The late Paul Phillips and Knute Bonner: No one will be as Irish as these two! We miss them.
Saturday’s rain forecast has scuttled most if not all of the parades scheduled for March 14, including Springfield, Conshocken, Trenton, and Hamilton. Fortuantely, Conshohocken does have a rain date: March 28. Bucks County is planning to make a decision by 7 PM tonight (Friday, March 13). The Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade is expecting better weather on Sunday and will start as usual around 12:15 PM.
This is St. Patrick’s Week, so there’s a lot to cover. Let’s get this party started.
SATURDAY
9 AM: As far as we know, the Leprechaun Run is still on for Saturday morning on West River Drive. All proceeds benefit Special Olympics.
NOON: The Erin Express Pub Crawl starts in Philadelphia.
1 PM: Folks shave their heads for a good cause—children’s cancer research—at a St Baldrick’s Event at Brittingham’s in Lafayette Hill.
2 PM: The group Fake Mackenzie is on stage at Maggie’s on the Waterfront in Philly.
2 PM: The McHugh School of Irish Dance will be at Timothy’s Riverfront Grill in Wilmington, DE.
3 PM: The Jameson Sisters will join the VOICES Chorale, with tenor James Walsh and fiddler Mary Malone for a musical exploration of Irish harp and song at St John’s United Methodist Church in Ivyland.
3 PM: Join Celtic rockers Blackthorn for their annual “Event in the Tent” at Ridley Park Marina.
4 PM The Paul Moore Band is booked at The Great American Pub.
5 PM: The Conshohocken Parade is rescheduled to March 28, but the party goes on at the Notre Dame Div. 1 clubhouse in Swedesburg.
5 PM: The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick will hold its annual gala at the Union League. Tainaste (Deputy Prime Minister) Joan Burton is expected to attend, along with the provost of Trinity College in Dublin.
5 PM: Time to board the bus with Galway Guild to go to their gig at Mauch Chunk Opera House in Jim Thorpe.
6 PM. The Green Parrot Irish Festival continues in Newtown with various acts including, this night, Luke Jardel and the Hooligans.
6 PM: The McHugh Irish dancers will be entertaining at AJ Stephens Crab House in Glenolden.
7 PM: Jamison headlines PaddyPalooza at Curran’s in Tacony.
7 PM: Celtic singer Stephen Dodds is on stage at The Plough and the Stars in Philadelphia.
7 PM: There’s a St. Patrick’s Day Beef and Beer (with music) att he Woodstown Parish Center of the Holy Spirit Catholic Community in Woodstown, NJ.
8 PM: The Jameson Sisters, VOICES, Mary Malone and James Walsh will take their Irish harp and song show to Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton.
8 PM. The Hooligans are at the Whitman Square Fire House in Blackwood, NJ.
8 PM: Thanks to local Indian dancer Shaily Dadiala we know that Irish and Indian musical traditions blend beautifully. Tonight, the Philadelphia Mandolin Ensemble and Indian mandolinist Snehasish Mozunder will present an evening of music from Ireland, the Irish diaspora, and North India at Swarthmore Friends Meetinghouse.
8 PM: If you’re anywhere near Riverside, NJ stop in at Dooney’s Irish Pub and hear the fabulous Tyrone singer Raymond Coleman.
8 PM: The Fake MacKenzie group is at MaGerks in Fort Washington.
8 PM: Catch the Galway Girls (Meredith Beck, Janice Landry, and Irene Molloy) at the Bucks County Playhouse, with lots of songs.
8 PM: There’s another showing of the interactive Irish play, Lafferty’s Wake, at Society Hill Playhouse in Philadelphia.
8 PM The Shantys will be at JT Brewski’s Pub in Delaware County (Aldan).
9 PM: Steve Moran will play at Marty Magee’s in Prospect Park.
9:30 PM: The Sherwood Brothers bring their mix of Irish, folk and country to Brittingham’s in Lafayette Hill.
10 PM: The Bogside Rogues have lots of fun (and you will too) at Tir na Nog in Philadelphia.
SUNDAY
The Philly St. Patrick’s Day parade traditionally starts with a Mass at St. Patrick’s Church at 20th and Locust, kicks off between 12:15 and 12:30 PM, and ends at 3-4 PM at the Art Museum.
There are loads of post-parade parties, including one at the Irish Center, but this year for the first time, Philadelphia joins other cities across the country to celebrate Sober St. Patrick’s Day, an alcohol-free event that’s being held at WHYY studios on North 6th Street in Philadelphia. Music will be provided by a bevy of All-Ireland champion musicians and singers and the group Irish Blessing from York. The International Rose of Tralee, Maria Walsh, who is herself an abstainer, will also be on hand. The organization was founded in New York to accommodate people in recovery and families who don’t want to be around overindulging revelers. The event starts at 4PM.
10 AM: The Celtic League Cup Final Match is being broadcast at The Plough and the Stars in Philadelphia.
1 PM: Learn a little about the Irish dead in the historic Laurel Hill Cemetery on Ridge Avenue in Philadelphia with their annual St. Patrick’s Day Tour, Toasts, and Tastes—yes there’s beer and food at the end of the tour.
2 PM: There’s a matinee performance of the play, Lafferty’s Wake, at Society Hill Playhouse.
2 PM: The McHugh Irish Dancers will be at Downeys in Philadelphia.
3 PM: The Bogside Rogue will continue the fun at Brittinghams.
3 PM: Join a hands-on tour of the works of James Joyce, Bram Stoker, and other Irish authors at the Rosenbach Museum in Philadelphia.
3 PM: The Hooligans are whooping it up at the Red Rooster in Philly.
3 PM: The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick are holding their second annual parade on Main Street in Clinton, NJ.
3 PM: Galway Guild will be entertaining at New Deck Tavern on Sansom Street in Philadelphia.
3 PM: The Paul Moore Band will play at Paddy Whack’s Pub at Second and South.
4 PM: Clancy’s Pistol is at Katie O’Donnell’s at the Franklin Mills Mall in Philadelphia.
4 PM: Irish Network Philadelphia is holding its annual after parade party at Marty Magee’s Pub in Prospect Park.
4 PM: Stephen Dodds is singing at The Plough and the Stars.
4 PM: The McHugh Irish dancers are at Cavanaugh’s in Head House Square, Philly. Catch them later at Downey’s and at AJ Stephens Crab House in Glenolden.
4:30: Gabriel Donohue will be joined on stage by Cathy Maguire, Deb Shebish, and Marian Makins at Regina Academy at St. John the Baptist in Ottsville.
7 PM: The Fake MacKenzies will be at O’Mare’s in Bustleton.
8 PM: It’s the evening show of “Lafferty’s Wake” at Society Hill Playhouse.
MONDAY
7 PM: Philly’s favorite adopted son, Raymond Coleman, will be at Behan’s Pub in the Bronx. Singing and playing, of course.
7:30 PM: Singer Rosaleen McGill will be performing with Tim Buchanan and Diarmuid MacDuibhne at Tir na Nog in Philadelphia.
8 PM: The Rogue Diplomats will take the stage at Brittingham’s.
TUESDAY, ST. PATRICK’S DAY
Hughie Sweeney and friends will be performing at St. Declan’s Well on Walnut Street near the Penn Campus all day. It’s an Irish-owned bar, so you know there will be great Irish food. Brittingham’s is launching its St. Paddy’s Day ith kegs and eggs and live music all day. And I saw the menu for Paddy Rooney’s Pub in Delco—mmmmmm. You’ll have plenty of choices today, but get there early.
7 AM: Judge Jimmy Lynn’s regular St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast starts bright and early at The Plough and the Stars. It’s a place where local pols, actors, musicians, and just plain folk rub elbows (and everything else—it’s crowded) on St. Patrick’s Day. Judge Jimmy is a jovial host who’s been known to sing a song or two.
7 AM: A St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast that benefits the Patrick Kerr Scholarship Fund is being held at Breen’s Huntington Inn in Jenkintown.
7 AM: The annual AOH St. Patrick’s Day Charity breakfast will again be at Fado Irish Pub on Locust Street in Philadelphia.
11 AM: St. Patrick’s Day at the Irish Memorial starts with Mass, some ceremony, singing, and then, adorable and talented Irish dancers.
11:30 AM: The Shantys are at the Erin Pub in Norwood.
Noon: The Erin Express takes off again in Philly. Watch out!
Noon: The McHugh Irish dancers are jigging at Chick-Fil-A in Glen Mills.
Noon: The Broken Shillelaghs are playing at the St. Patrick’s Day Open House at the Gloucester County AOH in National Park, NJ.
12:30 PM: Have your dancing shoes ready. The Theresa Flanagan Band will be playing at McGillicuddy’s in Upper Darby.
1 PM: Clancy’s Pistol is at Dooney’s in Delran.
2 PM: Jamison Celtic Rock is Celtic rockin at Paddy Whack’s on South Street in Philly.
3 PM: The Bogside Rogues are at the Red Rooster on Dungan Street in Philly.
3 PM: Do yourself and everyone else in the Irish community a favor and get tested for the Tay-Sachs Disease gene at Einstein Medical Center. The disease has been discovered in Irish people (there are three cases in Philadelphia) and Einstein is doing a study to determine how prevalent it is and whether Irish people need to be routinely tested. The disease strikes babies and is always fatal.
3 PM: Galway Guild is traveling to Newark, DE, to perform at Kildare’s.
4 PM: Mick’s Company will be entertaining at McGillicuddy’s in Wayned.
5 PM: Jerseyites: Patch, Bob, and Mike Glennan will be performing at Max’s Seafood Café in Gloucester City, NJ.
5 PM: The River Drivers, a hot new local band, is booked at Dolan’s Irish Pub. I’ve gotten emails about them from Ireland! They’re from Bristol Borough.
6 PM: The Broken Shillelaghs are at Tavern on the Edge in Gloucester City.
7 PM: Fake MacKenzie is at O’Mare’s in Bustleton.
7 PM: Karen Boyce and the Lads will be at Maggie O’Neill’s in Drexel Hill.
7 PM: Find the McHugh dancers at Duffer’s on Route 1 in Concordville.
7 PM: Novelist Claire Kilroy will be reading from her work at Villanova University’s Connelly Center Cinema.
7:30 PM: A St. Patrick’s Day tradition: Bill Monaghan and Celtic Pride at the Sellersville Theater.
8 PM: Gary O’Neill and Lee McCarron will be performing at Cawley’s Pub in Upper Darby.
8 PM: The Hooligans are at Sugarhouse Casino on Delaware Avenue in Philly.
8 PM: Find Clancy’s Pistol shooting up the Triumph Brewery in New Hope.
8 PM: Galway Guild moves from Delaware to Kildare’s in West Chester.
8 PM: Jamison is at RP Murphy’s in Holmes.
8 PM: The Shanty’s are at Marty Magee’s in Prospect Park.
WEDNESDAY
Phew! And it’s not over yet! Not by a long shot.
2 PM: The Theresa Flanagan Band plays at Broomall Presbyterian Nursing Home in Broomall.
8 PM: Dervish is at the Grand Opera House in Wilmington, DE.
THURSDAY
5 PM: Eoin McEvoy will be lecturing at Villanova’s Falvey Library on the Irish language.
6 PM. Order from the four-course prix fix vegan menu being tested out at The Plough and the Stars.
6:30 PM: The Irish Conversation group continues to converse in Irish at Villanova.
7:30 PM: If you missed them at the Irish Center, FullSet is back in town, performing at the Sellersville Theatre.
FRIDAY
7 PM: Finnegan’s Wake Interactive Dinner Comedy is slated at the Scottish Rite Auditorium in Collingswood, NJ.
7:30 PM. The Henry Girls, an amazing trio of musical sisters from Donegal, is appearing at Burlap and Bean in Newtown Square. Read our story.
8 PM: Another evening performance of “Lafferty’s Wake” at Society Hill Playhouse.
A word about next weekend: Big doings at the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center in Drexel Hill. Popular singer Tony Kenny brings a group of amazing young performers for a celebration of Irish music on March 21. Also, Derek Warfield and the Young Wolfetones are at The Plough. There’s plenty more, but I now have carpal tunnel syndrome and have to stop writing.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day from Jeff, Lori, and me! See you somewhere!
