The harp has woven itself deeply into Irish-born Rosemary Caine’s destiny. Though she discovered the instrument later in life, it sparked her songwriting which led to the formation of Wilde Irish Women and, later, Wilde Irish Shenanigans. With both groups, Caine has become somewhat of an ambassador for Irish culture, sharing her love and knowledge of the music and stories of her homeland, much to the delight of area audiences.
When it comes to St. Patrick’s Day, Caine and the Wilde Irish Shenanigans go all out for the occasion with their annual shows that feature stories, Irish history, lively jigs, spirited reels and heartfelt songs.
This year’s show will be at the Shea Theater Arts Center in Turners Falls on Sunday, March 23 at 3 p.m. The ensemble boasts a talented roster including multi-instrumentalist Chris Devine, Michael Morgan on guitar, Rick Mauran on percussion and drums, Lynn Lovell on bass, Robin Pfoutz on cello, Brooke Steinhauser on lead vocals and Caine on Bodhrán and harp.
March is always bustling for Greenfield resident Caine, 81, but this year her calendar is overflowing. There was a trip to California with the Young at Heart chorus, and earlier this month, she visited Harvard University where her grandmother’s rare harp is showcased in the exhibition “Celtic Art Through the Ages.”
Many people might think Caine was inspired by her grandmother’s harp playing, but her own journey to the instrument followed a different path.
Caine’s musical roots began with singing. She arrived in the United States in 1972 with the musical trio The Burren Flora, recruited by Tommy Makem to perform in Norwood, Massachusetts. During this period Caine met her first husband and settled in the U.S. She worked various jobs over the years, including as an antique dealer and running a bridal shop. But through it all, her love of her homeland and its music never faded.
In 1998, encouraged by her former Burren Flora colleague Alice Foy Duffy, she picked up the harp and attended an Irish summer harp school Cairde na Cruite, in Termonfeckin, County Louth.
A few years after she began playing, Caine was cleaning out her late grandmother’s attic when she stumbled upon a harp. Not just any harp, a James McFall harp. McFall made harps in Belfast in the late 1800s and was a leader of the Celtic Revival, a movement dedicated to restoring Irish cultural traditions, including the national instrument, the harp.
The real surprise was that Caine had never known her grandmother played the harp at all.
“When I look back on times with my grandmother, the word ‘harp’ never crossed her lips or mine — there is indeed a ghostly sense of loss,” Caine said, adding that the harp had two rusted strings. “In 1998, when I started to learn to play the harp, it was as if those two rusted strings spoke to me, ‘get me out of here and get me looking like a better example of James McFall’s creation!’”
What she did next would be nearly impossible in today’s world of heightened airport security.
“I made a box out of a 14-by-14 sheet of corrugated cardboard,” Caine explained. “And Aer Lingus kindly transported it to the U.S. for free as a national artifact.”
After the harp arrived safely in the U.S., Caine drove it to Chicago, where a cosmetic restorer made it playable again. She has not played it in years, noting that harps are not like Stradivarius violins — they don’t improve with age. As Caine continued learning the harp, she said melodies began to emerge from the strings; inspired by her love of poetry, she began writing songs.
In the early 2000s, Caine started Wilde Irish Women, a group that explores Irish history, literature, and the stories of “forgotten women” through music and storytelling. They have performed throughout the Valley and even in Ireland. Soon after, she formed a spinoff group, Wilde Irish Shenanigans, which includes some of the same members and plays both Irish tunes and Caine’s own compositions, often inspried by poets like Dickinson and Yeats.
Caine speaks highly of the musicians she works with, such as guitarist Michael Morgan, who has played with her since 2002, and multi-instrumentalist Chris Devine, who joined in 2016. Each member brings their own unique talent to the group.
The group’s St. Patrick’s Day shows have become a local tradition, described as part concert and part community celebration. The Shenanigans make sure each year’s show is different. This year, they are adding nine new songs.
“We always include pieces I have written for the Wilde Irish Women shows, and after that, it’s a pretty democratic process, with everyone bringing in song ideas,” Caine said. “Our lead singer, Brooks Steinhauser, chose several of the new of those nine numbers.”
It’s been a while since Caine has played her own shows because she’s been busy with the Young at Heart Chorus, which she joined in 2020, and she loves. “It’s a very different experience for me to get up and sing Led Zeppelin,” she said. “It’s a real split between the Irish music and the Young at Heart rock music,” she added with a laugh.
“I’m delighted to be so busy at this point in my life,” said Caine. She added that more shows are coming, but after this one at the Shea Theater she plans to return to Ireland to do more research on her grandmother’s harp history.
“My grandmother‘s harp is still a source of great inspiration and connection to my culture of origin and especially to Mr. James McFall’s beautiful harp-making talents and my amazing grandmother,” she said. “It’s an odyssey, a part of my family history that ties to the fact that I came to the harp so late in my own life.”
The James McFall harp is on display until Aug. 2 at the Special Exhibitions Gallery, University Research Gallery, Harvard Art Museums. Tickets for the Shea Theater are available at sheatheater.org.