Pikes Peak Celtic Festival June 16-18

The Festival grounds of the Pikes Peak Celtic Festival will once again be filled with the sound of Bagpipes, the smell of fish & chips, the sight of world champion Irish dancers, and events/activities for every age June 16 -18. See the colorful massed bagpipe bands of the Western United States Pipe Band Association. Dance and cheer to renowned Celtic Rock groups, Albannach, The McDeviants, and Swagger. Watch or learn traditional Irish and Highland dancing.  Enjoy the many vendors and taste the best in Irish and Scottish cuisine and partake in demonstrations with the Celtic Caterer/Eric McBride.   On Saturday night of the festival, join hundreds of kilted runners for the Braveheart 5k (see photo)

Pikes Peak Celtic Festival June 16 – 18 at Memorial Park in Colorado Springs.   For schedule and more information go to   www.pikespeakcelticfestival.com

June is here and the Gaels have already been training hard through rain, sleet and more unpredictable Denver weather. There is much to look forward to and prepare for with the Gaels Hurling team sending a squad to compete in the Indianapolis GAA invitational tournament on June 17^th.  The Indy tournament is regarded as one of the better games events the Denver Gaels have attended for both competition level and field accommodations.  This will be the first test against out-of-state competition for the season.

The Denver Gaels will have to defend their hometown pride at their own tournament they are hosting in July. The “Rumble in the Rockies” Southwest invitational tournament will bring several teams from out of state to compete at mile-high altitude and in Junior C, and B levels of competition.  The games will take place at the Lowry Sports Complex in Denver on July 22^nd and 23^rd.  With an exciting lineup of visiting teams in Hurling, mens and women’s Gaelic Football and Camogie, the Gaels will strive to make every touch of the ball count in trainings for the next several weeks. For more information on the tournament visit www.denversit.com

Practices through June and July will continue with Hurling and Camogie practice taking place Wednesdays at Cook Park at 630PM. Co-ed Gaelic Football practices at Harvard Gulch North Park Tuesdays at 630PM.  Sundays at Cook Park will grow a little longer with Gaels youth trainings at 2 PM starting in June. For more info on the Gaels youth program or to sign up your child please visit denvergaels.com/youth-program/

Hurling pub league (Sundays at 10AM at Cook Park) has gotten off to a great start.  The Fainting Goat team remains undefeated, with The Irish Rover trailing one game behind and Dougherty’s bringing up the rear with one win and two losses.  Competition level has been climbing with many games neck and neck until the end and the involvement of new players continues to improve. There is a positive momentum building and the Gaels will need to hold on to every bit of it entering tournaments in the coming weeks.

Irish Network Colorado Presents:

FIFTH ANNUAL: Sure the Craic Was 90!

AN AFTERNOON OF IRISH STORIES AND SONG

Performance by Acclaimed Storyteller Liz Weir, County Antrim

Accompanied by Fiddler Extraordinaire Sky Kelsey, Aspen

Saturday, June 10, 2 p.m.—2950 Tennyson Street, Denver 80212

One of INCO’s most beloved visitors and performers, Liz Weir, is back for another signature event—and joined by Sky Kelsey, the brilliant young Irish-American musician who’s got folks in the know talking. This extraordinary performance in words and music will hosted by INCO for the benefit of the Tennyson Center for Children, a facility dedicated to the care and healing of children traumatized by abuse, neglect and mental health challenges.

Refreshments will be served during a brief intermission. Following the performance, we’ll reconvene at a local pub.  FREE ADMITANCE with RSVP at irishnetworkco.com

Donations to the Tennyson Center will be gratefully accepted.

Contact Maura Clare at [email protected] or 303.884.7091 with questions or to reserve a spot on the 1:30 tour of the facility prior to the event.

If you are not already on the INCO e-list, please sign up at http://www.irishnetworkco.com/join to receive information about these and other events.

Maura Clare, President; Lisa Switzer, Vice President; Mary Ryan, Secretary; Thomas Walsh, Treasurer.  Directors: Siobhan Barrett, Seamus Blaney, Thomas Burke, Alan Groarke, Dermot Healy, Tess Julian, Michael Keaveny, Kate Kelly, Don Murray, Doug Pooley, Cathy Welsh

Irish Network Colorado (INCO) serves to connect Irish expatriates, Irish-Americans and friends of Ireland by providing social, professional and cultural forums. INCO also encourages social, cultural and economic ties between Irish and American businesses in Colorado and between the U.S. and Ireland.

Meredith Wirth

Meredith Wirth is a very talented high school senior who began playing the Great Highland Bagpipes when she was just nine years old.  Today, at 17, she is a frequent solo piping winner at the Colorado Scottish Festival and other festivals in the region.

Sharon Rafferty, Meredith’s mother, says that Meredith always came along when Sharon was showing their Airedale Terriers at Highland games in Colorado that features Dogs of the British Isles.  “So she was exposed to the music there,” Sharon says. Then one day in March, Sharon took Meredith to a performance of the Denver Brass and Celtic Colorado.  After the performance, Meredith got to hold a set of bagpipes – and was hooked. She began taking lessons from the Colorado Youth Pipe Band and rose rapidly through the ranks until now she is Pipe Major (musical director) of the band.  She also competes with Colorado’s top-rated competition bagpipe band, Queen City Pipe Band, and performs with Celtic Colorado and the Denver Brass.

Meredith has too many solo piping wins to describe.  She has also been honored with the Scottish-American Military Medal from the Scottish-American Military Society in recognition of her excellence in musicianship, leadership and the study of the Highland bagpipe and Celtic heritage.  Meredith has won the Young Piper’s Award at the Colorado Scottish Festival, and has been named the Chieftain’s Piper for the St. Andrew Society of Colorado for 2016.

Meredith was adopted from China at the age of about 2-1/2.  Sharon says that Meredith comes from the southern part of China, while her older sister, Julia, who is a vocalist who has performed at opening ceremonies of some Highland festivals, comes from northern China.  In addition to playing the bagpipes exceptionally well, Meredith is interested in Airedale Rescue and promoting her youth band.  She is also a “math whiz” according to her mother, and tutors several other high school students and underprivileged elementary students in math.

Meredith is in the running to be valedictorian of her class at Faith Christian Academy in June and is planning to attend the School of Mines next year to major in mechanical engineering.

See Meredith at the Colorado Scottish Festival in Snowmass August 4-6 www.scottishgames.org

Susan Morrice and BNE win GetEnergy Award

Many Celtic Connection readers know or have read about Susan Morrice.  Originally form Ireland, Susan and her family have made Colorado home for the past 3 decades. She is the Co-Founder and Chairperson of Belize Natural Energy (BNE). Against all odds, and after the world’s top oil companies had made failed attempts and declared Belize barren Susan preserved with her little company and stuck lucky. Recently her unique company BNE was up for an award that recognizes the contribution of a company in supporting local education and economy – and they won!  Susan texted the Celtic Connection the next morning(5/9/17), “Omg- we won the prestigious GetEnergy Award last night at this beautiful banquet in a historic building in central London. The award is in essence for the best educational system ( Educo) that has made a difference both in a Company and throughout a country locally.   We beat 43 other countries and got a standing ovation from a packed banquet hall chanting Belize Belize Belize –  It was phenomenal. I’d love you to thank everyone who supported and voted for us.”

Wedding on the Beach!

Congratulations to Kate Nallen and Keith Lawlor who tied the celtic knot in Cancun last month.  Proud parents John and Una Nallen, brother Sean, and other friends and family were in attendance for the great day.  Now it’s back to Nallen’s Pub in Denver!

June 2017 Ceolta Notes

By Rodger Hara

Byrne and Kelly launch their 2017 summer tour in Boulder on the 1^st at 7:30 PM in the Dairy Center for the Arts.  Tix at www.byrneandkelly.com.

Celtic Woman takes the stage in the Red Rocks Amphitheatre on the 6^th at 7:30 PM.  Tix at www.livenation.com.

County Antrim story-teller Liz Weir presents an afternoon of story and song on the 10^th in a benefit for the Tennyson Center for Children hosted by the Irish Network Colorado.  Accompanied by fiddler Sky Kelsey for craic that will be mighty.  2950 Tennyson St., Denver.  Free admission, donations to the Tennyson Center gratefully accepted.

CANCELLED! Daniel O’Donnell is on stage for one night only in the Paramount Theatre on the 10^th at 7:30 PM.  Tickets at www.altitudetickets.com or 866.461.6556.

Skean Dubh is at the Colorado Medieval Festival in Loveland at 11:30 AM and 3:30 PM on the 3rd, at the Pikes Peak Celtic Festival the16th -18th (times TBD) and in the Hillside Gardens in  Colorado Springs, CO at 6:30 PM on the 21st.

Avourneen plays for the fans at the Cheyenne Celtic Festival from 1 to 3 PM on the 10^th

Jon Sousa and Adam Agee perform at the Pike’s Peak Celtic Festival 16^th – 18^th (times TBD) and for the Denver Zesty Contradance on the 10^th at 7 PM in the Scheitler Center, 5031 W. 46th Ave. Denver CO 80212

The Mountain Road Ceili Band does their usual gig at The Margarita in Colorado Springs on the 16^th from 6:30-9 PM

Colcannon celebrates the Celtic Solstice in concert in the Arvada United Methodist Church, 6750 Carr St, Arvada, CO 80004 on the 10^th at 7:30 PM and the 11^th at 2 PM.

Wild Mountain has a busy month beginning on the 2^nd at Jack Quinn’s, Colorado Springs from 8 – 12 PM, Nissi’s in Lafayette from 7:30 – 9:30 on the 8^th, at Clancy’s in Wheat Ridge from 6 -9 PM on the 11^th,  travel to Piper Down Irish Pub in Salt Lake City from 8-11 PM on the 23^rd then up to the Evanston Bluegrass Festival on the 24^th from 1:15 – 2:15 PM, home to the Feast Days Festival, Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Wheat Ridge on the 25^th from 5:30 – 7:30 PM and close out the month at the Edgewater Market and Music event in Edgewater from 6-8 PM on the 29^th.

The Bedlam Boys are at Paradox Beer Company in Divide on the 3rd at 4 PM and at the Pikes Peak Celtic Fest, 16^th-18^th time TBD

This year’s Cheyenne Celtic Festival on June 9^th and 10^th will feature pipe bands including the Colorado Youth Pipe Band, Denver and District Pipe Band and the Southeast Wyoming Pipe and Drum Band, Celtic bands Avourneen, Gobs O’Phun, Stubby Shillelaghs and Swagger, whisky tasting, a pub crawl and Scottish athletics.  Free admission. On the plaza at the Cheyenne Depot.

Pike’s Peak Celtic Fest, Memorial Park, Colorado Springs – June 16-18.  Albannach, Skean Dubh, Adam Agee and Jon Sousa, Swagger, The McDeviants, Rocky Bard, The Bedlam Boys, Celtic Steps Irish Dancers, Denver & District Pipe Band, Pikes Peak Highlanders, Michael Collins Pipes & Drums, Glendale Pipes and Drums, Northern Colorado Caledonia Pipe Band,

clan tents, pipe band and solo piper competition, vendors, whiskey tasting and more.  Tickets at www.pikespeakcelticfestival.com. $5 children, $15 adults in advance; $10-$20 at the gate.

Inaugural Scottsbluff Celtic Gathering  Celebrates Heritage and History May 19 – May 21

Scottsbluff invites all to their free “Celtic Gathering” which will be held in their downtown May 19 through May 21.  Activities will include: Music, dance, a Scottish movie the park, the gathering of the clans, a parade, food vendors, children’s activities, story tellers, sporting events, clan tents, sword fighting, pub crawl and a golf scramble.

The organizers, Scotts Bluff Area Visitors Bureau, said that the Celtic festival is an attempt to spread culture, activities and history in their community. “We have a rather large Scottish and Irish Heritage and want to share our culture with other clans across the tri-state area” said spokesperson Brenda Leisy.

One little bit of “local” Celtic history that the fest shared was the origins of the Buffalo Plaid:

Malboro Man wore it . . . Roy Rogers wore it . . . Tom Mix wore it . . . as did the mythical Paul Bunyan, legendary lumberjack of a thousand comic strips. And no self-respecting gunslinging cowboy would be seen without it . . . .Buffalo Plaid . . . as American as apple pie! Or is it?

Officially, Buffalo Plaid or check is ” plaid with large blocks formed by the intersection of two different color yarns, typically red and black.” Hang on a minute . . . .isn’ that the Rob Roy tartan? It most certainly is and it’s said that it was introduced to north America by a descendant of Rob Roy – one ‘Jock McCluskey’ sometime lawman, bounty hunter, fur trapper, gold miner and eventually Indian trader.

In the Indians’ eyes, McCluskey was no ordinary white man. Awed by his strength and size, he was hailed an invincible warrior. Both feared and revered, he was equally admired for his compassion. In the anti-Indian holocaust that followed Custer’s Last Stand, he was a rare white man indeed who dared to champion their cause. His reasons were as simple as they were personal: Their persecution and plight mirrored his own family clan’ descent from nobility to hunted criminals.

Befriended by the Indians, McCluskey became one of the era’s near vanished middlemen: A white man welcome among the Indians who effortlessly mingled between two warring rivals without fear of retribution. From the Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne, McCluskey bartered for buffalo pelts, offering a myriad of finished goods in exchange, the most coveted among the Indians were the heavy woven Scottish blankets, their dense, hearty weave colourfully emblazoned with his clan tartan’ signature red-and-black colours.

According to McCluskey’s great nephew, Gregor McCluskey, Sioux and Cheyenne warriors were in awe of its colour. None had ever seen such a deep, rich red. They believed its intensely rich hue of red to be a sorcorer’s hex, a dye distilled from the spirit blood and ghostly souls of McCluskey’s prey and enemies, a belief McCluskey did little to correct. Worn in battle and draped across their war ponies, it was prized as a good luck talisman and revered as a spirit guardian that would deliver immortality, even in the face of death itself.

Sioux and Cheyenne warriors called it ” plaid” (the Gaelic for it was pronounced pladjer) as did U.S. Army outpost and fort traders who bought McCluskey’s bartered skins and plaids. Hence was born, sometime in the late 1880s, the unique and confusing American term plaid referring to tartan itself rather than the use to which it was put. It was a very short step from there to the tartan of McCluskey’s Rob Roy blankets becoming known as Buffalo plaid.  (from www.tartansauthority.com)

(Jock McCluskey roamed the new West from Montana to Nebraska, but Nebraska does have good argument to claim the color Red! J)

Scotts Bluff is just under 200 miles from Denver (about 3HR drive)  Ms. Leisy also pointed out a number of local attractions in the area including: Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Riverside Discovery Center, Scotts Bluff National Monument, Legacy of the Plains Museum, Robidoux Pass National Historic Landmark and Trading Post, Wildcat Hills State Recreational Area and Nature Center, Lake Minatare State Recreation Area, and the Chimney Rock National Historic Site and Visitors Center

The official address of the site of the first “Scottsbluff Celtic Gathering “ is the  Downtown 18th St Plaza 1801 Broadway St Scottsbluff,  NE 69361    www.Scottsbluffcelticgathering.com

Flogging Molly in Denver Saturday May 13 at Fillmore Auditorium!
Direct ticket link http://concerts.livenation.com/event/1E005269D1702AA8

Flogging Molly will be at the Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, Saturday, May 13, 07:00 PM.
Founded by Dublin-born singer/guitarist/songwriter David King, Flogging Molly, will perform from the band’s third studio album, “Within a Mile of Home” and other favorites. Within a Mile of Home has finally taken King full circle, back to his roots, and oh what a journey it has been.
King began his musical career as a member of Fastway, teaming up with Motorhead guitarist Eddie Clarke in the late ’80s, having played New York’s Madison Square Garden and L.A.’s Great Western Forum, only to eventually find himself scrubbing the toilets of clubs where he performed with just an acoustic guitar. For the musician, who originally came to L.A. from London in 1989 at the invitation of legendary Geffen A and R exec John David Kalodner to be in a band called Katmandu, it wasn’t until forming Flogging Molly that he began to write and play “for myself and no one else.” These days, he insists, he is right where he wants to be.

May 2017 Ceolta Notes

by Rodger Hara

Emmet Cahill, a lead singer with Celtic Thunder, returns to Denver in concert at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 2626 E. 7^th Avenue Parkway, Denver on the 6^th at 7:00 PM. He’ll perform songs from his debut orchestral album, “Emmet Cahill’s Ireland.” Recorded with the Irish National Symphony Orchestra, the Sony-label album reached #1 on the Amazon, iTunes and Billboard World Music charts and includes traditional favorites like “Danny Boy, “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling,” “My Cavan Girl,” The Parting Glass” and more).  The concert will feature stories from Ireland and the road, songs from the album and Broadway favorites, movie hits and folk classics, plus an occasional operatic aria that will showcase the classical vocal training he received at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin. General admission tickets are $30 and may be purchased online at http://www.emmetcahill.com/tour-dates/.

A Scottish Highland Tea featuring Scottish Highland dancing, live Scottish music and a silent auction takes place on the 13^th at Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church, 11500 W 20th Ave. in Lakewood at 11:30 AM & 2:30 PM.  Dancers from Cristy’s School of Scottish Highland Dance, the Gillette School of Scottish Arts, Heather’s School of Highland Dance, Jennifer Hastings School of Highland Dance, McCulloch Scottish Dance Academy, the Patrick Highland Dance Company and the Highland Dance Corps of the Colorado Youth Pipe Band will entertain along with pipers and drummers.  Tickets for Adults are $18, children under 10, $12 and are available at  AScottishHighlandTea.myevent.com Call (303) 522-2560 or email [email protected]
Brian Clancy can be found in the Jack Quinn Irish Pub and Ale House, downtown Colorado Springs, at 7:30 PM on the 4^th, 11^th, 18^th and 25^th.  And speaking of Jack Quinn’s, here’s a link to a nice write up from Irish Central that features Jack Quinn’s selection as top Irish Pub in Colorado with a review describing a night with Mr. Clancy.

http://www.irishcentral.com/culture/food-drink/the-best-irish-pubs-in-every-state-according-to-yelp

Avourneen provides the music for the  Denver Contra Dance on the 26^th at the Highlands Masonic Center, 3550 N. Federal Blvd., Denver at 8 PM. Tickets start at $10 at the door..

Angus Mohr rocks out on the 20^th at the Odyssey Beerwerks Brewery and Taproom, 5535 W 56th Ave, Ste 107, in Arvada from 8 PM-12 AM.

Chancers Hooley entertains the craft beer lovers at the StrangeCraft Brewery in Denver on the 19^th from 6-9 PM.

The Mountain Road Ceili Band is at The Margarita at Pine Creek, Colorado Springs on the 19^th from 6:30-9 PM

Lougheed plays on the patio at Clancy’s Pub in Wheat Ridge on the 27^th from 5 to 8 PM.

Keep Britain Irish is on the Maddie’s Biergarten stage in Castle Rock on the 13^th with an 8:30 PM start time.  All ages, no cover

Wild Mountain has a busy month beginning with a show in The Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St, Denver at 7 PM on the 3^rd, the Little Bear Saloon in Evergreen on the 20^th from 4-8 PM, Clancy’s Pub in Wheat Ridge from 7:30-10:30 on the 26^th and at the Territory Days Festival in Colorado Springs on the 28^th from 10:30 AM – 12 PM.

Potcheen opens May with shows in Canon City on the 13^th from 12:30-4:30 PM as part of the Royal Gorge Concert Series, Evening Canon City that night from 9 PM – 12:30 AM, and then is back on the Royal Gorge Stage on the 14^th at 12:30 PM.

Hal Landem of The Wicked Sheehogues appears in the Upstart Crow theater company’s production of “The Dark of the Moon”, a play by Howard Richardson and William Birney in The Nomad Playhouse, 1410 Quince Ave., Boulder. Set in Appalachia in days gone by, it has witches and humans, love and marriage, betrayal and death, and old time music. You can hear another side of Hal’s playing in the show and in the pre-show entertainment half an hour before curtain at 7:30 PM on the 4^th, 5^th, 6^th and 2 PM on the 7^th.

Colorado Tartan Day Festival April 8-9

The Colorado State Tartan is the Scottish tartan pattern officially adopted by the U.S. State of Colorado to represent the state in various functions and occasions.  The Colorado General Assembly, designated an official Colorado State Tartan in 1997. The tartan is a pattern and colors that symbolize Colorado’s splendor and history. The pattern or sett consists of primary blocks of forest green and cerulean blue separated by broad dividing bands of black, with the forest green checks containing two pairs of tram tracks consisting of lavender and white and with the cerulean blue checks containing a gold stripe with red guard lines. The official state tartan is a Celtic district tartan that may be worn by any resident or friend of Colorado whether or not of Celtic heritage.

Folks of all backgrounds who celebrate the cultural richness of Colorado will gather together

Saturday & Sunday April 8 – 9, at the Boulder County Fairgrounds, Longmont, Colorado to celebrate the Colorado Tartan and Celtic heritage. Performances include Colorado Youth Pipe Band & Dancers, Historical Re-enactors, Celtic rock by Angus Mohr.

Hours are 9 am to 5 pm Saturday and 9 am to 4 pm Sunday.  Admission is Free to the Public.