Last year’s Easter Rising ceremony at the grave of Luke Dillon in Yeadon.
Only about a week till the Philadelphia Fleadh—15 bands, five stages, and a feis, all in the beautiful surroundings of Pennypack Park in Philadelphia on May 3. Most of your favorite local bands will be there—both trad and Celtic rock—along with food and vendors. So grab your blanket and your baby but forget the bucket of beer—there will be Irish and other beers for sale. Oh, and you’re Irish—bring sunscreen.
But before that happens. . . .
There’s a great event on our calendar called the “Dames Dash,” which sounds vaguely risqué but isn’t in the least. Well, we hope. It’s a citywide scavenger hunt (with after-party) on Saturday that anyone can join in and it’s all to raise money for the Notre Dame Ladies Gaelic Football Club. It all starts at Tir na Nog at 16th and Arch in Philadelphia—and that’s where it ends up too. You can register on the spot and you’ll be part of a team.
The remarkable piper Paddy Keenan will be doing a concert on Saturday night at the Irish Center. This is uillean piping at its best.
On Sunday morning, you can see the Division 2 final between Donegal and Dublin on pay-per-view at the Irish Center at 9 AM, followed by the Division 1 final between Derry and Dublin. There’s also a buffet dinner later in the day, after the meetings of the Mayo and Donegal Associations.
In between you can head to Holy Cross Cemetery on Bally Road in Yeadon for the annual Easter Rising Commemoration to honor Joseph McGarrity, financier of the Irish republican movement, and “Dynamite” Luke Dillon, who took part in a bombing campaign in England to force Britain to grant Ireland home rule. Both men are buried in the cemetery. (I’ll be making a few remarks at the grave of Luke Dillon, a man who loved Ireland though he’d never been there. Descendants of Dillon, who was an upholsterer in Philadelphia, are expected to attend.) There will be a social following the ceremony at Briarcliff American Legion Hall in Glenolden.
At 4 PM on Sunday, the Theresa Flanagan Band is playing at JD McGillicuddy’s in
Upper Darby, where you can dance the night away.
On Monday, there will be a free Irish Tay-Sachs screening at Arcadia University n Glenside. It’s part of a research study attempting to determine the incidence of carriers of the Tay-Sachs gene in the Irish population. Even if you’re not of childbearing years, getting tested may help scientists determine whether people of Irish descent need to be tested routinely for the inherited disease, which is fatal to young children. There have been three cases in the Philadelphia area involving parents of Irish descent. The disease, while rare, is most common in Ashkenazi Jews, French Canadians, Cajuns, and the Amish.
On Tuesday, Irish Network-Philadelphia will be hosting a “Go Green” event at Maloneys Pub in Ardmore, with Sue Cordes of Delaware County’s Recycling Department. If you bring an old cellphone to recycle, you’ll get a free drink. Tuesday is session night at Maloney’s, and we hear this one is hopping.
Also on Tuesday night, see the new documentary, “Wages of Spin II,” by local Irish-American filmmaker Shawn Swords, at the Bryn Mawr Theater in Bryn Mawr. It explores the payola scandals of the 1950s.
Thursday ushers in the merry month of May, and the group, Open the Door for Three– Kieran O’Hare on uilleann pipes, whistles and flute; Liz Knowles on fiddle, and Pat Broaders on bouzouki and vocals—will be performing at the Blue Ball Barn in Alapocas Run State Park in Wilmington. Kids under 17 get in free.
Looking ahead: On May 3, there will be a day-long exhibit on the life of Irish patriot and union activist, James Connolly, focusing on the eight years he spent in the US that influenced his actions during the Dublin Lockout of 1913. And if this all means nothing to you, go to the exhibit at the American Catholic Historical Society and find out about the lockout, which was a prelude to the 1916 Easter uprising in Dublin.
May 3 is turning into quite a busy day. Local record producer and performer Gabriel Donohue will be celebrating the 25 years of his company, Cove Island Productions, at a gala at New York’s Irish Center featuring many of the top-drawer musicians he’s worked with including Joannie Madden, Eileen Ivers, James Keane, Cathy Maguire, Liz McNicholl, Donie Carroll, members of Girsa, Brian Conway, and others, including his wife, singer Marian Makins. Donohue moved from North Jersey to Philadelphia several years ago and continues to produce CDs at his relocated recording studio.
Check our calendar for more details on all these events.
