Show Notes
Michael Darcy gives a Live, On-Air, In-Studio performance, and Bob talks with Michael and Sue Nally of the Irish Real Life Festival about the history of the festival, Irish history, how the festival is organized, Irish dancing, Michael’s musical background, and other details of the festival.
The interview starts at 3m15s.
Online:
- Website: https://www.irishreallifekw.com/
- Facebook: Irish Real Life Festival (@IRLFestival) | Facebook
- Instagram: Irish Real Life Festival (@irl_festivalkw) | Instagram
- YouTube: Irish Real Life Festival (@irishreallifefestival6954) | YouTube
- E-mail: info@irishreallifekw.com
Upcoming Events
For a comprehensive list of events during the Irish Real Life Festival see https://www.irishreallifekw.com/event.
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Michael Darcy and the Atlantic Tramps w/The O’Deadlys
- When: 8:00pm to 10:30pm on Friday, 14 March 2025
- Where: The Registry Theatre
- Location: 12 Frederick Street, Kitchener, Ontario Map
- Tickets and Info: https://www.irishreallifekw.com/event-details/michael-darcy-and-the-atlantic-tramps-w-the-odeadlys
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St. Patricks Day Ceili
- When: 7:30pm to 11:00pm on Saturday 15 March 2025
- Where: Victoria Park Pavilion
- Location: 80 Schneider Avenue, Kitchener, Ontario Map
- Website: https://www.irishreallifekw.com/event-details/st-patricks-day-ceili-2
Podcast
Download: ckms-community-connections-2025-02-28-episode185-irish-real-life-festival-with-sue-nally-and-michael-darcy.mp3 (76 MB, 55m27s, episode 185)
Index
Exclusive tracks recorded in the CKMS-FM 102.7 Radio Waterloo Studio are now available! Right-click on a linked track title to download!
| Time | Title | Album | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0m00s | Theme for CKMS Community Connections ccc |
 CKMS Community Connections |
Steve Todd |
| 0m49s | Wild West Clare |  Live, On-Air, In-Studio |
Michael Darcy |
| 3m15s | Sue Nally introduces us to the Irish Real Life Festival, giving a bit of the festival’s history, and why an Irish festival is needed in Waterloo Region. There’s literature, music, film, and even Irish cuisine. A festival gives people a chance to learn. Sue runs down some of the delicacies in Irish cuisine. Every year there’s a dinner, with a portion of the proceeds going charity. This year the dinner is at the Boathouse with Matt Weidinger. Sue tells us about the venues, including the Registry Theatre, the Conrad Centre, the KW Art Gallery. It’s difficult to capture a country’s culture in a few days. And it’s necessary to leave things out. | ||
| 8m20s | This year the festival focuses on “Joy”. The world is a challenging place right now; the Irish history has some dark moments. So this year they want to celebrate to show they’ve come through these dark times. They’re trying to build a way for people new to the Region to come out, and for anyone to learn about Irish history. Or just to hang out an have a chat. | ||
| 10m04s | Talking to Michael Darcy about his background. Michael is a full-time musician, has been playing for about 20 years, and lived in Canada for 15. When Sue brought Darcy to the festival she discovered that a cousin was a good friend of Michael’s — Michael says Ireland is a small country, about five million people, but Ontario is bigger. You can get from one side of Ireland to the other in about three or four hours. When Michael arrived in Canada he wasn’t writing many songs, just playing the standards. People always request the same four or five songs, and Michael is tired of playing them. So Michael is now writing his own songs, including the opening number, Wild West Clare. | ||
| 15m22s | The Mickey Dam | Live, On-Air, In-Studio |
Michael Darcy |
| 18m13s | Michael tells us about playing The Mickey Dam. Sue tells us how she picks the musical acts. She points out that the original songs written by Michael are Irish music. She balances out the traditional with the co ntemporary, and the fusion of how the music has changed. | ||
| 20m29s | Giving the date and times of the festival: Saturday, March 8th to Monday March 17th. Bob asks about the “Céilí” (or “Cèilidh” in Scottish); Sue explains it’s an Irish folk dance, the origins of square dancing. There are céilithe for the public on the 8th and 15th of March. Sue talks about the music and the mechanics of dancing. Michael doesn’t play many céilithe, but his bandmates do. Michael grew up playing accordion. | ||
| 27m37s | Michael plays a short piece that might be used at a céilí, and explains the tuning he uses. A brief discussion on types of banjos. Talking about different styles of Irish music. There is Irish rap! The festival doesn’t prescribe the playlists, but let the performers choose what they want to play. And there will be music lessons on traditional Irish instruments like the tin whistle and the bodhrán. | ||
| 33m42s | Bob sees the need for an Irish Folk Club. Sue says there’s an Open Mic night at the Registry Theatre on Wednesday 5 March 2025, and it’s hosted by Michael. A great opportunity to play in a listening room rather than a pub. A quick rundown of Michael’s upcoming gigs. | ||
| 36m46s | Michael introduces the next song. It needs some explanations of “Irish-isms”. A “jumper” is a sweater, “jumper goalposts” are sweaters put down on the ground for playing football. And “Lynn Row” was an Irish soap opera on TV on Sunday nights. | ||
| 38m11s | Long Summer Days | Live, On-Air, In-Studio |
Michael Darcy |
| 41m35s | Sue tells us how she got involved with the Irish Real Life Festival — when she and friends were looking for something to do they found there was nothing out there. So she said “Let’s put something on!” And also to counteract the bad reputation that March 17th has around the universities. The 17th is not as important date as people think. | ||
| 44m43s | Bob and Sue go over the web site and upcoming events, and have a look at the social media sites. Talking admission and tickets: Culture shouldn’t only be for the well-off, so many events are free or Pay-What-You-Can. There are funds and grants, some from Ireland, to help offset the costs. Planning for next year? After a little break! Finding venues and acts for next year. Not even Toronto has a 10 day Irish festival! Bob encourages Sue and Michael to start an Irish show on CKMS-FM. | ||
| 54m33s | Michael Darcy plays out, while Bob gives the credits. | ||
CKMS Community Connections Hour One airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 on Monday from 11:00am to Noon, and Hour Two airs alternate Fridays from 3:00pm to 4:00pm.
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Bonus Video
Video: CKMS Community Connections for Friday 28 February 2025 (YouTube)
Show notes and podcast interview content is Copyright © 2025 by the participants, and released under a 
Creative Commons Attribution Only license. Copy, re-use, and derivative works are allowed with attribution to Radio Waterloo and a link to this page. Music selections are copyright by the respective rights holders. The theme music is written and performed by Steven Todd.