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April 2021

How to Be Irish in Philly This Week

Music … you want it? We got it. Many of the area’s top Irish musicians are in action this week throughout the Delaware Valley.

Here’s what’s up.

Friday, April 30

Jamison Celtic Rock’s Frank Daly and fiddler Alice Marie are playing the Kensington Pub, starting at 8 p.m. The Kensington Pub is at 2116 East Tioga Street.

Saturday, May 1

Check out Paddy Whack’s Irish Sports Pub, 9241-43 Roosevelt Boulevard in the Northeast, for a show by the Bogside Rogues. They’ll be there from 3 to 7 p.m.

And John Byrne is back, this time at 118 North—that’s 118 North Wayne Avenue in Wayne. Take in dinner and a show—doesn’t that sound nice?—starting at 8:30 p.m. You need to reserve a table for indoor dining.

April 30, 2021 by Jeff Meade

Music, People

Raymond Coleman Recording New Album … and You Can Help

It’s been six or seven years since Raymond Coleman, one of the Philadelphia area’s most popular Irish musicians, has recorded an album. The first was “Trouble (with a Capital T.)”

Now, he’s getting ready to work on the next one—as yet unnamed—and it promises to be a real crowd-pleaser. Best of all, proceeds benefit autism awareness.

The long pandemic-imposed break in live performances gave Coleman time to think about the sorts of tunes he wants to put on the CD, which he’ll be recording at Cove Island Productions, with multitalented local musician Gabriel Donohue producing.

“I’m just trying to get things organized,” he says. “People have been asking when I’d be doing the next recording, and every year I’ve said, ‘It’s coming’.”

April 30, 2021 by Jeff Meade

How to Be Irish in Philly

How to Be Irish in Philly This Week

Quite a fun little week ahead, with lots of live musical listening opportunities—as well as an opportunity to get out and get physical with Philly’s vibrant Gaelic sports scene.

Here ya go:

Friday, April 23

Frank Daly will be performing at Eddington House, 2813 Hulmeville Road in Bensalem, tonight, starting at 8 p.m.

And Raymond Coleman appears at Dooney’s Pub, 154 NJ-73 in Voorhees, N,J., starting at 6 p.m.

Saturday, April 24

Na Toraidhe—the Philadelphia Hurling and Camogie Club—is looking for new players. Never heard of hurling or camogie? Not surprising. Lots of people haven’t. But trust us, both are some of the fastest moving games in all of sport, and they’re unique to Ireland. Find out more at registration night, 5 p.m. at Punch Buggy Brewing, 1445 N. American Street in Philly. The 2021 hurling and camogie season start soon.

April 23, 2021 by Jeff Meade

Food & Drink

Mini Desserts for Every Taste

You like cheesecake. Your mother likes carrot cake. Your son likes brownies. If you’ve ever faced a dessert dilemma — or you’re just looking for a fresh idea for your next special occasion meal or afternoon tea — dessert in a jar is your solution.

In addition to making an impressive presentation, these mini treats offer something to please every taste. If you have small glasses (2 to 3 ounces) or 4-ounce Mason jars that you use for canning or preserving, use them for layering your ingredients.

Mini desserts are ideal for sampling, and they’re especially charming for a spring tea. You’ll find similar mini desserts in my Teatime in Ireland cookbook. To order signed copies, visit wwwirishcook.com.

April 22, 2021 by Margaret M. Johnson

How to Be Irish in Philly

How to Be Irish in Philly This Week

More live Irish tuneage this week, along with an opportunity to do good works for the environment. The Irish have diverse interests.

Check it out.

Friday, April 16

Jamison Celtic Rock takes the stage at the great sports bar, Nick’s Roast Beef, 4501 Woodhaven Road West in Northeast Philly. The show starts at 6 p.m.

Saturday, April 17

If you’re across the Delaware, join the Ancient Order of Hibernians Commodore John Barry Division 1 in National Park, N.J., for a big clean-up at Beach Hill, right along the river near the AOH clubhouse, the Fort Mercer Club. The cleanup begins at 9 a.m. The beach is littered with trash and debris, and the AOH plans on prettying things up. Meet at the Fort Mercer Club, 200 Columbia Boulevard in National Park. The more, the merrier, and a great cause.

April 16, 2021 by Jeff Meade

Music, People

Want to Keep Up with Irish Music? Join the Great Irish Songbook!

It’s where to go when Derek Warfield & The Young Wolfe Tones host a live online concert, where local Irish musicians publicize upcoming gigs—or post their availability for new ones—and where you can hear a vintage recording of the Chieftains playing “The Foggy Dew.”

And a whole lot more.

It’s The Great Irish Songbook, a group page on Facebook, and if you want to join in the fun, you can.

The page is the brainchild of Bill Donahue, Jr., front man for The Shantys—and who better? He’s been playing Irish music since 1999. He grew up in a household heavily influenced by the musical preferences of his Derry-born grandfather and his mother, from Dublin. He’s been hearing rebel tunes practically from the cradle.

He’s been a musician since 1999, starting in a Pogues cover band. At an early age, he started taking tin whistle lessons. They didn’t take at the time—he wasn’t very good at it, he admits—but later on in life he picked it up again, and now it’s one of his principal musical instruments.

April 16, 2021 by Jeff Meade

History, News

Easter Rising Commemoration 2021

A little rain—more like a downpour at the end—couldn’t stop the 2021 commemoration of the Easter Rising at Holy Cross Cemetery in Yeadon on Sunday.

A few dozen marchers, led by the Philadelphia Emerald Society Pipe Band and the Pennsylvania 69^th Irish Brigade, wound its way through the cemetery to visit the gravesites of local Irish patriots Luke Dillon, Danny Cahalane and Joseph McGarrity.

Members of those families laid wreaths of flowers, and a representative of the 69^th Irish Brigade sprinkled Irish soil over each gravesite.

April 15, 2021 by Jeff Meade

How to Be Irish in Philly

How to Be Irish in Philly This Week

Enjoy live tunes and honor Philly’s Irish patriots this week—and mark your calendars for a special event coming up.

Here’s what’s on tap:

Friday, April 9

Jamison Celtic Rock—the full band—will take their show to Delco tonight, at Tom N Jerry’s Sports Pub, 1006 MacDade Boulevard in Folsom. Tunes start at 6 p.m.

Saturday, April 10

Celtic folkies No Irish Need Apply are back, playing Paddy Whacks Irish Sports Pub, 9241-43 Roosevelt Boulevard in Northeast Philly, from 3 to 7 p.m. Great band, super venue.

April 9, 2021 by Jeff Meade

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