Sure and you’re all worn out from Irish Weekend in Wildwood or Celtic Classic in Bethlehem, but there’s still lots to do.
On Friday, October 2, for instance, you can come out to the Irish Center in Mt. Airy and hear Northern Irish singer Fil Campbelll perform the music of five female singers of the 1930s to the 1960s. We heard her up in Bethlehem this past weekend and shot a few videos to give you a taste of her show.
- Fil is accompanied by piper Robert Watts.
- A little song about marrying the wrong guy.
- Fil sings a song from Mary O’Hara.
Speaking of taste, the inaugural meeting of the Eastern PA Whiskey Society is scheduled for Friday night at Maggie O’Neill’s Irish Pub in Drexel Hill. We have been assured that this is a bone fide organization with an interest in the complexities of good whiskey, and not a cover for. . .well, anything.
On Saturday, there’s a fundraiser for the Shelby and Benjamin Chestnut Trust at the Legion Hall in Narberth. These two youngsters were born with severe disabilities—Shelby with a form of cerebral palsy and Benjamin with a rare neurological disease. Neither child can walk or talk, and their care is expensive.
There’s a second fundraiser on Saturday, this one to raise money for the Police Survivors Fund. It’s being held at Maggie’s Waterfront Café in Philadelphia and features Blackthorn.
And you thought the festivals were over: The Trenton Irish Music Festival is scheduled for Sunday at the Trenton AOH Grounds. On the bill: the Willie Lynch Band, the Bogside Rogues, Jamison, Barleyjuice and others. There will also be a tribute to longtime Trenton Irish publican, the late Billy Briggs.
Did your family come from Ulster? The Ulster-American Society is holding an informal meet-up at Kildare’s Pub in King of Prussia on Monday night from 5-9 PM. Ten percent of your food and drink receipts will be donated to the group.
On Wednesday, the legendary singer-piper-actor Finbar Furey returns to the Shanachie in Ambler with Brian Gaffney.
On Thursday, another great musical event at the Irish Center—and listen up all you history buffs. Jimmy Crowley and Mairtin de Cogain are bringing to life the songs of the Irish at war with their Captain Mackey’s Goatskin and String Band show, which was a major hit at this year’s Milwaukee Irish Fest. They’re both fabulous singers, and Mairtin is an actor. If you saw the chilling film, “The Wind that Shakes the Barley,” you saw Mairtin. It should be an amazing evening. So buy your ticket, grab your beer, and travel back in time. . .
And on the theater front: Samuel Beckett’s “Happy Days” is at the Lantern Theater, and the Inis Nua Theatre Company’s production of “Trad,”–which was nominated for a top award at the New York Theater Festival this year–is coming to the Irish Center on October 11 for a one-off performance, thanks to the Philadelphia Ceili Group.
