How to Be Irish in Philly

Sure and you’re all worn out from Irish Weekend in Wildwood or Celtic Classic in Bethlehem, but there’s still lots to do.

On Friday, October 2, for instance, you can come out to the Irish Center in Mt. Airy and hear Northern Irish singer Fil Campbelll perform the music of five female singers of the 1930s to the 1960s. We heard her up in Bethlehem this past weekend and shot a few videos to give you a taste of her show.  

• Fil is accompanied by piper Robert Watts.
• A little song about marrying the wrong guy.
• Fil sings a song from Mary O’Hara. 

Speaking of taste, the inaugural meeting of the Eastern PA Whiskey Society is scheduled for Friday night at Maggie O’Neill’s Irish Pub in Drexel Hill. We have been assured that this is a bone fide organization with an interest in the complexities of good whiskey, and not a cover for. . .well, anything. 

On Saturday, there’s a fundraiser for the Shelby and Benjamin Chestnut Trust at the Legion Hall in Narberth. These two youngsters were born with severe disabilities—Shelby with a form of cerebral palsy and Benjamin with a rare neurological disease. Neither child can walk or talk, and their care is expensive.

There’s a second fundraiser on Saturday, this one to raise money for the Police Survivors Fund. It’s being held at Maggie’s Waterfront Café in Philadelphia and features Blackthorn.

And you thought the festivals were over: The Trenton Irish Music Festival is scheduled for Sunday at the Trenton AOH Grounds. On the bill: the Willie Lynch Band, the Bogside Rogues, Jamison, Barleyjuice and others. There will also be a tribute to longtime Trenton Irish publican, the late Billy Briggs.

Did your family come from Ulster? The Ulster-American Society is holding an informal meet-up at Kildare’s Pub in King of Prussia on Monday night from 5-9 PM. Ten percent of your food and drink receipts will be donated to the group.

On Wednesday, the legendary singer-piper-actor Finbar Furey returns to the Shanachie in Ambler with Brian Gaffney. 

On Thursday, another great musical event at the Irish Center—and listen up all you history buffs. Jimmy Crowley and Mairtin de Cogain are bringing to life the songs of the Irish at war with their Captain Mackey’s Goatskin and String Band show, which was a major hit at this year’s Milwaukee Irish Fest. They’re both fabulous singers, and Mairtin is an actor. If you saw the chilling film, “The Wind that Shakes the Barley,” you saw Mairtin. It should be an amazing evening. So buy your ticket, grab your beer, and travel back in time. . .

And on the theater front: Samuel Beckett’s “Happy Days” is at the Lantern Theater, and the Inis Nua Theatre Company’s production of “Trad,”–which was nominated for a top award at the New York Theater Festival this year–is coming to the Irish Center on October 11 for a one-off performance, thanks to the Philadelphia Ceili Group.

Two great festivals are already underway in the region, but they run all weekend so there’s still time to join in the craic.

To our south, the AOH Irish Weekend in N. Wildwood, NJ, is so anticipated, many out-of-towners book their motels months in advance and take off work so they can start partying on Thursday night. If you don’t have a place to stay, it’s a fairly easy day trip, but make sure you designate a driver.

Much of the action takes place at the Music Tent at the Inlet at Anglesea “where Olde New Jersey meets the ocean.” There’s pretty much nonstop music going on there, including Paddy’s Well, the Elders, Derek Warfield and the Young Wolfetones, The Broken Shillelaghs, the Bogside Rogues, the Sean Fleming Band, Love Seed Mama Jump, and the Secret Service Band. Dancing and cuteness will be provided by the Fitzpatrick School of Irish Dance from Bucks County. Blackthorn will be playing at the Anglesea Pub right nearby all weekend.

There’s usually vendors as far as the eye can see, lots of great food, a pipe band competition, and lots of camaraderie. The event benefits AOH charities, so you can feel good about getting a little crazy. But get crazy wisely—you want the memories to be good. Heck, you just want to be able to remember. . . .

The Celtic Classic is equally fun (we’ve been to both, many times), but in Bethlehem you also get to watch highland games (caber tossing, the hammer throw, the sheaf toss, haggis eating–no, wait, that’s a separate event, but eating an oatmeal-filled sheep’s intestine takes courage nonetheless), see border collies go through their paces, and watch drum major, pipe band and fiddle competitions.

The Allentown Hibernians hurling team—in their second year of existence, they earned the right to compete on a national level—will be giving a demo, and then there’s music, music, music. Among the entertainers: Malinky, Albannach (Scottish drums and pipes–we like to think of their music as Barbarian rock), Scythian (you can join them for breakfast at McCarthy’s Tea Room in downtown Bethlehem—check our calendar), the Glengharry Boys, the Barley Boys, Barleyjuice, Burning Bridget Cleary,Timlin and Kane, Robert Watt and Charlie Zahm, Blackwater, Kane and Beatty, Seamus Kennedy, and Bua (fresh from their recent appearance at the Philadelphia Ceili Group Festival), to name a few. We’re excited to see Fil Campbell, who will be appearing on Friday, October 2 at the Irish Center and is scheduled to perform several times over the weekend in Bethlehem.

Believe it or not, there are other things going on this week. The Lantern Theater Company is performing Samuel Beckett’s “Happy Days” till mid-October—and no, there’s no Richie Cunningham or Fonzie in this one. You can also catch the Inis Nua Theatre Company’s staging of “Trad” at the Amaryllis at the Adrienne in Philadelphia.They’re bringing a one-off performance to the Irish Center on October 11 too.

Unfairly buried in all of this festival-ing is one of my favorite musicians, Tony DeMarco, a Sligo-style fiddler who is appearing at the Coatesville Cultural Society on Saturday night. Tony is magic—and I can’t say any more than that. Absolutely worth the trip to this wonderful venue.

Speaking of fiddlers, Liz Carroll will be in York giving a fiddle workshop on Sunday. Later, she’ll be at the Yorktowne Hotel giving a concert with the group Trian.

Want to learn to do Irish ceili dancing? A new class is being held this week at the E.T. Richardson Middle School in Springfield, Delaware County, and costs only $40 for a 10-week session, after which we expect to see you at the regular monthly ceilis at the Irish Center, kicking up your heels (when that step is called for, of course). On Thursday nights at the Irish Center, you can learn some ballroom dancing along with ceili dancing so you’re ready for the county balls, which are coming up soon.

Dolores O’Riordan was the voice of the Irish supergroup, The Cranberries, and she’s bringing her solo act to the World Café Live on Monday, September 28.

We bid a fond farewell to September this week, and with it goes the last of the big festivals until March, which we like to think of as St. Paddy’s month in the Philadelphia region because the fun never stops. But the craic goes on. Tune in next week!

Or, go look at the calendar. That’s where you’ll also find the details about this week’s events.

You’ve been to a couple or three festivals already and it’s only the middle of September (halfway to St.Paddy’s Day, by the way). So you think you can rest up this weekend.

But noooooo. Start your weekend off on Friday night at the free Rambling House event at the Irish Center. There’s a movie, “Shore to Shore,” about Irish music, and then there’s Irish music, including The Malones (Luke and Fintan are also quite funny, so you get a comedy act too). Free food, free admission, free fun. But you’ll have to buy your own drinks, unless you get lucky.

The Gloucester City Shamrock Festival is scheduled for Saturday. If you haven’t been to Gloucester City, it’s a short hop over the bridge from Philly and is a sweet little Irish town along the river. The festival is held at the Gloucester City Marina and features Blackthorn, among other enticements. And it only costs $5 to get in. A bargain and a great place to entertain the kids.

Also on Saturday, Paddy’s Well is holding a benefit for the Upper Darby Police Department at Casey’s Pubin Drexel Hill. It’s a personal thing: Their sound man, Dennis McNamara, was just a small boy when his dad became the first Upper Darby police office killed in the line of duty. Singer Olive McElhone will also perform.

At Downey’s in Philly, you can hear new group Handy with a Stick at 7 PM. It features many of the Brennan family and Bette Conway.

On Sunday morning, join the Emerald Pipers, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, the 69thPennsylvania Color Party re-enactors and the Heenan family as a memorial to Colonel Dennis Heenan, commander of the Irish Brigade heroes, is unveiled at Cathedral Cemetery in Philadelphia.

Also on Sunday, there’s a ceili-set dance in Wilmington, DE and a concert by the Philadelphia Orchestra to raise money for the Philadelphia police Surivor’s Fund (a Blackthorn benefit for the same cause happens in a few weeks).

On Monday, the golfers and music lovers will be mingling for a good cause—to raise money for the medical bills of Ciara Higgins, whose dad, Tommy Higgins, is well known in the Gaelic Athletic Association. Ciara was born prematurely six years ago and suffers from cerebral palsy. With the help of therapists, she’s learning to walk. But her care is expensive. A day of golf, a dinner, and music at Plymouth Country Club helps raise money for that care.

On Tuesday, former Philly Irish mover and shaker Mick Moloney is back in town. He’s at Villanova to present “If It Wasn’t For the Irish and the Jews: Irish American Music in Vaudeville and Tin Pan Alley.” A little bit lecture, a little bit music.

And on Thursday, the long Irish weekend at the shore begins. This major fundraiser for the Ancient Order of Hibernians in Cape May, held every year in N. Wildwood, features more musical acts than you can shake a shillelagh at, vendors as far as the Irish eye can see, pipers, dancers, food, drink. . .and more shamrock deely bobbers than can be found in the entire western world. It all starts on Thursday with a boxing match between the Harrowgate Club from Philadelphia and the Holy Family Boxing Club from Belfast, Northern Ireland and goes through Sunday featuring popular acts like Paddy’s Well, the Bogside Rogues, and Derek Warfield in the music tent, and various other Irish acts at other venues throughout the area. Blackthorn,for example, is booked at the Anglesea Pub which usually has its own music tent.

If your feet want to take you north, there’s another great Celtic festival next weekend in Bethlehem, the long-running Celtic Classic, which also offers highland games (caber toss, anyone?) and border collies. There’s always lots of great music. We’re going up to hear Fil Campbell, the Irish singer-songwriter who will be making an appearance on October 2 at the Irish Center. Oh, and everyone else we can hear in a few hours.

But mark your calendars for Saturday night, September 26. The incredible Tony DeMarco, master of the Sligo fiddle style, is coming to the Coatesville Cultural Center that evening. If you’re feeling a little low, it’s Tony you want to hear. His lively, foot-tapping fiddle music is just the thing to perk you up. He never fails to make us laugh and smile. And all that foot-tapping does burn calories.

Don’t forget the plays “The Bros. Flanagan” (at Fergie’s on Sansom Street through Saturday) and “Trad” (at the Adrienne on Sansom Street through the end of the month), both part of the Philly Fringe Festival. “Trad” makes an appearance at the Irish Center on October 11 under the auspices of the Philadelphia Ceili Group, which is resting up from its recent Irish Music Festival.

Of the three festivals happening this weekend, only one is sweating the weather reports. The 10^thAnnual Scottish-Irish Festival held at Green Lane Park in Green Lane, Montgomery County, is scheduled to kick off on Friday night, September 11, with Barleyjuice and Raining Hearts (an unfortunate coincidence, since it’s raining buckets as we write this).

 If all goes on as planned, you’ll see more Irish dancers that you do at a feis, an exhibition of Gaelic football, pipe bands, and great music from Barleyjuice, the Hooligans, and the Martin Family Band. The weather is supposed to clear by Sunday. We hope.

 In Mt. Holly, New Jersey, the Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day Irish Festival, which raises money for police coverage for Burlington County’s fabulous St. Patrick’s Day Parade, is scheduled for Saturday. It features the Brimingham Six, the Shantys and Jamison, and only costs $10. And it’s under a tent. 

We’ll try to keep you posted on weather updates.

 The Philadelphia Ceili Group Festival is indoors at the Irish Center in Mt. Airy so it’s going on. In fact, it started on Thursday night with a terrific concert featuring Tim Britton. On Friday night, there are some fabulous singers on tap, including Len Graham, Brian Hart, Terry Kane and Rosaleen McGill, among others. On Saturday, there are vendors, food, educational workshops, music, dancing, and an evening house party—bring your dancing shoes and your party piece.

 Otherwise this week: The plays, “The Bros. Flanagan” and “Trad” are still going on. “The Bros. Flanagan” is being staged upstairs at Fergie’s Pub at 12^th and Sansom Streets in Philadelphia. Buy one entrée and get the second free, thanks to the kindness of Fergie (Fergus Carey).  “Trad” is at the Amaryllis at the Adrienne Theatre, also on Sansom Street. It’s produced by the Inis Nua Theatre Company, which brings the best of Irish, British, and Scottish plays to the Philadelphia area. 

 If you’re gambling away your kids’ college fund at the New Sands Casino in Bethlehem, you can catch The Broken Shillelaghs at St. James Gate Pub there on Saturday night.

 On Sunday, head out to McNally’s on Rhawn Street in the city for a beef-and-beer to raise money for The Shamrocks youth football team.

 On Tuesday, Lunasa’s Kevin Crawford is giving workshops on flute and tin whistle in Vorhees, NJ. See the calendar for contact information. On Thursday, he and band mate Cillian Villaly will be performing. They’re both extraordinary musicians, and Crawford, we can tell you from experience, is one damn fine stand-up comic. A very funny guy.

You should check out our calendar not only for the details on these events, but for much, much more.This week, we added as many local Irish radio shows as we could find to the calendar so you know when to tune in. There are more than you think, from Bucks to Lehigh Counties! There are some great new classes at the Irish Center, including flute and whistle for beginners and advanced, and DADGAD Irish guitar accompaniment (DADGAD is a kind of tuning used in Irish music).

 Coming up: The Gloucester City Shamrock Festival (September 19); musician and folklorist Mick Moloney will examine the role of the Irish and Jews in the songs of Tin Pan Alley at Villanova (September 22); the AOH Irish Festival in N. Wildwood, which starts off with a boxing match (the Harrowgate Boxing Club of Philly vs. The Holy Family Boxing Club of Belfast on September 24) and continues through the weekend with great music (Paddy’s Well, the Elders, The Broken Shillelaghs,  the Bgside Rogues, the Sean Fleming Band, Derek Warfield and the Young Wolfetones, among others) food, vendors and lots of wild fun (and this year, Blackthorn returns for two days at the Anglesea Pub); the Celtic Classic in Bethlehem (September 25) featuring music, food, pipers, dancers, border collies and highland games (care to learn to toss a caber?); and the appearance of incredible Sligo-style fiddler Tony DeMarco (September 26) at the Coatesville Cultural Center.

 It’s a great month to be Irish anywhere within 100 miles of Philly. Remember, you can sleep when you’re dead.

What could be better to bring summer to a close than an Irish festival? We can’t think of anything.

 Well, there’s one this Sunday at Brittingham’s Irish Pub in Lafayette Hill. Headlining is a great local group, Paddy’s Well, with the Bogside Rogues, Olive McElhone and Jamison on hand, along with bagpipers, dancers, vendors and pipes and drums. It being Brittingham’s there’s also great food (burgers, dogs and barbecue chicken—andyou don’t even have to fire up the grill!) and beer. It’s cheap too—only $10 for all day.

 The plays “The Bros.Flanagan” and “Trad” are on stage at Fergie’s Irish Pub and the Amaryllis at the Adrienne in Center City respectively. They’re part of the Philly LiveArts and Fringe Festivals.

 On Tuesday, have a beer with Dr. Lew Losoncy, a motivational psychologist and author of “Early Poppers: The Secrets of Self-Starters”—and no, it’s not about hot pepper appetizers—at McGillins Old Ale House in Center City. It’s all part of McGillin’s 150^th birthday celebration. Losoncy cites a longtime McGillins’ employee, John Doyle, as a superstar of customer service in his book.

 Also on Tuesday night, spend “An Evening with Sean Tyrell” at Villanova University’s Connolly Center. This award-winning Irish folk singer will share both his music and his poetry with the audience.

 Starting on Thursday night, the Philadelphia Ceili Group Irish Music Festival will showcase dozens of musicians and provide workshops for everyone who wants to hone their skills (or learn a little about genealogy) through Saturday night (very, very late). There will be dancing, vendors, food and drink, and lots of great music.

 On Friday, the annual Green Lane Scottish Irish Festival kicks off a weekend of all things Celtic (even some Gaelic football!) at Green Lane Park in Green Lane.

So you can begin and end your week with festivals. But don’t get fesitvaled out. There’s more to come: Mt. Holly, Bethlehem, and North Wildwood in the next few weeks.

The Philadelphia LiveArts and Fringe Festival starts next week and features several great Irish plays.

“The Bros. Flanagan,” a play about an Irish pub in Philadelphia, debuts in, what else—an Irish pub in Philadelphia—on September 5. It’s being staged upstairs at Fergie’s Pub on Sansom Street. Tickets are $20, and there’s a buy-one-get-one-free entrée offer going on through the run of the play.

 The Inis Nua Theatre’s popular production of “Trad,” a comic look at culture shock by comedian Mark Doherty, starts on September 3 at the Amaryllis at The Adrienne Theater, also on Sansom Street.

 “Go Irish: The Purgatory Diaries of Jason Miller,” starts on September 4 at the Arch Street United Methodist Church.

 This Saturday, pay tribute to a great guy. Sean Cullen was a union steamfitter, a member of the AOH Div.88 and athletic director for Our Lady of Calvary School Athletic Association. He died in May in a motorcycle accident, and his friends are holding a memorial at the Quaker City Yacht Club, where Cullen was a member, that will also raise money for a trust fund for Cullen’s 7-year-old son, Ryan.

On Tuesday, head down to McGillins in Center City to meet New York Times bestselling author William Lashner, whose Victor Carl novels have been translated into a dozen languages. He’ll read from his book, “Blood and Bones,” whose main characters have a beer at McGillins. You can have a beer too–for $2! It’s all part of McGillin’s 150th birthday celebration. Starts at 6 PM.

 On Thursday, the Pat McGee Band will be playing at the Sellersville Theatre. Though McGee and company don’t do Celtic, he is the nephew of a prominent member of Philadelphia’s Irish community, Kathy McGee Burns, vice president of the St. Patrick’s Day Observance Association.

The first and second of four September festivals is coming up the weekend of September 10—the Green Lane Scottish-Irish Festival and the Philadelphia Ceili Group Festival of Irish Music and Dance. Pace yourself, though. Celtic Classic in Bethlehem and the AOH Irish Weekend in N. Wildwood follow close behind.

It’s going to be one busy Saturday!

First, singer and peace activist Tommy Sands is headlining at the Sellersville Theatre with his children, Fionan and Moya. If you mention you belong to a Celtic society, you pay $17 instead of $24 a ticket, so hurry to the phones right now.

There are three festivalsgoing on. The Hibernian Hunger Project Festival at Shady Brook Farm in Yardley features just about every local high-energy Celtic band, including the Bogside Rogues, the Shantys, the Birmingham Six, and Jamison. Plus, proceeds go to support this worthy charity of the Ancient Order of Hibernians which provides thousands of meals each year to the area’s homebound residents.

The Mid-Summer Scottish and Irish Music and Wine Festival brings some interesting flavors to Lancaster County’s Host Expo Center. The Bogside Rogues will be doing some traveling—they’re on the bill for this festival too. Also, Paddy’s Well, Seven Nations, Charlie Zahm, Brother, the Tartan Terrors and a number of dance schools will be there. Free wine tastings. This festival runs the whole weekend.

And in Berks County, the annual Celtic Oyster Fest takes place at St. Benedict’s Grove in Mohnton with live music and oysters (who may also be live too, at least for a while). There are other things to eat and drink, plus music.

On Sunday night, join WTMR radio hosts Vince Gallagher and Marianne MacDonald for an evening of song and dance at a benefit at the Irish Center on Emlen Street in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia..

They’re still dancing up a storm on Thursday nights at the Irish Center. Head on over to learn the foxtrot, box step, jive or even a set dance so you don’t look like a fool on the dance floor at one of the balls.

Seafood,  traveling to Ireland, and getting something for cheap—three things we love. And that’s how you can be Irish this week.

The Gloucester County AOH  Div. 1 is throwing its annual Crab Boil at Richard Rossiter Hall in National Park on Sunday and your $25 admission fee entitiles you to all the crabs you can eat, clams, hot dogs, corn on the cob, draft beer and soda. Call 856-845-6967 or email rquinn4450@aol.com to reserve your crabs (er, seat). No tickets will be sold at the door. Proceeds benefit AOH charities.

AOH Div 87 will be holding a Crab and Spaghetti Night at Kevin Donnelly Hall in Philadelphia on Thursday to raise money for AOH scholarships. We know from experience that there are some pretty fine cooks at Div. 87, so it should be a great meal.

On Sunday, the Mayo Association is sponsoring a mass to honor Our Lady of Knock at the Irish Center, 6815 Emlen Street, with a dinner to follow. A second Mass is scheduled for August 21 at Holy Name of Jesus Church in Philadelphia.

On Thursday, join Chris Woolson from Enchanting Ireland Travel at Utopia Salon in Holmes to learn about their March 2010 Pub Tour. You can see slides from previous pub tours and learn about traveling to Ireland these days, which is far cheaper than it has been.

And coming up? More seafood–the annual Celtic Oyster Fest in Berks County—and a visit by legendary musician and Irish activist Tommy Sands. That’s where the “cheap” comes in. If you say you’re a member of a “Celtic Society” you’ll save $7 on tickets to hear Sands who is touring with his son and daughter, both extraordinary musicians! Instead of paying $24, you’ll pay $17. See, it’s good to be Irish!

Next week–a wing-ding of a benefit to raise money for the Sunday Irish Radio Shows on August 23 involving food, drink, singing, dancing, and all manner of craic. Ongoing: Thursday night dance lessons at the Irish Center. We’ve been there for several and we can tell you, these folks are having a great time. A few of them are just about ready for “So You Think You Can Dance.”