All Posts By

Denise Foley

News

How to Be Irish in Philly This Week

Blackthorn whoops up the crowd at Penn’s Landing. Photo by Gwyneth MacArthur

The annual Penn’s Landing Irish Festival kicks off the month of June. What a nice start—with Blackthorn, the Hooligans, and Jamison on stage, kids’ activities in the kids’ tent, Irish dancers, Irish food and beer, vendors, and some nice weather. And it’s free!

A Mass will be celebrated before the festival at the Irish Memorial at Front and Chestnut Streets.

And it’s not the only Irish festival happening this coming week. AOH Notre Dame Div.1 is holding its Irish festival starting on Friday, June 6, at St. Michael’s PicnicGrove in Mont Clare. It’s not free, but it’s a bargain—only $15 for a three-day pass. Celtic Spirit, the Paul Moore Band, the McGillians, and Tom McHugh will be providing the music (for listening and dancing), and of course there will be food, drinks, and vendors. All proceeds from the three-day event go to support AOH charities, like the Hibernian Hunger Project, which helps provide food for the needy.

If your Irish is limited to “Slainte!” you may want to pick up a few more useful words, which you do at the full immersion Irish language event, Satharn na Gael, which is being held on Saturday, June 7, at the Philadelphia Irish Center. Lunch and dinner are included in the $45 fee. Go to the Daltai na Gaelige (students of the Irish language) website for more information and to register. There will be a session in the evening. http://www.daltai.com/events/732/

And no, I didn’t forget rugby. (I can hear all the grumbling from the scrum crowd out there.) The 2014 Collegiate Rugby Championships are being held at PPL Park in Chester on Saturday, May 31. Go out, cheer, but save some energy for this week’s Irish festivals.

Check our calendar for details on these events and others coming up.

May 30, 2014 by Denise Foley

Arts

The Surprising Secret of Philly’s Toughest Irish Mobster

K.O. DelMarcelle as Whistling Jack with paramour Lettie (Gina Martino).

Whistling Jack McConnell was one of the toughest gangsters in Philadelphia’s Irish mob in the 1920s. He got his nickname because of his habit of whistling when he was about to turn an enemy’s face into porridge with his tattooed right arm. He variously worked as a stable boy, an ash-cart driver, a professional boxer and was engaged to three women.

But it was a paternity suit was Jack’s undoing. The only way to win in court was to admit the truth.

Whistling Jack McConnell was a girl.

And he. . .she’s the subject of a new play by Villanova grad Andrea Kennedy Hart, “The Toughtest Boy in Philadelphia,” that will make its world premier on June 12 at the Luna Theater, 620 S. 8th Street in Philadelphia, produced by Iron Age Theatre, a Norristown-based theater company.

In the production, Michelle Pauls, who is managing artistic director of B. Someday Productions at Walking Fish Theatre in Kensington, plays a character based on another male impersonator, this one the English music hall actress and singer Vesta Tilley who dazzled audiences on the British stage in drag for more than four decades. In the Iron Age production, her character is known as Tessie Belle. (In real life, Tilley and Jack never met) But that’s not all Pauls does.

“In our production, five women play all the parts,” said Pauls, who is also onstage as Jack’s mother, a traveling entertainer who left her daughter behind for her grandfather to raise.

Whistling Jack was actually born Florence Gray in Ohio. Her gender-bending didn’t start until she moved to Philadelphia with her grandfather. (See a photo of the real Florence/Whistling Jack.)

“From the earliest age, she was the kind of girl who liked to beat up boys and do boy things, and get into a lot of trouble,” says Pauls. “Her grandfather, who was an academic, said, ‘Let’s move out of this small town in Ohio and go to Philadelphia where I can get work and start a new life.’ So that’s what they did. That’s when she became he.”

Her grandfather unwittingly provided Florence/Jack with a nickname that stuck. “He taught her to whistle to befuddle any opponents and Jack would whistle before he beat up street thugs,” says Pauls. “I read in actual newspaper clippings that he used to promote awe in all these other street thugs and mob members by his feats. He even swam the Delaware twice!”

Unlike Jack, her character, Tessie Belle, chose male impersonation as a profession rather than a lifestyle. “She dressed and acted like a man on stage, but sang like a woman and never gave up her womanhood, not like Jack McConnell. She ties all the scenes together, like a spirit guide for Jack. The play is all about artifice and performing. All of us in our daily lives take on many faces and many roles as we go about our business.”

The play also uses this century old true story to explore modern themes of women’s rights, human rights, love and acceptance.

And it’s also a bit of a musical. “I sing three songs that Vesta Tilley sang,” says Paul. “All the actresses also do the sound effects which adds to the vaudeville feel.” (You can hear the original Vesta Tilley sing on youtube.)

In the cast: K.O. DelMarcelle as Jack, with Gina Martino, Susan Giddings, and Colleen Hughes.

The play, which is directed by Iron Age founder John Doyle, will run through June 29. Tickets are $20 and available via ticketleap.

May 29, 2014 by Denise Foley

How to Be Irish in Philly

How to Be Irish in Philly This Week

Commodore Barry’s statute, located behind Independence Hall.

It’s Memorial Day Weekend, the traditional joint celebration by the Commodore Barry Clubs of Philadelphia and New York of the life of Commodore John Barry, the Wexford-born, Philadelphia-based father of the American Navy. The Saturday event starts with a Mass and graveside ceremony at Olde St. Mary’s Church on Fourth Street in Philadelphia, concluding with a meal and music at the Irish Center, 6815 Emlen Street in Philadelphia’s Mt. Airy neighborhood.

Or, you could start your day earlier at the Irish Center watching pay-per-view Gaelic football at the bar, with a full Irish breakfast.

If you’re down the shore, you’ll find Blackthorn at LaCosta Lounge, 4000 Landis Avenue, in Sea Isle, starting at 5 PM–look outside, they’ll be under the tent. Catch them Sunday at Cattle ‘n Clover, 3817 Pacific Avenue in Wildwood, NJ.

On Wednesday, May 28, Tyrone-born singer-musician Garry Gormley will be entertaining at AOH 61’s hall at Rhawn Street and Frankford Avenue in Philadelphia.

On Thursday, May 29, join Irish Network-Philadelphia for a whiskey-tasting dinner at Fado Irish Pub on Locust Street in Philadelphia. On the menu—get ready for your mouth to water—will be smoked salmon tartar with Connemara whiskey; strawberry goat cheese salad served with Tyrconnell; haddock glazed in a Kilbeggan butter on rice pilaf with Kilbeggan; Greenore whiskey marinated duck breast with garlic mash, served with Greenore; and have some Molly’s Irish Cream over ice for dessert. Sounds like you’ll need a designated driver or to take public transportation. Cost is $35 for members, $50 for non-members.

On Friday, May 30, Jamison Celtic Rock is helping AOH 22 save “Big Green,” its green firetruck, at the union Hall of the Philadelphia Firefighters and Paramedics Local 22 in Philadelphia. AOH 22 is named for Philadelphia Firefighter John J. Redmond, who was killed responding to a 5-alarm fire in South Philadelphia 20 years ago.

Rugby fans: an invitational tournament featuring 20 of the nation’s top college teams will be competing for the Pete Dawkins Trophy on May 31 at PPL Park in Chester. The reigning champs, University of California-Berkeley will be returning to defend their title. Six teams with strong Philly ties—Drexel, Kutztown, Penn State, St. Joe’s, Penn, and Temple—will be trying to take it away.

Then on Sunday, June 1, head down to Penns Landing for the annual–and free–Irish Festival featuring Blackthorn, the Hooligans, and Jamison on stage, Irish step dancers, food and vendors.

May 22, 2014 by Denise Foley

News

Ireland: A Great Place to Grow Your Company

Jane Kealy of Bank of Ireland describes the Irish mortgage market.

If you’re ready to expand your business globally or looking for a smart investment, now may be the time to get in on the ground floor of the new Ireland—the elevator is going up.

That was the message from all five guest speakers at the Irish American Business Chamber and Network’s “Invest in Ireland: An Insider’s Perspective” breakfast workshop on Wednesday at the Union League in Philadelphia.

It wasn’t news to the nearly 70 people at the event that was co-sponsored by the Bank of Ireland which has its US branch in Stamford, CT. Ireland watchers know that the island, once the poster child for a wrecked economy, has been named “the best country to do business” by Forbes magazine and one of the top 10 in the World Bank Group’s list.

Through a punishing mix of taxes and austerity, the country was able to pay back its bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union (the first in the Eurozone) and reduce its significant budget deficit, the result in part of a dramatic loss of tax revenue when its thriving housing market went belly-up.

“We’re still standing after all the knocks we’ve suffered over the past few years,” said Michael Crowley, senior economist in the economic research unit of the Bank of Ireland Global Markets.

Standing and climbing. “Our GDP [gross domestic product, the market value of the goods and services a country produces] per head is still significantly higher than it was in the 1990s,” said Crowley. “We’ve seen a fall in unemployment. . .and are expecting gains in that area. Foreign direct investment is still up significantly.”

During the “Celtic Tiger” boom, Crowley said, business costs and wages rose so that the country was no longer competitive. “We were out of line with our trading partners,” he said. “Since then we’ve had wage freezes and wage cuts and an improvement in productivity.”

And, perhaps most important, by lowering its budget deficit, Ireland borrowing costs, which had reached double digits, are down to about 2 ½ percent.

Many American companies, particularly those in the tech industry, already call Ireland their home away from home, including Microsoft, Ebay, Cisco, Amazon, Dropbox, PayPal, and Facebook, thanks to Ireland’s business-friendly tax structure. In fact, said Gerry Moan, managing general partner of Smart Invest, a burgeoning venture capital firm with offices in Philadelphia and County Meath, nine oout of 10 tech companies use Ireland as their gateway to the rest of the world. As do eight out of 10 online game firms and 50 percent of all worldwide financial companies.

Besides the attractive taxes, what lures these companies to Ireland is the fact that it’s”the only English speaking country in the Eurozone,” he said, and the first stop in Europe from the US. Ireland’s population is also young and well-educated. “We have the highest proportion of science and engineering graduates in the world,” he said, as he clicked through slide after slide featuring iconic images of Ireland, from shamrocks to the Titanic Museum in Belfast. “It’s not just the gorgeous scenery.”

Another big advantage to consider doing business on Irish soil: There are financial incentives for startups and their success rate is enviable, said Moan. “Seventy-eight percent have survived and thrived over the five year monitoring period.”

His company will help bridge a funding gap that exists for companies that want to grow their business in Europe, the only negative in an otherwise rosy picture for new companies. “When you want to expand, the next round of funding is tougher to get,” he said. “My company will be focusing on that.”

The next step—finding property to buy or rent, either as a company or an individual—poses some stumbling blocks, said Marian Finnegan, chief economist with the SherryFitzgerald Group, the largest real estate company in Ireland.

“The Irish recovery depends on what part of Ireland you’re standing in,” said Finnegan.

The Dublin residential market has rebounded, though property availability is tight which is driving up prices. Rural areas, places like Sligo, Waterford, Wexford, Leitrim, and Donegal, have not seen the same kind of recovery. There is also a dearth of large spaces—2,000 square feet and up—in Dublin and other urban areas which is also driving up prices for commercial spaces.

On the other hand, there’s been upward movement in the mortgage market, said Jane Kealy, senior manager in the mortgage business at Bank of Ireland, spurred mainly by “first-time buyers and movers,” many of whom have found that purchasing a house makes more economic sense—even on a monthly basis–than renting.

[flickr_set id=”72157644369416288″]

May 21, 2014 by Denise Foley

News, People

A New Brewery Comes to Town

Tim Patton and Christina Burris at St. Benjamin’s Brewery.

There are an estimated 1.2 million homebrewers in the US, collectively producing more than 2 million barrels of beer a year. Most of them are content to cook up small batches in the basement to drink or share with friends.

Philadelphians Tim Patton and Christina Burris are not among them.

The two friends, dedicated homebrewers who met at a beer event several years ago, are a few weeks away from opening their own craft brewery, called St. Benjamin Brewery—after Philly’s best known beer lover–in what was, in the early 20th century, Finkenhauer Brewery on Fifth Street near Germantown and Cecil B. Moore Avenues in South Kensington.

With savings from an internet startup he founded with a college and a little crowdfunding, Patton bought the building which had been a German brewery more than once and, at various times, a sewing factory and a warehouse. Today, the heavily graffiti-ed neighborhood (not the usual tagging—it has the feel of at least a couple of years of art school), is on the same hipster path as Northern Liberties, which is just a few blocks away. Adjacent factories have been converted into luxury lofts and the sidewalk traffic is decidedly young professional.

Patton and Burris funneled some of their seed money into a complete utility retrofit. “Nothing was up to code,” says Patton, originally from Boothwyn, who left a job as a software engineer to become a brewmeister. (Burris, a native Texan, is an architectural conservator.)

A few weeks ago, there were four shiny stainless beer vats inside the building waiting to be readied for the first batch of beer, made from recipes Patton and Burris painstakingly developed over the last couple of years. “We haven’t used anyone else’s recipes since 2010,” says Burris.

In fact, they’ve been distributing their own brews for years—for free—just to test those recipes. The law restricts homebrewers to 200 gallons and year, and Patton estimates they hit that. “We’ve been giving it away at public events in the city which has gotten us a lot of good feedback,” says Patton.

They’ve settled on a few key beers, including an IPA, the Transcontinental—an amber beer that’s historically Californian–and the Liaison, a lavender saison, a French/Belgian-style beer made with lavender. And there’s no call for drinkers of Guinness or Bud Light to snort. “Everything with a Belgian influence is going to be good,” says Christina, laughing.

To keep close tabs on consumer preferences, Patton and Burris decided to buy a delivery truck and cart kegs to local bars themselves. “We’re making the kind of beer we enjoy,” says Burris, “but if we find that one particular beer takes off, we’ll know right away and we can focus on that.”

There won’t be any bottles right away, but down the line there will be growlers for sale and, ultimately, a brew pub, right where last century’s brewers stabled their cart horses.

Patton and Burris have no designs on becoming the next Anheuser Busch, with worldwide distribution. They think the key to their success will be to be in place when their chosen neighborhood takes off. “There’s a lot of new things come and we want to be part of it,” says Patton.

May 21, 2014 by Denise Foley

How to Be Irish in Philly

How To Be Irish in Philly This Week

The Phanatic attempting to Irish dance.

Celtic Thunder’s George Donaldson, a familiar face on Philadephia’s Celtic music scene, was only 46 when he died this year of a massive heart attack. On Saturday, his local friends are holding a fundraiser and tribute to Donaldson, who went from bus mechanic to superstart in his 30s, at The Plough and the Stars in Philadelphia, where he frequently performed.

Raymond Coleman will perform at the event, the proceeds from which will go to Donaldson’s teenaged daughter, Sarah, to pay for her education and other needs.

On Saturday evening, the Galway Society will swing and sway to the tunes of the Paul Moore Band at their annual dinner dance at the Irish Center in Mt. Airy.

On Monday, the popular seniors’ lunch takes place at the Irish Center. It’s gotten so popular that it’s moved to a bigger room and you need reservations. Check our calendar for who to contact.

On Monday night, the remarkable Luka Bloom will perform at the Sellersville Theater. John Byrne will be the opening act.

On Tuesday, dig up some old relatives at the Irish American Genealogical Society meeting at the Irish Immigration Center in Upper Darby.

Then on Friday, learn how to say “Batter up!” in Irish, because it’s Irish Heritage Night at the Phillies (and Irish Heritage Night at the Reading Phillies in Reading on Saturday!). There will be Irish dancers on the field, Irish music coming our of every orifice, and even Irish food. There’s always beer.

The Mayo Spring Social is also on Friday night at The Irish Center.

Next Saturday, some of the local traditional Irish musicians who qualified to compete in the All-Ireland Championships in Sligo in August will be holding a fundraiser at Molly Maguire’s Pub in Downingtown to raise money to defray their costs. There’s a concert, brunch, and a session afterward.

Also next Saturday, The Irish Immigration Center is sponsoring a Feile na Bealtaine—a welcome to summer—at the American Legion Hall in Havertown. There will be food (barbecue), a moonbounce, face-painting and, of course, music (this time by Raymond Coleman).

May 9, 2014 by Denise Foley

News, People

Rest in Peace, Wee Oscar

Oscar Knox wearing his Phillies hat when he was in Philadelphia.

Wee Oscar Knox, the little Belfast boy who captivated Philadelphia’s Irish community when he came to Children’s Hospital for cancer treatment, died on Thursday.

On Friday, his family—father Stephen and mother Leona—tweeted: “Our beautiful, amazing and much loved son Oscar James Knox gained his angel wings yesterday afternoon. Sleep tight little man.”

His family had launched the Oscar Knox Appeal to raise money for his treatment for both neuroblastoma, an aggressive cancer affecting children, and Jacobsen’s Syndrome, a rare genetic condition that can affect motor skills and cause heart defects.

A fundraiser at Tir na Nog in Philadelphia in December 2012 raised $27,000 and a bake sale at Sacred Heart Parish in Havertown netted $8,000 for the Knox family. Unfortunately, during “Wee” Oscar’s stay at CHOP in October 2012, where he was to undergo immunotherapy for the cancer, doctors found that he had developed yet another potentially deadly problem, pulmonary hypertension, which made the cancer treatment impossible.

The Knoxes returned to Northern Ireland, but with the love and friendship of the Irish and Irish-Americans who live in the Philadelphia region and adopted them and their two children as their own.

In the past month, the Knoxes let supporters know that all of Oscar’s treatments were suspended and that the focus was going to be on pain relief, an indication that the five-year-old who loved wearing superhero costumes was near death.

The family has established another fund to raise money in Oscar’s name for the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice and the Haematology Unit at The Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children through the JustGiving website.

May 9, 2014 by Denise Foley

News, People, Photo Essays

A Kid-Friendly Fundraiser for Kids

Kids pose for fun photos at the fundraiser.

At a fundraiser last Sunday in Philadelphia for Amigos de Jesus Orphanage in Honduras, Meg Ryan was manning the table packed with brochures about the orphanage and artwork by the kids–and she came from Boston to do it.

That isn’t as far as she’ll go to help out the orphanage in the Santa Barbara region of this impoverished Central American country. In fact, the St. Anselm’s College graduate is just back from an 18-month stint there where she taught preschool, helped in the office, and found a new path in life. She’s planning to enroll in nursing school, “practice my Spanish and save money for more trips.”

Instead of looking for a job after college, Ryan, who grew up on Cape Cod, decided to volunteer at Amigos de Jesus, which was cofounded by a local Catholic priest, Father Dennis O’Donnell, the past rector at Malvern Retreat House, and Anthony and Christine Granese. “I did a lot of service in high school and really loved it,” she said. “After college, I wanted to do service, something that wasn’t all about me.”

That’s also what drew Aisling Travers, a 21-year-old Malvern resident and student at West Chester University, to Amigos de Jesus. Last year, she spent a week working with the children, most of whom aren’t orphans, but come from poor families who can’t care for them. Travers planned Sunday’s fundraiser, held at St. Declan’s Well Pub in Philadelphia, which is co-owned by her uncle, Aidan Travers.

Travers is returning in June and bringing her sister, Ciara, and boyfriend, Joe Smith to spend another week at the place where, she says, she left her heart.

View our photos of the fundraiser.

[flickr_set id=”72157644176843619″]

May 9, 2014 by Denise Foley

Older Posts

Newer Posts