Olympic boxer Danny O’Connor. Photo by Andre Lambiase.
Another jam-packed week in Irish Philadelphia. Yay us!
On Saturday, you can support the Claddagh Fund, which raises money for underfunded nonprofits in the Philadelphia region, at the fights. The main event is a matchup between national amateur champion and 2008 Olympian Danny O’Connor and former world champion Vivian Harris. You can also see Three of Ireland’s best young boxers: Anthony “Anto” Cacace, Irish prospect of the year for 2012 and, despite that name, from West Belfast;former Irish super-featherweight champ (and former child actor) Tyrone McKenna, and super middleweight Ray “Irish Sugar” Ginley.
Oh, and you can expect to hear a little Dropkick Murphys too—lead singer Ken Casey is the brains behind the Claddagh Fund. They’ll be playing an acoustic set before the main event to get everyone into the fighting spirit. It all takes place at The Electric Factory. You can meet Ken Casey, Danny O’Connor, and the others fighters at Xfinity Live on Friday night at 6, prior to the Flyers’ game.
Beneficiaries of this event: The Hero Thrill Show, Inc., which raises money to pay for the college education of the children of police or firefighters who have died in the line of duty.
The Claddagh Fund will also honor two local men they say “exemplify the Irish fighting spirit:” former boxing commissioner, philanthropist and litigation lawyer, James J. Binns, and John Kane, business manager for the Plumbers Union Local 690.
That same night, a couple of more champs are performing at the Irish Center—that would be James Keane, one of the finest Irish box players in the world and Michel Tubridy, known for his prowess on the flute, tin whistle and concertina. Tubridy is one of the founders, with Keane’s brother, Sean, of The Chieftains. We would not be surprised if Keane’s nephew, Paraic, a remarkable fiddler whose home base is Philadelphia, showed up too.
On Monday, join the lively seniors for lunch at The Irish Center, where there’s sure to be some music and dancing too.
On Monday evening, The Coatesville Traditional Irish Music Series welcomes uillean piper Emmet Gill, who learned his craft in his native London though his roots are County Galway, and his partner of 10 years, Jesse Smith of Baltimore, a fiddler who learned to play from the acclaimed Brendan Mulvihill.
On Thursday, it’s time to fiddle around. The Celtic Fiddle Festival comes to Sellersville Theatre with Celts from all over: Kevin Burke from Ireland, Christian Lemaitre from Brittany, and Andre Brunet from Quebec, accompanied by master open tuning guitarist Nicola Quemener. You can hear Celtic music three different ways from some of the finest performers on the planet.
On Friday, our good friend, writer Liz Kerr, will be one of four Irish authors reading from their works at the Fishtown Tavern on Frankford Avenue in Philadelphia. Liz’s short stories and poetry have appeared in Philly Fiction, City Paper, Rust Belt Rising and The Galway Review. She’ll be joined by novelist Shawn McBride, writer/teacher Corinne Kelly, and poet Sean Kearney.
Another good friend and sometime contributor, photographer Brian Mengini, is offering specially priced photo sessions next Saturday at Ridley Lake in Ridley Park, with 15% of the session fee going to support The Irish Immigration Center. Now’s the time to get those Christmas photos done by a really remarkable photographer. And you get a 5 X 7 for free!
See our calendar for more information about all these events.
