Picture a young man sitting in a large cathedral in Ireland with his wife and small children. He lives around the time of our founding fathers and is a rising entrepreneur in Dublin. His name is Arthur Guinness, and he is a brewer, and it is hard to exaggerate just how important beer was to the people of Guinness’ day.

Guinness lived at a time when no one understood micro-organisms and how disease is spread. They routinely drank from the same waters in which they dumped their garbage and their sewage. Unknowingly, they polluted the rivers and lakes around their cities. People died as a result, and this made nearly everyone in Guinness’ day avoid water entirely. Instead, they drank alcoholic beverages.

Usually, this was done in moderation and all was well. Occasionally, though, excess set in and drunkenness plagued the land. This is what happened in the years just before Guinness was born, in the period historians call “The Gin Craze.” Parliament had forbidden the importation of liquor in 1689, so the people of Ireland and Britain began making their own. It was too much temptation. Drunkenness became the rage. Every sixth house in England was a “gin house,” many of which advertised, “Drunk for one penny, dead drunk for two pence, clean straw for nothing.” It was a terrible, poverty-ridden, crime-infested time.

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When we decided to launch Celtic Force Radio we knew we needed the right kind of personality to head up that project, someone that would really sink their teeth into it.

We’ve found just the right fit. He is known a bit around the festival circuit and has been a friend of Donovan’s for some time.

It is our pleasure to officially introduce to you the new Station Manager for Celtic Force Radio, Buster D. Badger. Buster will oversee the day-to-day operations and work with us on building a solid station. Buster will also head up the Celtic Force Complaint Department (he’s doing that for free!)

Buster has stated the the only place you will be able to find him on the web will be through the Celtic Force Radio site. So drop by, sign up and say hello.

Membership is growing fast…join us!

Visit: www.celticforceradio.com!

For just $10 you and a family member or friend can enjoy one of five tour packages to Scotland or Ireland – winners choice.  The Williamsburg Scottish Festival, in partnership with Guardian Travel Chesapeake and Celtic Force Enterprise, will be raffling a tour for two on Saturday October 2 at the Main Parade Field closing ceremony. 

You do not need to be present to win.  Only 3,900 tickets will be sold.  All proceeds of this raffle will be used to pay for Festival Competition cost and scholarships of winners.  Here are the tour raffle options.  You do not need to make a choice until the day you win.

For more information, visit the raffle site: http://www.wsfonline.org/tour-raffle.org

Burns & Ogletree
18th Century Scottish Poetry Inna ReggaeScot Style

It has been 27 years since he penned and performed the drum score for their breakthrough album New Gold Dream, and 25 since the halcyon days of the Perth Pop Anthem – Feels Like Heaven, and now Simple Minds and Fiction Factory drummer Mike Ogletree plays acoustic guitar and sings the songs of Scotland’s national poet Robert Burns.

“I’ve always been a singer song-writer,” says Mike, “when I was 13 I had a guitar and a drum kit, but my hero was Jimi Hendrix. However, since it’s very hard to be a rock band when all your friends want to be guitar gods, I usually ended up playing drums whenever we jammed. And, being admired for my “natural rhythm”, it usually was the best solution and stuck. But I never forgot those singer song-writer roots.”

Since 2006 Mike has been living in New York where he combined all his talents to arrange, perform and produce an inventive CD of Robert Burns music

You can find more information about Mike and his work at www.immortalmemory.net

The Celtic Force – Visit our website: www.thecelticforce.com

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For those of you who don’t already know him, Mickey is among the most talented of modern-day Irish musical artists. His style could be described as contemporary with elements of rock, folk, and even some blues. Mickey writes and performs both electrically and acoustically. For this special invitation, Mickey is flying in for a solo acoustic performance.

The Homecoming Tour consists of 40+ American friends and fans of the Scottish performance group Albannach over for a week-long trek from Stirling to Glasgow to Inverness to Edinburgh. Other musical evenings of the trip include ones by Albannach, Ted Christopher, and Jim Malcolm.

Please know that all friends and family of both Albannach and Celtic Force are welcome @ Uisge Beatha. Show starts after 830pm. Event is “free” (as long as you drink!) for members of our group.

It’s a “don’t miss” night for aficionados of live performance of passionately upbeat vocals, lilting laments, acoustic bluesy riffs and other deft guitar work.

For more information, contact: 

Celtic Force Enterprises:  thecelticforce@gmail.com or thecelticforce@cox.net

Uisge Beatha: 236-242 Woodlands Road.  Tel:  0141 332 1622 – Nearest Subway stop: Kelvinbridge

The Celtic Force – Visit our website: www.thecelticforce.com

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Source: Donegal News

BY SEÁN P. FEENY – For years we have had to endure the same songs every Christmas season. That was until one of Donegal’s very own pop stars decided to release his first Christmas song.

Today (Friday) Mickey Harte’s Home On Christmas Day is available to download and will hit radio stations nationwide.

Mickey said that while it’s hard to compete with the ‘X Factor’ for a Christmas Number One these days, he had always wanted to release a Christmas song and with the help of Terry McGinty on the music, this season was the right time to do it.

“The song is based on a story someone told me about their father coming home for Christmas after dealing with alcoholism and it being the best gift they could ask for.”

Besides working on his own music, Mickey continues to be an ‘in demand’ songwriter with songs co-written by the Lifford native appearing on Dublin singer Rob Burke’s new album and on the latest release by Jack Tempchin, writer of The Eagles hit ‘Peaceful Easy Feeling’.

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For further info: www.myspace.com/mickeyharte
Email: handonharte@gmail.com

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For those not already knowing, Mickey Harte is a bit of a star in the Irish music world.  Quadruple platinum record sales tend to engender avid attention and he’s garnered both. Mickey is indeed a very talented musical artist.  He also just happens to be a really genuine and affable guy. So much so that we want to share with you a bit about Mickey Harte. 

The meteoric arc of Mickey Harte’s professional career began with a win of the Eurovision 2003 song contest.  For us Americans, that would be the European equivalent of being an “American Idol.” Today, Mickey is often on Irish television, hobnobs with celebrities, is asked to headline charity gigs, and even provides musical scoring for popular programming.  

Mickey Harte hails from Lifford, County Donegal, Ireland and, from an early age, pursued his dream of becoming a professional singer/songwriter. He grew up listening to a wide range of music from Glen Miller Orchestra to AC/DC, Christy Moore, Rolling Stones, The Police etc. Family and friends always encouraged him to express his passion for music. From his teens onward, Mickey played in various “garage” bands as well as solo work. Ever evolving, his style today could be described as contemporary with elements of rock, folk, and even some blues. Mickey writes and performs both electrically and acoustically. 

In addition to his own composition work, one of Mickey’s particular passions is in mentoring young people to foster and cultivate their own musical proficiencies. He is one of the driving forces behind Musicool Europe, an educational and fun program for aspiring young performers and musicians between the ages of 13 and 19. Musicool works to encourage the participants to express their talent, develop their playing techniques, song-writing and creative abilities, and help instill confidence in their personal performance. 

Along with everything else, Mickey is working on a new album and has been touring Ireland and Europe promoting previous works. His ambition is to bring his songs and music to as many countries as possible and touch the lives of people with his words and sound.  

Mickey has long-considered prospects for gaining wider audience in North America.  Hint… stay tuned. Chances are, you just might have more opportunities to get to know Mickey. 

For sounds, sights, and more, go to:  www.myspace.com/mickeyharte and  http://www.musicooleurope.com/

The Celtic Force – Visit our website: www.thecelticforce.com

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