Denise Foley

Kevin Crawford and Cillian Vallely are heading to Coatesville this weekend.

A parade, a Blackthorn fundraiser, and three top notch traditional musical groups are on the bill for the weekend—and really, that’s not the half of it. March madness is in full swing and it has nothing to do with basketball.

First up, Saturday, the first parade to march down any street in the area heads down High Street in Mt. Holly. The Burlington County St. Patrick’s Day Parade is always the first to go and it’s followed up by a music-filled after party.

But there’s music in the air everywhere this weekend. Annmarie O’Riordan takes the stage at the Irish Center on Friday night. She performed at the CBS3 Pre-Parade party last night and about 100 noisy partiers stopped in their tracks and just listened. This 20-year-old from Cork sang a cappella and commanded the room.

The incredible trad group from the Midwest, BUA, is taking over the stage at the Irish Center on Saturday night. They performed last year at the Philadelphia Ceili Group Festival and at the Bethlehem Celtic Festival and deservedly earned many new fans on the east coast. The Ceili Group is bringing them back to Philly not only for a concert but for workshops on Saturday afternoon.

And for all you trad fans, two of my favorite performers, Kevin Crawford and Cillian Vallely of Lunasa, will be at the Coatesville Cultural Society on Sunday. They’re both stellar musicians, but with Crawford you get a second show—he’s one of the funniest guys I’ve ever met.

Here’s the rest of the weekend’s lineup:

Saturday

• It’s Gael Scoill III in Lawrenceville, NJ, two days of immersion in Irish language and culture for kids 7-17.
• Irish acoustic performer Raymond Coleman from County Tyrone has played with Shane McGowan (of Pogues fame), Paddy Reilly and U2 and is at Con Murphy’s Pub on the Parkway in Philly on Saturday.
• Join Jamison, the Seven Rings Band and the Timoney Irish Dancers at Queen Of Peace Parish in Ardsley on Saturday for their annual Irish Night.
• Paddy’s Well is playing at the AOH Division 6 Montgomery County Officer Jack Duffy St. Patrick’s Day Beef and Beer in Schwenksville.
• The Gloucester County AOH is also having its St. Patrick’s Day Party with the Broken Shillelaghs.
• Tenor Ronan Tynan will be warbling from the stage of the Keswick Theatre in Glenside

Sunday

• Gaelic Storm will be whooping it up at the Grand Opera House in Wilmington, DE, a step up from below decks on the Titanic (they were the band playing while Leonard DiCaprio danced in the James Cameron flick).
• The Annual St. Baldrick’s Fundraiser for Pediatric Cancer is being held at the Scottish Rite Auditorium in Collingswood, NJ.
• Fiddlers Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas will be performing at Brittingham’s Irish Pub in Lafayette Hill on Sunday night, but will be offering workshops in a variety of instruments in the afternoon.
• The last of the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day fundraisers will be held at the Springfield Country Club. Last year, more than 700 people showed up for a great party featuring Blackthorn, Irish dancers, food, drink, and a silent auction that raised oodles of cash for the financially strapped parade.
• A new play, “Yours, Isabel,” inspired by the real letters written by Isabel McMenamin to her husband during World War II debuts at Care One at Evesham in Marlton, NJ.
• The Tossers—we love that name—a Chicago group fusing Celtic, folk and punk rock (always an interesting combination) will be appearing at the Khyber in Philadelphia.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, you have the chance to meet Kevin O’Hara, author of “The Last of the Donkey Pilgrims: A Man’s Journey Through Ireland,” first at Fergie’s Pub in Philadelphia and then at the Irish Immigration Center in Upper Darby. An ex-solider, Kevin O’Hara was unable to let go of his memories of the horrors of war. While in Ireland living with relatives, he decided to travel around the island in a donkey cart–1,800 miles with a shaggy donkey called Missy.O’Hara will be reading from his book and talking about his adventures at these special events organized by the Immigration Center.

The Brehon Law Society is holding its St. Patrick’s Day party at the Stotesbury Mansion (aka “Philo Club”) in Philadelphia on Thursday.

Also on Thursday: AOH Notre Dame Division 1 is carrying on its Irish Coffee Contest tradition in Swedesburg. This is always a good time, with free tastes for all comers.

Philadelphia’s own Rosaleen McGill, a talented traditional singer and member of the Philadelphia Ceili Group, will be appearing with Larry McKenna’s Irish Cabaret Show at the Paddocks at Devon on Thursday night.

For you Scythian fans—your boys are at TLA in Philly on Thursday night. These wild DC guys play a fusion of gypsy, rock, and Celtic music at a super-charged pace that make them an addiction.

If you’re not averse to doing a little traveling, The Big Apple Feis and St. Patrick’s Day Gala is on over the weekend in New York with an incredible lineup of stars, including Tony DeMarco, Girsa, the Trinity Academy of Irish Dance, and many more.

Closer to home, Ireland’s Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hannafin will be coming to Philadelphia to spend parade weekend with us. There will be a reception in her honor at the Philopatrian Literary Institute in downtown Philadelphia, sponsored by the Irish Immigration Center.

That same evening, the Philadelphia Ceili Group is holding its annual St. Patrick’s Day Ceili with live music and dancing.

That brings us up to Philly’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade weekend. But more about that next week. Check out our calendar. There’s plenty more where this came from.

They're doing a benefit for the Little Sisters of the Poor.

The month of March is nearly upon us, and from now on, the Irish will be defining the phrase “March madness.” We are about to be awash in all things Celtic, from shamrock shakes and deely bobbers to pipe and drum bands and some of the best Irish music you’ll hear on this side of the Atlantic.

Speaking of the best Irish music you’ll hear. . . we’re going to start with the end of the week when Anne Marie O’Riordan, one of Ireland’s rising stars, kicks off her first American tour at the Irish Center on Friday night, March 5. O’Riordan, a 20-year-old college student from Cork, has been singing professionally since she was 12, when she sand “Pádraig Óg Mo Chro” on a Comhaltas Ceoltoir Eireann CD called “Down Erin’s Lovely Lee.” She recorded her first solo CD at 14 and her second at 16, mixing traditional tunes with popular Irish country songs. She’s introducing her third CD, “Ireland—Love of My Heart,” during the American tour which is taking her to New York, New Jersey, New England before she returns to Philadelphia on March 13 for a performance at the Devon Theater in Philadelphia. She’s been in the St. Patrick’s Day parade and will be performing at the Irish Center afterwards.

On the same evening, The Irish Tenors are performing at the Liacouras Center at Temple University as a benefit for the Little Sisters of the Poor, who operate the Holy Family Home for the Aged in Southwest Philadelphia. No offense to the late Pavarotti and friends, but the Irish make the best tenors and this group, with five PBS specials and seven albums (the latest is “Ireland”) under their belts, sing like angels, even without their former compatriot Ronan Tynan (who will be performing the day after, solo, at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside).

Before we back up, let’s go forward a little. There’s the aforementioned Ronan Tynan in Glenside on March 6. The same night, the Chicago-based traditional music group, BUA, makes another appearance at the Irish Center, fronted by Brian O’hairt. Superb musicians who have played solo and with other performers (people like Aoife Clancy, Martin Hayes, Liz Carroll, Paddy Keenan, and Liz Carroll) they form a winning combination. If you’re down in Delaware, you have Gaelic Storm at the Grand Opera House—relive every Irish viewers’ favorite scene from “Titanic” with this group that provided all the great music Leonardo Di Caprio danced to below decks. (Right, I know your favorite scene was the one in which Kate Winslet posed naked for Leo, but I’m pretending you went for the music.)

Okay, now we back up. Early on Saturday, February 27, those crazy polar bear types are plunging into the frigid Atlantic in N. Wildwood again—all to raise money the Philadelphia Fallen Heroes Survival Fund, a program operated by the city’s Fraternal Order of Police. God bless ‘em. There will be eating, drinking, and music afterwards, including Timmy Kelly and the Camden County Pipes and Drums. What, you thought they were just going to towel off and go home?

If you’re a Blackthorn fan, you probably already know they’re playing a benefit at Holy Child Academy in Drexel Hill on Saturday, February 27. Get there early or order tickets now. Blackthorn sells out pretty quickly.

Also Saturday night, the Irish Club of Delaware County is holding a beef and beer at R.P.Murphy’s in Holmes. There’s music, dancing, food and drink, all to raise money for the Club’s educational programs.

On Sunday, the John Byrne Group, Timlin and Kane, and many other local musicians will be playing at a fundraiser for the Sunday Irish Radio Shows on WTMR 800 AM at The Shanachie Pub and Restaurant in Ambler. Tune in between 11 and 1 that morning to donate to save the shows—then come to the musical fundraiser.

The Philadelphia Flower Show opens on Sunday, and features Irish harpist Moya Brennan, Irish cookbook authors, and Irish garden experts. Irish Heritage Day at the show is on Monday, sponsored by Tourism Ireland.

Also on Sunday—hear RUNA at the Sellersville Theater or attend the Grand Marshall’s dinner in Mt. Holly in advance of what’s usually the first parade to step off the curb every year (on March 6 this year).

On Monday, the Glengharry Boys are booked at the Sellersville Theatre; on Thursday, Cherish the Ladies (you must see them at least once before you die) are performing at the Grand Opera in Wilmington.

This is one busy week (we didn’t even cover all the regular things, which you can find on our calendar), but next week is even worse. . .or better, depending on how you look at it. Stay tuned!