Out & About

That man has done it again - Steve Duggan the owner of Paddy Reilly's  Music Bar (on 28th Street and 2nd Avenue) which held a Battle of the Bands competition last week.

Would you believe it? 10 bands of all shapes and sizes playing all kinds of music, mostly Irish, and some of them were very good too! I know because I was one of the judges.

I have to hand it to Steve he really knows how to do it; even better, the winner of this competition will play at Citi Field, that is the Mets home stadium in Flushing, Queens on their 'Irish Night' on August 17th.

As you can imagine it was very tense between all the musicians. It was also a very long night as we had 10 judges and every one had a very different opinion on who should win.

Not to toot my own horn, I am glad to say that I picked the winner... I know: thank you, thank you, but to tell you the truth they were all excellent. Thanks again Steve I really enjoyed it.

What a show! "The Irish... and how they got that way" by the late Frank McCourt, directed by Charlotte Moore and produced by Ciaran O'Reilly is playing at The Irish Repertory Theatre (132 West 22nd Street).

I was one of the lucky ones to be invited last Thursday night and who do you do you think I was sitting with? John McEnroe Sr. that's who - the father of the great tennis player John McEnroe who won three Wimbledon titles (1981, 1983 and 1984).

What a very nice man and very friendly. Now I know where his son got it from; no, no, not on the field but off it as John Jr. is a swell guy when he is not playing .

Now back to the show. If you would like to be entertained do not miss this show as it's just brilliant and it never stops for a minute. The music and the singing is superb and well done again to everybody involved!

After the show we all headed to Jake's Saloon (202 Ninth Avenue, between 22nd and 23rd Streets) where there to meet us at the door was the host himself Jimmy Glynn.

It was nice to see Adriann Flannelly, Aine Sheridan, Maeve O'Malley, Loretta Brennan Glucksman, James O'Malley, Ellen McCourt (Frank's wife), Jeff  Cleary and Kevin Henratty from the Mayor's office. Many thanks again to Charlotte Moore for the invite.

The actors Kerry Conte, Terry Donnelly, Ciaran Sheehan, Patrick Shields, Gary Troy and Kevin Winebold were just fabulous so don't miss out and go and see the show! You can get tickets by calling (212) 727-2737 or visiting www.irishrep.org.

Talking about Adriann Flannelly his guests last Saturday included Turlough McConnell, Curator and Producer of Ireland's Great Hunger-An Gorta Mor - The Quinnipiac University Collection, which is one of the world's most extensive collections of art and literature portraying the tragedy and suffering in Ireland at the time. Items from this collection are on display at the Consulate General of Ireland in New York City until September 3rd. It's open to the public and free!

Dan McKenna - Chairman of the New York GAA Minor Board and Chairman  of the 7th Annual Continental Youth Championships 2010 was also on the show, talking about the GAA World Tournament running from July 29th until August 1st in Nassau County.

They're expecting 3,000 players (from ages 6 to 18) and up to 15,000 spectators to throng in Eisenhower Park on Long Island.   

Also appearing on the show was Paddy McCarthy, the publisher of The Irish Examiner USA newspaper and Irish Connections Magazine who has been named "2010 Nassau County Feis Honoree"  and selected as "Corkman of the Year" - he will be honored by 1,000 guests in Cork City on August 7th.

I wonder who he is... let me think?

I am pleased to announce that Joe Hurley will be performing at August Feile 2010 - The West Belfast Festival (Ireland's biggest community festival) on Friday July 30th. Joe will be opening for Damien Dempsey at 8:45pm (in the Bank Square Marquee) on the opening night of the 10-day festival! For more information, visit FelieBelfast.com.

Joe will be the guest on Feile Fm Radio 103.2FM at noon on July 30th. You can listen on their worldwide stream at feilefm.com).

Other artists at the Fest include Neville Staples (formerly of The Specials), Everlast, Michele Shocked, Gemma Hayes, Grainne Holland and Ireland's Poet-Laureate Seamus Heaney.

Joe is a great support of The Irish Examiner newspaper and he has some major concerts coming up when he is back in New York so we will keep you posted.

I was a guest on the Eileen Cronin Irish radio show last Saturday that is broadcast from Hofstra University in Hempstead, Long Island (on WRHU Radio Hofstra 88.7fm). Again this is another great Irish radio that is on every Saturday from 3pm to 5pm.

Tune in to listen as she plays the very best in Irish music or phone (516) 463-9748.

The Irish Comedic Masterpiece presents De Bogman's  US premier which opens on July 27th at The Irish Repertory Theater. This will run for one week only from July 27th to August 1st.

Renowned Irish Storyteller Máirtín De Cógáin plays over 20 characters in under an hour. For more information contact producer Colm McAuliffe at colmmcauliffe@gmail.com or on (347) 884-4902.

It's all happening this weekend at Eisenhower Park as Nassau County and the New York CYC Committee are presenting the 2010 Continental Youth Championships which runs from this Thursday (July 29th) to Sunday August 1st.

This is an event which is not to be missed with athletes coming from Ireland, England, Scotland, Canada and the US.

This has to be one of the biggest-ever undertakings for both the GAA and Nassau County, bringing kids and youths of all ages (from age 6 to 18-years-old) to participate in hurling and football games. For more information visit TheIslandNextDoor.com.

I am going so I hope to see you all at this great event. If I don't then I hope to see you all again next week.