Alert to Wild Geese Members: There is a special discount available for this seasonal favorite show produced by the Irish Arts Center and Dr. Mick Moloney. contact phone 201-965-6598 or the Wild Geese administrator for further details. 

SPECIAL GUESTS FROM WORLDS OF POLITICS, CULTURE & ACADEMICS ANNOUNCED FOR IRISH ARTS CENTER’S ACCLAIMED CHRISTMAS SHOW

(New York, NY) – The Consul General of Ireland Barbara Jones, National Book Award Winner Colum McCann, Famine Historian Maureen Murphy and Afro-Irish Dance Scholar Lenwood Sloan have been announced as special guests for the upcoming Irish Arts Center’s much-loved annual musical celebration AN IRISH CHRISTMAS: A Musical Solstice Celebration at Symphony Space from December 18-21.

Echoing a decades’ long Irish Christmas tradition at each of the four shows, the Special Guests will join Mick Moloney on stage for sharing holiday memories featuring a performance, interview or story from their unique perspectives.  Opening on Thursday night, Dec. 18 for the Irish Christmas Special Benefit Performance, Friday, Dec. 19 and Saturday, Dec. 20 shows will all be at 8 p.m. On Sunday, Dec. 21 the show will begin at 5 p.m. Tickets are available online at IrishArtsCenter.org or by phone at 212-864-5400.

AN IRISH CHRISTMAS is the Irish Arts Center’s joyous annual seasonal celebration and is hosted by traditional Irish music legend and folklorist Mick Moloney. It features an eclectic mix of tunes ranging from the traditional to the contemporary some that will be familiar from the seasonal canon and others tapped from a more diverse vein. World-famous fiddler Athena Tergis (Riverdance) joins an incredible line up of musicians, including Moloney on banjo, mandolin and vocals, button accordionist Billy McComiskey, singer/fiddler Liz Hanley, dancer Niall O’Leary , jazz vocalist Tamar Korn, Filipino chant singer Grace Nono, and pianist Donna Long along with a few music and dance surprises on any given night.  Folk balladeer John Roberts will join the New York City cast also.

Here is some additional information on the special guests:

Colum McCann (Dec. 18): Colum McCann was born in Dublin in 1965. He is the author of six novels and two collections of stories. He has been the recipient of many international honours, including the National Book Award, the International Dublin Impac Prize, a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres from the French government, election to Aosdana the Irish arts academy, several European awards, the 2010 Best Foreign Novel Award in China, and an Oscar nomination. He lives in New York with his wife, Allison, and their three children. He teaches at the MFA program in Hunter College.

Maureen O. Murphy PHD (Dec. 19):  Maureen Murphy is a Professor of Curriculum and Teaching at Hofstra University on Long Island where she is also the Co-Director of the undergraduate Irish Studies minor. She was the Director of the Great Irish Famine Curriculum Project for the New York State Department of Education and a former Fulbright Fellow (1965-1966) and a Fellow in the Humanities Institute, University College Dublin.  She resides in New York.

Barbara Jones (Dec. 20):  Barbara Jones is a veteran in the Department of Foreign Affairs serving the Irish Government  for over 30 years and recently appointed as their Consul General in New York taking up her post in September 2014.  She has worked primarily on Anglo-Irish and European Union issues including assignments in London where she served as Deputy Head of Mission and in Belfast as Joint Secretary of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat.  She is married to Oliver O’Connor and they have three children.

Lenwood O. Sloan (Dec. 21): Lenwood O. Sloan is well known across the U.S. as a catalytic agent, animator, and facilitator of cultural and heritage programs. For the past 40 years, Mr. Sloan has provided inspiration, leadership and technical assistance both in the public and private sector.  His work with PBS included the Emmy Award-winning documentary “Dance Black America”.  He resides in Pennsylvania.

 ABOUT THE IRISH ARTS CENTER

IRISH ARTS CENTER, founded in 1972, is a New York-based arts and cultural center dedicated to projecting a dynamic image of Ireland and Irish America for the 21st century, building community with artists and audiences of all backgrounds, forging and strengthening cross-cultural partnerships, and preserving the evolving stories and traditions of Irish culture for generations to come.  Our multi-disciplinary programming is centered around three core areas: Performance – including live music, dance, theatre, film, literature, and the humanities; Exhibition – including visual arts presentations and cultural exhibitions that tell the evolving Irish story; and Education – with dozens of classes per week in Irish language, history, music, and dance.  Located in New York City, a world capital of arts and culture, Irish Arts Center serves as a dynamic platform for top emerging and established artists and cultural creators to reach a New York, national, and global audience, and as a gateway for other institutions to access first-rate Irish and Irish American culture. www.IrishArtsCenter.org