Celebrating Ireland
Celebrating Ireland in Story and Song, Sunday, April 9, 2:00 p.m.
Celebrating Ireland in Story & Song is an all Irish program which embraces Irish history and culture in story and song.
Phil Edmonds, a native of Killaloe, Country Clare, Ireland, learned to play the tin whistle in a place where he says: "The backyard was the fields." When he was 14 years old, his family emigrated to America and settled in South Providence where he still lives. Along with his tin whistle, Phil plays button accordion with great warmth and spirit. In 2008, he wrote his first book, "Reconnecting with the Soul of Ireland' about his family, memories of growing up in Killaloe, roaming the fields and hills, and finding the new Ireland alongside the old.
Kevin Fallon hails from a big Irish Catholic family and learned little ditties at home. He started playing the guitar as a teenager and took up the fiddle in his late twenties. He has played and sung throughout New England and Europe with various bands and has worked with the Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, RI in many productions, including A Christmas Carol. Kevin currently teaches fiddle, guitar and various string instruments and is a founding member of the Rhode Island Gobshites, a well loved eclectic music band with an Irish flair. Celebrating Ireland in Story & Song is delighted to have Kevin as part of their traveling troupe, as he brings a fine musicianship and a wonderful Irish sense of humor along with him.
Both of Mary King's parents are from Ireland and she was raised in that culture, taking Irish step dance lessons by age 4 and listening to her mother sing the songs of Donegal where she was born. She often visits her two aunts in Ireland, Bridget-Mary and Madge (now 97), who told her the stories of their youth — from "doing battle with the hay" to the monthly fairs that travelled the countryside bringing everything one might need, from pots and pans to the "dentist" who pulled out the tooth that was ailing you with pliers. They often spoke of the hard work of living solely off the land, where everyone worked on their small farm, including the children — all with great humor. Mary keeps the tradition of Irish music alive with the Celtic harp and her fiddle.
The Celtic soul is alive and well in the stories and songs you will hear, and your ears and eyes will smile.