Keeping Celtic culture alive

Watkins' mission is music
By Alice M. Vollmar
Irish American Post Minnesota Bureau

Bill Watkins is a man with a mission.

"When I was a teenager, my dad told me, 'It's up to you and your generation to rebuild a Camelot of the mind -- to be the once and future Celts,'" related the lightly-bearded author over tea in his cozy dining room. "And so I took my dad up on the challenge. I've spent my time doing just that - bringing our culture back."

Walking into Watkins' home feels like stepping into the two books he has published with Ruminator Books, A Celtic Childhood   (1999) and Scotland Is Not for the Squeamish   (2000). The author's family and past inhabit his books and his surroundings. In his Minnesota home, photos from earlier days in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, memorabilia, the trappings of a musician, short wave radio equipment, records, and books on Celtic heritage fill shelves, desks and walls.

Born in Birmingham in 1950 of an Irish mother from Limerick and a Welsh father, Watkins grew up in an eccentric, loving family. In A Celtic Childhood, he captures his mom's sense of humor and her songs, his dad's Celtic stories and poems and his grandfather's love of literature. It is laugh-out-loud funny and lyrically written. His second book tracks his adventures as a young adult making his way in the world via diverse pursuits -- a shipboard wireless operator, fish gutter on a trawler, electrician, unregistered university student and founder of a Celtic band for the explicit purpose of preserving old Celtic music and songs.

A Celtic cross drawn by his father hangs, framed, on the wall in the southeast Minneapolis home he shares with his wife, Katie Muehlbauer, a native of St. Nazianz, Wisconsin, his son Liam (youngest of his three children by a former marriage), a dog, and two cats. His marriage to Katie brought Watkins to the United States from Scotland seven years ago, a move that's fine with him.

"As an Irishman, I feel I belong everywhere on this planet," he explained. "I've never felt adrift. Irish recreate Ireland wherever they go."

Actually, distance gave Watkins the impetus to write his books. "In Ireland, life is too immediate. You are too caught up in living to sit back and contemplate life. Here, you get encouragement (to write). You can reinvent yourself and no one gives a damn. Over there, you'd be laughed at. 'Who do you think you are, James Joyce?' they'd say. I'm of use over here. In Ireland, I'm just another Irishman with songs and stories."

In his office adjacent to the dining room, Watkins is at work on the third book in his triad, The Once and Future Celt.. "That's the important one," he stated. "The first two books were not intended to be memoirs but vehicles to tell people about my culture -- and to set up the third book."

Eyes serious behind wire-rimmed glasses, Watkins related that this book will describe his quest to do what his father set him out to do. "The kind of package to put it in is what I am diddling with now. I know what the book will be about: I'm trying to sell the weight of my culture."

Suddenly, the serious eyes relax into a smile. "I'm writing a story that takes people where they wouldn't ordinarily go. You don't do that by writing a textbook but by writing a story that makes people laugh. By writing in such a way that they can relive the experience with you."

Watkins also is writing a historical novel and children's books as well, and is part owner of a pub called Molly Quinn's, a few blocks from his house. There he finds a ready audience for Celtic lore, and people come with questions about their Celtic origins.

"The pub is a venue for my storytelling and songs, and it fulfills a social role - the resurgence of the Gaelic people's culture through art, history, music, and poetry," Watkins said. "That is my full-time calling. I am a druid, really, a keeper of the old ways."

Folks spontaneously show up at the pub with guitars and other instruments many nights and sing and play. Watkins, an accomplished musician who plays mandolin, guitar, banjo, fiddle and tin whistle, joins the musicians on Tuesday nights and also holds a pub quiz with banter and joking on Sunday night -- ""a riotous assembly," according to Watkins. Music and laughter and conversation mingle freely in this friendly neighborhood gathering place, spilling onto an outdoor patio in summer.

"The pub is our spiritual temple, an icon of Celtic culture, our university," Watkins said. Displayed here are family coats of arms painted on shields by Watkins for "the regulars" who bring photos, posters and other treasures to decorate the walls. Watkins does his part to ensure the appreciation of all things Celtic, including bringing "proper size teaspoons -- actually, egg spoons"" to the United States.

"There's more Gaelic spoken in Molly Quinn's than in Ireland," Watkins laughed. "We have a lot of Gaelic-speaking enthusiasts here and an organization to promote it called Gaeltacht Minnesota."

There is a strong Irish heritage in the Twin Cities because Saint Paul was once a railway hub, and Irish built the railways in this part of the United States, commented the author. Recently, he's seen an influx of Irish writers and musicians and Molly Quinn's is one of numerous Irish pubs in the area catering to the Gael.

"In fact, when my mom came to visit, we took her around to Irish pubs and she said, 'Oh, it's just like Ireland over here,'" said Watkins.

Then, he took her to a Harley-Davidson motorcycle rally and a Menominee Indian powwow to round out her visit. He regretted that his father, who died in 1986, did not live to see his son's books published nor to witness the current surge in interest in Celtic music and literature.

"I miss him awfully now," said Watkins. "I'd like to say to him, 'Dad, I've done what you set me out to do. I've done my little bit.'"
 
 

If you go Molly Quinn's is located at 4300 E. Lake St,  Minneapolis. Minn. Watkins plays with other musicians on Tuesday nights, usually starting between 8 and 9 p.m. There is no cover charge. (612) 722-1272. For background information on Watkins, his books, and his performance and book talk schedule, check his web site www.wildbillwatkins.com