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Jeff Meade

Dance

Irish Dance Fever at Villanova

Villanova Irish dancer Rory Beglane

They came from all over, 16 college and university Irish dance teams, to compete in the first Intercollegiate Irish Dance Festival last Saturday at Villanova’s Jake Nevin Fieldhouse. It wasn’t exactly a Wildcats basketball game, but if you could have bottled up all the excitement of the dancers, parents and grandparents, university students and just plain Irish dance fans, it would have come pretty close.

Compared to the Mid-Atlantic Region Oireachtas—something like a marathon of Irish dance, drawing hundreds of dancers from throughout the region to Philadelphia over the Thanksgiving holidays—the Villanova event was relatively modest. And while the Oireachtas dancers will wear glitzy and expensive costumes, with flowing curly wigs, the dancers from Catholic University of America, the University of Dayton, Boston College and all the other schools wore outfits that probably didn’t cost their parents a month’s salary. Here and there, yes, dashes of sparkles and glitter, but otherwise subdued by comparison. No tiaras. No wigs.

The Villanova dance team was perhaps the best example of the lean and clean approach. They wore plain black slacks with black T-shirts, the team’s logo splashed across the front.

Like other Irish dance competitions, this one featured many of the traditional categories, such as four-hand dance, eight-hand dance and treble reel. But the highlight was the exhibition piece competition, in which each team showed off its unique routine, the innovative dance sets they’d typically perform during university athletic events. Some teams stuck to tried-and-true traditional. One team drew whoops and cheers when they combined Irish dance steps with C&C Music Factory’s “Everybody Dance Now.”

The team from the University of Dayton won that event, with Villanova coming in second, trailed by Boston College at number 3.

We have dozens and dozens of photos from the day. With luck, there will be another distinctly ‘Nova Irish dance competition next year. And every year thereafter.

November 22, 2013 by Jeff Meade

Dance

Villanova Hosts First Intercollegiate Irish Dance Festival

The Villanova Irish Dance Team at practice.

The idea started small, but soon got pretty big. More than just big. It’s apparently a first.

Villanova’s Irish Dance Team will host an Intercollegiate Irish Dance Festival Saturday from 10 a.m to 4 p.m. at the university’s Jake Nevin Fieldhouse. Nine college and university dance teams from around the country will strut their stuff in a sanctioned competition.

When they first started talking about an Irish dance competition last semester, members of the Villanova team first thought such an event might be confined to Irish dancers who attend the university.

Then they thought: let’s really go for it.

“We wanted to do something different,” says senior Mattie Rowan, co-captain of the team from Albany, N.Y., and a double major in poli sci and Arab & Islamic Studies. “We started getting the idea in motion over the summer, and we really got going with it at the beginning of this semester. We are fairly certain that this is the first intercollegiate dance festival within North America. There are still competitions where individual dancers can compete, but in terms of university teams, this is the first of its kind.”

Turns out the Villanova dancers weren’t the only ones who thought an intercollegiate festival would be a good idea. In addition to the Villanova troupe, teams are coming from Georgetown, the Catholic University of America, the University of Dayton, Fordham, Boston College, the University of Rochester, Temple University and West Virginia University—more than 100 dancers. Says Rowan, “We have a pretty good mix.”

The university’s Irish Studies department also provided tremendous support, Rowan says.

Throughout the day, the teams will compete in four different events: the treble reel, four-hand, eight-hand, and what the organizers are calling a “fun number”—an opportunity for the teams to show off the unique routines they perform for university sporting events and other activities.

“It can be an original choreographed piece, or an adapted piece from a show like “Riverdance” or “Lord of the Dance,” Rowan says. “It should be something that you’ve made your own, modernized, and you can have free rein with it. Just have fun with it and show the versatility that can be found in Irish dance.”

Later that day, starting at 7:30, Villanova will host a Grand Irish Show, featuring RUNA and performances by the dance teams. Each of the teams will get a chance to perform.

For Rowan and all the other Villanova dancers, the first Intercollegiate Festival is more than just a chance to test their mettle—it’s an opportunity to mingle with other university-level dancers.

“Some of the dancers definitely do know each other from competing against each other, but there are also those of us who haven’t competed,” says Rowan. “You usually don’t get to interact with university dance teams. We’re really excited to meet other people who have continued their passion in college.”

November 14, 2013 by Jeff Meade

People

Hoping the Luck of the Irish Is In the Cards

Michael Oraschewsky was attending the Philipps University of Marburg in 2001, majoring in political science and German linguistics. Most of his friends on campus were Irish. That’s when he discovered: those Irish people have a language all their own.

“They had their own secret language that no one else knew. Nobody had any clue what they were talking about. It was just what they learned at school. I thought that was cool. It’s a beautiful language. It sounds like something you would hear in “Lord of the Rings,” a really ancient language. It was like nothing else I’d ever heard.”

Though Oraschewsky never learned the language, he heard it spoken a good deal in the Irish Gaeltacht—areas of Ireland where Irish is spoken—when he joined his Irish friends of the Christmas holidays in 2001. He couldn’t afford a plane trip all the way back to the states, but a trip to Ireland was cheap. “My Irish friends invited me to come and travel around Ireland and stay at their houses,” Oraschewsky says. “It was just incredible. I absolutely loved my time in Ireland when I was abroad.”

Oraschewsky has always had a love of languages, and his interest in Ireland’s native language in particular always stuck with him. That interest came in handy when he and his partner, Eric Brewstein, came up with an idea to help non-native speakers learn handy Irish words of phrases—exactly 54 words and phrases.

The firm’s “Lost Languages: Irish Gaelic” playing cards recently raised $5,884 in start-up funds on the crowd-funding website Kickstarter. The initial goal was $5,750.

Each card contains an word or phrase, a translation, and phonetic pronunciation. Some of the useful words: “beoir” (beer), “uisce beatha” (whiskey), and “Slainte” (an Irish toast).

Also, “Garda” (police)—someone to look out for as you’re strolling back home in the wee hours after consuming too much beoir and uisce beatha. And saying “Slainte” way too many times.

Of course, most of the cards include translations of common greetings and salutations like “please” and “thank you,” and basic, sometimes essential, words like “mother,” “father,” “tea” and “men’s room.”

“You had to have ‘whiskey’ and ‘beer,’ and certain locations like Dublin and Cork, and things associated with family,’’ Oraschewsky says. “With every culture, family is paramount.”

Oraschewsky and his partner researched the most common and most useful words and phrases online, and then presented them to his cousin’s wife, the native Irish Claire Powers, for proofing. Next up: manufacturing the cards, and selling them online. As it happens, Oraschewsky and Brewstein already have a time-tested model for the whole process. It’s their first “Lost Languages” playing card deck in Yiddish.

“My partner Eric who started this with me is Jewish,” Oraschewsky says. “He promised his bubbe (grandmother) before she passed that he would use Yiddish more in his house with his son. That was a way of fulfilling her wish.”

If his last name isn’t already a dead giveaway, you won’t be surprised to learn that Oraschewsky has very little Irish heritage. “My connection with Ireland is solely from the friendships I forged in Europe. I have a grandfather who is part Irish, but that part is long distant. I’m much more aware of my own ancestry, which is German and Russian, with a little Greek and Italian in there, too.”

Although Oraschewsky expects Irish-Americans will constitute the primary audience for the new Irish Gaelic playing cards, he believes there are many other people like himself who aren’t Irish, but who nonetheless love Irish history and culture. The cards will be available online soon.

“On Kickstarter, there was definitely a broader audience,” says Oraschewsky. “That community is generally interested in cool new things. Going forward, we’re also going to focus on Irish gift shops, and people of Irish descent who want to get a cool gift for their grandmom or their kids. It shows you a little something about your heritage, totally unique. But were not talking about it as just for Irish, specifically. Ireland has a magical, mythical aura around it, so people who don’t have any special ties to it still want to see it. Ireland has a draw for everyone, with its history and its struggles. Most people can relate to their life.”

You can sign up to pre-order Irish Gaelic playing cards here.

November 14, 2013 by Jeff Meade

Genealogy

Recipe for a Tasty Irish Christmas

Pannetone Bread and Butter Pudding

Margaret Johnson has been cranking out cookbooks about Irish cuisine since 1999. There are nine books in all. If you’ve read them, you know that recipes, while at the heart of it all, really only account for part of the picture.

Eye-catching photos of bustling Irish cities, quaint towns and coastal communities fill every book. Interspersed with the recipes and pictures are neat little vignettes, food for the soul, offering rare insights into Irish culture, customs and history—all, of course, as they relate to food.

Fans of Johnson’s cookbooks know that she’s on a mission to persuade readers—especially Irish Americans—that there is so much more to Irish cooking than lamb stew, soda bread and Dublin coddle. (Not that those aren’t wonderful things.)

Her new book, “Christmas Flavors of Ireland: Celebrating the Festive Season,” might be the prettiest and most scrumptious yet. And that would be saying something. You’ll find everything from savory starters to decadent desserts—and lots in between. Johnson has a lot of friends in the Irish culinary community—and, happily for all us, they’re willing to share their best stuff.

We chatted with Johnson about the Christmas book in particular—with occasional side trips.

Here’s what she had to say.

Q. Could we talk first about the graphics, and you seem to have contributions from many sources. The first photo you see in the book shows Christmas on Dublin’s Grafton Street, with all the lights. Inside, there’s a photo of the front door leading into Johnnie Fox’s Pub in Glencullen, a bright green wreath in the center. One of my favorites is a shot of the Giant’s Causeway, dusted with snow, with wispy clouds in the background. Why is good photography so important to you?

A. A lot of the people like to look at the pictures! I have heard that some people who buy my books never read one recipe. That’s actually how I sold my second cookbook. When I wrote my first book, I was an untested author. They didn’t invest any money in photography. All they used were stock photos that introduced the chapters. If it had photos, I think it would have sold many more. I said to them, you may not know Irish people the way I know them. They think of Ireland as this magical, mysterious place, and they all want to see pictures of them. So I convinced them.

Q. “Christmas Flavors of Ireland” obviously isn’t just about the food. The recipes are at the center of it all, but how much do you think about setting the scene, the context in which these great dishes are presented? What kind if research goes into finding and explaining Celtic holiday traditions that Americans might not be aware of. I’m thinking specifically of December 8, Big Market Day, for one.

A. I was never was aware of Big Fair Day. A friend had written it for an older book, and I asked him for permission to run it again for this book. I do like to put things like that in books. Right now, I’m working on “Favorite Flavors of Ireland.” It’s something of a retrospective. I’m going to take recipes from my previous books, and some new ones, and talk about why they are my favorites, and why those places are my favorites. People are always asking me, ‘So what’s your favorite recipe? What’s your favorite place. Whats your favorite ingredient?’ I thought the word “favorites” can encompass people and places and holidays and things of that sort. So it will be a combination of recipes—and a little more story-telling.

Q. As you approached the Christmas cookbook, were you thinking about changing people’s minds about how the Irish celebrate Christmas through food? It just seems like one more way of making the point that you can’t make assumptions about Irish cooking, that it’s all ham and cabbage. I’m thinking of the recipe for Italian Pannetone Bread and Butter Pudding, for one.

A. Probably 15 or 20 years ago, an Irishman wouldn’t have thought about Pannetone! Chef Sally Luykx presented that recipe about eight or 10 years ago. At that time, people had never heard of Pannetone. It wasn’t what Irish people were thinking about eating. But now, the Irish are very sophisticated in their tastes. Irish-Americans are not. They say, this is not what Irish people eat, but for me this is the whole point. It’s what Irish food is like these days. A lot of Irish-Americans dont want to accept that. They want the sheep and the cows. They think that’s what it’s like.

Q. Are you past the point where you’re surprised at what turns up on the Irish menu?

A. Sometimes, I am a little surprised. I think that some of the ideas are a little overdone. They they too hard. Let’s take black pudding, because that comes up a lot. Black pudding is something people have for breakfast, but I’ll find something like black pudding with pineapples on shrimp, or something crazy. A lot of chefs try to be so creative with authentic Irish food that it turns out to be ridiculous. Sometimes they go to extremes to make the point that they’re very sophisticated—to counter the old sterotype of stew and lamb chops. I would never put anything like that in any of my cookbooks.”

Q. Tell me about your dedication. It’s to Carl, your husband, “for his continued indulgence in all things Irish.” I know that he passed away recently of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease).

A. Most of my previous cookbooks, I dedicated to him. I’d say, ‘We’re going back to Ireland,’ and he’d say: ‘Again?’ And then he’d say, ‘Well, OK, if you insist.’ But he would be the first one to have his bag packed. In 2012, we went three times. His mother was Italian, and his father was what they call a “brooding Swede.” At his funeral, I had them play the Phil Coulter’s song, “The Old Man.” You’re supposed to play liturgical music, but they said it would be fine. To say that some people were weeping uncontrollably would be an understatement. Someone told me afterward, he’s the only Swedish-Italian guy who had the most Irish sendoff they’d ever seen.

We thank Margaret Johnson for her continued and support of irishphiladelphia.com—and for her generosity.

If you’ve been waiting for an Irish Christmas recipe to sink your teeth into, here are two:

Pannetone Bread and Butter Pudding

1 lb. Pannettone, or any yeast bread with fruit
4 oz. butter, at room temperature
8 tbsp. lemon curd
5 large eggs
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup granulated sugar
Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Preheat the over to 325 degrees. Butter 8 6-ounce ramekins.
Cut the Pannetone into 8 slices. Spread each slice with 1 tbsp. of butter, and then spread with the lemon curd. Cut each slice into squares and divide among the ramekins.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream and sugar. Spoon the egg mixture over the bread, and then press down gently. Let the puddings soak for 5 to 10 minutes, and then spoon any remaining egg mixture over the bread to be sure it is soaked.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until the puddings are risen and the tops are lightly browned. Remove from the oven, run a long knife around the edge of the ramekins to loosen the puddings, and then transfer to serving plates. Serve with ice cream.

Burren Smoked Salmon on Potato Pancakes

Potato Pancakes

2 large potatoes, cooked and mashed
1 large egg, beaten
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 to 1/2 cup whole milk
Butter for frying
1/2 pound smoked salmon, cut into 24 1/2-inch-wide strips
1/2 cup sour cream or creme fraiche
Fresh chives for garnish

To make pancakes, put the potatoes, egg, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper into a food processor. Pulse 4 to 5 times to blend, and then gradually add enough milk to make a thick, smooth batter.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brush the pan with butter. Drop spoonful of batter into the pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until browned and heated through. Repeat with additional butter and remaining batter. Cakes can be served immediately or refrigerated, covered, overnight; reheat in a hot oven.
To serve, put a spoonful of sour cream or creme fraiche on top of each pancake. Put a piece of rolled salmon on top, sprinkle with pepper, and garnish with chives.

If you’d like to experience the culinary side of Ireland firsthand, you can join Margaret as she leads a “Flavors of Ireland” tour in October 2014. For full details, visit www.irishcook.com after January 1.

November 8, 2013 by Jeff Meade

People

The Irish Journey of Stanton Ross

Miriam Stamm and Stanton Ross

In the 1970s, Stanton Ross owned Premier Jewelers, a shop along Mill Street in Bristol Borough, Bucks County. He had always sold the kind of jewelry you would expect to find: rings, necklaces, bracelets, broaches, watches. But he remembers the day when a young couple visited his shop with what, at the time, seemed like an usual request.

“They wanted Irish wedding bands. I didn’t have them, but I found them for them,” says Ross. “Before long, I started getting a lot of requests for them. People came from all over, and they told their friends.”

Ross recognized an opportunity. Before long, he was stocking wedding bands, Claddagh rings, and other Celtic-themed jewelry, and those items proved to be popular with people of a certain ethnic background. But soon selling Celtic gewgaws and tchotchkes became more than just business. It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship with the local Irish community.

”I was invited to plenty of weddings after that,” Ross recalls. “They were customers first, but then they became friends.”

One thing led to another. Ross’ casual interest in Ireland soon blossomed into a full-blown passion. Some people might think this level of interest is unusual for a man with no Irish blood in his veins. Ross is of Romanian heritage. But to meet him is to almost instantly know him for the intellectually curious man he is.

“I knew it was about a lot more than wedding rings,” says Ross. He’s 82, with a modest, soft-spoken demeanor. “I became interested in the Irish culture. I read books about it, and I visited the Balch Institute. (The Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, at 1300 Locust Street, houses a vast collection of Irish manuscripts and other historical documents.) I went to Ireland several times. I visited Doolin and Lisdoonvarna (in County Clare), and Dublin. I visited Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells. I went to visit Derry and Belfast. I just wanted to see what it was all about.”

Here and there in his travels, Ross compared notes with local jewelers, but his interest in the Emerald Isle always transcended commercial concerns. “It just seemed like an interesting place. They had all the odds stacked against them for hundreds of years, and they survived. It inspired me.”

Ross continued to soak up all things Irish, even after he closed his shop in Bristol in 1988, and went on to work at Carver W. Reed & Co., a firm that makes low-interest collateral loans on fine jewelry—where they had precisely no interest in Irish jewelry. He retired from the business in June, but it didn’t take long for his partner Miriam Stamm and daughter Lori Iller to notice his restlessness.

At their gentle urging, Ross came out of his brief retirement to return, in a modest way, to what he loved: selling Irish jewelry. This time around, he was going to take charge of the operation, from sophisticated computer-aided design to finished product. All the help he needs to do his work, he can find along Sansom Street—Jeweler’s Row. From his long years in the business, Ross knows all the local artisans, tucked away the often claustrophobia-inducing back shops where they produce 3D wax models, create custom casts, and polish precious metals.

And Ross was going to take the plunge and sell online. The new company, with Stamm and Ross’s daughter as partners, is called Relik. It’s been in operation just three months.

“He had always wanted to do this,” Stamm says. “It just seemed like a good time to do it. So the three of us started the company. We thought the name ‘Relik’ would set us apart. We’ve been putting our own money into it. You make some money, and you put it back in. We’re trying to be as smart as we can about it. It was his dream, and that was what pushed us into it.”

Stamm, whose folks come from Germany, is also an ardent lover of all things Irish.

The small company produces a limited number of modestly priced pieces—10 to 15 a month, Stamm says. Some of them they sell on the website (designed by Iller); others they sell at local craft fairs and farmers markets, including the big one in Glenside, Montgomery County.

Most of Relik’s designs are familiar—Celtic Trinity Knots, shamrocks, St. Brigid’s Crosses—and of course, the ubiquitous Claddagh.

Other designs are a bit different—inspired, Ross says, by Irish artwork he’s seen in his travels, snapshots brought back from trips to Ireland, and occasional estate sale finds. One such recent discovery was a hand-made, gold-plated pin from the Victorian era. Unfortunately, that particular pin won’t be part of the Relik collection. “It wasn’t beautiful,” Ross laughs. “It was just interesting.”

Ross draws inspiration from all of those outside sources for one particular reason. He’s no designer. Still, he knows what he likes, and it keeps him interested and engaged.

“Artists, we’re not,” says Ross. “But there’s a lot of stuff out there. I never knew the Tree of Life was Irish. It’s amazing.”

November 8, 2013 by Jeff Meade

News

Aon Sceal

It’s back! We resurrecting our news briefs because there’s just so much going on in Philly’s Irish community, we just had to. For those of you who aren’t Irish speakers (full disclosure–neither are we), Aon Sceal means “what’s the story?” Feel free to send us your special announcements.

Major Honor for Two Local Musicians
Musicians Dennis Gormley and Kathy DeAngelo will be inducted into the Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann Mid-Atlantic Hall of Fame at the Provincial Fleadh and North American Convention in Parsippany, NJ, in April. The husband-and-wife duo have been performing together in the Delaware Valley as McDermott’s Handy since 1979. They are multi-intrumentalists who are also co-founders with Chris Brennan Hagy of The Next Generation, a group of student musicians who take instruction, play and perform together at the Irish Center and at events. Gormley and De Angelo have been teaching for more than 17 years. They will join an illustrious group of musicians and promoters of Irish culture and music in the Hall of Fame, including Mick Moloney, Ed Reavy, the late Tommy Moffit, Cherish the Ladies’ Joanie Madden, and Kevin McGillian.

Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann (pronounced coal-tis keeyol-tory air-in) is an international organization, based in Ireland, dedicated to the preservation and enjoyment of Irish music, dance, and culture with over 400 branches worldwide.

Ray Says a Musical Thanks
A few weeks ago, Tyrone born musician Raymond Coleman was awakened early in the morning by police. Someone had broken into his van and took all of his instrument and equipment. It started out as just about the worst day of his life. Coleman supports his family as a fulltime musician. But before the day was over, it turned into one of the best days he’s ever had.

Fellow musician Frank Daly of Jamison Celtic Rock started a crowd-funding campaign on giveforward.com to help Coleman replace his stolen guitars and equipment. By the next day, dozens of people—and a few foundations—had donated more than $3,000.

To say thanks to his donors, Coleman is holding an “Appreciation Night” at the Plough and the Stars, 123 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, on November 21, starting at 7:30 PM. His brother, singer-songwriter Mickey Coleman, and several other guest performers will join Coleman on stage. If you helped this young musician out, you’re invited.

Win a Box of Goodies
You can win tins of biscuits, a Christmas stocking, tea, jam, sweets and loads of your favorite Irish goodies and support the Philadelphia Irish Center just by buying a raffle ticket.

The drawing for the basket, which contains hundred of dollars worth of treats, will be on Sunday, December 15. It benefits the Commodore Barry Club Real Estate Tax Fund. Contact members of the center’s board for tickets.

Tom Walsh, 215-843-8051
Vince Gallagher, 610-220-4142
Denise Hilpl, 215-527-8380
Tom Farrelly, 610-633-1803
Kathy Burns, 215-872-1305

Honors for Two Local Lawyers
Last month, Lisa Maloney, senior vice president of Capmark, and Mark Foley of
Philadelphia law firm Cozen O’Connor were among other members of the legal community nationwide to be honored at the Irish Legal 100 event. The program acknowledges the most accomplished lawyers of Irish descent from around the U.S. Past honorees include Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, NJ Gov. Chris Christie (a former federal prosecutor) and Associate Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. The ceremony was held in Washington, DC, at the residence of Irish Ambassador Anne Anderson, who was named to her post in August.

November 8, 2013 by Jeff Meade

News

Have an Irish-American Christmas!

I love Christmas. I usually start humming carols as soon as the last trick-or-treater leaves my porch. But Frank Daly has me beat by a mile. Or, more accurately, by four months.

He was playing Christmas music in the car last July, driving his four kids to the shore for vacation. “I was saying, what do you think about this one?” recalls Daly, lead singer for Jamison Celtic Rock and co-founder of American Paddy’s Productions. “And my kids were, ‘Really, Dad?’”

Daly wasn’t rushing the season but planning for it. With his American Paddy’s partner, C.J. Mills, he’s producing his second American Celtic Christmas show for December 7 at Bensalem High School. Producing a show—and they have a thousand moving parts–isn’t like Christmas shopping. It takes more than a couple of months and you sure can’t do it the night before.

It took more than a year to plan the first one—from finding the venue, nailing down the performers and yes, selecting the music of the season when it wasn’t the season. But he loves it. “I have a passion for theater, for theatrics and incorporating a lot of moving parts,” he admits.

He’s also partial to Christmas. “I am a Christmas lover. Always. How can you tell?” he laughed. “I make a conscious effort this time of year not to be overwhelmed by shopping, stress, time constraints, weather. Many years ago I was talking to a priest and he was telling me that when he does funerals, he always asks [the deceased’s loved ones] about vacations and Christmas because those are the memories that are strongest in most people’s minds. That stuck with me.”

There were 1,000 people at last year’s show, which featured former Causeway singer Kim Killen, Celtic Flame Dancers, the Bucks County Dance School, a hip-hop DJ, and, of course, Jamison. Killen, Celtic Flame, the Bucks County Dance School and Jamison will be back, and joining them this year will be singer-songwriter John Byrne (who will be performing solo and with Jamison) and DJ Dan Cronin, founder of the Hair O’ The Dog black tie charity event (which this year benefits the Claddagh Fund and takes place on November 27 at Vanity Nightclub in Philadelphia).

American Paddy’s other event, The Philadelphia Fleadh, held in Pennypack Park last June, mixed traditional Irish music and culture with Celtic rock and other strictly American music. Hip-hop DJs, uillean pipe players, Irish step dancers in full Book of Kells regalia, and modern dancers in leotards all came together at the big Irish-American table. Likewise, the American Celtic Christmas Show is a genre-twisting night of Irish culture. As Daly likes to say, “we celebrate being Irish American and not just Irish.” So the Celtic Flame Dancers will be dancing to a technoclub song—you’ll see how step dancing easily makes the genre leap—while the Bucks County Dancers will do a modern dance to an Irish reel.

Daly and Mills hoped that the show would take off and become a holiday tradition for Irish-American families and they saw evidence of that last year. “A lot of people started buying tickets for family groups,” says Daly. “People were telling us they invited family from an hour or two hours away and had a dinner. It served as their Christmas gathering because it gets so crazy the week of Christmas.”

Daly also hoped it took off because he quit his day job last year when the planning got bigger than he could handle in a 24-hour day. (He was director of marketing for the McGrogan Group, which owns Kildare’s, Harvest, and other restaurants). It was a gutsy move. “I quit with no means of support except what we make in the band. And I have four kids and a mortgage.”

But there was that love thing too. “I absolutely love this, it’s all I ever wanted to do,” he says. “I never worked so hard in my life but I never felt so satisfied. It’s been a really good couple of years.”

Pick up some of that Christmas spirit yourself. There are two American Celtic Christmas shows this year, one at 3 PM and the other at 7 PM on Saturday, December 7, at Bensalem High School, 4319 Hulmeville Road, Bensalem, PA. Tickets range from $10 to $20, with a 10 percent discount for groups of 10 or more. For more information, go to the website. You can also purchase tickets by clicking on the American Celtic Christmas ad you see at the top of our pages.

November 8, 2013 by Jeff Meade

News

A Look Back at the Irish Memorial 10th Anniversary

[flickr_set id=”72157637019175535″]

Time for reflection

Some of us were there more than 10 years ago, when the drapes rose over sculptor Glenna Goodacre’s breathtaking 30-foot-long bronze commemorating the 150th anniversary of Ireland’s Great Hunger. It was in a cavernous dockside warehouse in Chester—and it was a dramatic reveal.

More than a few people in the building knew exactly what they were going to see—they’d been deeply involved in the long and difficult effort to turn a grand vision into a reality. For the rest of us, it was quite a revelation—and a tribute not only to those who suffered so terribly and died from Britains’ systematic, state-sponsored starvation in the 1840s, but to all of those stubborn, determined people who were responsible for honoring their memory.

It’s hard to believe to believe the monument first took up residence at Front and Chestnut a decade ago. It still stands as one of the Philadelphia Irish community’s proudest tributes. And this past Saturday, it was time to re-dedicate the memorial—and afterward to celebrate with a gala at the Hyatt Regency just across I-95.

We have more than 40 photos of the re-dedication and the gala. Check them out here.

November 1, 2013 by Jeff Meade

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