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Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann

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Are You As Competitive As a Fifth Grader?

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Mary Kay Mann

If an 11-year-old could compete in the world championships of Irish traditional music, harpist Mary Kay Mann reasoned, then so could she.

In this case, the then-fifth grader was Keegan Loesel, who took up the tin whistle at about 5 years old, and Mann was his teacher. Keegan is one of a small posse of incredibly talented local kids who have competed at the Fleadh Cheoil (pronounced flah KEE-ohl) on one or more occasions. Keegan put his skills to the test last year in County Cavan, Ireland, where the Fleadh was held.

Keegan played well but didn’t place in the under-12 whistle event, but it takes incredible talent, discipline and determination to get even that far. Inspired by her student, Mann decided to give it a shot.

Give it a shot she did … and even better than that: She came in third in over-18 slow airs.

It wasn’t easy. Unlike the local Fleadh kids, Mann, who lives in Media, has grown-up responsibilities.

“I have a day job, and students, and gigs, and a lot of things going on,” she says. In order to compete and have a snowball’s chance in Ireland, Mann knew she would have to choose the event best suited to her talents.

“I chose slow airs. I would have to really work to compete with 16-year-olds on jigs. I thought that, as a person who is not exactly young, slow airs might be something I could do. Slow airs don’t take speed; they take maturity. They’re slow and emotional and not rhythmic, and they are ornamented. I could probably study them for the rest of my life. I like challenges like that.”

Even then, Mann says, it was tough going. In order to compete in Ireland, Mann needed to know eight slow airs, and her playing of those eight airs needed to be bulletproof. “It takes a lot of time,” Mann says. “Once you get there, you have to play three of them … except that you don’t know which three, so you have to prepare all of them.”

Unlike other Fleadh contests, which can attract large numbers of contestants, over-18 slow airs for harp drew only six contestants. Mann thinks that might have improved her odds, but all the same—all six players were world-class.

“I think I was the only American … and these girls were incredible. Really young and really good. They’re driven, they’re self-driven, they practice all the time, and they love it.”

To her surprise, Mann more than held her own. But that’s not to suggest her third place medal was some kind of fluke. Mann, who took up Celtic harp in the mid-1990s, has always been a deeply committed performer and teacher, with a bachelor’s degree in instrumental music education. She already played classical flute and piano before she added the Celtic harp to her repertoire. (She also plays tin whistle.)

As for how Mann got her start, she blames another well-known local harpist, Ellen Tepper. “”I was playing flute in a duo with her, and at one point she just handed me the harp and said, ‘Try this, it’s easy.'”

It wasn’t all that easy, but it wasn’t all that hard, either. Celtic harp is often taught “by ear,” without aid of sheet music.

For Mann, that was just fine.

“I already played piano by ear,” Mann says. “I had already learned how to do that before I transitioned to the harp. It’s fun without all the little dots on the page. And it really is nice to start when you are older because you sound decent right away. If you started on fiddle, you’d probably sound pretty bad, but a lot of people start learning harp in midlife because it’s gratifying right away.”

After years of learning and trying to perfect her craft, competing and placing at the Fleadh is icing on the cake. For now, Mann is content to return to her teaching and performing life. She’s not sure the Fleadh experience she will repeat any time soon. “It costs a lot of money. I didn’t do benefit concerts; I had to pay for it. It’s a lot of money and time … and it’s exhausting.”

September 28, 2012 by
Music, People

Eyes On the Prize

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Emily Safko

Amy and Greg Safko knew early on that their daughter Emily had vision problems. When Emily was 2, doctors told the Medford, N.J., couple that their daughter was highly nearsighted.

“We knew something was off,” says Amy Safko. “She would pull everything right to her face.”

Then, three years ago, Emily’s vision declined dramatically. She was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder call Stickler Syndrome, which damages the eyes, along with the ears, and connective tissue throughout the body.

Emily’s vision problems came to a head late last year when she started noticing spots and flashes in her field of vision—floaters—and she suddenly couldn’t read the blackboard in school. What followed were multiple surgeries and, finally, the finding that Emily, now 10 years old, is legally blind.

All of which makes Emily’s fourth place finish in the under-12 Celtic harp competition at the Fleadh Cheoil last month—the annual “world series” of Irish music—that much more remarkable. Some might say it was miraculous.

“She’s remarkably better than we ever could have expected,” Amy says. “We are just so happy.”

Optimism apparently runs in the family. When she learned of her condition, Emily recalls, “I thought it was cool because not many other kids have it. It wasn’t getting me down.”

Stickler Syndrome also appears to run in the family. Testing showed that Amy Safko herself had Stickler, but had never been symptomatic. She had been born with a cleft palate, which is associated with Stickler Syndrome. Additionally, her joints had always been hyperflexible, which can also be a sign.

The family’s upbeat attitude was sorely tested in the months leading up to the Fleadh Cheoil (flah KEE-ole), held in August in County Cavan.

Following her surgeries, doctors told the Safkos that Emily had a long road ahead of her. “Her right eye has no lens,” says Amy. “The left eye is the better of the two. She still has a cataract they didn’t want to touch.”

Emily’s eyes are both filled with silicone, a temporary step to help promote healing, her mother explains. “The silicone was put in there as part of the retinal detachment repair. It usually comes out in three months, but she still has it in both eyes. If they work on the cataract, the oil can get in other parts of the eye. No one wants to touch that eye.”

Overall, Emily lost a month of practice time leading up to competition season, and when she was finally able to start playing again, nothing about it came easily.

“I had to re-learn harp, sort of,” says Emily. “At first, I lost some parts, but my teacher always talks about ‘muscle memory.’ My fingers remembered.

“It was really tricky with the strings. When I started to play the harp again in January, the strings were all weird. Some of the strings are see-through, and I couldn’t see them at all.”

Those difficulties held Emily back for just a week. “It doesn’t take long for me to remember things. Once I learn a tune, all I have to do is put my fingers in the starting position, and then I just go from there.”

Before her most recent Fleadh, Emily had competed in Ireland twice. This is the first year she finished so high up in the rankings. She almost finished in the top three in slow airs. She tied for third, but finished fourth after a callback.

One reason for Emily’s strong finish is her deeply competitive nature, Amy Safko says. But support from the Irish music community provided another big boost.

“One of the biggest things that was so amazing to us was just how supportive the Irish music community was to us,” says Amy Safko. “We got cards from harpists every day from around the world, people we didn’t even know. Some of them sent gifts, and we didn’t even know them. It was amazing to us.”

As for where she goes from here, Emily Safko has no doubt about it. She wants to go back to Ireland next August to try again.

“It’s a lot of fun going there. I’m looking forward to next year.”

September 15, 2012 by
Music

Young Fleadh Winners Bound for Tullamore

Mina Hauth, 11, took first in under-12 harp.

Mina Hauth, 11, took first in under-12 harp.

When she sits in a chair, her tiny feet don’t touch the floor. At 6, she is always the youngest fiddler, by far, playing in any local traditional Irish music session. But Haley Richardson has big talent, and she can hold her own with the grownups. Need proof? How about a first-place finish in the under-12 category at the Mid-Atlantic Fleadh Cheoil in Pearl River, N.Y.?

Haley’s win was no cakewalk. The May competition in which the Vineland, N.J., girl took part started at 11:30 a.m. with 22 young fiddlers. It ended, after several grueling rounds of competition, at 4 p.m. Haley didn’t break a sweat. “I’m not usually nervous,” she says.

All the more remarkable, she adds with a smile: “It was my first time at the Fleadh.”

With one challenge down, Haley is going to travel to Tullamore, County Offaly, in late August to match skills with under-12s from throughout the world in the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann—the all-Ireland music festival. (And you can help get her there. More on that in a moment.)

Haley’s musical interests started early. She has been playing violin since she was 3 years old and fiddling for almost 2 years.

“At two and a half years old, Haley used to play around with our electric piano that had songs already pre-programmed into it,” he mom Donna recalls. “I asked her if she wanted piano lessons and she said, ‘No, I already know how to play piano. I want to play violin.’ It took me a few months to find her a teacher and she started Suzuki lessons a month after her 3rd birthday.”

When Haley was four and a half years old, she saw a small poster at the local library advertising a concert being given by famed Irish fiddler Kevin Burke and guitarist Cal Scott. “I decided to take her so she could hear another type of ‘violin’ music,” Donna says. “She immediately fell in love with Irish music and during the intermission, begged me to buy her Kevin’s ‘How to Play Celtic Fiddle’ DVD. The first day I put it on for her, she learned the first song in five minutes. She did the same the next day so I began to search for a fiddle teacher. If I remember correctly, someone from Irish Philadelphia gave me Kathy DeAngelo’s name.”

Haley is one of several DeAngelo students who fared well in Pearl River this year. Harper Mina Hauth, 11, of Chesterfield, N.J. finished first in the under-12s. Mina is bound for the all-Ireland competition, too. She is the daughter of Air Force Lt. Col. Christopher Hauth, who returned in December from a five-month deployment in Iraq, and mom Shymali.

Like Haley, Mina was a first-timer at the Pearl River Fleadh. She confesses to being “a little nervous,” but since she also performs Irish dance with the Peter Smith School, Mina says she’s used to public performance.

Mina has played harp for a little over a year. “When I was in 4th grade, Mom said I had to choose an instrument,” Mina says. “I said I wanted to play the harp. I like Celtic music, and Kathy is close to us.”

Mom Shyamali, another DeAngelo student, also performed well at the Fleadh, placing third in the senior division. She confesses to being as nervous as her daughter was calm.

Mina, too, will head for Tullamore in August—fulfilling a promise by her parents. “I told her that if she placed first, we’d make it happen,” says Shyamali.

Other DeAngelo students who did well in the Fleadh:

• Katie Ely, third place, 12-15 harp
• Katherine Highet, second place, senior harp
• Haley Richardson and Alexander Ball-Weir, third place, under 12 fiddle duet

As for helping Haley get to Ireland, here are the details: Mom Donna and dad Stewart are hosting a fundraiser on July 25 at 7 p.m. at Fuelhouse Coffee/Bain’s Deli at 636 E. Landis Avenue in Vineland, N.J. Someday, when she’s famous, you’ll be able to say you knew her when.

July 3, 2009 by
Music

A Little Traveling Music

Will fiddle for airfare. Caitlin Finley, playing at the Philly benefit.

Will fiddle for airfare. Caitlin Finley, playing at the Philly benefit.

Tullamore, County Offaly, is 3,200 miles from Philly. It’s a long way to go, and a lot of money.

If you’ve flown to Ireland recently, you know the drill. Now imagine trying to arrange passage for 10 young Irish musicians–in this case, the Pearl River Ceili Band, winners of the Mid-Atlantic Fleadh Cheoil, and contenders in the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Tullamore later this summer. (http://www.fleadh2008.com/)

Now, thanks to two big fund-raisers, Tullamore is a lot closer for the 15- to- 18-year-old band, which features Philadelphia’s own Caitlin Finley on fiddle and banjo.

First, there was the June 20 ceili at the Philadelphia Irish Center. Then, a couple of days later, an all-star blowout at Rory Dolan’s in Yonkers, featuring Joanie Madden, Eileen Ivers, Brian Conway, Gabriel Donohue and Brendan Dolan.

You can always count on Philly’s Irish traditional crowd to support the cause—and they sure did, to the tune of $2,600.

Rose Conway Flanagan, fiddler, teacher and an original member of Cherish the Ladies, played a leading role in the group’s Philadelphia appearance, and she passes along her thanks for the local support: “What a great time the kids had playing for such an enthusiastic crowd of people.”

The $2,600 raised here, she says, was quite helpful, especially given the $600 to $800 cost, per student, of just the airfare alone. “Add to that the cost of housing (figure another 500 Euros) and food,” she says, “and you have quite the bill (especially if you have more than one child going).”

The fund-raiser at Rory Dolan’s added even more to the kitty. How much more isn’t certain, but it’s clear that it will put the group in a good position to compete in Tullamore. “This (Rory Dolan’s) was a great sucess and we do have some money still forthcoming,” says Flanagan. “I believe we will have enough to cover the cost of most of the airline tickets for these kids. They will still have to foot the bill for the rest of the trip but it’s a great help!”

Those of us who were down at Penn’s Landing for the annual Irish Festival along the Delaware missed the amazing outdoor benefit at Rory Dolan’s in Yonkers. Caitlin Finley, the local fiddler and banjo player and member of the Pearl River group, says we missed quite the show. “Some of the musicians included a group who they called the New York All-Stars, made up of Joanie Madden, Eileen Ivers, Brian Conway, Gabe Donohue, and Brendan Dolan. There was also Jameson’s Revenge.”

Flanagan sums up the all-star lineup in one word: “Wow!”

“We had quite the crowd for Jameson’s revenge with Issac Alderson, the McCarthy brothers, Keith O’Neil, and many others and we had a Rockland county band that took the house down—DD Royal,” she says. “Our under-18 band got up to play and then Girsa, an all girl band from this area (which includes some of the band members) got up and also brought the house down—they were having so much fun onstage that Joanie and Eileen jumped up to join them for a few sets! (double WOW!) We had the Ruffians up on stage then and the senior ceili band (which was made up of the teachers) we had a few extra musicians join us for that as well, including Joanie and Eileen !”

Next big stop for the band: Tullamore, County Offaly, for the Fleadh, which take place August 17-24.

July 10, 2008 by
People

Five Questions for Caitlin Finley

Caitlin Finley, at last year's St. Malachy fund-raiser with Mick Moloney.

Caitlin Finley, at last year's St. Malachy fund-raiser with Mick Moloney.

Caitlin Finley is getting set for another trip to the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann—otherwise known as the world championships of Irish music—in Tullamore, County Offaly, in late August.

Those who have heard Caitlin play usually are surprised at the level of skill in one so young. What’s more surprising, aside from her musical virtuosity, is her level of maturity. She’s a junior in high school, but, like so many of the kids who play in local traditional Irish music session, she seems more comfortable than most in the company of adults. 

Part of that is just Caitlin. But let’s also give credit to session musicians. Adult session musicians are generally welcoming to anyone with talent and interest, but they seem especially nurturing when it comes to kids. After all, it’s not a tradition if it isn’t handed down, and they seem to know that.

We recently posed five questions for Caitlin, who did exceptionally well for herself at the Mid-Atlantic Fleadh Cheoil in Pearl River, N.Y. Here’s what she had to say.

Q. You took third in fiddle and first in banjo. You’re in a trio that also took first place, and the Pearl River Ceili Band, which you’re also in, won the 15-18 competition. Tell me a bit about competing in so many categories. It doesn’t seem to have hurt you any, although I suppose that the third in fiddle means you wouldn’t be eligible to compete on that instrument at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Tullamore in August.

Does competing in so many categories make you an overall sharper competitor, do you think, and maybe increase your competitive edge in all instruments? Or do you think there’s the possibility that maybe you consciously or unconsciously focus on one instrument over another?

A. Well, competing in so many competitions was certainly a challenge, especially because we had to arrange practices for the ceili band and trio, and the other kids all live in New York. I didn’t have much time to prepare because I’m a junior in high school, and AP Physics has taken over my life.

I think that because you have to concentrate on solely three tunes in preparation for the fleadh, competing on more than one instrument and in more than one category gives you a break sometimes.  For example, if I was practicing banjo and got tired of practicing my solo tunes, I’d just move on to the ceili band or trio tunes to play something different. And even though I wasn’t practicing my solo tunes, it was still preparing me for the solo competition just because I was constantly playing. 

At the same time, I had twelve tunes to really work up instead of only three.

As for switching back and forth between fiddle and banjo, I don’t know if it either benefited or hurt me. Although the technique for each instrument is completely different, I think that they complement each other. I don’t know if I focus on one more than the other.

I know that the fiddle is really my primary instrument and my favorite to play, but I still probably focused on each equally because when you’re tired and don’t feel like practicing, it’s possible to play the banjo on the sofa without much movement, whereas the fiddle’s a little more physically demanding. Oh, and for fiddle, even though I got 3rd, there’s a pretty good chance that I’ll still get to compete in Tullamore because the 2nd placer probably can’t make it, in which case I’ll be able to take his place.
 
Q. What tunes did you play in your competitions? And did you pick them yourself this time, or did you have a bit of help?

A. For the fiddle competition, I played the slip jig Gusty’s Frolics, a hornpipe called the Lass on the Strand, and a reel that I call Tom Steele’s (it’s also known as Hand Me Down the Tackle).  On banjo, I played a jig that I don’t know the name of, but I got from a recording of traditional Donegal style fiddling.  I also played a version of the Blackbird that actually doesn’t sound very much like the more common version that everyone knows, and a reel called Andy Davy’s, which is currently my favorite banjo tune.  I had some help from my fiddle teacher, Brian Conway, in deciding on the tunes for the fiddle competition, but he actually doesn’t play the jig or the hornpipe, which probably made it a little harder for him to help me out with variations.

For banjo, I picked the tunes myself, although I learned the hornpipe and the reel from my banjo teacher, Eamon O’Leary, and I had some help the night before the competition from my friend Dylan Foley with picking them out.

Q. I take it you’re planning to compete at the Fleadh Cheoil. You’ve done that before, so you know that this is not a trip to the beach. There are expenses and some crazy planning to do. How are you and your fellow musicians from the trio (Blaithin Loughran and Dylan Foley, it looks like) and the ceili band planning to get there? I know it’s early days yet, but are you thinking about fund-raising?

A. We actually are in the beginnings of starting to plan fundraisers. There’s going to be a big one up at Rory Dolan’s in Yonkers sometime during the summer, which is an annual fundraiser.  All the students of Rose Flanagan, Margie Mulvihill, Patty Furlong, and others who are competing at the Fleadh Cheoil will perform, as well as the teachers. Other folks from all over will donate their time to help us raise some money (last year Eileen Ivers and Jerry O’Sullivan performed).  Rory Dolan’s provides food and drinks and lets us keep the gate.  Also, each of the kids make a basket to be raffled off.

This year we’re also going to try a fundraiser in Philadelphia.  My parents and I will be organizing this. Currently it is scheduled for June 20th.  We’re going to try to bring down as many members of the ceili band as we can to play a ceili at the Irish Center and some of the parents, like Rose Flanagan and Margie Mulvihill, will play as well. It should be a lot of fun. I’ll keep everyone updated on both fundraisers.

Q. You’re in the 15-18 age group, which means that, by the standards of a lot of our local musicians, you have not been playing all that long. When did you start, and why? What inspired you? Why fiddle and banjo?

A. I’ve been playing for somewhere around eight and a half years.  I started playing the fiddle when I was eight.  I don’t really remember asking to learn the fiddle or my first lessons, but I’ve been told that I really wanted to play because I was an Irish dancer and saw a lot of fiddlers at feisanna.  There’s also the fact that all of us (my siblings and I) have to play some musical instrument, at least in a school program, until we graduate from high school.  I don’t think I’ll be quitting after high school, though.  I also went to every one of the Mick Moloney concerts at the IHouse at UPenn from the time I was born, my parents played old records of Irish music around the house, and I danced constantly, so I had music in my head. I originally started out playing classical but then moved to Irish almost immediately, both with my first fiddle teacher, Chris Brennan Hagy. 

I got my first banjo about two and a half years ago.  My fiddle teacher at the time, Brendan Callahan, encouraged me to get one because he said it would help with some of the technique involved with playing the fiddle, mainly being able to press down the strings all the way with my left hand.  Brendan actually gave me my first banjo lesson.  I’ve never stopped playing it since; it’s a pretty addicting instrument, actually.

I always enjoyed playing music, but practicing was like a chore and I didn’t like going to sessions. I remember the time, though, that I finally fell in love with the music. The summer before I went into 9th grade, my parents and I spent three weeks in Ireland.

We visited family and traveled around, and then we went to Willie Clancy Week in Miltown Malbay, County Clare (where local musician Fintan Malone is from).

I took fiddle classes for a week with Jesse Smith, who is one of my favorite fiddle players, and I met a bunch of kids from all over who played Irish music as well, including two from Italy, one of whom, almost three years later, is still my best friend. It was complete immersion in the music for a straight week.  After I came home, I went to as many sessions as I could. I’ve never slowed down and I love it more than ever.

Q. I imagine there are not all that many students in your school who would know one end of the Irish fiddle from the other. How does this interest of yours go over? Is it something you talk about? What’s the reception?

A. Irish musicians are definitely a rarity at my school.  My school’s probably around 70 percent Jewish, so most of my friends have never heard Irish music or, if they have, it’s only because they’ve seen Riverdance or Celtic Woman or something along those lines.  At school, I’m the Irish girl. 

Being Irish is so much a part of my identity, that I end up talking about it a lot, everything from history to music. At this point, most kids know I play Irish music; it’s a subject that comes up every time I’m asked what I did over the weekend. 

I think that in 9th grade, a lot of my friends thought it was really weird and just tolerated it, but at this point, most kids think it’s really cool.  I have kids asking me to burn them CDs of Irish music, my closer friends all know what a session and a fleadh are, and have seen numerous Comhaltas Live videos, and earlier this year in English class, when my teacher announced that we would be reading “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, everyone turned around and looked at me. Just last week, I brought in my banjo to English class to play, to celebrate both a unit we had just finished on cultural identity, and one of my teachers favorite lines from The Great Gatsby: “the stiff, tinny drip of the banjos.” 

I’m glad that at this point in school people look at the fact that I play Irish music as something that makes me unique, but doesn’t change my personality.  It’s just a part of who I am and everyone seems to recognize and understand that.

Other local Pearl River winners include:

Harp

Jacqueline Hartley from Egg Harbor Township
1st
Under 15

Kathy DeAngelo student Reanna Barakat
3rd
15-18 age group.

Katherine Highet, another DeAngelo student
1st
Senior

Men’s Singing

Karl Jones
1st
Senior men’s singing in Irish as well as first in English

Josh Ely
1st
English singing ages 15-18 

Josh’s dad Jim Ely
3rd
Singing in English

Josh’s uncle Mike McElligott
2nd
Singing in English

June 6, 2008 by
Music

Support Your Local Trad Musician

Caitlin Finley, center, with friends Emma Hinesly and Sean Earnest.

Caitlin Finley, center, with friends Emma Hinesly and Sean Earnest.

What do you do when your fiddle teachers are heading out of town a few weeks before you’re scheduled to compete in the all-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, the largest Irish music competition in the world, attracting more than 11,000 musicians?

If you’re Caitlin Finley, you get nervous. “Yeeessss, I’m really nervous right now,” says Caitlin, an incoming junior at Lower Merion High School. “I just picked my tunes and now I’ll have to do all the preparation on my own.”

Imagine Rocky without Mickey, Helen Keller without Annie Sullivan, the Notre Dame team without Knute Rockne. Caitlin is losing her teachers and coaches, New York fiddler Brian Conway, considered one of the best fiddlers in the US and an All-Ireland fiddle winner, and his sister, Rose Flanagan, a former member of the popular group, Cherish the Ladies. You’d be nervous too.

But there will be one thing she won’t need to worry about after Sunday–whether her fellow competitors in New York will be able to afford the trip. Electrifying fiddler Eileen Ivers and singer-instrumentalist Gabe Donohue will be headlining an all-star benefit on Sunday, August 5, from 1 PM to midnight at Rory Dolan’s,
890 Mclean Avenue, in Yonkers, NY.

“Last year everyone got a huge amount of money toward the trip which paid for a lot of the kids’ airfare,” says Caitlin, who will be traveling to Ireland with her parents. (This is her second trip to the Fleadh; last year, her ceili band, The Pride of Moyvane, earned the right to compete, which requires that you come in either first or second in the local Fleadh, held each year in Pearl River, NY.)

Caitlin and her current group (including flutist Emma Hinesly and guitarist Sean Earnest) have been burning up the local trad scene for more than a year: playing for the Irish ambassador Noel Fahy; entertaining at the Philadelphia Flower Show and at Kildare’s; sitting in with Mick Moloney and Tommy Sands at St. Malachy’s annual fundraising concert, and opening for premier button accordionist James Keane. You can also find Caitlin at sessions from here to Reading: Fergie’s, The Plough and the Stars; The Shanachie; Tir na NOg, and the Irish Center, where she often leads. 

Though she’s been playing fiddle for 8 years, she doesn’t think it will become a career. Most Irish trad musicians don’t make enough to quit their day jobs. “And I don’t want it to be my job,” she says. “I want it to be something that I love forever.”

July 27, 2007 by