Not sure how many readers saw it, but last week a video circulated on social media of actor Brendan Gleeson’s appearance on the “Late Late Show” promoting “Brendan Gleeson’s Farewell to Hughes’s,” a documentary that recently premiered at the Irish Film Institute. Its subject was Hughes’s, a great pub in Dublin’s Smithfield neighborhood that was a great home for traditional music for over 35 years and closed in 2021.
After a long and reverent chat about what Hughes’s was and what it meant to him, Gleeson joined a small group of Hughes’s regulars, including fiddle player Liam O’Connor and uilleann piper Gay McKeown, for a couple of tunes that did a nice job of capturing the spirit of a good session.
I’ve not yet seen this film, but I am entirely keen to, not simply because it’s about one of the best places in the world for traditional music, but because it seems that the right people are involved in making it. In addition to Gleeson is director Ciarán Ó Maonaigh. Readers may remember Ó Maonaigh as the great fiddle player from the Gaoth Dobhair gaeltacht in County Donegal, who was TG4’s 2003 “Young Musician of the Year” and who plays with the groups Fidil and the High Seas, and also with his wife, the great Caitlín Nic Gabhann. Because he understands film and is also a top-tier musician, he does seem like someone who, as Gleeson says, “knows how to get into the soul of a session” and can put it to film.
In addition, the focus – at least in the trailer – seems to be the people who were session regulars. These people often don’t get enough credit, but as one might argue, a session is only as strong as the players who go. I’m certain all the folks included in the trailer are excellent players, but the things they say about what a session “is” ring true and I think communicate the important points in a way that non-initiates should listen to very closely.
Adding to my interest is the refreshing “understanding” of traditional music Gleeson presented on the "Late Late" interview. A musician himself (he plays fiddle, banjo and mandolin, and if you’ve seen films like "Cold Mountain," "Michael Collins," "The Grand Seduction" and "The Banshees of Inisherin," or the episode of "Saturday Night Live" not so long ago, you’ve heard his playing), there’s genuine affection when he tells host Patrick Kielty that going to Hughes’s was “balm for my soul.” And I could identify with the existential challenge he projected when he described Hughes’s as an “institution” and that when it closed “on a personal level, [he] felt a little bit cut adrift.” It’s an auspicious direction that bodes well for a good production.
Finally, I really appreciated his mention of Liam O’Connor’s work at the Irish Traditional Music Archive on a national broadcast. Outfits like ITMA, who are clearly involved with this production, do major work in preserving traditional music but crucially, they also make the minutiae of its history publicly available, allowing that new initiates to consume it, reimagine it and use it in creating anew the kinds of mad moments Hughes’s was known for. (This seems like a good time to mention Ciaran Carson’s incredible book “Last Night’s Fun,” which is a transcendent book on traditional music and craic that might be a good warmup for this film.) I sincerely hope “Brendan Gleeson’s Farewell to Hughes’s” is distributed in some way in the United States, because this documentary looks spectacular. And when it does, I’ll give a full
recap here.
In other news: hey, did you know that Cherish the Ladies are doing two shows (afternoon and evening) at the Irish Arts Center on St. Patrick's Day? Led by the mighty Joanie Madden, the group also features Mary Coogan, Mirella Murray, Nollaig Casey and Kate Purcell. Gabriel Donohue will join them as well, and the show will include performances from five-time world champion dancer David Geaney, world champion dancer Tyler Schwartz and All-Britain champion and "Riverdance" alumnus, Noel Spillane. This is going to be a brilliant St. Patrick’s Day event, so if you’re interested in attending I’d suggest booking your tickets now, because these shows will absolutely sell out. For more, visit https://irishartscenter.org/.
Speaking of women who play Irish music, I hopped over to Pearl River on Sunday to catch the “Reel Housewives of Irish Traditional Music” concert, and it was fabulous! The music was excellent and the ‘wives played to a raucous room that must have numbers a couple hundred people. Congrats to everyone involved, it was a brilliant afternoon that I hope happens again! Further: it’s been announced that the Mid Atlantic Region of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann has a new web address! Yes, from now on the link you’ll visit for all things Comhaltas in the region is https://ccemidatlantic.com. And with the new URL comes a snazzy new look that I think folks will appreciate – check it out!
This CCÉ announcement comes as news continues to arrive about the upcoming Mid-Atlantic Fleadh, which will take place Mothers Day weekend, May 10-12, at the ParsippanyHilton in Parsippany, N.J. The annual Hall of Fame induction banquet will take place on Saturday, May 11, and this year’s honorees will include Siobhan Kelly, Niall Mulligan, Dawn Doherty, and the late Kathleen Collins. Lots more announcements are still to follow in the coming weeks, including information about registration, special hotel room rates, and banquet tickets, so stay tuned! Visit and bookmark https://ccemidatlantic.com/ for more info and consider subscribing to their email list to keep up with announcements as they happen. Finally, the Patsy Touhey Weekend will take place up in Boston, April 26-28th. “A gathering to memorialize Patrick J. Touhey, one of America’s finest Uilleann pipers,” the weekend will include “workshops, presentations, concerts, and recitals given by some of the finest pipers and historians in America.”
Touhey was one of the tradition’s most important pipers. Born in 1863 in Loughrea, County Galway, his family moved to Boston, Mass, when he was three years old. Over the years, he was a huge hit on the Irish vaudeville circuit, made a number of beloved recordings, and was even the center of a controversy at the 1903 World’s Fair! Touhey died in 1923 and is buried in St. Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx.
Featured musicians and speakers at the Touhey Weekend will include Joey Abarta, Seán Gavin, Michael Stribling, David Quinn, Nick Whitmer, Richie Piggott, and Will Woodson. (In addition, yours truly will be there as well to give a talk about William and Michael Hanafin, a couple of Touhey’s contemporaries!). It’s shaping up to be a great weekend that will probably have a couple other surprises in store.Last year’s event was a big hit. This year, organizers have put together an even better program, so no reason to miss it (especially if you’re a piper). To learn more and to register, visit https://www.patsytouheyweekend.com.
