ShamRockers travel to Ireland to remember Montana legend

Local residents filled Polson’s John Dowdall Theater on Saturday to receive the first taste of an international celebration honoring the legacy of legendary Irish nationalist, and Montana’s first territorial governor Thomas Francis Meagher.

Channeling the Irish tradition of storytelling through song, the Montana ShamRockers described Meagher’s enthralling journey from political exile to American statesman.

“It’s a story has really resonated with us,” Neal Lewing of the ShamRockers said.

The event served as a “bon voyage” for the band, which is traveling to Waterford, Ireland, to play the Tricoulours Celebration marking the day in March 1848 that Meagher first raised what would become the Irish flag. The ShamRockers will then return to Montana to play the first ever MEAGHERfest in July, organized by the Helena-based Thomas Francis Meagher Association to mark the 150-year anniversary of his disappearance along the banks of the Missouri River near Fort Benton.

The many stories surrounding the life and death of Meagher (pronounced “Mar”) lend to the appeal of the charismatic leader depicted in the statue of a sword-wielding calvalryman outside the state capital.

Meagher’s flag-raising defiance against the British resulted in his exile to a penile colony in Tasmania. From there Meagher escaped and sailed to New York City, where he received a warm welcome from the many Irish immigrants fleeing the Potato Famine, or Great Hunger as they called it in their home country.

“They say in Ireland that god sent the blight,” Lewing told the audience, “But the British made the famine.”

A talented orator, Meagher made a name for himself on the New York lecture circuit, at one point drawing more than 6,000 people to a speech, Lewing said. When the American Civil War broke out, Meagher sided with the North and formed what would become the infamous Irish Brigade. While Meagher expressed a great love for his new home, Lewing said his true motivation was to train a group of men that could return to Ireland and take back their country from British rule.

Meagher’s plans were put on hold in 1865, however, when he was appointed to serve as governor of the Montana Territory. While in office, Meagher took significant strides toward bringing the lawless territory into statehood, but his term was court short in 1867, when he disappeared mysteriously on the banks of the Missouri River.

Lewing said he first learned about Meagher in 2009, when the ShamRockers were asked to play at the dedication of a bust marking the spot of Meagher’s presumed demise.

“I was grabbed right away,” Lewing said.

Lewing went on to discover a number of Civil War-era songs written about Meagher, as well as “no fewer than 10 theories surrounding his death.

These tales and more will emerge during the two festivals, which Lewing said serve as a general celebration of Irish culture. Next year, Lewing said he hopes to bring the festivities full circle with a celebration in Tasmania as well.

During the band’s first trip to Ireland several years ago, Lewing said he found that many people knew of Montana through Meagher’s legacy. Lewing said he wasn’t sure at first how locals would react to a group of “Yanks” playing their music. But to his surprise, the audiences received the band warmly, and in typical Irish fashion.

“They laughed, cried, danced, sand along and bought us drinks,” Lewing said.