All Posts By

Denise Foley

Dance, People

Dancing to the Spirit of Christmas

Colleen and Noreen soak up the applause after their duet.

Before the show started, Kathleen Madigan, dressed in her dark green velvet Irish dance costume, made the announcement. The audience had to be patient. Some of the dancers needed a little extra time to get into place.

The audience was more than patient as the Divine Providence Village Rainbow Irish Dancers, a group of developmentally disabled women at the Catholic Charities-supported community, joined with the Irish Stars Parker School of Irish Dance from Hellertown for their first Christmas recital. They were enthralled–and maybe, at some points, a little bit teary eyed.

The dancers performed a dozen numbers, this little group that started less than two years ago, the offshoot of an every-other-Saturday Irish dance class that Madigan was teaching. The troupe was born when Madigan, former nutritionist at Divine Providence and a student at the Parker School, realized that some of the women were pretty good dancers–and terrific performers.  Their first recital followed their first-ever appearance at the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day parade last March, where they earned the Mary Theresa Dougherty Award for the outstanding organization dedicated to serving God’s people in the community. The women also performed on the field during  Irish Heritage Night at the Phillies in June. They’ve learned many more dances since then, says Madigan. Enough to have a holiday recital.

The Christmas Show was held at the Cardinal Krol Center in Springfield, Montgomery County, on Sunday, December 2. Proceeds from the show will go toward buying the dancers logo jackets to wear at the parade.

December 6, 2012 by
How to Be Irish in Philly

How To Be Irish in Philly This Week

These two sweeties will be dancing their hearts out at the Rainbow Irish Step Dancers’ Christmas recital this weekend.

Okay, it’s officially Celtic Christmas. In Philly, in Springfield, in Kennett Square, in Bensalem, and in Cochranville. There are five Christmas shows this weekend (and one event that’s all about Christmas giving). And there’s another later in the week. So, here goes:

On Saturday afternoon, celebrate an eclectic American Celtic Christmas with Jamison Celtic Rock, Celtic Flame School of Irish Dance, DJ Romeo, singer Kimberly Killen and the Bucks County Dance Company at the Bensalem High School Auditorium, which is being turned into a winter wonderland. It’s the second year for this Christmas-flavored musical event and we hear it’s loads of fun.

Not technically a Christmas event, but Christmassy nonetheless, is a benefit to raise money to defray medical costs for Wee Oscar Knox, the three-year-old Belfast boy who captured everyone’s hearts when he was at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia this fall. His parents spent all the money they raised to get him what they hoped was a life-saving cancer treatment only to find that he had another incurable condition that made treatment impossible. Oscar was born with a genetic condition that caused him some developmental problems, but left him also one of the sunniest, sweetest creatures God ever made, say local Irish folks who met him. This love story will continue at Tir na Nog in Center City on Sunday afternoon at the event, co-sponsored by Irish Network-Philly and Team Oscar-Philly.

Also on Sunday, the Divine Providence Rainbow Irish Step Dancers, who won an award for their first appearance in the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day parade in 2012, will present their Celtic Christmas Irish Dance Recitial at the Cardinal Krol Center in Springfield, Delaware County. The dancers, all of whom are developmentally disabled, are raising money to buy logo jackets to wear in the 2013 parade.

On Sunday afternoon, join the Jubilate Deo Chorale with guest choirs Eastern University Ensembles and Church of Our Saviour Festival Choir for a Celtic-flavored Christmas show at the Kimmel in Philadelphia. There will also be a live nativity presentation.

Need a little more Christmas spirit? Danu, the well known Irish traditional group, will be performing an Irish Christmas at Longwood Gardens, which also has its Christmas light show up and running, on Sunday at 3 PM.

And at 4 PM, we have the first of two Christmas concerts presented by St. Malachi’s of Doe Run, in Cochranville, another annual event.

There are some non-Christmas Irish events this week too. On Saturday, Timlin & Kane will be singing at Catherine Rooney’s Irish Pub in Wilmington, DE, and Mary Courtney will be performing at the Tir Na Nog Irish Pub in Trenton, NJ, which was the homebase of the late Irish Billy Briggs (which I mention for all you old folks who remember Billy).

Padraig Allen, considered one of Ireland’s finest singer-songwriters, will be on stage on Sunday at the Sellersville Theatre with McLean Avenue Band, performing both Irish traditional and Celtic rock tunes.

A bit far flung for Phillyites, but with a local link: Celtic Thunder will be performing on Monday at Sullivan Hall in Greenwich Village, NY, in a benefit for victims of Hurricane Sandy. Many of Sandy’s victims in NY came from predominantly Irish areas like Queens and New York’s Irish community has rallied to help them.

On Tuesday, nourish your Irish soul with the poetry of Hennessy Award winning poet and fiction writer Dermot Healy at Villanova University.

On Thursday, the Irish Tenors are coming to the Keswick Theatre and you can catch Paul Byrom, late of the Celtic Thunder supergroup, at Sellersville.

On Friday, we highly recommend combining your love of music with your need to Christmas shop by heading to Lansdale’s Water Gallery to hear The History of Christmas Carols concert by The Jameson Sisters, Ellen Tepper and Terry Kane. Not only is their music beautiful, they’re very funny and Tepper is a skilled craftsperson whose Celtic windows and pottery dragons are for sale at this little gallery. Admission is free. You’ll see crafts and jewelry from other Irish musicians there too.

Next weekend: Head over to the Irish Center where they’re holding an open house. Meet some local authors (and buy their books), check out some interesting exhibits, and attend a live broadcast of the Vince Gallagher and Marianne MacDonald Irish radio shows. Oh, and have a beer and a bite to eat at the bar that reminds so many people of the Ireland they left behind.

The Delco Gaels, a Gaelic athletic club, will be having its Christmas party and Nite at the Races fundraiser next weekend at Maggie O’Neills in Drexel Hill. But the big story is that they’ll also be announcing who will be competing in the mother of all fundraisers, Dancing Like a Star, later next year. Last year’s dance competition attracted about 700 people—yes, standing room only—to the Springfield Country Club for a night to remember.

November 30, 2012 by
News

Giving to Help Others

See, it doesn’t hurt. Dubliner Siobhan Lyons, executive director of the Irish Immigration Center, gets tested for Tay Sachs.

Martin Fay comes from an Irish family blessed by longevity so he wasn’t worried that contributing a few vials of blood to a study of Tay-Sachs disease in the Irish was going to bring him bad news.

“My genes are all right,” said the Drexel Hill man, his youngest daughter, Orla, standing by his side at the Irish Immigration Center in Upper Darby a few Saturdays ago. “But if I can keep somebody else from going down that road, I thought, go for it.”

Most of the people who came to the center to have their blood tested weren’t worried about passing on a gene that could affect their children. Some were seniors who learned about the study at special programs at the immigration center or the Irish Center. They’d had their children—and their grandchildren. Tay Sachs is largely a disease of babies. Born seemingly normal, children with Tay-Sachs start to deteriorate at about six months, slowly losing their sight, their ability to move, their intellect. Most of them die by the time they’re 5.

Tay-Sachs is caused by a variety of genetic mutations of chromosome 15, some more common in certain ethnic groups, that affect the production of a vital enzyme called hexosaminidase (Hex-A) that clears out fatty protein and other substances from the tissues and nerve cells of the brain. That regular housecleaning allows an infant to develop vision, hearing, movement, and other vital functions. Without it, a baby will start to deteriorate physically and mentally. There is no cure and no effective treatments.

The aim of the research, started by Adele Schneider, MD, a pediatric geneticist at Albert Einstein Medical Center, is to determine the carrier rate among the Irish, who appear to be at higher risk of the disease than the general population. Traditionally, Tay-Sachs has been considered a genetic disease among  Jewish people, mainly Ashkenazi Jews who trace their roots to southwestern Asia, but who settled in Eastern Europe. Their carrier rate is about 1 in 27. French Canadians and Louisiana Cajuns have the same carrier rate. Current research—which is scant—suggests that the genetic mutation appears in about 1 in 50 people of Irish descent.

“There’s really nothing in the medical literature that gives an accurate carrier rate in the Irish,” said Dr. Schneider. Her impetus for launching the study, which is funded by the National Tay Sachs and Allied Diseases of the Delaware Valley and the Einstein Foundation, was not just the lack of good data, but the three Irish-American children she’s seen in the last 10 years who had the disease. Read about two of those children here.

What made that remarkable is the rarity of Tay-Sachs. There are only about 16 cases diagnosed every year in the US.

“What we want to do is test as many people with as pure Irish blood as we can get to see if the numbers are significant enough that we can recommend that Irish parents be screened the for the disease as we do for Jewish parents,” she explained. “We don’t want to have any more families go through the heartbreak of finding out when they have a baby that that baby is going to die.”

The study, which is funded for two years, will also test adults with at least three Irish grandparents in other Irish-centric cities such as New York and Boston. Along with genetic testing, participants also receive genetic counseling where they will learn that just because they’ve never seen Tay-Sachs in their line doesn’t mean they don’t carry the genetic mutation. It may just mean they’ve unwittingly chosen the right mate.

Tay Sachs is what is known as an autosomal recessive disorder. What that means is that “Tay Sachs occurs only when two carriers have children,” explained Divya Shah, a genetic counselor from Einstein. With every pregnancy, a couple runs a 25 percent chance of having a child with the disease, a 50 percent chance of having a child who is a carrier but who never develops any symptoms, and 25 percent odds of having a child who is not a carrier.

But those are just odds. In real life, it’s possible that carrier parents of four could have four normal children or four affected children or two carriers and one affected child and one normal child—it’s the luck of the draw.

More free screenings for Irish and Irish Americans are being planned, said Amy Beth Weaver, Einstein’s genetic counseling coordinator. You can find out more about the study here, or, if you’re interested in participating in the research, contact Weaver at irish@tay-sachs.org or call 215-887-0877. Testing is free for qualified adults and all results are confidential.

See photos from the day. 

 

November 30, 2012 by
How to Be Irish in Philly

How to be Irish In Philly This Week

Meghan Davis, the international Mary from Dungloe, will be giving up her Philadelphia crown this week.

Even though you’re probably totally dragged out after camping out at Walmart on Thanksgiving night, you’d better catch a power nap and get ready to be Irish this week.

If you’re an Irish dance fan, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Oireachtas has taken over the Marriott Downtown in Philadelphia—hundreds of dancers jigging, reeling, and who knows what else in this major Thanksgiving weekend event. Can’t make it? Check out our video special featuring local Irish dance schools.

And speaking of Thanksgiving weekend events, a new Philadelphia Mary from Dungloe will be selected from a bevy of smart, attractive young women at the 124th Donegal Ball at the Irish Center on Saturday night. The reigning Philadelphia Mary, Meghan Davis, is also the reigning International Mary from Dungloe, capturing the crown last summer in Dungloe, County Donegal. The Willie Lynch Showband from New York will be providing the music for the ball.

Timlin and Kane will be performing Saturday night at St. James Gate Pub in Bethlehem, at the Sands Casino.

On Sunday, head down to Finnigan’s Wake for its annual Fall Festival, with music provided by No Irish Need Apply (Meghan Davis, the reigning Mary from Dungloe, is a member of the band), the Broken Shillelaghs and Celtic Connection.

On Tuesday, catch Galway Guild at Marty Magee’s in Prospect Park.

Next weekend, there are events that will capture your heart and put you in the Christmas mood.

Irish Network-Philadelphia and Team Oscar–Philly is sponsoring a benefit to raise money for “Wee Oscar Knox,” the little Belfast boy whose parents held fundraisers to bring him to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for treatment for a rare cancer. While there, CHOP doctors diagnosed another rare illness that meant Oscar could not be treated. The event, which starts Sunday, Dec. 2, at 2 PM at Tir na Nog in Center City, will have a complementary buffet, open bar, live music, raffles, and special treats for children.

Also on Sunday, the Divine Providence Village Rainbow Irish Step Dancers are presenting a Celtic Christmas Dance Recital at the Cardinal Krol Center in Springfield, Montgomery County. The Rainbow Dancers are group of developmentally challenged women who started performing in 2012 and debuted in the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade. They’re raising money to buy logo jackets to wear in the 2013 parade.

And if you’re looking to celebrate a Celtic Christmas, you’re in luck. There are four more ways to do it next weekend.

On Saturday, December 1, join Jamison Celtic Rock, Celtic Flame School of Irish Dance, Bucks County Dance Center, singer Kimberly Killen, and DJ Romeo at the Bensalem High School Auditorium for “an American Celtic Christmas.” Not only can you rock around the clock with Jamison, you’ll explore hip-hop and Irish traditional music.

And on Sunday, here’s the lineup:

A Celtic Christmas at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia features the Jubilate Deo Chorale with two guest choirs featuring Irish music and a live Nativity scene.

Celebrate an Irish Christmas with the popular Irish group, Danu, at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square.

The annual Celtic Christmas in Doe Run holiday show—there will be two performances– will feature the Brandywine Harp Orchestra (Dec. 2) and Burning Bridget Cleary (Dec. 9) along with dancing, gifts, free holiday hors d’oeuvres and more.

We’re not done Irish Christmasing—not by a long shot. Take a look at our calendar to see what’s coming up.

November 23, 2012 by
How to Be Irish in Philly

How To Be Irish In Philly This Week

The Young Wolfetones will be at The Plough and the Stars.

If you’re of Irish descent and are thinking of starting a family, take time out on Saturday morning to be tested for Tay-Sachs disease at the Irish Immigration Center in Upper Darby.

This insidious genetic condition strikes babies and is always fatal. The Irish, as well as Eastern European Jews and French Canadians, have a higher than average risk of being carriers of Tay-Sachs. The Albert Einstein Society and National Tay-Sachs and Allied Diseases Foundation of the Delaware Valley are offering free screenings to anyone over the age of 18 who had at least three Irish grandparents. The screenings start at 11 AM.

On a lighter—and musical—note, Catherine Rooney’s Pub in Delaware is scheduling more live Irish music to take us through the holiday season, starting with Benny and Bill on Saturday night. Timlin and Kane and Gary Quinn are also coming up, as well as sessions, starting with one this Sunday. Check our calendar for times and details.

Also on Saturday, The Shantys will be at the Red Rooster Inn in Philly while Jamison is at Dublin Square in Cherry Hill, where you may be able to pick up one of their brand new CDs. We just listened to it and love it—it’s live, so it’s just like being there, but it’s much easier to admire that high level of musicianship that characterizes this local band.

Tullamore Crew, the old gang from the late, great lamented Shanachie’s kitchen, will be serving up a fine Irish meal on Sunday at the Irish Center starting at 5 PM.

Also on Sunday, The Plough and the Stars celebrates its 15th birthday with a concert by the Young Wolfetones. Go down for dinner—the food is outstanding and the atmosphere couldn’t get more Irish (is that peat you’re smelling?)—then stay for the concert.

At Coatesville, the Irish traditional music duo, Lilt, will be on stage.

Of course, on Wednesday night you’re probably baking pies. Thursday is Thanksgiving, after all. What? You bought pies this year? Well that’s good because that means you have some free time to go see Jamison at Curran’s in Northeast Philadelphia.

Next week being Thanksgiving weekend, look for two annual events: The Mary from Dungloe pageant, which is part of the Donegal Association of Philadelphia Ball, held at the Irish Center, and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Oireachtas, a major Irish dance competition drawing dancers from the Atlantic Coast states for three days of jigging, reeling, and fun-having at the Philadelphia Downtown Marriott. We like to go for the kicks and giggles—and believe me, there are plenty of those.

Have a great week and Happy Thanksgiving from all of us who give thanks for all of you!

November 16, 2012 by
News, People

Irish Hall of Fame Inductees Honored

=”http://irishinphilly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/front-photo.jpg” alt=”” width=”380″ height=”356″ /> Maureen Brett Saxon, vice president of the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame, presents the award to Siobhan Lyons, executive director of the Irish Immigration Center and the Brehon Law Society.

 

 

It’s hard to recall what drew the most laughs—longtime Irish Edition newspaper photographer Tom Keenan asking how many people in the crowd of more than 400 at the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame dinner Sunday night he he’d never photographed (then whipping out his camera to capture the three people who raised their hands) or Montgomery County Court Judge Kelly Wall revealing that her mother, president of the organization, “thought gourmet cooking was putting a can of fruit cocktail into a can of baked beans.”

There were plenty of laughs—and a few tears during emotional speeches—at the 12th annual awards ceremony at the Irish Center in Philadelphia during which Keenan, Burns, and Irish Immigration Center Executive Director Siobhan Lyons were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Burns is retiring this year after 7 years as president of the organization, which honors those who have made significant contributions to the Delaware Valley Irish community. Also honored this year with a special award was the Irish American Business Chamber and Network, founded 13 years ago by entrepreneur Bill McLaughlin to build a business bridge between the US and Ireland.

We were there and took photos. See the celebration here.

November 16, 2012 by
How to Be Irish in Philly

How To Be Irish In Philly This Week

Looking very Irish: Bill McLaughlin, founder of the Irish American Business Chamber, which will receive a special award this Sunday.

While folks are still cleaning up the mess in Wildwood, Sea Isle, and Brigantine, some musicians are staying closer to home to help raise some money to help those who lost so much when Hurricane Sandy blew into the Jersey shore towns where so many Philadelphians vacation or have homes.

Sylvia Platypus, a Psycho-Celtic glam blues band, will be raising money at The Rotunda in Philadelphia on Saturday night. ” As Sandy hit the Caribbean, the suggestion for a hurricane relief concert was raised,” says Janet Bressler, vocalist and principal songwriter for Sylvia Platypus. “Then, the devastation arrived so close to home, and the choice became obvious.”

According to Joe Magee of Galway Guild, the bands appearing at Deck Fest at The Deck in Essington (which include Jamison, Clancy’s Pistol, and Split Coil) will be taking up a collection for Sandy victims as well. There’s a pub crawl linked to Deck Fest from 6 PM to 12 AM, which will take revelers to Jimmy D’s in Folcroft, RP McMurphy’s in Holmes, and Mary Magee’s in Prospect Park. Doors open at 3 PM.

For you Solas fans, at least a few members of the group will be at the Irish Center on Saturday night—Winnie Horan, Mick McAuley and Colm O Caoimh will be giving a concert on Saturday night and workshops in the afternoon.

The AOH Notre Dame Div. 1 will be celebrating veteran’s day early on Sunday with a ceremony in front of their building in Swedesburg featuring US Army Major Jared Auchey.

On Sunday, join the rest of the Irish community in honoring three new inductees to the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame: its current president, Kathy McGee Burns; Irish Immigration Center Executive Director Siobhan Lyons, and Irish Edition photographer Tom Keenan. A special award will be given to the Irish American Business Chamber and Network, founded 13 years ago by businessman Bill McLaughlin in an effort to build a business bridge between the US and Ireland and which now has 2,000 members.

We go to the Hall of Fame dinner every year at the Irish Center, but this year is special for us at irishphiladelphia.com, since we count all of these people among our friends. And may we just say, they all deserve it!

On Monday, join your favorite Irish retirees for the monthly seniors’ lunch at the Irish Center. President Vince Gallagher will be providing live music for you to eat and dance by (though not simultaneously, please).

And on Tuesday, Gaelic football fans should head to the Irish Center too—to meet Donegal GAA manager Jim McGuinness and two of his players along with the Sam Maguire Cup which they won this year in a hard-fought match against Mayo. McGuinness has Philly connections—he was here in 1999 to play for the local Donegal GAA football team.

Speaking of the Irish Business Chamber and sports, the Chamber is hosting Gareth Maguire, managing director of the Sports Changes Life organization that works to bring real change to the lives of young and underprivileged children in Ireland through the means of sports involvement. The event, held at the Pyramid Club of Philadelphia, will be moderated by Ed Hastings, PhD, executive director of Neumann University’s Center for Sports, Spirituality, and Character Development. This will also be a networking reception with cocktails and hors d’oeurvres.

If you’re Irish and thinking of becoming pregnant—there’s a free Tay-Sachs carrier screening at the Irish Immigration Center in Upper Darby on Saturday, November 17. Eastern European Jews, French Canadians, and people of Irish descent are at higher risk than other populations of this genetic disorder that cripples and kills young children. If you have (or had) at least 3 Irish grandparents and are 18 years or older, you may be eligible to receive Tay-Sachs disease carrier screening at no cost to you. The Albert Einstein Society and NTSAD-Delaware Valley have funded a study to look at risks for Tay-Sachs disease in Irish Americans. To sign-up or for more information about the study, please contact Amybeth Weaver at irish@tay-sachs.org or 484-636-4197.

November 9, 2012 by
News, People

2013 St. Patrick’s Day Parade Grand Marshal Announced

2013 St. Patrick’s Day Parade Grand Marshal Harry Marnie–at the parade!


A decorated former Philadelphia police officer, US Marshall, and investigator for the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office, has been named grand marshal of the 2013 Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Harry Marnie, who is also current president of the Emerald Society, an organization of police and fire personnel of Irish descent, will march at the front of the parade on Sunday, March 10, Bob Gessler, parade association president announced today. The parade theme this year is: The Irish Memorial, a Decade of Remembrance, which celebrates the installation of the 30-foot bronze Glenna Goodacre sculpture in the park overlooking Penns Landing.

Marnie is a member of the board of directors of the St. Patrick’s Day Observance Association as well as its treasurer; he also belongs to the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, and AOH Divisions 1 and 88. In his role at the Emerald Society, Marine started the annual Leprechaun Run which raises money for the Special Olympics. He is also credited with helping set the Emerald Society back on its financial legs back in the ‘80s, when he joined.

He joined the Philadelphia Police Department in 1965. Right after graduating from the police academy, he was assigned to patrol in center city, then later worked in the juvenile aid division and in Fairmount Park. While a Philly cop, Marnie received two certificates of Merit.

In 1989, he workd in Camden as part of the US Marshal servince, providing security at the federal courthouse. In 2002, Marnie was asked by the Pennsylvania state attorney general to join a team with two other agents to uncover, arrest, and convict people involved in computer child pornography. Later, he worked in the criminal investigation division of the attorney general’s office, investigating various complaints including computer fraud, money laundering, and identity theft.

A graduate of Bishop Neuman High School, where he played varsity basetball and was inducted into Neuman’s Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996, Marnie is a board member of the Retirement Trust Fund for the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police and has been a member, delgate and chairman of FOP Lodge 5.

Three new members were added to the association’s board this week: Sister James Anne Feerick, IHM, a former grand marshal and one of two chaplins for the board; Joe Fox, president of the Philadelphia County Board of the AOH, and Philadelphia Councilman Bob Henon.

Here is the current makeup of the executive board of the organization that plans and executes the second oldest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the nation:
The new Executive Board:

Chaplain: Sister James Anne Feerick, IMH
Chaplain: Reverend Kevin J. Gallagher
President: Bob Gessler
1st Vice President: Chris Phillips
2nd Vice President: Mary Frances Fogg
Treasurer: Harry Marnie
Recording Sec: Kathy McGee Burns
Corresponding Sec: John Stevenson
Parade Director: Mike Bradley

November 9, 2012 by