It rained, it snowed, it sleeted—but the Conshohocken St. Patrick’s Day went on as planned on Saturday, March 16. While fewer people than usual lined the march route (Conshy’s main drag, Fayette Street), the folks who braved the bad weather had a very good time—a very good time, indeed.
If you need proof, check out our photos!
Irish Ambassador Michael Collins presents the award to Sister Marguerite O’Beirne on Neumann.
Earlier this month, The Irish American Business Chamber and Network honored Sister Marguerite O’Beirne, OSF, of Neumann University; Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and philanthropists James and Frances Maguire at its annual Ambassador Awards, at the Bellevue Stratford in Center City Philadelphia. Outgoing Irish Ambassador Michael Collins presented the awards, given to local Irish leaders, at the luncheon.
View our photo essay here.
This McDade dancer didn’t let the cold weather steal her smile.
We hope you had a great St. Patrick’s Day, because we did. We started the day as we usually do, at The Plough and the Stars in Philadelphia for Judge Jimmy Lynn’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast. It’s a charity event, but it’s also a place for local pols to meet and greet. For all we know, deals were being made over the full Irish breakfast, but were too busy listening to the music, the party pieces, and watching the dancers who managed to so some amazing leaps on a very crowded dance floor.
Even more amazing were the dancers who performed outside at The Irish Memorial at Penns Landing, which is marking its 10th anniversary. Mayor Michael Nutter and State Senator Mike Stack spoke at the event, after which they joined members of the Memorial’s board in planting shamrocks at the site. It was very, very cold, yet the young dancers kept their smiles up.
For dancing, nothing beats The Irish Center on St. Patrick’s Day, where both the young and old took to the dance floor after a hearty lunch of ham and cabbage and shepherd’s pie.
Some of us went a little quiet in the afternoon–heading to Lansdale’s Water Gallery where there was an Irish/Old Time Music session going on all afternoon. Water Gallery co-owner Bette Conway is a fiddler herself, and brings not only Irish music but Irish artisans to her shop. And no, we didn’t get out of there without buying something.
We took photos of our festivities.
See St. Patrick’s Day at The Plough and The Irish Memorial.
There’s one of these playing somewhere in the region.
We don’t know about you, but some of us have been really Irish for several weeks and would like to take a week off. For those of you who didn’t get your Irish up quite as much as we did, here’s what’s going on:
Robbinsville is having its St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Saturday. The parade route in on our calendar.
And on Saturday night, the Delco Gaels promise a night of comedy and music (and anyone who’s attended their “Dancing like a Star” event knows they can deliver) at St. Laurence Hall in Upper Darby—it’s a fundraiser for the organization’s GAA youth league.
Clancy’s Pistol is playing at the Big Heads Pub in Willow Grove on Saturday night.
On Thursday, Jerry Collins and Shaun McCann of the Broken Shillelaghs will be performing at Schileen’s Pub in Westville, NJ.
Next Saturday is the Charlie Dunlop Memorial Banquet, which is raising money to establish a fund in the name of the popular Tyrone native who lived in Delaware County and who died in 2011 at the age of 45. Blackthorn is playing. The good news: It’s sold out. The bad news: It’s sold out so you can’t get tickets if you want them.
Check our calendar frequently for late-breaking Irish events.
The great and glorious.
Does the fun ever end? Well, it might, but not this weekend.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! (Or Happy Paddy’s Day to you real Irish. To the rest of ye, it’s not Patty. Not now. Not ever. Never. ) The big day is Sunday this year, and there are three local parades on Saturday that will get you in the spirit. They’re staggered a little so you may be able to make all three (some of the bands do two, so it’s possible).
First off the line is the 25th annual Bucks County St. Patrick’s Day Parade which starts at 10:30 AM from St. Joseph the Worker Church at 9172 New Falls Road in Levittown.
At noon, the Springfield, Delaware County parade starts from West Springfield Road.
Then, at 2 PM, the Conshohocken St. Patrick’s Day parade takes over downtown Conshohocken.
There’s plenty more out there to help you get your Irish on. Here it is in chronological order, and we are not taking a breath:
Saturday
9:30 AM. Paddy Whacks’ St. Patrick’s Day Dash and Bash features a 5K on a closed course to raise money for patients at the Fox Chase Cancer Center, followed by the Bash, an all-day tented event at the bar’s Comly Road location featuring Jamison, Slainte, and the Bogside Rogues. Lots of drink specials.
10 AM. Register for the new Glenside GAA at the MacSwiney Club in Jenkintown.
10 AM. Hear Clancy’s Pistol at The Boat Club in National Park, NJ.
Noon. Enjoy drink specials and lots of music at the Piazza at Schmidt’s Shamrock Celebration on Hancock Street in Philadelphia.
1 PM. Head to the Irish Center for televised GAA sports from Ireland.
2 PM. The Molly Maguires Ceilidh Band will be providing the music at the St. Patrick’s Day Party at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Glenside, a production of the Sean MacBride AOH Div. 2. Lots of dancing and fun for the kiddies.
3 PM. The Bogside Rogues go on stage at Paddy Whacks at 9241-43 Roosevelt Blvd. n Northeast Philadelphia.
5 PM. Clancy’s Pistol is on the move. They’re playing at Maynard’s Café in Margate, NJ.
6PM. Jamison goes on at Paddy Whacks’ Paddy Bash.
8 PM. Catch Burning Bridget Clear at World Café at the Queen in Wilmington, DE.
8 PM. Celtic Pride will be showing it off at the Temperance House in Newtown.
8:30 PM. The Broken Shillelaghs will fix you up at Brittingham’s in Lafayette Hill, now under new ownership (Brittingham’s that is).
9 PM. If you need a break from Irish music, check out Electric Boa and Hammer Down at World Café Live in Philadelphia. Not sure what they’re doing on our calendar, but, oh well. Everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.
10:30 PM. Hope they get mileage. Clancy’s Pistol is setting up at yet another Jersey location on Saturday—the great old Anglesea Pub in North Wildwood.
Sunday-St. Patrick’s Day!
7 AM The Annual AOH St. Patrick’s Charity Breakfast takes place at Fado Irish Pub on Locust Street in Philadelphia.
8 AM. Have another charity breakfast at The Plough and the Stars in Philadelphia. Your host: Judge Jimmy Lynn, who can always be counted on to sing.
8:30 AM. The Derry Brigade will be at Marty Magee’s in Prospect Park.
9:30 AM. More televised GAA games at the Irish Center in Mt. Airy.
11 AM. This is a special year for the Irish Memorial—its 10th. There will be prayers, speeches, music, and, of course, Irish dancers, at this lovely location at Penns Landing Park.
11 AM. The Shantys open up the Erin Pub in Norwood for a day of celebrating.
12 PM. Clancy’s Pistol, on very little sleep, will be playing at Paddy Whacks on Comly Road in Philadelphia.
12 PM. Galway Guild will be at Fado in Philadelphia.
12 PM. Join John Brennan and the musical Brennan family, harper Ellen Tepper, and fiddler Bette Conway and more at The Water Gallery in Lansdale for a day of live music (and lovely handcrafted Irish items). You can also buy our CD, “Ceili Drive: The Music of Irish Philadelphia,” which features the Brennans, Tepper, members of Blackthorn, The John Byrne Band, and many of your local favorite traditional musicians.
12 PM. Have your lunch at Roller’s in Chestnut Hill and hear Kitty Kelly Albrecht and her husband, Mike Albrecht. For $10, you get a copy of the latest Philadelphia Ceili Band CD, “Kelly Time.”
12 PM. There’s an open house at the Gloucester County AOH/Richard Rossiter Memorial Hall in National Park, NJ, featuring live music by the Broken Shillelaghs.
1 PM. There’s a family friendly event at Tom & Jerry’s in Folsom featuring Blackthorn—and they promise Irish music all day long.
1 PM. Attend the annual St. Patrick’s Day Mass at the Irish Center. Afterwards, enjoy a lunch of ham and cabbage and shepherd’s pie (it will be authentic, believe us) along with music and dancing.
1 PM. Bill Monaghan and Celtic Pride make their annual trek to the stage of the Sellersville Theatre.
4 PM. Mick Moloney and Friends come to the Cape May Convention Hall. Expect topnotch traditional Irish music and some great stories.
5 PM. Mary Beth (Bonner Ryan) and Friends Irish Band will be playing at The Springfield Inn in Springfield. What a voice!
6 PM. Pack the House Entertainment is going green at World Café Live Downstairs. Listen to three rock and three hip-hop bands, wear something green, participate in the leprechaun costume contest (winner gets a green $50 bill—do they come in other colors?).
7 PM. Chances are I will know about half the audience at the TLA because I count many Saw Doctors fans among my pals. These Galway rockers come to Philly every year because of the love.
8 PM. Burning Bridget Cleary will be at World Café Live.
8 PM. Clancy’s Pistol (where were you all day?) will be playing at Dubh Linn Square in Cherry Hill, NJ.
8 PM. Catch the Shantys at Reedy’s Tavern on Frankford Ave. in
Philly.
9 PM. Galway Guild will be rocking RiRa at the Trop in Atlantic City.
That’s it so far for Paddy’s Weekend, but keep checking back because new events are being added to our calendar about every hour. Please note: Some sessions on our sessions calendar that repeat every week may not be as scheduled because of the weekend events. Call ahead to find out about any changes. There are more details on all these events on the calendar, including addresses and even maps.
Ah, but that was just the weekend. There’s more.
Blackthorn leaves this week for spring training—if you didn’t book, you missed out.
On Tuesday, Sir James Galway, celebrated Irish flutist (flautist?), comes to the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia.
On Thursday, Mary O’Malley, the Heimbod Chair at Villanova, will be reading from her newest work, Valparaiso, which deals with themes of Ireland’s economic boom and bust, at Villanova.
There’s also a new recurring event on our calendar—Irish Music Thursday at Schileen’s Pub in Westville, NJ.
On Friday, the Yanks are coming. American-born trad musicians Dylan Foley, Dan Gurney, and Sean Ernest will be playing a house concert in a private home in Ambler. Contact info is on our calendar.
Coming up: the Robbinsville St. Patrick’s Day Parade is next Saturday, as is the Delco Gaels Night of Comedy and Music (I thought that was what “Dancing Like a Star” was) at St. Laurence Hall in Upper Darby. And Clancy’s Pistol will be playing at Big Heads Pub in Willow Grove next weekend. Like Chicken Man, they’re everywhere, they’re everywhere! Hats off to ya, lads!
Enjoy St. Patrick’s Day and don’t do anything we wouldn’t do.
A winning smile on this little marcher from St. Katherine of Siena School.
Mary Frances Fogg said it best. “This makes me happy,” said the second vice president of the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Observance Association, as she watched the dancers from the Cummins School perform in front of the reviewing stand on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in the city on Sunday afternoon.
By the looks of the smiling faces lining the parade route—and there were thousands of them—that was the standard sentiment. The weather—it got up to 59 which, with the bright sunshine, felt balmy—may have brought out the crowds, or it might have been the 180 marchers, dancers, floats, and local celebrities that helped turn the city’s ersatz Champs-Elysee into a sea of green. Whatever it was, it had regular parade participants wondering if it was a record. But then again, who wanted to count? Look, here comes another pipe band! Did you see those dancers? Oh, wow! Clowns!
The theme of this year’s parade honored the 19th anniversary of the Irish Memorial was built near Penns Landing: The Irish Memorial: A Decade of Remembrance.
We have several hundred pictures to share and a nice video of Ring of Honor member, Timmy Kelly, singing (at the bottom of the page)–another Philly parade tradition.
And here are the winners of the day:
Hon. James H.J. Tate Award
(Founded 1980, this was named the Enright Award Prior to 1986)
Sponsored by: Mike Driscoll & Michael Bradley
Group that Best Exemplified the Spirit of the Parade
2013 AOH / LAOH Division 51 Fishtown
Msgr. Thomas J. Rilley Award (Founded 1980)
Outstanding Fraternal Organization
Sponsored by: AOH Division 39 Msgr. Thomas J. Rilley
2013 Cavan Society
George Costello Award (Founded 1980)
Organization with the Outstanding Float in the Parade
Sponsored by: The Irish Society
2013 Irish of Havertown
Hon. Vincent A. Carroll Award (Founded 1980)
Outstanding Musical Unit Excluding Grade School Bands:
Sponsored by: John Dougherty IBEW Local 98
2013 Philadelphia Emerald Society
Anthony J. Ryan Award (Founded 1990)
Outstanding Grade School Band
Sponsored by: The Ryan Family
2013 St. Aloysius Academy Marching Band
Walter Garvin Award (Founded 1993)
Outstanding Children’s Irish Dance Group
Sponsored by: Walter Garvin Jr.
2013 Cummins School of Irish Dance
Marie C. Burns Award (Founded 2003)
Outstanding Adult Dance Group
Sponsored by: Philadelphia Emerald Society
2013 Nicholl School of Irish Dance
Joseph E. Montgomery Award (Founded 2006)
Outstanding AOH and/or LAOH Divisions
Sponsored by: AOH Div. 65 Joseph E. Montgomery
2013 AOH / LAOH Division 39 Monsignor Thomas J. Riley
Joseph J. “Banjo” McCoy Award (Founded 2006)
Outstanding Fraternal Organization
Sponsored by: Schuylkill Irish Society
2013 Southwest St. Patrick’s Club
James F. Cawley Parade Director’s Award (Founded 2006)
Outstanding Irish Performance or Display Chosen by the Parade Director
Sponsored by: AOH Division 87 Port Richmond
2013 Celtic Flame School of Irish Dance
Father Kevin C. Trautner Award (Founded 2008)
Outstanding School or Religious Organization that displays their Irish Heritage while promoting Christian Values
Sponsored by: Kathy McGee Burns
2013 Bishop Shanahan High School Band and Cheerleaders
Maureen McDade McGrory Award (Founded 2008)
Outstanding Children’s Irish Dance Group Exemplifying the Spirit of Irish Culture through Traditional Dance.
Sponsored by: McDade School of Irish Dance
2013 McDade School of Irish Dance
James P. “Jim” Kilgallen Award(Founded 2011)
Outstanding organization that best exemplifies the preservation of Irish-American unity through charitable endeavors to assist those less fortunate at home and abroad.
Sponsored by: Michael Bradley
2013 Knights of Columbus Philadelphia Chapter
Mary Theresa Dougherty Award (Founded 2012)
Outstanding organization dedicated to serving the needs of God’s people in the community.
Sponsored by: St. Patrick’s Day Observance Association Board
2013 St. John’s Hospice
Paul J. Phillips Jr. Award (Founded 2012)
Outstanding parade marshal.
Sponsored by: Robert M. Gessler
2013 Steve Burns
Phillip ‘Knute’ Bonner Award (Founded 2013)
Outstanding fraternal group.
Sponsored by: Parade Board
2013 DCFD Emerald Society Pipes and Drums (Washington DC)
Timmy Kelly
Singer Timmy Kelly ran his fingers over the plaque given to him last night by the Hibernian Hunger Project to commemorate his induction into the St. Patrick’s Ring of Honor, delightedly reading the words out loud. Blind since he was an infant, Kelly ‘s fingers picked out the braille writing that the sighted could barely make out.
“When we were doing these, Bob Gessler [parade committee president] said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we could get him one in braille’ and I thought, ‘I think I can do that,'” said Kathy Fanning, president of the Philadelphia County Board of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, who was one of the presenters. “I took it to someone I knew at the Overbrook School [for the blind] and we got it in braille.”
It was a touching moment among many as the parade committee honored Grand Marshal Harry Marnie and members of the Ring of Honor, most of whom are affiliated with anti-hunger projects in the city–a nod to this year’s theme, The Philadelphia Irish Memorial: A Decade of Remembrance.They include MANNA executive director Sue Daugherty; Hibernian Hunger Project director Ed Dougherty; WMMR DJs Preston Elliot and Steve Morrison who raise tons of food for the needy in their annual Camp Out for Hunger, Gerry Huot, volunteer coordinator for St. John’s Hospice; Jim Tanghe, president of Shamrock Food Distributors which supplies food for the Hunger Project; Sister Mary Scullion, founder of Project H.O.M.E, which works with the region’s homeless; Will O’Brien, special projects coordinator at Project H.O.M.E.; as well as Dan Harrell, who has been helping to bring a group of basketball players and musicians from St. Malachy’s College in Belfast to the US every year.
The Ring of Honor members got their sashes, along with the grand marshal, at a special dinner at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Philadelphia.
Philly Police and Fire Pipe Band from last year’s parade.
This Sunday is Philadelphia’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, the second oldest in the country and one of the best. As veteran parade goers, we highly recommend certain spots on the parade route, which starts at JFK Boulvevard and marches down the Parkway. Anywhere near Tir na Nog is always great—the road is narrow there so you can get up close and personal with the floats, bands, and dancers if you want to get some good photos.
Con Murphy’s Pub on the Parkway is also a great locale—it’s small, so can’t squeeze in lots of onlookers, but if you find a spot you can stay warm while watching the parade with a beer. Kinda like being at home (you can see the parade live starting at 1 PM on CBS3, with Kathy Orr and Chris May), but with a little more atmosphere.
Then there’s the viewing stand down by Eakins Oval parking lot. All the dancers and bands get jiggy in front of the stands, where you can usually find CBS3’s charming traffic guy, Bob Kelly, interviewing folks (you might get interviewed yourself!).
We’ll all be there, so if you see us, come up and say hello! And look for my girls, The Divine Providence Rainbow Irish Dancers, who will be showing off their brand new jackets that they bought with proceeds from their Christmas recital this year. They’re pretty proud of those jackets so let them know how great they look.
BUT, before Sunday comes Saturday and there’s so much going on that your head will spin. In a nice way.
At 2 PM there will be a memorial service at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd where six railroad workers, who died more than 180 years ago, were buried last year. A seventh, John Ruddy, was buried last weekend in Ardara, County Donegal, with members of his family in attendance. Irish Center President Vincent Gallagher donated a spot in his family plot for Ruddy’s burial.
Marita Krivda Poxon will be signing her wonderful new book, Irish Philadelphia, at the Plough and the Stars in Philadelphia on Saturday frm 4 to 5, then from 5:30 to 6:30. It’s a great gift for your favorite Irishman. The book is also available at amazon.com.
The play Jimmy Titanic is still on at the Adrienne Theatre on Sansom Street.
At noon, Galway Guild, a local group, is playing at Marty Magee’s in Prospect Park. They’re heading to Paddy Whacks in Philly at 9 for another Saturday gig.
A couple of other events start in the early afternoon: There’s Beerfest at Harrah’s Philly, which has a tangential link to St. Patrick’s Day in that they’re serving lots of beer (our guess).
Catch the Broken Shillelaghs and Slainte at Dubh Linn Square in Cherry Hill for Paddypalooza, an afternoon delight of music and fundraising for The Claddagh Fund, a charity started by Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphy’s who are appearing at the Electric Factory on Saturday night.
The great little Conshy parade is next weekend, but on Saturday, they celebrate their grand marshal, Tom Couhglin, at a special ball at the Washington Fire House at Elm and Fayette Streets in Conshohocken.
Mary Courtney and Morning Star—she’s an extraordinary singer, and they’re an extraordinary band—will be performing at 8 PM The Irish Center, 6815 Emlen Street, Philadelphia, a Philadelphia Ceili Group concert.
The John Byrne Band and Friends will be debuting the band’s newest CD, Celtic Folk, at a concert at Sacred Heart Church in Riverton, NJ on Saturday night at 7:30 PM.
Mythica and Melissa Cox will be bringing their amalgam of Irish, Scottish, folk and world music to The Queen on 500 North Market Street in Wilmington, DE. on Saturday night.
There’s also a St. Patrick’s Day Celtic Holiday Concert featuring The Maidens IV, Irish Blessing, the Ladeens, piper Chris Lewis, and The Cara School of Irish Dance at the Schneider Center in Parkesburg, Pa.
On Sunday, start your day off right with Mass at St. Patrick’s Church at 20th and Locust Streets in Philadelphia. Archbishop Charles Chaput is expected to be there, along with many other Philadelphia-area VIPs. There are also post-parade parties all over the city, including at The Irish Center.
McDermott’s Handy will be performing the afternoon at Old Friends Meeting House in Bordentown, NJ.
There’s also a St. Patrick’s Day Celtic Holiday Concert at St. Malachi’s in Cochranville featuring all the folks from the Parkesburg concert listed above.
And at 8 PM, head down to the North Star on Poplar Street in Philly to hear The Tossers, a six-piece Celtic punk band from Chicago, who regularly tour with The Dropkick Murphy’s.
And it’s not even St. Patrick’s Day yet.
On Monday, the Mayo County Council (yes, that Mayo) will be at Maloney’s Pub in Ardmore where you can learn more about Admiral William Brown, an Irish-born Argentine admiral who became Argentina’s greatest naval hero. There’s no charge and there will be bar specials.
Harper Janet Harbison will be performing on Monday night at the Markeim Center for the Arts in Haddonfield, NJ. You can also hear her—and get some pointers—at her workshop on Tuesday night at the Virginia Harp Center in Haddonfield.
On Wednesday, you have your choice: The Irish Rovers on their farewell tour at World Café Live at the Queen in Wilmington, or the amazing accordionist from Galway, Sharon Shannon, at Sellersville.
On Thursday, catch Dervish at Longwood Gardens (and on this little video).
Or you could taste-test some Irish coffee at AOH Notre Dame Div. 1 Hall in Swedesburg, a little event that gets bigger every year, with eight to 10 contestants brewing up their finest creations for the judges (and you get to be one). That runs from 7-9 PM.
Also on Thursday, hear Billy Donahue and Jack McKee of the Shantys at Schileen’s Pub in Westville, NJ. And Galway Guild at the Tap Room in Morton, PA.
On Friday, tune in to CBS3 at 6:30 AM to hear Blackthorn playing us up to St. Patrick’s Day. Later in the evening, the band will be performing at La Costa in Sea Isle, NJ. (Is it summer yet?)
On Friday night, The John Byrne Band, with No Irish Need Apply, will be doing the music of Shane MacGowan and the Pogues at the World Café Live in Philadelphia. They will all have teeth.
Also on Friday night:
Natalie MacMaster, the powerhouse Canadian fiddler, will be at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.
Carbon Leaf, a Celtic band from Virginia that often performs at Bethlehem’s Celtic Classic, will be at World Café Live at the Queen in Wilmington.
The Trenton Titans hockey team is having Irish Night at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton. Expect both dancing and fighting.
The Galway Guild will be at Con Murphys on the Parkway in Philly starting at 6 PM.
And The Broken Shillelaghs will be at Lazy Lanigan’s Publick House in Sewell, NJ.
A little taste of what’s ahead: St. Patrick’s Day is on Sunday! And on St. Patrick’s eve, look for parades in Bucks County, Conshohocken, and Springfield, Delaware County; Jamison at Paddy Whacks; a St. Patrick’s Day Party at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Glenside with the Molly Maguire’’s Ceilidh Band (expect authentic traditional Irish celebration); and much, much more.
Don’t believe me? Check our calendar.
And keep checking back. New things are being added every day. Um, pretty much every minute.