Writer, musician, organizer, academic, Dan Neely is on the lookout for insights

By Sean Smith
March 30, 2017

Sean Smith

Neely NeelySo what do you do if you’re a Boston-born, banjo-playing, soon-to-be ethnomusicologist with a special interest in Jamaican music living in New York City?

Well, you might decide to take up Irish music, become a session regular and organizer and, eventually, work for a premier Irish-American journal – at a job formerly held by Earle Hitchner, one of the more prominent Irish-American journalists of the past few decades.

That’s the path Newton native Dan Neely chose almost 20 years ago, and he couldn’t be happier about it.

Neely is marking his fifth anniversary this year as the traditional music columnist for the Irish Echo, the oldest Irish-American newspaper in existence. He’s also the public relations officer for the Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Mid-Atlantic Region branch and leader of a popular weekly New York session, the former artistic director for the now-ended annual Augusta Irish/Celtic Week in West Virginia, and he was director of New York’s Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra during its last years. In addition, he is a lecturer on Irish music in America at New York University, from which he obtained his PhD in ethnomusicology.

‘Sanctuary Sessions’ key on common values in face of anxiety, hail ACLU’s steadfastness

By Sean Smith
March 30, 2017

Sean Smith

(L-R) Ted Davis, Tina Lech, Laura Feddersen, Nathan Gourley and Martin Langer during their set at the Sanctuary Session, held at the On the Hill Tavern in Somerville. Sean Smith photo

Somerville’s On the Hill Tavern was the venue for arguably one of the most high-profile Irish music-related events in the US on March 5, as it played host to “Sanctuary Session: Trad Music for Civil Rights,” a benefit for the American Civil Liberties Union.

A special appearance by Lúnasa and singer Karan Casey highlighted the show, which included performances by a number of local musicians, followed by an informal session.

Andover’s Katie LaMark rocks 20th anniversary tour of ‘Rent’

By R.J. Donovan
March 30, 2017

R.J. Donovan

The company of the “Rent 20th Anniversary Tour,” playing Boston’s Boch Center Shubert Theatre, April 11 – 23. Carol Rosegg photo

When “Rent” opened in 1996, it scored major headlines, for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, the show was a raw, rock musical that stood out in a theater season featuring “The King & I,” “Victor/Victoria” and “Inherit The Wind.” Its characters, a group of struggling young artists in New York’s East Village, were a motley crew living amidst the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Beyond that, on the night before the show’s Off-Broadway premiere, its creator and composer, Jonathan Larson, suddenly died of an undiagnosed aortic condition. He would never see the enormous impact his landmark vision would achieve.

With a message of joy and hope, Larson’s contemporary re-imagining of Puccini’s “La Boheme” went on to win both Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize. Two decades later, the “Rent 20th Anniversary Tour” comes to Boston’s Boch Center Shubert Theatre from April 11 to April 23.

April's Here & There

By Bill O'Donnell
March 30, 2017

Bill O'Donnell

ACLU a Major Anti-Trump Force – It is unusual, to say the least, that the American Civil Liberties Union has become the face of defiance to the new administration in Washington and its policies. Not always on the side of what is likely to be the popular trends of the day, the ACLU has used its considerable nonprofit clout on numerous controversial issues, ranging from the 1940s internment of Japanese residents in America during World War II, to political spending and gun rights.

Kevin Barry talks about his way of dealing with writing

By BIR News Room
March 30, 2017

Kevin Barry, the Burns Visiting Scholar in Irish Studies for this semester at Boston College, is one of Ireland’s more highly regarded fiction writers to emerge this century. The author of two novels, “Beatlebone” and “City of Bohane,” and two story collections – “There Are Little Kingdoms” and “Dark Lies the Island” – Barry has won the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, the Goldsmiths Prize, the IMPAC Dublin City Literary Award, the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Prize, and the European Union Prize for Literature, as well as a Lannan Foundation Literary Award.

TWO PASSINGS, AND A PASTIME RENEWED: Two men who made a mark

By Peter F. Stevens
March 30, 2017

Peter F. Stevens

They were vastly different men in many ways, but in their inimitable ways, they shared a bottomless love of their native Ireland. Martin McGuinness was an IRA commander turned peacemaker. Frank Delaney was a journalist, broadcaster, and, above all, a masterful writer and storyteller. They passed away in recent days, McGuinness to heart trouble, Delaney after a stroke. In these pages, I had the opportunity to speak at length with both men.

A momentous election for Sinn Fein; getting down to business a must now

By Joe Leary
March 30, 2017

Joe Leary

No one expected the leading Unionist party to lose 10 seats in the recent Assembly election in Northern Ireland. No one expected that as a result of the voting, the Democratic Unionists would have only a one-seat advantage over the Sinn Fein. No one expected the overall Nationalist vote to almost tie the Unionist vote. No one expected that 100,000 more votes would be cast than in the last Assembly election – a ten percent increase with nearly 60 percent of the increase going to Sinn Fein.

Revival of a dream for Deer Island

By Ed Forry
March 30, 2017

The long-awaited memorial to the Irish who died before they could reach Boston during the great Irish famine and were buried at Deer Island may soon become a reality.

The late podiatrist Dr. Bill O’Connell and his wife Rita O’Connell, longtime stalwarts of Boston’s Irish community, spent many years learning about “The Great Hunger,” the famine that ravaged Ireland in the middle of the 19th century, leading to the death of many from starvation while countless others sought to extend their lives by cramming into sailing ships and set out for America.

Irish American Partnership hears of Kerry woes; sets awards for 5 schools

By BIR News Room
March 30, 2017

The Irish American Partnership used the occasion of a visit to Boston by Kerry Co. Mayor Michael O’Shea last month for a roundtable discussion about economic growth in the west of Ireland to announce Partnership grants to five Kerry schools.

O’Shea and Kerry Tourism Officer John Griffin were in Boston to promote tourism, trade, education, and direct foreign investment in the county, which has not yet recovered from the devastating effects of the recession.

In recognition of their visit, Partnership Chief Executive Mary Sugrue presented O’Shea with awards totaling $10,000.

Dot runners fuel passion of Team MR8

By Elana Aurise
March 30, 2017

Elana Aurise

A team of 100 runners affiliated with the Martin Richard Foundation are training hard for this month’s BAA Boston Marathon, set for April 17. The foundation’s team— affectionately known as Team MR8— includes 18 Dorchester residents who are all raising funds to aid the Fields Corner-based organization, which is devoted to keeping Martin’s peace-filled message alive through good deeds and philanthropy.

Martin, 8, was killed and his family members were injured when two terrorists detonated a pair of homemade bombs near the finish line of the city’s marathon in 2013.

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