By Karen Daly
Photos by Gordon A. Gilbert Jr.
On a busy mid-December night, with lots of activities around town, Irish American Writers & Artists packed the Ellington Restaurant on Broadway and 105th Street. Salongoers knew that they would find warmth, good craic and extraordinary talent at our holiday party. The night’s curators, Kathleen Walsh D’Arcy and Honor Molloy, made sure to include Christmas classics, new work and ample time for socializing. The inimitable Honor Molloy was the night’s host.
Novelist Kevin Holohan chose an offbeat Christmas tale, “A Child’s Christmas in Florida” by William Browning Spencer, about a poor family in rural Florida, with a clever, if criminal holiday tradition. Kevin’s own novels are The Brothers Lot and the recent So You Wanna Run a Country, which Kirkus Review calls “… an outlandish yet convincing vision of a tech-dominated future … exceedingly funny.”
Writer/producer Mark William Butler has a long history with the IAW&A and a long history of being creative with Christmas. Tonight, he entertained with two original Santa songs: the bluesy, hilarious “I’m Sick of All the Toys” and the tender “Santa Has A Present Just for You.”
For your Christmas cheer, find Mark’s plays, songs, and more at his website.
Kate McLeod has many accomplishments – as a playwright, lyricist, librettist, and reporter. A talent she always wanted was the ability to sing on key. One night, stuck in terrible traffic, she imagined having a singing lesson from prize-winning Broadway actress, Victoria Clark. In a wonderful story about following your dreams, Kate tells how she accomplished that goal.
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An actor in television, independent film, theatre and a lovely singer, Annalisa Chamberlin sang “Silver Bells,” in voice, dare I say, clear as a bell. Annalisa treated us to the poignant Christmas tree scene from Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. In a cruel custom, a seller throws unsold trees to children who can catch them, and young Francie Nolan and her brother Neeley bravely step up to do so.
Speaking of treats, Honor Molloy performed her Sixpence the Stars, or … The Little Oranges, bringing us to Dublin’s open-air markets, circa 1966, where a Moore Street “shawlie” tells the Nativity story in her own words. Sixpence, a segment from her autobiographical novel, Smarty Girl – Dublin Savage, is a beloved IAW&A Christmas classic. Honor is a dramatist whose plays Dublin Noir, Round Room, and Crackskull Row have been produced during Origin Theatre’s First Irish Festivals.
As promised, the salon was a feast of good cheer, and the generously shared gifts of our members.
On behalf of Irish American Writers & Artists, best holiday wishes and join us in 2025.