The man who helped put the North American Province of CCE on the map, the late Jack Pendergast, RIP will be buried tomorrow at Arlington National Cemetery following a service at Ft. Myer. For those who may not have met him, Jack was on the cover of the last issue of Treoir, and his extensive contributions to CCE in this country are discussed in two articles inside.
The note, below, from Jack’s daughter Kay contains the details the memorial service:
We have finally received the information for my father’s service-it will be held on Thursday, 22 October 2009 starting promptly at 0845 in the morning. The service will begin at the Ft. Myer Chapel, then we will proceed to Arlington National Cemetery for the burial. (The gate for access to Ft Myer is just past the Iwo Jima Memorial on Marshall Drive.)
Following the service we will convene at the Dubliner Pub in Washington DC, across from Union Station, approximately 1100 am to celebrate my father’s life with good food, drink, tears and laughter. (Dad went to school with the owners of the Dubliner Pub when growing up in Syracuse NY-the Coleman brothers.)
There is a metro stop at Arlington National Cemetery and also parking should you want to take the metro to the Dubliner Pub near Union Station rather then attempting to drive into DC. However, for those brave patriots, there is paid parking at Union Station.
We have arranged for a block of rooms at the Hyatt Arlington, VA. It is located on Wilson Blvd, across from the Rosslyn Metro stop. Again we selected it for its convenient location to Ft Myer, Arlington National Cemetery and the metro. This way, if you desire, you can easily get from the hotel to the service and then onto the Dubliner Pub and back again with very little driving.
The hotel website…www.arlington.hyatt.com, go the the left side of the home page under “Find rooms and rates”, input the selected dates and then below that you will put the group code, G-CJPF, in the corporate group slot. Also if you want to make reservations over the phone please dial 800-233-1234 and ask for the Colonel John Pendergast Block.
We recommend making hotel reservations as soon as possible if you think you may be able to join us…the weekend following the funeral is the USMC Marathon and hotels will fill up very quickly.
DC Metro web site: http://www.wmata.com/rail/maps/map.cfm
Arlington National Cemetery is on the blue line; Hyatt (Rosslyn) is on the blue and orange line and Dubliner Pub (Union Station) is on the red line.
Arlington National Cemetery:
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/Visitor_information/index.htmFt Myer Chapel:
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/interactive_map/section13.htmlIf you think you may be able to attend the funeral and the celebration, please let us know with an email or phone call. We will be arranging for food at the Dubliner and want to make sure we order enough. Dad was very specific and made me promise to ensure whoever participated, we fed them well! Help me keep the promise…thank you.
Blessings, Kay Pendergast Wolf and Dan Pendergast
Crawford and Vallely in NJ DATE CHANGE!
As previously posted, Kevin Crawford and Cillian Vallely are touring the east coast.
The gig that was originally supposed to have taken place on September 14 in Voorhees, NJ has been rescheduled to September! This is a You Gotta Have Harp Productions house concert. Contact Kathy DeAngelo to reserve tickets and get directions at 856-795-7637.
Special Offer!
20% Off Pride of New York CD!
Don’t forget to click here and read Earle Hitchner’s review in this week’s Echo!
Sad news on the passing of Mary LaMarca:
Beth Curren sent the note below to Tom Scullen, President of the Greater Washington Ceili Club, for those who may remember Mary LaMarca from the early days of GWCC and the Washington Irish and Folk Festivals.
Dear Tom,
I’ve forwarded this to you because it is about a life worth noting: Mary LaMarca was a founding member and, I believe, the first secretary of the Greater Washington Ceili Club. Mary and her husband, George Stephens, worked tirelessly at setting up and running both the Washington Irish Festival and the Washington Folk Festival. Mary was also a regular stage manager and dispatch coordinator for the National Folk Festival until she had to retire because of her decreased mobility. Until 2008, when things just got too tough, she and George performed at the Washington Folk Festival as part of singer/songwriter workshops. She was a researcher in a biology lab at NIH. Over the years she invited many children to participate in Bring a Child to Work Day; Meredith was the lucky participant two years ago. Mary was an avid bird-watcher and fascinated by reptiles. We went together to MARS (not the planet, silly: the Mid-Atlantic Reptile Show) each year in Timmonium, MD. Thanks to Mary, I am the proud and frightened foster parent of a Leopard Gecko, and Bearded Dragon and a Tarantula (which we named ‘LaMarca’ in her honor). She was a remarkable friend and a wonderful supporter of both the GWCC and the FSGW. Below is a letter we received from George. who is the shyest person on the planet. It says a lot about their relationship that he is able to write so movingly about her.
Beth
From George Stephens:
Dear Friends,
This afternoon, August 10, my beloved singing partner, life partner and wife, Mary LaMarca died after a five year battle with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. I believe she died peacefully, at home with her parents, me and her favorite cat around her. Monarch butterflies have been coming to the milkweed she planted for them by the front door, and from which she harvested many of their eggs to nurture to butterfly-hood and release. I had an almost palpable sense of her spirit breaking free from its chrysalis, spreading its wings and joining them on their mysterious journey to a far distant and unknown home.
Mary taught me how to both observe and participate in life; nature, music, friends, plastic pink flamingos – eh, no, scratch that last. Truly, she made possible the full and rewarding life we’ve had, and we will be ten times less by one for her leaving. Please forward this news on to any one who would want to know.
Love to all,
George Stephens
Sad news on the passing of Kevin Moyna:
MOYNA, Kevin, age 57 died July 31 in New York City. Irish musician, (“The Back of Beyond”), dear husband to Deborah Meehan, brother of Gerard, father of Mary, Ciara, Dubhan, grandfather of Seamus. Please visit the Notice for Kevin Moyna.
Along with Niall O’Leary and Marie Reilly, Kevin Moyna helped found the Úll Mór CCE, Comhaltas’s Manhattan branch, in October 1997. An accomplished fiddler, singer, guitarist, and composer, he played sessions regularly in New York City from 1997 onwards in places such as O’Lunney’s on 43rd Street, Doc Watson’s on 2nd Ave., O’Neill’s on 3rd Ave., Flannery’s on 14th Street, and Gibbon’s in Rego Park, Queens. He also guested with various bands in NYC over the years. His last public appearance was in concert with Tommy Peoples at Mr. Dennehy’s in Greenwich Village in January 2009. He was suffering with lung and bone cancer before his untimely passing. Kevin was an inspiration to all who knew him and will be sadly missed.
From Niall O’Leary
Sad news from Paul Keating:
With great sadness I must inform you that Comhaltas lost one of its North American legends today with the passing of Jack Pendergast early Thursday morning. As many of you know he waged a long and valiant battle with cancer in recent years. Fittingly the issue of Treoir that is being processed now for mailing contains a wonderful tribute from his longtime friend and colleague, Bill McEvoy extolling the various roles and contributions that Jack Pendergast made to CCE from his earliest days in the Craobh Dugan Branch in upstate New York to helping pilot the Northeast Region and building a structure that led to the North American Province under Provincial Chair Bill McEvoy. As the Province grew in strength under Chairs Hugh Smith and Frank Kennedy, Jack provided steady leadership, commitment, teamwork and encouragement that made progress a certainty for CCE North America until 2004 when he was ready to step aside after setting a solid example of administration for all of us to follow. Not only was he the key right-hand administrator for all the Provincial,Regional and Branch officers as Provincial Secretary but he was a very effective and well-respected voice for CCE NA in Ireland as a long-time delegate to the Ardhchomhairle where he is remembered fondly throughout Ireland for his service to Comhaltas.
At this time there are no plans for a memorial service for Jack according to Bill McEvoy and Larry Reynolds but eventually there will be a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington D.C.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to his devoted wife Vickie and family and your notes, mass cards and communications can be send to:
Vickie Pendergast
14 N.E. Isles Drive Apt. A
North East, MD 21901-3100
Filed under: All Ireland, Fleadh, General Announcement, Grant, Mid-Atlantic CCE
At the last meeting of the Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann Mid Atlantic Region, it was decided to set aside the profits from the 2009 Mid Atlantic Region Fleadh to be awarded as grants to Mid Atlantic Fleadh winners traveling to Ireland to compete in any under 18 age group. Last year we were able to distribute 61 grants of $100 each through this program.
Below, you will find a link to download a grant application. Please distribute this to any teachers in your area who may have eligible students. All grants will be made by check payable to the student, but mailed to the school (or teacher) for distribution. In those rare cases where you may be aware of an eligible student who does not have a teacher, please have them fill out an application and we will see if we can help them.
The rules so far:
- All applications must be returned by end of day, Monday, August 3 – instructions are on the form – so PLEASE HURRY!
- All funds available will be divided up evenly among the applications received by the due date. There will be no left over money to help late applications.
- Names submitted may be forwarded to the Fleadh Secretary to verify their eligibility, in total, or on a case by case basis.
- Should someone receive a grant, and then subsequently decide not to travel to Ireland we would ask that the funds be returned to us to be distributed in 2010. However, if a family emergency should cause a last minute cancellation, we would consider allowing the grant money to cover the cost of “lost” non-refundable air tickets upon presentation of sufficient proof. We want people to be able to book their trips and not be “burned” if something bad happens.
- One grant per student – some students are in multiple schools, one for instrument, one for ceili band. We accept that duplicate applications will occur, and we will try to eliminate duplications at our end.
Click here to download the application form.
We reserve the right to make or change the rules as we go along – this is the first time we have done this, and surely something will have to be adjusted along the way. We are committed to making this as fair as possible.
Please get the word out.
Donations are also welcome!
Regards,
Tom Madden
CCE Mid Atlantic Region
The Fleadh Committee of the Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Mid Atlantic Region is pleased to announce that two special awards for Distinguished Achievement in the Preservation of Irish Music and Culture will be presented at this year’s Fleadh.
Fiddler Veronica McNamara will receive an award for her book The Professor, James Morrison. In addition to being a legendary fiddler, Morrison was a well known teacher. At each lesson, he would write out tunes, bowing directions and other notations into copybooks for his students. Veronica rescued six such copybooks from two of Morrison’s students to produce this 154-page facsimile edition, which includes 148 tunes, all in Morrison’s own hand. Together with Morrison’s recording legacy, this remarkable treasure brings us one step closer to knowing what it was like to play with and learn from the “Professor” himself. You can learn more about Veronica’s work at her webpage:
http://www.hearts-content.net/JamesMorrisonBook.html
Flute player Lesl Harker will receive the other award for her two books of Irish Traditional Music. 300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty was published in 2006 and contains the first 300 tunes Lesl learned from her playing with Mike. Second Wind was published in 2009 and includes 300 more tunes. Transcribed into standard notation, these books include indexes, tune annotations, photos, discographic data and in many instances, priceless anecdotes from Mike. These books are a wonderful study of Mike’s playing, and represent a significant contribution to the documentation of East Galway music and its style and repertoire. Visit Lesl’s webpage for more information:
http://www.firescribble.net/rafferty/
The awards will be presented at the 2009 Mid Atlantic Region Fleadh Cheoil on Sunday, May 31, 2009. Click here to download a printabe PDF! Visit the Fleadh webpage at www.nyfleadh.com for more information.
The Second Wind
Lesl Harker has published another collection of Mike Rafferty tunes. From her website:
Second Wind was published in 2009 and has 300 more tunes. Like the first book it has a soft cover and is spiral bound. It includes some photos, a discography that lists tunes in the book that he has recorded, and stories from Mike about the tunes. Here’s an image of the cover, a PDF file with a sample inside page, and a PDF of the list of tunes.
Go and buy this now! If it’s anything even remotely like the first volume, you’ll find it a must-have.
CLICK HERE FOR CONVENTION 2010 DETAILS & INFO!
Thank you for your visit. Please click on the above link for Convention 2010 details and info!
