Thanks to The Hibernian Pub and Restaurant, despite Tir na nOg’s closure, the Irish session will go on! The first session at The Hibernian will be a Cead Mile Failte celebration, which translates as “a hundred thousand welcomes.” We are delighted that the session will have a new home base where local and visiting trad players, singers, and the occasional Irish step dancers will be able to continue to gather to share this music. The session will be held on the upstairs library that hosts two convenient bars. The second floor of the Hibernian is also accessible via an elevator.
The session remains free to the public, and it is open to musicians of all skill levels – participants at the jam range in age from 8 to 80! The session welcomes and encourages singing, dancing, and listening as well. Song keys usually depend on who is singing or leading the song at the time.
This session is open to Irish/Scottish/Cape Breton (commonly referred to as “Celtic”) style players and singers of all levels and ages. Session players will try to help those who are just starting out playing this music with resources for learning tunes and techniques for playing the tunes. It is recommended and encouraged for you to bring a recording device to record tunes played during the session so that you can go back and listen to the tunes on your own to learn new tunes and to learn the changes between the tunes.
No one knows all the tunes, so for the enjoyment of the group, it is recommended to sit out tunes you haven’t learned yet. This is common to all Irish sessions. At this session, you are welcome to listen (and record), and after the tune or set is over, you can (and should) ask what the name of it was.
“We are proud to welcome the best Trad session in NC to its new home!” said Annie Britton Nice, Hibnerian’s new managing partner, who is originally from Camlough, County Armagh in Northern Ireland. Niall Hanley, the Hibernian’s owner, hails from County Mayo in western Ireland.
We look forward to this new chapter in the life of the Irish session, and we hope you will join us at The Hibernian on Sunday, Nov. 29 at 3 p.m. to thank the session’s new hosts and to celebrate Irish music here in Raleigh!