Irish Fair features more than green; there's music, crafts and diversity

U.S. Census Bureau figures list 34.5 million Americans with heritage as either primarily or partially Irish, which is more than seven times the population of Ireland today.

Many have some vague family history going back to the old country, some are more enthusiastic about their heritage than others, but who can resist free live music?

That was enough reason for many to attend the 19th Annual Irish Fair, which took place in downtown Libby all day Saturday.  

One act whose music was inspiring goes by the cynical stage name of “Beyond Help,” and is comprised of three musicians, all whom  live in Libby.

“I started playing piano when I was 5,” said Lee Tonner, who plays the fiddle for Beyond Help. “I started playing the cello when I was 9. I’m 79 now.  I picked up the fiddle about 15 years ago, when I retired to play Irish music, because I love it.”

For newcomers, it’s important to find a community or group of friends. Mike Powell, who is originally from Northern California, came to Libby eight years ago as a newcomer to Lincoln County, and that’s when he got started with playing the acoustic guitar in Beyond Help’s three-man musical ensemble.

“I’ve been playing eight years now, since I moved to Montana and picked up the guitar,” Powell said. “You’re never too old to pick it up. I took up vocals a couple of years ago. I started doing some singing. We do the harmony thing. We’ve been a group since I moved here.”

For adults who never learned musician skills as kids, the members of Beyond Help offer some hopeful wisdom: It’s never too late.

“I just picked the whistle up because I was tired of just listening to it” said Brian Sherry, who plays the penny whistle in Beyond Help as well as another Irish music group. “So I just grabbed a whistle and started practicing. This music is the result of many, many hours of practice.”

As the audience was tapping their toes to the old-world covers played by the three musicians, a tall man dressed in 19th-century Irish-style garb took to the stage and began to dance to the fiddle and penny whistle melody. His dance was reminiscent of an Irish jig. The most impressing aspect was the energy that the white-haired dancing man radiated.

“That’s Bob Gray,” said Powell. “He usually listens to us on Friday nights and he usually does a couple of dances while we’re playing. He’s in his 60s, and he’s in very good shape. He didn’t break a sweat.”

When asked why they do it, each man had a different answer.

“We enjoy making music together,” said Tonner, who also plays in the larger ensemble Shaugnessy Hill.

“It’s just fun to do,” added the grandly-bearded penny-whistler Sherry.

Powell offered a few more words, too.

“To me it’s just fun getting together with friends and playing music,” Powell said. “I like learning the lyrics to songs that say something to me, something that I feel. I try to capture the emotion that the song has in the way I perform it. And that’s pretty much it.”

Beyond Help performs every Friday night at Mountain Meadows Country Gift & Espresso Shop on the east side of Libby.