How to Be Irish in Philly

Karen Boyce McCollum, here with John Lefty Kelly, will be singing at the Duffy’s Cut Fundraiser.

Well, it’s that time again. And if you have to ask what time, you must have stumbled onto the wrong web page.

March madness starts this week and there’s a lot to cover. Here we go:

On Saturday, Karen Boyce McCollum and the Lads will be performing at Maggie O’Neill’s in Drexel Hill at a benefit for the Duffy’s Cut project, an archeological dig in Malvern that has turned up the bodies of Irish immigrants who died or were killed in 1834 while working on the railroad. Seven of the bodies have been recovered and buried with ceremony at West Laurel Hill Cemetery and in Donegal. Part of the money raised will go toward recovering the other 50 victims and returning the remains of the one woman known to be among the dead, Catherine Burns, to her home county of Tyrone.

The eighth annual Gael Scoil, a total immersion weekend for youth in the Irish language and culture, will be held at Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, NJ.

Also on Saturday, the 8th annual James Gillespie Sr. benefit will be held at PJ Whelihans in Cherry Hill to benefit the children of Camden’s Catholic Partnership schools.

The Shantys will be at Tir na Nog in Trenton on Saturday night, while Janisom will b at Casey’s on Third in Wildwood on Saturday night.

On Sunday, there’s a big fundraiser for the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade at the new FOP Lodge #5 in Northeast Philly. Jamison, the Bogside Rogues, Celtic Connection, Raymond Coleman and the Celtic Flame dancers will all be there. It was a blast last year. There will also be food, drink, and raffle baskets.

Sligo Pub in Media and Glen Mills have added their weekly sessions to our calendar. We heard that Matt Molloy of The Chieftains showed up at the Media session this week. You never know who you’re going to run into at an Irish session.

On Thursday, the Irish American Business Chamber and Network will hold its annual Ambassador Awards luncheon, honoring QVC, local CEO Frank Reynolds of PixarBio, and CBS3 and CWPhilly, the local networks that air the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day parade. Irish Ambassador Anne Anderson will be on hand to give the awards. Read more about the chamber and the awards in our story.

The Irish conversation group reconvenes on Thursday night at Villanova, and the group, Danu, is appearing on stage the same evening at Longwood Gardens. You can catch Slainte (Frank Daly and CJ Mills of Jamison) at Con Murphy’s in Philadelphia.

On Friday, Blackthorn is playing at Concord Township’s annual dance party; Gaelic Storm is on stage at the Wilmington Grand Opera House; Slainte is at Reedy’s Tavern; Galway Guild is at the Green Parrot in Newtown; and the Cummins School of Irish Dance is holding a trivia night at the North Penn VFW in Glenside.

Also on Friday, the interactive play, Lafferty’s Wake, goes on stage at the Society Hill Playhouse for a March-April run on the weekends. Gargle with lemon and honey—there’s a sing-a-long. The theater cabaret has been turned into Rory’s Pub, where as his final request, Charlie Lafferty is being waked, with his wife Kathleen, daughter Maggie; son-in-law Patrick, the village priest Father Pettigrew, his special friend, Molly; and his best friend Rory in attendance. Sing-alongs with the audience include: Whiskey in the Jar, Sweet Molly Malone, The Orange and the Green, and When Irish Eyes are Smiling.

Information on all these events is on our calendar. Check back frequently this month since things change hourly.

Gaelic Storm at Ardmore This week.

The Irish music is ratcheting up in advance of high holy month, which is just about a week away.

Both Gaelic Storm and the Chieftains are headed our way this week. Gaelic Storm will be at the Ardmore Music Hall in Ardmore on Wednesday, Feb, 25, and The Chieftains will be on stage at the Wilmington Grand Opera House in Wilmington on Tuesday, February 24.

Full Set, the hot supergroup of trad music, will be making a return appearance at The Irish Center on Friday, February 27.

Local groups are also gearing up. The Theresa Flanagan Band will be at McGillicuddy’s in Upper Darby on Sunday then at Washington Crossing Inn in Washington Crossing on Thursday night. Catch Slainte (Frank Daly and CJ Mills of Jamison) at the Ashburner in Philly on Thursday night and Jamison at Keenan’s North Wildwood on Friday night. This week spend “Irish Tuesday” with performer Oliver McElhone at Maggie O’Neill’s in Drexel Hill and head over to the AOH in Swedesburg for their Irish music night with McHugh and O’Neill. Blackthorn will be appearing at a benefit for the Western Delaware Valley Lions Club at Penn Oaks Country Club in West Chester, also on Friday night.

And as if Friday night wasn’t busy enough. Brian Conway, John Whelan, Mary Courtney, and Brendan Dolan will be performing at West Chester University. They’re all top notch trad performers.

‘t the less musical side of things: On Saturday, February 21, the Delco Gaels Indoor League kicks off at Maple Zone in Boothwyn, and the Officer Daniel Boyle Scholarship Fund Annual Social takes place at the FOP Heroes Hall in Northeast Philadelphia.

And next week, be sure to mark your calendars for the Duffy’s Cut Fundraiser at Maggie O’Neill’s Pub in Drexel Hill, with songs by Karen Boyce McCollum “and the Lads.” It’s also the weekend of the annual Gael Scoil, an immersion in the Irish language for kids, at Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, NJ.

After next week, make sure you come back here frequently since our calendar changes almost hourly. We hope to see a lot of you around somewhere, because we will certainly be around somewhere.

Joan Diver of the Screamng Orphans–at Valley Forge this weekend.

I can tell you where I’ll be all weekend—at the 23rd Annual Midwinter Scottish-Irish Festival at Valley Forge. The lineup of bands is fabulous and includes local musicians such as Jamison, the John Byrne Band, RUNA, Timlin and Kane, Oliver McElhone, and Charlie Zahm, as well as far-away favorites like Searson, Brother, Albannach, the Screaming Orphans, Rathkeltair, the Brigadoons, the Sean Flemng Band, and The MacLeod Fiddlers.

It’s going to be cold outside this weekend. Come in, taste a little whiskey, learn to ceili dance, pick up a few words in Irish or Scottish Gaelic, and enjoy the music. Watch out for the swordplay. The Companions of the Cross and Live Steel will also be there, showing you how to fence. And if you see us, come up and say hello.

Continuing this week, the plays Misalliance by Shaw at Walnut Street Studio 5 and Long Live Little Knife at the Off Broad Street Theatre, along with the opera, Oscar, about Oscar Wilde, at the Kimmel.

Galway Guild will be rocking the Bristol AOH on Friday night and they’re the Irish music you’ll be hearing at Paddy Whacks on Welsh Road and the Boulevard on Saturday afternoon.

The Irish conversation group will be meeting again at Falvey Library, room 204, at Villanova, on Thursday. This is not a beginner’s group.

Then on Friday, the Delco Gaels’ Dance Like a Star fundraiser takes over the Springfield Country Club for an evening of music, dance performances, and comedy. See our story for more details. On Saturday, the Gaels’ 2015 Indoor League starts at Maple Zone in Boothwyn. There are about 150 children enrolled in this youth Gaelic sports program.

On Saturday, February 21, there will be a benefit to raise money for the Officer Daniel Boyle Scholarship Fund, which benefits families who want to send their children to Christian/Catholic schools but don’t have the tuition money. It takes place at Heroes Hall on Caroline Road in Northeast Philadelphia.

Drew Reid of Brother, with his digeridoo, will be at the Mid-Winter Festival.

The annual Celtic Spring Concert, featuring a bevy of local musicians including Timlin and Kane and fiddler Haley Richardson, is Sunday at Sacred Heart Church in Camden, NJ. Proceeds from the event benefit the Heart of Camden Housing Corporation which is working to revive the city just across the river from Philadelphia. One of its current projects: Turning a three-story wreck of a building at the corner of Jasper and Broadway into a writers’ retreat center.

Jamison will be rocking Ryan–that’s Archbishop Ryan, 11201 Academy Road in Philadelphia–this Saturday,a fundraiser for the school.

Continuing this week: Long Live Little Knife, a play produced by the Inis Nua Theatre Company; Oscar, an opera about Oscar Wilde, at the Kimmel Center; and Misalliance, a rarely performed play by George Bernard Shaw on stage at Walnut Street Studio 5.

On Saturday, grab your instrument (or not) and join in (or not) at the newest session in town at the AOH Notre Dame Div. 1 in Swedesburg. This is an authentic Irish tradition in which musicians jam just for the fun of it. That’s the part you ought to join in for—the craic. No one will stop you if you want to dance.

On Sunday, catch Seamus Kelleher at The Hattery, 18 State Street, Doylestown, for music (and laughs—he’s a funny guy).

On Thursday, bring your Irish with you for an Irish conversation group at Villanova University. This is not for beginners. You need to know something more than “Slainte!”

Then, on Friday, it’s the opening night concert for the annual Mid-winter Scottish and Irish Festival in Valley Forge at the Valley Forge Convention Center. Charlie Zahm and Tad Marks, Angus and Drew of Brother, Albannach, and Jamison will perform from 8 till oh, who knows when?

Everyone (except maybe Albannach) will be up bright and early the next morning for the music that starts at 10 AM (11 AM on Sunday). Among the performers: Searson. Brother, the John Byrne Band, the Screaming Orphans, RUNA, Rathkeltair, the MacLeod Fiddlers, the Brigadoons, Oliver McElhone, Timlin and Kane, Belfast Connection, and the Sean Fleming Band. There will also be dancers, whisky tastings, Irish and Scots Gaelic language workshops, an introduction to the bagpipe (“Hello, chanter!”), fencing, juggling, Scottish and Ceili dancing, pipe bands, and loads of vendors you’ll love, whether you’re in the market for a kilt, a bag of haggis chips, or some sparkling Celtic jewelry.

This event has been brightening the winter for 22 years. Don’t miss it. (We don’t.) Check our calendar for all the details and look for another story on the Midwinter Festival by Friday.

The East Coast Celtic Feile starts on Friday!

At Irish Philadelphia, we always consider our Scottish cousins part of the fold. Hence, we’re telling you about the Burns Night (that would be the Scottish poet Robert Burns) Supper and whisky tasting upstairs at the World Café Live on Saturday night.

Music will be provided by the Jameson Sisters, who usually play Irish music (Terry Kane on all kinds of instruments, Ellen Tepper on harp, both singing). On the menu: haggis. But don’t let that hold you back. It tastes like liver. If you like liver, you’ll like haggis. If not, just shunt it to the side of your plate and try some more whisky.

Robert Burns’ birthday is actually Sunday, so there’s still time to send a card.

Also on Saturday, Jamison is performing at 9:30 at Curran’s Irish Inn in Tacony.

On Sunday, Father Ed Brady, pastor of St. Anne’s Parish in Philadelphia, will be celebrating a Mass in commemoration of the 13 people who were killed during a peaceful protest in Derry more than 30 years ago, an event known as Bloody Sunday. A meal will follow after the Mass at the Irish Center. The event is sponsored every year by the Sons and Daughters of Derry, a Philadelphia county organization.

On Sunday evening, the redoubtable musician and comic Seamus Kennedy will be on stage at the Sellersville Theatre with Toby Walker, a roots music finger style guitar wizard.

On Wednesday, musician Gerry Timlin continues his Irish history classes at McCarthy’s Red Stag Pub in Bethlehem. This week: The conquest of Ireland. That could be a two-parter, and in fact it is. The next class is on February 4.

Starting on Friday, the wild and crazy supporters of the Celtic Football Club of Glasgow will descend on Philadelphia for music, ceremony (at the Irish Memorial), movie-watching (a special film on their team) and, of course, football—Celtic v. the Rangers on the big screen at The Plough and the Stars. These folks have a great time when they’re here—and all are invited.

Some sad news for musicians and the appreciative audience at the Molly Maguire’s session in Lansdale: Molly Maguire’s has closed its doors, the second of the small local chain to do so in the past few months (the other was in Downingtown). The Molly Maguire’s in Phoenixville is still open.

Barleyjuice

It may be cold outside, but this Friday, the wild and raucous Irish rockers Barleyjuice will be heating up the inside of the Sellersville Theater. You won’t be able to sit still in your seat—not that sitting still is really encouraged at a Barleyjuice concert.

On Wednesday, January 21, Tyrone-born musician Gerry Timlin continues his Irish history series at McCarthy’s Red Stage Pub in Bethlehem. The topics this week: the Viking Wars, the age of Brian Boru and Ireland before the Normans.

Also on Friday, Bob Hurst of the Bogside Rogues will be performing at AOH Div. 61 Clubhouse on Rhawn Street in Philadelphia and Jamison will be playing at the 360 Lounge at Parx Casino in Bensalem. (Catch them on January 24 at Curran’s Irish Inn in Tacony.)

There are plenty of sessions in between events this week. Check our calendar for more information.

One big check–but the Irish Center needs more.

The Irish Center’s fundraising campaign brought in more than $84,000 in the first year of its two-year project—almost the entire $100,000 goal. But it’s still going on, mainly in the form of fun. And this Sunday, you can have a blast by getting all kindergarten on a canvas at Painting with a Twist in Jenkintown. Ten dollars of every ticket ($45) will go to the ongoing campaign to keep the Irish Center open—and you go home with a pretty neat looking painting that you do with the help of onsite instructors. And we hear there’s wine too.

Speaking of painting: On Saturday, amble out to Prospect Park to Marty Magee’s, a pub on Lincoln Avenue, where Blackthorn and Galway Guild will be performing and the brand new mural depicting scenes from local Irish history will be dedicated. The mural was done by Eric Okdeh who has painted more than 80 murals in Philadelphia, many as part of the city’s internationally known Mural Arts Program (when Britain’s Prince Charles came to Philly, he said that the first thing he wanted to do was see all the murals). See our story.

Since John Byrne is back in town, you might find him at the ballad session at Fergie’s at 12th and Sansom on Sunday. It’s a lovely afternoon in a comfy bar, one of my favorites in the city.

On Wednesday, the sparkling and witty Gerry Timlin of Timlin and Kane will open up his series on Irish history, starting with the ancient Celts, at McCarthy’s White Stag Pub in Bethlehem. The series lasts six weeks, and you can find all the detiails on our calendar.

Coming up this month: The annual Mass to commemorate the 43rd anniversary Bloody Sunday, when 13 people were killed by British troops in Derry City. It will be held at The Irish Center on Sunday, January 25, at 3 PM. Father Edward Brady of St. Anne’s Parish will be the celebrant.

Also, the East Coast Celtic Supporters will be descending on Philly yet again at the end of the month for a three-day Celtic-thon at the Plough and the Stars in Philadelphia. And no, these aren’t fans of the Boston Celtics. They’re diehard supporters of the legendary Celtic Football Club of Glasgow, Scotland.

Both the Glenside Gaelic Club and the Delaware County Gaels are holding indoor leagues for Gaelic football and hurling for youth. Go to www.DelcoGaels.com for more information on their program, which starts February 21 at Maple Zone in Boothwyn, and www.GlensideGaelicClub.com for their program which kicks off on January 23 at YSC Sports in Hatboro. Both these organizations are keeping the love of Gaelic sports alive in the Delaware Valley.

Another organization that helps keep Irish culture alive is, well, us. And you can help us live and grow by buying all your St. Patrick’s Day merchandise from CelticClothing.com. You can see their ads on our page. If you click the ad and buy something using the code word PHILLY, we get 15% of the proceeds and you get a discount. We make a small amount of money from ad sales (the word “pitiful” gets mentioned now and again) that barely covers our expenses. We’d love to pay writers to write for us and photographers to photograph for us so we don’t have to try to be in six places at once. We’re not as young as we used to be. But hey, who is? Thanks!