Everybody’s Irish for Xmas when Kerry Comes to Town

When Kerry Irish Productions founder Margaret O’Carroll moved to Los Angeles from the hills of her native County Kerry many years ago, she wasn’t able to find any sort of regular productions of anything Irish or Celtic around Christmastime in the bustling metropolis. 

So she decided to create something of her own.

The one-time Irish ballad, oratorio, and opera singer started out small but made it her goal to attract some of the finest singers, dancers, and musicians around to perform an annual show dubbed simply An Irish Christmas. The show is not just a performance but also a celebration of family and community that showcases some of the great Irish holiday traditions of the holiday season. 

“I looked around, but there was nothing cohesive happening around, certainly not anything on a regular basis,” O’Carroll said. 

Nearly 20 years later, An Irish Christmas has become an annual tradition not only in Los Angeles but up and down the California coast as well as in cities across the nation. A PBS special has become an annual addition to the public station’s pledge drives. The show has grown to feature award-winning dancers who have performed as part of Riverdance, Lord of the Dance,and Celtic Wings and includes several world champions.

“People just love that I pulled from the community, which is really central to everything I do,” explained O’Carroll over the phone just hours before this year’s production was slated to open in Visalia. “We need one another. That comes into my work all the time, and I’m very happy to represent that community.” 

Over the years, the show has evolved into a well-polished two hours of virtually non-stop entertainment, O’Carroll said. 

“It’s honed itself so well. It’s a lovely balance between ethnic Ireland and modern Ireland and everything related to the folk theater culture which I come from.” 

To that end, An Irish Christmas always features some of the great traditions of Christmas in Ireland, including butter-making, chasing the wren on St. Stephen’s Day, drawing down the half door and many others. Spectacular dance numbers include everything from Irish step-dancing to jigs and reels, while the Kerry Voice Squad enlivens the season by singing traditional Christmas Carols, backed by the Kerry Traditional Orchestra that also plays a variety of instrumentals to add to the appeal. 

“We have a shoemaker segment in the show, which goes back to every nation in Europe, including Ireland,” O’Carroll said. “It was a popular profession way back when. It’s a very strange concept nowadays, but the shoemaker was revered in the village and the towns, so I created a whole segment around that.” 

On the other hand, O’Carroll also applauds modern approaches to Irish music – which this year includes fiddle, percussion, guitar, vocals and whistle – as well as dancing, including innovative modern arrangements. 

“We’re bridging all the time, the old to the new, and I love the balance of that integration,” she said. “It’s always changing, but it’s organic. There are so many songs to choose from and Christmas carols to sing. We have such a lovely, cohesive group this year, with several of our dancers coming off or heading out to major tours, as well as current world champions.”

O’Carroll had a lot to boast about as the show was set to open last weekend on a short tour that concludes at the Lobero Theatre on December 22, one of the company’s favorite venues. 

“We always get such an unbelievable crowd there,” she said. “I don’t know why, but it’s great. I think they appreciate the high quality and respond.” 

Kerry Irish will return to the Lobero in the spring for St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland, a newer show that had its first-ever performance here in Santa Barbara and comes back again on the day of the actual holiday, March 17. 

Visit www.lobero.org/whats-on.