Bohola

All Music Guide:

The trio of musicians who make up traditional Irish folk band Bohola were friends long before they joined forces in 1999 to establish their group. Each had years of experience behind him and by uniting in Bohola, they melded their backgrounds in Celtic rock and traditional Irish music. London native Jimmy Keane, who is the group's accordionist, was born to Irish parents. The family left Ireland during the 1960s and settled in Chicago, where Keane's dad, James, guided his son toward traditional Irish music. The elder Keane was actively involved in the genre himself as a sean-nos singer. With his father guiding him, the younger Keane began performing with others on the Chicago music scene, including stepdancer and flutist Michael Flatley, later of Riverdance and Lord of the Dance fame, and fiddle player Liz Carroll. Keane went on to take top place in the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoils competition for five straight years. In addition to his championship accordion playing, Keane also composes and arranges. He has toured with artists such as Eileen Ivers, Mick Moloney, Robbie O'Connell, and Seamus Egan, among others. Bohola's vocalist, Pat Broaders, is a native of Dublin who relocated to Chicago during the 1990s. His involvement with Irish music began when he was 12. He also spent time as a bouzouki student under the tutelage of Donal Lunny of the Bothy Band. In addition to the bouzouki, Broaders also plays the dordan. At home in Ireland, he worked with the bands An Beal Bocht, Cry Before Dawn, and In Tua Nua, among others. He has appeared with or contributed to the recordings of such artists as the Drovers, Martin Hayes, Aengus, and Larry Nugent, among others. Fiddler Sean Cleland grew up in Chicago, but originally hailed from Milwaukee. During his childhood, he became a student of classical music. Fiddler Carroll was one of his later instructors. Like bandmate Keane, Cleland also holds competition titles. He triumphed with his fiddle playing at a number of American Fleadh Cheoils competitions. He established the Drovers in 1989 and went on to devote ten years to the Celtic rock band. He has been featured in the films Blink and Backdraft.

Wikipedia:

Bohola (Irish: Bothóla) is a hamlet in Gallen, County Mayo, Ireland located along the N5 national primary road. It consists of 2 pubs, a post office and a Catholic Church. The village is located near Lough Conn.

People

Martin Sheridan achieved fame in the United States for his accomplishments in track and field during St. Louis, Athens and London Olympiads in the early part of the 20th century.Martin Sheridan was born in Bohola on March 28th, 1881, the youngest of six children. In 1899 he left for America. In 1901 he won the discus event in New York and established a world record in this event in 1902. In 1904 he won his first Olympic medal. The King of Greece presented him with a golden goblet and a statute of Sheridan was erected which now stands resplendent under the Athenian skies. In 1909 he was near the end of a brilliant career which saw him win 9 Olympic medals -5 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze -and he set 16 world records. At this time he visited home and 20 coaches left Bohola to see him give an exhibition in Ballina in the discus and pole vault.When his Olympic days were over he won new laurels for himself in the New York Police Department. Several sports writers called him the greatest all-round performer of all time. In the Spring of 1918 he filled in for a police colleague, who was sick, and as a result Martin contacted pneumonia and died, he was 37 years old. On May 28th, 1966, a memorial was unveiled in the village of Bohola to Martin Sheridan. He was surely Ireland's greatest Olympian. Many of his trophies and medals are on display in The O'Dwyer Cheshire Home, Bohola.

Former New York City Mayor and US Ambassador to North Korea William O'Dwyer and his brother, the noted New York City humanitarian, lawyer, and politician Paul O'Dwyer are also natives of the village, as is prominent civil rights attorney Frank Durkan, also of New York, who was a nephew of the O'Dwyers.

Demographics

Bohola is a small village with a population of 235 as of 2006. This is an increase of 14.6% from 205 residents in 2002.