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A Letter from the Publisher

Well Folks, the die is cast. We will be printing another issue of the
Irish News and Entertainment after a three month hiatus. It will actually be our 17th. Anniversary Issue.

Special thanks to The Los Angeles County Fair, The Seaside Highland Games and Terry McCartan at Metro Acura and Honda for committing in front to advertise with us online and in print.

We are confident that the interest and readership is still out there for a quality niche market publication.
As mentioned before, a lot if factors contributed to our suspension of publication; my health issues, the economy in general and a loss of long time advertisers and readers in Southern California owing primarily to a demographic shift there over the past ten years.
Let me briefly discuss the reasons why I think things have changed. On a personal note, I am healthy again. I have made a full recovery. On the business side, we will expand the paper beyond Southern California.
There are millions of people throughout the States that are interested in an Irish paper and we will fill the void both in print and online.

We will need a lot of support to bring the Irish News and Entertainment to its full potential.
I think this blog will help achieve our goals. There will be changes in content and in distribution.
We are going to add several new and expanded features. Our Calendars were always popular and we will expand them. New features such as a CELTIC CROSSWORD PUZZLE are being developed.
As we go national, we expect to garner more advertising. We have already negotiated a barter advertising deal with a music distributor so we will start our successful free Irish Music CD with a subscription offer again.
To the many people who have called and written me and expressed an interest in this project, we send a sincere thanks to you. To all our readers, your thoughts and feedback are appreciated and needed.

Jim McDonough

CURRENT IRISH EVENTS


September 1st - October 4th 2009.

1st Irish 2009, New York's Annual Festival of Irish Theatre
powered by Origin Theatre Company.
21 Irish playwrights at 12 venues across New York

More information: www.1stIrish.org

Los Angeles Area


The Sixth Annual Celtic Concert Series 
at The Ford Amphithetre
The concert will feature the McKasson's from Seattle as headliners.  


For the last five years The Celtic Arts Center has hosted the best Celtic concert event in the Southland at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre and this year's show on September 20th at 7PM, promises to continue the tradition.    The line up includes The McKassons, from Seattle, headlining with their special guest, LA's own Ken O'Malley, joining them onstage.   The Los Angeles Police Emerald Society Pipes and Drums will kick off the evening an hour earlier this year. Then "Highland Way" from San Diego, with their Scottish traditional tunes will be up first followed by the crowd pleasing "Slugger O'Toole" and their high energy songs.  The world class Scottish fiddling band The McKassons will end the show with the Margaret Cleary Dancers with their beautiful traditional dresses, featured throughout the evening.  

"We have a nice mix of Irish and Scottish music this year."  said Thom MacNamara veteran producer of the show. "It will be a great night of traditional Celtic music and dance for the whole family".   

The event is a fund raiser for The Celtic Arts Center and has become a tradition in Los Angeles.  "The outdoor setting of the Ford makes it a special night for us each year.  It brings out the Celtic community and it has an intimate feel, like a big family reunion picnic."  Said Adrein Burke, president of the The Celtic Arts Center.  

The concert is scheduled for Sunday September 20th, 2009 at 7PM at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood.  Tickets are $20 and $22 before Sept 13 and $25 and $27 after Sept 13th.  Student/child price $12 and group rates available.  For tickets, log on to www.fordtheatres.org or call the Ford Box Office at  323 461-3673

Fiddles that pulse with electric energy; violas that hum like the plaintive croon of cicadas; banjos that sing like springtime incarnate: Seattle-based McKassons aren’t your average fiddle band. One of the genres fastest rising talents, the McKassons create evocative soundtracks for adventures in distant lands and stories yet untold. The McKassons bring a distinctly American sensibility to traditional Scottish folk, composing songs that have the feel of Celtic music blended with the spirit of folk rock and bluegrass.

Ken O'Malley belts out a feisty blend of traditional and new Irish folk music, both lyrical and instrumental. He sings about every-thing from the subtleties of true love, to the struggle of the working class, to the joy of a pint of beer at the end of a long, hard ,journey. Everything is played with style and flair. Ken is equally talented with a guitar or mandolin and his singing is strong and passionate.

Slugger O'Toole is an LA-based Celtic trad/rock quintet who share a passion for the drinking, fighting & work songs of Ireland. They hail from the four corners, and were thrown together by their mutual love of the music and culture. Slugger concocts a lethal brew of foot-stomping classics, deft instrumentals and five-part a cappella killers. Everybody sweats, everybody sings!

From his native homeland, Scotland, Brian Caldwell of Glasgow leads Highland Way on a musical journey through traditional and modern Celtic melodies. Joining Brian are Heloise Love (on vocals, guitar and percussion),  Paul Graham Castellanos (on fiddle, mandolin, guitar, banjo and varied strings), and Richard Gordon Heinz, (on vocals, bass and keyboard). Rousing songs and haunting ballads blend with original instrumental medleys and touches of whimsy in performances featuring traditional Celtic music from Scotland and Ireland, with some added original and contemporary Celtic melodies. 

The Ford Amphitheatre is located at 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood, CA 90068, just off the 101 Hollywood Freeway across from the Hollywood Bowl and south of Universal Studios.  The grounds open two hours before showtime for picnicking. The Ford offers a number of dining options: a variety of food and beverages is available on site and box dinners for evening events may be ordered in advance. Patrons are welcome to bring their own food and drink. The Ford is disabled accessible. Portable wireless listening devices are available upon request.  On-site, stacked parking costs $5 per vehicle for evening shows and $1 per vehicle for morning family shows. For evening shows only, FREE non-stacked parking serviced by a FREE shuttle to the Ford, for evening amphitheatre performances only, is available at the Universal City
Metro Station lot at Lankershim Blvd. and Campo de Cahuenga. The shuttle, which cycles every15-20 minutes, stops in the "kiss and ride" area.
This event is part of the Ford Amphitheatre 2009 Season, a multi-disciplinary arts series produced by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission in cooperation with Los Angeles Countybased arts organizations. For a complete season schedule, directions to the theater and parking information, log on to www.FordTheatres.org.

More information: www.celticartscenter.com