A Birr man who has mastered the art of fire performing
‘Fire Performers practice routines with non-lit props for months to build muscle memory before introducing an actual flame’
EDDIE BULFIN is a Birr man who has mastered the potentially dangerous art of fire performing. The Tribune chatted to him just before his acclaimed performance in Birr during the Vintage Week fireworks night.
An amiable and modest person, Eddie wowed the audience shortly after our interview. When darkness fell, he soaked his props in fuel, lit them, and started performing.
Using his props, accompanied by his two fire performing companions, he created glowing visual patterns, dance routines, and acrobatic displays for the audience. The 20 minute show was the result of months of training. Fire Performers practice routines with non-lit props for months to build muscle memory before introducing an actual flame. Eddie and his fellow fire artists fully respect the potential dangers of the medium they are dealing with. Being an artist with fire means understanding fuel types (like kerosene or paraffin), burn times, and momentum so that spinning objects remain controlled. They are strict and disciplined about their safety, treating safety checks, gear maintenance, and focussed execution as part of the craft. “We wear leather and we also wet our hair,” explained Eddie. “Knowing how your props and how much heat they can produce and how much of that heat is tolerable is an important skill, as is making sure you don’t push the boundaries too much to try in your efforts to please the audience.”
As we watched the Vintage Week show on the Birr Rugby field the enthralled audience gasped and applauded as they observed the contrast of bright, sweeping trails of fire against the dark night, a sight which created a mesmerizing and magical effect for viewers and the artists alike.
Eddie told me that he grew up in Derrinlough, Birr. “My parents are John and Arja Bulfin. I come from a very artistic family; a family of sculptors and artists and painters. However, fire performing is a new departure for the family!”
Now 28 years of age he works as a fire performer and magician under the “stage name” of “Celtic Flame”.
“I was a hobbyist for ten years in this world and I’ve been a professional for the last four years. I love doing it. There’s quite a bit of adrenaline to it. People say I’m a bit mad. I suppose you have to be a little bit mad, in a good sense, to do this.”
His education was in Banagher Coláiste na Sionna. “I had a very good art teacher, Ms Kelleher. One day she was short a few acts for the talent show and she asked me to join in. I said I don’t have any talent to display. And she replied, Learn a magic trick or something! Which I did. I learned a few magic tricks for the show and had a blast!”
After leaving school Eddie continued performing his magic tricks in pubs. “I was regularly performing in pubs locally and one day I decided I needed to mix it up a bit and try something new. I decided to try my hand at fire eating. This went quite well and then someone reached out to me from a fire performing community and invited me to come along and have a look at what they do. I went along and I saw these class props and mad people spinning all these things and I thought I had to do it. Soon after I started buying my own props.”
As well as working at festivals such as Vintage Week, Eddie also does a lot of entertaining at weddings and corporate events. “When the people arrive at a wedding or a corporate event, I create a bit of fun, a sense of humour, with my magic tricks. 80 to 90% of the magic I do is sleight of hand tricks. The idea is to make an adult feel a childlike joy. Children are naturally amazed, astonished by anything and everything, but adults not so much. My magic gives them a moment where their reality shatters. I use coins, notes, cards, bottles in my tricks and make them disappear.”
Joining Eddie in the rugby field for the Vintage Week performance were two other members of Celtic Flame, Polly from Eastern Europe and Mel from France. During the show the aerial performances of Celtic Flame thrilled the captivated crowds. One section featured one of the performers being lifted upwards high on a rig and performing aerial tricks with fire.