All Posts By

Lori Lander Murphy

Music

Mary Courtney: Morning, Noon & Night Star

Mary Courtney, John Redmond and Donie Ryan of the band Morning Star

Every once in a while, a live musical experience exceeds even the highest expectations and leaves its audience in a state of permanent thrall…when you walk out still mouthing the word “Wow.” The performance by Mary Courtney & Morning Star did just that when they played for the Philadelphia Ceili Group at the Irish Center in Mt. Airy on March 9th.

All three—singer and guitar player Mary Courtney, button accordionist John Redmond and tenor banjo player Donie Ryan—are well-known and highly regarded musicians in their home base of New York, but it’s long past time that they became household names to music lovers everywhere.

Though they’re residents of the Bronx these days, their Irish roots are strong and proudly displayed, with Mary hailing from Castlegregory in County Kerry, John from Ballindaggin (it means “townland of the stronghold”) in County Wexford and Donie from Lorrha, County Tipperary. Together they’re a force of talent, accomplishment and musical knowledge that is showcased by the tunes they play, and illuminated by the heavenly voice of Mary Courtney when she sings.

The group Morning Star was originally formed in 1982, by Mary, Margie Mulvihill and Carmel Johnston (who was Carmel Glendon then). Other than a hiatus of a few years in the mid 80’s, the band has been together in one formation or another ever since: “This line-up, we’ve been solid now for 6 years, 7 years,” Mary explained. “And we all freelance as well.”

Among Mary’s own freelance gigs was her time with the group Black 47, the highly regarded Celtic rock band who paved the way for today’s groups like Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly. She sings on their albums “Fire of Freedom” and “New York Town,” and keeps in contact with founding member Larry Kirwan. “I’m still in touch with him. We did the Sandy Seisiun benefit in the Bronx last month to raise money for the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.”

Performing for charity events is part and parcel for the band. Immediately after their Philadelphia performance, the group was heading to Pittsburgh to play for “Row On for Brendan” at Central Catholic High School, an annual event that honors the memory of Brendan Foley, a student who passed away in 1996 at age 15. Bruce Foley, Brendan’s father, is an Irish musician, and over the years the fundraiser has raised almost $300,000 for the school’s rowing team.

The long ride ahead of them didn’t daunt Mary, and the comfort and graciousness displayed by the band onstage was just as notable after the show. “It’s wonderful to get a new audience. We got such a great welcome here in Philly…such a warm, wonderful welcome,” she said, smiling. “I’m lucky. I’m very blessed to be able to play, and to have John and Donie. And to have Beth Higgins, my partner of 11 years in my life. She’s the love of my life. I’m the luckiest person alive. I was an illegal for 10 years, and in the early 90’s I won a [Bruce] Morrison visa, now I’m a citizen of the United States. I’m very blessed.”

It’s obvious to anyone who spends a minute in Mary’s company that this is the absolute truth.

The band has a new CD out, “Mary Courtney & Morning Star ~ Live From the 33rd County,” which is available at CD Baby and Amazon. For more information, check out Mary’s website.

And here’s a (brief!) list of where you can catch Mary performing in NY:

An Beal Bocht Cafe, in Riverdale, NY. Every Friday night from 6-8, a solo ballad session

Tir Na Nog, at 8th Avenue, between 33rd and 34th, Manhattan. Most Friday nights from 8-11

St. Andrews Restaurant and Bar, on W. 46th Street, between 6th an 7th. Every Saturday night from 9-1, with Patrick Madden

O’Brien’s Irish Pub, on W. 46th Street, between Avenue Of The Americas & 7th Ave. Every other Sunday from 4-7, with Patrick Madden

Doc Watson’s, on 2nd Avenue. Every other Sunday night (the same Sundays as O’Brien’s)

Finally, if you didn’t catch Morning Star when they were in Philadelphia, here are a few videos so you can see exactly what you missed out on (you won’t do it again!):

The Homes of Donegal

Come By the Hills

If Ever You Were Mine/The Red-Haired Lass/Stone of Destiny

March 22, 2013 by Lori Lander Murphy

Genealogy

Who’s Your Granny?

My great-great grandmother, Susan Virginia Thursday Victoria Ridgeway Riley, and her daughter Pearl Estella Angeline Hazel Riley Parker

For over two years, I’ve been contemplating this genealogy column. Contemplating it, mind you, not actually writing it. Denise and Jeff have been encouraging it, giving me carte blanche to write about whatever genealogical topic pops into my head—but never pressuring. Dublin and Philadelphia’s own fiddler, Paraic Keane, even unknowingly came up with the title, “Who’s Your Granny?” in a completely unrelated conversation with the Philadelphia Ceili Group’s Anne McNiff; as soon as I heard it, I claimed it in the name of Irish Philadelphia.

And, now, with the most Irish of all days just a little over a week away, it is finally time. Welcome to the first official genealogy column of Irish Philly.

Last week I made my first trip to the Philadelphia Archives, down on Chestnut Street between 9th and 10th. It’s a place I’ve been meaning to venture into for a very long time, but it was a talk by my friend and genealogist Deborah Large Fox that finally got me in the building. The topic was “Grandma Was a What?” and focused on collecting and preserving family stories. Although the lecture was for a general audience, the subject could have been created for Irish family research. Who is better at telling stories and passing them down than the Irish? It was the stories I heard as a child about my Riley ancestors that first got me hooked on genealogy—great-great grandfather Samuel Riley fought for both sides in the Civil War, starting out for the South, getting captured by the North, escaping and returning to the South…and then after it was all over, receiving two pensions, one from the Union and one from the Confederacy.

And, as Deb Fox pointed out, “Every family story has a nugget of truth.” My great-great grandfather did indeed file for pensions from both the North and the South, but the truth was a little more complicated, and less glorified, than the story. I found Samuel’s Virginia pension file online at the Library of Virginia’s Civil War Guide. And then, a few years later, while searching Ancestry.com, I found that a Samuel Riley, living in Virginia, had filed for a Union pension and cited a Pennsylvania unit. Using the information from that source, I went to the National Archives Military Records, and sent away for those records. Included in the file was a letter written by his daughter Eugenia stating that “he was with Co. B. 4th Pa Cavalry But a short time before he was wounded he is not able to get about now with 9 nine children all too small to help them self & a sick wife I would be so glad if you would use your influence in the pension office he deserted the Rebel Army & joind the U.S. Army & the people here won’t have a thing to do with him.”

Apparently, Samuel went off to join the 4th Pa Cavalry of his own volition, and was branded a deserter when he returned to Virginia after the war. Many times, the story is a prettier version of the truth, which is the tricky part about genealogy. Every family has skeletons, and when you start digging around in the family bones, you never know what’s going to fall out. When preserving the family record, both the stories and the records have a place.

“Documentation is the cure for a lot of genealogical ills…attribute the story. At least you have the source listed,” Deb explained. “Are records more reliable than stories? Records can create the same whisper down the lane effect. It’s keeping your sources, noting them down, being a skeptic—but you can be a skeptic and still enjoy the stories.”

And when you record the family stories, decide what your purpose is and who your audience will be. Is it for yourself, or for your descendants? Members of the public or living family members? This can make a difference even in the format you choose to use to preserve the history. There are many options out there now beyond just the published narrative. Many researchers set up websites, and encourage input from other branches of the family. Others make DVDs or photo books.

It’s still a complicated business when it comes to revealing an ugly family secret. I have found more than a few in my research—all a matter of public record—and while I strongly believe that the truth should be told, that there is healing in getting it out there all these generations later, I do think it’s important to be sensitive to anyone still living who may be personally affected by having a not-so-long-hidden secret unveiled.

Deb’s talk at the Archives was part of their Friday Genealogy Open House series, and this is a great way to meet up with other researchers. Visitors are encouraged to bring a lunch, and several people I talked to had taken the train in to Philly, which eliminated the cost and problem of finding parking. For more information, check out their website: Philadelphia Archives: Friday Genealogy Open Houses. And now that I’ve finally made it inside, I’m planning many more return visits to finally get to the bottom of my own Philadelphia ancestors’ mysteries.

For more great information, check out Deborah Large Fox’s genealogy blogs: Help! The Faerie Folk Hid My Ancestors! and her newest, Spilling the Family Beans.

March 8, 2013 by Lori Lander Murphy

Food & Drink, People

Tullamore Crew: Bringing a Bit of Ireland to You, One Bite at a Time

When The Shanachie Irish Pub and Restaurant closed its doors for good at the end of March, it wasn’t just the patrons who were sad to see this local gathering place close. After spending more than 8 years together, the folks who prepared and served the food felt like more of a family than a workplace full of co-workers. After all, they’d spent holidays together, even survived last year’s flood in Ambler together. So, one evening in the waning weeks counting down to The Shanachie’s end of days, a brainstorming session by the restaurant’s staff brought them to a light-bulb moment.

If we cater it, they will come.

And the Tullamore Crew Catering Company was born.

“It was really heartbreaking for us when The Shanachie closed,” Crissy Farley, former Shanachie server/bartender/manager and one of the Tullamore Crew’s founders, explained.

“It was our home. When something would happen to one of us, we would automatically show up at The Shanachie. We spent every New Year’s together; some of us have known each other since before we started at The Shanachie.

“We knew that in a community where people are really enthusiastic about their Irish heritage, that if we marketed ourselves, we could find a way to bring what people had loved about The Shanachie directly to the public.”

And that is exactly what they have done. It was Farley, along with fellow Shanachie expat Cynthia Farley, and former Shanachie head chef, Chef Paul,who took the lead in founding the new venture.

Last weekend, Tullamore Crew offered the Irish community an opportunity to sample their menu at a food tasting at The Commodore Barry Club in Mt. Airy. The event sold out, and with good reason. In a word, that reason is “Yum!”

“Chef Paul is originally from Dublin. He is amazing. He came up with the curry chicken recipe; Indian food is very popular in Ireland. You’ll find traditional Irish items on our menu, like shepherd’s pie, beef stew and steak and Guinness pie, but also appetizers like mini bangers in a blanket (they’re real bangers, imported from Ireland) and bite-sized fish and chips.”

There’s also a section of the menu called “Drunken Entree Options” that offers a choice of meat and fish served in their signature Tullamore whiskey sauce. Named after several of the Crew’s children, you can opt for Maddy Ohara’s Baked Breast of Chicken, or Mackenzie Murphy’s Marinated Pork.

The tasting event at The Irish Center confirmed that Tullamore Crew has fulfilled their pledge to bring the best of The Shanachie, and more, to the community. The trays of mini crab cakes didn’t always make it past the line of people queued up for seconds on the curry chicken. When the desserts came around, no one wanted to choose between the chocolate cake, the apple cobbler or the rice pudding. So they tried a bit of everything. A few times. Every member of the Tullamore Crew team was on deck, including Sherri Timlin-Windhaus, daughter of former Shanachie owner and music legend Gerry Timlin. She’s one of the Crew’s managers. It’s truly a group effort and a labor of love.

“After we knew The Shanachie was closing, Paul became the chef at the Hinge Cafe in Port Richmond. It was around February that we came up with the idea, and things took off almost immediately. The owner of Hinge, T. DeLuca, helped make this happen; he partnered with us. He lets us use his space, and has taken us under their umbrella.

“Our first job was catering a jewelry party for a friend, Chef Paul made all the food. Out of that, we got booked to do a reception for a wedding. They loved it! And word started spreading through the grapevine,” Farley said.

“The menu is really versatile. We will tailor a menu to your budget. People have asked us why we don’t have prices on our website and brochures; it’s because we can work with what you can afford. We’re able to do everything from showers to tea parties, weddings, Irish brunches. Even whiskey tastings! You can have a St. Patrick’s Day celebration any day of the year.”

And, Farley added, “We are part of a coalition in the city, an urban gardening foundation. We use all organic, locally grown produce and products.”

“We’re still coming up with new ideas. The other day we thought up the idea of a mashed potato bar. We’re gonna keep this thing going.”

To book Tullamore Crew for an event, and to peruse their menu, check out their website: Tullamore Crew Catering Company

And, follow them on Facebook: Tullamore Crew on Facebook

June 21, 2012 by Lori Lander Murphy

Music, People

Niamh Parsons Captivates the Crowd

Niamh Parsons at the Philadelphia Ceili Group concert

Honey. Whiskey. A warm spring day.

Niamh Parsons’ voice evoked all three of these finer things in life at her sold-out show Saturday night for the Philadelphia Ceili Group.

Straight off a flight from Ireland, followed by a drive from New York to Philadelphia, Parsons and partner Graham Dunne performed at The Irish Center in Mt. Airy. They should have been jet-lagged, barely able to stay awake, let alone entertain a full house, but if they were, you wouldn’t have known it from their performance.

From the first notes of “The Boys of Barr na Sráide” to the final strains of “Blackbirds and Thrushes,” singer Parsons and guitarist Dunne held their audience in thrall. On stage, the songstress holds nothing back, whether she’s singing or sharing stories and song histories. Earthy, funny and smart, this acclaimed singer of Irish song lets the audience know they are all sharing the same exhilarating ride, while the uber-talented Dunne sets the pace. Don’t ever miss an opportunity to see this duo live.

Don’t believe us? We have a video to prove it.

“Black is the Colour” ~ Niamh Parsons & Graham Dunne

And here’s a link to Niamh Parsons’ website and her current U.S. tour dates: http://www.reverbnation.com/niamhparsons

June 21, 2012 by Lori Lander Murphy

Genealogy, History, News, People

Duffy’s Cut Victims Will Be Remembered, But Not Recovered

Duffy's Cut Memorial Cross Designed by Johnnie Rowe

From the beginning of the Duffy’s Cut project, back in 2002, Bill and Frank Watson knew there was a possibility that they would not be able to recover the bodies of the 57 Irish workers who died in 1832 under mysterious circumstances while building Mile 59 of the Pennsylvania Railroad. But the brothers—historians-turned-archaeologists—successfully located and excavated the first seven bodies, and the dream of finding and retrieving the rest of the workers looked increasingly realizable.

Until last week when Amtrak officials informed the team that the bodies in the mass grave were located too near to the tracks that are still in use today, and are therefore unreachable.

For 170 years, the story of Duffy’s Cut was simply an urban legend that had been passed down by locals through the centuries, the tale of railroad laborers buried alongside the Malvern Curve. But when Frank Watson inherited a file from his grandfather, who had worked as an assistant to many of the railroad’s presidents throughout his career, the legend became a true life tale of Irish immigrants who suffered the reality of prejudice, cholera and murder before being deliberately erased from history.

The summer of 1832 brought the ship The John Stamp to dock in Philadelphia, plentiful with Irish laborers eager to find work. Philip Duffy, the man charged by the Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad to build the dangerous section of track called Mile 59, met them as they came ashore and offered them jobs. Within six weeks, all these men (and at least one woman) were dead, supposedly from the effects of cholera which had become an epidemic in the area. Consigned to a mass grave, these immigrants were quickly forgotten and the details of their deaths covered up.

Frank and Bill Watson, in possession of the original file amassed by Martin W. Clement, the last president of P&C Railroad before it was bought out, and then given for safekeeping to their grandfather, Joseph F. Tripician, began the arduous task of setting up an archaeological dig at the site. Over the past several years, their efforts have paid off beyond all expectations.

Artifacts found at The Duffy’s Cut site include buttons, bowls, forks and pipes from the men’s home counties of Derry, Donegal and Tyrone. Working with forensic dentist Matt Patterson, University of Pennsylvania anthropologist Janet Monge and geophysicist Tim Monge, plus a dedicated team of students, the Watsons recovered seven bodies buried on the site, yet set apart from the mass grave. These first seven were six men and one woman who tried to flee the quarantined camp, but were hunted down by a local vigilante group known as The East Whiteland Horse Company. All of these victims show the effects of murder, from blunt force trauma to their skulls to bullet holes. It seems they were tended to by a local blacksmith named Malachi Harris, who built coffins for them and gave them their own burials.

Many details yielded by the bones of these seven have helped to provide clues to their identities. The body of one victim matched up by age to one of the immigrants listed on the John Stamp’s ship list; John Ruddy was the youngest of the laborers, and DNA testing is underway with descendants of the Ruddy family back in Donegal to see if there is a positive match. It turns out that John Ruddy had a distinctive dental trait: he was missing an upper right molar, a genetic quirk that is also shared by other Ruddys in Donegal.

The discovery that one of the bodies was a woman was another revelation. Several of the men on the ship were traveling with female relatives, and the bones seem to point to her identity as Catherine Burns, a 29 year old woman listed on the ship’s manifest. The condition of her stooped shoulders show that she was most likely a washerwoman, and certainly used to hard labor.

With the advance of technology, Tim Bechtel was able to use electrical imaging and seismic surveys to positively locate the mass grave where the majority of the laborers had been buried. But what his equipment showed is that these victims are buried 30 feet below ground level, level with the line of tracks as they were originally built in 1832.

“It’s a huge area,” Frank Watson explained. “So they’re all there together. But because they’re 30 feet down, there’s no way to safely excavate. If we started excavating at any spot along there, it would probably destroy the memorial wall and could possibly undermine the tracks.”

The news that Amtrak was not allowing excavation at the mass burial site came as a disappointment to the team, to know that they were so close to recovering the bodies of the workers but that any serious digging in that location was off limits due to safety concerns.

They’re taking the frustration in stride, however, and the work at the site is far from over.

“We can stay as long as it takes,” Watson explained. “We’ve been working on this last body that was under a large tree. We have the skull and all but one tooth. The teeth are in great shape, considering that the roots of the tree went through his skull and more roots had broken through his jaw, separating the upper and lower, actually splitting the jaw in half.

“We also found pewter buttons buried with him, probably from a haversack, together with a Barlow pocket knife. These are likely some of the best preserved items from an Irish-American laborer’s grave from the 1832 era.

“We still have so much more work to do.”

That work includes proper burials for these bodies that have been rescued. If the body that is thought to be John Ruddy is proven to be part of the Donegal Ruddy family, it’s likely that he will be sent home and laid to rest. For the others, interment at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd has been arranged, and a Celtic memorial cross has been designed and built to commemorate the laborers. Johnnie Rowe, from County Laois, has created a hand-carved cross and ledger from Kilkenny limestone that’s been shipped over and will be placed at the graves of the Duffy’s Cut victims. The ceremony is planned for March of 2012.

So the work of the team will continue. In fact, they’ve been called in to investigate what is thought to be a Potter’s Field in nearby Downingtown. The back story is that possibly one of the men from Duffy’s Cut was able to escape from the camp, then went and infected other Irish workers in the nearby town, leading to another mass anonymous burial ground. The possible connection to Duffy’s Cut makes this especially intriguing.

Amtrak’s pronouncement that there will be no excavation of the mass grave site may be a disappointment, but ultimately it doesn’t detract from the importance of the discovery at Duffy’s Cut.

“The most important thing is that the story is being told,” Frank Watson affirmed. “After being ignored for all these years, they have definitely earned a place in the Irish American pilgrimage.”

Duffy\’s Cut Photos

November 11, 2011 by Lori Lander Murphy

Music, People

Traveling Man Oisin Mac Diarmada Touches Down in Coatesville

Oisin Mac Diarmada At Play

Tucked away in Coatesville, about an hour off of Philadelphia’s beaten track, lies Coatesville Traditional Irish Music Series, one of the Irish music world’s true gems. Five to six times a year, organizer Frank Dalton presents the best in traditional music to audiences keen for the sounds of trad. This Sunday, October 16th, for the 44th offering, Sligo-style fiddler Oisin Mac Diarmada will be performing a solo concert.

Perhaps best known for his playing with Teada, the band he founded in 2001, Mac Diarmada is making a flying solitary visit to the U.S. in the next week. Booked for the Northeast Tionól in The Catskills from October 21-24, his stop in Coatesville will be his only concert this time over.

Mac Diarmada is a man in demand. And rightly so. In addition to his work with Teada, he’s highly sought after as a teacher for workshops and festivals, as a lecturer and also as a producer with his company Ceol Productions Ltd. Born in County Clare, he started playing the fiddle at age 6, and it wasn’t long before he discovered the Willie Clancy Summer School in Milltown Malbay.

“That was the very popular event even back then. It’s been going on since the 70’s, and I started probably around 1986. It was a really great way of getting exposed to the larger musical community. It was there I got to see some of the great West Clare fiddle players who were still alive at that time. I’m thinking of people like John Kelly, Bobby Casey, Joe Ryan, Junior Crehan. It was a great introduction to the sort of breadth of the music, the scope and the interest that people have. So that became a sort of yearly pilgrimage to me. And ever since 1997, I think, I’ve been teaching there every summer. There’s a few of those kind of weeks in Ireland, but Willie Clancy is the most prominent and established.”

Mac Diarmada spends a good portion of the year touring, with the longer trips taking place in the U.S. He estimates that over 3 months, and some years it’s closer to 4, are spent in the States. He’s just home from a week in Germany, teaching at a workshop event over there. This Saturday, the night before he arrives in Coatesville, he’ll be in Sligo performing with The Innisfree Ceili Band at the Peter Horan Memorial Concert.

“It’s going to be a big night. Dervish will be there, and Michael Flatley. It’s a commemorative concert for Peter Horan, who passed away a year ago. They’re doing a fundraiser for the local hospice (Northwest Hospice) where he was cared for.”

And there’s no rest when he returns home, either: “I’m going to Russia the following week, to St. Petersburg, with Teada. It’s our first time there.”

After that, a few weeks off, and then it’s back here for the highly celebrated annual Irish Christmas in America tour that Mac Diarmada has produced for Teada since 2005. This year promises to be especially sensational with the Teada musicians being joined again by Seamus Begley and Brian Cunningham, and, debuting for the first time in the States, the highly acclaimed group Lumiere. Singers Pauline Scanlon and Eilis Kennedy, along with Donogh Hennessy (formerly of Lunasa), have recorded one beautiful CD, the stunning self-titled “Lumiere,” and are currently working on a follow-up.

Lumiere isn’t the only one with a new CD in the works, either. “Over the last little while, during the summer, myself and Seamus Begley recorded a duet album. It’s just waiting to be mixed now. Donogh Hennessy recorded the album for us, and will be mixing it; it should be released fairly soon after that’s finished.”

“Seamus is great,” Mac Diarmada affirmed. “It’s been a real treat to get to know him and to play with him. He’s such an amazing singer and musician. And a superb man to tour with, as well.”

“This year, for the Philadelphia area, we’ll be in Wilmington at The Grand Opera House (on December 11). We’re also in D.C. for our yearly appearance at National Geographic. And we also have another yearly appearance at The Strand in Lakewood, New Jersey. It will be brilliant having Lumiere with us this year.”

Mac Diarmada thrives on his life in motion. “I do quite a few music related things, as many things as I can get done. It’s a bit of a balancing job, but I think it saves it from being the same. I’ve never gotten to that stage of being in any way bored with it yet. It’s always exciting. It’s good musically, as well, to be playing a few different types of things with some different people as well. So, overall, I think it’s a healthy thing.”

And the music is the top priority for the fiddler from Clare, also steeped in the Sligo tradition, who seeks to understand not just the notes, but the background of the music as well.

“It’s a process that goes on over a number of years. Some of the information you seek out deliberately while others you stumble across and just assimilate over the years. It’s an informal type of learning in a way, but it’s very much part of the background and part of the context, and part of the color of being interested in the music. There used to not be a lot written about traditional Irish music, until the last couple of decades. Now, there’s more being written about it, both in an academic sense and in sort of general music publications. Before, the stories behind the music were mainly passed on informally.”

And what about original tunes from Mac Diarmada, who has written music in the past? “It’s been a good few years since I’ve written any, but I’ll get back to it!” he assured me. “There’s no panic. But it’s a lovely thing to do. Sometimes you just need an excuse to do it. And I just haven’t had that excuse for awhile.”

For more information on this Sunday’s concert at Coatesville Traditional Irish Music Series, go here: http://www.ctims.info/

Information on Teada’s upcoming Christmas in America tour can be found on their website: http://irishchristmasinamerica.com/

October 14, 2011 by Lori Lander Murphy

Food & Drink, Music

A Little Bit of Ireland and Old Lace in Smithville, NJ

Kelly Coleman with Gaelic Storm at Ireland and Old Lace

I know a magical place, about an hour’s drive from Philadelphia, where a visit on any day of the week can get you some of the finest Irish things in life. And I mean the good stuff: Cadbury Time Out & Curly Wurly bars, Nestle Smarties, Erin Farmhouse Vegetable Soup mixes, bangers, rashers, black and white puddings, meat pies, HP Hot Sauce, Bisto gravy… and it only gets better from there.

Where is this modern-day, non-disappearing Brigadoon, you ask??? It’s a quaint and beautifully established store called Ireland and Old Lace, situated among the approximately 60 shops on The Village Greene in Historic Smithville, New Jersey. And much the same as Brigadoon, on occasional days like this Saturday, October 7, bagpipes and music wondrously appear as if conjured out of the mist as the town plays host to The Smithville Irish Festival.

From the beginning, owner Kelly Coleman has carved her own path for her Irish shop, from opening it on a whim in 2002 to the big name concerts she regularly sponsors on the premises (Dropkick Murphys, Gaelic Storm, Barleyjuice, Flogging Molly). This Saturday, the Irish Festival, which kicks off at 11AM, will feature performances by Bogside Rogues, Jamie and the Quiet Men, The Barley Boys and Amadaun, as well as the Mist of Ireland dancers.

But it’s the stuff inside the store that hooks people once the music stops. In May of 2010, Ireland and Old Lace launched the only licensed U.S. sales of Emerald Crystal, the company formed by several former glassblowers from Waterford after Waterford Crystal went out of business. In addition, Coleman has a large stock of scarves, hats and stoles from Branigan Weavers of Drogheda, County Louth, ladies and men’s hats from Hanna Hats and Shandon of Cork, and Belleek and Galway Crystal.

“We got a new load of woolen sweaters in yesterday, just in time for the change in temperature! We haven’t raised the price on our sweaters in five years, and still didn’t this year,” Coleman told me.

Coleman is committed to finding and selling real Irish goods, designed and made in Ireland. She makes several buying trips a year to make sure that what she has on offer is the real deal.

“My first buying trip, after I’d rented the store, I got on a flight to Dublin and started knocking on doors around Ireland and asking if I could see their products. I’d rented a hotel room, and went around to the gift shops, looked up websites and just started making phone calls. I had a week to put together an inventory.

“My big seller is always the fisherman’s sweaters, but I make sure that they are made in Ireland. Most Americans don’t understand, but they don’t mass produce, and they don’t create handmade junk. It’s a cottage industry over there, and that’s what is represented in my store. All the jewelry I sell has to be hallmarked.”

“I do have the filler stuff that changes around seasonally. I get a lot of repeat visitors who are looking for new things, so I’m always discovering new inventory. And I have the sort of stereotypical St. Patrick’s day items around that time of year. But I try to stay away from too much of that. I feel that Ireland is often misrepresented in the U.S.—it’s not all green beer and shamrocks.”

Coleman herself is Irish on both sides: her mom’s family is from Limerick, and her dad’s side is from Mayo. And even her husband, Mark Radziewicz, better known as “Razz” from Philadelphia’s country station 92.5 XTU, has Dublin born grandparents.

It was her husband who brought her to the area and provided the impetus to open Ireland and Old Lace (he also came up with the name). They’d been living in New York, where the two had met, when Razz got a job with the Philadelphia radio station. Coleman had been living out every 80’s child dream of working for MTV; she’d been a part of their international marketing department, a job that had required such arduous tasks as traveling to Cannes twice a year. Sigh.

But it was one of those visits to Cannes for MTV that had gotten her hooked on Ireland after she added on a vacation trip to the Emerald Isle. So, when she found herself living in South Jersey and jobless, she knew she had the grain of a great idea.

And nearly 10 years on, she is still excited about what she does.

This weekend promises beautiful weather, and Coleman knows just how it should be spent: “We recommend a Blacksmith — 1/2 Guinness 1/2 Smithwicks —to be enjoyed with The Barley Boys!”

For more information on Ireland and Old Lace, visit their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ireland-and-Old-Lace/72922972334. Information on Saturday’s Smithville Irish Festival can be found on their website: http://smithvilleirishfestival.com/index.htm

October 7, 2011 by Lori Lander Murphy

People

Singin’ in the Rain: The Philadelphia Ceili Group’s Festival Kicks Off

Singers Night 2011

Epic rain, wide-spread flooding, rockslides on the Schuylkill Expressway…none of these things could keep the Irish community away from the opening night of the PCG’s 37th Annual Irish Music and Dance Festival.

Dedicated to the late Frank Malley, who was a long-time driving force behind the Festival, the evening showcased some of the talented local Irish singers that call the Philadelphia area home. From the Sean-nós stylings of Terry Kane, Matt Ward, Rosaleen McGill and Marian Makins to the rousing up-tempo songs of Vince Gallagher and his band, it was several hours of pure entertainment for the good-sized crowd that made their way to the Irish Center in Mt. Airy.

There were a few performers who couldn’t make it due to weather-related emergencies, including the scheduled emcee, Gerry Timlin, whose pub The Shanachie in Ambler experienced flooding. Terry Kane stepped in and took over the role beautifully.

[We are happy to report that The Shanachie is recovered from the flood waters, and were actually able to open at 5PM on Thursday for dinner. “We’ve fared better than some of the other places in Ambler,” bartender Meg Herrmann told me when I stopped in today. “The water came in under the front door. We all worked together yesterday and got it cleaned up.”]

The Festival continues Friday night and Saturday all day and evening with music, dancing, workshops, food and fun for the entire family. This year’s event also marks the kick-off to a year-long series of concerts funded by a grant provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. Titled “Irish Traditional Music: Influences from the West of Ireland,” the series is bringing some of the most highly regarded Irish musicians to Philadelphia beginning in October with Kevin Burke and Cal Scott, followed by Mick Moloney & Friends in November, Grainne Hambly & William Jackson in February, 2012, Niamh Parsons & Graham Dunne in June, 2012 and concluding with a performance by the legendary De Danann at the 2012 Festival. Tickets to all the concerts are being raffled off through Saturday, along with CDs and books from all of the artists, as well as other items.

Check out our videos in case you missed last night’s songfest, or if you were there and want to see it again: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL73E8269571E5A7FD&feature=viewall

Further information on the rest of this weekend’s festivities can be found at the PCG website: http://www.philadelphiaceiligroup.org/philadelphia_ceili_group/2011-annual-irish-traditional-music-and-dance-festival-information-.html

September 9, 2011 by Lori Lander Murphy

Older Posts

Newer Posts