Paddy Homan- Man on a Mission

For people who know Paddy Homan, he is a man with two hats, depending on his role; social worker by day, musician by night and weekends. To others, however, he is a proud member of the Irish American community, always willing to lend a hand in whatever is the community’s need. “I’ve always been involved in community service,” he says. “I suppose it comes naturally to me, and you only need to look around and see so many of your own people doing the same. ‘Tis in our genes to be there for others.”


But Homan now admits to having come full circle in his professional career, as he takes up his new position as Community Services Advocate with Lutheran Life Communities which is based in Arlington Heights and serves the entire Chicago and Metropolitan area. “Lutheran Life Communities is recognized as one of the leading non- profit health care organizations in the United States with a big commitment to supporting those in need. It serves people of all denominations,” says Paddy. “It offers the community-at-large comprehensive services and programs that empower vibrant grace-filled living across all generations. Programs include rehabilitation services, home care services, adult day care, relocation and moving services, hospice, pastoral services, volunteer programs, and even child care. This sense of mission rings well with my own value system. Senior living is not about the aging process but the new opportunities that can be imagined and purposefully realized.”
In his new role, Homan will be making regular presentations in social service settings, church halls and fraternal organizations as well as business and financial organizations to educate the public about the community services available. These

presentations will no doubt include a bit of song and story as he focuses on issues of life transition.
Since his arrival from Cork on the Chicago scene, Homan has made a wide imprint on the social services and music landscape. His four years work in eldercare and homecare with responsibilities for direct client services have equipped him well for his new position. He is highly attuned to the requirements and sensitivity which are necessary to provide round the clock quality service to his clients and their families in the home and community.
There would be few devotees of traditional Irish music in the greater Chicago community who would not have heard Paddy Homan perform whether at his weekly sessions at the Galway Arms Pub or the many Irish and Celtic Fests from Chicago to Milwaukee and Detroit as well as at the Mayor’s St. Pat’s reception. Homan is about to launch monthly ‘networking sessions’ for the enjoyment of business professionals at the Metropolitan Club at Willis Towers. The first of these will take place on March 16th. On March 17th Homan will join WGN host Rick Kogan and others at The Chicago Theater for a special St Pat’s celebration.

Paddy has linked up with some of the many talented Irish musicians who make Chicago such a vibrant city. His recently released CD was a celebration of his integration into Chicago’s musical landscape and the larger Irish American community. For it, he was joined by internationally known musicians: Dennis Cahill, Jimmy Keane, Maurice Lennon, Pat Broaders, Kathleen Keane and John Williams. That CD earned him multiple awards as Male Vocalist of the Year and Male Vocal Album of the Year from liveireland.com, and last month as Best Male Newcomer of the Decade Award. “Paddy Homan is the best male Irish singer we have ever heard”, said Bill Margeson, columnist for liveireland.com, the Irish American News and Irish Music Magazine. The Cork Evening Echo headlined the launch of the new CD last August: “Cork balladeer Paddy Homan is the toast of Chicago.”
Homan sees his new position as the opportunity to integrate his sense of mission in social service, legacy of Irish music and philanthropy, the seeds of which were sown in his youth in Cork City. In a front page feature article in the Chicago Tribune Thanksgiving Day in 2007, Judith Graham wrote:”Homan isn’t your ordinary social worker (his job by day) or your typical musician (his passion after hours). To Homan, the two activities are joined spiritually by what he calls the ‘power of being present’. If you connect with your listeners, the music will soar, he said. And if you’re genuinely interested in them …people will sense it and be open to your aid.”
While working full-time, Homan is also in his second year of graduate studies for a Master’s Degree in Applied Professional Studies at De Paul University where his current research is focused on integrating music and social work into philanthropy and fund raising for non-profits. “Well, I’m slowly trying to wear just the one hat”, he smiles with his Cork laugh. “When you step back from everything, life is about making choices. In my case, I always call it the benchmark for getting up in the morning. You can either get up to do your best and make a real difference in peoples’ lives or you can traverse through the day in normal fashion.” He somehow finds time also to lay down tracks with his music partner, Jimmy Keane for another CD of traditional Irish music. More on this later!
Sitting back in his chair Homan laments, “I was intrigued by how my childhood skills of visiting people came back so easily when doing professional home visits here. I sing to my clients a lot which I love. Such fusion between my social work and my music has greatly helped my development and personal and professional formation. The level of satisfaction that I got out of being able to do both in a seamless and spontaneous fashion has caused me to discern about the next stage of my journey.” That journey has led Paddy Homan to Lutheran Life Communities, whose key value is on innovation and learning, and all in the spirit of public service.
You can catch Homan at many of the big Irish festivals this year, including Chicago Gaelic Park’s 25th anniversary Irish Fest on Memorial Weekend, Cleveland Irish Festival and Milwaukee Irish Fest. Or go to his homepage at www.paddyhoman.com

Margeson on the music December 09 News Update

A quick note---next month is The Livies. They are our annual Awards for the best of the best for 2009. Don't miss them! No Awards are seen and heard worldwide so quickly, and by so many people!!!! Now as to the reviews:.........

But, Paddy Homan is the deal. Complete. I hesitate to say the next bit. He is a tenor. Stop. Don’t roll your eyes. Everyone--and I do mean everyone—says the same thing. “I don’t like Irish tenors-----but Paddy is not an Irish tenor.” Well---yes he is. But that is like saying Secretariat was simply a horse. This Cork native is no patent leather shoe, tuxedo-wearing poseur. We are all, all sick of the guys screaming out nasal tenor voices improperly placed in the glottal area and too high in the throat. You know exactly the type I’m talking about. You’ve heard them. And, they seem to be rapidly breeding and reproducing. Get a dart gun.

Then comes Homan. The album is self-titled. Recorded at the growingly important studio of Dennis Cahill. As stated, Paddy is originally from Cork. Wait. Let’s look at it this way. Check out this list of accompanying musicians---Jimmy Keane on accordion, Dennis Cahill on guitar, Maurice Lennon on fiddle, John Williams on button box, Jimmy Moore on four different instruments, Kathleen Keane on fiddle and whistle and Pat Broaders on bouzouki. Incredible musicians, but here is the point. These musicians get asked constantly to work on albums. They can pick and choose at this level. And, they are all on this album, supporting this singer.
The voice. Oh, the voice. Clear as a bell, and a gift from heaven. Now, we hear Paddy has had formal voice training, but he fortunately has taken the best of the formal stuff and left the other squealy nonsense behind. Oh, the voice. The recent album launches also offered Jimmy Keane, Dennis Cahill and Maurice Lennon accompanying. I have never been at better sessions. I kept thinking I’d eagerly pay $50 or more for this ticket, and all it took to be was the purchase of a pint of Smithwick’s!!

Nobody sings like this, and nobody sounds like this. The voice never, ever grates. The range is stunning. The interpretation is perfect. This is the whole, total complete deal wrapped up in one voice, one talent. I suspect Paddy Homan is going to get very famous, and I hope very rich. You read about him here first, and radio show partner Mary Ann Keifer and I were thrilled to offer the world premiere of his album on our Monday night program a few weeks ago. I know you can get the album online. goggle his name and get to his site. Now, stop sitting there. Get this. I warned you at the start of this column—but here it comes---this is history in the making. The day you bought Paddy Homan’s first album. In a world of lunacy and junk, there is this voice. And, it sings to every one of us, reminding us all of what could and should be. Get up. Get it. Good Lord, this is a new level. I warned you. Rating: Four Harps—oh, hell---throw away the Harps rating, there aren’t enough Harps! Paddy, you are THE boyo!!

Irish Tenor Paddy Homan Launches New CD December 5 and 13: Joined by Best of Chicago Musicians

Since his arrival three years ago, Paddy Homan has performed with passion and formed partnerships with many of the talented Irish musicians that make Chicago such a vibrant city. From Cork, Ireland, Paddy’s passionate delivery of Irish songs and deep knowledge of the history of these songs has attracted appreciative notice from Irish music critics, fellow musicians and his audiences. A master entertainer, Paddy brings a vast repertoire of songs from Ireland, stories and quick witted Cork humor to his new home, Chicago, a city
which has been attracting great numbers of Irish immigrants since the turn of the last century. Chief Francis O’Neill, also from County Cork, traveled the streetcars of Chicago in the early 1900s, listening to people humming and whistling little tunes and eventually produced the largest snapshot ever taken of Irish traditional music.
     On December 5th, Paddy will add to that snapshot with the launch of his new CD aptly titled, Paddy Homan, at the Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N. Knox Ave, at 9 p.m., and at the Galway Arms, 2442 North Clark on December 13th at 8 p.m.
     For Paddy, the launch of a new CD is a celebration of his integration into Chicago’s musical landscape and the larger Irish American community. Dennis Cahill, the frequently sought after producer for serious musical artists in Chicago land, recorded and produced the new CD. Cahill’s guitar, bass, and mandolin are the perfect complement to Paddy’s lyric voice. Soon after his arrival, Paddy linked up with well known multi-instrumentalist, Johnny Williams, cofounder of Solas, with whom he has performed at many venues including regular sessions at the Galway Arms, the Irish American Heritage Center, the North Shore Senior Center in Northfield and DePaul University.
     Two other internationally known musicians, Jimmy Keane and Pat Broaders of Bohola fame -- the Just Plain Folks 2009 Celtic Album Winner -- bring their seasoned skills on the accordion and bouzouki to join Paddy’s delivery of several ancient traditional Irish songs. Jimmy Moore contributes his multi-talents on guitar, bass, low whistle, and mandocello. Kathleen Keane, well known for her virtuosity on the tin whistle brings her lively fiddle to join in this production. Maurice Lennon from Co. Leitrim plays his 300-year-old viola to accompany Paddy in a unique rendition of The Boys of Fair Hill. In addition to their own-featured performances, all of these musicians frequently join up with each other in accord with that ancient tradition among Irish musicians who enjoy and support good music wherever it is played.
     The entire CD is a collaborative production with some of the finest Irish musicians living today. Paddy’s 13 tracks draw from the ancient to contemporary traditions. The Lowlands of Holland, a 17th century folksong is given a stirring rendition with J. Keane, accordion, Broaders, bouzouki, and Cahill, mandolin. Thomas Moore’s Avenging and Bright, “a beautiful and truly Irish air” is performed by that most beautiful of all instruments, the human voice alone as is Robert Burns’ Parcel of Rogues, made popular by the great Luke Kelly. The contemporary Bright Blue Rose by legendary Jimmy McCarthy is sung with accompaniment by versatile Jimmy Moore on guitar, bass, low whistle, and mondocello. The trio of Dennis Cahill, guitar, Katherine Keane, fiddle and John Williams, accordion support Paddy over the Mountains of Pomery, “an outlawed man in a land forlorn”. One of Cork’s more entertaining story songs: Johnny Jump Up is included along with the tongue twisting Scottish folksong, Mary Mac. James Joyce devotees will experience sheer joy at this original version of the Lass of Aughrim with Dennis Cahill’s exquisite guitar arrangement.
The three songs, Lark in the Morning, Slán le Máigh and Boys of Fairhill give a distinctive Cork imprint to this new collection. Maurice Lennon with his 300-year-old viola introduced to Paddy a new interpretation of this last song which he knew so well from his own neighborhood in Cork. Paddy’s strong delivery of Foggy Dew surely “encourages Irishmen to fight for the cause of Ireland” supported by the rhythms of Cahill’s guitar, bass and mandolin and K. Keane’s fiddle. His tender version of The Bard of Armagh indeed raises “up the strains of his dear native land” with the delicate strumming of Cahill on guitar and bass.
     The launch coincides with the anniversary of another critical moment in the portrait of this traditional Irish singer as a young man. It was exactly one year ago that Paddy was stricken with a burst appendix resulting in an emergency appendectomy at Northwestern Hospital. Paddy’s several months’ recovery experience confirmed the old adage: it takes a village to make a person. He experienced the generosity and assistance of many friends and from anonymous strangers. Paddy’s imprint on the Chicago Irish community was clearly visible by the rapid response of so many caring people. Paddy has been a regular volunteer at the Irish American Heritage Center and also a frequent performer there, supporting its mission of promoting the best of Irish music, art and culture. Many of those volunteers step forward to assist him.
     Paddy was chosen to be featured performer for Mayor Richard Daley’s
St. Patrick’s Day Reception 2009 and has performed at numerous Irish fests including Gaelic Park’s Irish Fest Chicago 2009, the 2008 Midwest Fleadh Cheoil, Detroit, and Celtic Fest Chicago 2007. He has been a guest on Rick Kogan’s on The Sunday Papers, WGN Radio 720, on National Public Radio’s “Celtic Connections” and on Maine Public Radio’s “A Cultural
Conversation”, March 14, 2008 on the eve of his mini-tour in New England. Paddy is a frequent visitor to the Maureen O’Looney radio show on WSBC 1240 AM and on other Chicago Irish radio stations. He also hosts his own TV program quarterly at Chicago Access network TV.
     In addition to becoming a regular part of Chicago’s Irish music scene, Paddy has given over 100 concerts in New England, Milwaukee, Detroit, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. A popular performer at Universities and Colleges and in Lifelong Learning programs, Paddy has given programs at DePaul University, Northwestern University, Harvard University, University of Southern Maine, Tufts University, Dartmouth College, Suffolk University (Boston),
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University College Cork.
A graduate of University College Cork (BSW ‘04), Paddy is proud of his native city and heritage and seeks every opportunity to promote it. He has worked with the Chicago Alumni Chapter of UCC to plan its annual gathering for Friday, November 20 at 7:30 p.m. The event is sponsored by Siobhán and Brendan McKinney at Chief O’Neill’s Pub and Restaurant, 3471 North Elston Avenue. Mel Mercier, Head of UCC’s School of Music will make a presentation on his project to digitize and disseminate the music captured from Chicago Irish immigrants by Chief O’Neill on wax cylinder recordings 100 years ago.
     There was another significant milestone in the life of Paddy Homan of Cork exactly two years ago when readers of The Chicago Tribune on the day after Thanksgiving found a front page story with the headline: ‘His Irish songs lift others’ hearts: As he visits disabled, social worker Paddy Homan connects by bringing memories, songs of native Ireland (Nov. 21, 2007). The feature story by Judith Graham follows Paddy as Director of Clinical Services, Wellspring Personal Care, as he ”…visits old and disabled clients across Chicago and, to their surprise and often delight, serenades them with song. An accomplished Irish tenor
who makes listeners quiet down and reach for tissues to dab their eyes, Homan isn’t your ordinary social worker (his job by day) or your typical musician (his passion after hours)…. To Homan, the two activities are joined spiritually by what he calls the ‘power of being present. ‘If you connect with your listeners, the music will soar, he said. And if you’re genuinely interested in them, older people will sense it and be open to your aid.”
     When Paddy’s first CD, Far From the Land was launched during the celebration of Cork City as 2005 European Capital of Culture, the Cork Southern Star wrote: “If you enjoy a good Irish song performed with passion and feeling, get yourself a copy of his debut CD ‘Far From the Land. Bob Lyons, co-producer of Paddy’s first CD, says: “As the poet speaks: ‘Ireland is a land of great beauty with sweet sounds that give delight and hurt not.’ Paddy Homan’ s new CD, the fresh voice of the best of Ireland’s song combined with the sounds of these seasoned Chicago musicians will continue to give delight to all who enjoy a good Irish song performed with passion.”

Paddy Homan in New England St. Pat's Tour: A Report


Paddy Homan, well-known Chicago performer, was featured in a Cultural Conversation radio interview on Maine Public Radio's Morning Classic Music program with Suzanne Nance on March 14th. It was the day of his launch of his St. Patrick's Tour, Portland to Boston. In the 11minute interview, Paddy told of his passion for Irish songs, the history of some of the songs and the meaning of St. Patrick. Several selections for his CD 'Far From the Land' were played and at Ms. Nance's request, Paddy recited the English translation of several well known Irish songs. The full interview can be heard on Paddy's website: www.paddyhoman.com.

John Curran, long time host of the Sound of Erin radio program in Boston (the 2nd longest running program only to the great Gay Byrne of RTE T.V. and Radio in Ireland) did a live interview with Paddy the previous week before his St. Pat's tour began. Curran, a Kerry man, engaged in good craic with Paddy, a Cork man and promoted Paddy's several performances in Portland, Maine, Newburyport, Massachusetts and Tufts University, Boston. John is a friend and radio colleague of Maureen O'Looney in Chicago. Shortly afterwards, Paddy received several inquires from Sound of Erin radio listeners of how to get to some of his concerts. Sound of Erin has featured selections from Paddy's CD since the launch in 2005.

Paddy was also interviewed live by Marry Carrier on her Top of the Morning Sunday radio program in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Mary's family is from Galway and she has been the Mayor of Newburyport. She is a long time promoter of all things Irish and played selections from Paddy's CD for several weeks prior to his St. Pat's tour.

The highlight of Paddy's New England St. Pat's tour was a concert sponsored by Tufts University Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Brookhaven in Lexington, Massachusetts (a retirement community for academics).One hundred and fifty people were entertained after a dinner by Paddy with Don Wessels on guitar and harmonica. His songs, recitations and stories left them all in wonder and asking for more. Paddy invited another University College Cork alumnus, Martin Kelleher of Sudbury, Massachusetts, to join him on the stage for a round of Banks of My Own Lovely Lee. Many in the audience came up to share their stories of Ireland and how their parents came over many decades ago. For some in the audience at Brookhaven, this was an encore performance with Paddy as they had heard him at Harvard University last October when he joined with the dean of Irish fiddlers in New England, Larry Reynolds and son Michael to provide live accompaniment for the viewing of the historic film, Irish Destiny, a silent movie made in Ireland in 1926 on the war of Independence. Paddy and the two Reynolds gave a pre-film concert and played during the showing of the film. Paddy's spirited performance of the songs on Ireland's pathway to freedom were highly appreciated by this gathering of scholars participating in the annual Celtic Colloquium at Harvard and by many of his Boston area friends.

Two weeks before he set out on his New England St. Pat's tour, Paddy was guest on WGN radio with Rick Kogan on The Sunday Papers show to talk about his social work with the elderly and his singing and the St. Pat's tour. Rick referenced the November front page feature in the Chicago Tribune which featured Paddy's use of singing in his social work with the elderly: "His Irish songs lift other's hearts". This story by Judith Graham included an on-line video of Paddy visiting a client and using his singing in his work. It elicited an enormous response and inquiry and was passed around the world in the Irish press especially via the Web. It was also picked up by many organizations working with seniors in the United States and posted on their website. Rick extended in invitation for Paddy to return and continue their spirited conversation.

Shortly before Paddy began his St. Pat's tour, he received word from Blarney Mills in Cork that his CD 'Far From the Land' has completely sold out. Blarney Mills was the exclusive agent for Paddy's debut CD which printed 1000 copies. Paddy now has joined up with four lads in Chicago, regularly performing at the Galway Arms Pub and he is planning on making a new CD with them for release in the autumn. Stay tuned! They need to find a good name for the band. Suggestions are welcome at info@paddyhoman.com.

Paddy has just returned from the 2008 Midwest Fleadh Cheoil, Traditional Irish Music Festival, Detroit, last weekend (May 9-12) where he was invited to perform and also served as a judge in the competition part of the program. He met many old friends on the music circuit and made many new friends with invitations to participate in future festivals and events around the county. In June, Paddy joins internationally known instrumentalist, John Williams to give two performances at the North Shore Senior Center in Northfield, Illinois. The programs are on June 13, perform music for viewing of historic silent film Irish Destiny (1926), and on June 16th, a concert of the Music James Joyce Loved for a Bloomsday program. See Paddy's website for details. The programs are part of a year long series: The Immigrant Experience: Becoming an American which is sponsored by OASIS.

His Irish songs lift others' hearts; As he visits disabled, social worker Paddy Homan connects by bringing memories, songs of native Ireland

By Judith Graham, Tribune staff reporter
[Chicago Edition]

The old man was tired and found it hard to talk. No matter. Paddy Homan leaned in close and looked into his client's well-lined face.
"A bit of music now, what do you say, Lorry," Homan suggested gently, taking a flat Irish drum and a brush-like drumstick out of his sack.

Lorin Uffenbeck's eyes brightened as a lively bar song filled his apartment. "I went in and I called for a bottle of stout. Says the barman, I'm sorry, all the beer is sold out. Try whiskey or paddy, 10 years in the wood..."

Uffenbeck's fingers found the beat on the armrest of his chair. His attention, which had been wandering, fixed on Homan as the Irishman warbled away. It's the kind of experience Homan looks forward to as he visits old and disabled clients across Chicago and, to their surprise and often delight, serenades them with song.

An accomplished Irish tenor who makes listeners quiet down and reach for tissues to dab their eyes, Homan isn't your ordinary social worker (his job by day) or your typical musician (his passion after hours). "We all love him," said Lucy Allen, a 91-year-old South Side fan who attends every concert of his she can. To Homan, the two activities are joined spiritually by what he calls the "power of being present." If you connect with your listeners, the music will soar, he said. And if you're genuinely interested in them, older people will sense it and be open to your aid.

Homan, 32, hails from north Cork, "Ireland's second city," he says, where he grew up with six siblings and a largely absent father. How his mother, a homemaker, put three meals on the table every day he doesn't know. But he remembers watching a gray-bearded beggar come to the door and his mother finding a can of beans to give away. "Paddy, always be there for people," she told the boy.
As a boy soprano, Homan was the child whose voice rang out in church choir on Sundays and who sang "Away in a Manger" in church at Christmas. In high school, he starred in shows such as "Make Music Not War," a tale of an Irishman who goes to America to make his fortune singing. Even then, Homan says, he knew that was his dream.

But it wasn't all Homan wanted. The boy also felt drawn to people such as Jenny Boyle, an old lady on his newspaper delivery route who'd invite him in to chat over a cup of tea. When Boyle moved to a nursing home, the teenager would visit and sing to the residents.
It seemed only natural to go to the seminary and serve others through the Catholic Church. But Homan realized he liked girls too well, left after two years and eventually found his way to a university program in social work and a nighttime job as a health aide in a local hospital.

Chicago beckoned when a friend invited him over in summer 2001. While driving a truck, helping people move furniture, Homan fell in love with the city's lakefront, its skyline and its vibrant Irish music scene -- the best in the country, he contends.
One day a job advertisement for a caregiver, placed by Wellspring Personal Care in the Chicago Reader, caught his eye.
"I saw right away that he had what we look for in social work -- the essence of everything we do -- the ability to connect," said Sheila McMackin, president of the home care agency where Homan now works as director of client services. Particularly for people with dementia or mental illness, "there's very little sharing that goes on," said Dr. Steven Fox, Wellspring's medical director. "All that people will hear from professionals is 'I have a plan for you.' Not, 'I'd like to spend time with you and learn more about you,' the message Paddy gives."

Almost two-thirds of the 55 caregivers who work for Wellspring are immigrants from Africa, Eastern Europe, east Asia and South America. It's hard work, looking after old people whose bodies are breaking down, and not work many young Americans want.
Homan's job is to make sure these personal care workers have what they need to get their jobs done -- a leak-proof mattress pad, handrails for a bathtub, transportation to take a client to a senior citizens' center, special food for a picky eater -- and that his frail clients are being well-tended. "I tell you, it's an honor to be with these folks in their time of need," said Homan, who moved to Chicago permanently a year ago, after two extended visits to the city. Characteristically, several weeks ago, he gave out his cell phone number on a local Irish radio program and invited older listeners to call him if they ever wanted a ride. "He doesn't know what the word 'no' means," said Maureen O'Looney, 85, host of the radio program and a well-known leader of Chicago's Irish community.
On a recent afternoon, Lorin Uffenbeck was sunk in a large leather chair as the Irishman came in for a weekly visit. The tall, lean old man looked all angles, like a stork that had alighted and settled in the living room.

A former French professor and war correspondent, Uffenbeck has had Alzheimer's disease for a dozen years. On this day, an awakening before sunrise left him weary and fumbling for words. But the old man's eyes were intelligent and watchful.
Homan pulled up a chair, as if he were a friend come to chat. "So, Lorry, how was your week?" he asked, noting the lack of a response. "You're listening to French music again," he tried again, getting a nod. At that point, Homan reached for his Irish drum.
"Do you remember, last week you tapped out a beat for me," he said, handing Uffenbeck the drumstick-like brush.
"You can do it," encouraged Margaret Anderson, a live-in caregiver whom Homan supervises, standing at the back of the room.
Uffenbeck paused, a question in his eyes, then started tapping. As the song ended, he put down the brush and clapped his hands, then put them behind his ears as if to say, "I'm listening." It was a nonverbal way of saying "more." Homan picked up the cue and started singing again. "The music goes in so deeply for my uncle, it's like a light switch goes on," said Liz McChesney, Uffenbeck's niece, who lives three blocks away and is his closest family member. Before her uncle became ill, "I guess I assumed Alzheimer's was a complete cognitive blackout," McChesney continued. "But it's not. It's still my uncle in there. He still knows things. He still feels things."

The next day, Homan was patient as Pola Zuska, a 91-year-old client in Wilmette, seemed fixated on the idea of moving from her large home to a smaller apartment. The more Zuska focused on the subject, the more upset she became.
Expertly, Homan paid attention but quickly found a way to turn the conversation to something else, like a parent distracting a child. Together, they looked at letters documenting her accomplishments as one of the first female dentists. The old lady spoke of her mother and her parents' home in Sicily. But soon, her irritation returned.
Homan steered the conversation to dance. Getting up, he did a little jig on his way across the room. Zuska was not amused. But the Irishman remained confident he could find a way around her crusty defenses.
"Moon River, wider than a mile, I'm crossing you in style some day. Oh, dreammaker, you heartbreaker, wherever you're going I'm going your way..." Zuska looked away from Homan, eyes trained on the floor. Whatever she might be feeling, she would not show. She examined her knuckles, seemingly intent. Then, her shoulders relaxed. Holding her cane, she was centered, listening.
The Irishman let the quiet sit after the song for a bit. But it's his job to reach across the silence and engage his client. With a hearty tone, he began to talk of a slice of Irish history -- it might interest her, Homan calculated -- and then began to sing, again.
- - -
IN THE WEB EDITION
Watch a video of Paddy Homan, the singing caregiver, serenading his clients and explaining his mission
at chicagotribune.com/paddyhoman
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jegraham@tribune.com
Credit: By Judith Graham, Tribune staff reporter