It’s March, so it’s time for the “craic” — Irish for good fun.
The Craic Festival, running Thursday through Saturday at Tribeca Cinemas and the Mercury Lounge, features the best movies and music of Ireland and Irish America.
For $25, you can see the films at the Tribeca Cinemas, 54 Varick St., and belly up to an open bar at the after-party in the lobby, mingling with the filmmakers over a good pint.
Aidan Quinn, star of the hit TV series “Elementary,” will be on hand opening night to discuss “From Tee to Green: The Story of Irish Golf,” a compelling new documentary about the history of golf in Ireland. Even golf-ignorant people like me will get a breathtaking and sweeping history lesson of the shimmering greens of the Emerald Isle. The film, which Quinn narrates, shows how golf has transformed from an elitist game for the rich to a pastime for the common Irisher.
“I play golf. I love golf. I’m not great but not bad. I go to Ireland every year with some family and pals to play on a different green in a different part of the country,” Quinn told me last week. “So when the filmmakers sent me a proposal and I read the basic script for the documentary, I liked what I saw, so I signed on. ‘Tee to Green’ is now a terrific documentary, one in which I learned things I didn’t know about golf, especially in Ireland, and I think the audience will really like it too.”
If you prefer the proverbial 19th hole of the pub, you can hear some cutting-edge Celtic music at the Mercury Lounge. Julie Feeney , Pat McGuire , the Shackles (with Colin Smith) and the Narrowbacks will be perform at the club at 8 p.m. in Saturday.
“Julie Feeney will headline,” says Terence Mulligan , a Brooklyn native who founded the festival in 1998. “She took the town by storm this year with her thrilling in-your-face show where she goes out into the audience and engages the crowd. She has a new album out. So does Pat McGuire, who is more of a traditional Irish singer-songwriter who also has a new album. We limited the music to one night this year because it was hard for film and music fans to get to two venues, but this one night at the Mercury is not to be missed.”
For film fans like me, I love that Liam Neeson, one of Hollywood’s biggest box-office stars, doesn’t forget his days living on biscuits and pots of tea in a Belfast boardinghouse. Neeson has another big action flick that I won’t miss called “Run All Night,” opening in theaters this month.
But he also took the time to narrate “Road,” a documentary about the Dunlop motorcycle racing dynasty in Northern Ireland, with archival footage spanning decades. A question-and-answer session with the filmmakers will follow the 7:30 p.m. Friday screening.
The Craic Fest will also feature the Kids Fleadh, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, with family-friendly Irish short films, stepdancing and storytelling.
“John Liam Shea, who wrote ‘Cut and Run in the Bronx,’ and Honor Molloy, author of ‘Smarty Girl,’ will narrate the kids’ stories,” says Mulligan.
“Then we’re closing the festival on Saturday night, March 7, with a best of animation/retrospective of Brown Bag Films,” Mulligan says, referring to the Dublin animation company. “Two of the animated shorts, ‘Granny O’Grimm’ and ‘Give Up Yer Aul Sins,’ were Oscar-nominated.”
Quinn says that after a grueling shooting schedule, a trip to the golf courses of Ireland is like therapy. “For me, golf is not a sport unless you walk the course,” he says.
“A full 18 holes is like a 7-mile walk, and you can escape from the world for four or five hours. There’s a soaring feeling of power hitting a ball 230 yards and sinking it in a little hole. It can also be a frustrating game. But I go with family and friends and we slag each other and have a million laughs. ‘Tee to Green’ captures the fun, frustration and history of the game in Ireland. I love that it’s playing at the Craic Festival in my hometown of New York.”
To kick off the month of March.