com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/hollingsworth-270×300.jpg” alt=”Frank Hollingsworth” width=”270″ height=”300″ /> Frank Hollingsworth
Never volunteer. That’s the old saying. Frank Hollingsworth doesn’t believe it, and it’s a good thing for the Philadelphia Irish Center/Commodore Barry Club.
Hollingsworth, a member of the center’s board of directors, is close to realizing a goal he set for himself several weeks ago: launching the first-ever “Irish Gathering,” a kind of open house for the rambling facility at Carpenter Lane and Emlen Street in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia—home to the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame, the Philadelphia Emerald Society Pipe Band, the Danny Browne Ancient Order of Hibernians Division, the Philadelphia Ceili Group, the Cummins School of Irish Dance, and so much more.
“This idea has been sort of on my mind for a while,” Hollingsworth says. “I’m a great believer in outreach, so I appointed myself outreach chairman.” With a good many old hands helping Hollingsworth pull everything together, the Irish Gathering should be an impressive affair.
The club is the living, breathing epicenter of Irish life in the Delaware Valley, and has been for years, but many Philly Irish folks are complete strangers to the place. Hollingsworth wants to bring them all into the Irish Center on Sunday, December 9, for a day of Gaelic schmoozing and socializing. He believes they’ll like what they see, and want to come back again and again.
“I know it’s been difficult to get people to come here, so I thought the thing to do would be to have an open house,” says Hollingsworth. “Some people have heard of the center, but they don’t know where it is. Where is Carpenter and Emlen? By doing this, it’ll let people know that there’s a lot going on here.”
Once upon a time, Hollingsworth himself was one of those curious strangers. Once drawn in, though, he knew he was going to be a regular. “I came here, and signed up to be a member. Then I volunteered to work in the Irish Center library, and then I stayed.”
The Irish Gathering promises to expose visitors to all of the groups and organizations that meet in the center on a regular basis. The open house begins at 10, fittingly, with a full Irish breakfast. The cost is $10.
After that, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Vince Gallagher and Marianne MacDonald will present a live airing of their Sunday Irish radio shows. From 1 to 6 p.m., you can check out many local Irish organizations, including the Cummins School of Irish Dance, the Philadelphia Emerald Society Pipe Band, the Next Generation youth Irish music group, John Shields and his adult Irish dance group, Rince Ri School of Irish Dance, the Timoney dancers, the Philadelphia Ceili Group, the Danny Browne AOH division, and more. You’ll also get to hear some great Irish music, performed by Terry Kane, and Kevin McGillian and Friends.
If you’re looking for a great Christmas gift, you can check out the vendor tables. You can also pick up some great books, signed by the authors who will be on hand, including Tom Lyons (“You Can’t Get to Heaven on the Frankford El”); Tim McGrath (“John Barry: An American Hero in the Age of Sail”), and Frank himself, co-author of “Northeast Philadelphia: A Brief History.” Marita Krivda Poxon, who is on the verge of publishing a book about the Irish in Philadelphia will also be there, Hollingsworth says.
For more details, visit the Irish Center website.
