Two weeks ago, when the Ohio University Internet crashed, students received emails from “O’Malley, Sean.”
However, many would be surprised to find out that the same person who sent out those emails, Sean O’Malley, played the Irish flute at some students’ favorite bar and pub, Jackie O’s, just the night before.
O’Malley is the Office of Information Technology communications manager for Ohio University but spends his Tuesday nights at the Celtic Session at Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery, 24 W. Union Street, a staple in Athens for over three decades.
O’Malley has been playing the Irish flute since 1995 and has been playing at Jackie O’s since it went by its previous name, O’Hooley’s Pub.
However, O’Malley did not begin with the flute. He started his interest in music when he was in second grade with the clarinet. When he switched to saxophone a few years later, his orthodontist made him switch because the doctor said he would never be able to fix his teeth, and so, O’Malley picked up the flute.
“And I hated it,” O’Malley said. “It made me dizzy. For the first year or so, I would leave my lessons feeling carsick, like I was about the throw up.”
Since he did all of the coordination for the players of the Celtic session in their first official gig, O’Malley decided to name the band.
“There is a famous band called The Boys of the Lough, and I thought we might as well be cute about it,” O’Malley said. “Let’s be The Boys of the Hock.”
The band is comprised of five primary members: fiddle player Lynn Shaw, guitarist Rusty Smith, hammered dulcimer player Ed Newman, bodhran drum Tim Hogan and O’Malley.
O’Malley said he and his band are able to tell each other’s next move when playing together.
“There will be times when we get a good vibe going between each other playing the tunes; one of us will switch to another tune, and we will switch to the same tune and at the same time without saying anything... that’s always cool when that happens,” O’Malley said.
Besides the music, Celtic Sessions also provides a community atmosphere, said Matt Spolar, Jackie O’s creative strategist.
“(My favorite part of the Celtic Session is) the sense of community that the musicians bring every Tuesday to our pub,” Spolar said. “The Tuesday night Celtic group has been a constantly evolving group of musicians for the past 26 years, bringing in an eclectic group of community members and students alike.”
Celtic session audience member and new Athens resident Myra Morrison said she agrees.
“I like coming here because Irish music is very complex and upbeat,” she said.
“The environment is very welcoming.”
mo403411@ohiou.edu
@megomecene
