Tommy Sands and Family Appearing at 8th Step Coffee House

There are a lot of performers in the world and I can't keep up.

When I started checking into this performer, I was surprised. Surprised I never heard of him. Surprised by who recommends him. Surprised at how he dedicates his life.

His name is Tommy Sands.

For the impatient: He will be appearing on:

• Sunday, March 10, 2013 @ 7 PM
• 8th Step Coffee House @ Proctors Theatre, 432 State Street, Schenectady, New York 12304

Who recommends him?

Since I live in the Hudson Valley and have tremendous respect for the man, I'll start with: Pete Seeger.

Pete Seeger has said,"Tommy Sands has achieved that difficult but wonderful balance between knowing and loving the traditions of his home and being concerned with the future of the whole world."

I write poetry myself, so I was intrigued to read Seamus Heany has said of Tommy Sands, "You feel you can trust the singer as well as the song. His voice is at ease, it is not drawing attention to itself and yet, for that very reason it demands attention naturally." For those who may not know, Seamus Heany is Ireland's Nobel winning poet.

Tommy Sands is much more than a singer-songwriter. 

In 1986 in Belfast, which was during the Troubles, Tommy Sands organized a "Citizen's Assembly" which included many of the North's top artists and literary figures. 

Then in 1998, politicians were starting to hammer out the language that would later culminate in the Belfast Agreement or Good Friday Peace Accords, a major road map of compromise and concession which would lead to relative peace.

Getting wind of the gist, the media ballyhooed snags in the negotiations.

Tommy Sands could see this could lead to the undoing of the agreement.

He gathered a group of schoolchildren, half from the Catholic Republican side and half from the Protestant Loyalist side. Sands, the children, and some loud Lambeg drummers walked to Parliament singing the peace song Carry On.

A group of politicians met them on the steps of Parliament and the politicians were teary eyed.

Seamus Mallon who became Deputy First Minister in the Assembly that same year said the event was a “defining moment in the peace process.”

On top of all this, the man's music is well known and so moving.

His song, "There Were Roses" is bone crushing sad.

The song has been covered by many artists and many would say has entered the Pantheon of Irish songs.

So, yes, I recommend you go to hear Tommy, Fionan, his son, and other family members on:

• Sunday, March 10, 2013 @ 7 PM
• 8th Step Coffee House @ Proctors Theatre, 432 State Street, Schenectady, New York 12304

There will also be a reception where you can hear Tommy speak his special stories before the concert. Ask when you are buying tickets how to attend that.
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Fire Damages Ancestral Home of President Chester A. Arthur

The Belfast Telegraph reports fire broke out at around 8:20 PM in the ancestral home of Chester Alan Arthur, the 21st US President.

The thatched Arthur Cottage and interpretive center in Cullybackey, Co Antrim present the story of President Arthur to tourists and other visitors.

President Arthur’s grandparents, Alan Arthur and Eliza née Meharg lived at the cottage. William Arthur, President Arthur's father, was born in the Cottage on December 5, 1797. He and other members of the family left for North America sometime between 1816 and 1820. He married Malvina Stone and became a Baptist Minister. Chester A. Arthur was born on October 5, 1830 in Fairfield, Vermont.

Besides Fairfield, there are other connections of Chester A. Arthur to the northeast US. Arthur attended Union College in Schenectady, New York in 1845 where he studied the traditional classics. As a senior in 1848, he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and president of the debate society. He regularly donned a green coat to show his support for the Irish Republicans.

After living outside of Hoosick Falls, New York, Arthur returned to Union College and received his Master's degree in 1851.

At Union College, Arthur was a student of Eliphalet Nott, whose civil rights beliefs may have influenced Arthur's opinions. Union College Political Science Professor Clifford Brown has said Arthur became a New York City lawyer after graduation, and fought for civil rights. Arthur was involved with integrating the transportation system in New York City when the system depended on horse drawn trolleys.

Chester A. Arther died on November 17, 1886 and his grave is Albany Rural Cemetary in Menands, New York.

There is a statue of him at Madison Square in New York City and another outside the gate to Jackson's Gardens at Union College.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland is investigating the fire at the Arthur Cottage in Ireland. Evidence is no one was at the property at the time the fire started. Apparently, the interpretive center and cottage remain intact.

Read more: Belfast Telegraph

Or: Union College article