It is, dare we say it, a little quiet on the Celtic scene as May washes and blows out of here, leaving us shivering and longing for one of those humid Philly springs we’ve come to know and love. Or not.
But leave it to Blackthorn to leave it on the upbeat. This popular Celtic rock group is holding its annual Memorial Day bash at Canstatters’ German Club in Northeast Philadelphia on Monday. You can enjoy Irish music and German food and beer (appropriate, since we learned from CBS-3’s Larry Mendte that among immigrants in Pennsylvania, the Irish were most likely to marry Germans, creating people, well, like himself, and my cousins, the Costellos). Also on the bill—the Hooligans and some great weather, according to CBS-3’s Kathy Orr (we believe everything she tells us).
Looking ahead, the Irish stuff picks up in June and doesn’t stop. Sadly, this year, if you want to follow Philly’s Donegal Gaelic Football Club (AKA Four Provinces), you can only watch the action at Gaelic Park in the Bronx, New York. This is a great team, last year’s championship winners, and they’re going up against Down GFC on June 1. We’ll miss those Sundays at Cardinal Dougherty High School. But this is the big time for our guys.
On Friday, June 6, look for Scythian, those crazy guys from Washington, DC, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. That’s also the day the AOH Div. #1 holds its annual Celtic Festival in Mont Clare, PA.
If you aren’t festivaled out, the Fourth Annual Celtic Festival is being held on June 7 at Historic Cold Spring Village in Cape May, NJ with the usual bagpipers, Celtic music, craft vendors, and an all-day Irish buffet.
Our Donegal footballers are going up against Derry that evening at Gaelic Park.
Closer to home, make plans to head down to Coatesville on June 7 for a remarkable pairing: concertina player Micheal O’Raghallaigh (pronounced ME-haul O’Riley) and uilleann piper Ivan Goff.
And, of course, the Frank McCourt musical, “The Irish and How They Got That Way,” will be at the Walnut Theater until the end of June.
You’ve got plenty of time to get rested up for the Rose of Tralee pageant on June 20 and the rocking Irish Festival on Penns Landing on June 21.
Check out these and other Celtic events on our calendar, soon to be a major motion picture.
