop, then there I was walking out of the Capitol Building and shaking hands with the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Ireland. I can’t describe it properly It was. . .surreal? I keep grasping for words.”
Timlin and Kane were the only performers invited to entertain the dignitaries at the annual Friends of Ireland luncheon in the Rayburn Room on Capitol Hill, formally hosted by Speaker of the House John Boehner. Also in attendance, a group of ministers from Northern Ireland, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and House Majority Whop Kevin McCarthy.
The musicians even got the disparate group to join in the chorus of “Wild Rover,” a St. Patrick’s Day sing-along staple, with requisite hand claps. “They were all singing and clapping, the four claps, the two, and then the one,” says Timlin, who starts to regain his story-telling powers. “It was a pretty cool thing to see those Republicans and Democrats sitting there singing, having a wine and clapping to the song.”
And yes, the president joined in. After the performance, during which the two performed “Isle of Hope,” which tells the story of Annie Moore, the first immigrant through the gates at Ellis Island, and “Black Velvet Band,” President Obama stood with them on stage for a photograph. Timlin wasn’t tongue-tied then. “I just leaned over to the president and said, I’m a big fan, nice to meet you, and I hope that first song got you another vote for the immigration bill.”
Timlin had chosen “Isle of Hope” as the duo’s opening song because he knew that Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Enda Kenny’s address to the group would touch on Irish immigration. Members of the immigration reform lobby from Pennsylvania last week walked the halls of Congress, buttonholing local legislators seeking their support for immigration reform and more green cards for Irish immigrants. Although the Irish economy is on the upswing, unemployment is still in the double digits and more educated young people are emigrating—just not to the US.
He was sure it had been the right choice, he said, when he caught the eye of Martin McGuinness, the Sinn Fein deputy first minister of Northern Ireland. “ I looked down at his table and there he was with a glass of wine in his hand, giving me the thumbs up. Afterwards he said, ‘Good for you, Northern Ireland.’”
Timlin and Kane’s most unusual gig came about because one of Timlin’s closest friends and golf buddies works in the office of the Sergeant of Arms, which provides security at the Capitol. “He’s in all these meetings because of the security issues and I guess they were tired of the bow-tie tenors and long gown sopranos coming in a doing, ‘Does Your Mother Come From Ireland,’ and were looking for something more lively. So he recommended us.”
His friend had given him a personal tour of the Capitol before, but he was thrilled that his partner, Tom Kane, was able to get his first this time, escorted by Bucks County Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, who Timlin has known since he was a child. (Congressman Fitzpatrick obligingly sent us photos from his phone during the performance.)
“Tom is a Vietnam vet—he was wounded in Vietnam—and he taught in the Camden schools for 31 years. He deserves it,” says Timlin. Both were also able to have their wives there for the performance “and that’s never done,” he says. “When the performance was over, Nancy Pelosi went to the back of the room to bring them to the front. She said, ‘Come on girls, we’re going to get a photograph’ and we all had our photograph taken with her.”
Their “in” also got them another “no-no:” a photo in front of the President’s limo, which is nicknamed “The Beast.”
Besides the photographs, both men also received American flags which has been flown over the Capitol earlier that morning. It was the second such flag for Timlin, who was given one by former Bucks County Congressman Jim Coyne many years ago to mark the day he became an American citizen. It came with a congratulatory letter from then President Bill Clinton.
As he talks about the flags, Gerry Timlin speaks haltingly, choked with emotion. “All I could think was what a show-and-tell this will be or my grandson,” he says. “When have you ever known me to be stuck for words? I guess I wept buckets of tears in a quiet sort of way—I was just blown away by this.”
Follow this link to a recording of the event from C-Span.
