The Rose of Saratoga composed by Alex Brewer · Performed and Arrangement by Jim McKenna

The Rose of Saratoga · Uilleann Pipes

• Jim McKenna is a multi-instrumentalist & composer. 
• Members of Jim's family, Daniel McKenna and Ann Callahan, had emigrated to Boston during the Irish Famine (An Gorta Mór) in 1850 (Armagh) and 1852 (Ballygiblin, Cork) respectively.  Daniel McKenna and Ann Callahan were married in Boston (Charlestown) on October 1, 1854.  Daniel and his brother Neil were two of the five founding members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in Boston (American Society of Hibernians) on March 17, 1857 (Incorporated March 27, 1861).  This organization was formed "for the purpose of rendering assistance to the sick and disabled members of their society, and also of providing for the decent burial of the dead".  Jim's great great uncle from Drumkeeran Ireland, Thomas McPartlin, performed traditional music on the banjo in Boston during the late 1800's. Jim great great aunt, from (Ballygiblin, Cork), Bridget married Daniel Murphy (Galway) in Boston Nov 5, 1876 at Holy Cross Cathedral, Boston.  
• November 7, 2017, Jim's performance of his composition "Lament for Bridget O'Donnel" was included in the soundtrack of the Kilkenny Famine Experience Memorial audio visual tour. 
• Composer of "Lament for the Forgotten Irish of Catholic Mount Auburn Cemetery" https://youtu.be/rJrdt-3zHmg
• Composer of "Lament for the Children of the Kilkenny Workhouse" https://youtu.be/Zj4nVq2H3wY 
• Composer of "Lament for Bridget O'Donnel: A Victim of Famine" https://youtu.be/ehhk2nMmMZU 
• Composer of "Lamento por los Niños en Jaulas" - "Lament for the Children in Cages" 
https://soundcloud.com/jimmckenna-uilleannpipes/lament-for-the-children-in-cages, et al.
• Dr. E. Moore Quinn wrote on the subject of the Irish Famine: "...a recently composed pipe lament by Jim McKenna entitled, 'Bridget O‘Donnel: A Victim of Famine'.  The latter decries the interlocking set of awful truths that existed behind the journalists' reports and images that were published in the mid-19th century about the Famine.", The Many Voices of Pilgrimages and Reconciliation, Mansfield College, Oxford University, Publisher CABI (October 27, 2017).  | Pilgrimage in Practice: Narration, Reclamation and Healing (CABI, April 2018). Death within the Text | Social, Philosophical and Aesthetic Approaches to Literature (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2019).  A Human Rights Pilgrimage in Ireland: Commemorating the Doolough Tragedy in the Twenty-First Century (Inter-disciplinary Publications, Oxford, England, July 2015). 
• Jim's composition "Lament for Bridget O'Donnel" used for soundtrack in promotional ad for "The Great Famine Podcast Series" 
• Performed at the 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019 Mother's Day Walk for Peace, Louise D. Brown Peace Institute,
Code Listen, Boston 
• 100 Thousand Poets & Musicians 2014, Exeter New Hampshire 
• Boston Celtic Music Festival (BCMFest) 2006 
• Folk Song Society of Greater Boston Annual Concerts 
• Irish Christmas Mass, St. Augustine Chapel, South Boston, Massachusetts
• Irish Connections Festival (Singers' Circle) & St. Brigid Festival, Irish Cultural Centre, Canton, Massachusetts 
• January 2, 2020; arranged & performed Alex Brewer's "The Rose of Saratoga" on Alex's album "Unquoted."

New tracks tagged #theroseofsaratoga