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February 2012

How to Be Irish in Philly

How To Be Irish in Philly This Week

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.

February 24, 2012 by
News

Irish Anti-Defamation Group Has New Target

A storefront in NYC. Photo by iStockphoto.

Shamrocks may say Ireland to you, but does a drunk vomiting shamrocks? It apparently does to Urban Outfitters, a US company that started in Philadelphia in 1970 selling funky fashion and other products to the 18-30 crowd. It’s selling wearable merchandise with the image to coincide with St. Patrick’s Day.

The Philadelphia-based Irish Anti-Defamation Federation has set its sights on the company, which has several stores in Ireland. This week, Federation Chairman Timothy Wilson, in an email to members, said that he had “written to the CEO, sent him an email and sent an email to their customer service department,” demanding a public apology along with removal of the merchandise bearing the image.

This isn’t the first time Urban Outfitters crossed an ethnic line. In 2011, the Navajo Nation demanded that the company stop using the term “Navajo” for a line of products that included a liquor flask.  The company removed the name. They also voluntarily withdrew products including a t-shirt that read “Everyone Loves a Jewish Girl” surrounded by dollar signs, a Monopoly-style game called Ghettopoly, and a “Jesus Dress Up” game, after protests from various groups over the years. In 2006, they agreed not to sell sparkly handgun-shaped Christmas ornaments after the murder in Philadelphia of Police Officer Charles “Chuck” Cassidy.

Headquartered in the Philadelphia Navy Yard, the company has 140 stores in the US and abroad, and also operates Anthropologie, Free People, and Terrain.

Federation officers, including Wilson, will be on the “Come West Along the Road” Irish radio show with Marianne MacDonald on Sunday, February 26, at noon at WTMR 800AM where they’ll be talking about Urban Outfitters and other retailers whose merchandise they’re targeting in the region. Last year, the new organization went head-to-head with Spencer Gifts, picketing its stores which sell gag and risqué gifts the federation deemed offensive. (A check of their website finds that most of those products are back. “Drink all day and fight all night” is one of the few Irish-themed slogans that can be printed here. )

February 24, 2012 by
News, People

Grand Re-Opening

It's a party!

When the opportunity arose to expand the digs of the Irish Immigration Center in Upper Darby, the organization’s board had one question.

“We wanted to know how much was this going to cost us,” said board President Liam Hegarty on Friday night, at a “grand re-opening” party at the new, larger offices that have spread into what was once an adjoining apartment. “So, in the great Irish tradition, we looked for volunteers.”

They got plenty. Volunteer workers knocked down and rebuilt walls, laid flooring, patched, painted, and built a custom frame around a large map of

Ireland marked with family names that now dominates the room. “We could have had more people,” says Hegarty, as the 50-some guests milled around the center, enjoying homemade beef stew, Irish bread, and drinks in the meeting area, which can now accommodate several round tables—not to mention a band and even dancers.

The Center was founded in 1998 to meet the needs of the region’s Irish immigrants. Today, it provides a broad range of services, from legal advice on immigration issues to, once a new social worker arrives from Ireland, outreach to the area’s many seniors. Some of those seniors meet every Wednesday for lunch. A genealogy group also uses the center for monthly get-togethers. The Philadelphia Gaelic Athletic Association is also a regular “customer.”

Musician John Byrne—himself an immigrant from Dublin—brought band member Rob Shaffer to entertain for the evening. We have photos—check them out.

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February 23, 2012 by
Dance, News, People

They’re Dancing Like Stars!

Lisa Sweeney and Danny Conway trip the light fantastic.

In January, 16 people volunteered for a dance competition that would raise money for the Delaware County Gaels, the region’s largest Gaelic sports club. More than  200 young athletes–footballers and hurlers–travel all over the country and to Ireland to compete, which, as you can imagine, gets expensive.

Some of the 16 had danced before. Others suspected they might have two left feet. Some weren’t sure they had even one left foot. At least one didn’t really volunteer.

That would be Bob Albino. He was “volunteered” by his boss, whose sons play for the Delco Gaels.

“He texted me one night. ‘Hey, Bob, I signed you up for “Dancing Like a Star,’” said Albino, after a grueling couple of hours on Sunday cha-cha-ing at the studio of the Cara Irish Dancers in Drexel Hill. “After I found out what it was, I said whoa, I’m going to be the only Italian. He said, ‘You’re probably going to be the only one that’s not Irish.’”

As it turns out, he’s not. His partner is Latina. She’s Diana Garcia, an Herbalife distributor and fitness buff whom one competitor described as “born doing the cha cha.”

Albino, who works for the US Department of Defense in Philadelphia, said he was surprised—and yet not surprised—that his boss volunteered him. “He knew he could get a lot of people out here to watch me and he was right. We have 25 people coming,” laughed Albino. “They just want to razz me.”

They’ll be joining about 700 more people who paid $40 a ticket for dinner and dancing—someone else’s dancing. The “Dance Like a Star” event, hosted by CBS3’s Jim Donvan, is Friday night, February 24, at the Springfield Country Club, and it is sold out. Not one ticket left. And dancers are encouraging friends, family and even strangers to vote for them online—each vote costs $1. That pretty much assures that the kids are going to Chicago this year for the Continental Youth Athletic Games championships. More than 100 players competed in the event, held in Boston last year, and the under-14 footballers brought home a trophy. The Gaels have also traveled to Ireland for the Feilie Na nGael, a competition for boys and girls under 14, sponsored by the Gaelic Athletic Association.

The competitors, who have had professional training since the practices began in January, come from all walks of life. Kilkenny-born Enda Keegan, for example, is a musician who spends most of the week in New York where he’s a fixture in the Irish music scene. Keegan ought to have an edge. His wife is a professional dancer in Philadelphia. Has she helped him? “She could be God and it wouldn’t help me dancing,” admitted Keegan with a laugh. His saving grace, he said, is that he’s paired with Siobhan Lyons, executive director of the Irish Immigration Center of Philadelphia, who has ballet training. “She’s good and she’s helping me out,” he said.

If you frequent Cawley’s Pub in Upper Darby, you may have seen Chuck Cawley behind the bar, practicing his moves. “I’ve been cha-cha-ing everywhere,” said Cawley, who admits his dancing experience is largely limited to weddings. On Friday night, he’ll have a bus waiting at Cawley’s on West Chester Pike to transport the throngs coming to root for him and his partner, Lisa McAteer. McAteer admitted that, like Cawley, she too dances everywhere. “I think my fiancé is getting sick of the music,” she said, laughing. “I’ll be doing it when I go into the shower. He hears the banging and he knows I ran out of room!”

Karen Boyce McCollum is juggling and dancing at the same time. She’s juggling three children and a fulltime job in the communications department of a major Philadelphia pharmaceutical firm with as many as five nights of dance practice with her partner, Delco Gaels assistant coach Gabriel Brogan. “I’m doing this because my nieces and nephews play for the Delco Gaels, not because I have tons of extra time,” she admitted. “You have to know the people running this. They are all good people. They always have treats for us when we practice on Sunday. Donuts or lunch. Nothing really good for our cha-cha outfits.”

Though “Dancing With the Stars” contestants seems to lose more weight than the competitors on “The Biggest Loser,” McCollum said that despite dancing most days of the week, she hasn’t lost an ounce. “Is it because they bring us donuts every week—I’m not sure,” she joked.

All the contestants have one warning for the audience: Don’t expect Astaire and Rodgers. Don’t even expect Jerry Springer and Kym Johnson, considered by many the worst pairing ever on TV’s Dancing with the Stars.

But at least one thinks many of the competitors sell themselves short. “It’s been amazing watching the transformation since January,” said Siobhan Lyons. “If you saw everyone on the first day, we were a mess. Now, everyone can dance.”

 

Check out the competitors in our photo essay. 

February 23, 2012 by
People

A Generous Heart at the Heart of The Montco Parade

2012 Montgomery County Grand Marshal Jim Flood

2012 Montgomery County Grand Marshal Jim Flood

In its early years, the Ancient Order of Hibernians’ Notre Dame Division got to know the inside of firehouses pretty well. Launched in 1989, the Montgomery County division had no home of its own, so meetings were typically held within shouting distance of pumpers and ladder trucks.

Attorney Jim Flood joined the division in 1993, a couple of years after moving from Bucks to Montgomery County. Very active from the start, even as a relative newbie, he took an interest in the division’s continuing state of homelessness.

“We had always had a building fund, but it was raising very little money. So a group of us went out on a limb and hired the Wolfe Tones for a benefit concert. If that had failed, it would have been a huge disaster for us. Luckily, we raised $15,000.”

That large infusion of cash helped turn the dream of a home into a reality. The division bought the former Marine Corps League hall on Jefferson Street in Swedesburg, Upper Merion Township, in 1996. Spurred on by Flood, who was by then on the board of directors, together with other members, the division paid off the mortgage six years later.

That’s just one example of Jim Flood’s level of commitment. His fellow Hibernians can think of plenty more.

Flood spearheaded the division’s Catholic high school scholarship. He runs the golf outing. Outside of the division, he created a “Coats for Kids” drive that benefits poor children. He helps the needy by donating time to the Montgomery County Legal Aid Society and representing children through the Montgomery County Child Advocacy Project. Flood and his wife Helen have also raised funds to support their parish school (St. Helena’s), the CYO and the church construction.

Flood has a well-deserved reputation for being a “go-to” guy, and in recognition of his hard work and devotion, the division is going to him again: this time to ask him to serve as grand marshal of the 2012 Montgomery County St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

His selection came as a shock.

“I didn’t even know I’d been nominated. The division held a membership appreciation day on December 16, and my wife are I were there; that’s when I found out. During a break in the music, the chairman of the parade committee said ‘I’d like to announce the grand marshal for the 2012 parade.’ The he announced it was me. I was floored.”

Perhaps it was because Flood tends not to draw attention to his efforts that he was so surprised. His AOH brothers know that when it comes to good works, Flood is the kind of guy who takes to heart one of the key lessons of the Gospel, courtesy of Matthew 6:3: When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. And maybe it’s because Flood appears not to think twice about helping his friends and those who are less fortunate than he; it’s just what you do. It’s not something you think about.

The coat drive is a good example of Flood’s charitable mindset. “We started ‘Coats for Kids’ when my son Will, who is now a junior in high school, had a fifth grade service project,” Flood recalls. “I tried to teach him that a lot of kids don’t just wear coats during the day to keep them warm; they also wear them to bed.”

With permission granted by the principal, Flood and his son installed bins in the school to collect coats. The drive turned out to be a success. The following year, Will asked to do it again. Flood incorporated “Coats for Kids” and made him on the president. “Coats for Kids” continues on at St. Joe’s Prep, where Will now attends, and at St. Helena’s. Flood’s daughter Kyra is also involved.

When asked where he gets his sense of social responsibility, he doesn’t have to look far for inspiration: his parents William and Jacqueline.

“I guess it was instilled in me as a child—you do for others,” he says. “It’s the old ‘time, talent and treasure’ idea. Not everybody can give all three, but most people can give at least one or two.”

As he heads down Fayette Street in Conshohocken on March 10 wearing his grand marshal sash, Flood plans to just enjoy himself in the company of his friends, family and fellow Hibernians. And he’ll remember his parents, who were such an inspiration and so proud of their Irish heritage: “I just wish my mother and father could have been there to see me.”

February 17, 2012 by
How to Be Irish in Philly

How to Be Irish in Philly This Week

Ivan Goff

Wouldn’t worship services be so much better if, instead of church music, you could get all spiritual to the tunes of U2?

Well, you can. This Saturday, St. Thomas’s Church in Fort Washington will be holding a service that features the music of Bono and friends. It’s part of an Episcopal Church program aimed at rallying support for concepts such as global reconciliation, justice for the poor and oppressed, and the importance of caring for your neighbor. You know, the stuff Jesus talked about. Services start at 4:30 PM at the church, which is known for its Celtic services.

The Philadelphia Ceili Group has an unusual program planned for Saturday. In the afternoon, you can find out how Ireland’s West saved the uilleann pipes, the traditional Irish pipes which have a wider range of notes—and, to my ears, a sweeter sound—than the pipes most people know (accompanied by marching guys in kilts). Dr. Scott B. Spencer, an ethnomusicologist most recently the Visiting Research Scholar at the Centre for Irish Studies at the National University of Ireland at Galway, will talk about the uilleann pipes’ history. Then, in the evening, you can hear one of the world’s premier uilleann pipers, Ivan Goff, an All-Ireland champ from Dublin now based in New York, show you why the uilleann pipes were worth saving. Goff has played with some of the top Irish bands in the land, including Dervish, Danu, Teada, Lunasa, Green Fields of America with Mick Moloney, and Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul. He’s also been in Riverdance and Michael Flately’s Lord of the Dance.

Goff will be accompanied by Eamon O’Leary, singer/guitarist from Dublin, who has likewise performed with many of Irish music’s leading lights, including Paddy Keenan, Mick Moloney, Tommy Peoples, James Keane, Susan McKeown, John Doyle, and Patric Ourceau.

These events are part of a year-long Philadelphia Ceili Group program focusing on music from the West of Ireland. If you’re from Mayo, Sligo, Galway, Clare, Kerry, Limerick, Leitrim or Donegal, this is a wonderful way to get back to your musical roots.’’

If wild Celtic music is your thing, head over to the Radisson in Valley Forge where you can hear the high-voltage Albannach, Brother, and Barleyjuice and the unusual and lovely music of Irish-Native American musician Arvel Bird pretty much all night. This is usually the week of the Mid-winter Scottish & Irish Festival, but casino construction at the Valley Forge Convention Center forced Bill Reid of East of the Hebrides Entertainment to move the fest to the end of March. Since these topnotch groups weren’t available, he brought them in to a new venue for the weekend. Thanks, Bill!

Also on Saturday, Timlin and Kane will be at St. James Pub at the Sands Casino in Bethlehem, and Jamison will be playing at Curran’s Northeast. Timlin and Kane will be at The Shanachie in Ambler on Sunday for family day. Bring the kiddies for specials and music all day.

Don’t forget: The critically acclaimed “Little Gem,” a production by the Inis Nua Theatre Company, continues this week through the end of the month.

On Sunday, classically trained violinist Heather Martin Bixler, who went over to the dark side. . .er, Irish fiddling. . .about 10 years ago, will be offering a free fiddle workshop at West Chester University, thanks to Kildare’s West Chester where she’ll be leading the session later in the evening.  A little birdie told us that the amazing Sligo fiddler Brian Conway is coming in from New York to play with her. So that’s two top notch fiddlers for the price of one. Oh right, it’s free!

The first of the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day fundraisers happens on Sunday at the Second Street Irish Society where, along with some great celtic rock, you can hear the always wonderful Second Street Irish Society Pipes and Drums and watch their step dancers—a parade unto itself. Two more fundraisers will follow—on February 26 at Insulator’s Hall in Philadelphia, and on March 4 at Springfield Country Club.

For a slight change of pace on Sunday night, Archie Fisher, a leading Scottish folk singer, will be performing with Garnet Rodgers at the Calvary United Methodist Church in Philadelphia on Sunday night; John Byrne of The John Byrne Band will be on the Folk Show with Gene Shay on WXPN 88.5; and a bunch of guys who should know better—the men of Irish Network-Philly—will be taking on their first opponents in a series of 7-a-Side soccer games at Star Finders on Main Street in Manayunk.

Dancers, don’t forget: McKenna’s Gift Shop in Havertown is holding a used dance shoe/gear swap for the rest of this month. Take the stuff you’ve outgrown to McKenna’s and let them sell it for you. Pick up something that fits!

On Monday, historian Gavin Wilk will speak about one of Philadelphia’s leading Irish sons, Joseph McGarrity, a businessman from County Tyrone who was a leader of the pro-Republican Clan na Gael organization. The Philadelphia-based McGarrity provided arms shipments to the Irish Republicans and brought Eamon de Valera to the US for a tour to promote Irish independence.

Speaking of Irish Republicans, next Friday, Derek Warfield and the Youg Wolfetones will be at the Rising Sun VFW in Philadelphia where there will be dancing and fun, and maybe a few rebel songs.

And speaking of dancing, there aren’t that many tickets left for the Delco Gaels fundraiser, “Dance Like a Star,” on Friday night, February 24 at the Springfield Country Club. We’ve been talking to some of the dancers this week and they’re all practicing their waltzes, cha-chas, and swing dances like mad. CBS3 consumer reporter (and very funny guy) Jim Donovan is the host for the evening. We’re going to the last group practice this week so we can give you a preview mid-week. So come on back here for a look at Philly’s version of “Dancing with the Stars.”

And take a look at our calendar, for these and other events. Take a peek at March. It will make your head spin. Or is that just me? Along with parades and pub crawls, we’ve got RUNA, Altan, Enter the Haggis, Black 47, Paddy Moloney and the Chieftains, Dervish, the Saw Doctors (we’ll have an interview coming soon), the John Byrne Band, Grainne Hambley and William Jackson, Lunasa (at Longwood!), the Irish Rovers, Celtic Pride, Moya Brennan, Eileen Ivers, all the fab performers at the Mid-Winter Scottish & Irish Festival, not to mention the Donnybook Cup (USA Tomahawks face off against the Irish Wolfhounds in rugby, followed by Blackthorn), and a Tullamore Dew whiskey tasting. Yes, we’re squeezing all of that into March. And probably more. So keep checking back to see what fun the Irish have in store for you during our month!

February 17, 2012 by
News, People

Johnny They Really Know Ye

John Dougherty marching in a past parade.

By Kathy McGee Burns

I’ve known John Dougherty, business manager of IBEW Local 98 and this year’s Grand Marshal of the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade, for many years. I’ve interviewed him many times and admire him greatly, so I’ve decided to leave the kind words to his friends.

When Parade Director Michael Bradley nominated the man everyone knows as “Doc,” he submitted a very succinct, business-like list of reasons that led the board to elect him unanimously. Here’s what Michael Bradley wrote about Doc:

1. His grandparents were Irish-born and he has nurtured the Irish traditions
2. He supports virtually every benefit involving the Irish community
3. He has been honored by the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame
4. He was a founding member of the Irish Memorial
5. He was honored by Maynooth College for his support of Irish seminarians
6. He and his union are lead sponsors of the parade
7. His strong presence has brought our parade to a new level of excellence
8. He has never sought the limelight
9. John Dougherty sets a good example for us to follow
10. He is a Treasure in the Irish community and best of all, he is one of us and we love him!

Here’s what others have to say about this year’s Grand Marshal:

Ed McBride, friend, neighbor, coach, manager of the Edward O’Malley Athletic Association, Philadelphia
John grew up with my sons, Ed and Dan. They played football together. I coached John when he was a skinny 75-pounder from age 8 to 15. This all took place at the EOM Athletic facility in South Philly. John Dougherty became a major factor in Philadelphia, a lightening rod! He is a great family man, a great church man, and a great Irishman. He does the right thing for the right motives. He get things done and doesn’t want recognition. If we had more people like John Dougherty, we’d be much better off. This is the best choice.

Mick Treacy, neighbor and friend
John is a true gentleman. His hand has touched every Irish event. I’ve been his neighbor and friend for some 25 years. When sickness hit the Treacy family, John Dougherty was very kind to us. He is the finest Irish American I’ve ever met.”

Bobby Henon, Philadelphia City Councilman
John Dougherty has built his life and career around helping people. His mantra is, ‘You never forget where you come from if you never leave’. He took a near bankrupt business and with creativity, work ethic and vision built it up to a billion dollar enterprise with a brand. Local 98 is the fabric of Philadelphia. His financial stability and political power is used to help people who need it. He believes in giving it all back. He is my family. Once, after having surgery, I opened my eyes and they were all there; my Mom, Dad, my wife, and John. I think that being the Grand Marshal will be one of John’s most proudful days….a singlemost honor which will be held in the highest regard. He is Irish 365 days of the year, 24/7. To know John is to love him. Philadelphia is a better place because of John Dougherty’s commitment and service.

Bob Gessler, founder of the Hibernian Hunger Project and first vice president of the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Observance Committee
Any man who starts out a speech with “I am Irish, I am Catholic, I am Union–and proud of it!” is the kind of man that I want to lead the parade. John Dougherty has a complete commitment to Irish America. He is ready, willing and able to help anyone. He does it citywide, in many ways that no one knows about. John Dougherty is a family man, neighborhood man and a Philadelphian. He is the ‘go-to guy’ who came up through Irish roots. When they were talking about the Irish Memorial, people said, too ethnic, not the right ethnic, scale it down’…Not John! He fundraised, did the original site work and involved the other trade unions. He got it done!

Bill Green, Jr., Philadelphia City Councilman
John Dougherty is a force for good in so many ways in Philadelphia. His charitable works whether it be Magee Rehabilitation or the Variety Club has reached thousand upon thousand of lives in our city. He is truly worthy of this recognition and I am proud to call him a friend.

Bill Green, Sr. Former Mayor of Philadelphia
John Dougherty as grand marshal is really a terrific choice. He is proud of his heritage and I look forward to seeing John lead the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade.”

Kevin Dougherty, Administrative Judge, Family Court, John Dougherty’s brother
How do I feel about having John Dougherty as my brother? Well, he’s just my big brother. He has never changed. The way he is today is the way he’s always been. Genuine! His heart is bigger than his body. When I was a law student and he was a struggling union apprentice with a young family, he would send me care packages, maybe $25, or food…always addressed to Kevin Dougherty, Esq., with a note of encouragment. John has the patience of my Dad and the assertiveness of Mom. He shares their hearts. He aspires to inspire. He doesn’t realize the impact he has! And at the end of the day…I love him.

Gerry Adams TD, Sinn Féin President, Northern Ireland
John, a chara, comhgairdheas / congratulations on your election as Grand Marshall of the Philadelphia St Patrick’s Day Parade for 2012.

It is an honour well deserved for your record of working for the rights and wellbeing of your members and for the whole community. Let me take this opportunity to thank you and the members of Local 98 for your support and help over the years. Your commitment to freedom, justice and peace in Ireland has helped us to move forward towards our goal of Irish unity and independence.

As you head the St Patrick’s Day Parade in that great city of Philadelphia ,I know that our friend, the late, great Mike Doyle, will be with you in spirit.

So to you and all our friends who will be proudly marching with you on March 11th, have a great St Patrick’s Day Parade.

Bain sult as an lá! Is mise le meas, Gerry Adams

As for me, it will be one of my proudest moments as President of this great Parade when I put the Grand Marshal sash on John Dougherty.

Kathy McGee Burns is president of the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Observance Association.

February 16, 2012 by
How to Be Irish in Philly

How To Be Irish in Philly This Week

Fiddler Jesse Smith at Coatesville this weekend.

Remarkable fiddler Jesse Smith along with guitarist Ryan McGiver will be taking center stage this Saturday at the Coatesville Cultural Center, as part of Frank Dalton’s Coatesville Traditional Irish Music Series.

Smith is a product of Baltimore’s lively Irish music scene, though he now lives and plays in Ireland now where he played with the band, Danu. The son of musicians, he studied with noted teacher and musician Brendan Mulvihill. Smith’s debut solo CD, “Jigs and Reels,” was named to the top 10 list of Irish traditional music CDs by the Irish Echo. His latest CD is called “The Ewe with the Crooked Horn.”

On Sunday, a quartet of superlative Irish musicians will be performing a free concert for children at Calvary United Methodist Church in Philadelphia. Guitarist Arty McGlynn along with virtuoso fiddler Nollaig Casey and harper Maire Ni Chathasaigh and flat-picking guitar player Chris Newman together make up the Heartstrings Quartet.

That’s not the only freebie coming up. Local musician Andy Maher and his band will offer a free concert to all ages on Saturday, February 17, at the Irish Center, 6815 Emlen Street, Philadelphia.

Continuing this week: The play, “Little Gem,” by Dublin playwright Elaine Murphy, presented by the Inis Nua Theatre Company at their new location, The First Baptist Church at 16th and Sansom in Philadelphia.

Jamison is performing on Saturday night at Brittingham’s Irish Pub in Lafayette Hill.

Two Irish transplants to Philly, John Byrne and Enda Keegan, will be performing separately and together at The North Star Bar in Philadelphia on Monday night. In keeping with the free-for-all going on this week on the Irish music scene, there’s no cover charge, but you must be 21 (they card you).

Starting on Sunday, Irish dancers have a place to sell those dance shoes or solo dresses that don’t fit and maybe pick up a replacement. McKenna’s Irish Shop in Havertown will sell your used items at no charge and will be offering other dance items for sale. This dance “swap” runs through February 29.

On Wednesday, bring your sweetie to the seniors’ Valentine lunch at the Irish Center (no, they don’t card you unless you’re ordering at the bar). Lunch will be served in the Fireside Room and the Vince Gallagher Band will perform. Dancing is encouraged.

The Irish American Genealogy Group meets on Thursday at The Irish Immigration Center in Upper Darby. Genealogist Deborah Large Fox will be talking about Irish records.

And Jamison is getting loads of work. They’ll be at Dublin Square in Cherry Hill on Friday night.

Put a note on your calendar to catch Matt and Shannon Heaton on Friday night at Trinity Episcopal Church. This delightful duo from New England are creatively traditional.

Next weekend is a blockbuster. Not only can you catch that free performance of Andy Maher at the Irish Center, you’ll learn how the West of Ireland helped save uillean bagpiping (that’s the Irish bagpipe) with renowned piper Ivan Goff and Eamon O’Leary at the Irish Center—informational lecture at 3:30 PM, and a concert that evening at 8 PM. This is part of the Philadelphia Ceili Group’s
year-long series on the music of the West of Ireland.

And if you’re a faithful devotee of the annual Mid-Winter Scottish & Irish Festival, hopefully you got the memo. Because of delays in the construction of the new casino in Valley Forge, the festival was moved to the end of March. But you’ll probably still want to head over to the area next weekend. Some of the top groups of the festival weekend are putting on a performance at the nearby Radisson Hotel. You can catch Albannach, the percussion group from Scotland, and Brother, founded by a couple of Australian brothers, along with Kyf Brewer and his wild crew, Barleyjuice, and Celtic-Native American performer Arvel Bird on stage for many, many hours.

You can also attend the first of three fundraisers for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Philadelphia next weekend, this one thrown by the Second Street Irish Society, which usually takes up a couple of city blocks when it marches in the parade.

We’ve been typing our little fingers to the quick entering new events for both February and March. So saunter over to the calendar to see what’s coming up in the weeks to come. You’ll be in shock. Or maybe that’s just those of us who are trying to figure out to get to all these things.

February 10, 2012 by