“A Pan-Celtic stable-band, breaking festival girl-group traditions since 1997.”
The group consists of Kristin Hacker-Hickman (vocals, percussion), Karin Hacker (bodhran, spoons, sickle, other odd instruments, vocals), Sarah Hacker (whistles, flutes, percussion, vocals) and Jennie Nichols (vocals, tambourine). Amongst us we have over 120 years of performing experience.
Karin lifted our name from a line in the song “Finnegan’s Wake” which is one of our signature songs. Shillelagh is a county in Ireland, and a form of walking stick. The best shillelaghs are made from the root of the blackthorn tree. The term “shillelagh law” is used for the idea of settling an argument by resorting to fighting with your shillelaghs. To paraphrase a former US President “He who carries the biggest shillelagh gets to make the law.”
In the mid 1980s the Sarah, Karin, and Kristin joined Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) and started volunteering in the SCA Dell at The Kansas City Renaissance Festival (KCRF). Jennie also volunteered in the SCA Dell. When we first started volunteering at KCRF Connie Dover was still singing with Scartaglen and we saw them perform there. Scartaglen had a HUGE impact on how we think a group should sound. In 1989 Karin bought her first bodhran. For the next six years Kristin and Karin figured out what songs worked well with just voice and bodhran. When they were not doing other period demonstrations they would sit on the bridge into the Dell and sing.
While she was attending Longview Community College Kristin had choir classes with Gina DeBarthe. In 1996 Kristin and Gina both became nuns in the street cast of KCRF, and Sarah started played for both the court and country dancers at the front gate. In 1997 the scenario changed in a way that eliminated the nuns so Kristin and Karin decided to become a musical act instead. Kristin invited Gina to join the group, but, Sarah continued to play for the dancers. In 1998 Gina left Shillelagh Law, and Sarah bought her first tin whistle and joined group. In 1999 Jennie joined Shillelagh Law. In 2001 Shillelagh Law recorded our first CD, “Songs from the Bridge.”
