January 2016

If you’re colorblind, Old City this weekend might look like a giant “Where’s Waldo” game as Celtic supporters—that is, superfans of the Celtic Gaelic Football Club in Glasgow—descend on the city for their annual Celtic fest. You’ll know them—they’ll be the ones in the green and white jerseys with great big smiles on their faces.

You’ll run into them mainly at The Plough and the Stars, home of the Second Street PloughBhoys (the local branch), where they’ll be having lots of good food and listening to great live music (including Irish transplants Derm Farrell and Raymond Coleman) in between watching games and talking about games. It’s all great craic, even if you don’t care much about football.

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If the “blizzard conditions” prediction comes true, chances are you’ll be spending a good part of your weekend sitting at home, eating French toast and drinking wine, when you’re not digging out.

That means that even though there are a few things on the “How to Be Irish” calendar, call first before you head out to an event. The Jamison show at Brittingham’s has already been canceled for Saturday night, as has Saturday’s indoor Delco Gaels’ session at Maple Zone in Garnet Valley. You can catch at least some of Jamison next Thursday at Kildare’s West Chester. That would be Slainte, featuring Jamison’s Frank Daly and CJ Mills, the amazing flying fiddler. And there’s another indoor session for the Gaels on February 6.

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Proof that Irish traditional music is alive, well, and thriving? The next generation, like fiddler Dylan Foley and accordion player Dan Gurney. The two young Irish-Americans met and honed their skills at the Catskills Irish Weekend in East Durham, NY. It was there and in the Sunday afternoon concert series in the Rhinecliff Hotel where they met their two musical influences, legendary concertina and flute player Father Charlie Coen and flute and whistle player Mike McHale, and where they played in McHale’s Catskills Ceili Band.

Gurney moved to Galway for a year after graduating from Harvard; Foley, who is five years younger, won the All Ireland Senior Fiddle competition in 2014. The two made a CD together—appropriately called “Irish Music from the Hudson Valley”—which came out last year.

They’ll be bringing their talent to the stage on Sunday, January 17, at the Coatesville Cultural Society in Coatesville. Take a listen to what these two can do.

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Looking for a place to do a little dancing? The AOH Notre Dame Division one is having an Irish session for your listening and dancing pleasure on Saturday starting at 7 PM at their club at 342 Jefferson Street, Swedesburg.

Jamison Celtic Rock is performing at The Red Rooster Inn at 7960 Dungan Street in Philadelphia on Saturday night. One of our Facebook group members just suggested the Irish breakfast at The Red Rooster so you may want to go back on Sunday morning to try it out (they won’t let you sleep there).

On Monday, the Dubliner on the Delaware—a new pub-restaurant in New Hope—launches its every-Monday Irish music session.

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