Modern times, even in the traditional scene, have not been generous with those dedicated practitioners of the longer form of traditional singing often referred to as the sean nos style. 

The Irish mastery of the spoken and written word that gave rise to a rich store of songs was easier to impart in days gone by when our attention span was greater — or our options for entertainment more limited. 

Nowadays many sessions, clubs, or concerts do not have enough singers who can belt out multi-verse songs. It takes patience and curiosity to absorb all that these marvelous ballads entail. 

Out of this milieu comes a wonderful singer like Donal Maguire, who stopped by Glucksman Ireland House last Friday night while on a brief U.S. tour from his home in England. 

Maguire’s performance, and the crowd that enjoyed it, was the very reason why the Blarney Star concert series was invented and why it has lasted so long. 

It is a haven for artists, like the Drogheda native, who honed their songcraft in the English and Irish folk singing clubs at the turn of the last century (how odd to write such a historic reference, but we are in the 21st Century now for better or worse). 

In easy, engaging fashion, Maguire kept those in attendance well informed and entertained through myriad songs of varying lengths that captured the range of experiences that visited the Irish down through the years or the human condition in general. 

“The Red-Haired Man’s Wife” which he first heard Cathal McConnell sing along with “The Forger’s Farewell,” appeared on his The Star of Sunday’s Well first released in 1979, but he added more details about them at the show and on the re-released CD of this seminal recording. 

The title track is a wonderfully witty tongue-in-cheek song written by W.B. Guiney which first appeared in The Cork Examiner in 1871. It displayed the literacy that flew in the face of those who tried to paint the Irish “as a race of semi-literate inarticulate numbskulls” says the album notes penned by Maguire.

I was glad for the opportunity to see a fine singer like Maguire, and to realize that there is a treasure trove of singers and material out there that we don’t often take the time to appreciate, though thankfully there are singing clubs that still give them a great welcome and plenty of recordings that we can enjoy in our own good time and place. 

If you want to find out more or order recordings from Donal Maguire visit his website at http://www.donalmaguire.co.uk or through www.ossianUSA.com where he also gave a house concert last weekend in New Hampshire. 

Hobnobbing: The weekly Midtown Manhattan session at Blaggard’s Pub (8 West 38th Street) provides a chance to see and hear fiddling sensation and New York native Tony DeMarco and flute player Linda Hickman as the featured guests at the popular early Sunday soiree from 5-8 p.m. sponsored by Ull Mor (212-726-1602 or www. Geocities.com/ullmorcce) . . .

SATURDAY, December 11 from 1-6 p.m. is the annual CCE Michael Coleman Christmas party at the Kerrymen’s Hall (305 McLean Avenue, Yonkers). From 1-3 p.m. is the Children’s session with a visit from Santa followed by ceili with the Pete Kelly Ceili Band from 3-6 p.m. Call 914-747-9674 for details . . .

SUNDAY, December 12 at 3 p.m. is Mick Moloney’s Irish American Music and Dance Festival featuring Robbie O’Connell, Dana Lyn, Ivan Goff, Billy McComiskey and dancers from the Donny Golden School of Irish Dancing. Co-sponsored by the Irish American Cultural Institute, the show takes place at the Community Theater in Morristown, New Jersey (973-539-8008 or www.communitytheatre.org) . . .

THURSDAY, December 16 at 8 p.m., Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul delivers a Celtic Christmas performance at the Shea Center on the campus of William Paterson College in Wayne, New Jersey (973-720-2371 or www.eileenivers.com) . . .

FRIDAY, December 10- Sunday, December 12 are five shows including two matinees offered by the New York Revels focusing on a Christmas celebration in Scotland at Symphony Space in Manhattan (212-864-5000 or www.nyrevels.org) . . .

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17 and Saturday, December 18 at 8 p.m., Boston’s WGBH’s “Celtic Sojourn” host Brian O’Donovan celebrates the Yuletide with Sean Keane, the Sharon Shannon Band, Aoife O’Donovan and friends, Kieran Jordan and Kevin Doyle for two nights at the Somerville Theatre in Somerville, Massachusetts (617-625-5700 or www.ticketmaster.com). Or you can catch last year’s live Christmas “Celtic Sojourn” show on the radio or the station’s web link at www.wgbh.org on Saturday, December 11 from noon to 3 p.m. starring Cherish the Ladies, Robbie O’Connell and Navan the Gaelic singing ensemble based in Wisconsin . . .

SUNDAY, December 19 at 7:30 p.m. Boston harpist Aine Minogue brings her Christmas show to Satalla (212-576-1155 or www.satalla.com) in Manhattan.