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Denise Foley

News, People

A Perfect Place to Be Irish

Kevin Brennan and Mary Malone entertain at the Auld Dubliner.

On St. Patrick’s Day, Irish eyes were smiling and Irish hearts were happy, at least where I was. I spent the day at The Auld Dubliner, an Irish pub in the river town of Gloucester City, NJ, “just over the bridge” from Philadelphia. Though it opened in October 2008, this corner bar and restaurant has an “auld” feel to it. In fact, it reminded me of McGrory’s Pub in Culdaff, County Donegal, where I spent a few memorable nights nearly a decade ago.

Like McGrory’s, the emphasis at The Auld Dubliner is on food and music. The food is Irish. (Don’t laugh—there are plenty of Irish pubs in the Philly region that “specialize” in nachos and chicken wings.) A few years ago, that might have meant a runny plate of shepherd’s pie, greasy fish and chips, or corned beef and cabbage so bland it might as well be drywall. But at the Auld Dubliner, the corned beef and cabbage comes with a chive mustard sauce, the fish and chips are light and crispy, and the shepherd’s pie is thick with beef and lamb.

And the music: On St. Patrick’s Day, fiddler Mary Malone and guitarist-singer Kevin Brennan, who anchor the brand new session there, sat in front of the fireplace, their chairs positioned on a beautiful kilm rug, looking as though they were playing in someone’s front parlor. That’s my kind of pub.

Apparently, a lot of people felt that way, because the place was packed, as you can see from the photos.

March 16, 2009 by Denise Foley

News

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

This little angel performs with Cummins School.

Other parades may have more floats, more marching bands, more pipes and drums, more beauty queens, but Philadelphia’s St. Patrick’s Day isn’t about the bells and whistles.

It’s about the people. Not just the ones who line the streets every year wearing silly hats, green boas, and flashing beads, but the ones they cheer and applaud: The Ancient Order of Hibernian and their Ladies divisions, the Irish societies, the union workers, the Irish Clubs, the high school groups, and all of those colorful dancers (we must have more of them than anyone else).

There were so many of them on Sunday March 15—more than in any other year—that even with a shortened parade route, the march went a little bit over schedule. But even with overcast skies, it was a beautiful day for the Irish. All you had to do to see the sunshine was look in the eyes of the hundreds of children who lined the parade route, jigged on their toes, or rode on a friendly shoulder.

While the parade is always about fun and fellowship, this year it took a poignant turn. Its theme: “St. Patrick bring us peace and prosperity” acknowledged the global economic recession and a local heartache: The loss, since 2006, of seven Philadelphia police officers who were killed in the line of duty. Their names appeared on the second banner that was carried in the parade. Behind it were the families and friends of the officers who were part of this year’s Ring of Honor, along with wounded Highway Patrolman Richard Decoatsworth. The Philadelpha Police and Fire Pipes and Drums as well as New York’s Emerald Society Police Pipe band accompanied them.

A number of floats and dance routines also honored the slain policemen. At the reviewing stand, a flock of white doves was released. They whirled once and then disappeared into the white sky.

The recession wasn’t forgotten. One band struck up Stephen Foster’s song, “Hard Times,” as it rounded the corner from 16th Street onto the Benjamin Franklin Parkway: “There’s a song that will linger/Forever in our ears/ Oh hard times come again no more.”

It was a reminder that the parade itself was a victim of financial hard times this year. A month ago, the city told parade organizers that because of a $1 billion deficit over the next five years, it could no longer provide the parade with free police, sanitation, bleachers, and reviewing stand. Cutting out the march up Broad Street saved $10,000, but there was still an additional $40,000 that needed to be raised to cover the shortfall. And that was on top of the estimated $60,000 the committee raised to pay for the event.

Several high rollers came to the rescue, including Joey Vento of Geno’s Steaks in South Philadelphia, a longtime supporter of the police department who also contributed to the Mummer’s when it hit budget snags this year, and Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc., which pledged to match up to $20,000 in donations. But most of the money came from two big fundraisers–one held at Finnigan’s Wake and the other at the Springfield Country Club, featuring popular local Celtic band, Blackthorn–and from hundreds of local groups and individuals who contributed everything from thousands of dollars to $5.

Other parades may have more gloss and glitter, but Philadelphia’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade has the luck of the Irish–its people.

As usual, we have hundreds of photos. Photos by Jeff Meade and Denise Foley.

View the whole collection.

March 16, 2009 by Denise Foley

Arts

New Local Irish Web TV Show To Debut

Sarah, left, and Mary Conaghan filming at Philly's City Hall.

On Monday night at 8 PM, you can type in www.phillyirelandconnection.com on your browser and see the premier episode of a new local internet TV channel.

It’s the brainchild of sisters Sarah and Mary Conaghan of Delaware County. “We’re planning to cover events and organizations in the area,” says Sarah, a nursing student at Delaware County Community College. “For our first episode, we’re doing a feature on the Irish Center and the history behind it, and a piece on the Tyrone Ball which is coming up in April.”

The two young women were filming on Thursday at Philadelphia’s City Hall where Mayor Michael Nutter presented a proclamation honoring the Philadelphia Tyrone Society, which has a 100-year history in the city.

They’re putting it all together via WorldTV.com, a company started by two Dublin men that makes it easy to create your own web TV channel. Of course, it helps that Mary Conaghan is studying broadcasting at Temple University. “She’s very good with the camera and the technical side of it,” says Sarah. “I’m not. I have a very shaky hand.”

The sisters have been talking about launching an Irish-themed channel for about a year. “Everyone is on the Internet,” says Sarah. “I think it’s more of an interest for people than real TV. Someday I think they’re going to be combined. We just thought it would be neat to have a program featuring the Philadelphia Irish-American community.”

And they certainly know it. Their father, Tom Conaghan, is the founder head of the Irish Immigration Center of Philadelphia and the Irish Cultural and Heritage House of Pennsylvania in Upper Darby, which serves the Irish immigrant community in the Delaware Valley and is a hub and meeting place for both recent immigrants and Irish Americans in the region. Sarah and her sister, Karen Conaghan Race, also run the Rose of Tralee pageant every year.

The PhillyIrelandConnection show will run weekly on Monday nights at 8 PM.

March 12, 2009 by Denise Foley

Food & Drink, News, People

Irish Coffee Upset!

Bill Pergine, bartender at Screwball's, with his award and the not-so-secret ingredient for his winning Irish coffee recipe.

No hat trick for the ladies from the Bridgeport Rib House. The two-time winners of the AOH Notre Dame Division 1 in Swedesburg’s annual Irish Coffee Contest did not go home with the big prize this year.

Instead it went to relative newcomer, Screwball’s Sports Bar in King of Prussia, for its smooth-tasting recipe made with home made whipped cream and two secret ingredients that even experienced Irish coffee drinkers couldn’t guess—and Screwball’s isn’t sharing. “Ah,” said owner Tom McGrath, wincing. “I don’t think I want anyone to know because we want to win again next year.”

Bartender Bill Pergine said they came upon the winning recipe on Tuesday, after trying a few concoctions.

The Bridgeport Rib House did go home with the “crowd favorite” award, while Guppy’s, a Conshy post-parade hangout, came in second, and the Swedesburg Fire Company came in third at the event that happened Thursday night, March 12.

The winner gets to ride on a float in Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Conshohocken. Clearly, Screwball’s didn’t expect to win: As we left, we heard Screwball’s Tom McGrath on his cellphone saying, “Wow, I’m going to have to cancel everything I was going to do on Saturday.”

March 12, 2009 by Denise Foley

Columns, How to Be Irish in Philly

How To Be Irish in Philly This Week

Oh come on, if you don’t know how to be Irish this week, you need to join a new ethnic group. The Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade steps off the curb at noon on Sunday, but don’t stake out your usual spot on Broad Street. It won’t be marching down that avenue, but starting out around 16th and JFK—a course correction to save some money. It’s the biggest parade ever, with bands from as far away as Ireland, Connecticut, and Maryland. A Mass will be celebrated before the parade at 9 AM by Cardinal Justin Rigali at St. Patrick’s Church at 20th and Locust.

You can watch the parade on CBS3. But it’s a good time, even in bad weather (\we know, we froze our Irish off last year), so come on out. Bring a nonperishable food donation with you. The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News–new parade sponsors this year–will have volunteers along the parade route to collect them for the needy.

There are after-parade parties all over, but we’ll probably wind up at the Irish Center where there will be great food and wonderful music.

But let’s not skip over Saturday:

There are at least seven parades on Saturday: Levittown, York, Conshohocken, Trenton, Wilmington, New Castle, and Springfield, Delaware County (look for us in Springfield this year, a first for us!). In the morning, take the kids to Willow Creek Orchards in Collegeville where they’re holding a shamrock cookie decorating workshop (you need to pre-register).

On Saturday afternoon, the Erin Express—the drink fest you can really enjoy because the bars provide buses—is happening in Center City Philadelphia (see our calendar for the participating pubs).

At Archbishop Prendergast, there’s a freebie Saturday—St. Malachy’s College Music Tour from Belfast is there thanks to the Dennis Kelly AOH, Division #1, Havertown and the new Junior AOH Division #1 at Monsignor Bonner High School.

Also Saturday night: Burning Bridget Cleary will be heating it up at the Tin Angel, The Broken Shillelaghs are repairing to The Blue Martini at Bally’s in Atlantic City, The Morrigan (a trad group) is bringing some civilization to the Scots at Braveheart Pub in Hellertown, and The Boys of County Bucks will be entertaining the wine drinkers at Crossing Vineyard and Winery in Washington Crossing.

The Boys will also be performing on Sunday. Also on tap for Sunday: Singer Tommy Sands will be doing two shows at Longwood Gardens, and Paddy Moloney and The Chieftains will be making their annual pilgrimage to the Kimmel.

And it’s not over yet. It’s not even St. Patrick’s Day! On Monday, the Marple Sports Arena is holding a Family-Friendly St. Patty’s Sports Night with skating to Irish music.

Then, Tuesday dawns. Here’s a rundown of just some of the things you can do on the 2009 St. Paddy’s Day:

Have a big Irish breakfast at Fado Pub in Philadelphia to benefit the Patrick Kerr Memorial Scholarship at Roman Catholic High School.

You suburbanites: Head to Brittinghams in Lafayette Hill or The Shanachie Pub in Ambler to hear music all day. Don’t play favorites—go back and forth between the two.

Plan on having a ham and cabbage dinner with the New Castle County Irish Society, or with musicians Mike and Kitty Kelly-Albrecht at the Spring Mill Café in Conshohocken, or with Shades of Green at Crossing vineyards and Winery in Washington Crossing.

Then, if you have any energy left (and you’ll need it), those crazy boys from DC, Scythian, will be holding “the Big Jig” at The Trocadero on Arch Street in Philly.

In Sellersville, Bill Monaghan and Celtic Pride are appearing at The Sellersville Theatre, and you can have your St. Paddy’s Day meal next door at The Washington House.

The amazing Solas is appearing at World Café Live.

Sir James Galway is performing with the York Symphony Orchestra in York.

The Broken Shillelaghs are appearing at Oh! Hara’s Pub in Gloucester City, NJ.

Frank McCourt’s “The Irish and How They Got That Way” is on the bill at the Kimmel Center till the end of the month.

The remarkable Irish trad group, Slide, is appearing at the baby grand @ The Grand in Wilmongton on Thursday. Check out our story, photos and six videos from their recent show at The Irish Center. Wow.

Then, on Friday, the inimitable Karan Casey will appear at the World Café Live. We saw her in December during the Teada Christmas tour at the Irish Center, and she blew us away.

There are more parades coming up, including Allentown’s and Girardsville’s, and plenty more Celtic events this month, including our own: GiveWay, a quartet of young talented sisters from Scotland who play and sing traditional music with a jazzy style. And they are way cute. That’s coming up on March 28. Hope to see you there!

March 12, 2009 by Denise Foley

News

A Day of Pre-Parade Ceremonies

Philadelphia Highway Patrol Officer Richard Decoatsworth receives his Ring of Honor sash from Kathy McGee Burns of the parade committee, while the other Ring recipients--families of slain officers--applaud.

When the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade kicks off on Sunday, March 15, one of the first banners to come down the Parkway holds the names of seven Philadelphia police officers killed in the line of duty in the past three years.

The theme of this year’s parade is “St. Patrick, Guide Us to Peace and Prosperity,” particularly apt for these times in the city.

Their families were honored by the parade committee on Thursday, March 12, at a luncheon at the Doubletree Hotel on Broad Street, following ceremonies at City Hall during which Mayor Nutter proclaimed March “Irish Month,” in the city.

March 12, 2009 by Denise Foley

News

Second Parade Fundraiser Draws 700

CBS3 meterologist Kathy Orr gives an early weather report. The parade is broadcast every year on the local CBS station and the CW.

As he looked out from the stage at the 700-some people who paid $25 each for a buffet and a side order of Celtic rockers, Blackthorn, at the Springfield Country Club on Sunday, Michael Bradley grabbed the mike and said, “We’re doing it right.”

Although the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day parade director had gone head-to-head with the city over its request for an additional $40,000 to pay for police, barricades, stands and clean-up—something the city donated to the event in previous years—he wasn’t waiting for someone to cave. With Philadelphia facing a billion dollar deficit over the next five years and the parade only a month away when the new bill came in, there wasn’t time for a protracted stand-off. And Bradley wasn’t about to call off the parade, one of the oldest in the country.

So everyone rolled up their sleeves and planned fundraisers—the quiet kind, where one or two people approached the generous high-rollers in the region, and the high-profile kind that mixed music and raffle tickets and 50-50s and food. The effort got its first boost when Brian Tierney, CEO of Philadelphia Newspapers Inc, publishers of the financially troubled Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, offered to match the first $20,000 raised.

And it’s coming in—in small bills and large checks (on Sunday, Ed Last of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, handed over a check for $1,000 from the organization, the second four-figure donation the group made to the parade). Bradley won’t talk about how much money the parade committee has raised until there’s a final tally, but he says it’s going well.

If you couldn’t be there, check out our huge photo essay. And send your tax-deductible contributions to:

St. Patrick’s Day Observance Association
PO Box 32158
Philadelphia, PA 19146

Watch the Cara School dancers performing while Blackthorn plays.

March 11, 2009 by Denise Foley

Columns, How to Be Irish in Philly

How To Be Irish in Philly This Week

Well, you know it’s St. Paddy’s month now. The “Erin Express”—Philly’s 30-year-old pub crawl—leaves for the first time this year on Saturday at noon. Ten buses will take revelers to some of the city’s best Irish pubs and you don’t need a reservation or a ticket. Check our calendar for participating establishments, and drink responsibly.

The first of the region’s parades steps off the curb on Saturday—Mount Holly, NJ’s march is expected to be the biggest ever.

And here’s the rest of the lineup for Saturday:

•Conshohocken will hold its parade grand marshal’s ball in Jeffersonville.
•Queen of Peace Parish in Ardsley has scheduled its annual Irish night fundraiser.
•Sean nos singer Terry Kane and her partner John Beatty will be performing at Porter’s Pub in Easton, part of the Celtic Cultural Alliance’s Celtic music nights.
•Incredible harper Grainne Hambley and her musical partner William Jackson will perform at Calvary Church in Philadelphia.
•Solas is appearing at the Appel Farm Arts and Music Center in Elmer, NJ
•Gloucester County Div. 1 AOH is holding its St. Patrick’s Day party at Richard Rossiter in National Park, NJ.
•Danu is appearing at the Annenberg Center.
• Frank McCourt’s “The Irish and How They Got That Way” is in the beginning of a four-week run at The Kimmel Center.

Then, on Sunday:
Head over to the Springfield Country Club to hear Blackthorn—they’re playing a fundraiser for the Philly St. Paddy’s Day Parade, which came up $40,000 short in the city’s budget crunch.
Before you go, fortify yourself with a full Irish breakfast spread laid out by AOH Div. 22 at Smoke Eater’s Pub—it too is a fundraiser for the parade and other AOH charities.

The rest of the week:

• Scottish group Malinky will appear at the Bethlehem BrewWorks, a fundraiser for the Celtic Cultural Alliance, on Tuesday night.
• Folklorist and musician Mick Moloney will give a musical talk on Jewish and Irish collaborations in Vaudeville and early Tin Pan Alley at the Falvey Library Lounge at Villanova on Tuesday night. The following night, Gerald Dawe, Heimbold professor of Irish studies, will give a talk and reading.
• On Thursday morning, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick will hold its annual wreath laying ceremony at City Hall, and Mayor Michael Nutter will read a proclamation marking St. Patrick’s Day in the city. A luncheon follows, and Ring of Honor winners, including Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey and District Attorney Lynne Abraham and families of slain Philadelphia police officers will be honored.
• In York, Barleyjuice will be performing on Thursday night, and in Borders in Springfield, golf writer Tom Coyne, author of “A Course Called Ireland,” about his own personal golf tour and genealogy trip to Ireland, will do a book signing.
• AOH Div. 1 in Swedesburg has its annual Irish Coffee Contest on the schedule for Thursday night—it’s always a lot of fun, and there’s a two-time winner that’s facing some steep challenges this year.
• Also on Thursday, Black 47 will raise the roof at the World Café Live, the second “Rambling House” evening of entertainment will be happening at the Irish Center, and Cathie Ryan will be performing at the Montgomery County Community College in a benefit for victims of domestic violence served by the Women’s Center of Montgomery County.
• Friday’s lineup: Bell X1 at the World Café Live, the coronation of the King and Queen of the Allentown Parade, Flogging Molly in Atlantic City, a benefit party sponsored by the American Ireland Fund’s Young Leaders of Philadelphia, and Burning Bridget Cleary burning it up in Spinnerstown.

Next weekend it’s the big Philadelphia St. Paddy’s Day Parade, and much, much more.

March 5, 2009 by Denise Foley

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