By Michael Bradley
The 10th Annual Philadelphia Irish Festival @ Penn’s Landing was held on Sunday June 22nd. We had huge crowds in attendance as we attempted to revive this sleeping giant of an event. We had great weather, great crowds, and quite a bit of fun, dancing, singing, and plenty of music. And of course, Penn’s Landing is such a great venues to hold an event like this.
The music was headlined by Blackthorn. Others performing were:
Paddy’s Well, Round Tower Band, and new this year, Traditional Music by the musicians from the Irish Center.
The singing was ably performed by my old buddy Timmy Kelly.
The Irish Dance groups who performed were:
Celtic Flame, Cara, Coyle, Cummins, Rince Ri, Timoney, McDade, and McHugh School’s of Irish Dance.
A few nights after the festival I had the great opportunity and pleasure of going out to dinner with the Grand Lady of Irish Dance, Rose Marie Timoney. I spent the entire evening picking Rose Marie’s brain to learn everything I can about the Dance schools from an instructors perspective. I can tell you from my meeting with her, I know I can do a better job not only with the Festival and Phillies Irish Night, but most importantly with the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade. It is always critical to get expert advice from someone when you are not too familiar with all their problems and expectations, and to get advice from the very best, is invaluable to me. Thanks Rose Marie !!
Sponsors were Penn’s Landing, Blue Cross, PECO, and for the first time this year Tom Breinich from Guinness. John Dougherty and Local 98 sponsored the kid’s zone which was non-stop action. How can we ever thank Marty Farrell of Muller Beverage and Miller Lite for their unwavering support of Irish Events in Philadelphia?
I was honored to present awards for Man and Woman of the year to 2 individuals who have done outstanding volunteer work in the Irish Community: Seamus Boyle currently running for National AOH President, and CBS3 Anchor, Susan Barnett.
I had the opportunity to chat quite a while with PA Attorney General Tom Corbett about the Parade and the needs of the Irish Community and was quite happy with the results of our conversation. Tom told me that although he is from the wrong end of the State in Pittsburgh, he was born here in Philadelphia and originally from Overbrook and Lady of Lourdes Parish. I introduced Tom to the crowd and he said how happy he was that he stopped by and pledged support to our community if re-elected in November.
I’d like to thank Mike Driscoll for his guidance and advice. Also Susan Canavan from Finnigan’s Wake did a fantastic job with all the venders. I’d also like to thank the wonderful people of Penn’s Landing Corporation for all their help. They are an absolute pleasure to work with.
I hope we can all pull together next year to make this the best Irish festival ever!
Thanks again for the support, enjoy your summer!
