Big Irish weekend in Horsham. It’s the annual Graeme Park Celtic Weekend featuring the Glengarry Bhoys, Seamus Kennedy, Blackwater and a host of other musical acts. Plus there’s border collies! Yay border collies! They’re supposed to be the smartest dogs in the entire canine world. Count on them to stay in the shade. It’s gonna be a hot one.
You can catch the Glengarry Bhoys again on Sunday at the Sellersville Theatre where they’re pairing with Barleyjuice to raise money for the Celtic Cultural Alliance, the nonprofit that runs Celtic Fest in Bethlehem every year.
A couple of thousand kids from all over the country who play Gaelic sports will descend on the area this week for the Continental Youth Championships, being held at the Greater Chester Valley Soccer Association fields in Malvern. This is the largest tournament of Gaelic sports outside of Ireland.
On Wednesday afternoon, before the games begin, the Irish American Business Chamber and Network, along with the Irish Consulate General, the Gaelic Athletic Association, Irish Network Philadelphia, and the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick is sponsoring a business and networking forum at the Chester County Historical Society in West Chester. The topic: The business of sport. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi will moderate a panel consisting of Liam O’Neill, president of the Gaelic Athletic Association; John Nash, general manager of the National Basketball Association, and Michael Hickey, former GAA player and senior vice president of Delta Point, Inc. of Malvern. The event is free, but reservations are required. Contact alanna@iabcn.org.
Do you play the bodhran? If you have to ask what that is, you don’t. But if you do play or would like to, bodhran maker and player Albert Alfonso will be at the Water Gallery in Lansdale on Wednesday night where he’ll give complimentary mini lessons and will have an assortment of tippers and drums for sale.
If you’re used to seeing John O’Callaghan with his group, Jamison Celtic Rock, you can catch him alone—when gigging, it’s known as solo—at AOH Div. 61 Clubhouse at Rhawn and Frankford in Philadelphia from 7-10 PM on Wednesday.
Derry Brigade will be playing on Thursday event at the North Penn VFW on Jenkintown Road in Glenside.
And on Friday, a real treat: Danny Quinn, Gabriel Donohue, and Gerry TImlin will be playing at Catherine Rooney’s in Wilmington. That’s a lot of Irish talent on one stage.
Next Saturday, there’s an Irish Music Weekend Camp scheduled in West Chester. It’s the second year in a row for the camp, open to all players. Alex Boatright, an All Ireland Harp Champion who has medaled in the North American Fleadhanna in concertina and fiddle, and her husband, Duncan, a percussionist and award-winning composer and steel pan player, will be the instructors. The weekend will end with a session at Molly Maguire’s in Phoenixville. For more information, email kballweir@gmail.com.
There are only a few spots left for an August 7 house concert featuring Liam O’Maonlai of the Hothouse Flowers in Philadelphia that was posted on our Facebook page this week. Email barnstarconcerts@gmail.com. And check out our Facebook page, which is the latest incarnation of Ballyphilly, our late lamented Irish Philly social network site. There’s a lot going on there.
Also, if you sign up for our weekly e-letter, Mickmail, by July 26, you’re entered into a contest to win tickets to see Carlos Nunez, the bagpiper who plays with The Chieftains, at World Café Live in Philadelphia on July 30. You’ll also get a free copy of our homemade CD, Ceili Drive, which features the musicians of Irish Philadelphia, as well as a t-shirt and pint glass. You can sign up right here. And fear not!
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