The names of all the workers are on this monument in West Laural Hill Cemetery, but only 7 bodies have been buried.
There are 50 more ghosts of Duffy’s Cut who need a proper burial and a fundraiser on Sunday at the Twentieth Century Club in Lansdowne will help bring them and the men who’ve kept their memory alive closer to peace.
A group from Philadelphia’s Irish community, including Irish Immigration Center Executive Director Siobhan Lyons, Irish Network Philadelphia President Bethanne Killian, Irish Memorial Board President Kathy McGee Burns, and musician Gerry Timlin, are helping spearhead the campaigh which starts with the musical fundraiser.
Along with Timlin, performers will include John Byrne, Paraic Keane, Rosaleen McGill, Gabriel Donohue, Marin Makins, Donie Carroll, Mary Malone, Den Vykopal and others. Makins and Donohue perform their version of the song, “Duffy’s Cut” on irishphiladelphia.com’s CD, “Ceili Drive: The Music of Irish Philadelphia.” The event, which includes food and drink and raffles, costs $25. Tickets are available online. Sponsorships are also available via the Duffy’s Cut website.
Sponsors include local law firms, a construction company, and organizations such as the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, the oldest Irish association in the US, founded in Philadelphia before the Declaration of Independence was signed.
Also on board as a major sponsor: the Irish American Business Chamber and Network. Bill McLaughlin, who founded the IABCN, explains why: “The Irish American Business Chamber & Network is dedicated to promoting business between Ireland and the United States. Our promotion can be elemental as introducing two people, or two companies, that plan to work together. We wholeheartedly support trade between the entire island of Ireland and this region, and we support the work of the Watson brothers, who honor the dead and forgotten Irish workers who came to American in the early 19th Century to find work, while fulfilling their American dream. A dream which became a nightmare all too quickly for them and their families, is finally being solemnly addressed by the Duffy’s Cut project, and the chamber is proud to help in this small way.”
Not only that, but there’s great food, drinks, and music—a great place to take Dad on Father’s Day.
That’s not all that’s going on this weekend. Buck County’s AOH divisions are holding an Irish Music Festival at Maennerchor Field in Doylestown on Saturday, with music (of course), food, and vendors.
And Philadelphia’s Bloomsday celebration has started. The annual event, which marks the day when James Joyce’s most famous fictional character, Leopold Bloom, began his stream of consciousness stroll around Dublin, is marked by pub quizzes (at Fergie’s on Saturday), exhibitions at the Rosenbach Museum (this one on Joyce and Shakespeare) and readings from the novel Ulysses at three locations on Monday, which is the official Bloomsday. There is also another exhibit opening Tuesday on Joyce’s other famous book, “The Dubliners,” which gave us the character Stephen Daedelus.
Continuing this week: “The Toughest Boy in Philadelphia,” a gender-bending play about an Irish mobster named Whistling Jack McConnell, at the Luna Theater.
On Thursday, the IACBN celebrates its 15th birthday with a celebration at The Fairmount Boathouse in Philadelphia with music, cocktails, food—and most important, opportunities to network with other members of the tribe. (They throw a great party—trust me!)
On Friday, join award-winning local group RUNA as they debut their latest CD, “Current Affairs,” which we review here.
And next Saturday, June 21, it’s worth it to take a little trip to York County. The 13th annual Penn-Mar Festival takes place at the Markets at Shrewsbury in Glen Rock and features some fantastic acts, including an Irish Philadelphia favorite, The Screaming Orphans, four Donegal girls whose harmonies are so tight you’ll think you’re listening to the Angelic Host. You know, if the Angelic Host sang traditional Irish music and Celtic rock. Also on the bill: The Elders, a Kansas City-based Celtic rock bad, along with the Celtic Martins, Irish Blessing (featuring our friend Cushla Scours), NUA, the Spalpeens, and more. The price to get in? $10. You can’t get all that fun for that little anywhere else.
Check out our calendar for all the details.
