Dublin City Ramblers to Play for Literacy

The Racine Literacy Council welcomes the Dublin City Ramblers to its eighth annual fundraiser Irish Night for Literacy. The show will be held Saturday, March 9, at Memorial Hall,72 7th Street, Racine. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.,with the concert beginning at 7 p.m.

Opening the event is the Academy of Irish Music of Chicago and Trinity Academy of Irish Dance. The Academy of Music teaches young people the art of traditional Irish music. Led by veteran musicians from the popular Irish Fest group Baale Tinne, this group performs instrumental traditional music.

They will combine efforts with Trinity dancers from the Racine and Kenosha areas. Look for Kaitlin and Meghan Mullane, Makenzie Naughton, Elizabeth, Jessica, Melissa, and Caroline Rooney, Emily and Kate Shannon, Megan Mawn, Shannon Riley, and Adeline and Quinn Maher among others. Racine's Tim O'Connor will pipe in the audience from the main hall .

Also this year Irish vendors such as Riley'’s, Martha Merrell's Bookstore and O'Brien'’s Mart of Milwaukee will be present. Tickets are on sale now for prizes from County Clare of Milwaukee, Waterford crystal, Porters of Racine, sports tickets, and much more.

Advance ticket prices are $17 for adults and $12 for seniors and children. Prices at the door are $200 and$15. Call the Racine Literacy Council, 262- 632-9495, for advance ticket sales or contact any of the following locations:

Martha Merrell's Bookstore,312 6th St.
Riley's International, 3308 Washington Ave.
Educator Credit Union,1400 Newman
Festival Hall, 5 5th St.
Kenosha Literacy Council, 2419 63rd. St, Kenosha
Schmitt Music,1409 Washington Ave.
Bank of Elmwood, all locations in Racine

For more information on the March 9 event or on the Racine Literacy
council's programs, call 262- 632-9495. 
Web site: www.racineliteracy.com
 

Lúnasa Performs in Rockford

The noted Irish band, Lúnasa, will perform a concert at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 9, at the Coronado Theater in Rockford, Ill. The refurbished building opened in 2001 after a two-year $18 million renovation. The show will raise funds to support the Rock River Valley Council of Girl Scouts.

The show is part of the Forest Glen World-Music series sponsored by Forest Glen, a Rockford apartment community. Reserved seats at $12 for children, students and seniors and $17 for adults. An extra $3 is charged for tickets sold at the door. For more information, call 815-968-5222 or visit online at www.centreevents.com. Tickets are also available at the Tin Whistle Irish gift shop, 1414 N. Main St., Rockford.

Celtic Women to Honor Keane

Dolores Keane, of Caherlistrane Co. Galway, will be presented with the third annual Exceptional Celtic Woman award on March 21 by Celtic Women International.

The presentation will be held at 8 p.m. at Devitt's Pub, 78 Lower Camden Street, Dublin, Ireland.

Keane is being honored for her many years of preserving Irish culture through traditional folk music and the Gaelic language.

The international award was established in 1999. The first recipient was Morgan Llywelyn, Irish author of Co. Dublin. Llywelyn is expected to attend the ceremony honoring Keane.

In 2000, Ann Trevenen Jenkin. the first woman to hold the title of Grand Bard of Cornwall, was the second recipient.

Mary Munnelly, general manager of Connemara Celtic Crystal, Moycullen, Co. Galway, will present the engraved Celtic crystal vase award to Keane. The vase was designed and crafted by Connemara Celtic Crystal.

The president of Celtic Women International, Jean Bills of Wauwatosa, Wis., will also be in attendance. Bills founded the international group in 1997 to honor and celebrate Celtic women throughout the world for their accomplishments.

A three-day conference featuring women from all of the Celtic heritages is held annually during October. The conference is scheduled for Ireland in 2005. This year the conference will be held in New Orleans, La., from Oct. 10 to 12.

Following the award presentation at Devitt's Pub, a traditional singing session will be led by Martin Black, Mary Begley and Peter Cranny.

For more information, contact Jean Bills at 414-257-3770 or e-mail at cwi@celticwomen.org.

Celtic Women Sponsor First Friday Lectures

Friday, 5:30 - 7 p.m., April 5 — Speaker: Priscilla (Pete) Kucik and "Women and the Tartan: An Historical Overview." Kucik is a CWI member and past-president of the Robert Burns Club in Milwaukee who has published a number of features about Robert Burns scholar in Scottish publications. 

Friday, 5:30 - 7 p.m., May 3 — Speaker: Local craft and artisans will demonstrate and tell of their Celtic artistic endeavors. Some of their work will be on exhibit in Parlor B, with the Milwaukee Community Quilt as the main display. Other quilts and craft items will also be hung for your exhibit viewing. The exhibit will be hung in April, but there will be a reception following the CWI Friday lecture at 7 p.m., with wine and cheese.

The public is invited to CWI lectures. Admission is $5 per person; you may enjoy a cup of tea and biscuits while soaking up Celtic culture. The CWI First Friday lectures are held at the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center, 2133 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee.

Clayton Man to Erect St. Louis' First Celtic High Cross
Special to The Irish American Post

Plans have been finalized to erect a Celtic High Cross at St. John, the Apostle and Evangelist Catholic Church at 15 Plaza Square in downtown St. Louis as a monument to the Irish who immigrated to the city in the 19th and 20th centuries and played a substantial role in building the community.

This is the culmination of an idea that Joe McGlynn, founder of the St. Patrick's Day Parade in St. Louis, has long sought to bring to fruition.

This monument to the legacy of the Irish in St. Louis has the endorsement of the local archdiocese. Archbishop Justin Rigali said, "This cross will evoke the great contribution of so many of the Irish people to the life of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. I am pleased that their contribution will be highlighted and linked with the Cross of Christ itself, which is the sign of our Savior's victory over death and sin."

Fr. John J. Johnson, pastor, St. John, Apostle and Evangelist Parish, said, "As a parish, we are honored to be chosen to have this magnificent memorial on our parish grounds. We were for quite a while known as 'The Irish Parish'."

"During the first 50 American years in St. Louis, the city gave a warmer welcome to Irish Catholics than any place in the world, including Dublin itself," according to Fr. Barnaby Faherty, S.J., St. Louis' premiere historian. "The memory of these men and women, clergy and laity, who came to St. Louis to build a home for themselves, their neighbors, and their descendants deserves a memorial to keep alive the memory of their achievements."

This will be St. Louis' First Celtic High Cross. Early monks placed the circle symbol on the "Celtic" cross to help in their conversions of the pagans.

The 18-foot granite cross will have the "classic Irish" ring joining the vertical and horizontal arms of the cross, a stepped base, capstone and elaborate carvings of Celtic designs, including knotwork, labyrinths, key patterns, and spirals. In short, supporters indicate that it will be a Celtic Cross of "grand proportions and elaborate design, capturing the best of Ireland's munificence of these Celtic monuments."

The Celtic Cross will stand on the Plaza Square Concourse in front of the entry to the church of St. John, which fronts the Plaza Square Apartments. The cross itself will be surrounded by a reflecting pool with four fountains. At night, it will be illuminated.

Immediately to the west of the cross bordering the concourse is a low wall on which will be mounted the panels carved with the names of contributors who have underwritten the cost of this memorial. All donations to the Celtic Cross Fund are tax deductible. 

The cost to have one's family name memorialized is only $350, which entitles the contributor to one line on a panel. Each line will contain space for 30 three-quarter-inch-high characters, including spaces between names (the contributor's family name) and punctuation. There will be 28 names on each panel.

For more information, call Tom Gorman at 314-727-3339 or thomasgorman@thomasgorman.com. Joe McGlynn can be reached at (314) 727-1000.

Speakers from Ireland at ICHC

Beginning in April, Milwaukee's Irish Cultural and Heritage Center (ICHC) will begin a program of entertaining and knowledge experts direct from Ireland to discuss about Irish heritage, history and culture. Initially there will be two speakers in the spring and two in the fall. 

The talks are sponsored by the ICHC as part of the Irish Perceptions program, and is co-sponsored by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Center for Celtic Studies. The program kicks off at 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 2 with Eamonn McEneaney and continues on Tuesday, May 7, with Helen Brennan. 

The talks include:

Eamonn McEneaney - "Waterford: From Viking Pirates to Fine Crystal Makers-The Evolution of Ireland's Oldest City"

This illustrated lecture will cover a thousand years of Waterford's rich history from its Viking and Anglo-Norman origins, through the medieval period and onto the 18th and 19th centuries, and today's modern city. McEneaney will use a slide show to display the many valuable artifacts available to his disposal as Director of the Waterford Treasures Museum in Waterford city. 

The facility has won both the Irish Museum of the Year Award in 1999 as well as the IACI's prestigious Heritage Award in 2000. McEneaney has also been responsible for several publications, such as the report on the six-year excavation in the center of Waterford city entitled, "Late Viking Age and Medieval Waterford Excavations," and he served as editor of A History of Waterford and its Mayors, celebrating 800 years of civic government in Waterford. 

Helen Brennan -"The Story of Irish Dance"

Helen Brennan presents the rich and illustrious history of Irish dance in this 90-minute symposium. Helen's discussion imparts the wonderful traditions of Irish Dance and includes the revival of set dancing in the last decade and a half. After Brennan's discussion, the audience will be invited to join her in some of these wonderful steps.

Brennan, born in Dublin and raised in Athenry, Co. Galway, now lives in Drogheda. she the author of The Story of Irish Dance, considered by scholars to the first major work on the topic (Brandon, 1999). Her interest in dance began in Athenry as a child while attending Irish dancing classes taught by Annie May Fahey, sister of the famous East Galway fiddler, Paddy Fahey. 

This led her to research the traditional dance of the region at the request of Breandán Breathnach for inclusion in his major work, The Folk Music and Dances of Ireland (Mercier, 1971). After moving to Drogheda, Helen organized and directed the first-ever festival of traditional dance- Féile Rince Traidisiúnta-in Drogheda in 1983. 

Brennan's interest in the study of dance helped her earn an honors M.A. in Ethnomusicology from Queen's University in Belfast, and has enabled her to lecture widely in Ireland and abroad. She is a contributor to "History Ireland" magazine, and the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Ireland (Gill and Macmillan).

Admission to the presentations is free to students and seniors. A $5 suggested donation from others to help support cultural programs at the ICHC.

This year St. Patrick's Day falls on a Sunday-a day of rest! Why not mark the occasion with a visit to the ICHC for a screening two classic Irish movies in the Hallamor:

2 p.m. — "My Wild Irish Rose"
7 p.m. — "Irish Eyes are Smiling"

Both films are in technicolor and filled with great songs like "My Wild Irish Rose," "A Little Bit of Heaven," "Mother Machree," "Dear Old Donegal," "When Irish Eyes are Smiling," "Let the Rest of the World Go By," and many more. They're based on the lives of Chauncy Olcott and Ernest Ball, giants in the Golden Age of Irish musical theater and vaudeville. Film historian Dale Kuntz , president of Milwaukee Film Classics, has secured two beautiful prints of these classics for showing in the Hallamor and will introduce the program. 

Guests are welcome to sing along with the great favorites on the screen. A $3 donation per film, or $5 for both movies is required. Besides the films in the Hallamor, Irish videos will be showing continuously all day in the bar from 1 p.m. There's no admission charge to the bar where guests can enjoy the Blooming Meadows exhibit featuring photographs of well-known Irish musicians.

Exhibitions at the ICHC

Photographs of well-known Irish musicians run until April at the Irish American Cultural Center in Milwaukee. The show is displayed in the Blooming Meadows.

In April and May, the ICHC will have a quilt exhibition featuring the beautiful and thought-provoking Milwaukee Community Quilt. This collaborative work represents the cultural fabric of Milwaukee. With a theme of "Weaving Communities Together," there are 56 panels representing the many groups that contribute to the rich mosaic that is Milwaukee.

The project is sponsored by the US Postal Service. The Irish and Scottish panels were both made by Shamrock Club member Kay Cobb.

Tenors and Troubadours Celebrate Irish America

Filled with the timeless songs and great stories of our heritage, this is the perfect good-humored and lively show for Milwaukee Irish Arts' annual St. Patrick's gala celebration. Providing the fun will be John Gleeson, Eamonn O'Neill, Bob Harrold, Sheila Larkin, Geraint Wilkes and their special guests including Derek Byrne, noted singer from the famous Riverdance show!

Celebrations take place at Milwaukee Athletic Club. The event kicks off at 5:30 p.m. with cocktails to the magic of Irish music and dance, featuring the Irish Fest Choir, Cashel-Dennehy and Trinity Dancers. Then our merry pipers lead us to the Grand Ballroom for our Gaelic gourmet dinner, followed by our show. 

Milwaukee Irish Arts is dedicated to the presentation of theater, film and spoken arts, and we continue to offer ongoing programs of cultural events. The group represent Milwaukee annually at the Acting Irish festival-the largest festival of Irish drama in North America. To date, we have brought back five "Outstanding Acting" awards. Locally, we have brought to the stage more than 100 works from the canon of Irish and Irish American theater. 

We've introduced countless young people to the riches of the Irish imagination, providing, for example, an early opportunity for young actor Barry McEvoy, who has gone on to star on Broadway with Jason Robards and Sharon Stone. He wrote and starred in the recent Irish movie "Everlasting Piece." 

Dan O'Donahue, a local young man, began his career with Milwaukee Irish Arts before joining the CBS sitcom "High Society." Milwaukee Irish Arts brought the national Youth Orchestra of Ireland to the Pabst Theatre for a spectacular concert that the local press called "the cultural bargain of the year." The presentation of Belfast actress Maggie Cronin's "A Most Notorious Woman" played to full houses and a rave review from the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel's Damien Jacques. 

Our St Patrick's eve event is the group's annual fundraiser. Admission to the event is $40 per person. Send checks made out to Milwaukee Irish Arts to: Pat Sadowski, 8804 W. Capitol Dr. #3, Milwaukee, Wis. 53222.

Irish Reels 2002, 
the Fifth Annual Irish Film and Video Festival presented by 911 Media Arts Center, plays in Seattle from March 6 to 9, 2002. The festival is a forum for features, documentaries, and shorts produced by independent Irish filmmakers. This year's line-up will again include films and videos on the cutting edge of independent cinema: 42 new titles over 4 days.

The festival opens with two Oscar-Nominated animated short films: Give Up Yer Auld Sins and Fifty Percent Grey. Both of these short films will play at the Harvard Exit Theater, in advance of the main feature film on opening night, How Harry Became a Tree, directed by Goran Paskaljevik, starring Colm Meaney and Cillian Murphy.

Featured Highlights from Irish Reels 2002

The festival will open at the Harvard Exit Theatre on 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 6, with both Oscar-nominated animated shorts and feature presentation of How Harry Became a Tree. A dessert reception to follow the presentations.

The program moves to 911 Media Arts Center on Thursday March 7, where the festival focus shifts to a number of insightful documentaries on Irish artists (painter Ramie Leahy and the 1980's rockband, The Undertones) plus a selection of short films.

The Seattle Art Museum is the next point of entry on Friday, March 8. The feature presentation that evening is for fans of the Absurdist brilliance of Samuel Beckett. shown will be Beckett on Film: Films of the Absurd?, a series of films that include recent productions and works from years past, moderated by UW Professor of English Herbert Blau, author of Sails of the Herring Fleet: Essays on Beckett. This event is being co-presented by the Walter Simpson Chapin Center for the Humanities at the University of Washington.

On Saturday, March 9, again at the Seattle Art Museum, the program will be split between the main Auditorium and the Lecture Hall throughout the day. In addition to a rich selection of insightful documentaries on Irish luminaries like Brian Friel and Sean O'Riarda, there is a bounty of English and Irish-language short films, including an impressive array of cleverly animated productions. The afternoon feature presentation will be the comical farce RAT, directed by Steve Barron and starring Pete Postlethwaite.

A special presentation on the current influx of immigration to Ireland will take place in the main auditorium at 6 p.m. "Turning the Tide: The New Wave of Immigrants to Ireland" will explore the reality of asylum-seekers via the documentary, No Man's Land coupled with a strong film called Zulu 9, which dramatizes all-too real events. A panel discussion will follow.

The closing night feature presentation will be On The Edge, starring Cillian Murphy and Stephen Rea. This is preceded by an Irish-language film (with sub-titles) Cáca Milis, starring Brendan Gleason.

The complete program listing is available at http://www.irishreels.org/>http://www.irishreels.org/
 

St. Patrick's Day Hoopla Offers Mix of Culture, Paddy-Wackery
Special to The Irish American Post

Patrick, where art thou? 

Well, over the next week, the name of the good saint will be celebrated in grand style from Tokyo to Teutonia Avenue. But with all the green beer sloshing, Ireland's patron has probably gone to ground...as they say in fox hunting. Enveloped by the marketing hoopla, it is easy to lose sight of what the real St. Patrick's Day is about: a feast day honoring that long-ago missionary (c 390-c 461) who "tamed" the Gaels with wisdom, creativity, gentleness, firmness and more than a little understanding. 

Patrick was bravely ahead of his time, demanding freedom for slaves — having been one himself. He was humble, "although my spirit is moved, and I understand with my mind, I cannot express myself clearly and briefly." He made mistakes, baptizing the king of Cashel and inadvertently piercing the man's foot with his staff during the ceremony. He was a simple man of nature, finding it easy to pray outside in the wilds, far from the confines of a church. 

Before the marketing frenzy that St. Patrick's Day in Dublin has become, most Irish spent the day in quiet reflection. There might be a hurling or Gaelic football match after a morning mass. Maybe there would even be a regional championship game under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association. But not much more... to the dismay of Yanks who came looking for the craic, the good times.

In 1996, as that demand for some sort of official Irish pageant grew, the travel promotions folks in the Auld Sod scented a good thing decided to hold a parade in Dublin. The celebration caught on and has subsequently grown into a major arts festival. a regular Celtic Carnivale of masqued prancers, street theater, parties and even the appearance of characters called Balor of the Baleful Eye and the Wizard of If. 

While the threat of hoof and mouth disease last year forced a postponement in the action, everything is on track for 2002. Dublin's St. Patrick's Festival runs from Friday, March 15, through Sunday, March 17. The parade — with its international contingent of bands, including one from Norway, and an Australian parade marshal — kicks off at noon Sunday. 

The route meanders through the 1,0000-year old city from St. Patrick's Cathedral to Parnell Square. While you can still catch an Aer Lingus flight from that Irish airport south of Milwaukee, O'Hare, don't expect to get a grandstand seat for the action, even if your name is St. Patrick. They've been sold out for weeks.

More and more corporations wanted to participate this year, drooling over the tens of thousands of guests expected to flock to the city for the frivolity.... so there is barely a non-logo-hole left open between the Kilmainham Jail and the Dublin Writers Museum these days. Fireworks are sponsored by 7-Up and even a committee to end racism is involved. Dominic Campbell, artistic director for the pageantry, asserted that during the festival, "you will see strange and unusual sights and it'll be like walking through a waking dream." Hmmm.

Things were also bizarre around Greater Milwaukee this year. The poor town of Erin decided not to hold its long-running parade, supposedly because volunteer organizers were tired of dealing with disorderly party-goers. 

And in Milwaukee, a fierce spate broke between St. Pat's parade organizers and what were to be host neighborhoods. Seems there were disagreements over sponsorships. The situation became as dicey as that traditional tiff between Northside and Southside Chicago Irish. It's a wonder that the shillaleghs were not called out to settle the matter. Milwaukee's St. Patrick's parades (there are two) are still set for Saturday.

But don't despair. There's more Paddy-wackery and plenty of good entertainment yet to come this weekend. St. Patrick would probably approve of the cultural aspects of the festivities, if not the pending overindulgence of bubbly. Here's a quick rundown of local Irish hoopla this weekend:

Ceol Gairde is helping Miller Brewing Company celebrate St. Pat's by entertaining tour guests at the facility on Saturday, March 16. While waiting in line, tap toes to trad tunes from Tipperary and Tralee between 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. For tour details, call 931-2337.

Welsh singer Geraint Wilkes, Seosi nic Roartigh, a traditional singer from Donegal, and Derek Byrne, who had been a singer for the hit Irish stage production of Riverdance, are on hand to help Milwaukee Irish Arts (Cumann Ealaín Éireannach Milwaukee) celebrate the weekend. The St. Patrick's eve show is the major fund raiser for the group, to be held at the Milwaukee Athletic Club, 758 N. Broadway . Cocktails are set for 5:30 p.m., with dinner at 7 p.m., and a show following. Tickets are $40. For more information: check the group's web site at http://www.gaelicweb.com/milwirisharts, or call 414-229-3097. 

There aren't any leprechauns, limerick competitions or other sham-roguery at the annual celebration on the eve of the Gaels' High Holy Day. But there will be plenty of Irish music, dance and comedy, plus the usual groaning platters of food and plenty of refreshing beverage. 

Milwaukee Irish Arts has a definite mission, according to John Gleeson, the association's artistic director and one of its founders.

"We are dedicated to the initiation, presentation and promotion of Irish and Irish American arts in the Midwest," Gleeson emphasized, with the group offering an ongoing program of theater, film and the visual arts.

"We've been at this since 1983, when we first introduced theater performance as part of Milwaukee Irish Fest," Gleeson added. "We are here to show that there are many aspects of Irish culture, in addition to growing popularity of Irish music," he said.

The St. Patrick's show is the major fund raiser for the arts organization, allowing it present shows throughout the year, said Dublin-born Gleeson, who is also co-director of the new Center for Celtic Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Over the past 17 years, Milwaukee Irish Arts has brought to the local stage more than 100 works of Irish and Irish American drama. Among them, The Wake at Milwaukee's Performing Arts Center, brought comedian Steve Allen to town for what he termed a "'masterful creation" of his play,'" Gleeson pointed out.

The Abbey Theatre's Ray Yeates was on hand to direct Philadelphia, Here I Come, according to Gleeson. The play provided an opportunity for young actor Barry McEvoy to gone on to star on Broadway with Jason Robards and Blyth Danner, he said. Milwaukee Irish Arts also brought the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland to the Pabst Theatre for a show that that the local reviewers called "the cultural bargain of the year," he went on. 

The organization also sponsors an annual Irish Film Fleadh (festival), hosts concerts by notable folk singers such as Tom Sweeney, as well as appearances by other performers like operatic soprano Catherine Hegarty. It also sponsored several one-person pub plays by the likes of Belfast actress Maggie Cronin and her A Most Notorious Woman . 

So think green this season.

A blowout ceili dance (ceili means "party" in Gaelic) begins at 8 p.m. at the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center (ICHC), 2133 W. Wisconsin Ave. The ICHC is the home for all grand things Irish throughout the year. Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for seniors, $3 for students and $2 for kids. Music is by the Public House Ceili Band. In the ICHC main hall, Old Blind Dogs are performing at 8 p.m., as well. Admission is $15 advance and $17 at the door. For more extensive details on the ceili, the concert and the facility's ongoing action-packed Green-type programing, call 354-8800 for all the Celtic skinny.

Leahy's Luck, winner of the 2001 Wisconsin Area Music Industry award (WAMI) for best ethnic group, will put on a rousing show at the Cedarburg Cultural Center also on Saturday. The green-tinged activities kick-off at 6 p.m. with a microbrew tasting and silent auction. A dinner of corned beef and cabbage follows at 7 p.m. The band bounds on stage at 8 p.m.

Excellent musicians, they're kinda like the Milwaukee area's version of the Brady Bunch, with brothers Tom and Brian Leahy fronting the group with bass, guitar and vocals. Brian's vocalizing daughters Michelle, Sarah and Caitlin also play the violin, tin whistle and flute. Tom's daughter Maura plays the accordion and keyboards, while his son Evan plays an Irish drum called the bodhran. A slew of Irish dancers will also prance across the boards.

This Irish Eve is part of the Cedarburg Cultural Center's Folk Heritage Concert Series and is sponsored by Guinness and local businesses. God bless all of 'em. Tickets are $30 per person or $220 for a table of eight. For more details, call 262-375-3676.

Six of the top Irish American musicians and dancers will burn up the Pabst Theater stage with their rousing renditions beginning at 8 p.m., Saturday. If jigs, reels and hornpipes are your cuppa Irish tea, take in Mick Moloney and his crew, helped by Milwaukee's own Cashel-Dennehy Dancers. Limerick-born Moloney has been a presence on the music scene Stateside since 1979, his tours often sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. He's a grand friend of Beer Town's Gaelic brigade, often appearing at Milwaukee Irish Fest and other stage settings around here. Tickets are $23 at the Pabst box office, 144 E. Wells St. Call 286-3663. 

Now for Sunday, the actual Holy Day. Back at the ICHC, Irish movies will be shown at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., with Irish videos running continuously in the bar area from 1 p.m. on through the day. Admission for one flick is $3 and $5 for the two. On the screen will be "My Wild Irish Rose" and "Irish Eyes are Smiling."

The Eagan's on Water annual St. Patrick's celebration on Sunday features Ceol Garde and Tony Palese on bagpipes. The dining room room promises an array of Irish specialties, with the entertainment beginning at 6 p.m. The restaurant, named after the one of the owners' teachers at Marquette High School, is located at 1030 N. Water St., Call 271-6900.

If the day is not full enough, wind down with folk singer/shantyman David H.B. Drake who will present a St. Pat's Day concert at 7 p.m., Sunday, at the Unitarian Church North, 13800 N. Port Washington Rd., Mequon. The program is part of the facility's Octagonal Concert Series. Tickets are $6 at the door. For information, call: 414-277-8151 or check Drake's website at www.davidhbdrake.com. Drake is noted for his wonderful minstrelizing at Milwaukee Irish Fest. He's the guy in the green tights and plumed chapeau usually performing around the front gate.

The Milwaukee County Transit System and Miller Brewing Company are hosting free bus rides from 5 p.m. until service ends on both Saturday and Sunday. Call 800-FREE-RIDE. You may even meet St. Pat at the end of the line, or somebody who thinks he is.

The Milwaukee's Green Season never really winds down. Looking ahead, Altan, one of Ireland's top traditional bands and a regular at Milwaukee area venues, will be performing Friday, April 12, at the ICHC. The show, which kicks off at 8 p.m., costs $17 advance and $18 at the door. 

So, St. Pat, wherever you are. Happy Holy Day and ever after. We doff our green derbies to you.

(courtesty of Lifestyles Magazine, the Shepherd Express and staff)

Christie's Holds Irish Sale, May 17

Christie's, the noted auction house, will again hold its annual Irish Sale in London this spring. Set for May 17, this year's popular event will be the seventh such auction featuring an array of works by Ireland's leading artists. Some of the pieces date from the 17th century. 

Leading the sale are pictures by Jack Butler Yeats (871-1057), Roderic O'Connor (1860-1940), George Barret (1728-1784) and Harry Clarke (1889-1931).

Highlights of the sale can be viewed April 11-15 at Christies Rockefeller Centre, New York; from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 30, at the Shelbourne Hotel, St. Stephen's Green, Dublin; and Christie's King Street & Old Brompton Road, May 12-16..

Scholar Desmond Fitzgerald will present a lecture entitled "Collecting Irish Art: A Personal View" at Christie's King Street site at 6:30 p.m., May 14.

For more information, contact Christie's at www.christies.com or call 
+ 44 20-7321-3120.