Pat Kane in West Clare, Ireland

Pat Kane’s music keeps West Clare, Ireland’s mystical heritage alive

hen Pat Kane takes the stage at local halls and clubs throughout the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and the Southern Tier of New York, a journey through Ireland travels with him through his music and the heritage he grew to love known in West Clare Ireland.

Kane, who was born on the west side of Corning near Addison, and resided in Waverly and South Waverly for 20 years of his life, discovered what he loved to do at an early age - and has been blessed to be able to continue to do so. Pat Kane is a traditional Irish musician who plays the fiddle, guitar, and sings a broad range of music.

According to Kane, Irish music is much broader than Celtic forms. Because of this, Kane can provide whatever type of music is desired for the occasion. "If someone says they want drinking music, I give them a whole evening of drinking songs," said Kane. "If the crowd wants church hymns, I can play a whole evening of that as well," he added.

And Kane described his journey into the world of Irish music, and the ancestry that inspired it. While in tenth grade, Kane picked up the guitar and began to play. As the ninth child in a family with 11 children, Kane attributes his earlier talents to those picked up from his older siblings - some of whom still perform today.

"How could I not play," said Kane of the music that surrounded him in his home during his early childhood days. Kane described playing mostly Irish music, but blended in some Country music and American Folk music as well.

But that was just the beginning of his journey. Kane helped out on his family’s dairy farm in Addison, and then eventually went to LeMoyne College following his graduation from Addison in 1974. During college Kane was able to take drama, alongside science, philosophy and his other studies.

But music was his true passion, along with his love for his Irish heritage and the stories he learned along the way.

Returning to the farm in Addison upon completion of college, Kane described his big break with music taking place in 1978 - and a sort of epiphany that followed his first major gig.

Pat Kane had been performing at nursing homes and family parties up until a request came that would soon carve a more clear path for Kane’s direction. It was 1978, and Kane received an invitation to perform for the Binghamton Hibernian Club.

Because the Ancient Order of Hibernians is a Catholic, Irish American Fraternal Organization that was founded in New York City on May 4, 1838, Kane soon realized that this "gig" was soon to be the most important one he would play - and one that would reconnect him to his heritage.

Young Kane was 22 years old at the time he walked into the club, with four other members, to perform in front of a crowd of 200 that gathered for their St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

"I had no idea back then that I would be doing this the way I did. I was doing something I loved, and I knew it from that moment on," said Kane. And what he found, as life continued, is that if he was willing to work, that people would be willing to hire him.

On March 6 of this year, Kane was able to reflect back on that first, very important gig when he performed, once again, for the Hibernians in Binghamton. And with the years etching upon his face since his first youthful performance back in 1978, Kane also felt that his beginning led to a fulfilling journey that continues.

"My career has gone through a whole generation of people," said Kane as he reflected back upon that moment when the Hibernians opened their doors and their hearts to his music.

But this connection with the Hibernians, and the spirit filled music performed by Kane, comes from more than the instrument played upon - it travels far from the heart over miles of sea to the home of Kane’s ancestry, West Clare Ireland.

Kane talked of his ancestry, and how his grandparents and great-grandparents on his father’s side came from County Clare. On his mother’s side, Kane’s descendants came from Counties Kerry and Clare, and some from County Cork.

With this ancestry in his blood, Kane has traveled many times to Ireland, with his first visit at the age of 30. "I have traveled there so many times I have lost count," said Kane. "It might be about 30 times."

And Kane’s love for the land is not only evident in his music, but in his description of Ireland as well.

The first time Kane visited Ireland he went to see his brother Michael, who had moved there following college. After landing in northern Ireland, Kane described, they drove all around the country. To Kane’s recollection, they covered 2,000 miles.

"We saw all the corners of Ireland," Kane described of his early travels. "We saw the mountains, the plains, the abundant farm land, the small towns, and even the wasteland," said Kane. "We saw modern Ireland," he continued, "and Ancient Ireland - some things that are 5,000 years old."

The visit with his brother, along with his further travels to Ireland as years passed, helped Kane reconnect with his ancestral heritage, and led him further along the path he felt destined to pursue.

"If the Irish have anything to give to the world, it’s their on-going sense of rural heritage," said Kane. "We’re connected to the land and we have a mystical heritage that’s connected to the earth," he added. "Without those things it’s not worth talking about being Irish."

The desire to connect to the earth eventually led Kane back to his family’s farm and away from the valley - but his connections through his music remain. Over the past year, Kane has performed over 300 times at various venues, and has area musicians that he can call upon at any time to join him.

One of those musicians is Rob Spence, who is originally from England and now residing in Waverly, N.Y. According to Kane, Spence has his own musical group called the "Knights of the Glad Countenance," to reflect his heritage.

Shawn Reap from Waverly, N.Y., and well known Brian Murphy from Athens, Pa. also perform with Kane on occasion. Kane also has several musicians he can call upon in the Binghamton, N.Y. area when he is performing there.

And with St. Patrick’s Day arriving, Kane is resting up for what will be 12-hours of performing two separate gigs - one at the Hilltop Inn and the other at the Horigan’s, both in Elmira.

For Kane, St. Patrick’s Day is what he refers to as his "Feast Day." "I was raised a Catholic, and am named after St. Patrick," said Kane, "so it’s my feast day."

But Kane also talked about the real meaning for him behind St. Patrick’s day, and what he learned of its meaning from his ancestors.

According to Kane, St. Patrick’s day is a political statement and a statement of solidarity. He mentioned, in conjunction with this, the "wearing of the green," and what it means in history.

"They’re [the Irish] wearing green to remember their heritage and that the Irish were oppressed for 800 years," said Kane. "Wearing the Green is a way of showing solidarity."

Kane also mentioned that the first song his mother sang to him, at the young age of three, was "The Wearing of the Green."

Kane then spoke of the shamrock, a symbol that many associate with St. Patrick’s Day.

According to Kane, the Irish brought the shamrock into St. Patrick’s Day for two reasons. The first, he described, was the old history that St. Patrick described the Holy Trinity using the shamrock.

The second, which was a heartening description, were the stories that arose from the famine that Ireland endured and succumbed to in the mid-1800‘s. According to Kane, there were thousands during that period of history that had absolutely nothing to eat except for shamrocks. "They were ridiculed during that time," said Kane, "they were called shamrock eaters."

Those that survived the famine and came to the United States brought a shamrock with them. "They didn’t want to forget exactly where it was they came from," Kane added.

And back home, in Addison, Kane remembers where they came from and relives it through his music. Kane also feels blessed in every way imaginable in his own life, back on the farm he grew up on.

I feel pretty fulfilled," said Kane. "I do something I love as a living, and I’ve been able to raise a family."

But most of all, for Kane, the secret to his success is hard work - just like his ancestors taught him. "I feel the reason I’ve succeeded at it is that I’m not afraid to work."