Crafter and frequent irishphiladelphia.com Gwyneth MacArthur shows off her wares.
Dancers, bagpipers, Glenside Gaelic Athletic Association kids, singers–if you wanted to see what the Philadelphia Irish Center/Commodore is all about, you had your chance last Sunday.
Irish Gathering 2013 drew visitors to the venerable old cultural center at Carpenter and Emlen in Mount Airy, all in search of that intangible je ne sais quoi that makes makes the Barry Club what it is—the beating heart all that is Irish in the city and beyond.
The day started with an Irish breakfast, and good food always draws a hungry and appreciable crowd. In the center’s Fireside Room, one of the loveliest spaces anywhere and frequent venue for the Philadelphia Ceili Group’s concerts, Irish radio hosts Vince Gallagher and Marianne MacDonald broadcast live through out the morning. In between tunes, they took the opportunity to take the Irish Center’s good-natured message of camaraderie and craic to the masses. A steady stream of representatives from the groups that make the Irish Center their home stepped up to the mike and made their pitch.
In the Barry Room, vendors hawked jewelry and crafts. Marita Krivda Poxon beat the drum for her pictorial history, “Irish Philadelphia.” longtime Irish Edition editor Jane Duffin handed copies of the region’s Irish newspaper.
The afternoon was given over to music and dancing, including performance by singer Terry Kane and harper Ellen Tepper, and one of the area’s most accomplished Irish songbirds, Rosie McGill. Cummins School dancers performed, and they rounded out the afternoon by teaching newbies a set dance.
We have a lot of photos from the day. Check them out.
