Annie's September Blog

What's in a name?

Some of you may have heard this story already (several times?) but we often get asked where our name came from. (If you've heard it too many times feel free to skip down to our schedule.)

Crossmolina (pronounced Cross-mo-line-a) is a little town in County Mayo, Ireland. Yes, we've been there and it's lovely.

In Irish it's Crois Mhaoilíona (or originally Crois Ui Mhaoiliona) which translates to Cross of Mullany or Maoiliona's Cross. (Sorry...can't do the accents on my keyboard.) It's a town with an interesting history (Google it if you want to read more) but other than having an ice cream cone there we don't really have a connection.

So why did we choose that as the name of our band?

We were originally going to call ourselves (as a duo) Celtic Crossing as a sort of nod to Bill's love of trains. I was going to create a logo that combined a Celtic cross with a railroad crossing sign. But a little research showed that there was already a band called Celtic Crossing so we had to come up with something else.

I compiled a list of possibilities but couldn't decide what to use. My parents used to play tennis and my mum would have a luncheon with the ladies in her league every so often. She invited me to one just at that time so I brought my list to the luncheon and put it all to a vote. Crossmolina was the overwhelming choice. So, thanks to the tennis ladies, we're Crossmolina.

Now for our upcoming schedule...

On Friday, September 19th we'll be playing at Ramsey's at Champion Hills. Music is from 5:30 - 8:30pm. The Friday night fish fry (battered or broiled with cajun spice!) is great but they do recommend calling for reservations and letting them know not just for table space but if you want the fish fry. (585) 398-7458 ext. 2 They're located at 675 Championship Drive Victor, NY 14564.

We'll also be playing at Ramsey's on Friday, October 10th from 5:30 – 8:30. And we'll have a different set list just in case you come to both :-)

On Wednesday, October 15th we'll be joining Dave North and Kevin Reynolds at Johnny's Irish Pub as part of a fundraiser for the Rochester St. Patrick's Day Parade. The event runs from 4:00 – 9:00pm. I don't know who is playing at what time but it's going to be a fantastic evening of music as both Dave and Kevin are wonderful musicians! $10 donation at the door includes one free drink. There will also be a silent auction. Johnny's is located at 1382 Culver Road, Rochester, NY 14609.

And speaking of St. Patrick's Day...we're already scheduled to play at Ramsey's at Champion Hills on Friday, March 13th. There will be Irish dancers performing from 5:30 – 6:00pm and then we'll play from 6:00 – 8:00pm.

As always...more to come.

Slainte!

Annie