There will be guys just like this at the Celtic Classic.
This weekend, bringing up the rear of Irish festival month is one of the largest festivals of all, the Bethlehem Celtic Classic, which features Barleyjuice, Burning Bridget Cleary, Jamison, RUNA, the Makem and Spain Brothers (yes, that Makem), and Timlin and Kane, among others, amid caber tossing, sheepdog demonstrations, and haggis-eating. There are more kilts than you can shake a shillelagh at from Friday through Sunday in the Christmas city.
We’re closing out September on a high note all around. Harpists Grainne Hambley and William Jackson will perform for Crossroads Concerts (which brings ethnic music to Philadelphia) on Saturday.
At The Irish Center in Philadelphia, it’s the second year for “The Gathering,” which brings music, local authors, dancers, and vendors to the ballroom where local radio hosts, Vince Gallagher and Marianne MacDonald (WTMR 88 AM) will be doing their shows starting at 11 AM. Who knows? Maybe you could make some announcements!
At 12:30 PM Sunday, there will be a memorial Mass commemorating the 32nd anniversary of the Irish Hunger Strike, celebrated by Father Ed Brady at his parish, St. Anne’s, on E. Lehigh Street in Philadelphia. This is one of a number of events over the next few weeks that will highlight the Irish fight for freedom. On October 7, there will be a lecture commemorating the 1913 Dublin Lockout Centennial, a labor strike that laid the groundwork for the 1916 uprising, at Finnigan’s Wake in Philadelphia and on October 19, there will be a fundraiser to support the dependents of Irish Republican political prisoners at Bobby T’s in Port Richmond. Raymond Coleman will be performing and there will be a raffle and buffet.
Live Irish music—Scanlin & O’Leary—at the Farmhouse in Doylestown may make you want to while away this Sunday afternoon indoors even if it’s gorgeous outside.
Are you a Celtic supporter? That’s the Celtic Football Club, a Glasgow-based team that’s taking on Barcelona next week. There’s already a huge fan base in the US and it’s just getting bigger. On Tuesday, October 1, a new club, The Second Street Plough Bhoys Celtic Supporters Club, will have its first meeting at The Plough and the The Stars in Philadelphia to watch the game. It’s an afternoon meeting—starting at 2:45 PM—so lay some groundwork for calling out on Tuesday. Sniff, cough, I think I’m getting a cold.
On October 8, at Villanova University, National Book Award Winner Colum McCann (Let the Great World Spin) will be reading from his book, Transatlantic, a tale of three iconic and historical crossings—two aviators attempting the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic, an international lecture tour by abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and the journey of Senator George Mitchell to shepherd Ireland’s peace talks to their then uncertain conclusion. The event starts at 7 PM in the Connelly Center Cinema.
Later in October, musician/folklorist Mick Moloney will be speaking at Villanova and performing “with friends” at St. Malachy’s Church in North Philadelphia, his yearly fundraiser for the acclaimed mission school.
