Between telling jokes and sharing stories, the guitarist, bongo
drummer, flutist and two fiddlers of the student band Barghest fill
the room with a unique fusion of traditional Irish, Scottish,
English and Celtic music during their practice every week.
On March 17, Barghest and actors from the student group Erin Go
Bragh will perform together in a play called
“O’Bruins” in honor of St. Patrick’s
Day.
The band came together to practice for the event Tuesday night,
as well as to meet with Annie Oakley, one of the founders of Erin
Go Bragh and a fourth-year English student.
The two student groups have joined forces to make St.
Patrick’s Day entertaining and memorable for fellow students,
Oakley said.
The show is an original play, written by Oakley, and combines
contemporary stories with cultural music.
“The play is about four college students hanging out in a
bar on St. Patrick’s Day just telling stories. There’s
lots of jokes and stories and traditional Irish music and some
unexpected elements,” Oakley said.
The members of Erin Go Bragh have been rehearsing for the play
since the first week of winter quarter, but Oakley began writing in
December.
As part of the supporting accompaniment, Barghest will play
several traditional Irish songs, such as “Morrison’s
Jig,” throughout the performance.
“O’Bruins” is the second St. Patrick’s
Day event put on by the club.
Erin Go Bragh, meaning “Ireland forever” in Gaelic,
was officially founded on St. Patrick’s Day in 2004 by Oakley
and Shea Stella, a fourth-year chemistry student.
“We wanted to explore our Irish culture and
heritage,” Oakley said. “I’m personally sixth,
seventh generation American and I felt like I had no real cultural
roots, … so I kind of saw the club as an opportunity to explore
my Irish culture.”
Last year, the club sponsored a St. Patrick’s Day festival
in Bruin Plaza, complete with Irish step dancers and lively
music.
The club also shows Irish movies once or twice a quarter, and
the band rehearses for club events and outside venues, Oakley
said.
Barghest has played at events put on by Erin Go Bragh in the
past, but also tries to perform as much as possible at other
venues, said Ian Martyn, the founder of the band and a second-year
linguistics and computer science student.
In the past, they have secured gigs in old town Pasadena and
Crossroads High School.
The band meets every Tuesday in the dorms to practice songs and
record for their upcoming CD.
“I’d always wanted a traditional Irish band, so when
I came to UCLA I thought, out of 30,000 students here, there has to
be a few who can play,” Martyn said.
After a combination of personal connections, Facebook messages
and an acquaintance with Erin Go Bragh, Martyn formed Barghest in
February 2005 before teaming up with Oakley.
Erin Go Bragh and Barghest hope to provide thought-provoking,
humorous entertainment for the play’s audience Friday, Oakley
said.
“Mostly we just want to make people laugh on St.
Patrick’s Day, while bringing a sense of Irishness to the
UCLA campus and getting our name out there.”
The play is scheduled to be held in the Kerckhoff Grand
Salon at 5 p.m. Friday.