Lawrence Gabriel, the hero of McAvan’s shooting incident, has plenty of friends here in Liverpool. They were singin’ his praises down at The Cobblestone the day after he helped remove a man firing a handgun at McAvan’s Pub, 1217 W. Fayette St., in Syracuse, in the early morning hours of Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 1. Gabriel sprang into action after he saw his best friend, Douglas Spossey, 24, get shot in the chest. The shooter, Michael Morris, was the erstwhile boyfriend of Spossey’s sister, Rebecca Spossey, whom he had kidnapped and transported to the tavern. After he shot Doug Spossey, Morris opened fire on others at the bar, police said. Gabriel, who is 6-foot-4, grabbed Morris in a bear hug, and – with the help of his cousin, Josh Kennedy – pulled the gunman through the front door, but Morris kept on firing. One shot hit a man who was outside the bar smoking a cigarette. Then Morris took aim at Gabriel. The 28-year-old bouncer took bullets in his left kidney, his abdomen, his right thigh and his right arm. As he lay in the snow in excruciating pain heightened by the frigid winter weather, Gabriel dialed 911 on his cellphone, which dropped the call. Meanwhile, Morris moseyed back into the bar and continued shooting. Gabriel is a U.S. Army veteran who served four years including a tour in Iraq, and he’s still an Army reservist. The father of two boys, Gabriel is engaged to local gal Megan Holmes. All six of the people wounded at McAvan’s – including Gabriel – had been released from the hospital by Feb. 19. Gabriel plans to return to his full-time day job at a transfer station where he sorts recyclables. He’ll also start training again to be a boxer. He signed his first professional contract with JKJ Championship Promotions Jan. 23 and was scheduled to make his boxing debut Feb 28. Instead of lacing up his gloves, Gabriel attended the “Legends in the Making” boxing card sitting in a wheelchair at the Holiday Inn Convention Center on Electronics Parkway. Morris, now incarcerated at the Onondaga County Justice Center, faces five counts of second-degree attempted murder and other charges. To help Gabriel pay his medical bills, visit gofundme.com/lbj1ts.
Celtic Woman returns
Máiréad Nesbitt plays ancient music, old Irish classics such as “Mo Ghile Mhear” (“My Gallant Darling”), an 18th century lament by the Gaelic goddess Éire for Bonnie Prince Charlie, who was then in exile. But Máiréad Nesbitt is a thoroughly modern woman.
The 35-year-old fiddler is one of the five female stars of the group Celtic Woman, a 10-year-old production of lushly orchestrated Irish standards and a few more modern tunes. Inspired by the success of “Riverdance” – an Irish step dancing production for which Máiréad also played fiddle – the Celtic Woman shows are elaborately lit with spotlights and lasers, with state-of-the-art sound, and plenty of eye-catching costume changes for Máiréad and the four equally vivacious vocalists, Máiréad Carlin, Lynn Hilary, Méav Ní Mhaolchatha and Susan McFadden. So, no, Celtic Woman is not your grandfather’s ceilidh. It’s more like “Star Wars” meets O’Carolan. “Sure, the production is glitzy, as you say,” Mairead told me over the phone last week from Zurich as she completed a European leg of the current tour. “But we also get to play authentic Irish music.” And it’s a style of music which audiences love, as its musicians play traditional Celtic instruments such as bodhran, tin whistle, Irish bouzouki and Uilleann pipes. Mairead’s parents, John and Kathleen Nesbitt, are among County Tipperary’s most famous fiddlers, and their two sons and other daughter are musicians as well. “My mom and dad attended our last show in London,” Máiréad said. “And they could hear that the music we play is credible.” Máiréad started on piano at age 4 and took up the fiddle two years later. She could’ve become a classical violinist, but she prefers music that’s dear to her heart and homeland. “You can do anything, but to have the feel, it has to be a natural thing,” she said. “It has to be in you; you can’t learn it.” Celtic Woman will commence its 80-city North American tour at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 6, at Crouse Hinds Theater at the Mulroy Civic Center, 411 Montgomery St., Syracuse. The concert will be the sixth time Celtic Woman has performed in the Salt City. Ticket prices range from $39 to $99, excluding fees; 435-2121.
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