It’s not over yet! Remember, it’s Irish Heritage month, so there are still plenty of ways to be Irish this week!
Irish musician, songwriter and producer Phil Coulter–winner of 23 platinum discs and a Grammy nominee—will be at the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center with popular singer Andy Cooney on Saturday night. He’s best known for his solo instrumental albums and for being part of the creative brains behind Celtic Thunder, the ultra-popular group of male singers whose fans, known as Thunderheads, follow them all around the country.
Andy Cooney is an Irish-American singer from Long Island who began his career at 17. He was already touring with Irish bandleader Paddy Noonan by the time he was 19. He’s one of the “New York Tenors,” and has performed to sell-out crowds at Carnegie Hall.
They’ll be joined on stage by Coulter’s wife, singer Geraldine Branagan, who started her career as part of a singing group she formed with her brothers.
Catch up with Blackthorn as this popular Delco group throws its annual “Event in the Tent” at Ridley Township Municipal Arena Saturday starting at 2 PM. Galway Guild will play, followed by Scott Moran and Matt Kelly, then Blackthorn beginning at 4 PM. There will be vendors and kids’ activities in a heated tent.
Galway Guild is heading to Newtown, Bucks County to perform at The Green Parrot at 5 PM.
Former Blackthorn guitarist and successful solo performer Seamus Kelleher will be at The Dubliner on the Delaware in New Hope on Saturday night.
The Kevin Barry’s GFC is holding a fundraiser with the band Stosis at Con Murphy’s Pub on the Parkway in Philly starting at 9 PM on Saturday.
Country singer Liam McLaughlin will be crooning at The Irish Center on Saturday night. Bring your dancing shoes.
And “One Great Thing,” an Irish-themed play, continues its run at the Pennbrook Middle School in North Wales.
On Sunday, the Irish Center will begin hosting an art exhibit of special works commissioned to honor local Clan na Gael leader Joseph McGarrity, who helped fund and supply those who struck for Irish independence 100 years ago in Dublin, and other leaders of 1916. There will be a catered reception starting at 2 PM with music provided by harpist Mark Carroll.
You can learn more about the Philadelphia ties to the 1916 Easter Rising at Villanova. On Monday, March 21, the university will begin an exhibit of items directly connected to the Rising from its Joseph McGarrity Collection. That includes one of the two original copies of the proclamation—much like our Declaration of Independence—read by Padraig Pearse on the steps of the General Post Office in Dublin on April 24, 1916. The exhibit will be mounted in the Falvey Library. There will be a reception between 4 and 6 PM.
There will be many more 1916-themed events coming up in April, including, on Sunday, April 3, the annual Easter Rising Commemoration at Holy Cross Cemetery in Yeadon where Joseph McGarrity and “Dynamite” Luke Dillon are buried.
Also, on Wednesday, March 30, there will be a launch ceremony for the “Darkness into Light “ walk, a fundraiser for Pieta House, an Irish organization that does outreach to those who are depressed or suicidal. Participants at the May 7 walk will start out at 4:15 AM—in darkness—and complete their walk after the sun comes up.
The event takes place at dozens of locations worldwide. Pieta House recently opened its nonprofit service in New York, the first international location. The launch will take place at United Plaza, 30 South 17th Street in Philadelphia. You can register for the walk at the Pieta House website.
