Jeff Meade

Bill and Frank Watson lead the procession.

On the third anniversary of the burial of the victims of Duffy’s Cut, a crowd of local Irish and Irish-Americans showed that no one is about to forget the 57 Irish railroad workers who died in 1832 along Mile 59 of the Pennsylvania-Columbia Railroad in Malvern.

After a week of bad weather, the sun shone brightly on the procession of well-wishers last Sunday, as they made their way from the main building of the West Laurel Hill Cemetery to a tall monument—a stone Celtic cross engraved with elegant knotwork. They were led by brothers Bill and Frank Watson in full piping regalia.

It was a time for a brief period of reflection. Singer Charlie Zahm set the tone with a moving rendition of the classic “Four Green Fields.” Prayers were read by Frank Watson, a Lutheran minister, while others spoke words of remembrance.

Frank McDonnell, president of the Donegal Association of Philadelphia, paid tribute to the Watson brothers who, with their colleagues and volunteers, have led the effort to recover the remains from a mass grave along the tracks—and to help solve the mystery of how they came to die. Many of these lost souls succumbed to cholera, certainly, but at least some of them murdered.

“You talk about history, and you talk about recorded events,” said McDonnell. “Those events will become part of our history. They remain part of our heritage.”

In standing alongside the monument, McDonnell added, “we stand on the edge of history. And we would not be here if it were not for these two brothers.”

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Maggie O’Neill’s in Drexel Hill played host to a well-attended fund-raiser for the Duffy’s Cut project last Saturday.

The upstairs bar was full of folks who want to help the brothers Bill and Frank Watson continue excavations at the site where 57 Irish immigrant railroad workers died in 1832, less than two months after their arrival in the country. Research suggests they were afflicted by cholera, and that at least some of them were murdered by local residents, possibly fearful of the spread of the disease.

The site is in a patch of woods in Malvern, along an Amtrak line about 30 miles west of Philadelphia.

Members of the Watson Highlanders greeted guests with the skirl of bagpipes, later replaced by the tunes of Karen Boyce McCollum and friends.

The money will go toward continuing the excavation of the site and to repatriate two small bones of the only woman victim, Catherine Burns, to her native Tyrone.

Last week’s fund-raiser pulled in $2,150.

Here are some pictures from the event.

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We’re nearing St. Patrick’s Day, a time for parades, corned beef and cabbage, the wearin o’ the green, the wearin’ o’ the shamrock deely-bobbers, and the ritual singing of “Danny Boy.”

It is this last custom that gives me pause, dear reader. It would be one thing if the versions we heard were performed by the likes of Celtic Woman, the Irish Tenors, Daniel O’Donnell, or even Elvis Presley. And yet I say no. Nay, even.

Typically, “Danny Boy” is painfully performed by someone who has no business singing anything at all, much less a song with a high note that most of them are capable of reaching only if kicked, at precisely the right moment, in the private parts.

Amateur singers of “Danny Boy,” an otherwise nice little ditty, are likewise driven to new and terrifying heights of emotion. The shedding of tears is not unusual—for the singer, certainly, but perhaps especially for the listener.

Living in dread of this excruciating annual custom made me think about potential alternatives to “Danny Boy” that at the very least would be less of a bummer. I have also provided the beginnings of what the storyline might be behind each one. You can make up your lyrics.

Please don’t sing them anywhere near me.

Here from the home office in Horseleap, County Offaly, the official irishphiladelphia.com Top 10 New Alternatives to “Danny Boy”:

1. Uncanny Boy. Watson’s little-known pet name for Holmes.
2. Boy Danny. A pop artist of the late ’80s New Romantic period, best known for his hit, “Kilkenny Chameleon.”
3. Danny Toy. Demi Moore’s latest husband.
4. Branny Boy. He’s just a regular guy.
5. Manny Boy. Who, with his brothers Moe Boy and Jack Boy, runs a chain of auto parts stores.
6. Danny Boy Schmanny Boy. Someone who obviously doesn’t take our boy Danny very seriously.
7. Tanny Boy. George Hamilton. Or John Boehner.
8. Sappy Boy. Michael Boulton.
9. Teriyaki Boy. Where we’re going to eat after we’re done with this insanity.
10. Def Sugar D Danny Wack. Otherwise known as Rapmaster Skibbereen. (See below.)