Perhaps the best way to be Irish this week is to attend the October Feis sponsored by the Dennis Kelly AOH Division 1 in Havertown, which benefits the “Heroes Homecoming Fund,” a charity that offers help to financially needy injured soliders from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. See our story about this wonderful benefit.
Also on tap this weekend, friends of Emmett Ruane will be holding a “wake” for Emmett’s Place, a small pub in Oxford Circle that has been a mainstay of Irish entertainment for 37 years. Emmett is retiring, and many of those friends are musicians who’ve played at his place over the years, who will be performing starting at 7 PM Saturday and going into the wee hours. If you enjoy Irish dancing, you can pretty much count on burning lots of calories doing sets.
On Sunday, at the Irish Center in Mt. Airy, there’s a benefit, with live music by Paddy’s Well, to raise money for a Havertown plumber named Tony McDermott who has been battling cancer since last year and unable to work. Your $25 will help support the family of this Creeslough, Donegal native: his wife Bernadette, and two daughters, ages 5 and 7. If you’re unable to attend, you can send donations to the McDermott Family Benefit, Box 823, Havertown PA, 19083.
One of Ireland’s finest traditional musicians, John Carty, will be performing on Sunday night at the Coatesville Cultural Society—a very comfy and intimate venue—with guitarist Donal Clancy, who is now actively touring with the group Danu. Singly, they are remarkable performers; together, wow.
On Monday, Irish novelist Tom Phelan will give a talk at Villanova University’s St. Augustine Center on Ireland’s “forgotten heroes,” its World War I soldiers who fought in the British army. Phelan, whose novel, The Canal Bridge, tells the story of these soldiers who were not welcomed home as heroes, will discuss the conditions these soldiers—and there a quarter of a million of them—faced in the trenches and the reception they got at home.
On Wednesday, the group, Crowfoot, will be appearing at the Blue Ball Barn at Alapocas Run State Park in Wilmington, DE. This group melds musical influences from England, Ireland, Quebec, and the Appalachian mountains into a distinctive style.
There are also several performances of the Brendan Behan play, “The Hostage,” at the Roselle Center for the Arts in Newark, DE, this coming week.
Of course, we all know that Samhain is coming (that would be Irish for Halloween, or, strictly translated, summer’s end), so be sure to have some goodies on hand to keep the wandering souls of the faithful departed at bay. Halloween is an Irish invention; the ancients used to leave gifts of food for the dead during this magical time when the laws of space and time were suspended. They carved out turnips to look like protective spirits and lit candles to help guide the spirits home. This was also the time when the “wee folk” pulled pranks on unsuspecting humans, though in those days, no toilet paper or soap were involved.
As always, check our calendar of events, and don’t be surprised to see it trick-or-treating at your door next week. It’s thinking of going out as CNN.
