What do American soul, punk rock, Irish art and traditional dance have in common? Not much, unless of course it’s Saint Patrick’s Day on the Seacoast and you’re looking for something more to do than drink beer. While in Ireland Saint Patrick’s Day is a religious holiday that celebrates the introduction of Christianity to the people of Ireland, here in New England, it’s become a celebration of what Irish people introduced to the United States. 

From the time of the first European immigrants, there has always been a local Irish presence on the Seacoast, according to Michelle Moon, director of education at the Strawbery Banke Museum. “From the very earliest time of European immigration there were Irish in the mix,” Moon said. They worked as loggers, domestic workers, shipbuilders, fishermen and masons while relying on music, dance, language and sports to maintain their cultural identity. Starting with a trickle in 1835 and growing in numbers through the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s and 1850s, Irish immigrants built a lasting legacy in the area.

Much like the response to current immigration trends, the reaction to their arrival was mixed. Many residents worried about the effects Irish immigrants would have on New England’s economy and culture. But others saw the opportunity for cheap labor and welcomed the arrival of passenger ships from Ireland. As their numbers increased, the Irish began to exert more influence over local politics, and the Irish community used early Saint Patrick’s Day parades to show their pride and demonstrate their growing political muscle. As time passed, these parades increasingly became a celebration of Irish culture instead of a religious or nationalist observance. The charming and good-humored allure of that culture and the aggressive marketing of party favors and Irish beer have turned it into the all-inclusive celebration it is today.  

In time, Irish immigrants entered the civil service in great numbers, working as police officers, teachers and civil servants. According to The Encyclopedia of New England, edited by Burt Feintuch and David Watters of the University of New Hampshire, the Irish supplied much of the manual labor, political leadership and cultural creativity that contributed to the region’s industrial and urban development.

Their influence can even be heard in the accents of some New Englanders.

“The lilting rhythm of Irish, superimposed upon American English, has shaped the distinctive speech patterns of Boston, New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont,” Feintuch and Watters write.
Today, the Irish community is more spread out and less cohesive, but the Seacoast Irish Cultural Association, based in Dover, works hard to create links for Irish and Irish-American residents in the region. SICA is a nonprofit, family oriented organization dedicated to the discovery, enjoyment, and preservation of Irish and Irish American culture in the Seacoast, explains SICA treasurer Jim McShane. It was formed seven years ago and currently has 200 members. “And we’re always looking for more,” McShane said. The organization sponsors dance performances, concerts, films and other year-round cultural events, but they have nothing planned for Saint Patrick’s Day. “I’m going to a party,” McShane said.

You do not have to be Irish to enjoy this year’s Saint Patrick’s Day revelries. A number of holiday events will offer a taste of Irish culture mixed with some good old-fashioned American fun.

The Hit the Bottle Boys Irish Band will perform at the Firehouse for Performing Arts in Newburyport, Mass., on Thursday, March 15, at 7 and 9 p.m. Tickets for this five-piece, Philadelphia based ensemble are $14 for members of the Firehouse and $16 for non-members. As described on the band’s Web site, their music incorporates “an anarchic rock and punk energy with a genuine passion for the traditional music of Ireland and hints of American bluegrass and Eastern European influences.”

Donald McCarthy is a native of Limerick, Ireland, and leads the band on guitar, harmonica and whistle. Christian Bradley polished his chops playing guitar for a string of rock bands, but it wasn’t until he picked up the fiddle that he found his true calling. Mike “Hotdog” Wolfrom anchors the band with clever bass lines, writes songs and provides smooth vocal harmonies. Ed Docktor is a multi-instrumentalist who specializes in mandolin and vocal accompaniment. Curty “Chief Wompum” O’Shea is part Cherokee and part Irish. As a percussionist, he melds tribal beats with Irish rhythms to produce the energy and heartbeat that drives the band.

The Hit the Bottle Boys draw on a variety of influences while utilizing each member’s specific talent to produce the unique ground-stomping sound that is expected to rock the intimate 195-seat theater at the Firehouse. It will be geared toward a younger crowd, assures Sue Ann Pearson, the director of marketing and development for the Firehouse. “If people are coming for Danny Boy, they’re not going to get it,” Pearson said.

This year the Firehouse is celebrating its 15th anniversary as a nonprofit performing arts center. The Firehouse historically has not celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day, but this year it hopes to tap into the pre-Paddy’s Day revelry by hosting The Hit the Bottle Boys.

“There are a lot of people who truly enjoy Irish music in this community,” Pearson said. And although The Hit the Bottle Boys diverge from more traditional Irish music, they do bring the lyrical spirit and playful energy of the old country, which, according to Pearson, “is so wonderful and so different.”

At the Dunaway Center in Ogunquit, Maine, Ogunquit Performing Arts presents an “Irish Evening” on Friday, March 16 at 7 p.m. There will be a performance by step dancers from the renowned Stillson School of Irish Dance and a film screening of the Irish comedy “Waking Ned Devine.”
Traditional Irish step dance predates Saint Patrick’s Day and has remained an important element of Irish culture throughout the nation’s history. Like any art form, it constantly evolves and has been used as a form of protest, a source of national pride and a way to share a culture. It is characterized by keeping the arms and torso stationary while performing lightening-quick steps in a precise routine. Irish cultural organizations have performed step dances in the United States for decades, but the form gained national attention in the early 1990s with shows like “Riverdance” and “Lord of the Dance.”  

Carlene Moran Stillson has performed traditional Irish dance since she was 4 years old and has been teaching it for 15 years. She created the Stillson School of Irish Dance, which is the only accredited Irish dance school in Maine, offering classes in Gorham, Portland and Cumberland. Her students travel all across New England and have participated in national and international competitions. She teaches 19 New England ranked champions, most of whom will perform on March 16 at the Dunaway Center. In addition to the performance, Stillson will speak about the history of the dance and costumes. 

Saint Patrick’s Day is much different in the United States than it is in Ireland, Stillson said.
“We have come to equate it with green beer and parades, but these performances bring Irish culture to the forefront,” she said. Even though her troupe consists of a multicultural blend of French, Columbian, Irish and other ancestries, Stillson makes sure to teach her students about the history and culture of their craft. The dancers mirror what Stillson described as the Irish will to live life to the fullest. “The girls are lighthearted whenever they do performances. We just enjoy what we call dancing out for people,” she said. A reception for the dancers will follow the March 16 performance.

In keeping with the lighthearted atmosphere, a screening of the Irish comedy “Waking Ned Devine” will follow the performance. Written and directed by Kirk Jones and starring Ian Bannen, David Kelly and Fionnula Flanagan, the 1998 film tells the story of two elderly friends living in a small Irish village. When they discover that their recently deceased neighbor won the national lottery shortly before passing away, the couple enlists the help of the entire village to convince authorities that he’s still alive and perfectly fit to collect the prize money.

Filmed on an island in the Irish Sea, the movie presents the pristine scenery and rural charm that has been idealized in Irish country life. 

“It will be an evening that truly celebrates the greening of the world on this special holiday with the infinite grace and impish humor that emanates from the Emerald Isle,” said Stuart Nudelman, of Ogunquit Performing Arts, in his announcement of the event.

The Lamprey Arts & Culture Alliance is breathing life into the legacy of Irish history on the Seacoast with their newest exhibit, “Shades of Green: Irish Art, Green Beer,” which will be held on Friday, March 16, from 6 to 8 p.m., at Ampers& Gallery in downtown Newmarket. More then a dozen local artists will celebrate the community’s Irish roots with an eclectic mix of paintings, collage, photography and sculpture.

“We’re billing it as an unusual show, or ‘not your typical Saint Patrick’s Day celebration,’” gallery owner Kimberly Foss said.

Exhibiting artists include Judith Cassell, Flynn Donavan, Peter Donovan, Edouard Langlois, Sarah Low, Shawn McCarthy, Mary Ellen McKeen, T. Sampson, Elizabeth Stewart, Judy Wall and Cappy Whelan. Local craftsmen Ada Nogo, Cara O’Connell and others will feature an array of Celtic-inspired, handcrafted jewelry. 

The former textile mills that dot the Lamprey River once enticed immigrants from all across Europe with the promise of healthy wages. Those immigrants helped to enrich the culture of Newmarket, which is something LACA tries to celebrate on a regular basis.

“LACA’s mission is to promote arts, culture and heritage. And we try to combine the three whenever we can,” said Foss, who regularly opens her gallery space to LACA exhibits.

In addition to the Irish themed art, there will be non-traditional Irish music, storytelling by local wordsmith John-Michael Albert, hors d’oeuvres, finger foods from Joyce’s Kitchen and ice-cold beer. Granted access to the Newmarket Historical Society’s extensive archives, LACA unearthed several photos of Irish life in Newmarket, which have been enlarged for the exhibit.

Foss said Irish people have played an important role in Newmarket’s history. “Newmarket is steeped in history with its mills and there has been a host of immigrants. We have a lot of diversity in our town and it’s important to remember that.” The event is free with a suggested donation of

$3, and the exhibit is up through the month.

Saint Patrick’s Day comes on a Saturday this year, and while most people will be enjoying a day off, The Commitments will be putting in overtime as “the hardest working band from Dublin.” The band will play a sold-out show at the Ioka Theater in Exeter at 8 p.m. They perform an Irish adaptation of American soul, drawing influence from icons such as Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett.

Inspired by the gritty streets of 1980s Dublin, The Commitments first formed to play working-class music for working-class crowds. The group came together as a fictional band in the 1991 film “The Commitments,” based on a book of the same name by famous Irish author Roddy Doyle. In the film, aspiring manager Jimmy Rabbitte becomes disgusted with the music scene in Ireland.

Observing the same hard living in the streets of Dublin that inspired American artists in musical Meccas like Detroit, Chicago and New Orleans, he decides to put together a band that would speak directly to the people. In the wave of enthusiasm that followed the film, some of the cast and band members took their show on the road. They have been touring in Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States and across the globe ever since, and Jameson Whiskey just named it the best Irish film of all time.

Promoter Kristan Bishop of 7th Chakra Entertainment, the concert promoter, promises that the audience will relive all the soul classics from “The Commitments movie” live in concert, featuring original band members Dick Massey (Billy “The Animal” Mooney) and Kenneth McCluskey (Derek “Meat Man” Scully).

“There are 10 people in the band, with a full horn section, and they will be playing all of the classic covers from the movie, like ‘Mustang Sally’ and ‘Take Me to the River,’” Bishop said. 
This is the first year that the privately owned and independently operated Ioka Theater has scheduled a big event for Saint Patrick’s Day.

“There has been a great response from the community on this, and we hope that it is a signal for what we are trying to do with the theater,” Ioka owner Roger Detzler said. “This is probably one of the top five bands you would ever want to have on Saint Patrick’s Day,” he added.

Along with the myriad other events taking place up and down the Seacoast, these performances offer a fantastic way to learn more about Irish culture and see how it is constantly evolving to create an alluring blend of old world tradition and new world innovation.