St. Malachy’s Church: Great venue for a Mick Moloney concert.
There is so much Irish fun this week it will make your head spin. I’m going to have to go out on Halloween as the kid from The Exorcist.
First, there’s an intercollegiate Irish dance festival at Villanova (we’re fighting over who gets to go out and take photos) on Saturday, starting at 9 AM at the Jake Nevin Field House on campus.
On Saturday evening, the Mayo Ball takes place for the 109th time at The Irish Center. I’ve seen photos of the ballroom and it’s already sparkling in Mayo red and green.
Also on Saturday evening, Blackthorn in coming out for its 13th year in a row to raise money for little Kayleigh Moran (who’s not so little anymore). Kayleigh has a rare metabolic disease and the fundraiser helps with her treatment costs. The festivities are at Cardinal O’Hara High School in Springfield.
For our friends in Wilmington, you get Timlin and Kane at Katherine Rooney’ Pub on Saturday night—great music, terrific comedy.
And The Broken Shillelaghs will be appearing at Tavern on the Edge in Gloucester City, NJ, just over one of those bridges from Philly.
On Sunday, an event many of us wait for—Mick Moloney and Friends will be at St. Malachy’s Church in North Philadelphia for their annual Irish Concert. If you’ve never been, Moloney has some talented friends and the church is a jewel of a place with great acoustics for concerts. The money raised goes to St. Malachy’s School, a remarkable institution with a great track record for its alums.
On Wednesday, the Irish Minister for the Diaspora (that’s us) Jimmy Deenihan will be visiting The Irish Center, 6815 Emlen Street, Philadelphia, at 10 AM. All are invited.
On Wedneday evening, Dublin singer-songwriter Declan O’Rourke and Tyrone’s Mickey Coleman will be appearing at St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster in a tribute to the dead of Duffy’s Cut, 57 Irish immigrants who died or were killed while working on the railroad in Malvern in 1832. Joe Devoy, himself an Irish immigrant and owner of Tellus360, a concert venue in Lancaster, will perform a spoken word piece about Duffy’s Cut. This is a WXPN and Tellus360 concert.
On Friday, November 7, Pearse Doherty, finance spokesperson for Sunn Fein and TD for Donegal South West, will be speaking at The Irish Center on current economic and other conditions in Ireland today.
Also on Friday night, Jamison will be performing at AOH 39 on Tulip Street in Philadelphia.
Next weekend, the Celtic Cultural Alliance in Bethlehem is sponsoring a Fest-Noz, a traditional dance gathering from Brittany, much like a ceili, at Sts. Simon and Jude Parish Hall in the city. Brittany is one of the “seven nations” that traces their roots back to Celtic culture.
Next Sunday, the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame will be honoring the Philadelphia Ceili Group’s Jim McGill, former publican and Irish cultural promoter Emmett Ruane, and Bill and Frank Watson, twin brothers who brought the tragedy of Duffy’s Cut to light. A special new award, The Barry Award, will be given posthumously to Commodore John Barry, born in Wexford, who lived in Philadelphia and fought valiantly in the Revolutionary War. He is considered the father of the US Navy.
For more information on these events and others, see our calendar. Tell it we sent you.
