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Jeff Meade

Genealogy

Calling All Gallaghers!

Our friend, Nancy Lyons, a Delaware-based genealogist, tells us that there’s a big Gallagher Clan Reunion taking place July 12-19 in Maryland, Washington, DC, and Adams County, PA. Last year, the Gallaghers (try saying it with the second “G” silent and you’ll have the Irish pronunciation of your name) met their Irish cousins in County Donegal, where the Gallagher name originates.

They’re expecting Gallaghers from all corners of the globe to descend to learn about the Gallaghers who served in the Civil War, attend the Adams County Irish Festival, see a baseball game, and enjoy some fireworks.

Of course, there’ll be plenty of sessions to discuss and share Gallagher genealogy and hear an update on the Gallagher DNA project.

For more information, contact:
Timothy P. Gallagher
5496 Ross Court
New Market, MD 21774 USA
Phone: 301-831-3994
E-mail: spqr753@msn.com

You’re a Gallagher if you have Gallaghers in your family tree—and the name can be spelled many different ways, including but not limited to these spellings: Gallagher, Galagher, Galaher, Galigher, Gallaghar, Gallagher, Gallahar, Gallaher, Gallaugher, Galliher, Gallihur, Gallocher, Gallogher, Galloher, Gallougher, Galligher, Goligher, Gollagher, Gollaher, Golliher, Gollocher, Gollogher, Golloher, Gollougher, Goloher.

April 10, 2010 by Jeff Meade

Music

Review: Ceol & Cuimhne (Music & Memory) by Téada

The band Teada in a pensive pose.

We’ll start with track 4 from the new Téada CD, Ceol & Cuimhne. It’s a set of reels including “The Russians Are Coming,” “The Miller’s Daughter” and “The Boston-Sligo Reel.”

The set begins with a few bars of airy bouzouki flatpicking by Seán Mc Elwain. It’s a deceptively light introduction to a sudden, frenzied duel between flutist Damien Stenson and Tristan Rosenstock, the band’s bodhrán player. By the time fiddler Oisín Mac Diarmada and Paul Finn on button accordion jump into the set, just before the transition to the second reel, things are already rocketing along. If there is some physical law of music that says a performance cannot exceed the speed of sound or light, or the bounds of good sense, these boys just broke it.

They can get away with it. Téada is just that good.

Whether they’re playing the foot-stomping “Circus Polka” or the tender “Sligo Air” (accompanied by the gifted County Mayo harper Gráinne Hambly, who has performed with the band on its annual Christmas tour), these five young exponents of traditional Irish music don’t make artistic compromises. Expect excitement, expect invention, but don’t expect trade-offs. They’re like the Blue Brothers of trad–they’re on a mission from God.

“Ceol & Cuimhne”–Irish for “music & memory”–is all about fidelity to tradition. Téada is demonstrably bound by an obligation to the past, but with their exuberant style of play and the sheer force of their virtuosity, the band succeeds wonderfully well at making the old tunes revelant and compelling here and now. For Téada, temporal convergence seems to be a recurring theme. Their 2006 album, “Inne Amarach” means “yesterday tomorrow.”

Like “Inne Amarach,” “Ceol & Cuimhne” is also a loving tribute to the legends of traditional Irish music, like Junior Crehan, Paddy Fahy, Michael Coleman and Philadelphia’s own Ed Reavy. Diehard traditionalists will find a lot to like in tunes like “Paddy Cronin’s,” “All Around the Room” and “Seamus McKenna’s.”

There are many standout performances on this recording. Fiddle fans will savor Oisín Mac Diarmada’s fresh interpretation of “Clothiers,” a march here presented as an air. “All Around the Room,” the middle tune in a set that includes “Miss Cassidy’s” and “The Ballingra Lass,” showcases the fine talents of Paul Finn, as does “Merty Rabbett’s.” And of course, Damien Stenson is everywhere, generally setting things on fire.

A comment or two on Rosenstock and McElwain. (Sounds like a law firm.) Rosenstock is like the Ringo Starr of the bodhran. (Which would make John Joe Kelly, what … Keith Moon?) As with Ringo, I think it’s easy to underrate Rosenstock. He just sets down a rock-solid rhythm, really knows the tunes well, and sticks to the other players like glue. Do I like the flashier stuff? You bet. But I can also appreciate the artistry and sensitivity with which Rosenstock plies his trade.

In much the same way, I think it’s all too easy to overlook McElwain. He’s always in the background. But if you listen to what he’s up to, you realize that the question of whether a tune holds together or falls apart often hinges on how well he plays. A band couldn’t have a better backbone.

The point is, they’re all world-class. And “Ceol & Cuimhne” is a world-class contribution to the tradition.

April 8, 2010 by Jeff Meade

Food & Drink, People

Stew Cook-Off Winners Rise to the Top

Tom Coffey, right, Mary Carr, and daughter Bernadette. (Click on photo for more.)

On one side of the table, Mary Carr. On the other, son-in-law Tom Coffey. In front of each: a foil tray filled with simmering Irish stew. Her stew. His stew. And only one stew can be … the best. It’s Mom vs. Tom.

On this Sunday afternoon at Finnigan’s Wake in Northern Liberties … Tom is the winner. His Irish stew is judged the best in the amateur category at the Sixth Annual Great Irish Stew Cook-Off, sponsored by the Hibernian Hunger Project.

Tom Coffey accepted his award with grace. Of Mary Carr, he said, “She needed a good ass whuppin’.”

But seriously, now, folks … “She (Mary) is a good sport,” says Tom. “I didn’t marry my wife. I married a family, and they’re a very social group.”

So no worries about where Tom Coffey will have Easter dinner. Rivalry aside, Tom’s making dinner. “And I always invite myself,” he says.

Here are the other winners:

Hibernian: Maryanne Burnett (LAOH 87)
Irish Organization: Helen DeGrand (Mayo Association)
Professional: Josh Landau (a 2007 winner)
People’s Choice: Team Kerrigan (a 2009 winner)

April 1, 2010 by Jeff Meade

Columns

Top 10 Ways to Get Over St. Patrick’s Day

Oh, the bed spins!

And what’s that sweet, cinnamon and coconut aftertaste lingering on my swollen, velour-clad tongue? Oh yes … candy Irish potatoes. I seem to recall consuming my entire body weight (and then some) in Irish potatoes. When was that? Was it yesterday? Two weeks ago?

Perhaps I am emerging from a diabetic coma. But no, that can’t be it. Something else …

I remember some things, but my recollections are all out of synch, and the frozen images flash through my mind like a PowerPoint presentation produced by Keith Richards on a bad day:

Blood sausages. And God help me, I am eating one. (Click.)

Yellow plastic-clad dancers tapping up 16th Street in a monsoon. (Click.)

Hairy men in kilts singing “C’mon Eileen” at the top of their lungs. It’s like a bad record. Well, of course it was a bad record. (Click.)

A conga line of drunk people snaking down Second Street. Shiny green plastic Mardi Gras beads are strung about their necks, and they’re wearing T-shirts emblazoned with tasteful slogans like “Bite me, I’m Irish” and “Rub my shamrocks for luck.” (Click.)

A crowd, no, a host of flashing plastic shamrock deely bobbers, fluttering and dancing in the breeze, tossing their heads in sprightly dance. Poetic, yes, but really, really weird. (Click.)

A bagpipe band playing “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” Hell, no, I don’t! Oh, please, for the love of God and all that is holy, just please stop! (Click.)

Ah, but I do know what this is. It’s all coming back to me. I have been down this road before. And even though I always tell myself, “no, nay, never, no more,” I know I will go there again. This, dear friends, is your brain on St. Patrick’s Day.

Any questions?

As you emerge from the kelly green-tinged haze, you may wonder, as I often have, can I ever become normal again? (Was I ever normal in the first place?) And why is that accordion player staring at me with a knowing grin?

Don’t give up hope. To aid in your recovery, we offer not 12 steps, but 10.

From the home office in Horseleap, County Offaly, the official irishphiladelphia.com Top 10 Ways to Get Over St. Patrick’s Day:

Order Chinese food. Szechuan ham and cabbage is not allowed.
Realize that the road did not rise up to meet you. You just fell down.
Walk into Finnegan’s Wake and order a perky little wine spritzer.
Have your begorrah surgically removed.
Stake out a spot on the Parkway for the Pulaski Day parade. It’s not until October, but you can’t be too early.
Recognize that’s it’s more than just a hangover. It’s PTSD: Post Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral Stress Disorder.
Seek help for an Irish ballad lasting four hours or longer, as this could be a sign of a serious medical condition.
Watch the worst Irish movie ever, “Far and Away,” starring Tom Cruise. It’ll put you off anything Irish. Because of this movie, Ireland joined the European Union … as Belgium.
Check into the Bog Down in the Valley-O Rehab Center of Malibu, California.
Henceforth, refer to anyone named Seamus as Luigi.

March 25, 2010 by Jeff Meade

Music

Solas: The Perfect End to St. Patrick’s Day

Solas on stage at World Cafe Live, banging out reels, jigs and songs: If there’s a better way, a better band and a better place to close out St. Patrick’s Day, I haven’t heard of it.

Starting with a foot-stomping set of reels and ending (an encore, of course) with the wildly rhythmic “Coconut Dog,” the Irish-American band headed by native Philadelphian and multi-instrumentalist Seamus Egan kept the joint jumping all night long.

If you weren’t there—and I probably shouldn’t tell you this because you’ll be heartbroken—Solas was joined onstage by Mike Brenner on dobro (he appears on the band’s most recent release, “The Turning Tide”) and by longtime collaborators Ben Wittman on drums and Chico Huff on bass. Normally, Huff is the only non-band member to accompany the band in local performances. This was a much fuller sound, more like what you hear on recordings. Quite the treat.

Highlights of the evening:

•Winifred Horan’s lovely performance of her tune, “My Dream of You;”
•Singer Mairead Phelan’s sensitive rendering of the Josh Ritter song, “Girl in the War,” with accompaniment by Brenner and harmonies by guitarist and keyboard player Eamon McElholm;
•The band’s killer performance of “Hugo’s Big Reel,” the opening track from the new album;
•A weird and wonderful little story from Winifred Horan about the hilarity that ensues when a fan confuses “fairy forts” with “fairy farts.” And probably enough said on that score.
Oh yes, one other highlight, maybe the best of the night: a sweet a capella performance by Phelan of the old standby, “A Parting Glass.” We were in pin-drop territory on that one. Even the servers stopped buzzing about.

Truly, “goodnight and joy be with you all.”

We’ve a couple of videos from that performance.

March 18, 2010 by Jeff Meade

People

Changing of the Guard at the Friendly Sons

Look for an older Irish-American fraternal organization. You won’t find it. The Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick has been around since St. Patrick’s Day in 1771. George Washington was an honorary member.

Ed Last shows off his Waterford bowl. (Click on photo to view more.)

And here we are, years later, and the Friendly Sons are still alive, quite well, and maintaining their very long traditions of fellowship and civic involvement.

Last week, the Friendly Sons met for their annual dinner (this one at the Union League) to effect a transition: Ed Last turned over the presidency to Todd R. Peterman.

View the videos:

March 16, 2010 by Jeff Meade

People

They’re the Tops

With 217 groups marching in this year’s parade, the choices must have been tough. Here’s who won the 2010 awards:

Hon. James H. J. Tate Award
Group that Best Exemplified the Spirit of the Parade

McDade / Cara Championship Dancers

Msgr. Thomas J. Rilley Award
Outstanding Fraternal Organization
Sponsored by: AOH Division 39, Msgr. Thomas J. Rilley

2nd Street Irish Society

George Costello Award
Organization with the Outstanding Float in the Parade
Sponsored by: The Irish Society

Cavan Society

Hon. Vincent A. Carroll Award
Outstanding Musical Unit Excluding Grade School Bands
Sponsored by: John Dougherty Local 98

Philadelphia Police & Fire, Pipes & Drum Band

Anthony J. Ryan Award
Outstanding Grade School Band
Sponsored by: The Ryan Family

Catholic Elementary Schools Marching Band

Walter Garvin Award
Outstanding Children’s Irish Dance Group
Sponsored by: Walter Garvin Jr.

Rince Ri School of Irish Dance

Marie C. Burns Award
Outstanding Adult Dance Group
Sponsored by: Philadelphia Emerald Society

Tara Gael Dancers

Joseph E. Montgomery Award
Outstanding AOH and/or LAOH Divisions
Sponsored by: AOH Div. 65 Joseph E. Montgomery

All AOH & LAOH Divisions

Joseph J. “Banjo” McCoy Award
Outstanding Fraternal Organization
Sponsored by: Schuylkill Irish Society

Cairdeas Irish Brigade

James F. Cawley Parade Director’s Award
Outstanding Organization selected by the Parade Director
Sponsored by: AOH Division 87 Port Richmond

Cardinal O’Hara High School Marching Band

Father Kevin C. Trautner Award
Outstanding School or Religious Organization that displays their Irish Heritage while promoting Christian Values
Sponsored by: Kathy McGee Burns

St. Katherine of Siena N.E. Philadelphia

Maureen McDade McGrory Award
Outstanding Children’s Irish Dance Group Exemplifying the Spirit of Irish Culture through Traditional Dance
Sponsored by: McDade School of Irish Dance

Coyle School of Irish Dance

March 15, 2010 by Jeff Meade

People

Walkin’ in (Liquid) Sunshine

Marching with the gang from Fishtown. (Click on photo to view more.)

All along the two-block stretch between JFK Boulevard and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the boisterous, crazy-hatted party-goers crowded along the barricades and hooted and cheered for almost anything and anyone that passed in front of them.

Leprechauns and St. Patricks—a few of them pretty convincing, but most not—paraded past the reviewing stand at Eakins Oval.

McGuinness the huge but affable Irish wolfhound stood at his accustomed post in front of the Subway shop at 17th Street and the Parkway.

Aside from the fact that everyone, from bagpipers to the flag-waving folks on the sidelines, was encased in plastic ponchos or shielded by umbrellas and yet still dripping from head to toe, it was a pretty typical St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the city of Philadelphia.

The crowds were down by a bit, but Celtic spirits were as high as ever as the 240th Philly parade kicked off from JFK Boulevard.

A record 217 groups took part in the 2010 parade. It seemed like you couldn’t walk a block without bumping into a contingent from one of the city’s many Ancient Order of Hibernians and Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians divisions. The AOH was particularly well represented in honor of this year’s grand marshal, Seamus Boyle, president of the National AOH.

All of the area’s major Irish dance schools hopped, skipped and kicked in front of the CBS3 cameras. Pageant queens, high school bands, mummers, union members and county societies all gamely braved the elements.

We’ve assembled a huge collection of photos to commemorate the day. Forgive us if some of our shots look a bit blurry. Try as we did to keep our lenses dry, it was often a lost cause. Many thanks to “Glamorous Gwyneth” MacArthur, our plastic tiara-wearing camera compatriot, for helping us provide our extensive photo coverage.

Also check out a couple of videos:

Check out CBS3’s coverage on the Web:

The parade will be rebroadcast on both stations on St. Patrick’s Day, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on CBS3, and again on The CW Philly from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The parade is also available for 30 days on Comcast On-Demand starting Thursday March 18, 2010. To access, select the Comcast On Demand menu, then “Get Local” section. Choose “St. Patty’s Parade.”

March 15, 2010 by Jeff Meade

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