I'm so glad I made it to the Hibernian Hall, because Dennis Galvin was there with a group of his young students. What a joy to see and hear these kids play their fiddles - a delight - taking me back to the days when my son Jonathan and I were studying violin on the Cape with Miss Sykes (taking the ferry over from the island every week), and my life was a steady stream of little kids and violins. How wonderful to see the music being passed to the next generation, and how lucky these kids are to be learning the music at a young age - though they don't know it yet, of course. I told Braden, age eleven, since I only started playing this music one year ago, "You've got a fifty-year head start on me." Hearing the children play was a treat, an honor, really.
I thought the attendance would be low due to the big Pats/Jets game scheduled to kick off at 4:30, but clearly football is not a priority with this crowd, as the hall was filled with musicians, dancers, families, and children of all ages (and the game would not have been a draw for me either had it not also been the birthday party of a friend).
It occurs to me that a People that makes music and dances together stands as good a chance as any, as a culture, to survive - probably more so. Let's throw staying in touch with its children in there, too.
Fiona, Braden, and Brigitte, with Billy in the background.
Fiona
Fiona and Braden.
Dierdre
Frank and Flan.
Dennis, Billy, and Braden.
Frank, Tom, and Mike.
Tom and Frank.
Connie, (Dennis, hidden), Billy, Braden, and Brigitte.
Braden
Braden, Brigitte, Billy, and Siobhan.
Fiona
Braden and Brigitte.
Frank and Tom.
Peter(?) and Connie.
Flan
Frank
Peter (?)
