Monthly Archives:
August 2012
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Meghan Davis, the 2012 International Mary from Dungloe
If you believe in that kind of thing, it had to be destiny.
When Meghan Davis, 26, of Norristown, the reigning Philadelphia Mary from Dungloe, sat on the stage in the little town in the Rosses in Donegal a few weeks ago, her borrowed Celtic harp resting on her shoulder, she was the only contestant in the International Mary from Dungloe pageant who had been there before.
Except that the last time was 22 years ago, she was four, and the contestant she was watching was her aunt, then the Wilkes Barre Mary from Dungloe. “That’s when I saw harps for the first time and from then on I begged my parents, ‘I want to play harp, I want to play harp,’” recalls the young woman, a performer, church musician, and music teacher. “It had to come full circle.”
In 1999, her aunt came home with a wonderful experience, in 2012 Davis came home with that and a sash and a crown. She was chosen from among 10 contestants from Ireland, the US, Northern Ireland, and Scotland to be the 2012 International Mary from Dungloe. She is the second Philadelphia contestant to win in the last few years. Katie Armstrong, a neonatal intensive care nurse from Lansdale, was the 2005 international Mary.
But Davis also came home with something special in 1999—that burning desire to play the harp. “But in Wilkes Barre, where I grew up, there were no teachers whatsoever,” says Davis. “When I was nine years old, my parents looked all around and couldn’t find anybody. Then, at a summer music camp, I met a teacher who was studying at Julliard. We really made a connection.”
Her parents, Dwight and Molly Davis, finally found a teacher in Allentown which about an hour drive from Wilkes Barre. “They told me I could either take lessons once a week in Allentown or with my camp teacher in New York every other week. So, every other week, they drove me to New York.”
She fell in love with the harp in Dungloe, and it’s a love affair that’s lasted. She eventually got two bachelor of music degrees, one in harp performance, the other in vocal performance, from the prestigious Peabody Conservatory at the Johns Hopkins University and The Boyer College of Music at Temple, which is what brought her to Philadelphia. She also has a master’s in vocal performance from Temple.
She knew she wanted to play and sing in the Dungloe competition, but there was a problem. She couldn’t find a pedal harp—the six-foot, seven-pedal harp she plays—anywhere in Ireland. “I even had a harpist acquaintance from the New York Philharmonic looking or me and she couldn’t find one,” says Davis.
Since a Celtic harp was easier to locate, Davis rented one here and taught herself to play it. “I also taught myself the song I wanted to do, which was ‘Ave Maria,” the song I sang at my grandmother’s funeral.”
Davis had a close relationship with her grandmother, Mary Monaghan, whose parents came from Mayo. In fact, during the pageant, she wore a small locket that her grandmother had given her when she went away to college. “For luck, or the girl who has it all,” her grandmother told her. “It had been mine when I was a baby and I had bitten it so it had little bite marks on it,” says Davis, laughing.
An American in nearby Gweedore, Kayla Reed, lent Davis a Celtic harp for her performance in Dungloe. “My grandmother passed away in 2009 and she told me she would always be there when I perform. Before I went on I was talking to her all day, ‘Be there for me.’ I know she was,” Davis says.
The harp obsession that started in Dungloe and helped Davis win her title has been advantageous in other ways, she says. “I was so lucky that I chose the harp, as it turns out. I went to grad school with some amazing singers. A lot of them are waitressing and going into real estate and not pursuing the careers they wanted in music. The harp has allowed me to set myself apart. Performers who play the harp and sing are few and far between. It’s been truly a gift. If I hadn’t had the harp I might be in a different career.”
She also plays piano and sings, which made her a perfect fit for the Philly-based Irish group, No Irish Need Apply, whose members include several current and retired policemen. “They’ve become like part of my family,” says Meghan. “Like uncles. In fact, one of them writes original songs and he told me he’s writing a new one: ‘Meghan has four uncles.’”
She’ll be performing with them—though perhaps not that song–on September 2 at Brittingham’s Irish Pub in Lafayette Hill at its annual Irish Festival and later in the month at Irish Weekend in N. Wildwood.
She expects this year to be a whirlwind of events. She’ll be in St. Patrick’s Day Parades up and down the east coast, at special events, and “anywhere the Donegal Association wants me to be,” she says. Philadelphia’s Donegal Association sponsors the Mary from Dungloe event in the city.
And she’s also going shopping. “They gave me a 1,000 Euro prize when I won the title,” says Davis. “I think I’m going to use it to buy my own Celtic harp!”
Click here to see some photos from the 2012 pageant in Dungloe.
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The Notre Dames dominated
If you didn’t get your fill of hurling and football on Sunday afternoon at Cardinal Dougherty, then, well, you must be insatiable.
The day’s games started with a fast-paced hurling match, and the rest of the afternoon was dedicated to football, both men and women. The day’s biggest upset came in the final game of a series between women’s national champs, the Mairead Farrells, and challengers the Notre Dames. The Notre Dames came out on top, 3-14 to 1-10, winning the Philadelphia Senior Champions crown.
We have photos from all but the final game of the day, the men’s Division 1 football matchup between the St. Patricks and the Kevin Barrys. (Wish we had time for all of them, but we were verging on heat stroke.)
Here are all of the final scores:
Philadelphia Hurling League
Na Toráidhe beat Allentown Hibernians (Score to Follow)
Series Tied at One Apiece
Men’s Division II Football
Young Ireland’s • 3-14
Kevin Barry’s • 0-07
Young Irelands and Saint Patrick’s are the Top Two (2) Teams thus far…
Ladies Senior Football
Notre Dames • 3-14
Mairead Farrell’s • 1-10
Series 3-0, Notre Dames crowned Philadelphia Senior Champions
Men’s Division I Football
Saint Patrick’s • 0-10
Kevin Barry’s • 1-03
Saint Patrick’s progress to the Philadelphia Final, while the Kevin Barry’s face the Young Irelands next week.
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Courtney Malley, with a portrait of her late father Frank
There’s been a lot of water under the bridge since Dé Danann last graced the stage at the Philadelphia Ceili Group’s annual festival. Twenty-five years and a few personnel changes, to be exact.
But have no doubt that the version of Dé Danann that takes to the Philadelphia Irish Center stage Saturday night, September 8, at the Philadelphia Ceili Group Festival is the genuine article. Founding members Alec Finn and Johnny “Ringo” McDonagh will be joined by past members Brian McGrath, Derek Hickey, Eleanor Shanley, and Mick Conneely.
Anne McNiff, secretary of the Philadelphia Ceili Group, expects an amazing night of music from the band, and from the opener, acclaimed uilleann piper Paddy Keenan, as well.
McNiff says Dé Danann’s appearance culminates the Ceili Group’s year-long series featuring music from the west of Ireland. “The band originally came from the Galway area, and that’s where they currently list themselves as being from,” McNiff says. “Also we wanted to pick a band that would be a grand finale for the music series. We thought the band would be popular, attracting Ceili Group members as well as others. Many people are familiar with the name Dé Danann, and revivals are all the rage right now.”
This particular revival won’t represent a radical departure from the sound the band is known for, says McNiff.
“At the core, they certainly have a sound that they’re known for. It’s the way the band plays with each other that makes them great.”
So that takes care of the festival finale, but there’s a whole lot of Irish music, dance and culture on the agenda in the days leading up to the Saturday night concert.
Thursday night (September 6) is singers night, dedicated to vocal music, and dedicated to the memory of the late Ceili Group leading light Frank Malley, who dearly loved songs. Look for performances by Rosaleen McGill, Matt Ward, Marian Makins, and others. The night is hosted by Gabriel Donohue.
Friday night (September 7), you’ll be able to dance to the music of the McGillians & Friends, or you can grab a chair in the cozy Fireside Room to take in a brilliant little one-man show, “Who Killed James Joyce,” by troubadour Sean Tyrrell. McNiff is looking forward to that performance.
“We have had Sean Tyrrell before. He is famous for these one-man shows. This is his latest, and he’ll be presenting not only works from Joyce, but other Irish poets as well. While it’s not a theatre piece, it has theatrical aspects to it. Sean’s shows very much incorporate the spoken word as much as the music. We really wanted to present something different in the Fireside Room, which is a smaller, more intimate venue. It’s more of a pub-like experience.”
Earlier in the day Saturday features a wide range of workshops, from Irish singing to the irish language. There will also be live music throughout the day, kiddie activities, vendors, and of course delicious food and drink.
You can find out more about the festival by visiting the Ceili Group website.
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Tom Keenan
She’s been president of just about every Irish organization she’s joined. He’s taken photos of nearly everyone in the Irish community in Philadelphia. Though she’s a relative newcomer to Philadelphia, she has become the darling of “the ladies who lunch” at the Irish Immigration Center in Upper Darby.
They’re the latest inductees to the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame, which will honor them on November 11 at the Irish Center in Philadelphia.
Kathy McGee Burns
Kathy McGee Burns has been involved with the Irish community since 1986. She is a member of many organizations including the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Observance Association (she is outgoing president); the Irish Memorial, Brehon Law Society, Irish Society, Claddagh Fund, Irish Anti-Defamation Federation, Inspirational Irish Women (she was a first year honoree), and the Donegal Association (where she also served as president). She the president of the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame and is active in supporting St. Malachy’s School in Philadelphia. Father John McNamee, who helped turn St. Malachy’s into a “beacon of hope,” was one of the many who nominated her to the Hall of Fame. Married to Michael Burns, Kathy is the mother of nine children.
If you’ve been to any Irish event in the region, you saw Tommy Keenan, the longtime photographer for the Irish Edition, the newspaper that has covered the Irish community for decades. Bob Gessler, founder of the Hibernian Hunger Project, wrote in his nomination letter: “With little fanfare or fuss, Tom Keenan has at one time or another, made us all part of history.” He has not only chronicled Philadelphia’s Irish history but he has supported many causes from sports to charity. Tom works as an Instructor at the Antonelli Institute for Art and Photography where he prides himself in being a mentor and adopted parent for hundreds of students. Tom is married to “ the love of his life, Jane” and has a son, Dylan.
Siobhan Lyons
Thirty of the “senior citizens” who are regulars at Irish Immigration Center of Philadelphia nominated executive director Siobhan Lyons. Declan Forde, in his letter, wrote: “We have chosen Siobhan because she is a hard working person, 7 days, 24 hours a day. She works for the benefit of we Irish who may need help with such questions as health, finances and insurance.” Siobhan is also involved with the Brehon Society, the Irish American Business Chamber and Network, and the Irish Network (In-Philly). Born in Dublin, she is the daughter of a
diplomat and majored in Arabic.
For tickets to this event, please call Sean McMenamin 215-850-0518 or Maureen Saxon 610-909-0054.
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The Glengarry Bhoys want to see you at Sellersville Theatre.
Celtic Weekend, the raucous celebration of the Glagow Celtics, who are facing Real Spain on Saturday at The Linc, continues through the weekend with music (Charlie and the Bhoys from Glasgow and Raymond Coleman and Oliver McElhone from Ireland and Philly); strange sports (poolball at Fado); breakfast at The Plough and Fado; and a Celtic dance party (at Fado).
Also continuing: Musikfest in Bethlehem, featuring Celtic acts such as Burning Bridget Cleary, Fighting Jamesons, and The Prodigals.
On Saturday, meet 11-year-old Corey Hughes, who came to the US from Ireland with his family in 2010 and is facing a mountain of medical expenses resulting from a rare form of cancer called synovial sarcoma. His friends are holding a fundraising beef and beer at The District Council 21 Painters and Allied Trade Unions Hall in Philadelphia. Rusty Bass and Raymond Coleman will provide the music.
Also on Saturday, the Glengarry Bhoys from Ontario will be presenting their blend of rock and Celtic styles at the Sellersville Theatre.
If you’re down the shore, catch Jamison at Shenanigans in Sea Isle City on Saturday night.
On Wednesday, the Irish Thunder Pipes and Drums will give a free concert in a beautiful location–the Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge National Park. Come early and bring your own lawn chair, snacks and drinks.
On Thursday, a freebie from Blackthorn: a concert in Rose Tree Park in Media. It’s an annual event that was washed out last year by torrential rain. In Bethlehem, remarkable fiddler Tony DeMarco will be giving workshops and participating in the session at McCarthy’s Tea Room in Bethlehem. See our calendar for details on how you can learn from the best.
It’s a few weeks away, but here’s an early call to mark your calendars for the 38th Annual Philadelphia Ceili Group Irish Music and Dance Festival, September 6-8, at the Irish Center in Philadelphia. It’s a doozy this year, starting off with singer’s night on Thursday hosted by singer and multi-instrumentalist Gabriel Donohue, a ceili dance on Friday night featuring the McGillians and Friends, one of the foremost ceili bands in the region as well as Sean Tyrell’s one-man show, “Who Killed James Joyce” for you non-dancers; and on Saturday, a host of workshops including singing in both Irish and English, Irish language, genealogy; St. Brigid’s Cross making and programs for children followed by an evening concert with world class Irish piper Paddy Keenan and De Dannan, featuring the lovely singing voice of Eleanor Shanley and some of the founding members of this Galway-based band.
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Closing in (photo by Gwyneth MacArthur)
As a prelude to Sunday’s long, grueling afternoon of men’s and ladies’ football, and men’s hurling, Wednesday night’s football game at Cardinal Dougherty saw the St. Patricks taking on the Young Irelands for Division 1 bragging rights.
It was a hot night to begin with, but all the action on the field was even hotter. The final score: Saint Patricks 0-13 to the Young Irelands’ 0-8.
We dispatched photographer Gwyneth MacArthur to record all the action.
If you want to see even more, head on down to Dougherty, 6401 North Second Street in East Oak Lane, on Sunday. (We’ll be there for sure.)
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Emily Safko and her harp are going to Ireland to compete in the All-Irelands.
This is shaping up to be one major Irish week in the Philly region, thanks to the Celtic lineup at Bethlehem’s annual Musikfest and the visit from the Glasgow Celtics on Saturday, August 11.
It all starts on Friday night with the hard-driving Tartanic at Musikfest. Most but not all of the Celtic acts are appearing at what they’re calling the Pennsylvania Lottery Volksplatz. It’s really Johnston Park, Conestoga Street and W. Union Boulevard in the Christmas city. Tartanic returns to the same stage on Saturday night as well.
On Sunday, Lazy Lanigan’s Publick House in Sewell, NJ, is the scene of a ceili to benefit Haley Richardson and Emily Safko, two pint-sized Irish music phenoms, who will be competing again in the All-Irelands this year. Haley is the four-time under 12 Mid-Atlantic fiddle champ, while Emily is the two-time under 12 Mid-Atlantic harp slow air champ. And they are both as cute as buttons. Lazy Lanigan’s is donating 10 percent of its profits to the girls.
Also on Sunday, the Philly GAA’s Notre Dames ladies football club is sponsoring a benefit at Daly’s Pub in Philadelphia for fellow footballer Alisha Jordan. Jordan, who came from County Meath, Ireland to New York this summer to compete in the GAA games, was attacked and seriously injured as she and her friend walked to their home in the Bronx on July 14. Jordan suffered a broken bone in her skull, a broken nose, broken teeth and lacerations, including a cut on her face that took 15 stitches to close. Proceeds will help pay for reconstructive surgery and a metal plate to hold her skull together. The young woman has no insurance.
The fundraiser will follow a critical matchup between the Dames and the national champs, the Mairead Farrells, at Cardinal Dougherty fields on Sunday afternoon. The Dames are two up in a best-of-five for top berth in the nationals, which are in Philly this year over the Labor Day weekend.
Catch singer-comic Seamus Kennedy on Tuesday at Musikfest—he has two shows.
Carbon Leaf, a five-piece indie rock band with a Celtic flair from Richmond, VA, will be doing a Tuesday evening concert at Musikfest.
On Wednesday, catch the Killdares, a Texas-based group known for its alternative Celtic rock, at Musikfest.
And on Friday, you can see Philly’s own John Byrne Band at 5 PM, as well as the Lehigh Valley’s band, Amarach in the afternoon.
On Friday, Celtic Weekend starts in Philadelphia. There’s a host of events planned to herald the soccer match between Glasgow Celtic and Real Madrid scheduled for The Linc on Saturday. An estimated 20,000 Celtic fans are expected to descend on Philly for the weekend festivities, which includes concerts by Glasgow-based band, Charlie and the Bhoys, as well as local favorites Raymond Coleman and Olive McElhone.
Most of the activities are centered at The Plough and the Stars at Second and Chestnut streets and Fado Irish Pub on Locust. There’s breakfast every morning at both pubs and music every night. Fado has two poolball tournaments planned (think pool, but you’re the cue and it’s soccer, not billiard balls), as well as late night dance parties.
Freelance journalist Phil MacGiolla Bhain, who exposed and brought down the Celtic’s archrivals, The Rangers, for tax evasion, will be speaking on Friday afternoon at Fado. There will be a blessing and a huddle on Friday night at the Irish Memorial at Front and Chestnut Streets. Father Bryce Byczynski of the Marist Brothers in New Jersey will offer a blessing. (The Celtic team was founded in Glasgow by a Marist brother in 1888.)
Check out our calendar for all the details of Celtic Weekend and Celtic acts at Musikfest.
And mark your calendar for Saturday August 11 for a fundraiser for young Corey Hughes, who moved to the US from Ireland with his family in 2010. Corey was diagnosed the following year with a rare form of cancer that affects his knee. He is currently undergoing radiation to shrink the tumor so it can be surgically removed. His family needs help with medical expenses. The Beef and Beer will be held at the District Council 21 Painters and Allied Trade Union Hall on Southampton Road in Philadelphia. Raymond Coleman and Rusty Bass will be providing the music and there will be beaucoup de raffles and auctions.
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Glasgow Celtic fans in full voice.
Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.” – Bill Shankly, Scottish football player
The legendary Bill Shankly never played for Glasgow Celtic, but he might have been talking about this 124-year-old football franchise, founded by a Catholic priest to occupy the Irish immigrants who settled in Scotland’s largest, most populous city.
Its rabid fans are a diaspora unto themselves. People like Seamus Cummins. Cummins, of Huntington Valley, is the former president of the Molly Maguires Celtic Supporters Club, which used to meet at Paddy Rooney’s Pub in Havertown. He became a fan by way of his father, whose father came from Derry, and his grandmother, who was one of those displaced Irish (from Donegal) who lived in Glasgow.
So when the Celtics announced they were coming to Philadelphia to face the Real Spain team on August 11 at Lincoln Financial Park, Cummins wanted to make the other Celtic fans comfortable in the City of Brotherly Love. All 20,000 of them.
That’s how many are expected to descend on the city from all over the world next weekend. That’s how many showed up to cheer on their team when they last played in Philadelphia in 2004—against Manchester United, itself no slouch in the fan department.
“We have Celtic supporters coming from China, South Korea, Ireland, the UK—the 60 Celtic supporters clubs in the US will be represented,” says Cummins, technology director for the Jenkintown School District and admin of a Celtic-themed website. “We have 30 coming from Houston and more than 100 from New York. It’s quite the atmosphere at the game.”
Now, if you’re imagining bleachers collapsing and rioting on the field, Cummins is reassuring. “Celtics fans are jovial, fun—we just like the craic,” he says. “When we went to the Europa League finals, 80,000 Celtics fans descended on Seville, Spain, and there was not one arrest.”
So there’s a lot of craic planned. With Glaswegian John Joe Devlin, bar manager at The Plough and the Stars in Chestnut Street, and Molly Coulter, manager at Fado Irish Pub on Locust (home to the Philadelphia Celtic Supporters Club), Cummins has scheduled an entire weekend of fun.
It stars with breakfast at the two restaurants, and at night, live music (including Charlie and the Bhoys, a group from Glasgow that traces its roots to Donegal), dance parties, and two rousing nights of poolball, called by Wired magazine “American’s next great barroom sport.” (Quick rundown: Players stand on a large pool table and kick or head soccer balls or points. Check out the video.)
A representative from the Marist Brothers in New Jersey, Bryce Byczynski will be on hand on Friday at 5 PM to offer a blessing at the Irish Memorial at Front and Chestnut. Freelance journalist Phil MacDiolla Bhain, author of “A Rebel Journalist,” will be at Fado earlier in the afternoon to talk about the story he broke that effectively eliminated the Celtics biggest rivals, the Glasgow-based Rangers, by revealing that they had not paid their taxes for 12 years. (A new Rangers team is in place, but to fans like Cummins, the rivalry has lost its luster for the moment.)
Popular local musicians, Raymond Coleman from County Tyrone, as well as Oliver McElhone from Derry, will also be performing for the Celtics fans.
Of course, the best craic will be Saturday for those holding tickets to the game at the Linc. If you enjoyed the version of “Fields of Athenry” sung by the Irish fans at the World Cup in Poland this year, you’ll like the musical entertainment in the stands, says Cummins. “You’ve never heard singing like this before,” he vows.
It won’t be Celtic Park in Glasgow (where the turf for the center circle of the pitch was laid originally by a Donegal man named Davitt and was made up of shamrocks from Donegal sod). But chances are, it will feel like it.
