Saturday, January 30, 2010

Ed Sullivan/Clancy Bros/Dancers Identified

Ed Sullivan Show in the 1960s


Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem
accompanied by
champion Irish dancers from the New York United Irish Counties Feis


Perhaps faces will be recognized!


Courtesy of Irish American GOP Activist, Virginia


Dancers Identified

With the help of Felix and Joan Dolan who were in the audience that night and who were very much a part of the traditional music and dancing scene at that time through the Gaelic League and the McNiff Dancers, I have the names of the dancers on the show in the clip. Peter Smith, Mike Bergin, Cyril McNiff and Jimmy Erwin were the gents and Joan McNiff, Anna O'Sullivan, Peggy Buckley and Eva McManus were the ladies. All of them would have been very involved in teaching and promoting Irish step and ceili dancing back in the 1950s. Some of them were founding members of the Irish Dance Teachers Association of North America. A little history for you!

Paul Keating

Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann agus New York County Clare Association

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

To the Hurleys: Thank you so much for the video on the Clancy Bros. and T.Makem. Much appreciated!


Irish, New York

Anonymous said...

Thank you this was great stuff!


California, Cork man

Maurice Landers said...

I've been singing it all day, and passing it on to friends etc. Loved it. Should put it up on UIC website www.uicany.org
Thanks!

Maurice Landers
President - Limerick Assoc. NY
and co chair UIC Feis

Paul Keating said...

With the help of Felix and Joan Dolan who were in the audience that night of the performance and very much a part of the traditional music and dancing scene at that time through the Gaelic League and the McNiff Dancers, I have the names of the dancers on the show in the clip.
Peter Smith, Mike Bergin, Cyril McNiff and Jimmy Erwin are the gents and Joan McNiff, Anna O'Sullivan, Peggy Buckley and Eva McManus were the ladies. All of them would have been very involved in teaching and promoting Irish step and ceili dancing back in the 1950s and some of them founding members of the Irish Dance Teachers Association of North America. A little history for you.
Paul Keating

fduggan@comcast.net said...

Thanks Pat. That was grand. As Ed Sullivan would say: "a rilley big shew."
I originally found that when Liam Clancy died, and there was a lot on the net about him. We are actually related by marriage, as his wife was a Brennan on my mother's side.
God bless,
Frank

Anonymous said...

Pat Thanks for this remembrance of the Clancy's - great ambassadors from Ireland.

Mile Buiochas.


Cork City Politico

Anonymous said...

I remember that Ed Sullivan show as if it was yesterday. It was very triumphalist. JFK had just been sworn in.

I read in the American Conservative about how conservative JFK would be regarded today. Then I considered myself a liberal. Funny thing is I'm pretty much the same person i was then, except for the loss of hair and some slight accretions of wisdom.

Irish American Legal Eagle

Unknown said...

Her name was not Anna O'Sullivan.....she is Hannah Mary O'Sullivan from Millstreet, Co.Cork