The pluck (strum, beat, tweet) of the Irish
It was a “back in Ireland” scenario at The Depot in Cold Spring as Irish musicians carrying their instruments walked into the eatery, greeting one another and taking their seats around a large round table.
For this pre-St. PatrickӪs Day appearance the group performed in a dazzling setting of glittering shamrocks and other Irish d̩cor arranged by Edelberto Rendon, the Colombian-born Depot waiter known to patrons as Papi. In other months the group finds itself playing Irish music in a setting of lavish Christmas, Valentine, Easter or July Fourth d̩cor.
The monthly Depot scene is repeated regularly at Cold Spring”™s Silver Spoon and across the river at Sheeran”™s in Tomkins Cove.
The first arrival is usually the group”™s organizer, Ann Dillon. The petite Cold Spring resident with cropped blonde hair and a porcelain white complexion orders a cup of coffee to unwind from her working day, setting down the cases carrying her concertina and tin whistle.
An early arrival is Alice Olwell of Cold Spring, bearing a replica of a large hatbox containing a bodhran. “A bodhran,” she says, “is an Irish drum covered with goatskin. It was originally a sieve, and someone thought of covering it with goatskin, which produces a unique sound.”
The musician is joined by Ed Packer of Suffern, who also unpacks a bodhran. He takes out a damp cloth and begins wiping it over the goatskin in soothing strokes.
“The dampness stretches the goatskin to produce a deeper sound,” he explains. Both musicians also play on the rims of their instruments. The Olwell rim is of dark wood, and the Packer rim is fashioned from light wood. Like the damp and undamp goatskin, the two woods produce different sounds.
But, according to Dillon protocol, only one bodhran plays at a time. The same rule prevails for the tin whistles. “Too much of a good thing can be bad,” Dillon says. On this night a Dillon student, Ann Simoni of New Windsor, has joined the group with her tin whistle.
Packer temporarily abandons his bodhran, picking up his guitar and bursting into song, treating listeners to the strains of “Raglan Road,” a ballad about a man who falls in love with a woman he meets there on an autumn day.
The entertainment is all Irish, but not all the participants are. Roger Polansky of Highland of Polish background is on hand with his tenor banjo, while his wife, Helen Stokoe, holds forth on the fiddle.
Another fiddle arrives on the scene in the company of Bernadette Fee of New York City, a first-timer. “I met Ann at a gathering in Manhattan and decided to come up here to play with the group,” she says. After coffee with a friend, she pulls up a chair, beating time with a high heeled-garbed right foot.
Tenor Francie Gildernew arrives from Hopewell Junction with his guitar and presents a rendition of “Only Our Rivers Run Free.” The ballad, he points out, contrasts the freedom of the Irish rivers with the situation of the Irish people.
A couple appears at the door and pauses, taking in the scene. Gina Ironside of Tappan is a striking brunette, slender with an enviable posture. She and her companion, John Sindt of Nyack, both play the tin whistle. The pair met while set dancing. “Not step dancing,” they are quick to explain. “Irish set dancing is like square dancing and involves eight people. It”™s done to the tune of reels and jigs.”
Cathy Cassidy also comes from across the river. The Washingtonville guitar player, who claims paternal grandparents from County Mayo, treats patrons to an Irish refrain with her melodic soprano voice.
A call for talent among patrons brings forth two male and one female soloist rendering a cappella songs more familiar to American audiences: “Macushla,” “The Wild Colonial Boy” and “The Last Rose of Summer.”
In addition to her musical accomplishment, the group”™s leader is known for her organizational skills. She posts a monthly schedule that includes The Depot at 7 p.m. on the Wednesday of or right after full moon; the Silver Spoon at 6 p.m. on the first Sunday of the month, and Sheeran”™s at 5 p.m. on the third Sunday of the month.
The musicians float in and out of other Irish musical groups, but the Dillon magnetism continues to draw them together to play old Irish songs unfamiliar to the average listening audience.
Challenging Careers focuses on the exciting and unusual business lives of Hudson Valley residents. Comments or suggestions may be emailed to Catherine Portman-Laux at cplaux@optonline.net.