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The Irish Community Comes Together for the Meehan-Guilin Family Benefit

Kathy Meehan-Guilin with Her Father Jimmy Meehan

This past Sunday, close to 500 people gathered at the Irish Center to show their support for Kathy Meehan-Guilin. The daughter of Donegal native Jimmy Meehan, one of the most beloved members of Philadelphia’s Irish Community, Kathy was diagnosed with breast cancer in February of 2014, and it’s been a long road. From April to July, the mother of three children (Jimmy, 18; Moira, 14 and Anna, 13) underwent chemotherapy treatment, in early September she had a mastectomy and she’s about to begin six weeks of radiation. And in the midst of all of this, her husband of 19 years, Dave, was laid off from his job.

Among the Irish, there is a particularly strong tradition of community, and when someone in the extended family is in trouble, people come together. So when word got out last spring about Kathy’s diagnosis, the Irish in Philadelphia mobilized. Calls were made, a committee was formed and Jim Boyle and Liam Hegarty took on the role of co-chairing a fund-raising effort.

“Tom Boyle called me and said, ‘Jimmy Meehan’s daughter needs help,'” Liam explained. “That was all it took. Thirty people showed up at the first meeting. Historically, you start out with a large group of volunteers, and people fall away. Not with this group. You couldn’t go wrong with this group. Everyone pitched in immediately, everyone took on a job.”

The fundraising initially began by reaching out with a leaflet that members of the group took to local parishes and grocery stores, telling Kathy’s story. Volunteers spent untold hours collecting money and selling raffle tickets. Vince Gallagher and Marianne MacDonald talked about Kathy’s story on their Sunday Irish radio shows. Leslie Alcock, who is the Director of Community Programs at the Irish Immigration Center of Philadelphia, was appointed the group’s Public Relations person, and set up a Facebook page and sent out newsletters. In June, the planning began for Sunday’s big event—a culmination that brought out everything that is wonderful about a community that knows how to pull together.

The Irish Center donated the space, Paddy Rooney’s Catering in Havertown donated the food, local musicians donated their time and talents, raffle donations poured in from local pubs and restaurants and individuals who donated baskets of goods as well as larger items that included a bicycle, a signed Donegal Jersey and tickets to an Eagles game.

“I’m overwhelmed,” Kathy said. “I’m amazed at how many people showed up. The way these people have been so generous, it’s a source of strength. It’s really lifted my spirits—people just want to help. Strangers, people I don’t even know. I don’t know how to thank everybody. People come up to me and say, ‘You’re Kathy, Jimmy’s daughter, I know your father.’ People have been so good. I feel cocooned, wrapped in so much love.”

Jimmy Meehan understands: “It’s the Irish Community. With this community, you can’t lose. We’ve been a very active and close-knit family for years. It’s how you were raised. You take care of family and neighbors and anybody close to you. If a time arises when someone needs help, we’ll take care of each other.”

And Leslie Alcock understands why so many people want to help the Meehan-Guilin family: “Everyone knows how much Jimmy has done for the community over the years. He always looks out for his friends, he’s always so kind, the first to volunteer and do anything to help out; he’s never just sitting back.You ask him to do something and he always says yes.”

The community isn’t finished helping yet. As Kathy begins her radiation treatment, a “Take Them a Meal” program has been set up. The schedule can be accessed by going to the website: TakeThemAMeal.com and typing in the name “Meehan-Guilin” and password “4829.”

As Leslie summed it up, ” All the work that went into this, all the time and energy, it warms your heart. There’s so much good in the world.”

For more information, visit the Meehan-Guilin Family Benefit FB page

Some photos from the day:

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October 10, 2014 by Lori Lander Murphy

History, News

A Day for Duffy’s Cut

The memorial at Wesst Laurel Hill Cemetery where some of the victims are buried.

You’ll learn everything there is to know about Duffy’s Cut—its history, the songs, poems, novels, and plays written about it, films made and in the works, and even view artifacts recovered from the archeological dig—at a special day-long symposium at Immaculata College on Saturday, October 11.

Sponsored by Irish Network-Philadelphia, the day starts at 1 PM with screenings of the Kilmaine Saints’ video of a song about the 57 Irish immigrant railroad workers who died or were killed during a cholera epidemic in Malvern in 1832. That’s followed by screenings of “The Ghosts of Duffy’s Cut” and “Death on the Railroad,” two documentaries about the event and the work of Bill and Frank Watson and the late John Ahtes, who spearheaded the investigation into Duffy’s Cut which led to the discovery of mass graves not far from the Immaculata campus, where Bill Watson is a history professor.

The Duffy’s Cut Museum, which contains artifacts including clay pipes, coffin nails, and railroad spikes, will be open throughout the day. Take a virtual tour here.

Music will be provided by Marian Makins, Rosaleen McGill, Vince Gallagher, Pat Kenneally, and Mickey Coleman, as well as the Watson brothers on bagpipes. There will be two panel discussions, including one on Duffy’s Cut and the Pennsylvania Railroad and the other on “Duffy’s Cut: Why It atters,” which will feature CBS3 reporter Walt Hunter, and former Warner Brothers’ VP Bill Daly and actor and Drexel film studies professor Pat McDade, who, with Daily, has formed a company, duffyscutfilm, which is producing a feature film on this 19th century tragedy.

Novelist Kristen Walker will read excerpts from her forthcoming novel, “Between Darkness and The Tide,” which was inspired by Duffy’s Cut. Kelly Clark will be reading from her forthcoming book, “Duffy’s Cut—A Novel” and John Bohannon will read selected poems from “Barmaids of Tir na Nog.”

Ticket prices, which include a meal and a beverage provided by Tellus360 of Lancaster, range from $35 for students and seniors to $120 for the event and a IN-Philadelphia membership. Proceeds from the event will help pay for the next phase of the Duffy’s Cut dig—to recover the bodies of 50 of the victims.

So far, the remains of only seven have been recovered. Six were interred in a plot donated by West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd.

The seventh, identified as teenager John Ruddy from Inishowen, County Donegal, was buried in a family plot owned by Vincent Gallagher, president of the Philadelphia Irish Center, in Ardara, County Donegal.

To learn more about the second phase of the Duffy’s Cut dig, read our story.

Photos of some of the Duffy’s Cut artifacts, including bones, are below.

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October 10, 2014 by Denise Foley

News

#IrishCenterSaved!

Everyone their feet for the “Siege of Ennis” set dance.

The number you’ve been waiting for. It was $60,000, give or take. While the final tally isn’t in, it looks like the 3-month “Save the Irish Center” campaign not only met its goal of $50,000, but exceeded it by about $10,000. That made the final fundraiser of the year—an open house at the center in Philadelphia on Sunday—a celebration.

About 200 people cycled in and out of the center over 6 hours, buying raffle tickets, tasting scone bread, dancing, clapping, and—if you were a kid—getting their faces intricately painted with butterflies, tiger muzzles, or fanciful Celtic designs. The day opened with a full Irish breakfast and the broadcasting of the Sunday Irish Radio Shows from the Fireside Room—named for its big working fireplace–in the rambling center in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of the city.

The campaign was launched following a citywide reassessment that raised the center’s taxes by 800 percent (later, through the help of attorneys from the city’s Brehon Society, an organization of Irish lawyers and judges, reduced to a 300 percent hike) and a notice from the city Board of Health that the kitchen range hood—a $22,000 item—had to be replaced to meet code.

The Center, founded in 1958, makes money as an event hall, taking in about a quarter of a million dollars a year. However, the building is in dire need of maintenance and its size makes it expensive to heat and cool. It is the home of the county societies, the Emerald Society Pipes and Drums, the Delaware Valley Hall of Fame, the Philadelphia Ceili Group, and the Cummins School of Irish Dance. Dozens of dancers come each week to learn and practice ceili dancing with instructors John Shields and Cass Tinney and audiences drawn from both within and outside the Irish community attend concerts by top-name and rising traditional musicians brought to the region by the Ceili Group.

A small group of concerned people from all parts of the community and members of the Irish Center board met several months ago at the home of Kathy McGee Burns, president of the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame, to come up with a strategy to raise money to get the center over its fiscal crisis and, ultimately, to help it achieve a more secure financial footing for the future. A combination of fundraisers, raffles, a web-based crowd-sourcing campaign via gofundme.com, and a direct mail appeal raised more than $50,000 before Sunday’s final fundraiser, which edged it well over the top. Michael Bradley, director of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, this week pledged $300 to tip the total to and even $60,000.

The first event was a fundraiser at Maloney’s Pub in Ardmore, followed by a Night of Comedy with New York-based, Irish-born comic Mick Thomas and friends, a Quizzo Night at the Irish Center, and, finally, the Irish Center open house.

At the open house, four dance schools—Cummins, Coyle, McDade-Cara, Shades of Green—performed (and many joined in for a center-wide “Siege of Ennis” set dance), along with John and Michael Boyce of Blackthorn with their sister, Karen Boyce McCollum, a member of the fundraising committee, and at least once with their uncle, box player Kevin McGillian; Kathy DeAngelo and Dennis Gormley with two members of their Next Generation group of young trad players, Keegan Loesel and Olivia Lisowski; fiddler Bette Conway; bodhran player Bill Whitman; Irish Center President Vince Gallagher and his band; and the Emerald Society Pipes and Drums.

There were 11 entries in the Irish Philadelphia-sponsored scone-baking contest—judged by Tom Wyatt, Irish Immigration Center Executive Director Siobhan Lyons, and WXPN Kids’ Corner host, Kathy O’Connell—and the winners were: first place, Mary Shea; second place, Bridie Brady; third place, Denise Byrnes; and honorable mention, Jimmy Meehan. Shea, who won $100 for her first-ever scone, donated the money to the Irish Center.

The Irish Coffee Shop of Upper Darby catered the event which was organized by Frank Hollingsworth with other members of the fundraising committee.

This year’s fundraising activities may be at an end, but the campaign is a two-year project and there will be other events in 2015 to help raise an additional $50,000. With the help of the Brehons, the Center’s board is in the process of filing for a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit designation which will help defray some future costs, make it eligible for grants, and allow all donations to be tax deductible.

The fundraising committee is seeking suggestions and recommendations from the Irish community on ways the Center can better respond to your needs. If you have ideas on ways the Center can become more of hub for Irish events in the Philadelphia region, you can send them to us (Jeff Meade, Lori Lander Murphy and I serve on the committee) at either dmfoley1950@gmail.com or irishphilly@gmail.com , or through the website or our Facebook page.

And if you couldn’t be at Sunday’s open house, you can catch a glimpse of some of the fun via our photo essay below, and watch the moments we caught on video.

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October 3, 2014 by Denise Foley

News, People

Quizzo Night at the Irish Center

“Is Feidir Linn” AKA “Yes We Can,” The Winning Quizzo Team

Think Quizzo is only an American invention? It’s not. The team trivia game played in bars, churches and other venues may be all the rage now, especially here in Philadelphia, but its roots are planted firmly in Ireland.

The history of the game, known as Table Quiz or Pub Quiz in Ireland, harks back to the 1950’s and the introduction of television. Before most families could afford to buy their own TV sets, the pubs became the the place to go not only for eating, drinking and socializing—but also for calling out answers to the popular quiz shows of the day. Pub owners, never ones to miss an opportunity for bringing in more patrons, began offering their own live quiz nights. And thus a tradition was born.

So when the Commodore Barry Center AKA The Irish Center here in Philly was looking for fun and innovative ways to raise money for its fundraising campaign this summer, Marianne MacDonald and Tom Ivory came up with the idea to host a Quizzo night. Years ago, the Center used to host Quizzo games, but the crowd outgrew the ballroom’s capacity and moved to another location. The success of last Friday’s event, however, is poised to herald in a new era of Irish Center Quizzo nights.

“Coming up with the idea was easy,” Tom explained. “They are the go-to quick fundraiser for sports clubs and things like that in Ireland.”

The idea may have been an easy one, but the questions weren’t. Covering everything from history, pop culture, literature, sports, politics and movies, the ratio was split between Irish and American trivia. The most difficult category? Hands down, sports. The ratio was about 70% American sports to 30% Irish sports questions, but they were still brain busters.

But with a full house—there were 18 tables of six players each—the night was a rousing success and raised about $2500 for the Irish Center’s fundraising effort. The Plough and the Stars, one of Philadelphia’s most popular Irish pubs, not only donated $1,000 to the event but also provided six $50 gift certificates to the winning team. And that winning team was led by Siobhan Lyons of the Immigration Center. The team, named “Is Feidir Linn,” which is Irish for “Yes We Can,” lived up to its moniker.

“I think one of the hardest rounds was the round about Philadelphia,” Siobhan revealed. “Had it not been for Cathy Moffit, who was only supposed to be on our team as decoration, we would have been destroyed. It was pure fluke that we ended up as the Quizzo Dream Team.”

But there were plenty of prizes to go around—all donated by individuals and local businesses—and many teams were able to win for feats such as having a perfect score of ten out of ten for a single round. That particular accolade went to the third place team, The Withered Roses of Tralee, made up of Kathy Guerin Scriber, Demi Brooks, Vince Gallagher, Carmel Boyce, Mary Beth Phillips and Lori Murphy.

Tom and Marianne had a lot of fun coming up with those formidable questions, and have promised more Quizzo nights in the future.

“Yes,” Tom announced. “We will do it again. Definitely.”

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September 26, 2014 by Lori Lander Murphy

News

Gwyneth and Rhys MacArthur’s Most Excellent Saturday Adventure

Gwyneth’s favorite picture

We put Gwyneth and Rhys MacArthur to work on Saturday wandering the rooms and halls of the Philadelphia Irish Center, doing their best to document everything they saw at the 2014 Philadelphia Ceili Group Festival.

Tough job, we know.

They spent the day shooting photos of face-painted kiddies, talented young bodhran and flute players and singers, sitting in while musicians of all ages banged out jigs and reels, taking in the marvelous dance steps of the Cummins School dancers, and munching on genuine Irish chow.

And then, at the very end of a long, wearying day, a grand finale concert featuring some of the finest Irish musicians on the planet, the singer Sean Keane and a hot young band, FullSet.

You’re wondering where to sign up.

Alas, too late, the festival is over, but Gwyn and Rhys are happy to share their memories.

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September 18, 2014 by Jeff Meade

Music, News

How Big Was the Saturday Night Festival Concert?

Sean Keane in concert … and, no, he wasn’t telling a fish story.

Sean Keane opened a night of incredible music at the Philadelphia Irish Center, and found a hugely enthusiastic audience, grateful to spend time with an old friend.

Then FullSet, an incredible band of multi-talented young people, hit the stage and blew the roof off the doors. It’s a pretty safe bet they made more than a few friends of their own, eager to see them again.

We have lots of photos from a great night or Irish tunes.

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September 18, 2014 by Jeff Meade

News, Sports

Fight Night at the Festival

A Holy Family boxer, getting ready to rumble

It was a packed house at the big tent set up behind the Canstatter Club in Northeast Philly. Outside the tent, it was unbearably hot. UNDER the tent, it was like that scene in “Bridge on the River Kwai,” where they lock Alec Guinness in a small dark iron box in the hot sun in the middle of a Burma jungle for days.

Amazingly, the heat didn’t seem to bother the Harrowgate fighters of Philadelphia—or the Holy Family boxers of Belfast who came across the cold dark Atlantic to face them for a long night of tightly scripted bouts. And they were the ones who were exerting themselves.

It was a raucous affair that seemed to draw a lot of spectators, old boxing hands who really knew what they were looking at, along with a lot of families who probably knew less, but thought it might be a nice night out.

Unless you were getting your body pounded in the ring, it really was a good night out.

See for yourself.

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September 12, 2014 by Jeff Meade

News

The First Northeast Philly Irish Festival

Frank, Claire, and Caralin

And what a great place for it.

Northeast Irish Philly is awash in Irish, and they came out on Sunday to listen to groups like the Sean Fleming Band and the Bogside Rogues, shop for tasty Irish treats, jewelry, T-shirts and other goodies. The Fitzpatrick Dancers from Bucks County strutted their stuff from time to time.

On a miserably hot day–and we’ll probably all be wishing for a miserably hot day when we’re all breaking out our snow-blowers in February–many festival-goers found relief from the heat in the shady picnic area. Handily, it was right next to the beer pavilion.

There was also a birthday celebration. Let’s all wish Peg McKenna a happy 60th, and also wish for another Northeast Philly Irish Festival next year.

And a bit cooler weather.

Here are photos from the day.

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September 12, 2014 by Jeff Meade

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