More than 250 species of birds call Palmyra Cove Nature Park their home throughout the year. But on Sunday, May 21 (2006), it wasn’t the sweet sound of the redwing blackbird reverberating through the 350-acre park on the Jersey side of the Delaware River. It was two accomplished Irish trad bands whose members range in age from 11 to 20, playing in the shadow of the Tacony Palmyra Bridge.

The event—called the RiverGathering—was sponsored by the Delaware Valley Branch of Comhaltas (more formally, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, pronounced coal-tus kyol-tory air-un), an organization dedicated to keeping traditional Irish music and dancing alive.

Performing first was Mweelrea—named for a mountain in Connemara—made up of Caitlin Finley, 15, of Philadelphia (fiddle, dancing); Shane McGillian, 11, of Drexel Hill, Pa. (accordion); Tim Hill, 12, of Fort Washington, Pa. (bodhran), and Conal O’Kane, 18, of Philadelphia (fiddle). O’Kane kept his seat as the second band, The Forest Greens, stepped up to perform. He plays fiddle alongside Ellen Anderson, 18, of Haddon Township, N.J. (fiddle, dancing); Mike Romano, 20, also of Haddon (hammered dulcimer, tin whistle); and Eric Chesterton, 16, of Haddon Township (guitar, mandolin).

If you missed the music this time, you can catch one or all of these young performers at sessions around the area, including Fergie’s, The Plough and the Stars, the Irish Center, and Shanachie. The Forest Greens play regularly at The Treehouse Coffee Shop in Collingswood.