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tl[ti$ fiddles and flutes andvoices from the heart, a 14th su tavernBy TOi| O'l{Ettl

I s night descends on thell meat-packing district atTlthe far western reachesof l4th St., the crorvd in thebackroom of a lveatheredlongsho reman ' s ba r s i t shushed, listening to a Kerryman raise his voice in a cen-turies-old Irish ballad.

Si t t ing alone at a tablc, h iseyes are closed, his shouldersrise and fall with the swell ofh is th ick ly brogued tenor. Atew l is leners, fami l iar wi tnthe tune, hum alone. Uponfinishing, he bows h-is h-eadand takes a long drarv fromhis mug ofGuinness.

The clowd bursts into aD-plause and immediately acroist]le room a fiddler starts up araucous inshumental joinedby orhe$ who, if they don'thave instruments, pound onthe tables, clap their handsand stonlp their feet- Weleome to llonday NightSersiu 'n at the Eagle Tavern

"Americans go to Irelandlooking for this and neverf i nd i t , " shou t s Te r r y , aplurnber f rom Limer ick whojust moved to Nerv York.

Seisiu'ns * a Gaelic tvordflor the ancient lrish customofgathering friends and rela-tives for informal sing-alongs- were brought to Americaby immigrants, and originallyheld in family parlors. Whenthe I r i sh ne ighbo rhoodsbroke up in the

'50s, the sei-

siu'ns moved to the only suit-able q l ternat ive locat ion -the bars. The Eagle's seisiu n.begun in 1975, is consideredby many to be the finest irrAmerica.

By 10 p.m., the boekroom ofthe Eagle (355 W. l4th St., nocover) is overflowing withrevelers from all walks of

sional musicians - or forthat matter even Irish - theyplay and sing with a passionand beauty that often takesthe breath away.

Besides the f iddles andflutes, the instruments at theseis iu 'n could be museumpieces. The Celtic heirlooms- bodrans, concertinas, me-lodeans and mandocellos -are played with an expertisethat bel ies their anaehro-nism. Therc is no amplifica.tion or stage, everyone sits at

scattered tables in the wood-paneled room.- "We're not a set group,

there's no announcetients.nothing's organized, we don'ieven Isrow each otler's lastnames," says old-timer LeoHardiman. "But," he adds,..ev-eryone that walks in here asstrangers walks out as friends."

lleter Dolan, the son ofplrish immigrants, is rheI president of the EaAteSissiu'n Society. "We encoir-age who€ver comes in to par-ticipate."

Leroy Lessan, a 4?-year-oldHarlem-born African-Ameri.can, bears out Dolan as heraises the roofwith some reb-el songs on his banjo. even aMexican and Creole number.

"It's legitimate as long asit's sung from the heart." saysDolan.The president of an insur-

revives the centuries-old Irish seisiu'n

TRADlllol{AL vlouillST paddv Reynords soros at the spirited Monday night sing-atongs. ttttt irotlt

ance company! Kevin Brookstakes refuge from work at these i s i u ' n , even schedu l i ngbusiness trips around them.Touring musicians will alsocome a few days early or staya few days late to drop intothe Eagle.

Bobby Clancey of the Clan-cey Brotlers ('The band whosparted the lrish music rcvivalin the '609" says Dolan) wan-den in at I am., after a perfor-mqnce at Uncoln Center.

For librarian Suzanne Cor-rigan, a dream comes true to-night when she sings a duetwith Clancey.

It is 4 a.m. when the sei-s iu 'n f inal ly ends. Whenasked about the late hour-and the possibility of a wor-ried wife in Brooklvn. LeoHardiman smiles ar.id says,"She knows. On Mondavnights there are no clocks."

-

(Tom O'Neill is a !'reelnnceurxter.)

rrilOtfOOOI! a giant wind-up telkitrg bird,whieh drove his showmanfriend P.T. Barnum mad withenrry. He'd come in to see thebid snd chide himself fornot having scooped Macy.

Macy's introduced themeticexhibits. During the Christ-mas season, the work was sointense that employes stayeduntil ll p.m.

By the early 1880s, the dis-plays were automated andthe staff less stressed out.Dolls, propelled by steam me-chanics, danced in windowsnow brilliantly illuminatedwith electricif.

(Hope Cooke h o citA hi.stori-an and.wg.lktrq-tafi guidp), .

. ! ! r . J j ! | t ! r r .

r! hs slie6r [uilding at 56 W.I 14tr St is the last surviv-I ing remnant of the firrt

Macy's, which opened herc in185& Above the door is thefaintly lettered star and logo -the st rffmm R.H. Maq/s whal-ing days in Nantucket

Today, bargain signs plas-ter the discount stores on thestreet level of t}le old Macy'sbuildin8 - a direct tie withthe past Macy's was the city'sfirst store to offer sales.

Macy was also an innovatorin advertising and windowdisplays. His love oftheatries

Doc.rlor U. $tt

l ife. While most aren't profes-

Garolfstoin professional singersand musicians for the

t frfth annual CarolfestWest at 3 p.m. at the origamitree in the AmedcanMuseum of Natural History.Carolon do^m ColumbusAve. to Lincoln Center ptazaforthe lighting of the hotidaytree by \tynton Marsalis, starof "A Classical JazChristmas."

Catl (2L2\ 877-7272tolinformation.

INSIDE

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