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Denise Foley

A New Brew Pub Comes to Town

Second Story’s John Wible and Ken Merriman

The twos were just too overwhelming to ignore.

When native Dubliner Ken Merriman was looking for a name for his new brew pub, Second Story Brewery seemed like a natural. It’s at 117 Second Street, a few steps from Front Street, in Philadelphia’s Old City neighborhood. The gleaming stainless steel brewing vats that once held Triumph Brewing’s craft beers are on the second floor of the 19th century former cotton and silk warehouse.

And it’s a second story—meaning a real passion for something–for Merriman, his partner, Debbie Grady, and brewer John Wible. “Deb is a farmer (Tilted Barn Farm in Pottstown) and we’re going to be using the wheat, hops, barley and probably yeast from her farm to make the beer,” explained Merriman last week during an invite-only preview that served as a dry run for the pub. “John is an IT guy in Cherry Hill who started as a home brewer. And me, I’ve been drinking beer all my life and now I’m making it!” He laughs.

It’s a second story in another way for Merriman, who grew up in the hotel/restaurant business. It’s his second Philly restaurant adventure. He was until fairly recently the general manager and partner at Tir na Nog at 16th and Arch and continues to run District Riverton Bistro in Riverton, NJ, where he lives.

Serendipity brought the three together. Merriman and Grady met years ago on the rugby field while watching their sons play for St. Joseph’s Prep. Wible is married to Grady’s daughter who started him on his obsession with beer making when she suggested he “find something to do with my time” while she was living temporarily in Vancouver.

“I didn’t know anything about home brewing but then I found a place close to my office that sold the equipment,” says Wible, 29. “Within two months, my new hobby had become a serious obsession.”

It was something of a learning curve to go from making 10 gallons to 500 gallons, but Wible started brewing and testing his own tried and true recipes on a grander scale for Second Story back in July and has 8-10 winners that will be available, along with a few ciders and six outside beers, including Guinness, and a test line done in 10 gallon batches. There’s also a beer engine at the bar for naturally carbonating beer as it’s pumped from the cask which adds a different texture to the beer, explains Wible.

“He’s really not happy about that Guinness,” Merriman confided later with a grin. “He says he’s working on a good dry Irish stout for me so we may be carrying that.”

Like the craft beer, the food is also farm-to-table, including an imaginative array of “bar bites” like black bean egg rolls, sliders with tomato jam and manchego cheese, and grilled wings that are brined, then baked, then grilled.

And the venue, warmed by oak floors, exposed brick walls, a working fireplace, and heavy fire doors that date back to its warehouse days, does double duty—both as a restaurant and event space. There’s a large room with a separate bar upstairs that can handle large parties.

Surprisingly, in a big beer town like Philly—where one section of the city is called Brewerytown—there are only a handful of brew pubs so Second Story doesn’t have lots of competition and certainly not in its neighborhood.

“Philly is a huge craft beer town but what it has is craft breweries,” says Merriman. One of the latest, for example, is St. Benjamin’s in Kensington, where they brew and deliver beer to local bars but don’t yet have a pub (one is in the planning stage). “If you go to a place like Denver, for instance, there are brew pubs on every corner,” Merriman says.

The brew pub is even catching on in Ireland, where traditional pubs are in decline. “I got a great laugh the last time I was in Ireland,” Merriman says. “The Irish were always trashing American beer. When I was back there in February and on the computer researching brew pubs, when I came across six or seven of them in Ireland and they were all advertising ‘American style craft beers.’” He laughed. “I just loved it.”

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October 21, 2014 by Denise Foley

How to Be Irish in Philly

How to Be Irish in Philly This Week

The Dublin Guitar Quartet

The Cavan Ball is this Saturday at The Irish Center. There’s a long tradition of county society balls in the Philadelphia area. They’re a chance to get dressed up, have a nice meal, listen to—or, more often than not—dance to some great music, this time from the Vince Gallagher Band.

Also on Saturday night, the Glenside Gaelic Club is holding a fundraising “Wine and Dine” evening, with gourmet food and wine pairings. It takes place at the McSwiney Club in Jenkintown and benefits the youth leagues.

Catch continuing performances of the plays, “A Night with Lady G” and “The Weir,” both Irish plays, in the area this week. (See our calendar for more details.)

Irish language classes continue at Villanova on Monday. Learn to speak Gaelic with a Donegal accent.

On Tuesday, the Dublin Guitar Quartet will be performing at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square. Using eight and 11-string guitars, the quartet explores music not usually associated with guitars, including contemporary classical music. There’s a coffee reception with the performers after the show.

On Wednesday, the Shantys bring their musical talents—no shortage of rebel tunes!– to the stage at AOH Div. 61 Hall on Rhawn Street in Philadelphia.

On Thursday morning, it will be Rose of Tralee Day in Philadelphia, as city council issues a proclamation honoring the International Rose of Tralee, Maria Walsh, who lives in Philadelphia. Ceremonies take place at 10 AM at City Hall.

Singer Mary Black, making her last overseas tour, makes a stop in Phoenixville where she and her band—and her daughter, singer-songwriter Roisin O—will be at the Colonial Theater. Read our interview with the Dublin-born singer.

Next Saturday, try out your Halloween costume early at the first of several fundraisers for the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade—a Halloween party at St. Denis Hall in Havertown. There will be prizes for best get-up, as well as food and music because this, after all, is an Irish event. (That means there will probably be raffles and a 50-50.)

You can add your own event to our calendar. Go to the top of the page, click on “Events Calendar,” then “Submit your event” and do everything the nice instructions tell you to do. Don’t look for your event right away. We get notified via email, then we have to do some clicking ourselves to put it up on the calendar.

October 17, 2014 by Denise Foley

Music, News, People

Last Call Tour for Singer Mary Black

Singer Mary Black

Just a couple of years ago, Dublin-born singer Mary Black was touring the world with a new album, “Stories from the Steeples,” her twelfth studio album. This year, she’s taking what might be called a victory lap around the world, marking the last time she’ll be singing abroad. At 58, with grandchildren to cosset, she’ll be bringing her “Last Call Tour” to Phoenixville’s Colonial Theater on Friday, October 24, and drawing it to a close this spring in Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK.

“Last Call” has an unmistakable finality about it. “I’m trying not to think about it too much,” said Black on the phone from her home in Ireland, where her daughter, Roisin, a singer-songwriter who will be opening for her, was making tea. “Cuppa tea, love,” she calls out to her. “I’m looking at her now,” she says into the phone. “I’d love a cuppa,” she says to Roisin.

Along with Roisin, Black has two sons with husband, Joe O’Reilly of Dara Records—Danny is part of the popular Irish group The Coronas and Conor “is the only one in the family with a real job,” she laughs. He’s a surveyor.

It was tough balancing motherhood and a music career that kept her away from home for weeks at a time. It occasionally burned her out—hence the long stretches between tours—and finally, she says, “I had enough of traipsing around.

“I’m not giving up singing,” she hastens to add. “I’ll still perform in Ireland and I may pop across the water to England and if the odd interesting festival pops its head up, I may go. But it’s time to call it a day.”

The tour coincides with the publication of Black’s autobiography, “Down the Crooked Road,” which she wrote, with Roisin’s help, at the request of Transworld Publishers—their second request for a book in two years. (The book was released in Ireland on October 9, but isn’t available in the US until late November.)

What made her say yes the second time?

“In light of my last world tour, if I ever needed to write my autobiography, this was the time,” she says. “Roisin stepped in, typing and drawing the stories out of me. She’s an avid reader and has a natural instinct for painting a picture and setting the scene. It’s hard to be objective about it because I was so involved in it, but I think for fans it will be a good read and will give them insights into who I am and how I handled the ups and downs of life.”

There are no big revelations, she says, but the “crooked road” reference is to more than just a line from one of her songs. “My life was all twists and turns all the way, little hills and dips,” she says. Fans may be surprised to learn that at the height of her career in the 1990s, Black was beset by depression. “It’s very personal, really, but I thought it was important to speak about these things because mental health issues are still a little bit taboo. At times it was a huge problem in my life, so it seems silly to write a book about my life an not say anything about that. At one stage it was really bad, probably the highest point in my life from a career standpoint, when I was really flying high—that was the toughest time. ”

She also struggled, like most working mothers, with the dreaded “work-life balance,” and she delves into the ways “the Catholic religion affected me,” both deep sources of guilt. “I was riddled with guilt and not even aware of it,” she admits. “When I finally realized I thought, well, what the hell was that about?”

Black was born into a musical family. Her father, who came from a rural part of Antrim, played the fiddle and other instruments. Her mother was a singer. Black began singing Irish traditional songs at the age of eight, and she and her four siblings, brothers Shay, Michael and Martin, and her sister, Frances, performed as The Black Family in little clubs around Dublin.

In the 1980s, Black joined a small folk group called General Humbert. They toured Europe and produced two albums. Then, in 1982, she put out her own solo album, Mary Black, which went gold in Ireland. She was part of the group De Dannan and the album, Anthem, which she recorded with them was named Irish Album of the Year.

Her subsequent solo efforts took her into new territory for someone who still sang centuries-old songs in Irish. She began to blend more contemporary tunes into the mix, drawing particularly from two songwriters she loved: Jimmy McCarthy, who wrote “Adam at the Window,” “Bright Blue Rose,” and “Wonder Child;” and the late Noel Brazil who wrote, among other songs, one of Black’s biggest hits, “Columbus,” from her “No Frontiers” album. “No Frontiers” was a career changer for Black. It stayed in the top 30 in Ireland for a year and went triple platinum. It’s also the album that won attention—and adoration—from a new group of American fans. She did her first American tour in 1991.

Though she has co-written several songs, Black does not come from the tradition of singer-songwriters, as her daughter and son are. Her gift and what she is recognized for is her remarkable voice, her interpretation of songs, and a talent for choosing the right material.

“Coming from a folky background, the tradition of writing isn’t there,” she explains. “You’re always on the lookout for a good song, something you hear at a session, but I never thought to pick up a pen. My real talent is interpretation, that’s what I’m good at. I leave the really good writing to people who are really good at it. If you’d ever heard Noel sing his own songs, you would not be impressed. He’s probably listening to me saying this from wherever he is.” She laughs. “But I would take them and put in a bit of magic, not change the lyrics but build on the arrangement. “

Nevertheless, the first piece of advice she gave to the offspring following in her footsteps was “Get the pen out and start writing. Number one, that’s where the money is,” she says, laughing again. “But you need to start from an early age learning the craft. When you’re younger you’re too full of emotions, with the ups and downs, the sadness and the heartbreak, and it’s easier to write when you’re vulnerable like that.”

Though she’s happy with her decision to pull the plug on extensive touring, Black admits that the words “last call,” when she does think about them, leave her “a bit emotional” knowing that this will be a final time she’ll be traveling this particular crooked road.

“But I’m looking forward to it and it’s great having Roisin with me and all the amazing musicians in the band,” she says. “As I said, I try not to think too much about it being the last tour, about it never happening again. I’m just going to try to enjoy it.”

October 16, 2014 by Denise Foley

How to Be Irish in Philly

How To Be Irish in Philly This Week

The real Lady Augusta Gregory, whose plays are in Philadelphia for a run.

Duffy’s Cut dominates the calendar this week. Along with a day-long symposium on Saturday at Immaculata which employs the arts to explore the mystery of the deaths of 57 Irish railroad workers in Malvern in 1832, Immaculata Professor William Watson, who led an archeological dig that found the bodies, will also be speaking on Tuesday at AOH Division 39 Hall on Tulip Street in Philadelphia.

History buffs might also enjoy “A Night with Lady G,” a trilogy of funny plays by celebrated Irish playwright Augusta, Lady Gregory, which opens at Plays and Players Theater on Delancey Street in Philadelphia. My favorite Lady Gregory quotes: “It is the old battle, between those who use a toothbrush and those who don’t” and “I feel more and more the time wasted that is not spent in Ireland.”

For some great music, head to the Tin Angel, where The John Byrne Band opens for the Palm Ghosts at the Tin Angel on Second Street in the city.

The JBB will be in Jim Thorpe on Sunday for the Fall Foliage Fest. History buffs can enjoy the fest and also check out the jail where the Irish miners, the Molly Maguires, were hanged, in this beautiful little town.

On Sunday, be prepared to burn some serious calories at the Ceili at AOH Notre Dame Div. 1 in Bridgeport.

Later, head down to the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts to hear the Makem and Spain Brothers (yes, that Makem—they’re the sons of Tommy Makem) for an evening of Irish folk music.

There won’t be any Irish language lessons at Villanova on Monday, October 13 because the university is closed that day. Classes will resume on October 20.

On Friday, the Pulley and Buttonhole Theater Company is performing Conor McPherson’s play, The Weir, which will run Fridays and Saturdays, the 17, 18, 24. and 25 at 305 Old York Road in Jenkintown (the theater is on the second floor and there is no elevator).

Looking ahead: Iconic Irish singer Mary Black will be appearing on October 24 at the Colonial Theater in Phoenixville. This is her “last call” tour—she’s retiring from touring the world after 30 years. The first of the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day fundraisers takes place on October 25—a beef and beer at St. Denis Church Hall in Havertown.

Please check our calendar for details and updates.

October 10, 2014 by Denise Foley

History, News

A Day for Duffy’s Cut

The memorial at Wesst Laurel Hill Cemetery where some of the victims are buried.

You’ll learn everything there is to know about Duffy’s Cut—its history, the songs, poems, novels, and plays written about it, films made and in the works, and even view artifacts recovered from the archeological dig—at a special day-long symposium at Immaculata College on Saturday, October 11.

Sponsored by Irish Network-Philadelphia, the day starts at 1 PM with screenings of the Kilmaine Saints’ video of a song about the 57 Irish immigrant railroad workers who died or were killed during a cholera epidemic in Malvern in 1832. That’s followed by screenings of “The Ghosts of Duffy’s Cut” and “Death on the Railroad,” two documentaries about the event and the work of Bill and Frank Watson and the late John Ahtes, who spearheaded the investigation into Duffy’s Cut which led to the discovery of mass graves not far from the Immaculata campus, where Bill Watson is a history professor.

The Duffy’s Cut Museum, which contains artifacts including clay pipes, coffin nails, and railroad spikes, will be open throughout the day. Take a virtual tour here.

Music will be provided by Marian Makins, Rosaleen McGill, Vince Gallagher, Pat Kenneally, and Mickey Coleman, as well as the Watson brothers on bagpipes. There will be two panel discussions, including one on Duffy’s Cut and the Pennsylvania Railroad and the other on “Duffy’s Cut: Why It atters,” which will feature CBS3 reporter Walt Hunter, and former Warner Brothers’ VP Bill Daly and actor and Drexel film studies professor Pat McDade, who, with Daily, has formed a company, duffyscutfilm, which is producing a feature film on this 19th century tragedy.

Novelist Kristen Walker will read excerpts from her forthcoming novel, “Between Darkness and The Tide,” which was inspired by Duffy’s Cut. Kelly Clark will be reading from her forthcoming book, “Duffy’s Cut—A Novel” and John Bohannon will read selected poems from “Barmaids of Tir na Nog.”

Ticket prices, which include a meal and a beverage provided by Tellus360 of Lancaster, range from $35 for students and seniors to $120 for the event and a IN-Philadelphia membership. Proceeds from the event will help pay for the next phase of the Duffy’s Cut dig—to recover the bodies of 50 of the victims.

So far, the remains of only seven have been recovered. Six were interred in a plot donated by West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd.

The seventh, identified as teenager John Ruddy from Inishowen, County Donegal, was buried in a family plot owned by Vincent Gallagher, president of the Philadelphia Irish Center, in Ardara, County Donegal.

To learn more about the second phase of the Duffy’s Cut dig, read our story.

Photos of some of the Duffy’s Cut artifacts, including bones, are below.

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October 10, 2014 by Denise Foley

News

#IrishCenterSaved!

Everyone their feet for the “Siege of Ennis” set dance.

The number you’ve been waiting for. It was $60,000, give or take. While the final tally isn’t in, it looks like the 3-month “Save the Irish Center” campaign not only met its goal of $50,000, but exceeded it by about $10,000. That made the final fundraiser of the year—an open house at the center in Philadelphia on Sunday—a celebration.

About 200 people cycled in and out of the center over 6 hours, buying raffle tickets, tasting scone bread, dancing, clapping, and—if you were a kid—getting their faces intricately painted with butterflies, tiger muzzles, or fanciful Celtic designs. The day opened with a full Irish breakfast and the broadcasting of the Sunday Irish Radio Shows from the Fireside Room—named for its big working fireplace–in the rambling center in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of the city.

The campaign was launched following a citywide reassessment that raised the center’s taxes by 800 percent (later, through the help of attorneys from the city’s Brehon Society, an organization of Irish lawyers and judges, reduced to a 300 percent hike) and a notice from the city Board of Health that the kitchen range hood—a $22,000 item—had to be replaced to meet code.

The Center, founded in 1958, makes money as an event hall, taking in about a quarter of a million dollars a year. However, the building is in dire need of maintenance and its size makes it expensive to heat and cool. It is the home of the county societies, the Emerald Society Pipes and Drums, the Delaware Valley Hall of Fame, the Philadelphia Ceili Group, and the Cummins School of Irish Dance. Dozens of dancers come each week to learn and practice ceili dancing with instructors John Shields and Cass Tinney and audiences drawn from both within and outside the Irish community attend concerts by top-name and rising traditional musicians brought to the region by the Ceili Group.

A small group of concerned people from all parts of the community and members of the Irish Center board met several months ago at the home of Kathy McGee Burns, president of the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame, to come up with a strategy to raise money to get the center over its fiscal crisis and, ultimately, to help it achieve a more secure financial footing for the future. A combination of fundraisers, raffles, a web-based crowd-sourcing campaign via gofundme.com, and a direct mail appeal raised more than $50,000 before Sunday’s final fundraiser, which edged it well over the top. Michael Bradley, director of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, this week pledged $300 to tip the total to and even $60,000.

The first event was a fundraiser at Maloney’s Pub in Ardmore, followed by a Night of Comedy with New York-based, Irish-born comic Mick Thomas and friends, a Quizzo Night at the Irish Center, and, finally, the Irish Center open house.

At the open house, four dance schools—Cummins, Coyle, McDade-Cara, Shades of Green—performed (and many joined in for a center-wide “Siege of Ennis” set dance), along with John and Michael Boyce of Blackthorn with their sister, Karen Boyce McCollum, a member of the fundraising committee, and at least once with their uncle, box player Kevin McGillian; Kathy DeAngelo and Dennis Gormley with two members of their Next Generation group of young trad players, Keegan Loesel and Olivia Lisowski; fiddler Bette Conway; bodhran player Bill Whitman; Irish Center President Vince Gallagher and his band; and the Emerald Society Pipes and Drums.

There were 11 entries in the Irish Philadelphia-sponsored scone-baking contest—judged by Tom Wyatt, Irish Immigration Center Executive Director Siobhan Lyons, and WXPN Kids’ Corner host, Kathy O’Connell—and the winners were: first place, Mary Shea; second place, Bridie Brady; third place, Denise Byrnes; and honorable mention, Jimmy Meehan. Shea, who won $100 for her first-ever scone, donated the money to the Irish Center.

The Irish Coffee Shop of Upper Darby catered the event which was organized by Frank Hollingsworth with other members of the fundraising committee.

This year’s fundraising activities may be at an end, but the campaign is a two-year project and there will be other events in 2015 to help raise an additional $50,000. With the help of the Brehons, the Center’s board is in the process of filing for a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit designation which will help defray some future costs, make it eligible for grants, and allow all donations to be tax deductible.

The fundraising committee is seeking suggestions and recommendations from the Irish community on ways the Center can better respond to your needs. If you have ideas on ways the Center can become more of hub for Irish events in the Philadelphia region, you can send them to us (Jeff Meade, Lori Lander Murphy and I serve on the committee) at either dmfoley1950@gmail.com or irishphilly@gmail.com , or through the website or our Facebook page.

And if you couldn’t be at Sunday’s open house, you can catch a glimpse of some of the fun via our photo essay below, and watch the moments we caught on video.

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October 3, 2014 by Denise Foley

How to Be Irish in Philly

How to Be Irish in Philly This Week

Get ready for some Gaelic football on the brand new Limerick Field October 4.

For as long as we’ve been cranking out this website (I think we’re heading into our ninth St. Patrick’s Day season in 2015) the Philadelphia Gaelic Athletic Association has been planning, fundraising, and creating its new field in Limerick. And now, it’s opening for the first time for play.

On Saturday, October 4, Irish Vice Consul Anne McGllicuddy and head of the US GAA board Gareth Fitzsimons will be on hand as teams take to the brand new field, starting at 11 AM with a St. Joe’s Vs. Alumni game followed by McCartan Cup play, hurling, an over-40 game (hopefully there will be a defibrillator standing by) and a game pitting American-born players vs. the Irish born. The McDade Cara Irish Dancers will be there, and there will be food and festivities all day at the field, which is located at 485 Longview Avenue, Limerick.

If you’ve never seen Gaelic football or hurling, you’re in for a treat. Warning: You might get hooked. We are!

It’s quite a busy day in Irish Philadelphia land. At 2 PM on Saturday the Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 87 is holding a forum on the question of Irish freedom, an issue that has taken center stage again as the result of the Scottish independence vote last month. Guest speakers from the 1916 Societies of Ireland, an Irish separatist movement, will be on hand.

On Saturday night, top trad performers Jackie Daly (accordion) and Matt Cranitch (fiddle) will be on stage at the Irish Center for a Philadelphia Ceil Group concert. There are also workshops in the afternoon.

On Sunday, head to the high seas—oh, okay, just the Delaware River—for Irish music on the A.J. Meerwald, a 120-foot oyster schooner, a tall ship of New Jersey. The mini-cruise, featuring Friends of Eric, will sail the river from Penns Landing.

On Monday, get teed off at the Jack McNamee Masters of the Green Golf Tournament at Paxson Hollow Country Club in Broomall—a fundraiser for the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

On Wednesday, Anne Cadwallader, author of “Lethal Allies: British Collusion in Ireland,” an Irish bestseller, will be speaking and signing books at AOH Div. 39 in Philadelphia. Drawing on police files, Cadwallader documents collusion between the Ulster Defense Regiment, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, and illegal loyalist paramilitaries on both sides of the Irish border. The book names more than 20 police and soliders involved in murders and coverups and includes interviews with the relatives of the 120 victims who were killed on both sides of the border.

On Thursday, Plays and Players will present “An Evening with Lady G”—no, not Gaga, but Lady Augusta Gregory, the Irish playwright—at its theater on Delancey Street. The play runs through October 25.

On Friday, the John Byrne Band teams up with old friends, Citizens Band Radio, at Havana’s in New Hope. The JBB will also be playing at the Tin Angel on October 11 and at the Fall Foliage Fest in Jim Thorpe on October 12.

Look for more details on these and other events on our calendar.

October 3, 2014 by Denise Foley

How to Be Irish in Philly

How To Be Irish in Philly This Week

She’s having a good time at The Irish Center. Come on Sunday!

There are two really big events this week–open house at The Irish Center in Philadelphia and the Celtic Classic, three days of music, highland games, and haggis eating in Bethlehem.

There won’t be any haggis at the Irish Center on Sunday, but there will be authentic Irish edibles from the Irish Coffee Shop in Upper Darby (try the sausage rolls—they’re amazing!), dancers from five different Irish step dancing schools who will not only perform but will show you how to do a few steps, and music all day featuring local talent including two-fifths of Blackthorn (John and Michael Boyce) and their singing sister, Karen Boyce McCollum; sean nos singer Terry Kane; McDermott’s Handy, a duo made up of Dennis Gormley and Kathy DeAngelo, and some of the talented young musicians from The Next Generation musical group.

Festivities start in the morning at 10 with a full Irish breakfast. Vince Gallagher will be broadcasting both his radio show and Marianne MacDonald’s show (she’s in Ireland) starting at 11. There’s also a scone-baking contest (just whip up your best bread and bring it by about 2 PM) and you may be able to pick up some baking tips from the authentic Irish bakers who are entering their scone. I got some yesterday from Jimmy Meehan of County Donegal, but since Irish Philadelphia is sponsoring the competition, I’m not entering. But Jimmy is!

Face painter and balloon artist Sue Foo will be there to turn your little animals into, well, animals. There are also crafts projects for the kids, and a poster contest on “Why I Love Being Irish.” Kids can bring a poster they already made, or make one there.

There are also dozens of raffle baskets, many of them very kid-centric. Winners of the Golden Raffle—special items such as a bodhran made by Irish political prisoners, a pendant made from a 1769 Irish coin, and a Celtic Cross painted on glass—will be picked around 5:30 PM.

In Bethlehem this weekend, you can hear the Hooligans, Jamison, Searson, Burning Bridget Cleary, Cassie and Maggie MacDonald, the John Whelan Band, the Kilmaine Saints, Timlin and Kane, and many more at Celtic Fest in Bethlehem. That’s when you’re not watching big burly men toss telephone poles or border collies herding sheep or trying haggis for the first time (tastes like liver).

On Saturday, Blackthorn is headlining the Norwood Community Day and Irish Festival in Norwood. Festivities start at 10 AM and run till 6 PM.

On Sunday, the Theresa Flanagan Band will be playing at McGillicuddy’s in Upper Darby and there’s a ballad session at Fergies in Philadelphia with John Byrne.

On Monday, the first in a series of Irish language classes (Donegal dialect) starts in the Falvey Library at Villanova. These classes are free.

On Tuesday, catch Dublin-born Imelda May (now of Northern Liberties) and her band, the Bellfuries, at Union Transfer in Philadelphia. Her first CD, “Love Tattoo,” has gone triple platinum in Ireland.

On Thursday, the High Kings will be performing at the Sellersville Theater.

On Friday, the Gloucester County AOH will be holding a fundraiser in memory of Damian Gallagher that provides scholarships to students at Gloucester County Catholic High School. Damien Gallagher, a Donegal native, was a student at the high school who died at the age of 23.

Next Saturday, plan to make a trip up to Limerick for the grand opening of the new Gaelic Athletic Association field. You can see Gaelic football, hurling, dancers from McDade Cara, with special guests that include the Deputy Consul General of Ireland, Anne McGillicuddy and Gareth Fitzsimons, chair of the national GAA board in the US. This field has been many years in the making, the result of lots of hard work and fundraising by the Philadelphia GAA. Go cheer them on!

Also on Saturday, October 4, two top Irish trad musicians Matt Cranitch and Jackie Daley will be performing at the Irish Center. This is a Philadelphia Ceili Group production.

September 26, 2014 by Denise Foley

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