Ward Irish Music Archives Newsletter
December 2015
    

As winter starts to take hold in Milwaukee, we just wanted to send out one last update for 2015 and offer our appreciation for your support over the last year. We're excited to have launched the Irish Fest Scrapbook website this past summer, as well as updating and maintaining our digital sheet music collection, the Irish Sheet Music Archives website.

Stay tuned for more projects and updates in 2016. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Cheers,

Barry Stapleton, Director
Jeff Ksiazek, Archivist
In This Issue
Rare Gifts from The Makem Family

The family of Tommy Makem has donated two rare and valuable letters to Milwaukee Irish Fest to be added to the existing Tommy Makem Collection in the Ward Irish Music Archives (WIMA). The first is a letter from President Bill Clinton to Tommy, dated June 11, 2001, congratulating Tommy on the celebration of his Golden Jubilee as an internationally known folk singer/songwriter. The second letter is from Irish President Mary McAleese to the Makem family, dated August 2, 2007, one day after Tommy passed away. This letter expresses her condolences and fond memories of Tommy and his contributions to Irish culture.

Milwaukee Irish Fest has created a special Tommy Makem Cultural Legacy Fund, set up to honor Tommy and his longstanding passion and contributions to Irish music and culture. The goal of this fund is to raise $50,000. Once this target is reached, Milwaukee Irish Fest will award an annual grant or scholarship that promotes a living legacy of Irish music and culture. The Tommy Makem Cultural Legacy Fund is already two-thirds of the way to its goal. Anyone interested in supporting this fund can get more information or donate online or by calling the Milwaukee Irish Fest Center at 414-476-3378.

View the letters and more on the Milwaukee Irish Fest Insider Blog.

The December track of the month comes from the Michael and Mary Comer Collection and features 1930s tin whistler Myles O'Malley. A previous track of the month featured one of O'Malley's large ensemble recordings, but this time we feature his own whistle playing.

These reels, The Swallow's Tail/The Heather Breeze were recorded in 1936 in New York and also include Eileen White on piano accompaniment (who also recorded with Frank Quinn).  Born in 1910 to Irish parents in Massachusetts, O'Malley was an avid saxophone player before he picked up the whistle. He performed with the Truman Carew Big Band from Boston after graduating from high school. Carew featured O'Malley on tin whistle for a St. Patrick's Day radio broadcast in 1931; that performance helped propel his popularity on the whistle.
2015 Irish Fest Scrapbook Update

Our volunteers and staff have been busy processing photos, audio, and video from the 2015 Milwaukee Irish Fest and uploading them to the Irish Fest Scrapbook website. You can view the grounds brochure, poster, and a selection of photos and videos online now. Keep checking back for more updates.