Reviews
Historic Gathering in Baltimore
by Paul Keating
Irish Voice/ November 2004
BALTIMORE - Within a bomb's burst of Ft. McHenry, the site of the gallant Battle of Baltimore in 1814 that gave rise to Francis Scott Key's "Star-Spangled Banner," sits a rather unpretentious corner bar at 1371 Andre Street in Baltimore's Locust Point.
If you came upon J. Patrick's Irish Pub in the working class area once known as the embarkation point for European immigrants - including the largest number of Famine Irish outside of New York City, according to Mayor Martin O'Malley - it wouldn't make an impression upon you from the outside. But cross through the portal at Andre and Clement Streets and you'll enter a time capsule that seems at odds with Locust Point's new prominence as the place for young professionals to live with all the real estate speculation that suggests. Right away the rectangular bar meets you and a quick survey of the old-fashioned interior shows nary a television or pool table. The bar allows for easy conversations for followers of traditional Irish music and dance. Both were center stage at a special Palm Sunday ceili for a crowd who turned out in force for a rather historic gathering at J. Patrick's Irish Pub.
The second Sunday of the month is usually the rallying point for Maryland dancers and musicians. A ceili is held in the rather small area on the far side of the bar and the customary crowd probably fits it quite handily. On this day, Baltimore's preeminent traditional musician, box player Billy McComiskey, had invited down Dr. Mick Moloney, an early mentor, to come from New York for his very first J. Patrick's appearance. Determined to mark that occasion while showing off a wide array of musical talent in the area, McComiskey let out a clarion call for musicians and dancers who easily packed the premises.
Born in Brooklyn, McComiskey married a Baltimore gal, Annie, and he has become a fierce promoter of the local musical scene that he has developed using J. Patrick's as a nurturing presence. "Billy is a vast source for the music and his organizational skills have helped give great stature to musicians in this area," said long-time Baltimore Ceili Band mate and banjo player, Peter Fitzgerald, who, to his own credit, has led a Thursday night session for over 12 years at the pub.
Those skills were in evidence as soon as I arrived early on that Sunday evening when McComiskey escorted me towards two gentlemen who played two different roles in making this day possible. With great pride, he first introduced me to Mark Quinn, another transplanted New Yorker who helped coax the young Billy and Brendan Mulvihill down from New York in the 1970s, where they formed the seminal group The Irish Tradition with Kerryman Andy O'Brien. They trail-blazed the trad scene in the Washington D.C. area at the Dubliner Pub and around the country on one of Mick Moloney's early Greenfields of America tours as well as on two historic recordings.
Next came the introduction to Joe Patrick Byrne, another Brooklyn-born transplant who in January of 1989 followed his late wife's suggestion that he do what he always wanted to do. Thus, he open up his own Irish pub, the one now known as the Baltimore shrine for traditional music. Joe was at his station behind the bar where he would be the remainder of the day serving his customers "who really make the pub what it is," as he put it modestly. Personal service is a hallmark here and they don’t make 'em like this anymore.
The focal point of the day was the music and dance and this celebration hit the ground running as four sets (of eight) quickly gathered on the dance floor for the Clare Plain Set as soon as the veteran dance caller and teacher Marilyn Moore invited them up. Space was at a premium so the sets had to be tidy all day. That didn't phase the dancers who turned out to hear the marvelous music all evening. With Moloney and Dana Lyn on fiddle, the guests from New York belted out tunes alongside Laura Byrne on flute and Peter Fitzgerald on banjo. Donna Long was on piano and back in the corner, with Jesse Winch on drums, one of the best ceili band drummers around and a founding member of Celtic Thunder, another D.C. area band that played an historic role over the years. The second musical wave would be fiddlers Rosie Shipley, David Abe and Jimmy Eagan, piper Eliot Grasso, Matt and Joe Mulqueen on piano and accordion respectively, and young Sean McComiskey following in his dads footsteps on accordion. No records were set for the number of dances done or hoofers on the floor. Rather, it was a testament to the extraordinary depth of musical talent that the senior McComiskey could muster at his command. The camaraderie was palpable throughout the room.
It appears that Dr. Mick Moloney - the Limerick native who arrived in the U.S. in 1973, on his way to becoming the foremost authority on Irish music in America - goes nowhere without making it an historic occasion. It is an indicator of the huge role he has played, and on this day Baltimore wanted to acknowledge that in the kind of low-key yet sincere fashion that reflects this community in my experience. Bronx-born Terry Winch, a box player, a writer ("When New York was Irish" is his composition), poet and also a founding member of Celtic Thunder established the right theme at the outset of the ceremony. Winch cited the 1873 arrival of Francis O'Neill, the Chicago Police Captain whose life's work was documenting Irish music. He found in America and elsewhere one pillar of traditional music lore. A century later came Moloney, whose crowning achievement has been to glorify the Irish and Irish American musicians he discovered over here who proudly carried out that tradition, placing him alongside Chief O'Neill in the pantheon of Irish music.
"Mick saw Irish music in America as a vital center and he encouraged and launched the careers of so many that the world would be a poorer place for Irish music if it weren't for Mick Moloney" said Winch respectfully.
Not every city could elevate this as an "official occasion" but what other city can call on an Irish American mayor who also fronts his own Irish band. Martin O'Malley, the handsome and personable politician who was elected in 1999 with 91 percent of the vote as one of the youngest mayors of any major city in the U.S., is no stranger to J. Patrick's Irish Pub. This day, he cast himself as the "token Irish official" trotted out to cite Moloney's contributions and also proudly boast of Baltimore’s historic and musical place. While the music offered by O'Malley's March (his band also featuring young Jimmy Eagan and Sean McComiskey) may be a little too Celtic Rock or Pogue-ish for publican proprietor Joe Patrick Byrne, his presence was natural and unassuming. "J. Patrick's is a wonderfully genuine pub in the shadows of historic Fort McHenry and in Locust Point where the Irish have always played a large role, yet it is like you just walked into your best friend's basement," observed the young politician with a promising future in the Democratic Party.
Fittingly, when called to the microphone, his party piece was "Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore," which punctuated this politician/performer's ability to work the room and to recognize the occasion for what it was, a true celebration of community at its best. For his part, Mick Moloney always manages to transform his discomfit with personal accolades into tributes to those who choose to recognize him. He was most eloquent once again in citing the roles of the Winches, Myron Bretholz, and Billy McComiskey; all followed his missionary zeal in fostering Irish music in the Capitol region.
"No one could have foreseen this day 30 years ago and these people were the wedge to revitalize the music down here and it is an honor to be associated with all of you here today," he declared in brief but honest praise for those who organized and attended this special gathering.
As the ceili wound down at 8:30 p.m., the final complement to the musical prowess extant in Baltimore these days became evident as the mike was turned over to the next generation - Jimmy Eagan on fiddle, Eliot Grasso on uilleann pipes, Sean McComiskey on accordion and Andy Thurston who did yeoman work on sound all day and assumed his regular accompanist role to this trio every Sunday night at J. Patrick's Irish Pub. While it is too soon to pass the torch, it is very clear that with young talent like this on the rise in Baltimore, the flame will burn for a good while yet there keeping J. Patrick's Irish Pub as durable a symbol as that banner down the road 190 years ago.
