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Pádraig Michael Mann

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About Me


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I am a middle aged male human being. I am proud to be an Earthling, where at least I know I can breathe. I have lived many previous lives, all within the span of my current lifetime. I was first a baby, then a toddler, then a student, then a underacheiver and renegade. As I blossomed into maturity, I captured my current mate, and began the breeding process, eventually producing 5 human offspring: four males and a female. During the early part of this time period, I was a printer, then a music store manager, a plumber, a painter, etc. =*=
As those professions came and went, my hobby of playing and building musical instruments began taking up more and more of my time, until finally I went out on my own to pursue music as my full-time profession, accompanied by teaching music lessons on the side. My business grew until I began recording and selling my music, at which time it began to increase exponentially, and I had to stop teaching lessons. From 1982 to 1992 I produced, recorded, and released three best-selling albums: The Wood Between The Worlds, Auld Christmas, and Clouds In The Valley. From 1993 to 1995 I worked on a new album, that has yet to be released. On all, I played hammered dulcimer as the lead instrument, and then backed it up with a variety of other instruments that I play. I was on the road much of each year performing at festivals and concerts across the country, doing radio and TV appearances, recording new albums as well as background music for TV and radio commercials, and all the while still building instruments in the slow months of winter. However, after sixteen years of doing this full-time and alone, the business aspects had all but drained my joy out of both playing and recording music, as well as building instruments. (Furthermore, I had somehow misplaced a significant portion of my right thumb in a tablesaw accident, and this mysteriously complicated things.) Thus, I retired. =*=
Then began yet another life, once more as a student, but this time it was not to be followed by rebelliousness. It continues to this day, thirteen years later, having attended universities in NC (Appalachian State: BA History and Philosophy) and Ireland (Trinity College-Dublin: MPhil Celtic & Medieval History, & Archaeology.) Until recently, I was doing further post-graduate work in archaeology for a university in England (Leicester University.) I've studied Gaeilge (Irish language), both on my own, and also at "Oideas Gael," an Irish Language school in Glencolmcille, Contae Dun na nGall, Eire (Ireland.) =*=
I still do enjoy playing music with friends or family, or just alone out on the porch staring at the mountains. These days I play mostly Irish music on acoustic violin or electric fiddle, or guitar, mandolin, 10-string cittern (Irish bouzouki), tenor banjo, or occasionally tinwhistle or bodhrán (Irish drum.) But (I know, don't start a sentence with "but") I enjoy playing and listening to a wide
variety of music. I'm always open to playing or singing partners, (and if they are old friends or acquaintances, so much the better!) I have only rarely played hammered dulcimer since retiring, even though that was how I made my living, and my recordings, all of those years.
=*=
That is now changing. I'm now planning to either join or form a working band in the near future. (I do know that a permanent solo career is not in my plans. My preference is to join a working band as a side man, but I'm also considering helping to build one from the ground up.) To find out more about this, you can visit my MUSIC PAGE.
=*=
On to other interests. My other hobby now is art. For the last couple of years, I've enjoyed relearning to draw, and have begun to learn watercolor painting. It is both challenging, and very relaxing. I especially enjoy "plein air" (on-site landscapes.) =*=
I still have my Carolina Blue 1971 VW Super Beetle, but am looking for someone who can weld in some new floorpans for me (the originals have completely rusted out, making it undriveable.) I also still have my 1973 Carolina Blue Schwinn 10-speed bicycle, but have not been riding it quite as often as I should, and my waistline reminds me of it daily. =*=
During 1999-2002 I taught Latin at a school in eastern NC, and my mate worked in corporate banking. In August 2002 we moved back home to our old house in the NC mountains. We have since put up a new house, twice as large. Now I have room to store my entire sock collection. =*=
I taught in a college here for a while, and enjoyed that. For the last few years, I've been working in Behavioral Health Care, with people coping with depression and various other mental illnesses, and with abuse survivors. It has been a very humbling and extremely rewarding profession. Those people who have the courage to seek help deserve the greatest respect and support, not shame or stigma. =*=
My lovely mate, Kathy, is a highly respected professional, and works in higher education. Our oldest son Nicholas was killed by a 92-year-old reckless driver in July 1999 at the tender age of sixteen. Is mór an trúa sin! Our daughter Kristen has been taking some time out to "find herself," after a couple of years at university, and worked in photography and other things. She just returned to college in 2008. Our son Matt finished high school, is a musician and electrician, and lives down in a city in the flatlands. Our son Josh recently finished high school, is working here locally, and is also an accomplished guitarist. Our son Jesse is a high school senior, a world traveler, an avid reader, and an adept political and news analyst. Our Quaker Parrot, Fiona, is now seven, and her vocabulary is ever increasing, but not all of it friendly. Finally, our obsessive-compulsive Border Collie, Fionnuala, now runs the whole house, as well as everything and everyone in it. =*=
Slán go fóill
January 2008
Heart Attack...
In late December 2006, I had a heart attack at work. Contrary to popular opinion, it was not fun. Neither were the surgeries and recuperations over the next month. However, the 100 mile long ambulance ride at high speed through the mountains from our hospital to the cardiac trauma center was AWESOME! ...then, after I got there, and they hooked me up to 106 wires and tubes, the nurses in Cardiac ICU were unbelievable! I thought I'd died and gone to Cardiac ICU! One was Faith Hill, one was Gloria Estefan, and one was Geena Davis. (My friend Jim says it was all from the medication, but I know better. If Katherine Hepburn had've shown up, then maybe I'd believe him. ...sure, I love her, but she's dead, ya know.)

My Interests

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INTERESTS:
Abbey, Abbies, Abbots, Gregorio Allegri, Ancient, Anthropology, Appalachian State University, Aran Islands, Archaeoastronomy, Archaeology, Archeology, Archives, Armor, Armorica, Art, Arthurian Britain, Arthurian, Arthur's Britain, Artists, ASU, Bagpipes, Baile Atha Cliath, Ballads, Baroque, Battles, Bede, Belfast, Big Bands Jazz, Birdoswald, Blackrock, Boadicea, Bodhran, Bog Bodies, Bog Mummies, Bog Oaks, Bog of Allen, Bono, Book Binding, Book Of Kells, Booterstown, Border Collies, Bothy Band, Boudicca, Brehon Law, Britannia, Bronze Age, Burial Mounds, Burren, Busker, Busking, Caesar, Calligraphy, Camelot, Candle Tea, Canterbury, Carlisle, Carlow, Carmen (Bizet's opera), Carrboro, Castles, Cathedrals, Catholic, Celtic Coins, Celtic Crosses, Celtic Languages, Celtic, Celtic Twilight, Celts, Chalice of Valencia, Chalices, Chant, Chapel Hill, Chatham County, Chieftains, Churches, Citterns, Clans, Clannad, Clare, Classic Movies, Classic Rock, Classical Music, Cliff Forts, Clonmacnoise, Codex, Codices, Connemara, Convents, Copper, Cork, Cornwall, Creative Writing, Culture, Curraghs, Danes, Dark Ages, Dedannan, Dendrochronology, Depression, Derry, Descartes, Dolmens, Don Giovanni (opera), Donegal, Dowth, Drawing, Druids, Dublin, Dugouts, Dun Aengus, Dun Cow, Dun na nGall, Easton, Eire, Eireann, En Plein Air, Erin, Etymology, Excalibur, Fiddle, Film Noir, Fohairt, Folk Music, Folk Tales, Folklore, Fomorians, Foreign Films and Movies, Forge, Forging, Fortified Camps, Fortified Houses, Fortified Settlements, Forts, Fothairt, Fothart, Fotharta Fea, Fountain Pen, Friends, Gaeilge, Gaelic, Gaeltacht, Galway, Gaul, Geology, Gildas, Gilded, Gilding, Glastonbury, Glencolmcille, Glendalough, Gold Leaf, Gregorian, Groves, Guitar, Gweedore, Hadrian's Wall, Hamlet, Hammered Dulcimer, Handel, Harp, Hazel, Hibernia, High Crosses, Hillforts, History, Hollow Hills, Holy Grail, Holy Wells, Iceni, Illuminated, Illumination, Immigrants, Inisheer, Inishmaan, Inishmore, Inks, Invasions, Iona, Ireland, Irish Coins, Irish Crosses; Irish Culture, Dance, Language, Music, Pubs; Iron Age, Jack Whyte (author), Jarrow, Jigs, Joni Mitchell, Kildare, King Arthur, Knapping, Knowth, Landscape, Latin Language, Leather, Legends, Leinster, Lindisfarne, Linguistics, Lisdoonvarna, Literature, London Underground, Low Moor, Lunar, Mag Fea, Mandocello, Mandolin, Mandylion, Mann, Manuscripts, Mass, Medieval Art and Craft, Megalith, Merlin, Metaphysic, Middens, Middle Ages, Milesians, 'Miserere Mei Deus'(by Gregorio Allegri), Mistletoe, Monasterboice, Monasteries, Monastery, Monastic, Monks, Monty Python, Monuments, Moone, Morgan Llewellyn (author), Mound of the Hostages, Mountains, Mozart, Mummies, Mummified Remains, Munster, Music, Musician, Mythology, Myths, NC, Nennius, Newgrange, Nolan, Noland, Nolen, Nolin, Normans, North Carolina, Nuallain, Nuns, Nunneries, Nunnery, Oak, Ogham, Oideas Gael, Oil Painting, Old Irish, Old Salem, Operas, Orange County, Our Lady of Knock, Padraig, Palaeography, Paleography, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Palimpsests, Palisades, Parkland, Parrots, Passage Graves, Passage Tombs, Patens, Peachtree Street, Pen Pals, Pens, Philosophies, Philosophy, Phonetics, Photography, Piano Jazz, Picts, Pilgrimages, Planxty, Pliny, Poems, Poetry, Poets, Polyphony, Pools, Portnoo, Prehistoric, Prehistory, Pre-Raphaelite painters and artists, Priory, Quests, Quills, Reels, Relics, Research, Rivers, Rocks, Roman Britain, Roman Coins, Romano-Celtic, Romans, Rome, Round Towers, Saints, Salisbury Plain, Sanitary Water and Sewer Systems, Scotland, Scribes, Scriptoria, Scriptorium, Scrolls, Seas, Semantics, Shakespeare, Shroud of Turin, Silly Wizard, Silver, Sink Street, Sketching, Slainte, Slane, Songwriting, Souterrains, Sprague Street, Springs, St Bridget, St Brigid, St Colmcille, St Columba, St Dymphna, St Kevin, St Patrick, Standing Stones, Sting, Stone Age, Stone Carvings, Stone Cutters, Stone Circles, Stone Masons, Stonehenge, Study Abroad, Sudarium of Oviedo, Suetonius, Swing Music, Swords, Tacitus, Tain Bo Cuailnge, Tara, TCD, Teachers, Teaching, Texts, Tintagel, Tor, Touchstone, Trad, Traditional, Traditions, Treasure Troves, Tribes, Tribal, Trinity College Dublin, Tuatha Dedanann, Tuatha Dedannan, Turlough O'Carolan, U2, Ua Nuallain, Uillean Pipes, Ulster, University of Dublin, VA, Vikings, Viola, Violins, Virginia, Vivaldi, Wales, Warriors, Watercolours, Waterford, Waughtown, Weaponry, Wells, Welsh, Wexford, Wicklow, Winston-Salem, Woodhenge, Workshops, Writing, Yew, York, 1916, 1930s, 1940s, 1960s, 1970s.

I'd like to meet:

Wilma Flintstone (or Pochahontas... or BOTH!) .....oh! - wait--wait--wait! AND the folks I grew up with, or grew old with, or have yet to meet!

NEW PAGE!
VISIT AND JOIN MY NEW MUSIC PAGE!
~~Click Here~~
FREE SONG SAMPLES, PERFORMANCE UPDATES, NEW CDs


TARA: Voices from Our Past--- TARA IS ENDANGERED!
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Galway Bay, Inishmor, Dun Aengus - One of my favorite places on earth... Inishmor and the other Aran Islands off Galway, the extreme western edge of Europe
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"Is fearr Gaeilge briste ná Béarla cliste"

You Have A Type B+ Personality
You're a very imaginative and creative person.
You're very patient with others, and a caring and attentive listener.
You're a pro at going with the flow.
You love to kick back and take in everything life has to offer.
A total joy to be around, people crave your stability.
While you're totally laid back, you can have bouts of hyperactivity.
Get into a project you love, and you won't stop until it's done.
You're passionate - just selective about your passions. Do You Have a Type A Personality?
A beautiful place, school, and people: Oideas Gael, Glencolmcille, County Donegal, where I went to further my Irish language proficiency in 1996 Ireland - scenery and poetry
..
Add to My Profile

NEW PAGE!
VISIT AND JOIN MY NEW MUSIC PAGE!
~~Click Here~~
FREE SONG SAMPLES, PERFORMANCE UPDATES, NEW CDs


NEW PAGE!
VISIT AND JOIN MY NEW MUSIC PAGE!
~~Click Here~~
FREE SONG SAMPLES, PERFORMANCE UPDATES, NEW CDs


Music:

Irish, Celtic, Scottish, Classical, Chant, Polyphony, Baroque, Irish, Blues, Bluegrass, Folk, Irish, Opera, Renaissance, Medieval, Classic Rock, Big Band, Irish, Classic Jazz, Swing, World, (...ummmmm ...did I say Irish?)

NEW PAGE!
VISIT AND JOIN MY NEW MUSIC PAGE!
~~Click Here~~
FREE SONG SAMPLES, PERFORMANCE UPDATES, NEW CDs


"Is fearr Gaeilge briste ná Béarla cliste"

Movies:

I like the kinds that make me feel all tingly.

Television:

Hiya!
Y'okay there? Have a GREAT winter all ya wee peoples in this teeny TV boxy thing. How did ya ever get in there, if ya don't mind me asking? Well enough then. Enjoy yourselves, especially if you come out to visit up here in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to see the leaves(they're gone, ya know), or the ever-changing snow, or that dastardly and sneaky treacherous ice and such. So watch your step, and mind the gap. Do hope to hear from ya soon, especially all those from Winston-Salem, Parkland, Hill, Philo, Rocky Mount, Ireland, CBC - Camp Hanes, Easton, Waughtown, Wicklow, Carlow, Galway, Belfast, Dublin, Donegal, Derry, ASU, TCD, etc.
Siocháin leat- (Peace-)
Just Me - 2008

Anybody seen my left sock?

Books:

I like pages, that's all. And print. Just pages and print. Yep, pages and print. That's it, just pages and print. Oh wait--- and pictures and maps. Pages and print and pictures and maps. Yeah, that's all. Just pages and print and pictures and maps. Yep. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Now STOP asking me.
(...well... come to think of it, covers are always nice...)

Heroes:

MY heroes wear their underpants INside their trousers, and almost never wear a cape.

WHY all these questions?? What are you up to?
SOMEthing smells fishy!
(no---wait, that's the cat...sorry)

"Is fearr Gaeilge briste ná Béarla cliste"

NEW PAGE!
VISIT AND JOIN MY NEW MUSIC PAGE!
~~Click Here~~
FREE SONG SAMPLES, PERFORMANCE UPDATES, NEW CDs

My Blog

Mann joins band "Puddingstone"

Mann has joined the band "Puddingstone" in February 2008. Still, on dates that he is not playing (or practicing) with Puddingstone, he is still open to playing with other musicians, or taking solo gig...
Posted by Pádraig Michael Mann on Fri, 15 Feb 2008 07:51:00 PST

SIX NEW SONGS ON MY MUSIC PAGE TODAY!!! AND NEW DOWNLOADS!!!

Hiya Friends!I have downloadable tunes now on my Music Page, AND I just put up a batch of six songs for you...from "CLOUDS IN THE VALLEY" (an all instrumental album by Pádraig Michael Mann, ©1992 Bria...
Posted by Pádraig Michael Mann on Tue, 08 Jan 2008 06:36:00 PST

NEW TUNES! Two Jigs, & AULD LANG SYNE!!!

Hiya Friends!I just put some new tunes on my MUSIC PAGE.  I've just uploaded a medley of "The Swallowtail Jig" and "Morrison's Jig" (traditional Irish, with me on: solo hammered dulcimer, solo gu...
Posted by Pádraig Michael Mann on Sun, 30 Dec 2007 04:49:00 PST

Christmas song list on MY MUSIC PAGE

Well, Hiya again!You may know by now that I couldn't put my music on this page, so I had to build a second page, a NEW MUSIC PAGE (www.myspace.com/padraigmichaelmann) and I'd be honored if you would t...
Posted by Pádraig Michael Mann on Wed, 28 Nov 2007 05:21:00 PST

join my NEW MUSIC PAGE! Songs up now!

Well, Hiya there!It turned out I couldn't put my music on this page, so I had to build a second page, a NEW MUSIC PAGE (www.myspace.com/padraigmichaelmann) and I'd be honored if you would take a coupl...
Posted by Pádraig Michael Mann on Tue, 20 Nov 2007 12:04:00 PST

"AULD CHRISTMAS" being Re-Released on CD!!!

Hiya!For those of you who have been asking, my all-instrumental album of Christmas music from 1992 is NOW IN THE PROCESS OF GOING ON CD!  "Auld Christmas" was a "best-seller" in its time among fo...
Posted by Pádraig Michael Mann on Tue, 20 Nov 2007 06:05:00 PST

JOIN... or form a NEW BAND?

Okay, so here's the deal.  For quite some time, I've missed performing regularly, and even missed travelling almost as much.  I've been thinking  a lot lately that perhaps it's a good t...
Posted by Pádraig Michael Mann on Wed, 07 Nov 2007 10:38:00 PST

Life: a new chapter begins

Hiya!  Well, it's official- earlier today I was given the word that my last day at work will be October 31st.  I'm being laid off from New River Behavioral Healthcare after nearly three...
Posted by Pádraig Michael Mann on Sat, 20 Oct 2007 05:41:00 PST

30 years and "Driving Miss Daisy"

Thirty years ago today, Kathy and I were married.  It's hard to believe.  As usual, we didn't have anything special planned other than maybe a meal out and renting a movie for the family, bu...
Posted by Pádraig Michael Mann on Tue, 16 Oct 2007 01:18:00 PST

my sock has been found

Hiya! I've heard from bizillions of people since the last blog entry, and it seems that Ireland is still there, and will still be there when I'm ready. Beyond that, the great news is that I've finally...
Posted by Pádraig Michael Mann on Sun, 07 Oct 2007 08:37:00 PST