Irish Music in American South in Safe Hands

(Newswire.net — July 29, 2015) Franklin, Tennessee — The urban Irish-American populations in Boston, Chicago and New York tend to identify strongly as Irish, and often have lengthy stories of how their family came to the United States (inevitably due to a potato famine). The large numbers of Scots-Irish in the American South don’t usually identify in the same ways, possibly because many of them came from Northern Ireland, and tend to be Protestant instead of Catholic. In the music of the American South, however, you can often hear an obvious Irish influence, and in some places the music hasn’t changed at all.

 

And Katherine Irwin Thomas, originally from East Tennessee and now living in Atlanta, GA is passionate about keeping this influence alive.

 

“The aim of the Atlanta Irish Music School is to teach and promote quality traditional Irish music to children, teens and young adults in Metro Atlanta” says Katherine who founded this creative and driven venture in an effort to build an Irish community in Atlanta.

 

“Irish music is music for your entire family and music for a lifetime” she continues.

 

 

The school offers ceilí band group classes twice monthly on sunday afternoons as well as the opportunity to perform throughout the year with The Atlanta Junior Ceilí Band.

 

The school is particularly committed to promoting and preserving the truest forms of the Irish music tradition and this year’s Irish music summer camp featured guest fiddle player and teacher, Éilís Crean. Crean founded The Irish Gift, Inc whose purpose is to preserve an old Irish music style that is in danger of dying out, a style known as The East Galway Irish Music Tradition. The style is described in many circles, by using the Irish-Gaelic word Draíocht or Magic.

 

And magic abounded for the week at the Atlanta Irish Music School summer camp as it became the first camp in the USA to have The East Galway Irish Music Tradition as the focus of the master fiddle class. Teachers and students alike shared music, songs and stories from Ireland and Irish-America.

 

“I was overjoyed to see such an interest in the East Galway Irish Music Tradition, the old Irish traditions, the history of Ireland and the Irish language” said Crean who recounts with affection the deep interest of the pupils, particularly the children, in the all things Irish. 

 

“I am very grateful to Katherine and the Irish community of Atlanta for giving me the opportunity to teach the East Galway Irish Music Tradition and the music of Eddie Kelly” Crean continues. “I believe it is so important that we honor those who came before us and took the time to pass a musical tradition down to us. To pass on such a gift is done out of love, for me it was my dad and Eddie Kelly and their love for the East Galway Irish Music Tradition. I feel that we should take every opportunity to celebrate and remember such selflessness and kindheartedness, whenever possible”

 

At the Irish music camp, Crean was joined by renowned Irish traditional singer Mai Hernon. Crean and Hernon have joined forces and offer workshops in Irish fiddle, traditional Irish singing, set-dancing, bodhrán and the Irish language. Mai is kept busy all year around with her performance and teaching schedule and still manages to find time to get into the recording studio. She has has just released her fourth album which has been received with great interest and excitement.

 

The Atlanta Irish Music School works very closely with another Irish group that aims to promote traditional Irish music in all its forms. Irish Traditions Atlanta has a very powerful mission and their ambitions are multi-fold including the promotion of Irish traditional dancing with an emphasis on set and céilí dancing, the continued fostering of traditional singing in both Irish and English and ultimately to create a closer bond among all lovers of Irish music with a spirit of cooperation with all bodies working for the restoration of Irish culture.

 

IrishFest Atlanta is the culmination of the hard work of both of these groups and will take place in November of this year. The lineup includes Liz Carroll, John William and many more

 

It is now very clear that the Irish culture in the American South is in safe hands with the consistent hard work and dedication of The Atlanta Irish Music School and Irish Traditions Atlanta.