One of Shilelagh Law’s greatest original songs is playing in my head… “Let me tell you about a place I know, where American kids and the Irish go, you can hear the jigs and reels up and down the street, where New York City and Ireland meet.” They sing of a place that is near and dear to my heart, the Woodlawn section of the Bronx and the neighboring Yonkers McLean Avenue strip.
It’s the place I’ve called home for the last seven years, and as I sit in my Woodlawn apartment full of boxes ready to be moved to a new neighborhood across the Tappan Zee Bridge, the lyrics to “Meet Me on McLean” ring truer than ever.
Woodlawn is a place with Irish music in its history, in the air, and in the pubs that line Katonah and McLean Avenues. It’s a place where some of the city’s finest Irish musicians were reared, where some of the liveliest Irish bands were formed, and where emerging acts continue to spring up.
During a stroll around town you’ll pass by the childhood home of world-famous fiddler Eileen Ivers, where she honed the remarkable skills that would win her countless awards and bewilder audiences all over the globe. You could easily bump into Irish America’s beloved flute player and leader of Cherish the Ladies, Joanie Madden, or guitarist Jimmy Coen, whose father, the late Jack Coen was a renowned flutist adored by the traditional Irish music community.
You’ll see kids toting flutes, fiddles, and squeeze boxes to the Woodlawn House of Irish music, a very special home where dozens of teachers and students gather to curate the next generation of all-Ireland champions. It’s a place owned by Roscommon native Martin O’Grady, who generously looks after neighborhood youth and the local Irish music tradition by providing a rent-free space for Irish music lessons.
People in Woodlawn know how to wrap up their weekends – with a lively session in one of the local watering holes. On a Sunday evening, you’ll hear music pouring from the pubs out into the street – Keith O’Neill, Desi O’Rourke, Marie Barrett, and Sean McPhale provide the mighty music in the Heritage Bar on McLean Ave, and on Katonah Ave it’s easy to be drawn into the Ramblin House when you hear the young and vibrant playing of Katie Linnane, Conor McGuirk, and Brian McCartin.
Once the town wakes up from a hazy lazy summer, autumn and winter weekends in the Bronx are buzzing with the sounds of some of the area’s most sought-after bands like Shilelagh Law, Jameson’s Revenge, and the latest group formed by life-long Irish entertainer, Padraig Allen, whose name was inspired by the very place I’m gushing about – McLean Avenue Band.
In Woodlawn, there always seems to be the excitement of a new group forming right around the corner. It gets me every time. Broken Banjo Strings, the trio that formed after playing together at a local Woodlawn session wowed me when I saw them play for the first time a few months back. They’ll be announcing some area gigs this fall along with a group that is so new they don’t have a name yet. Flute and whistle player, Andrew McCarrick and guitarist, John Walsh of Jameson’s Revenge have teamed up with Shane O’Sullivan and bassist Ed Koehler of the Prodigals for what’s likely to be a rip roaring new sound.
All this musical magic, so why am I packing up? Because Pearl River, N. Y., has one thing that the Bronx is missing, my fiancé, Brian. And although I really love the Bronx Irish music scene, I really, really love him. And besides, my friends in Rockland-based bands like Girsa and the Narrowbacks have assured me that there’s Irish music in the air in Pearl River too!
So before I pack up the very computer I’m typing on, I tip my hat to my Woodlawn musical friends from the bands I mentioned above, thank you for all you do to keep the Bronx jigging and jiving.
South of the Bronx this week, you’ll catch The Mickey Finns at Paddy Reilly's in NYC on 7/6. And in Norwalk , CT, MacTalla Mor performs at The Round Hill Highland Games on 7/7.
