Home Page - Failte!
Welcome to the website for the Cooley~Keegan San Francisco branch of CCÉ;.
We encourage everyone to take a glimpse into the wonderful culture of Ireland. Come join us for a great time with music, dance, and special dancing or céllí dancing.
We hope you take a few minutes to tour our site. Be sure to click Announcements, Events, and Calendar to see what's happening in our branch and surrounds.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh!
Joe Cooley
Kevin Keegan
Announcements
North American Convention and Trad Irish Music Immersion Weekend - Information below from the organizing committee
This coming Spring, Chicago will be home to the North American Comhaltas Convention 9-12 April. It will take place at The Northbrook Hilton, a favorite event hotel for those who have previously attended the Chicago conventions. Reservations can be made at Hilton Chicago/Northbrook website. We expect a sellout for this immersion weekend. However, the overflow hotel is nearby and there will be a shuttle going back and forth between the hotels as needed.
We have an exciting weekend planned. We will have workshops galore for sets, céilithe, and music, along with a special, full day of workshops for kids and teens.
Margaret Mount is our dance planning chair for the weekend and the ever-popular Pádraig & Róisín McEneany will be our set instructors. Margaret and her committee are planning a full dance card, so be ready to wear out some shoe leather. We will, once again, have late night set dancing for those who just do not want the fun to end. So, after the regular céilithe each night Katie Grennan and John Williams will be playing the liveliest of tunes from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. for the set dancers who never want to take off their dance shoes.
Pauline Conneely is the music maestra for the weekend. She will be organizing the bands and guarantees lifty, driving dance music for the entire weekend.
Kathy Cowan and Kathleen Keane have composed an Irish Mass that will be a highlight of the Sunday morning service and they will also teach the Mass parts over the weekend so you can sing out.
The Institute of Traditional Irish Music (formerly known as Murphy Roche Branch) is your host for this immersion weekend. Co Chairs Kell and Mike Chole are looking forward to welcoming you for nonstop tunes and fun. "We welcome the Irish music world to Chicago one more time!"
We hope you will consider coming to Chicago for this wonderful immersion weekend. The hotel is close to O'Hare Airport and there is a shuttle bus that will whisk you over to the public transportation train station if you'd like to go downtown to experience the sights of The Windy City.
6/3/2024
We held a successful céilí at the UICC on June 2nd with Valerie Rose and the Sourdough Céilí Band, and special guests led by Valerie, The Rose Tree Youth Céilí Band, which consisted of musicians ranging in age from 6 to 14. They played a set for us before the dancing began and then joined in to play for a few dances. They sounded fabulous! It is so wonderful to see these young people carrying on the Irish traditional music.
Our branch, and the Jerry Boyle Scholarship Fund, sponsored workshops for children at the UICC Trad Fest on Saturday, June 22nd.
Susan Keith
Chair
Fleadh Fest
We are excited and ready to share the story of the Cooley-Keegan branch and our West Region. Please feel free to share this to ensure the success of the project. We are delighted that it is available for viewing by Comhaltas members and supporters around the world.
Links are also provided here:
- Volume 1: San Francisco Cooley-Keegan
- Volume 2: San Francisco Cooley-Keegan
- Volume 3: Puget Sound Branch, Michéal Ó Domhnaill, Oregon and Craobh Barry Cogan, San Diego
- Volume 4: Four Peaks Irish Arts, Phoenix AZ & Sliabh Sandia, New Mexico
Mallen Scholarship - Application Form - The Mallen Scholarship was established through the generosity of Kevin Mallen, an enthusiastic supporter of Comhaltas during his lifetime. The purpose of the scholarship is to support students learning to play traditional Irish music. Mr. Mallen's generous bequest to our Branch allows us to fund this scholarship in his name.
The application for a scholarship award is open to any Cooley-Keegan member up to and including age 18. Applicant must be a junior member in good standing of the Cooley-Keegan Branch of Comhaltas.
2025 Membership Forms
- Print the PDF Membership Form
- Or you can use our online membership form.
- Give the gift of Irish Culture: Gift Memberships to CCE!.
- MAKE A DONATION to the branch.