Last week, I had to be Irish in Florida and let me tell you, we have it good here. Not that I didn’t enjoy Creel, the house band at Raglan Road, the Epcot Center’s version of an Irish pub (it’s about the size of a junior high gymnasium, so “cozy” was totally off the table). And the strip mall Irish pub my son took us to served good food, but the entertainment couldn’t hold a candle to the motley crew of mostly amateurs that shows up every Tuesday night at The Shanachie in Ambler.
And to top it off, the waitress took my Jameson’s before I was finished, so now they’re dead to me.
Needless to say, I’m happy to be back to being Irish in Philly. And here’s how I’m going to do it this week:
The 9th Annual Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame Awards are being held on Sunday at the Irish Center. Read what Hall of Fame President Kathy McGee Burns has to say about this year’s winners.
Also on Sunday, one of my all-time favorite groups, Cherish the Ladies (with the inimitable Joanie Madden) will be at Penn’s Zellerbach Theatre, quite possibly raising the roof. (If you miss them this week, you’ll have to travel to the Appel Farm Arts and Music Center in Elmer, NJ, next week to catch them.)
On Monday, Penn is sponsoring a celebration of Irish poet Thomas Kinsella, with Kinsella himself reading from his works. Also on hand: Father John McNamee, retired pastor of St. Malachy’s Church in North Philadelphia, himself a published poet.
On Wednesday, consider joining the Irish Immigration Center at St. Lawrence Church in Upper Darby for a prayer vigil for immigration reform followed by a conference call with Rep. Bob Gutierrez.
On Thursday, another Irish act you shouldn’t miss: Karan Casey, who wowed audiences a year ago when she performed with Teada’s Christmas Show at the Irish Center (they’re bringing it back this year to the Kimmel). She’ll be at the Sellersville Theatre.
We’re heading into dance season (the Mid-Atlantic Oireachtas, a huge Irish dance competion comes to Philly at the end of November), but you can get a glimpse of some local talent next weekend when the McDade-Cara Dancers (two schools that have joined forces) put on an exhibition at Msgr. Bonner High School in Drexel Hill.
