New Deals and Eight-Hand Reels: Irish Music, Dance and Culture in the Depression-Era Twin Cities

New Deals and Eight-Hand Reels: Irish Music, Dance and Culture in the Depression-Era Twin Cities. Eoin McKiernan Library Director Brian Miller explores the Irish cultural landscape of the Twin Cities in the 1930s including fiddler Mike Sullivan, Irish social clubs, and Irish participation in the early Festival of Nations events.
The ’30s were a fascinating decade here! Immigrant fiddler Mike Sullivan led a dance “orchestra” in St. Paul, Anna K. Bryant of Minneapolis led the Hibernian ladies at the national level, a champion dancer from County Kerry was Hennepin County Attorney, and the new Festival of Nations events in St. Paul gave Irish musicians and dancers the opportunity to show off their tunes and steps to broader Minnesota.