I first met Ralph in Wilkes-Barre, PA, in 2009 and despite my shyness at that time we quickly became friends. We attended many Celtic Woman shows together and I joked that he was my “upstate New York connection” because he worked with the local PBS stations to not only get Meet & Greets but to make sure we always had the best seats in the house. He rarely traveled very far to a show, usually just Buffalo, Rochester or Syracuse but occasionally Erie, Akron or Cleveland. Sometimes we would meet halfway in southern New York or northern Pennsylvania. He did come to Raleigh once and he was in Atlanta for the second day of the “Believe” recording. He was almost always accompanied by his lovely sister, Connie, except when she was traveling.

Like most of us, his favorite Celtic Woman was Máiréad and I always enjoyed watching him as they chatted at a Meet & Greet. He also had a soft spot for the wonderful Orla Fallon and joined a group of us in Cleveland on one of her first tours with Tin Cup Gypsy. In one of our more unusual meetings, we ran into each other completely by accident in Geneva, NY, to see Orla on her brief tour with the Boston String Quartet. Neither of us had known the other was coming!

One of my favorite shows with Ralph was on Halloween night in 2009. Scott Taylor and I had just driven from Connecticut and we were meeting Ralph and Connie in Buffalo to see Celtic Woman at the stunningly beautiful Shea's Performing Arts Center. Just before they arrived, the rain moved out and a magnificent rainbow appeared in the eastern sky. Then a random restaurant selection led to the discovery of the Buffalo Chophouse, still home to the best steak I have ever had in my life. An ISU allowed us to move from third row pit on the side to front row center, practically on stage. From those seats we enjoyed what is still one of the most intimate and personal shows I have ever attended. It was a night that none us has ever forgotten and we talked about it almost every time we were together.

In closing, I will continue to think of Ralph as my upstate connection, he's just a little further up now. And I know, as I always have, that I can trust him to have a Meet & Greet and the best seat in the house waiting for me.