Saoirse [pronounced SEER-sha] is Gaelic for freedom, and notably Irish Freedom. Saoirse’s
Heart is the title track for the fourth studio recording from NYC Irish-Pop band Celtic Cross.
The tracks take a soul-searching look at the subtleties of freedom and the redemption it provides, as they are uniquely interwoven in the Irish-American experiences of immigration, love, and family. The seven-piece band uses a wide canvas of traditional Irish, alt-country and funk on this fourteen all-original track album. The recording will be released on April X and available on iTunes, CD Baby and at the band’s shows. See www.celticcross.com
for more information about Saoirse’s Heart and Celtic Cross.
Saiorse’s Heart is a journey through the quintessential Irish American “narrowback” experience through the story of a life yearning for freedom and redemption. The first half of the album explores problems of young adult years, troubled decisions, controversy and tragedy. Then, optimism leads to a turn for the better as the second half of the CD tells the story of redemption and better days. The stories turn to real love, family, children and the true mark of Irish happiness… sarcasm & satire.
Saoirse means freedom, and people all search for freedom for their hearts, their minds, and their ability to have the relationships they want… but their freedom never comes free. Saoirse’s Heart reminds us about the subtle and seldom considered costs of freedom.
The listener who takes the opportunity to listen to all of Saoirse’s Heart from start to finish will experience a life’s journey to find redeeming freedom by rising above the troubles and challenges that come along with it. Saorise’s Heart is about optimism and perseverance; the bad days turn to good, if you don’t give up. And the Irish never give up…
Here is the story:
is the explosive and haunting story of the tragedy of forced immigration, the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and their lifelong reverberations throughout the lives they impact.

“See Gerry’s face outside my sister’s window
The very public rage… the way he had to go
Eight men in all, two fifty pumpin lead
She’ll never know what song he had inside his head”
This is a very different kind of rebel song. Saoirse is Gaelic for freedom, but the track contemplates that you are never completely free, and that the freedom leaves debts that can never be repaid.
“Time opens minds but doesn’t cancel thoughts
Through Saoirse’s Heart reaps elders taught
Our children’s sons will never understand
The last conversation in that Hiace Van”
Frankie McCormick’s vocal raps the story against Kathleen Fee’s melancholy chorus chant. It is the title track of the CD and sets the stage for the evolution of stories in the tracks ahead. Listen for the explosive lead guitar part from friend and guest Dan Muniz.
The dark anger of Saiorse’s Heart gives way to
, John Vesey’s trad instrumental. The track builds from a delicate accordion & mandolin tune to a frenzy of
R&B guitar and fiddle. Like Saoirse’s Heart, the track is inspired by the tribulations of immigration and bullying and how they lead to rage. Look out for some tasty guitar licks from cameo guest Dan Muniz throughout this track.
Kathleen’s vocal in
will leave you thinking about Carly Simon’s
You’re So Vain… both in its performance as well as it’s bitterness. The song is about regret, and being torn with angst while reaching for redemption:
“Your eyes like a raging sea
That hold me… hold me down
Free now from the midnight burn
With the new light, that old bite is gone…
Strung out, but never broken
No heart wearing on my sleeve
Cause I didn’t need it baby
But then again, you never asked…”
Walter’s shameless dobro playing sets up Kathleen’s brassy vocal in this classic sounding track.
Walter Ensor sings
telling the story about being torn between two paths. Like many of our cousins and friends, the character here decides to stay beyond their visa and skip their flight back to Ireland, because America had become where they belonged. The song is not a celebration of immigration, but really the song about the tyranny of choice. The character wants freedom, but hardly is… their choice seems to be made for them.

“Landed here
Visas for the summer
Only 18, no plans for staying longer
Friends went north, friends went south
Denim jeans, living hand to mouth…”
is Kathleen’s brooding reggae/jig ballad about unrequited love that burns intensely and never goes away.
“Misty spray of rain in the schoolyard
Stucco walls dressed in ivy lace
A silver heart-dangling necklace
A love keepsake
Gave her something to hold onto
A promise he couldn't make
Burning embers deep inside
Her hearts bitter ache”
Walter Ensor’s guitar toybox sounds sits mystically atop guest Steve Holloway’s bodhran to adorn this musical departure on the record.
is about tragedy and destruction of Hurricane Sandy. Our own Wally
Ensor lived through the thick of it in Rockaway Beach. The countless stories of homes and complete neighborhoods lost in Breezy Point, Long Beach, Staten Island and the
Jersey Shore inspire the heartbreaking story lyrics here:
“Make up your mind to leave or take a stand
Nothing from above, can chase us from our sands
Warnings fall to dare and pride
Our city is on its own tonight
You and I will ride it until the end”
The stormy edge of this track is provided by Walter’s soaring electric guitar leads and great parts from Kenny on fiddle and John on accordion.
represents the beginning of redemption and bright light in the record. Named after John, Kenny and Kathleen’s childhood home in Clifton New Jersey, the whimsical and simply mischievous instrumental evokes a fun-filled chase, and a hand-clapping good time. This track is the album’s spring; one can sense the optimism, warmth and light coming in the rest of the record.
is a NYC subway love song. Pat Dineen sings about the apparition of a beautiful girl named Molly in Union Square Station. She keeps turning up, much to the delight of the young man telling the story.

“Like a movie scene,
She was walking on air through the turnstile
Then she smiled…
And everyone knows now
And I blush, as the naughtiest things cross my mind…”
This could be any of our story about watching for the opposite sex among the straphangers in New York.
celebrates Irish parents and in particular, Kathleen, John & Kenny’s grandfather’s home in Drumlish, Co. Longford. The song is about the final ceili party the family had in the house before closing it up for the final time.
“The house stood two stories, but a thousand it could tell…
But here’s to all the laughter, music and old friends
Let’s raise a glass and raise the roof and capture it again…”
The imagery in the lyrics is vibrant and evocative of many of our Irish American childhood memories of trips back to Old Country with our parents to see the grandparent’s place.
The sunny love song
poses the eternal question about how you know when you truly are in love. Kathleen sings:
“That’s the problem with these daydreams
They take the sun away
And when you’re in the moment
You’ll be there to stay
But sitting here right with me
Whirl Spin Twirl
Spin until your dizzy
Whirl Spin Girl”
This is a hopeful song about knowing that when you fall in love for real, you will know it, and it will light up your life and spin you around… whirl spin twirl. Whirl Spin delivers on the promise of redemption from the love tribulations portrayed in the earlier tracks
Strange Love & Jameson Johnny.
is the emotional appeal of a mother to her child to be ready for their own life’s trials and tribulations ahead.
“This is now your story
Find where you belong
These winds of change will come
And they will carry you…

So hold on for the ride
Keep that fire inside
The world can be so cold & sometimes hard on you
Soon you will learn, soon you will know
There is no one like your own… “
It is a standout song on the record that really gets to the joy and anguish every parent feels in helping the children be ready to face the world.
keeps that party rolling along with another traditional instrumental celebration set to a smooth hip-hop groove that will make you think of Brothers
Johnson or Kool & The Gang. This Frankie McCormick set of tunes envisions walking up from the 205 th street subway station onto the street on a spring weekend afternoon as
Irish music pours out of the Roaring 20’s bar and mixes on the street with FM radio music from open car windows passing by.
is a satirical tongue-in-cheek exchange between an Irish Girl and her boyfriend or husband. Kathleen & Patrick’s duet could be any second generation Irish couple arguing about who will notice who first… and who will drive home later. It is a playful sing-song with a lot of fun banter. It is true that boys “don’t stand a chance” when dealing with Irish girls… and this song tells the story.
is the fall-down finale of the record featuring another satirical sarcastic story of the typical married couple.
“I can tell by the look in your eyes
Should be long gone out the door now
Wish you could send me some kind of sign
To help me from all this guessin, but its worth the wait I know
Cause baby when you’re good, you’re good to go
And I know that I’ll be hurting in the morning…”
The New Orleans-style track features a number of great solos and fun banter between the band-members. It is a fitting exhaling finale for the album’s winding music journey through trials, tribulations, and wonderful moments in a life. Saoirse’s Heart’s freedom
& redemption are complete.

Saoirse’s Heart (x:yy)
Monster (x:yy)
Jameson Johnny (x:yy)
Land’s In My Blood (x:yy)
Strange Love (x:yy)
Water’s Edge (x:yy)
Robinhood Sessions (x:yy)
Molly (x:yy)
One Last Party (x:yy)
Whirlspin Girl (x:yy)

Hold On For The Ride (x:yy)
The D Train (x:yy)
Irish Girl (x:yy)
Best Days (x:yy)
All tracks written & produced by Celtic Cross (BMI & ASCAP)
Engineered by Alan Camlet at Hoboken Recorders
Mastered by Steve Fallone at Sterling Sound
Photography & Artwork by Kerry Anne Dineen
Celtic Cross is Kathleen Fee (vocals), Kenny Vesey (fiddle), John Vesey (accordion),
Walter Ensor (guitars, vocals), Patrick Dineen (bass, vocals), Frankie McCormick
(mandolin, banjo, vocals) and Ryan Cavan (drums).
Special thanks to musical guests Dan Muniz (guitar), George Wurzbach (piano, keyboards) and Steve Holloway (bodhran).