Kelly’s kids gave her a grá for all things Irish
Kelly Scanlan travelled to the fleadh with her daughter Ginger this year, as part of a large group from Saint Paul, Minnesota. “We have 43 people here from Minnesota, 15 youth students and six adult students.
“All the kids did Scoil Éigse and not all 15 youth are competing but probably about 10 of them are,” she told the Westmeath Examiner during fleadh week.
The Minnesota musicians took part in the overseas concert, entered the U18 céilí band competition, and competed in duos and accompaniments in fiddle, whistle and banjo.
It wasn’t Kelly’s first fleadh; she attended Drogheda with her son John as well as Ginger in 2019. They were also in Mullingar in 2022, when the town made a big impression on the entire Minnesota group. “We all loved Mullingar so much last year that we were all, like, we’re going back,” said Kelly.
“We feel really comfortable here and then there’s lots of great restaurants and shops. We stayed with Dermot Mullen last year in Petitswood and a bunch of us are at Kerrigan’s this year.
“The whole upstairs of Kerrigan’s is all Minnesota families. All 12 rooms. Great fun. The kids can practise and rehearse in the mornings in the little breakfast room. They have been playing cards and going out every night,” she added.
Kelly was born and raised in the US, and so were her father and her grandparents, and her great-grandparents were from Monaghan.
When Kelly married, she kept her Irish surname, but she wasn’t involved in the trad scene until her children become a part of it. “In Minnesota there’s so much Irish dancing, music and everything. My daughter actually started doing dance first but then she loved the musicians who played with them so then she started taking lessons.
“We have a big Irish fair in Saint Paul and the kids get excited about it. We have dance, we have music, we have all this stuff going on, and so it’s just been this really great community.”
Dáithí Sproule of Altan teaches Irish music, language, and folklore at Celtic Junction Arts Centre. It was his classes that ignited a love of the Irish culture and inspired Kelly’s children to become accomplished musicians.
Ginger (16) plays flute and whistle, and is in the céilí band, while John (14) plays concertina.
Since her children became immersed in their Irish heritage, Kelly started taking Irish language classes with Ginger. And when John was seven, he and Kelly’s father both learned to play the bodhrán.
“So they were 70 and seven taking bodhrán lessons together – it was the cutest thing ever,” said Kelly.
Her father and step-mother also came to the Drogheda fleadh and thought it was “fabulous”.
Ginger and John’s father is an American of Scandinavian descent but “loves all the trad too”.
“We joke that he loves that they took up music that involves having to go to the pub. ‘Oh shoot, we have to go to a session again!’.”
Kelly’s highlight of the fleadh was “just going out with the kids to play sessions”.
“And all the kids love to busk. And it’s fun because they kind of know some kids now [from different countries and different fleadhs]. So, it’s really nice,” said Kelly.
“The Irish music community, we’ve figured out, is small. You think it’s kind of this big international scene, but you start to see the same people, especially involved in the fleadh… and some of the tutors and adjudicators here have come to Minnesota; we have a Minnesota Irish music weekend.
“And Ginger’s flute was made by Eamonn Cotter, who lives in Ennis, and his céilí band were at the overseas concert. So, we got a picture of her with Eamonn Cotter, who’s like this amazing flute player… so it’s kind of fun to be like, look we just ran into!’.”
Both Ginger and John attended Scoil Éigse last year, and Ginger returned this year. “They love it. They learn five to seven tunes a day. When they come here and have this deep dive into trad music, they come back and are fired up, and just want to play.”