Charlestonrev07 - Page: 1 of 1

When Thomas Cantwell and Margaret Burke left Tipperary in 1845 they left
behind them their language and music and a starving nation that had just
experienced the first bout of potato famine.

They had escaped the terrible famine of the next year and one wonders just how
many of their loved ones perished in that famine.

The contribution made by all Irish emigrants in the city of Charleston was
remembered when the Cantwell and Burke descendant, Judge Duffy, took the
stage in the Gaillard Auditorium on March 13th, 2007 to introduce the world
famous Irish Tenors on behalf of the Charleston Historic Society.

Judge Duffy was so entertaining both on and off the stage that one wonders
should he forget about being a Judge and go on the road as MC with the Tenors.

Outside the Theater as the highly anticipated hour loomed, more than two
thousand Irish Americans began to arrive. They came from far and near. Diane
Clark came all the way from Dallas, Texas. A local priest Fr. Welch was waiting
for the arrival of a large group of his friends.

Police cars and various security personnel were everywhere monitoring the
building. This must have been what it was like before an Elvis or Beatles concert
and now our beloved Tenors had taken their place as superstars being protected
by armed police officers.

Inside, Christopher Parham of the Dock St. Theater was on loan to the Gaillard
for the evening coordinating everything and made sure that the tenor's friend
from Ireland was well taken care of as did commitee member Steven Regan also.
Thank You Christopher and Steven.

Hearts beat faster as the great Arnie Roth who should be proclaimed an honorary
Irishman, took the podium and the show began. The blind harpist Turlogh
O Carolan was not forgotten when the wonderful Charleston Orchestra played
Carolan's concerto.

The house erupted as Karl, Anthony and Finbar walked on stage. What followed
cannot be adequately described, one must attend a tenor's concert to experience
the joy and elation of the crowd and the magic and beauty of their voices both
combined and solo.

One could hear gasps of awe when the boys sang a new arrangement of
Transa na dTonnta. It would be nice if the words in English could be shown
on the screen.

Perhaps some paper handkerchief company should sponsor it, as there would
not be one dry eye in the house. One man in his sixties had tears rolling down
his cheeks in a seat near me. He must speak Gaelic and understood:
"Over the Waves, go East, go East, good-bye to the loneliness,
good-bye to the gcian (aching, painful longing for home),
Bright is my heart, and bright is the Sun,
Great sure it is, to be returning to Eireann".

The next Gaelic song was Oro se do Bheatha Abhaile. Translated from the Irish,
this song's title means "Oh, you are welcome back home," meant to offer
welcome to exiles returning to Ireland after the Potato
Famine that wiped out a third of the island's population between 1847-50.

Very graciously, the two world famous tenors Finbar and Anthony allowed the
new and very young Karl Scully take the stage on his own and perform the
first solo of the evening. Yes, Finbar and Anthony have chosen a gem. Karl's
beautiful diction and speaking voice was as much admired by the audience
as his singing voice. His rendition of Lift the Wings certainly lifted us skyward
and we felt we were floating amongst the angels.

With an enormous amount of glee I delighted in the fact that Finbar brought
the house down with continuous applause after he sang "I'll take you home
again Kathleen."

Should it not be the other two boyo's who should be singing The Bachelor?
Finbar seems to like it. One cannot help but be amused by the fact that he
'has a house for the hins", yes, hins, not hens.

Those Cork people want to copy every thing we do in Tipperary, including
how we pronounce the name of those creatures who provide us with our
breakfast. Finbar once said in an article that having worked in a chicken factory
while going to school, the term 'over easy' was forever embedded in his mind.
In a lighter moment during the concert Finbar announced that his wife's
cousins were present and asked Arnie to verify that he has been a good boy.

We waited for a long time before we heard the melodious speaking voice of

Anthony Kearns when he introduced his favorite song "Grace" which of course
got huge applause from the Audience.

The three men sang songs from their home counties with Finbar beginning with
"My Own Lovely Lee." This magnificent song first became popular when it was
recorded by Sean O Riada of Ceolteoiri Cualann, later known as the Chieftains.
It was recorded by him as part of a magnificent film score called Symphony for a
River. It was also recorded by another Cork tenor Sean O Se. Sean O Se recorded
"An poc ar buile" (The Angry Goat) which is often sung by the tenors.

Anthony sang "The Boys of Wexford" which pays tribute to all the great heroes
of the Wexford rising of 1798 when Anthony's own ancestors Fr. Moogue Kearns
and John Kelly The Boy from Killane perished.

Karl's song "The Rose of Mooncoin" came as a surprise. I had expected he
would perhaps sing "Limerick You are a Lady" or a song written by my
grandfather "Hereby the Mulchair Banks I sit," a song sung to the same
air as "Newport Town." However, he sang it so beautifully, he was forgiven.

The Mulchair river runs past Toher Castle, in Doon, Co. Limerick.
My first boyfriend was Jack Buckley from Doon, uncle of popular country
singer Jimmy Buckley. "The Rose of Mooncoin" was our song which we
waltzed to so often in the Dromkeen Balroom owned by "build it and they
will come" John Hayes. Sadly Jack died from MS after spending many
years in a wheelchair.

All sad thoughts vanished and we experienced joy, pride and delight when
Judge Duffy announced that the South Carolina General Assembly had
issued a House Resolution to honor and welcome the Irish Tenors.
Each tenor was given a framed copy. Finbar's copy was read out in full
by Judge Duffy. After many 'whereas' and 'be it further resolved' the
very long resolution brought thunderous applause from the audience,
all of whom agreed with the content. These men before us on stage
are the greatest tenors of our times.

At the party after the concert, Finbar was the first to emerge, well protected
by a group of policemen. Anthony followed and a rather nervous looking
Karl stayed at the end of the room. He relaxed on hearing my Irish accent
and would have chatted forever but I had to gently push him forward into
the crowd of waiting fans where he was immediately engulfed by autograph
seekers. They knew this was an opportunity not to be missed. This young
boy will, in a very short time, become world famous too like his two
companions, Anthony and Finbar.

Anthony is in his element because of the addition of this very young guy,
he is now no longer the baby of the group. Only those of us who have to
travel long distances to hear the tenors can understand how hard their lives
are, moving from city to city. Anthony informed me that they had driven
down from Boston and would drive from Charleston to Bethesda, Maryland
to their next concert.

One concert just is not enough for most fans and that is why people
travel thousands of miles to hear them.

I traveled on the Greyhound Bus from Naples to Charleston and home
again for thirty-eight hours.

At one stage a person of undetermined gender was sitting beside me
holding a baby that had the Bubonic Plague or worse. I remembered how ill
Anthony was on his last solo tour as a result of sitting beside a very sick woman.

With their magnificent voices and the fact they are ambassadors for tourism,
the Irish Tenors should have a private plane to ferry them quickly from place
to place, thus avoiding germs in aircrafts which could destroy their voices.
They are, after all our Irish National Treasures and thanks to the kind people
in the South Carolina House of Representatives, now named American
treasures as well.

A twenty year old boy, Corey M who had just said good-bye to his sweetheart
and his baby stepson, was on his way back to Iraq . He desperately wished
he could come with me to the Irish Tenors concert but had to show up on
time, he could not get permission to go. I promised him that I will bring him
with me when he returns home safely again to his loved ones whenever
that may be.