I read something incredible about the Irish in Kansas City today that I reckon is down one of 3 things;

1. It’s a typo

2. Kevin Costner is off his trolley

3. I don’t have a clue about Irish history

In the Sacromento Bee in an article about Costner playing music in a band with friends called Modern West, Costner says the band are working on some songs that document American life.

And in talking about supposedly little-known parts of American history, Costner then gave an example:

Back at the turn of the century, for instance, 200,000 Irish orphans were shipped out to Kansas City and people took them home and they made their way into the fabric of America. That’s good stuff.

200,000?

Orphans were very common at the turn of the 19th century into the 20th, and I believe none more so than Irish orphans. The famine Irish had arrived in North America 50 years earlier and brought with them cholera, poverty and a will to survive, rather than the more adventurous spirit that previous Irish arrivals had brought.

Also, such was the lack of parents in the Irish population in North America that I believe at one point orphans were assumed to be Irish. And there would have been more of them in St Louis I think.

Still though, how we get from there to 200,000 Irish orphans being shipped to Kansas City - which in the 1880s had a total population of 80,000 - I’ve no idea.

So I’m going to choose to not believe it until somebody can point me at a more authoritive source than Kevin Costner.

I should also note that it’s entirely possible that all 3 possible reasons, I listed above, apply i.e. it is a typo and should be 2,000 Irish orphans, Kevin Costner is off is trolley anyway, and I’m certainly no authority on Irish history.

Read: Kevin Costner Swells Kansas City Irish »

At the moment I can’t turn the television on in Ireland without seeing Overland Park, Kansas boy made good, Paul Rudd. It’s not impossible or anything, it’s just a rule in the house.

In today’s Irish Times Rudd is interviewed by film critic Michel Dwyer and admits to going to more than the usual lengths in his expression of loving things Irish:

Rudd loves visiting Ireland, to the point of building an Irish bar at his home in New York. “It’s so weird that you would know that, but it’s true,” he says. “The bar is about two weeks away from launch. I have Guinness on tap at my house and when I was last in Dublin, I went to their brewery and they gave me some stuff for my bar.”

As the interview exists primarily to promote the current Rudd film, I Love You, Man, it’s not actually quite that lengthy an article though there is some other stuff thrown in there, presumably to give you a chance to turn on the TV.

Read: A Bromantic View of Ireland »

I forgot to tell you that I wasn’t posting anything here today.

Click here for an explanation.

JFT96

Read: Hillsborough - Justice For 96 People »

Did you know that this semester there is a Gaelic Football team at Haskell?

Úna-Méabh Herron from Belfast, who is an instructor at the Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, tells me that the Gaelic Football team at Haskell are having their first game on Wednesday, 15th April at 7:00pm in the Haskell Stadium.

The game is against the Kansas City Gaelic Football team (KCGAC) of course and is the game that was originally scheduled for last month until the weather interfered.

Úna-Méabh tells me that this is the first Gaelic Football match in Lawrence, and to me that sounds like more than reason enough to support it.

This event is posted on the Kansas City Irish events calendar.

Read: 1st Gaelic Football Match in Lawrence, KS »

Here’s to silence.

See Also:
   • What Did The Easter Bunny Bring You When You Were A Kid In Ireland?
   • Good Friday
   • Chocolate Jesus
   • The 1916 Easter Rising

Read: An Easter Sunday Toast »

Can you guess which Kansas City organisation is bringing you one of the Top 50 Music Acts in Ireland Right Now next?

The Irish Times weekly guide to entertainment, The Ticket, a few days ago produced a list of what it considers the Top 50 Music Acts in Ireland Right Now, or Right Then if you prefer. And one of the acts, so far, is currently scheduled to play in the Kansas City area. Can you guess which one?

Let’s have a look at the list through Kansas City Irish eyes, whatever that means.

I’m very happy to see Mick Flannery in at #46. He hasn’t played Kansas City yet, but since former part-time KC resident and fellow Corkman Máirtín de Cógáin gave me Mick’s debut album, Evening Train I’ve been meaning to tell you about him.

Damien Rice is at #34 and Kansas City - or at least Lawrence - has been treated to this miserable son of Ireland more than once, and I reckon you can expect to again.

At #28 is Colm Mac Con Iomaire, a founder member of Kila who appeared in Kansas City as part of the Once movie /Swell Season thing with Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova, what with him being a member of The Frames and all. And that Swell Season/Frames/Hansard act is at #11 on the list. But check out Colm’s solo album The Hare’s Corner - one for trad fans that crosses over - I’ve mentioned it before.

A certain little band called Snow Patrol is at #22, and another outfit called U2 is at #18. And the Fab Four’s place on the list is not safe at all. One more dud album and they’re off, if we can even wait the 5 years.

The never not popular Divine Comedy is at #12, and when Neil Hannon visits Kansas City again you can expect another intimate performance from a legenday Irish act, though probably not that Father Ted Eurovision spoof horse thing.

Bell X1 played KC last year. They’re at #9 on the list and I’m probably the only person left who refers to them as the rump Juniper - who you’ll remember in their full form included Mr. Damien Rice.

At #5 in the list is Lisa Hannigan, who skipped Kansas City on her first solo tour. Given that she partnered Damien Rice on all tours following the “O” album, including a rather successful gig in Lawrence with The Frames in support, I wouldn’t be surprised if you get a chance to see her again.

At #1 is David Holmes. And you’ll have heard music by the Belfast man in a cinema near you, for this musician, DJ, producer, composer, is a very successful film scorist, or whatever the term is. His MySpace page only has short samples - which is rubbish but here it is anyway.

And back to the questions I asked you. At #32 is Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill. From the Irish Times list:

Clare-born fiddle maestro Martin Hayes first met up with Chicago guitarist Dennis Cahill in the 1980s, when they were members of Windy City fusion band Midnight Court. A musical match was struck when the fiddler returned to his musical roots and the Cahill came along. Theirs is a fluid relationship that has produced some brilliant albums (especially 1999’s “Live in Seattle” and last year’s “Welcome Here Again”). But the true measure of the partnership is in the live shows, when each sparks off the other and the music transcends the setting.

And you can see them perform in Kansas City, courtesy of the Missouri Valley Folklife Society, on Friday, May 8, 2009 at Unity Temple on the Plaza, 77 West 47th Street. Tickets are $20 - a bloody bargain compared to prices in Ireland I can tell you - and you can find out more from the MVFS.

The Hayes & Cahill concert is posted on the Kansas City Irish events calendar.

To be honest I don’t know if Iarla Ó Lionáird (#36) ever played in KC as part of the Afro Celt Sound System, or if Cathal Coughlan (#27) has ever played in KC either solo or as part of Fatima Mansions.

And I should know if The Script (#41) have played or are going to, but the pop-soul rocksters are just so big that they either already have or are certainly going to.

Can you see any other KC connections I’ve missed?

Read: Top 50 Music Act in Ireland for KC »