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Jeff Meade

How to Be Irish in Philly

How to Be Irish in Philly This Week

The Commdore John Barry statue, behind Independence Hall.

The Commdore John Barry statue, behind Independence Hall.

Happy Memorial Day!

Since it’s the time of the year when we remember those who fought for our freedom, the Commodore John Barry Societies of Philadelphia and New York will be gathering to honor Barry, a Revolutionary war hero and father of the American Navy, on Sunday, May 26. The day starts with a Mass, celebrated by Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput, at Old St. Mary Church on Fourth Street in Philadelphia, where Barry is buried. The day ends with dinner at the Commodore Barry Club (The Irish Center) on Emlen Street in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia.

On Saturday, Slainte will be performing at Keenan’s in North Wildwood, then later that night they’ll join the rest of the gang, known as Jamison, at Casey’s in North Wildwood. It’s the weekend to open up the house, so take a break and catch these great Irish musicians after you’ve cleared out the cobwebs. You can catch Jamison at Keenan’s on Sunday night at 5 PM.

On Thursday, May 30, the Young Irelands GFC squares off against the St. Patricks GFC at Cardinal Dougherty High School field in the Olney section of Philadelphia. It’s pre-season for the Philadelphia GAA. Irish players are on their way and then it’s every Sunday. It’s great sport and great entertainment. Many families come (with umbrellas and liter containers of sunscreen) and enjoy a picnic while watching the action. The small admission price ($5) helps support the GAA which is in the process of building a complex in Limerick.

Then get ready for a fun weekend: The annual AOH Montgomery County Irish Festival starts on Friday night and runs through Sunday. Have dinner at the festival on Friday night (gates open at 6 PM), and enjoy the music (Tom McHugh, Jamison, the Bogside Rogues, Irish Thunder Pipes and Drums, and the Celtic Flame dancers) all weekend. Proceeds from the event go to AOH charities.

Also next weekend, the annual Irish Festival on Penn’s Landing is on Sunday, June 2, featuring Blackthorn, the Hooligans, and Jamison, as well as dancers from all of the region’s Irish dance schools to pay tribute to Jane Richard, the 7-year-old Irish dancer who lost a leg in the Boston Marathon bombing. The event is free.

Check our calendar for details on these events and more. And if you have an Irish event, you can post it to our calendar and get a mention in How to Be Irish, our most read feature, and promoted in Mick Mail, our e-newsletter. Just go to the orange bar at the top of the page and click on “Irish Events Listing” and do everything the nice directions tell you to do. We try to post events when we learn of them, but we haven’t gotten that mind-reading thing down pat yet.

May 24, 2013 by
News, Sports

Welcome Back, Tyrone!

A valiant effort by Tyrone (in the green, orange, and white.

A valiant effort by Tyrone (in the green, orange, and white.

There’s a new team in town.

For the first time in seven years, the Philadelphia Gaelic Athletic Association football lineup will include Tyrone, a club that was premier in the city since 1949 but, like other Gaelic clubs, struggled with the loss of players—immigrants who returned home—and the pressures of fundraising and time, the two plagues of every volunteer group.

Tyrone’s first match against the Kevin Barrys on Thursday night, under storm-darkened skies at Cardinal Dougherty High School in Olney, wasn’t the best of debuts. The seasoned Barrys controlled the ball the entire game and, at least on the Tyrone sidelines, no one even bothered to keep a score. It was a rout.

But, as coach Aidan Trainor told the crestfallen team at half-time, “You can’t lose heart. “

Trainor didn’t. Nor did his brothers, Sean and Joe, who, with Peter McDermott and Noel Coyle, resurrected the team this year, basically appropriating the National Junior C champions, the Eire Ogs, to form the new team. “It’s all for the love of the red hand of Tyrone,” said McDermott, referring to the red hand that appears on the Tyrone flag. The upright hand honors Eoghain O’Neill, high King of Ulster, who, in a sea race to claim his land, took the rules literally. The first to lay a hand on the land was its king, so O’Neill cut off his hand and threw it to shore. There are those who will tell you that that exemplifies the Tyrone spirit: They’ll do whatever it takes.

That offers some hope for the season which starts now at Cardinal Dougherty and may end at the GAA’s new field in Limerick. “One of the fields is finished,” said Sean Trainor, “but we have some work to do on the parking lot.”

Also in the hope department: The reinforcements have yet to arrive, but the Irish players who spend their summers in Philadelphia just to play football in the heat and humidity are on their way. There are fewer Irish accents on the field before they arrive; many of the players these days are Irish-American (some not even Irish) who made their way through the vibrant local GAA youth clubs. It’s not easy getting even visiting players, says Sean Trainor. “Not when air fares are $1,000. But some of the players are willing to pay their own fare.” They’re that motivated.

Peter McDermott wasn’t concerned that the Tyrone team’s first effort on the field wasn’t the best. That, he said, is yet to come. “They were playing a senior team and it’s good for them,” he pointed out. “That’s how you learn, you know.”

Check out our photos of the action.

On Thursday, May 30, the Young Irelands will meet the St. Patricks on the Dougherty fields, 6301 N. Second Street, in Philadelphia, starting at 6:30 PM.

May 24, 2013 by
News, Sports

Irish Heritage Night at PPL Park

Local GAA Youth footballers escorted the players onto the field.

Local GAA Youth footballers escorted the players onto the field.

Last Wednesday, it was Irish Heritage Night at PPL Park in Chester, home of the Philadelphia Union soccer club, and the place was packed to watch the Union square off against  Los Angeles Galaxy (sadly, the Union lost 4-1). There was an Irish connection to the game in more than just the stands too–the Galaxy’s Robbie Keane is the all-time record Irish goalscorer for the Irish national football team. While in the city, Keane met up with members of the Irish Memorial (and has his photo taken there). Proceeds from the ticket sales to the game will go to help maintain the memorial, overlooking Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia.

Check out our photo essay, done by photographer Gwyneth MacArthur.

May 24, 2013 by
How to Be Irish in Philly

How to be Irish in Philly This Week

We caught her at last year's Irish Festival on Penn's Landing.

We caught her at last year’s Irish Festival on Penn’s Landing.

Hope you’re feeling like a festival, because there are plenty of them coming up. Just this weekend you can hear a couple of local Irish bands (Celtic Spirit and Clancy’s Pistol) at the annual Molly Maguire’s Irish Festival in Lansdale (on Saturday); catch Derek Warfield and the Young Wolfetones headlining the Scranton Celtic Festival (also on Saturday) or hear our own Seamus Kelleher at the Irish Festival at Spring Lake, NJ (Saturday too).

Coming up in the next couple of weeks: The annual 3-day festival (May 31, June 1-2) sponsored by AOH Notre Dame Div. 1 in Mont Clare, PA, and the Penn’s Landing Irish Festival on June 2 which will feature a special dance tribute to little Jane Richard, the Irish dancer who lost a leg in the Boston Marathon bombing. There’s a Mass before the Penn’s Landing Festival at the Irish Memorial.

Also, on June 1, there’s GaelFest, which features Joanie Madden and her All-Star Band (when she says “star” she means some of the best Irish musicians around), Mickey Coleman, Girsa, The Pride of Moyvane Ceili Band, and Blackwater. The Allentown Hibernians and the Na Toraidhe Hurling Club in Philadelphia will be presenting a hurling exhibition, along with the Long Island Gaels and Hoboken Guards. There will also be a Gaelic football exhibition by the New York Police Department Gaelic Football Club and the St. Barnabas GFC. As you can probably guess from the lineup, it’s a drive up the New Jersey turnpike—the event takes place at the Christian Brothers Academy, 850 Newman Springs Road, Lincroft, NJ. It runs from 10 AM to 10 PM and is sponsored by the Claddagh na nGael division of Comhaltas in New York.

Speaking of Gaelic football, this Sunday’s game at the Cardinal Dougherty fields is postponed, but you can catch some action on Thursday at 6:30 between the Kevin Barrys and the newly resurrected Tyrone GFC. With Gaelic teams disappearing over the last few years, it’s heartening to see one returning.

Before we leave the weekend, two more events: the Shanty’s at the Red Rooster Inn on Saturday night and a Human Rights Benefit for Michael Campbell, a political prisoner being held in deplorable conditions in a Lithuanian prison. The Shantys and the Bogside Rogues will be performing at The Red Rooster Inn, 7960 Dungan Road in Philadelphia on Sunday. A local woman, Mary Larkin, is lobbying to have Campbell transferred to an Irish prison to serve out his sentence.

Also coming up: Would you like to learn to speak Irish? The Satharn na nGael, a day of immersion in the Irish language, is scheduled for Saturday, June 1, at the Irish Center. There are classes for beginners, intermediate and advanced Irish speakers, as well as “craic” in between. (First Irish lesson: Craic means fun.) For information, contact Marcella Reis at 610-352-5722.

And on May 26. Archbishop Chaput will say Mass at Old St. Mary’s Church in Philadelphia and preside over the memorial service for Commodore John Barry, father of the US Navy, who is buried in the historic church’s graveyard. This is an annual event also attended by the Commodore Barry Society of New York. A dinner follows at the Irish Center.

You can find more information on all of these events and more on our calendar, recently named one of People magazine’s sexiest calendars alive.

May 17, 2013 by
Sports

This Is Your Brain on Philadelphia Hurling

Hurling on ThingLInk.

Hurling on ThingLInk.

If you’ve never watched the ancient Irish game of hurling, it can be a lot to take in. It’s described as the fastest moving field game in all sports. That might just be the Irish saying so, but still … catch a game, and you’d be hard-pressed to argue.

At its simplest, hurling is about using a flat-bladed bat (the hurley) to slam a small ball called a sliotar (pronounced “slitter”) past a goaltender. But of course, it’s never that simple.

To get to the point where you can actually attempt a goal, you just might need to run at breakneck speed down the field, balancing the ball on the end of the bat, through heavy traffic, and trying not to allow your hurley-slinging opponents to confuse your head with the ball. Think Harry Potter’s quidditch, but without the brooms.

So we could keep on telling you, but we thought it would be better to just break down and show you. Roll your cursor over the interactive photo below, and you’ll see what we’re talking about. And thanks to the Na Tóraidhe Hurling Club for posing.

Na Toraidhe hurlers in motion

Na Toraidhe hurlers in motion

Kieran Donahue, public relations officer for the Na Tóraidhe (na TOR-ig) Hurling Club, is still breathing heavily as he comes off the Northeast High School soccer field. Donahue’s a young guy, as are the dozen or so teammates who are taking a break during a practice game. They’re prepping for the beginning of the Philadelphia Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) season, just around the corner. It’s a game played at breakneck speed, but he recovers quickly, and you can tell that it’s with some pride that he talks about the team, its devoted players, and the future of hurling in Philly.

There was a time in Philly’s GAA past when putting together a hurling team was not such an issue, given the vast numbers of Irish who moved to America in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. Those times are gone, but Donahue is hopeful that Na Tóraidhe will grow and prosper.

“There are five Irish guys on the team, and all the rest were born here,” says coach Kieran Donahue. “We seem to be attracting local guys. This year, we have two new guys who are really adding to the team.”

And that’s good, Donahue says, for without enthusiastic Americans, Ireland’s ancient national game has no future in Philadelphia.

Na Tóraidhe has about 25 players, 14 of whom are on the field for this practice session.Saturday’s practice is a family affair. Wives and girlfriends–and one toddler, Liam, the son of player Frank O’Meara–sit along the sidelines, sheltered from the sun by a couple of canopies. They keep an eye on the game, but it’s also an opportunity to chat. Picnic fare is set out on a folding table, waiting for the end of the game. This is how Donahue likes it. “We meet, we set up the tents. The family comes out. There are some drinks. There is a lot of food.”

Of course, the team is always on the lookout for new blood. The game can be a bit intimidating at first, Donahue says, but it doesn’t take long or the Yanks to see that, while hurling is not for the faint of heart, it also happens to be huge fun. “It’s interesting for the guys who have never played before,” says Donahue. “They think we’re crazy.”

We have photos from the weekend practice. Check them out, and “like” the team on Facebook.

They also have a website.

Here’s a video from last season.

May 16, 2013 by
History, News

Prayers for the Hunger Strikers

hungerstrikergloucester20130510In the summer of 1981, 10 Irish republican prisoners held by the British in Long Kesh Prison made their mark on the long history of “the Troubles” through the simple, yet tragic, act of starving themselves to death in protest against the government’s refusal to accord them political prisoner status and respect their basic human rights.

Northern Ireland has come a long way in the years since, notably with the culmination of the peace process in 2007. Still, more than 30 years later, the sacrifice of hunger strike leader Bobby Sands and comrades is still remembered around the world—and in our own back yard.

Members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians John Barry Division in National Park, Gloucester County, took to the streets on Sunday for a short march from their club on Columbia Boulevard to St. Matthew’s Church just a few blocks away. Escorted by pipers and drummers, the marchers held simple, whitewashed wooden Celtic crosses inscribed with the names of the dead, the length of their hunger strike, and the dates of their death. They processed into the church, and celebrated a short, simple Mass, in memory of those who gave their last full measure.

The march was once sponsored by the local division of Irish Northern Aid, of which Joe Bilbow was a member. When the county INA chapter ceased to exist, Bilbow resurrected the observance in 1990, when he became the charter president of the Barry AOH division.

“I made a promise that we would never forget our Irish history,” says Bilbow, now the division’s Freedom for All Ireland chairman. “Ten men gave their lives for Irish freedom. We remember that.”

The peace process has gone a long way toward healing old wounds, Bilbow acknowledges, “but it wasn’t easy to get where we are today.” The sacrifice of those 10 men, he says, played a important role in the evolution of Northern Ireland. As an organization, the Ancient Order of Hibernians remains committed to a non-violent political solution. But at the same time, Bilbow says, the Gloucester Hibernians believe it’s important to commemorate this critical chapter in the region’s long, bloody history. “We don’t make it political,” Bilbow says, simply. “We just do it to remember our honored dead.”

We have photos from the afternoon. Check them out, above.

May 10, 2013 by
How to Be Irish in Philly, People

How to Be Irish in Philly This Week

Two wild and crazy guys.

Two wild and crazy guys.

Happy Mother’s Day to all you Irish moms out there! If you’re looking for a nice Irish evening, think about heading over to the Coatesville Cultural Center to hear two top Irish musicians, Seamus Begley (button accordion) and Oisin MacDiarmada (fiddle), in this very intimate setting.

That is, if you’re not tuckered out from the Galway Society Dinner Dance, which is being held on Saturday at the Irish Center.

Or the hurling open day earlier on Satruday at Northeast High School in Philadelphia—held by Na Toraidhe Hurling club. Members of the team will be on-hand to give demonstrations and explain the sport, which is a little like hockey and lacrosse. They’ll provide the equipment and food!

On Wednesday, it’s Irish Heritage Night with the Philadelphia Union as they take on  Robbie Keane ( Irish National Team Captain/All Time Leading Scorer) and the defending MLS champions, The Los Angeles Galaxy.
Traditional Irish Fare will be available along with Irish Drink Specials. A portion of all ticket sales will go towards maintaining The Irish Memorial of Philadelphia.

On Thursday, the American Ireland Fund is holding its young leaders event at the Franklin Institute, with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and Blackthorn playing live.

On Friday, Scythian heads our way from DC to play a second benefit in Philadelphia this year for the Little Sisters of the Poor and St. Francis Xavier Church. Sponsored by the Grays Ferry Boxing Club and a number of other local businesses, you can enjoy a concert, plus $2 premium beers and pizza by the slice.

And it’s Irish Heritage Night at the Phillies! You can see the Phils take on the Cincinnati Reds starting at 7:05 PM. The event is almost sold out, but you can contact Jerry O’Connor at the Phillies at joconnor@phillies.com or 215-218-5667. Tell him you are part of the Irish Heritage Night for a $4 discount.
Coming up next week: A Play, A Pie and a Pint at Fergie’s Pub (1214 Sansom Street, Philadelphia). The play is “Too Much of Nothing,” in which two lovable misfits meet in a Dublin café and consider life, language and The Little Book of Calm starring Adam Rzepka and James Stover. On Tuesday May 21 and Thursday, May 23, you can enjoy the play and traditional meat and veggie pies and a pint (of beer and soda), all for just $15. It’s an Inis Nua Theatre production.

May 9, 2013 by