Friday, May 10, 2013 at 6:30pm
Failte chuig Céiliúradh 2013
Hefter Center, 3271 N. Lake Drive
Welcome to our annual celebration of our students' achievements. Come join us for afternoon tea with Irish soda bread and fairy cakes. There will be lovely Irish music by the young and talented group Cuil A Lin, Irish tea and soda bread and fairy cakes.
The event kicks off at 6:30 at the Hefter Center 3271 N Lake Dr. It is free, and the public are very welcome. This year's group of recipients namely: Brianna Crea, Emily Antonicci, James Elliott, and Jessica McGilliray, will be presented with their Center for Celtic Studies Certificates. You are guaranteed a joyful and celebratory Celtic evening. Hope to see you there.
Thursday, March 28, 2013 at 7:00pm
Mary McPartlan, Academic Coordinator and Director of Arts in Action at the National University of Ireland, Galway
Histories of Irish Traditional Women Singers and Their Songs
Hefter Center, 3271 N. Lake Drive
Mary McPartlan has been working in the music industry for the last 12 years. She has worked with TG4 as well as the Galway theater company Skehana. She is currently a Fulbright scholar at Lehman College, New York where she teaches a course on Irish traditional women singers. Mary is a marvelous traditional Irish singer who is known for her two studio releases The Holland Handkerchief and Petticoat Loose. She recently completed an album with President Michael D. Higgins of Ireland blending his poetry with her song.
Thursday, March 14, 2013 at 7:00pm (Rescheduled)
Look Behind You!
Hefter Center, 3271 N. Lake Drive
Look Behind You!, a melding of image and voice, anecdote and memory, showcases Bobbie Hanvey's prize-winning photojournalism along with radio-edits of his interviews with some of Northern Ireland's best-known figures. These are complemented and contextualized by Steafán Hanvey's critically-acclaimed song-writing and singing. Together, Bobbie and Steafán document the ordinary and at the same time the extraordinary, the public and the private in a way which dares to promote Seamus Heaney's claim that "the end of art is peace".
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Gaeltacht Deireadh Seachtaine
Lá Gaeilge, our 2013 Irish Language Day takes place Saturday February 23 at the Hefter Center. It features classes in Irish language for everyone from absolute beginner to daoine líofa and workshops in Sean Nós song and dance. Lunch will be available. Students attend free, but for non-students there is a $35 registration fee which includes lunch. This is an enjoyable way to immerse yourself in Irish culture and meet new friends while learning to bless, praise, and "curse" them, if needs be in the language of Heaven.
Please fill out and return the attached Registration Form to:
Center for Celtic Studies
UWM Holton Hall, P.O. Box 413
Milwaukee, WI 53201
Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 8:00pm
MKE Unplugged
Cuíg Gúthanna and special guest Nathan Andrew
Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts
2419 E. Kenwood Blvd, Milwaukee, WI
Bríghid, Maíre, Fíona and Brídín Malone, together with Kate Early, are Cuíg Gúthanna (Five Voices), a group of women from the Chicago area, who carry on the vocal traditions of their Irish and Scottish forebears. As mother and daughters, the Malones have sung together most of their lives, as Bríghid has done with her own mother.
Free and open to the public. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase.
Saturday, November 17
James Liddy Book Launch, 4:00-6:00pm
Michael Joyce Room, County Clare Irish Inn & Pub, 1234 N. Astor Street, Milwaukee
James Liddy, On American Literature and Diasporas
Edited by Eamonn Wall
Published by Arlen House (Dublin, 2013).
Speakers include Eamonn Wall (U. of Missouri-St Louis), Alan Hayes (Arlen House), James Rogers (University of St. Thomas), José Lanters (UWM), John Gleeson (UWM).
The event is sponsored by the UWM Department of English.
November 10-11
Celtic Film Festival
Marquee Theatre, Union South, UW-Madison Campus
We would like to draw your attention to the Celtic Film Festival that will be taking place this weekend, Saturday November 10th and Sunday November 11th at the the Marquee Theatre, Union South on the UW-Madison Campus.
This festival is a celebration of Celtic film featuring recent cinema from the Celtic world. Included are such noteworthy feature films as Saviors, Vinyl, Midnight Drives, and Ballymun Lullaby. Also included are programs of short films from Ireland, Scotland, and Cornwall. ADMISSION IS FREE. Further information can be found at www.celticmadison.org.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Halloween Céilí, 7:00-10:00pm
Greene Hall, 3347 N. Downer Ave., UW-Milwaukee Campus
Samhain approaches—the ancient Celtic festival that marks the time when the boundary between the world of the living and the dead becomes blurred and anything can happen. You're invited to join us for an evening of fiendish fun at our annual Halloween Céilí. Come celebrate the Celtic New Year when the Pookah and his wee gentry are up to all kinds of devilment and demons are a ghoul's best friend. There will be seasonal refreshments galore, explorations of horror literature, music by Ceol Cairde and dancing for all (instructions provided).
Come in costume for a great night on Wednesday, October 31st from 7:00-10:00 pm in Greene Hall, 3347 N. Downer Ave., Milwaukee. For more information, call 414-229-6520.
Wednesday, October 18-20, 2012
The Midwest Region of the American Conference for Irish Studies
Marquette University in Milwaukee
The Midwest Region of the American Conference for Irish Studies is holding their 2012 conference on October 18-20, 2012, at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. With its theme of "Emancipation: Ireland and the World," the conference hopes to encourage us to think about the concepts of freedom and citizenship as expressed by the Irish at home and around the world. Topics to be covered include the struggle for Catholic rights, women's rights, and freedom from the British Empire. Keynote addresses will be given by Dr. Michael Patrick Gillespie, Professor of English and Director of the Center for the Humanities in an Urban Environment at Florida International University, and Dr. James S. Donnelly, Jr., Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
If you have any questions, or would like to register for the conference, please call Dr. Tim McMahon, Associate Professor of History at Marquette University by phone (414) 288-3559, or visit http://www.marquette.edu/history/acis-conference.shtml.
Wednesday, October 18-20, 2012
The Session: Conference on Irish and Irish American Music and Entertainment
The Ward Irish Music Archives and Milwaukee Irish Fest
1532 Wauwatosa Ave., Milwaukee WI 53213
The Ward Irish Music Archives and Milwaukee Irish Fest will be holding their first-ever Irish and Irish American Music and Entertainment conference, The Session, on October 18-20, 2012. The Session will focus on traditional and popular Irish music through presentations, video screenings, and live music, featuring such world-renowned masters as Kevin Burke and Dáithí Sproul.
The event kicks off on Thursday, October 18th, 2012 with a reception, followed by the first annual Chuck Ward Memorial Lecture, which is co-sponsored by the Center for Celtic Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Daniel Neely, leader of the Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra, will present "Evenings of Music and Song: The Big Session in Irish Music" at the Milwaukee Irish Fest Center. Lecture at 7:00pm; doors open at 6:00pm.
If you would like to register for The Session, or view the schedule and locations of presentations and featured events, please visit http://irishfest.com/Music-Archives/The-Session-Conference.htm.
Both events come together on Saturday evening for a Gene Kelly centenary celebration, featuring a discussion and screening of Singin' in the Rain. This event takes place at 6:00pm at Cudahay Hall on the Marquette University campus, 1313 West Wisconsin Avenue.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 11:30am-1:00pm
Carlos Núñez Performance & Discussion,
Helene Zelazo Center 171, 2419 E. Kenwood Blvd.
UWM Campus
Event flyer (pdf 17mb)
Please join us for a special performance and discussion with Carlos Núñez, one of the world's most celebrated Celtic bagpipe artists, on Wednesday, October 10th from 11:30 am-1:00 pm in the Helene Zelazo Center, 2400 East Kenwood Boulevard, room 171. His music is influenced by a variety of cultures, from ancient and contemporary Celtic (with a unique Galician swing) to Medieval Galician-Portuguese, and also combines the sounds and styles of Cuba, Brazil, Argentina, and the United States.
This event is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served. Don't miss this great opportunity to engage informally with Carlos and enjoy his amazing music.
May 4, 2012, 6:30pm
Celtic Studies Students' Award Evening
Hefter Center, 3271 N. Lake Drive
UWM Campus
Please join us for our annual Celtic Studies Students' Award Evening on Friday, May 4th at 6:30pm in the Hefter Center, 3271 N. Lake Drive. We will be presenting our 2011-2012 graduates with their Celtic Studies Certificates. Congratulations to Malinda Andrews, Tyler Hackworth, Janelle Howell, Samantha Irwin, Corey Klinzing, Kaitlyn Ann Kohl, Stephanie Lorenz, Al Malmsten, Emily Outcalt, Rachel Ruetz, and Dawn Thomas.
Participating will be Áthas, noted masters of Irish traditional music (their members are previous recipients of the Celtic Studies Certificate) and other Celtic Studies alumni, musicians, and faculty. Our special guests will be Brian O'hÁirt and Len Graham. Brian, also a UWM Celtic Studies alumnus, is leader of the progressive Gaelic band Bua, and now a Celtic cultural scholar in his own right. Len Graham is one of Ireland's best known Irish singers who has gained an international reputation, not only for his inimitable singing style, but also for the breadth of his knowledge of Irish folk music. Len has performed at numerous Irish and international folk, literary and storytelling festivals, including Milwaukee IrishFest, as well as appearing on many radio and television programs. In 1992 he received the Seán O'Boyle Cultural Traditions Award in recognition of his work in Ireland as a song collector and singer. In 2002, he was honored as the first recipient of the Irish television TG4 National Music Award for "Traditional Singer Of the Year." In 2008 he was awarded "Keeper of the Tradition" from the Tommy Makem Festival of Traditional Song and the U.S. Irish Music Award in the "Sean-Nós Singing" category.
This special occasion will also mark Nancy Madden-Walczyk's retirement from the Center for Celtic Studies and UW-Milwaukee. Join us as we celebrate her long and important contribution to Irish Studies at UWM and her role in building the Center for Celtic Studies and its programs.
May 2-6, 2012
White Woman Street
Irish Cultural and Heritage Center
2133 W. Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee
Milwaukee Irish Arts presents Sebastian Barry's Irish-American western tale, White Woman Street, a drama filled with a poetic language, set in Ohio in 1916. This searing tale evokes a time of change and personal displacement. Stories are told, songs are sung, wild boars are shot and eaten, and a train filled with gold is approaching fast!
The show runs May 2nd-6th at the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center, 2133 W. Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee. Show times on Wednesday through Saturday are at 8pm, and Sunday at 2pm. Milwaukee Irish Arts is offering admission on a pay-as-you-can basis, with proceeds going to fund the cost of taking the production to Dublin later in May. The play will be Milwaukee's entry in The Acting Irish International Theatre Festival (AIITF), an annual event that alternates between a Canadian and U.S. host city. White Woman Street will be performed on May 15th as part of this year's festival which is being held for the first time in Dublin, Ireland.
The director is Jim Gallagher, who directed such previous festival award-winning productions as An Irish Play, and the cast includes Milwaukee Irish Arts favorites including Kevin Callahan, Jim Jacques, and Robert W.C Kennedy.
April 24, 2012, 7:00pm
Oliver O'Connell
Greene Hall (3347 N. Downer Ave.)
UWM Campus
Oliver O'Connell, author of the acclaimed new book Free Spirits, will present an illustrated talk on the relationship between Irish traveller culture and traditional Irish music.
O'Connell and his co-author, academic and piper Tommy Fegan, have assembled a comprehensive picture of the major traveller families and individuals who have had major influence on Irish music. Tuesday's presentation will include archival video and provide accounts of the Keenan and Furey families, the Doherty and Rainey families of Donegal and Galway, and feature great characters like Margaret Barry and "The Pecker" Dunne as well as Felix and Johnny Doran.
This promises to be an evening not to be missed by anyone with even the tiniest tither of interest in Irish music and culture.
April 13, 2012, 11:00am - 2:00 pm
Tartan Day
UWM Student Union Concourse
UWM Campus
As you are probably aware, Tartan Day celebrates the Declaration of Arbroath. It is in the form of a letter sent to Pope John XXII, dated the 6th of April, 1320 and signed by Scotland's chieftains, churchmen, and nobility. As a definition of Scottish independence, it is a stirring manifesto which ranks among the world's great statements. It is particularly important as the sturdy response of a small nation to stronger powers who sought to curtail its freedom. This event is celebrated every April as Tartan Day. As this year's Tartan Day fell on Good Friday, the Center for Celtic Studies will mark this special day on Friday, April 13.
Failte duit, you are very welcome to join us in the UWM Student Union Concourse between 11am - 2pm this Friday. Come and observe the weaving of tartan cloth by Merribeth Herbert, feel and fondle our official Wisconsin State Tartan. Other noted tartan cloths will also be on display. The Tribe of the Blue Rose will reenact some Scottish battles of long ago, and there will be live music for all to enjoy. Visit our Celtic Studies table to experience various Scottish-related exhibits, including some ancient Scottish armor and a copy of the Arbroath Declaration.
February 4, 2012, 7:30 pm
Gaelic Concert - Bua
Irish Cultural and Heritage Center
2133 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee
Four of American's most talented young traditional Irish musicians, better known as Bue, will perform in the warm and intimate Parlour of the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center. The group's leader, Brian Ó hAirt, is a graduate of our Celtic Certificate Program here at UW-Milwaukee, and also has a Master's in Irish Language from University College Galway. Brian's evocative singing, often in Gaelic, is central to Bua's unique sound. He plays concertina, and also adds sean-nós dance to performances. The band's new CD received a grant from Foras na Gaeilge for it's Irish language content and sleeve notes. This grant includes the free distribution of copies to our students.
February 25, 2012
Lá Gaeilge / Irish Language Day
UWM's Hefter Center
3271 N. Lake Dr., Milwaukee
Fáilte, and welcome to the Center for Celtic Studies' Annual Irish Language Day. Our convivial cultural event features classes in the Irish language, and workshops in traditional singing and dancing taught by native Irish instructors. A highlight will be the annual Douglas Hyde Memorial Lecture, initiated in 2006 to commemorate Douglas Hyde, founder of the Gaelic League and Ireland's first president, who visited Milwaukee in 1906 and received support from the community for the preservation of the Irish language. This year features Irish scholar Dr. Deirdre Ní Chonghaile who will present an illustrated history of music and song from the Aran Islands.
For more information, please contact John Gleeson at: gleeson@uwm.edu
or call 414 229 6520.
Now is the time to register for our Annual Irish Language Day! Registration: $30 for General Public, $20 w/out lunch. Free to all students, but pre-registration is necessary. Students may also purchase lunch tickets at $10 each. Checks should be made out to The UWM Foundation.
Schedule and Registration Form (pdf 275kb)
Please fill out form completely and return by mail to:
Center for Celtic StudiesOr stop by the office in Holton Hall 290. Please call (414) 229-6520 to make sure we're in!
Special Yeats Exhibit at UWM
Golda Meir Library, UWM Campus
2311 E. Hartford Ave., Milwaukee
As part of our celebration of the Green Season, we will be hosting a special exhibition of the Irish Nobel Prize Winner, William Butler Yeats, at the Golda Meir Library in March. This exhibition comes to us from the National Library of Ireland, courtesy of the Irish Government. This is a truly unmissable event!
The Life and Works of William Butler Yeats has been described in The Irish Times as "one of the most important literary exhibitions yet staged internationally". Since then, over 100,000 people of all ages and nationalities have delighted in exploring the multimedia rich experience of this award-winning exhibition. There will be an opening reception with the new Irish Consul General, the honorable Aidan Cronin, and Yeats-related events during the exhibition's stay at UWM.
Watch for an upcoming email from the CCS with more details.
March 15, 2012,
St Patrick's Day Celebration
Union Concourse, UWM Campus
2200 E. Kenwood Ave., Milwaukee
For more information call the Center for Celtic Studies at 414.229.6520 or e-mail gleeson@uwm.edu
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Last Updated: March 14, 2013