Green Goddess is a salad dressing with long-ago origins in France, created by a chef who wanted to top his dish of green eel with an equally green topping (still with me?). The Green Goddess, Danú, is a figure of long-ago Irish mythology, associated with fertility, wisdom, and the land. Danú is also the name of the Irish troupe who put on a lively concert in our small town on Tuesday night.
It was fitting to go to a performance of Irish music on St. Patrick’s Day. I grabbed a couple of seats the moment the offering was advertised. As it turned out, Danú’s was the brand of lively Irish jigging you’d otherwise find in the streets and bars of Dublin. More of the instrumental and less of the singing. More of the fast and less of the slow. And when there was singing it was mostly Gaelic, with a few words of translation about the story of the song beforehand. We had a “grand” time.
Danú’s musical instruments (and the remarkable talent behind them) were as alluring as the music they produced. I mean, who wouldn’t be drawn to a concert of tin whistle, fiddle, button accordion, bouzouki, and Irish pipes? The pipes, also called the uillleann, is a device played sitting down, where the bellows is compressed between the arm and the body to generate the air, producing a wail that sounds decidedly Irish (because were I to claim “decidedly Scottish” the Irish wouldn’t be at all happy about it).
My wife is one-quarter Irish, which may explain why we’re drawn to the music of “her country”. Danú is just the latest in a series of performances we’ve enjoyed over the years. Our initial foray into the genre was years ago in Colorado, when we first saw the group Celtic Thunder.
If you’ve seen their show, you know Celtic Thunder is as much about the theatrics as they are about the music. Like Danú their lyrics are nods to Irish mythology, but the sounds are decidedly more modern. Celtic Thunder came together just twenty years ago and in that time they’ve recorded a dozen albums, toured the world, and spun off several solo acts. If Celtic Thunder comes to your town, drop everything you’re doing and go see them.
One of the Thunder’s spin-off soloists is a favorite of ours to this day. Emmet Cahill is an Irish tenor whose success includes a #1 album on the Billboard charts, and performances in venues like Carnegie Hall and with the Tabernacle Choir. Cahill has the voice (and the accent) where it doesn’t really matter what he sings; his music is always captivating. Even better, Cahill performs most of his concerts in church sanctuaries where the acoustics allow for a cappella singing, not even needing the microphone. We’ve seen Cahill perform several times. You should too.
Finally (as if to top each performer with the next) we found yet another taste of Ireland’s music on her western shores – atop the breathtaking Cliffs of Moher. We took a bus tour from Dublin years ago, which cut all the way across the country and then headed south to the Cliffs. According to the locals we were lucky to visit the Cliffs on a sunny day, but I’d say we were really lucky to find Tina Mulrooney performing right there in the out-of-doors. Tina’s an accomplished harpist, with a soft soprano voice deserving of her instrument. She was parked alone on the cliffs, just sitting, singing, and playing her harp. Mulrooney is siren-seductive with her singing, akin to the music of Celtic Woman.
If Danú ever returns to our fair city we’ll probably leave the seats to others. Not that we didn’t enjoy ourselves on Tuesday night, but one night of “dancing in our chairs” was probably enough for a while. Now then, should Emmet Cahill or Tina Mulrooney choose to pass through? Then, then you’ll find us sitting front and center, hoping for just one more rendition of Danny Boy.
Some content sourced from Wikipedia, “the free encyclopedia”.
Life In A Word 
I had forgotten completely about Green Goddess salad dressing – for a time in the late 60s and early 70s it was my mother’s absolute favorite.
It sounds like you had a great time with the music. I had to content myself with a nice corned beef and cabbage dinner on St. Patrick’s Day, without any Irish music.
LikeLike
I was reluctant to reference salad dressing on a blog post of an entirely different topic, but I figured someone would bring it up in the comments either way. You win 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That sounds like a great show. I do like celtic music.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Canada has been home to more than just a few Irish musical groups because many Irish people settled here, particularly in the Eastern provinces of Newfoundland and New Brunswick. In other eastern provinces, Irish and Scottish was blended. The influence did not stop with traditional music – it was woven into pop and rock. In my day, The Rankin Family, Natalie MacMaster and The Irish Rover’s were popular artists.
LikeLiked by 1 person
In fact, Danú’s drummer is from Newfoundland. They introduced him by saying “he hail’s from County Newfoundland” 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I had to look up the recipe for green goddess dressing – it looks very appropriate for St. Patrick’s Day! I don’t remember ever trying it. I have watched Celtic Thunder on a PBS special and they put on a good performance. My mother used to like the Daniel O’Donnell specials on PBS too, and I believe he has toured the US and Canada. But now I’m mad at myself for not seeing The Irish Rovers – who played here on March 18 and there were still a few tickets left, but I have been dealing with a broken furnace all week, and didn’t even get out for the traditional Irish stew church supper. My furnace is fixed, but now it’s so noisy when it kicks on and off that it sounds like a ticking time bomb on the main floor, and 3 visits later, no one seems to be able to figure out why, except to throw more money at it and hope something works. I have hot water heat which is not that common, so I need some Irish luck….and maybe a leprechaun or two with an HVAC license. The Irish Rovers are known for The Unicorn song, Black Velvet Band, and Wasn’t that a Party, but as they were from the 70’s I think most of the original members are gone.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I find it remarkable how many 70s bands are still touring 50+ years later, even with the loss of original members. I guess music’s a part of their DNA. The Irish Rovers sound familiar but I can’t place the songs from the titles. As for your HVAC woes, we know all about them Joni. The house we live in is about fifteen years old, which is prime time to replace appliances (pretty sure the former owner knew that). We recently replaced the air handler, but we’ve had several service calls since then to “tweak” the system. You’d think a new system would work perfectly from the get-go. No such “luck”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Same here….I don’t know if it’s a faulty part or the kid installing it? The first part he brought was faulty, and he had to go back to the shop to get another one. Then the office tried to bill me for 2 1/2 hours labour when it only took him 15min. to put the new zone valve in the second time, but well over an hour the first time. (they charge 1 hr min plus 1/2 hr travel time) And now the noise when it clicks on and off, which is driving me crazy as I can hear it upstairs. He tried to tell me the noise was normal, but I never had it before. So could the second valve be faulty too, as the whole lot might be bad? I’m beyond frustrated with them….but no other company wants to fix some other companies problem. I asked if they could remove the part and try and troubleshoot the wiring or air lock or something, but no. Still waiting for a quote from other company for “quieter” valves? Might be easier just to move…..
The Irish Rovers were popular….I remember listening to the radio in the mornings when we were waiting for the high school bus, and their songs were always on. You wouldn’t away with the lyrics to Wasn’t that a Party today, with all the laws against drunk driving, but it’s a funny song.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dave, I was almost green around the gills reading about the green eels and green sauce (but I stuck with you anyway). 🙂 I have not been to an Irish pub in a while, but back when I worked in Downtown Detroit, all the “Downtowners” would stop at The Old Shillelagh in Greektown (yes Greektown) as it was a hoppin’ spot, especially on St. Paddy’s Day, when they would open very early in the morning – the green beer was flowing and the Irish music you could hear out in the streets. I like bouzouki music and while in Greece bought an 8-track tape which drove my parents crazy for a while and I was relegated to listen in the basement as I didn’t have headphones. I have always liked the song “Danny Boy” – it is sad and mournful and with that little bit of Irish Brogue can bring you to tears.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s a little curious how Americans have adopted the Irish by celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. I’m guessing early Irish immigrants had something to do with that. But most of us need to dig deeper than the once-a-year silliness and discover Ireland’s wealth of history and culture instead. There’s a lot to like.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, this is true. I have never been lucky enough to visit the beautiful country of Ireland and I have heard before that the types of shenanigans celebrated here really don’t exist in Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Irish music is very catchy and jolly, even if you can’t understand Gaelic. I must admit I haven’t heard of any of these singers, but that is pretty special to have seen Tina Mulrooney at the Cliffs of Moher.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My mother’s four grandparents were all born in Ireland, so I was raised on Hennessy Tennessy toodling the flute but now my grandchildren are down to 12.5% Irish and the assimilation is almost complete!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A great show to celebrate St Patrick’s. Such nice music! ☘️
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am going to look into it all – music and salad dressing 🙂
I am intrigued by the all the musicians mentioned.
Blessings!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not the genre of music we listen to day-in and day-out but once in a while it’s a real treat. As for the salad dressing, nope, not a fan 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
We too enjoy Celtic music. Solas performed here in February. Superb concert! We’ll have to keep our eyes open for opportunities to hear the groups you highlighted here.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for the suggestion of Solas, Nancy. I’ve never heard of them before but per Wikipedia they look worthy of a concert. We’ll be on the lookout for one of their performances.
LikeLike
We have seen Danú perform a number of times – always great!
LikeLiked by 1 person