Fiddle player Maurice Lennon
In Chicago last Sunday, a massive benefit was held at the community-oriented Irish American Heritage Center on the North Side of town to aid an Irish musician who has made the Windy City his home in recent years. 

Maurice Lennon from Rossiniver, Co. Leitrim, the son of fiddler Ben Lennon and nephew of musician and composer Charlie Lennon, is one of Ireland’s finest fiddlers who at 17 was the youngest ever to win the senior All-Ireland championship. 

He was also a founding member of Stockton’s Wing, performing alongside Kieran and Michael Hanrahan, Paul Roche and Tommy Hayes in that trail-blazing outfit very popular in the eighties.

He has made a courageous battle against cancer for several years, racking up tremendous expenses without the benefit of any healthcare, so his many friends in the Chicago area have put together a massive fundraising drive to help defray those expenses.

For those of us who cannot be there in person, we can help support the cause from long distance through the purchase of a special CD compilation, When Hope Dawns at Sunrise ($15 plus shipping at $2.50) or via regular donations made payable to the Maurice Lennon Fundraiser, c/o Ella Riordan-Pacheco, Signature Bank, 6400 N. Northwest Highway, Chicago, Illinois 60631.  For more information on the event or to make a CD purchase or donation via Paypal  visit www.mauricelennonfundraiser.com.