Whoever came up with the idea of turning Mick Moloney, Robbie O’Connell and Jimmy Keane into a group, hurray for you.
These three traditional Irish musicians have been at the forefront of Irish music for more years than they care to count. And they’re coming to the Irish Center on Saturday night for a concert sponsored by the Philadelphia Ceili Group.
Singer and musician Mick Moloney, a Limerick native, is an honorary Philadelphia. He pursued his graduate studies at Penn in 1973 and stayed on for several years to revive the Irish music tradition in the city. He’s also the architect of two topnotch groups, Cherish the Ladies and The Green Fields of America. He is a Natational Endowment of the Arts Heritage fellow.
Waterford native Robbie O’Connell was a member of the Clancy Brothers (his mother was a Clancy sister) and still performs with his cousins Donal and Aoife Clancy. He is a singer, musician, and songwriter.
Jimmy Keane was born in London to Irish parents from Connemara and Kerry. He won five consecutive All-Ireland titles on the piano accordion. In 2011 Keane, who lives in Chicago, was named “Male musician of the decade” by Live Ireland and the Irish American News.
Also on Saturday night, Philadelphia Rose of Tralee Mairead Comaskey gives up her crown at the Rose of Tralee Selection Ball at the Radnor Hotel in St. Davids.
On Saturday afternoon, the Philadelphia GAA takes on the New York GAA in Gaelic football action at the Philly GAA’s Limerick Sports Complex.
You can catch Jamison at the Tir na nOg Kitchen and Irish Pub in Cherry Hill starting at 10 PM on Saturday night.
On Sunday, at Tir na nOG in Philadelphia, there’s a fundraiser to help defray the costs of a statue of Thomas Clarke, one of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising and the first signer of the Proclamation—Ireland’s Declaration of Independence—in his home town of Dungannon, County Tyrone in Northern Ireland. The Bogside Rogues, Derm Farrell, Seamus McGroary, Cormac Brady and other musicians will be on hand to entertain during this beef-and-beer fundraiser.
Also on Sunday afternoon, another fundraiser will help the Duffy’s Cut Project. It’s being held at Doylestown Brewing Company where you can sample their Duffy’s Cut Beer. Duffy’s Cut is an archeological site in Malvern where the bodies of 57 Irish immigrant railroad workers were interred after a cholera outbreak in 1832. Seven of the bodies have been recovered and two were repatriated to Ireland. The new phase of the project aims to recover the other 50 bodies.
On Monday, Dr. Brendan O’Leary, professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania will be lecturing on the different perspectives of the 1916 Easter Rising at the Stotesbury Mansion in Philadelphia starting at 5:30 PM. Singers Gabriel Donohue and Marian Makins will perform. The program is co-sponsored by the Brehon Law Society, the Irish American Business Chamber and Network and the Irish Immigration Center. It’s free but you must register, which you can do here.
On Wednesday, a post script to the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade: awards time. The groups and individuals who won awards in the parade will be honored at the EOM Athletic Association on Moore Street in Philadelphia. Tickets are available at the door.
On Thursday, bring plenty of business cards to the Irish Network-Philadelphia Happy Hour networking event at Field House at 1150 Filbert Street in Philadelphia.
On Thursday night, Slainte will be appearing at Kildare’s in West Chester.
On Friday, the AOH Div 1 in Gloucester County is holding a special “Night for Jesse” to raise money for their AOH Brother Jesse Hartnett, the Philadephia police officer who was shot in the line of duty on January 7 and who is facing a long recovery process. Hartnett was ambushed and shot several times in the arm. He recerntly threw out the first ball in the Phillies home opener, after which he proposed to his girlfriend in front of TV cameras and the ballpark audience.
If you’re at the Jersey Shore for this years Feis at the Beach starting on April 22, catch the Derry Brigade at the Anglesea Pub in North Wildwood next Saturday and Sunday.
Support a valuable program for military vets and first responders while enjoying the music of Blackthorn at the annual fundraiser on April 23 for Shamrock Reins, a unique program in Bucks County that pairs vets with horses for equine therapy.
On Sunday, April 24, join hundreds of others at the Irish Memorial to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising of 1916, one of Ireland’s steppingstones to independence. After a flag-raising ceremony at the Memorial at Second and Chestnut streets there will be a march down Market Street to Independence Mall where the 1916 Proclamation will be read.
