“The Music of the Irish” has been hosted by Fordham students on WFUV (90.7 FM), the University’s public media station, since the mid-1970s. And next year, the show’s community of listeners and hosts will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a series of events, including a concert at Symphony Space in Manhattan on January 20. Cillian Vallely and Kevin Crawford of the band Lúnasa, Patrick Mangan and Alan Murray, Séamus Egan of Solas, and Celtic Cross are among the artists expected to perform.

The Voice of Irish New York

Ceol na nGael’s origin story is renowned at WFUV, where the show airs live every Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. In January 1974, Fordham students Gerry Murphy, FCRH ’76, and Mary Maguire, FCRH ’77, proposed a traditional Irish music segment during one of WFUV’s fundraisers. They knew the music would be popular among New York’s Irish expat community, but the result astonished them.

“We were totally unprepared for how the phones exploded during the first program,” Maguire recalled. “The pledges—and the checks—poured in.”

One scheduled hour of Irish tunes quickly grew into four. When Maguire had to leave the studio to go to her waitressing job, listeners called the restaurant to complain. Such was Ceol na nGael’s impact from the very start.

Over the past 50 years, the show has grown to be so much bigger than a short fundraising segment, even bigger than Fordham itself. It has become, quite literally, the community voice of Irish New York. Tuning in to Ceol na nGael on Sundays is what many hosts and listeners describe as a ritual. Frank McCaughey, FCRH ’02, GSE ’08, who hosted the show from 1999 to 2002, called it a “permanent fixture in our lives.” And former host Marie Hickey-Brennan, FCRH ’83, lovingly recalled how her grandmother, born in County Monaghan, Ireland, forbid anyone in the house from speaking during each broadcast so she could hear every note, every word.

A Loyal Fanbase

Today, Ceol na nGael represents the Irish parish writ large across New York City and the tristate area, providing the intimate familiarity of parochial Ireland to more than 30,000 listeners each week. The broadcasts also reach fans across the Atlantic who tune in to the livestream to connect with the Irish community in New York. One of the show’s distinguishing characteristics is its interaction with listeners. Many of the songs played on air are requested by people who call in, and who get to know the hosts personally.

When asked about their favorite memories of the show’s first five decades, former hosts praised Ceol na nGael’s loyal fanbase. Kevin Quinn, FCRH ’09, marveled at the show’s non-Irish listeners: “It’s just a testament to the program and, of course, the appeal of the ceol.” Kerri Inman (née Gallagher), FCRH ’11, laughed about an interaction with an Irish fan who told her she pronounced her own surname incorrectly. Patrick Breen, FCRH ’22, had arguably the most challenging hosting career, recording the show at home at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the listeners “never failed to provide us with the support and love we needed,” he said.

Cultural Ambassadors and Media Professionals

From the beginning, Ceol na nGael has been a notably transformative experience for its student hosts, molding them into young media professionals and ambassadors for Irish culture. I can speak to this from personal experience. Hosting the show from 2009 to 2012 defined my education at Fordham, sending me to Trinity College Dublin for a graduate degree and to my current career as a professor of Irish studies at Boston College. What I do in the classroom and in my scholarship is an extension of what I did in the studio every Sunday: reclaiming Irish creativity and history.

Many other hosts went on to build careers shaped by their time at WFUV, including broadcast journalist Patti Ann Browne, FCRH ’87, who was an anchor at MSNBC and Fox News; Mary Snow, FCRH ’85, who worked at CNN; Deirdre McGuinness, FCRH ’04, who went into professional fundraising; and Kathleen Biggins, FCRH ’87, GSE ’91, who hosts WFUV’s traditional Celtic music show, A Thousand Welcomes, from 8 to 11 on Sunday mornings.

‘Something So Much Bigger Than Myself’

Ceol na nGael has also been part of historically significant moments for the Irish diaspora. Deirdre McGuinness recalled broadcasting the show mere days after 9/11, for example, using Irish ballads to bring the community together through “hope and healing,” she said. And in the early ’90s, Eileen Byrne Richards, FCRH ’93, interviewed young people from Northern Ireland who participated in Project Children‘s summer program, spending time in the U.S. as a reprieve from the Troubles, the violent sectarian conflict between unionists and nationalists. The experience left an indelible impression: “I felt like I was part of something so much bigger than myself, and that still has an impact on me,” she said, expressing a sentiment echoed by all Ceol na nGael hosts, no matter when they stepped to the mic.

For centuries, folk music has been colonial Ireland’s language of endurance, ever present historical artifact, and compass back home. No one knows this better than Ceol na nGael‘s 40-plus hosts, including current Fordham students Allie Small and Matt Cuzzi. The show regularly airs ballads like “The Fields of Athenry” and “The Town I Loved So Well,” earmarking the history of colonial struggle from which so many Americans are descended. And it has always found the balance in Irish music’s paradoxical duality, between its lament of injustice and its jubilant expression.

As the upcoming 50-year celebration brings to the fore, Ceol na nGael isn’t just entertainment, it is a living, continuously up-to-date archive of Irish cultural resilience. You can join the celebration at the 50th anniversary concert on January 20, 2024, at Symphony Space in Manhattan. Learn more and purchase your tickets at the Symphony Space website.

—Colleen Taylor, Ph.D., FCRH ’12, a professor of Irish studies at Boston College, hosted Ceol na nGael from 2009 to 2012. She is the author of the book Irish Materialisms: The Nonhuman and the Making of Colonial Ireland, 1690-1830, which is scheduled for publication by Oxford University Press in March 2024.

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Finding Ireland Outside of Its Myths: Personal Notes on the New York-Irish Connection

WFUV’s Ceol na nGael Celebrates 40 Years

Browne credits her college years at Fordham for laying the foundations for a resume that includes high-profile reporting and anchoring positions at News 12 Long Island, MSNBC, and Fox News. As a communications major, she began developing her journalistic chops working at WFUV (90.7 FM, wfuv.org), Fordham’s radio station. That experience sparked a passion for broadcast news, although she joined the station in her first year with a different goal in mind: She wanted to host Ceol na nGael, the station’s popular Irish music program.

“I became involved in the news department because it was a requirement if I wanted to be on the Irish show,” she said. “My parents would always listen to the show when I was growing up. But I had to work my way up to that. WFUV said, ‘Write some newscasts, eventually anchor the news. Then you can be a gopher on the Irish show.’”

A Training Ground for Success

Browne spent most of her free time in the studios, then located on the third floor of Keating Hall, where she wrote and presented short news updates and eventually anchored the half-hour Evening Report. By the time she reached her junior year, Browne had risen to WFUV news director and was assigned to co-host the Irish show with Kathleen Biggins, FCRH ’87, GSE ’91, who is now a longtime CBS News writer and still a host on WFUV. Browne praised her former classmate for being a supportive mentor and “extremely well-versed in Irish music and culture.”

As an undergraduate, Browne worked with many other WFUV colleagues who went on to successful careers in broadcasting, including Lou Rufino, FCRH ’86, the WFAN and WABC broadcast engineer who worked on Don Imus’ nationally syndicated morning show for years; New York Giants play-by-play announcer Bob Papa, GABELLI ’86; and sports journalist and New York Yankees analyst Jack Curry, FCRH ’86.

“WFUV is a 50,000-watt radio station. That is the same size as commercial stations in the tristate area,” Browne said. “It is taken very seriously, and the training was rigorous. I’m glad I got to make my mistakes there and learn a lot.” During her years at Fordham, Browne also worked part time at Newsweek and served as editor of a Fordham literary magazine called Alternative Motifs.

After graduating, Browne worked as a morning news anchor at Long Island’s WLIM Radio. She later earned a master’s degree in communication arts at New York Institute of Technology, where she taught undergraduate news writing and served as a reporter on NYIT’s evening cable news show.

Following a stint as Michigan bureau chief on WSJV-TV in South Bend, Indiana, Browne returned to New York to work at News 12 Long Island. She was then an anchor at MSNBC for three years and spent 17 years at Fox News. Her reporting earned her an Associated Press Regional Award for a documentary feature, a FOLIO Award, and the Dennis Puleston Award for Environmental Achievement. She was also named one of the top 30 in Irish American Media by The Irish Voice. And in 2012, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, which includes Queens, where she grew up.

‘Living with Integrity and Working Hard’

Browne’s retirement was something she foresaw from the beginning of her career. “When I was in my 20s, I said, ‘I’m not going to do this forever. Probably when I hit 50, I’m going to stop because it’s a difficult job.’ You’re not working nine to five. You’re working weekends, holidays, early mornings, late nights, overnights. It’s very difficult to be present for your family.”

Family has always been important to Browne, who has two sisters, including a twin. She is grateful to her parents for instilling in her and her siblings faith, gratitude, and a solid work ethic. “They set a really good example for how to be successful in life by living with integrity and working hard,” she said.

While she was living in New York City, Browne met her husband, Mike, at Holy Trinity Church on the Upper West Side, where they eventually married. The couple has a son, Connor, who was born 11 weeks premature, weighing just over two pounds. In her book, she describes how motherhood—and Connor’s early and challenging start to life—instantly shifted her priorities.

Over the years, Browne has remained connected to her alma mater. She is a member of the Fordham Alumni Chapter of Long Island and has participated in fundraising efforts and career seminars at WFUV. In 2016, she moderated a forum about Pope Francis prior to his New York visit.

Her Fordham roots also grew deeper with her marriage. “I ended up marrying a guy whose parents went to Fordham and actually met at Fordham, so we have Rams on both sides of the family,” said Browne, who fondly recalled many tailgate parties and said she’s looking forward to celebrating her upcoming 35th Jubilee in June.

Browne’s son, Connor, is now a college-bound high school student who runs track, plays the tuba, and is a soon-to-be Eagle Scout. She is grateful to have more time to spend with him and her husband camping and enjoying the outdoors and volunteering at their church in Nassau County. She also does freelance voice-over work and has devoted the past year to writing her book. In addition to recounting the perks and challenges of her career, Browne writes about growing up in Queens, her years at Fordham, and her decision to walk away from the spotlight to focus more on faith and family. The message she hopes to send readers is that it’s possible to “take control of your own destiny and write your own story.”

Fordham Five (Plus One)

What are you most passionate about?
Motherhood. Twenty years ago, I would’ve said “my career,” but priorities shift. My son is my pride and joy.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
There’s a famous quote by author and motivational speaker J. Richard Lessor that I have found to be true throughout my life: “Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.”

What’s your favorite place in New York City? In the world?
My favorite place in the city is Central Park. While living on the Upper West Side, I explored every nook and cranny of this beautiful oasis. I miss it now that I’m in the suburbs. My favorite place in the world is the west coast of Ireland.

Name a book that has had a lasting influence on you.
Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. It makes the case that faith and logic are not incompatible.

Who is the Fordham grad or professor you admire most?
I had some excellent professors, but I think Fordham’s former president Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J., might be the person I admire most. A Bronx native, son of a cop and a teacher, he was inspired to become a priest by watching Jesuits fight corruption in the 1940s. He was an open-minded man of intelligence, integrity, honesty, and civility. He was influential not just on campus but in the world beyond, as editor-in-chief of America magazine and founding chair of New York City’s Campaign Finance Board. More personally, he was accessible to Fordham’s students. I was fortunate to spend some time with him over my four years at Fordham. In addition to the qualities I already mentioned, he also had a great sense of humor. He was witty and a great storyteller. He left his mark on Fordham and the world.

What are you optimistic about?
The future of faith in America. The trend in the U.S. has been toward secularization, but I believe the pendulum will start to swing back toward God as people figure out the current path isn’t working.

Interview conducted, edited, and condensed by Claire Curry.

When I lived in Dublin and met an Irish person, I would almost always get the same two questions. The first one was often asked with a raised brow: “Do you know that Colleen means ‘girl’ in Irish?” I quickly tired of that question. But the second one I never tired of hearing because it was always asked with respect and excitement: “You used to live in the Bronx?!”

I bring this up not only to thank Fordham for the street cred it earned me among my Irish friends but also because it shows that when I moved to Ireland, I talked about Fordham and the Bronx quite a lot, to strangers and friends alike.

The link between Ireland and the States is self-evident: It’s there in history, in street names and surnames, in Irish-American culture, in St. Patrick’s Day, which we celebrate by marching up Fifth Avenue.

But the link that joins Fordham, New York, and Ireland is not so generic as to be reduced to the common knowledge of mass Irish immigration to America in the mid-19th century. It’s a link that is constantly revitalized. My life, from the moment I stepped foot in the Bronx at the age of 18 seven years ago, has been living proof of that fact.

I grew up in Connecticut as an obsessive Irish dancer, going to feiseanna every weekend, dancing at local halls and television studios, even skipping school on St. Patrick’s Day. Like many other Irish Americans, I grew up listening to tales about the home country, the stories my aunts and uncles would tell about the family farm in County Clare. Since I was a small child, I loved Ireland, but it wasn’t until I came to Fordham that I truly learned what it means to be Irish. At Fordham, I came to know Ireland outside of its myth.

Getting in Tune

One of the best things to ever happen to me occurred during my freshman year at Fordham, when I became involved with WFUV’s Irish music program, Ceol na nGael, the Music of the Irish. I was blessed to carry the torch of hosting the show, and every Sunday afternoon my co-host and I sat before the mics in the studio in Keating Hall.

The tunes we played were our weekly bridge to the greater New York Irish network, to our listeners across the nation and even across the Atlantic to our Irish fan base. Each Sunday we’d get a slew of requests for the community’s favorite Irish classics—folk songs like “The Fields of Athenry,” “When New York Was Irish,” and “The Leaving of Liverpool.” After only a few months at FUV, I had the lyrics to all those ballads memorized, and I used to sing them in my awful soprano to my roommates when I’d head back to my dorm on a Sunday night.

But the music wasn’t only with me on Sundays. Those ballads merged with my weekday life as a student. During my sophomore year, I took a course in Irish-American history as part of my Irish studies minor. One particular class meeting we focused our discussion on Famine history, and I remember how the whole class took a moment to pause our conversation and reflect in silence at the staggering reality of the recorded numbers: 1 million dead, over 1 million immigrants, all in just five years. We sat together in disbelief as we realized even today Ireland hadn’t recovered its population.

As I left class that day, I popped my headphones in to prepare for my walk across campus. “The Fields of Athenry” happened to come on my shuffle as I walked, and with the class discussion still whirling in my mind, I listened to the lyrics of that ballad, really listened to them for the first time. I bore witness to the song’s story of Michael, who stole food to feed his family and was forced to depart on a prison ship—a narrative that, I knew from my class, was based in historical truth.

These reflections didn’t shatter the illusion of my family’s folktales. Rather, I felt more connected to my family history than I ever had been before. The next Sunday, as I prepared for Ceol na nGael, I included “The Fields of Athenry” on my playlist, and I chose one for my great-grandfather too: “From Clare to Here.”

Finding an Irish Voice

Such an anecdote was characteristic of my Fordham education—what I learned in the classroom always pushed beyond the facts to the feeling and ethics behind the knowledge. At Fordham, I gained more than history, however. I gained, or rather, regained, a language. I can’t think of many other colleges that would have provided me the opportunity to learn a minority language like Irish; and Fordham even did more than that—the college sponsored me to travel to Connemara for a summer and live in the Gaeltacht, to break bread every day with an Irish-speaking family and enhance my conversational skills. By the time I was a junior at Fordham, I had an entirely different voice than when I first arrived in the Bronx. For the most part I sounded the same—my accent hadn’t changed, much to my dismay. But in just two years’ time I was able to slip into a language that hadn’t been spoken in my family for generations.

Fordham not only made me a better speaker of English and Irish, it made me a better listener as well. When home for Thanksgiving the first autumn after my summer in Connemara, I overheard my mother and my uncle talking in the kitchen while preparing the turkey. When my mom laughingly told my uncle, in her thick pseudo-New York accent, to “put the kaibosh on all that baloney he was chatting,” she was, unbeknownst to herself, speaking a form of Irish.

Kaibosh comes from the Irish caidhp and bás—caidhp in Irish is a hat, and bás means death, so kaibosh becomes a “death cap.” Put the kaibosh on it. Put an end to it, already. As for baloney, you might be surprised to hear that slang word isn’t related to the deli meat, but to the Irish béal ónna, which means “silly mouth” or “silly talk.” Later that night at Thanksgiving dinner, when my brother asked my cousin if there was any gravy left, and she replied, “There’s gravy galore,” I heard Irish again. Galore comes from the Irish go leor, which sounds and means, like it does for our Irish-American slang, “plenty” or “a lot.”

The myth that Irish was a dead language, the myth that my family was strictly monolingual, was irreversibly broken that Thanksgiving. I heard in old family phrases the new Irish words I had learned in Connemara; I heard how a centuries’ old language breathed new life each day in contemporary American conversation.

Through history, song, and language, my roots back to my ancestral past in Ireland grew stronger and stronger with each month of my time at Fordham. But perhaps the most important tie Fordham sewed for me was through literature and surprisingly through feminism.

Songs of the Unsung

My challenging liberal arts education as an English major at Fordham made me thirsty for further study. With support from my faculty mentors at Fordham, I was accepted at my dream program, the Master’s in Irish Writing at Trinity College Dublin. For a year I read the great Irish works of Joyce and Beckett, Swift and Yeats. I walked down Nassau and Grafton Streets every day, took a turn around Stephen’s Green regularly, passed by the home of the Book of Kells on my walk to class, learned, wrote, and virtually lived (as it felt in those arduous essay-writing months) in the house where Oscar Wilde was born on Westland Row, where our master’s course met for study.

By the time the final leg of the dissertation came along, I was surprised but thrilled to find myself in the college’s rare and early printed books room, reading an original copy of a novel published in 1809 by a young a woman from Dublin—a novel only I and a handful of other Irish scholars today have read. I gladly took the risk of making an argument for this unknown writer named Sarah Isdell and her little-known novel, The Irish Recluse, a rather radical narrative about a woman who creates a feminocentric family unit in a castle in Kerry.

At the end of the work I conducted for my master’s, I looked down at my 70-page dissertation—at the work I had slaved over, that I was so proud of, that had cost my poor father a tearful international call or two from his daughter—and it suddenly registered that my connection with this novel had roots in a speech I heard on freshman orientation day at Fordham.

“To be bothered.” That’s what Joseph M. McShane, SJ, president of Fordham, said he wanted out of us as students: to leave Fordham bothered by the questions our education had raised, by what we encountered outside the University walls.

I was undoubtedly romanced by the literature I had studied at Trinity, by Dublin’s historical charms, but I never let that romance eclipse the Jesuit ideal of justice and suspicion that had been ingrained in my undergraduate education. Whether I was conscious of it at the time or not, I was quietly bothered by that androcentric syllabus list I received on my first day at Trinity, by academia’s small, sometimes exclusionary canon of authors. I left Trinity more widely read, more worldly and confident than when I had arrived, but I left it the way I left Fordham, the way Father McShane encouraged us to feel—bothered. I knew I had more work to do for Irish feminist literary criticism, and it was that inquiry that brought me to Boston in pursuit of a PhD.

Making the Irish American

I share all these personal anecdotes not to wax lyrical about myself, but to demonstrate that Irishness is a multifaceted, complex, precious, and constantly unfolding thing. Irish culture comes from a place of struggle and pain, but beauty as well, laughter and spirit, all expressed in the most exquisite art forms, and yes, even in a bit of myth and magic. If I hadn’t gone to Fordham, I’d only know the mere surface of this cultural depth.

Now that I live in the States again, I often get asked—with a similar expression of respect—“You used to live in Dublin?” And when I go back to Ireland this summer, I’m sure I’ll get that same interest in my Bronx connections when I swap international stories with the people I encounter.

In the Irish language, when someone asks you where you’re from, the reply is phrased Is as mé, which directly translates as “I am of.” I am of New York and of the Bronx, and I am of Dublin just as much as I am of a tiny town in Connecticut, and maybe even still of a tiny town in County Clare.

To be Irish American is to be of many places and to be of two nations, to inhabit two homes at once. I am grateful to Fordham for teaching me how invaluable that multiplicity is.

One of the most common signatures of being Irish is a reverence for folklore. No doubt the Irish have an instinctive penchant for telling stories. Walk into any pub in any town in Ireland, and you’ll see it proven true.

But I think the best part of Irish culture are the stories that haven’t been told, the ones muffled by history and prejudice.

So I encourage you to listen thoughtfully to the Irish tales you hear in conversation. Listen thoughtfully to the lyrics of a Dubliners ballad or the words of a Seamus Heaney poem. Go to Ellis Island and listen to its silence. Hear again, with new ears, the very sound of your own name. There are more stories lingering there than you realize, more stories waiting to be recorded. Irish America is a story only partially written, and it’s places like Fordham that inspire us to fill the empty pages.

Update: On March 17, Taylor was the featured speaker at the Fordham alumni brunch prior to the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Read her talk, “Finding Ireland Outside of Its Myths.”

10. Star of the County Down

A classic folk song from the late 19th century, it’s a great one for chorusing with friends. Definitely one to pull out at the pub!

9. There Were Roses

Written by Tommy Sands during the Troubles, this is one of the most moving pleas for peace in Northern Ireland. I always need tissues handy when I listen to it. I’m particularly fond of Derry singer Cara Dillon’s version.

8. Óró Sé Do Bheatha ’Bhaile

I learned this one in the Connemara Gaeltacht. It’s a rebel song, and the title means “welcome home.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VqEtpOdhTE

7. Red Is the Rose

My parents taught me to appreciate this gorgeous love song. No one sings it better than the late, great Liam Clancy. The melody dates back to an 18th-century Scottish air.

6. Pastures of Plenty

Solas does an Irish version of this American classic written by Woody Guthrie. Solas was one of the first bands I discovered working at WFUV, and now I’m a dedicated fan.

5. Last Night’s Fun Set

The title speaks for itself, but this is one of my favorite sets of tunes from one of my favorite bands, the musicians who put women in traditional music on the map: Cherish the Ladies.

4. The Fields of Athenry

Written in the 1970s but set in the years of the Great Famine, this might be my favorite of the canonical Irish folk ballads. No matter how many times I hear it, I never tire of the melody. A couple of years ago, I sang this song with my family when driving though Athenry in east Galway. My favorite Irish folk band, the High Kings, however, have a much better handle on the harmonies.

3. Rare Auld Times

This is my Dublin song. “The Rocky Road to Dublin” comes in as a close second, but this beautiful ballad evokes that quintessentially Irish sense of nostalgia. The High Kings do a gorgeous rendition of this one, too.

2. Paddy in Zululand

I love this set because it represents how Irish trad has mixed with the American music melting pot. Bronx native and fiddling visionary Eileen Ivers gives traditional Irish tunes some homegrown New York flare with her rock, pop, and Afro infusions. I have a tendency to indulge my air fiddle playing with this one.

1. Morning Nightcap

In my opinion, there’s no better set to jam out to than “Morning Nightcap.” This is trad band Lúnasa’s best piece, and it’s their show-stopping finale at every concert. Wait till the final tune hits—such a foot stomper!

During her time at Rose Hill, she co-hosted WFUV’s long-running popular Irish radio program Ceol na nGael. And in her small classes and student clubs, she further refined her speaking skills and confidence. She’ll put both to use just before the St. Patrick’s Day Parade this month, when she speaks to a Fordham crowd about the University’s distinct Irish heritage.

Taylor’s own Irish heritage has been a constant focus throughout her education. She majored in English literature and Irish studies at Fordham, where she was valedictorian of her class, and studied abroad in Ireland twice. Following graduation, she earned a master’s degree in Irish writing at Trinity College Dublin, and she’s currently pursuing a doctorate at Boston College.

When Taylor first arrived at Fordham, she found herself missing the Irish dances she performed growing up. She joined the Gaelic Society, and at one meeting, a WFUV staffer came by looking for students to get involved with Ceol na nGael.

“I was so desperate for some Irish connection I decided to apply,” Taylor recalls. She started as an intern and served as co-host her sophomore through senior years.  “I was always fond of the contemporary traditional bands—young bands playing and creating new versions of old, traditional tunes,” she says. She also enjoyed speaking with Irish immigrants in the Bronx who would call in with requests and talk about listening to the show with their American grandchildren.

“One of the craziest things to happen to me while I was hosting the show was  [at] an outdoor concert  [in Manhattan] by Cherish the Ladies,” Taylor says. “I happened to start chatting with a man and his wife seated beside me, and they almost instantly recognized my voice from Ceol na nGael. The man figured out who I was before I introduced myself.”

Ceol na nGael—one of few shows on WFUV hosted solely by students—boasts 40,000 weekly listeners. The program recently celebrated its 40th anniversary with a concert at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, which Taylor was proud to attend. “[Ceol na nGael] is this interesting small village of New Yorkers and Americans who have an interest in Irish culture,” she says, “and I was lucky to be involved in it.”

Her own family’s roots go back to County Clare in Ireland. “My parents always had the Irish music on, and it was natural that I would fall in love with it,” Taylor says. Her commitment to her education comes in part from her grandmother, who was raised in a Catholic orphanage in Brooklyn in the 1930s.

“She was always really studious herself and a really bright woman,” Taylor says. “She wasn’t able to have continued schooling, and I think even though I was little, I absorbed that and wanted to work hard and get a really good education in her honor.”

Taylor’s research interests at Boston College include discovering lesser-known Irish authors. “There’s a romanticism and a melancholia that is just so quintessentially Irish but isn’t fake in any way,” she says of Irish literature. “It’s part of that complicated interrogation of what Irishness means.”

Despite being busy with her studies, Taylor found a post-WFUV outlet for her love of Irish music: She writes a column called “Music Notes” in The Irish Echo, contributing album and concert reviews. She recently interviewed Paddy Moloney of the Chieftains. “It was great fun,” she says. “He took the pressure off, even though he’s a legend in Irish music.”

For the first time since 2012, Taylor will be spending St. Patrick’s Day in America (she spent the past two in Dublin), and she’s looking forward to celebrating it with the Fordham community. She’ll speak at the University’s annual pre-parade brunch for alumni and friends, hosted this year by PricewaterhouseCoopers on Madison Avenue. (Read her talk, “Finding Ireland Outside of Its Myths.”)

“I’m really thrilled,” she says. “There’s just something about that march up Fifth Avenue and the grandness in New York that you can’t quite beat, even in Ireland.”

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, Taylor sent Fordham Magazine her Top Ten Irish Playlist. Listen to it here.

—Courtney Allison

The program, which boasts 40,000 weekly listeners, plays traditional and contemporary Irish music and features a community bulletin board segment as well as weekly news and sports from Ireland. It airs every Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. on 90.7 WFUV, Fordham’s public radio station.

Leading Irish-American musicians came out to perform in support of the show that has supported them over the years, including fiddler Eileen Ivers; singer Cathie Ryan; seven-piece band Celtic Cross; and Dan Gurney, accordion player of New York-based quartet the Yanks. Also on hand were several Fordham alumni who once hosted the show.

Ivers said she’s grateful for the way the show connects Irish and Irish-American listeners with each other and with Ireland. “It’s like an extended family, a community. It keeps us all grounded, keeps us together.” She said the support offered by the community bulletin board is “huge.”

“In our community we’re very proud to say that we have each other’s back in tough times as well as celebratory times like today,” she said, adding that “forty years is like a blink.”

The show was conceived by Fordham students and original co-hosts Gerry Murphy, FCRH ’76, and Mary Maguire, FCRH ’77, in 1974, and has been hosted by Fordham students ever since.

Marie Hickey, FCRH ’83, who hosted the show in the ’80s, said when she looks back she realizes what she didn’t fully understand as a 20 year old.

“To be able to host a show at such a young age that had such a far reach was an incredible experience,” said Hickey, an Emmy Award-winning journalist and New York bureau chief for the entertainment news show Extra. “It did give me a lot of confidence and through the years it’s still on my resume.”

Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, spoke proudly to the crowd about the Irish heritage he shares with many of the show’s listeners.

“Even as we move generationally more and more away from Ireland … there is deep within in the Irish heart the desire, in fact, the need, to reconnect with the wisdom that came from, let’s be honest, a mixture of faith and suffering, education and love. And Ceol na nGael gives us a way to do that, through the music,” he said. “That is why it’s still the case that 40,000 people tune in to Ceol na nGael every Sunday—because it wipes away miles.”

–With reporting by John Platt