Everyone Here Claims to Be Irish

McSorley’s Old Ale House in New York City

What I truly love about St. Patrick’s Day is the simplicity of the whole thing. Rise early, comb the closet for the suitable green couture, dust off last year’s plastic hat, and find your way to an Irish Pub. The demands are few, and the rewards are many. Unfortunately, on this fine March morning, we find ourselves where we were last year at this time–still unable to procure that coveted seat at the bar. The ongoing threat of COVID continues to hinder our revelries and our need to claim in mass on this particular day that we are all Irish!

While there may be a good reason to call into question some of the exuberant behavior of the felt shamrock crowd, I still support the idea of human beings coming together to celebrate the possibility that we are all the same–because whether we like it or not, we are all the same–Irish, French, German, Catholic, Hindu, Muslim, true-believers, non-believers, black, white, brown, red, yellow, and yes even Republicans and Democrats. And after this brutal year of enduring a global pandemic along with the normal maladies that plague our kind, and for the sake of the children in Syria, Yemen, Myanmar, and for those gathering at our southern border–I pray for more days where we come together to celebrate our common humanity!

Happy ST. Patrick’s Day!

To help you enjoy your in-home High Holy Day we invite you to listen to some great Celtic music by Dave McBride and the superb Irish band Runa at our free downloadable podcast site by clicking on Sit Downs and Sessions.

Posted by: Chris Poh for American Public House Review

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Social Distancing St. Patrick’s Style

This moment of sublime male contentment was captured outside the Tir na nOg Irish pub in Trenton, New Jersey on March 17, 2009. Buried behind those smiling faces are most likely the concerns of that very difficult year in American history. Our economy was still in the grip of the “Great Recession” and the earliest cases of what would become the N1H1 global pandemic were just coming to light. But on that glorious sunny afternoon, these gentlemen took their pints to the patio in order to practice a bit of social distancing from the mass of humanity that had gathered inside the late Banjo Billy Briggs’ fabled Irish establishment.

Sadly, this year most of the pubs are shuttered, and the pipes will not be calling. Nature has demanded that we honor the spirit of Erin in gentler tones and more intimate settings. But as I look back on that St. Patrick’s Day of eleven years ago, I am reminded that we as a nation have faced similar hardships–and through the pain and the tears there has always been ample reason to raise our voices in song and our pints in celebration!

So in the hope of enhancing your housebound revelries we invite you to enjoy the music and tavern tales in this second installment of our St. Patrick’s Day podcast at Sit Downs and Sessions.

Please click on the images below to get a more in-depth read on those Irish taverns featured in this week’s episode.

On behalf of the lads at Sit Downs and Sessions and American Public House Review we wish everyone a Happy and Healthy St. Patrick’s Day!

Slàinte Mhaith

Mind Your Manners lads, There’s a Lady in the House

Carol Bishop at Mitchell’s Cafe

Somewhere just a bit north of my eighteenth birthday, Margaret O’Connor spread a protective wing over me and my best friend, Michael. Maggie was the proprietor of a family run Irish tavern in Port Jervis, New York that had opened its doors shortly after the Second World War. And Michael and I were a couple of young bucks trying to get both our feet and whistles wet in an old man’s habitat–an undertaking that has been known not to end so well. But once the Widow O’Connor discovered that the lads from Jersey  had been reared by Catholics and schooled by nuns, we were given her blessing and welcomed into the family–as long as we minded our manners and didn’t take up one of the regular’s preordained positions at the bar.

Those cherished memories of O’Connor’s Bar still serve as a reminder of a lesson well learned–many times the ship sails a steadier course if there’s a lady at the helm.  

Tucked away on a quiet street in Lambertville, New Jersey is one of those illustrious local institutions that also just happens to have a very fine woman watching over the house. Ever since her parents retired from the business several years back, Carol Bishop has been the friendly face and guiding hand at Mitchell’s Cafe. With its warm atmosphere, a warm fire, and its exceedingly warm host–the staff and friends of American Public House Review have made Mitchell’s Cafe the traditional kickoff location for any of our extended Celtic oriented celebrations.

So before we get any further down this very long road, let us take the time to wish everyone a very Happy St. Patrick’s Day! 

Mitchell’s is also the home of one of the oldest Irish sessions in America. Click on the links below to hear a couple of tunes from past attendee Matt DeBlass.

• Bartender
• The Foggy Dew

Posted by: Chris Poh

Click on the image above to get some very tasteful decorating tips for every holiday season from Victoria Ann Davis.

Wishing You Health, Happiness and Healing on this St. Patrick’s Day

I was tempted to write another lengthy treatise on the Republican’s rather uninspired approach to healthcare. But in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I’ve decided to suspend with the usual political pontificating, and instead offer the possibility for some real healing. Because, quite frankly, I’d rather have my health than healthcare. And there are certainly no forces in the universe more healing than good music and good cookies. And for this St. Patrick’s Day celebration we are able to provide you with both by way of the generous nature of the kind souls in the Celtic band Runa.

During a recent visit to the Bleecker Street Cafe, broadcast live every Friday noon to three over the airwaves and internet at WDVR-FM, we were not only treated to some absolutely magnificent Irish music, but Shannon Lambert-Ryan, the band’s lead vocal, also brought along some of her shortbread cookies–baked to her exacting specifications. And for the very first time on this side of the pond, we are pleased to make that recipe available to a hungry public. And while you’re waiting on the shortbread, we suggest a wee dram, a tall pint, and a long listen to the music of Runa!

              

Click on the titles listed below to listen:

• Awkward Annie
• The Star of the County Down
• The Last Trip Home

Shannon’s Shortbread Recipe

1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1/3 cup powdered sugar (unsifted)
1/4 tsp. vanilla (optional – but it’s really good!)
1 cup flour (unsifted)

Cream the butter until it’s light. Cream in the powdered sugar, then the vanilla. Now work in the flour. Knead the dough on a flourless board until nice and smooth. For a pan, you can use a clay cookie press or metal cake pan.  Spray the pan very lightly with a non-stick vegetable cooking oil spray. Firmly press dough into the shortbread pan. Prick the entire surface with a fork, and bake the shortbread right in the pan at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30-35 minutes, or until lightly browned. After you take the pan out of the oven, let the shortbread cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before you loosen the edges with a knife. Flip the pan over with a wooden board (sometimes it helps to tap the bottom of the pan to help – do not shake the pan or the shortbread will break). Cut the shortbread into serving pieces while it is still warm.

Sláinte from American Public House Review

Posted by: Chris Poh

 

Catholic Comfort & Irish Illumination

I’ve reached that late moment in life where I dread the prospect of burying my friends, but at the same time, I’m not terribly keen on the idea of them burying me.                                                                                             author unknown 

                                                                                                                    So what do three old friends with longstanding Irish Catholic inclinations that haven’t seen each other for a very long time talk about when they finally do manage to coordinate a rendezvous? The answer, of course, is death–or the ever looming prospect  of personally acquiring the condition. And such was the case a few weeks back when Susan O’Brien, Howard Casey, and I gathered together for an afternoon repast at Cryan’s Tavern in Annandale, New Jersey.

Our conversation began with a recap of those friends and acquaintances in common that were either at death’s door or had already crossed that threshold since last we met. After the appropriate number of toasts to those that had gone before us, we entered into a cheery discussion about our individual preferences concerning the benefits of cremation as opposed to accepting that final embrace from Mother Earth. And when those whimsical ramblings had finally delivered us to that perfect state of melancholia, we opted to augment our need for drink by moving the discourse from that of the inevitable crawl to the grave to the current race for the White House .

Soon the only thing darker than the mood in our hearts would be the Guinness in our glasses. And while we shared an equally pessimistic view about the present state of American politics, those instilled parochial school virtues of faith, hope, and charity combined with that indomitable Irish sense of humor would carry us through that particular day.Whether or not those same attributes will sustain us through the trials and challenges that America will face after this election remains to be seen. But as long as my own life is blessed with tavern mates the likes of Miss O’Brien and Mr. Casey, I will gladly choose to carry on no matter who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The following piece of music by our mutual friend Billy Mulligan, who for the better part of his life has lent his voice to social and political justice, reflects those moments when one might be tempted to seek a bit of divine intervention on the issue of personal mortality.

The entirety of this fine release, Beyond the Pale, is available for purchase at CD Baby.

Posted by: Chris Poh for  American Public House Review

Shut Up and Sing

As hard as it is, especially in the wake of having had to endure the most recent round of presidential primary  returns, I will attempt to refrain from the usual political pontificating that has all too often populated the pages of Pub Talk. After all, it is Saint Patrick’s Day! So for the sake of that day, I will defer to those voices that are much better suited to the task of sinking our sorrows and raising our joys!

Click on the titles or thumbs below to enjoy some of our Celtic favorites from the American Public House Review Jukebox.

  Billy Mulligan “Traditional Tunes“

 Runa “Courted a Sailor“

 Gerry Timlin “Will Ye Go Lassie Go“

 Charlie Zahm “The Minstrel Boy“

 Burning Bridget Cleary “The king and the Fair Maid“

Slainte 

Stand Your Round and Sing those Songs

“Let it flow outta ya as it’s been flowin’ inta ya for the last couple a hours!”    (The late Tommy Makem’s signature appeal for audience sing-along participation)

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I was in conversation a few days ago with a Joe Jencks, a very passionate and talented singer/songwriter who can also tout his fair share of Erin’s heritage. He spoke of a recent house party at which the host made multiple requests that he sing some of the old Irish drinking songs. Rather than regale his parlor audience with those raucous strains, he chose instead to give his host a history lesson.

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By his account, those particular songs only speak to the diabolical behavior of the British during the Great Famine of the 19th century in which the English government kept a starving population from engaging in a violent civil uprising by keeping them pleasantly plied on whiskey and beer. While there is probably some degree of truth in that particular point of view, there are many political, social and economic factors that fueled this terrible human tragedy. During the famine years, Ireland was in fact a net exporter of food to England. And during the first nine months of what was to become known as “Black 47” the actual export of grain distilled spirits from Ireland was 1,336,220 gallons.

This great starvation was not a matter of there not being enough food, but instead it was a matter of there not being enough human compassion coupled to an over abundance of prejudice and greed.

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So it would still be my inclination  to stand my round and to sing those merry songs that may have been rooted in a very sad bit of Irish history.

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We wish all of our friends and readers a very joyous St. Patrick’s Day!

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And to help you along with the festivities of the day we invite to listen to and download some of our favorite Celtic artists from our podcasts at Sit Downs and Sessions.

• Gerry Timlin
• Ed Saultz
• Barleyjuice
• Runa 
• The Town Pants

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The First of the Day

With only a few more hours remaining before the raising up of that first pint in celebration of  another St. Patrick’s Day, I find myself soothing my own melancholic disposition with the usual measure of Irish music. And even though  it’s been some forty plus years since I first heard Tommy Makem  put his voice to “Four Green Fields,” I’m still in awe of a people that can extract mirth from misery, and create sweet song from the suffering and sorrow that has all too often been the consequence of Irish history. So in keeping with the spirit of the day and Erin’s fine musical tradition, we present a couple of our favorites from the archives of Parting Glass Media.

• (a reprise of Rebels at the Rock)  – Why this particular video hasn’t gone viral is beyond my grasp of what the viewing public finds entertaining. But here in its entirety is a well-lubricated group of lads attempting to pay homage to that hero of Irish independence, James Connolly.

 And a perfectly sublime rendition of the “Fields of Athenry” from Irene Molloy.

Wishing all of our friends a very joyful Saint Patrick’s Day from the staff and contributors of American Public House Review and Parting Glass Media!

Glasses Raised…Spirits Lifted…Journeys Shared!

Rebels United Against the Shutdown

“Our demands most moderate are – We only want the earth!”
― James Connolly

 

Depending on one’s position or perspective, presented herein is either the best or worst rendition of the song “James Connolly” ever attempted by anyone. But these affable lads stand united against any shutdown–no matter how many times the bartender makes last call!

 

  

 

Captured live (and later released back to their natural habitat) at the Indian Rock Inn in Upper Black Eddy, PA.

Cheers from American Public House Review and  Parting Glass Media