Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-01-25
IRISH REyELERS BOB
AND SWAY TO JOLLY
DANCE OF THE MAYOS
c.,or Fiddles and Sons and
nouobters of Erin Frolic in
Annual Ball, "The Best
Ever Held"
NnTABLES L II n . II IN Il

while peter Hannisan stamped ms ioot
.,r,e and sawed Irish dances from
4 ,s,o ocOO sons and daughters of Erin
.a and swayed through the figures
4 t.,sh hornpipes and reels till day
,,sak this morning
.rvhee wuof. whoopeo-e-e! shouted
nd faster danced the throng. But
.s roatless and handkerchief tucked
hts collar, only iddled the faster
q h PA when Peter faltered toward the end
= ,rrhe Maid That Left the country
+ ~. Maloney came to his aid with rev
loD ,,orees of the Green Groves of
nseg, ", rnod old "Blaclbird,' pushed
h,h hlm his Irish bagpipes by means OF
Covered bellows worked by happlnS
pa,how The table on which their
w ~. ,yero perchcd trembled and swayed
's., choir rocking, stamping measures;
~ soor and the windows shook meath
~ M ,oi,e nj the bobbing dancers. but still
lns W ~. checked collecns laughed without
4 5as tbe irish laddicbucks whirled them
w w IONS or iiggcd through the Irish
4 hiug.
awEE.WOOF wHOOPEE-EE!"
5. pre mither and father were Oirish an
s ,,are Oirish, too, SnOut'u oue tiut SUI
& Isako o,d country as he snatched lassie
n n crimson poppy I'm her black hair
q -, tbe throng and flung himself with
l'Si,to the reel \ long-drawn "whoop-
~ fold something of the joy in his soul.
! h Was the 10th annual dance of the
tr.r of Mayo composed of sons of Ire
4 IA from the County Mayo. Mercantile
sIsn Broad and Master streets, was hard
/ 4, large enough to hold the long streams
! q Dnb,in folk and former sons of Cork
4 mi natives Of the country places through
he length and brcadth OF lreiahu 'iIt
focked to the nan.
lust as happy and just as merry as any
4 ~ Judge Joseph i. Rogers. Then there
,rss rohn p Connolly Michael j. Ryan.
& Tgaee Bonniwell Judge Raymond Nc
4 NeIlle and hundreds of other prominent
4 ,nsn of Philadelphia, all native sons of
4 Oud olrland
Irish DECORATIONS"
Hung low from the ceiling on the main
i dance fioCr was huge pot of lrtsh ferns
q md other trailing vegetation. From this
n festoons to the boxes of the gallery
we're strings of pennants representing all
J me- colors of the various counties of
] rland for Mayo was only the host last
4 naht Nearly every county, 1T is thought,
4 had representatives there.
] From the boxes all around the hall were
draped enormous American flags, the
Z rcd. white and blue almost trailing to the
door Right in the heart of each fcstoon
vas the green ana the Erin 20 Bragh.
The stage was hidden behind Il tall thick
et Of Christmas trees and here an or
chestra bing- bang -Zammel in II frantic
tnort to lure into the fox trot and one
sep some of the Older folk, most of whom
we're downstairs in the throeS of the Irish
Highland Fling or the Piper's Jig.
For downstairs was where the real high
spots OF the dance were struck. Even
4 he walls were green. Here sat Peter
ihe fiddler like a king on his throne. on
4 hs left was Tom and his pipes. Jerry
Fennerty sawed his violin on the other
SIDE starting the bar always where Peter
j left off, so that there shouldn't be any
break in the melody, and John Brannon
added the thrill of the country and the
III Of the town square with his Irish pic
nlo on the other side. Here the laddie
/ hcks with their hands on their hips
threw their heels high as they did their
4 lgs and bowed to their partners. Here
! he black-hared, red-faced sons of Erin
hughed with pardonabe pride when they
+ pun a lasse so hard and so fast that
me had to lean on him for support at the
tnish. Here partners linked arms and
racefuly danced the figures. now look
hg on, now madly jgEinG with their hair
Al tumblng down unheeded.
THE BEST DANCE EVER.
Yellow dresses, crimson dresses, white,
hlue and every other color all wound and
Mwound like the colors of the rainbow.
ms was where the lads and lasses of
Aayo were dancing the dances of the
ineient and modern Celts. The low-ceil-
mged room was packed. Smoke hung like
cloud over the dancers, but no one
nlnded that. All they saw was Peters
/ pusled, curly hair boiling over his fiddle:
" they heard was the laughing and
nythmc melodies it poured forth, and all
.hey minded was the constant beat of
refers foot, pounding on the table as he
played and played
The only time the fiddle stopped was
surlhg the grand march, held upstairs.
rms was led by T., T. O'Brian and his
laughter Mary More than thousand
ooK part in It and went through the
asures John j. Mcguire had charge of
ae right wing He is president of the
hayos and marched with tread that
vas stately and grand indade."
Il, J. Corcoran was chairman of the
vance and, with =. j. Conway. who was
me Reception Committee, was ac-
galmtd the most successful of any who
Aaa thus far staged a Mayo dance.