U.S. House honors Tommy Makem

The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution yesterday honoring Tommy Makem and declaring him "one of the greatest Irish-Americans of the 20th century." The resolution was co-sponsored by, among others, John Larson of my parents' district, John Larson -- pandering to the Hartford Irish :) -- and Joe Courtney, also of Connecticut.

As regular readers will recall, I posted a ton of stuff about Makem when he passed away back in August. You can read of all of it here, in reverse chronological order. If you only want to read one post, make it this one: "Tommy Makem, 1932-2007 … and what he means to me."

Anyway, after the jump, the full text of H. Res. 768 honoring Makem.

P.S. As you'll notice if you read the resolution, it is now an officially recognized fact, according to the U.S. House of Representatives, that when Tommy Makem split up with the Clancy Brothers, he "left the band amicably." Heh. Not so sure about that, but hey, if the House says it, it must be true! ;)

P.P.S. I meant to post these back in August, but never got around to it: two videos from New Hampshire news media covering Makem's funeral.

UPDATE: Video clips from the House discussion on the resolution can be found here and here.

H. Res. 768

In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

December 11, 2007.

Whereas Thomas 'Tommy' Makem was born on November 4, 1932 in Keady, County Armagh, in Northern Ireland;

Whereas Thomas Makem emigrated from Ireland to Dover, New Hampshire in 1955, after having won the All-Ireland Championship in acting, to pursue a career in acting and carrying with him only a makeshift suitcase, a pair of bagpipes, and proof of his health;

Whereas in 1956 Thomas Makem joined the Clancy Brothers, all of whom had immigrated to the United States from Ireland, and began performing musically together as 'The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem' and were signed by Columbia Records;

Whereas in 1961 Thomas Makem performed at the Newport Folk Festival and, along with Joan Baez, was named as the most promising newcomer;

Whereas in 1963 the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem performed at the White House at the request of President John F. Kennedy;

Whereas the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem continued to perform and record music together, performing in venues such as Carnegie Hall and on programs including The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show until 1969 when Thomas Makem left the band amicably to pursue a solo career;

Whereas in 1975 Thomas Makem again joined with Liam Clancy and the duo performed together until 1988, including a Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem reunion at the Lincoln Center in New York City, New York;

Whereas in 1997 Thomas Makem wrote a book, Tommy Makem's Secret Ireland, and in 1999 premiered his own one-man theatre show, Invasions and Legacies, in New York, and established the Tommy Makem International Festival of Song in South Armagh, Ireland in 2000;

Whereas throughout his performing career Thomas Makem was highly regarded as an exceptional musician by both his colleagues and the public and received many awards and honors including the World Folk Music Association's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999 and honorary doctorates from the University of New Hampshire in 1998, the University of Limerick in 2001, and the University of Ulster in 2007; and

Whereas Thomas Makem died on Wednesday, August 1, 2007 in Dover, New Hampshire and will now be remembered as a dedicated husband, father, and grandfather and as one of the greatest Irish-Americans of the 20th Century: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives honors the life of Thomas 'Tommy' Makem, and his accomplishments as a musician, composer and performer.

Comments

[Joe Loy]

A tribute most richly deserved. Thanks for the posting, Brendan.

[jlr]

Larson is of Irish descent. He's not "pandering." ;-)

[Joe Loy]

What, jlr, it isn't Pandering when a Politico is merely kissing up to his Own Kind? :) Hmmm...granted, it's true we can Safely tell Ethnic jokes only on Ourselves...maybe the Nonpandering Intratribal Kissup Clause is a Corollary...then again Finnegan, it might all depend on what yer definition if Kiss, Iss... ;}

Of course in writing, tongue-in-Cheekily, that the Congressman was "pandering to the Hartford Irish", Brendan ignored the demographic fact that the days of the Irish in (strictly speaking) Hartford are no more, apart from the odd Lace Curtain :> still to be spied here & there in a Forster Heights windowpane. Yes, ould celtic Hartford's dead and gone, it's with John Bailey in the grave. (Apologies to W.B. Yeats. :) / However, the Suburbs are veritably Crawling with us ;].

Anyway, I've no doubt whatsoever that Rep. Larson, like many millions of both Irish and Honorary Irish :) people all around the world, is a genuine fan of Tommy Makem and that his co-sponsorship of the resolution was entirely sincere.

And now, in the most Tangentially-"related" news imaginable:

Since I lazily neglected to timely Guestpost it, I'll note Here that two Other fine strong sons of Tommy's beloved Fourth Green Field ~ namely Northern Ireland First Minister Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party) and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness (Irish Republican Army Sinn Fein :) ~ last week wound up their triumphal tour of Far Americay with a lovely chat with the President in the Oval Office.

Reports are that Mr. Bush seemed particularly beguiled by Rev. Dr. Paisley's renowned Presbyterian charm :). But I'm confident that Teddy Kennedy, who also met with the visiting Oddcouple, was able to assuage Martin's hurt feelings, if any. / Senator Clinton, D-NY, also made it a point to horn in meet with Ulster Duo, and in her capacity as President Presumptive assured them that the White House door will remain Open to them at all times. ;>

There now, how's that for a pertinent Comment to a Post categorized under "Music"? :} But actually, I'm sure the videoclips of Ian & Martin's USA Victory Lap would have been Music to Tommy Makem's ears.