Vince Gallagher, who appeared in the Martin Ritt movie, will be one your hosts on the trip.
The “Molly Maguires” were a group of miners in the coal region of Pennsylvania who formed a union in the 1860s to protect workers from the terrible working conditions in the mines, which weren’t properly ventilated and had no safety provisions, and horrendous living conditions that were dictated by the miners’ low salaries. Often, they were paid in what we called “bob-tailed” checks, which consisted of goods that had to be purchased at the overpriced company store. They were largely, though not entirely, Irish.
In 1970, Martin Ritt’s film, “The Molly Maguires,” starring Sean Connery, debuted, featuring a group of extras from the Philadelphia area, including musician Vince Gallagher, now president of the Commodore Barry Club (The Irish Center).
On June 6, you can join Gallagher as well as fellow WTMR radio host Marianne MacDonald on a trip down memory lane—actually, to the towns of Jim Thorpe and Eckly, PA, where the film was made. The bus trip, leaving from the Irish Center, will include a tour of Eckley’s Miners’ Village and the Old Jail Museum in Jim Thorpe, with a dinner, featuring Gallagher and his band, at the Emerald Restaurant. The $79 charge includes transportation by bus with rest rooms, DVD, and on-board refreshments, all admissions, sit-down dinner, and entertainment.
Seats are filling up fast, so call Marianne MacDonald at 856-236-2717 or email rinceseit@msn.com or call Vince Gallagher at 610-220-4142 for information or tickets.
