Skull bones found at the Duffy's Cut dig in Malvern.
It’s a story worthy of the big screen. In 1832, a group of 57 Irish immigrants, arriving in Philadelphia for a new life, find work on the railroad in Malvern, PA. Six weeks later, they’re all dead. Only ghost stories keep their memory alive until, 170 years after their deaths, twin brothers—a college professor and a minister—uncover their secret graves and start to unravel the mystery—a murder mystery—of the Ghosts of Duffy’s Cut.
You can hear this story on Saturday at the Irish Center when one of those brothers, Dr. Frank Watson, a Lutheran minister, talks about the years-long archeological dig that he and his brother, William, a professor at Immaculata College, undertook to find out what really happened to the men and women of Duffy’s Cut. It’s a story of prejudice, fear, hysteria, and ultimately murder. Evidence from the bones salvaged from the site suggests that at least some of the immigrants were murdered, likely to keep them from spreading cholera to the wider community.
The Watson brothers co-authored the book, “The Ghosts of Duffy’s Cut,” and were featured in a Smithsonian Channel TV documentary of the same name. They are co-founders and co-directors of the Duffy’s Cut Project. One of the brothers’ aims has been to either return the remains they found to family members in Ireland or to bury them in proper graves. On Friday, March 9, the remains will be buried after a ceremony at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd.
The event at the Irish Center is free.
This is the last week to see “Little Gem,” the critically acclaimed play by Dubliner Elaine Murphy, at the First Baptist Church in Philadelphia, the new home of the Inis Nua Theater Company.
On Saturday, catch noted Boston Irish musician (and publican) Patsy Whelan with Maxie Courtney at McGillin’s Olde Ale House (which is haunted, by the way). You can also catch Jamison Celtic Rock at Keenan’s Irish Pub in Wildwood if you’re lucky enough to be at the shore. And Timlin & Kane will be at The Shanachie. That’s always a good time.
Head back to the Shanachie on Sunday for a fundraiser for the WTMR 800-AM Irish radio shows featuring many great local musicians, including John Byrne.
Speaking of fundraisers, it’s fundraiser number two for the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade at Insulator’s Hall on Horning Road in Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon. Jamison, the Bogside Rogues, Raymond Coleman and the Celtic Flame Irish Dancers will be there rabble-rousing. The $35 ticket price covered wine, beer and buffet.
In Coatesville, it’s a triple threat for trad lovers: Guitarist Ged Foley, along with fiddler Orla Harrington and accordion player Andrew MacNamara will be on stage at the Coatesville Cultural Society on Sunday night.
Burlington County is holding its annual St. Patrick’s Day Grand Marshal Dinner at the High Street Grill in Mount Holly. Marie Hempsey is the grand marshal this year. This is also the time when Miss St. Patrick is crowned.
If you have any spare time, you can try to catch the IN-Philly 7-a-Side Soccer team at Star Finders in Manayunk around 5 PM on Sunday. They’re still smarting from their first major loss so they’re probably going to come back fighting.
And the weekend isn’t over yet. Jesse Smith and Ryan McGiver, two topnotch trad performers, will be doing a house concert in Lansdale on Sunday. They were just in Coatesville a few weeks ago. Here’s an opportunity for you “Northerners” to hear them in person.
On Tuesday, poet Nell Regan, who was shortlisted for the 2006 Patrick Kavanagh Awards, will be reading from her works at Villanova University.
Gaelic Athletic Association hurlers take note: Your practices are now on our calendar. No excuses! There’s even a map to the Torresdale Boys Club.
On Thursday, the Irish American Business Chamber and Network will be presenting awards to film writer and producer (“The Mighty Macs”) Timothy Chambers, Independence Blue Cross President and CEO Daniely Hilferty, and Shire Pharmaceuticals of Wayne, PA, which produces drugs for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among others. Irish Ambassador Michael Collins will be on hand to present awards.
On Friday, genealogist Deborah Large Fox will be talking about the basics of Irish history research at the National Archives at 9th and Chestnut in Philadelphia.
On Friday night, the Bucks County Irish Ball takes place at King’s Caterers in Bristol.
RUNA, a band that plays contemporary and traditional Irish music, is performing on Friday at the Irish Center.
And photographer Brian Mengini, whose work you see frequently here at www.irishphiladelphia.com, will be holding a reception at his studio in Phoenixville next Friday night to kick off the month-long exhibit of his fine art photography series, empoweredME. The series was inspired by Mengini’s trip to Utah to take photos as part of a fundraiser for a young dancer with terminal cancer. He has since taken many more photos of dancers as part of the series, including Misty Copeland, soloist with the American Ballet Theatre Company in New York City.
Check the calendar for all the details.
