Lá Fhéile Bealtaine 🔥☀️

So, What’s the Craic?

We are back with the Craic this Bealtaine Friday, bringing you anything interesting we could find concerning the Irish at home and abroad. Like this wee email? Well, thanks. Love it? Ask your lovely friends and fam to sign up here.

News from Home

Kneejerk Reaction. People are losing their minds over Kneecap’s antics. First of all, there was the outcry over the Israel/Palestine comments at Coachella. Later, footage emerged of the group making controversial comments about killing British politicians. The group apologized, saying the comments had been taken out of context, etc. Anyway, the upshot is that they are being ‘canceled’ (literally, as gigs are being pulled). Yet, in this world where just about everything is polarized, there’s also a huge outpouring of support. No such thing as bad publicity and all that. But we note that Kneecap has a string of dates across the States in the early fall, will they be allowed back in 😬?

On Song. You don’t often associate the Irish with operas, but we have some surprisingly brilliant folks involved in the biz, including Irish composer Michael Gallen. He’s just won the world’s top prize – the Fedora Award – for a new opera. The Curing Line will debut at the Kilkenny Arts Festival in August before embarking on a tour of the swankiest opera houses around the world.

Kerry Spotlight. A remarkable documentary was released this week. Kerry Tides of Time is narrated by Big Brillant Brendan Gleeson, and it deals with the stunning landscape of The Kingdom, aka County Kerry. Gleeson would give David Attenborough a run for his money in the soothing voice narration stakes, yet it is beautiful cinematography that’ll have you in tears one minute and reaching for the old Expedia to book your Irish vacation the next. You can get details on the doc here.

The Irish Influence

He’s about as Irish as maple syrup, which is to say not really Irish at all. But the new man in the Canadian Big Chair claims to owe a lot to his Irish roots. Mark Carney, recently minted as Canadian PM, is a son of Mayo (don’t hold that against him), where his grandmother and grandfather were born. While Carney recently renounced his Irish and UK citizenship (makes you more electable with just one nationality to your name), we do predict he’ll make a visit to Ireland. When there, he’ll surely do what every North American head of state does: get a photo op standing behind a bar looking all pleased with himself while pouring a pint of Guinness. It’s in the Irish Constitution (somewhere near the bottom of page 72) that they have to do it when they visit.

Cúpla Focal

Bealtaine {BYAL-tin-eh} – May. Bealtaine literally means “Bright Fire,” referring to the big bonfires we had to celebrate the coming of summer. You can get a bit more on all things Bealtaine in a section below.

Blast from the Past

On April 30th, 31 years ago, audiences across Europe were tuning in for their annual dose of kitsch-pop-tastic Eurovision. After the acts had done their thing, the hosts (us) needed a bit of filler while the votes were being counted. And something extraordinary happened: A troop of Irish dancers shuffled on to the stage and performed to a tune composed by Bill Whelan, and thus, Riverdance was born. The reaction was incredible, leaving millions of viewers stunned. It is an example of something going viral before the term was created. As we know, the Riverdance (and its copycat tributes) became a worldwide phenomenon and is still touring today. But if you look back at the ‘moment,’ it was comparable to, say, Tracy Chapman at Mandela Day or Queen at Live Aid. Seven stunning minutes that introduced Irish dancing to the world.

And One Last Thing….

Yesterday, was the festival of Bealtaine, which traces its roots back to pagan times when we Irish were all dancing around bonfires and banishing evil spirits to boot. Today, it is a much more complex affair. There is the recognition that it welcomes summer (not always guaranteed in May, let me tell you) and all the things that summer brings – growth, harvest, optimism – but it is also tied in with May Day and the recognition of workers’ rights. This year, Bealtaine also fell on Poetry Day Ireland. Now, not to toot our own fecking horn, but it’s fair to say that we Irish can fire out a sonnet or two with the best of them. So if you want to check out some of the best Irish poetry with a Bealtaine theme, you can do so here.

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