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News, People

Honoring the Memory of a Fallen Officer

Irish Thunder Pipes and Drums to perform.

Back on September 19, 2012, Irish Thunder Drum Major Pete Hand joined with other members of the band, and pipers from throughout the Delaware Valley, for a solemn occasion: to bid farewell to Plymouth Township Police Officer Brad Fox. Fox was gunned down by a hit-and-run suspect September 13, just shy of his 35th birthday.

Fox left behind his wife Lynsay, who at the time was expecting the family’s second child. On March 25, Bradley Michael Fox Jr. was born, the new younger brother to older sister Kadence.

Ever since the funeral, the band’s sponsoring Ancient Order of Hibernians division has wanted to find a way, not to mourn Brad Fox’s death, but to celebrate his life and honor his memory.

On Saturday afternoon and on into the night, they’re going to do just that with a “Celtic Salute” at the division’s hall in Swedesburg. Proceeds from the celebration will benefit Fox’s family.

AOH recognition of fallen officers is nothing new, says Hand.

“A few years ago, when police officers were killed in Philadelphia, we ran a fundraiser for the Fraternal Order of Police. Because Officer Fox was a local resident, we wanted to do something like that again. A lot of us wanted to do it right after the funeral, but the family asked us to stand down until well after the holidays. We chose a date in the spring, and the date was agreed upon with the family.”

Hand knows Brad Fox would have approved of a Celtic-themed celebration. “We know from his co-workers that he loved the bagpipes. Irish Thunder was the main organizer of the pipe bands at his funeral. We had 80 pipers and drummers. We’ll be playing for him again on Saturday.”

And a big event it will be. Along with Irish Thunder, many local Irish bands and musicians are donating their time and talent, including the Paul Moore Band, Belfast Connection, Oliver McElhone, No Irish Need Apply, Fisher and Maher, the John Forth Band, and more. The Coyle Dancers will also perform. Additional music will be presented by DJ Sean Givnish.

Much of the entertainment will take place in a big tent in the parking lot behind the Hibernians’ HQ at 342 Jefferson Street, with more music and fun in the AOH hall, and downstairs in the lounge. It’ll all go on, rain or shine, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Hand says the division wants to do what it can to ease the family’s pain. “We want them to have anything they need.”

Tickets are $30, which includes beer, wine, soda, and hot dishes.

To purchase tickets or make a donation, contact:

Division President Ron Trask
215-804-8323
or
rontrask@comcast.net

May 2, 2013 by Jeff Meade

News, People

Remembering Bishop Joseph P. McFadden

Bishop Joseph McFadden, chaplain emeritus of the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade, joined St. Thomas More alums in singing the school song.

Harrisburg Bishop Joseph P. McFadden, a well-known and loved member of Philadelphia’s Irish community before his upstate appointment in June 2010, has passed away. His death was announced today by the diocese.

Bishop McFadden, who served as chaplain of the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade, died unexpectedly while attending a meeting of the Catholic Bishops of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

We interviewed Bishop McFadden not long after his installation. He could not have been more gracious and down-to-earth. We’re grateful to have known him.

Here is the interview.

An “average Joe” is about to helm the Harrisburg Diocese.

Of course, Philadelphia Auxiliary Bishop Joseph P. McFadden is really far from ordinary. In naming him this week to become the 10th bishop of Harrisburg, Pope Benedict XVI surely must have recognized Bishop McFadden’s solid record of accomplishment.

McFadden has been a priest for 29 years, but he was someone special right from the word go. After a brief stint as assistant pastor of Irish St. Laurence Parish in Highland Park, Delaware County, he become administrative secretary to then Cardinal Krol in 1982. Less than 10 years later, he was appointed honorary prelate to Pope John Paul II—as a monsignor.

He later served as president of Cardinal O’Hara High School, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Downington and, in June 2004, auxiliary bishop under Cardinal Justin Rigali.

Not bad for a guy who grew up in St. Rose of Lima parish in West Philly, graduate of St. Thomas More, and high school basketball coach.

McFadden, contacted Friday just before he left to catch a flight to Rome, was characteristically humble when asked about his sure and steady rise. “For most priests the goal is to answer the call of God and to be of service to Jesus and the preaching of his gospel as a parish priest,” he said. “I don’t think a young man focuses on becoming a bishop. I didn’t. As bishop, a priest is still called to preach the gospel, but it means that you have responsibility of a larger flock, a larger group of people. when God gives you responsibility, you expect to have to answer to that responsiblilty. It’s one thing for an individual to open himself to the grace of God. It’s quite another thing to be responsible for shepherding other people in response to the same call.”

Throughout his rise to the top, Joseph McFadden apparently has not forgotten his humble roots, said Michael Bradley, director of the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade, who has known him for a long time—including McFadden’s more recent service as parade chaplain and chaplain emeritus.

“He (McFadden) was president of Cardinal O’Hara when I was athletic director at Broomall,” said Bradley. “We knew of each each other for a long time. He went to Tommy Moore, and my dad went there. But we became close in the ’90s.”

Over the years, Bradley could see how much McFadden loved the Philly parade. The future bishop would march every year with the group from O’Hara. In 2007, when chaplain Father Kevin Trautner died, Bradley named him chaplain. That first year, McFadden spent some time providing commentary in the CBS3 booth. “They raved about him,” said Bradley.

What has appealed most to Bradley about this well-connected prelate, who in his time has tackled some nettlesome issues—including the closing of Cardinal Dougherty and Northeast Catholic high schools—is how down-to-earth he is. “I’ve always felt that he is a regular guy who became a bishop,” said Bradley. “He has an ability, when you’re talking to him, to make you feel like he’s your best friend.”

Bradley, for one, is not happy to see this best friend go. While acknowledging that McFadden’s promotion to preside over the Harrisburg Diocese is a great honor, Bradley wishes the Vatican had looked inside the Harrisburg Diocese to “hire from within. He asked, “Why can’t they get their own good guy?”

Philly’s “good guy” understands that his local friends might miss him. At the same time, he hopes he’ll be able to maintain at least some of his ties to the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade while forging new ties with the Irish-Americans of Harrisburg. “I would like to hope I can,” he said. “I love the Philly parade.

My parents, as you know, were born in Ireland. I’m proud of my Irish heritage. the parade has been such a great experience the last several years. It really has become a wonderful event in Philadelphia.”

May 2, 2013 by Jeff Meade

Dance, News

Sending Their Love To Jane

Colleen, Tessa, and Caroline Crossed

It was 2 PM on Sunday at the Marple Sports Center, the air was filled with slip jig tunes, and there were so many girls in their sparkling feis dresses you almost needed sunglasses indoors. But the most popular spot at the annual Four Provinces Feis, which drew 1,000 competitors from the east coast, wasn’t around the dance arenas. It was a table where kids could write a get-well card for Jane.

“Except for the really little ones,” said Marg King, who was overseeing the card-signing, all the dancers knew about 7-year-old Jane Richard, the little Irish dancer from Milton, MA, who lost a leg in the April 15 Boston Marathon bombing. Jane’s brother, Martin, 8, was killed in the blast as they stood at the finish line with their parents and another brother, who was uninjured. Their mother, Denise, was also hurt.

On Sunday, the dancers and their parents were buying so many of the Philadelphia Loves Boston t-shirts, hastily made up for the occasion, that there were no more small and medium sizes to be had. “They’re gone, sold out,” said King, obviously happy.

They were snapped up by people like Colleen Crossed of West Chester, whose two daughters, Tessa and Caroline, were competing. “I ran the Boston Marathon three times and remember it well,” Crossed said. “My kids were there at the finish line, just like those kids. It’s hard to imagine.” She shook her head. “But this is so nice,” she said, nodding toward the t-shirt table. “Really nice. You feel like you can do something.”

More than 100 individuals and organizations apparently feel the same way. They’ve signed on to support the “Philadelphia Loves Boston” campaign, founded by McDade Cara School of Irish Dance owner Sheila McGrory Sweeney, along with St. Patrick’s Day Parade Director Michael Bradley and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 business manager John Dougherty. The proceeds from the sale of the t-shirts will go to the Richard Family Fund, as will the entry fees from Sunday’s Charity Treble Reel Competition (which was won by McDade Cara dancers, wearing their Jane t-shirts).

“I sent out an email last week to everyone on my list and within 24 hours we had more than 100 respond to say they wanted to support this,” said Bradley, who hustled the t-shirts into production within 24 hours too.

One of the first to respond “in about 3 seconds.” said Bradley, was Ken Casey, front man for Boston’s premier Celtic rock band, the Dropkick Murphy’s, and founder of The Claddagh Fund, which raises money for under-funded nonprofits in Boston and Philadelphia, where the DKMs have a huge fan base. The band has already raised more than $100,000 for the Richard Family Fund, to help defray their medical costs. “He got back to me and said, we’’ll do whatever you need,” said Bradley.

While the t-shirts aren’t available by mail, you can pick yours up on June 2 at the Irish Festival at Penn’s Landing, where dancers from all the Irish dancing schools will be there to perform en masse as a tribute to Jane. You can also donate to the Richard Family Fund. Checks made out to the Richard Family Fund can be sent to PO Box 477, Paoli, PA 19301.

May 2, 2013 by Jeff Meade

News, Sports

First Rule of Fight Night

Yes, Jackie “The Hammer” Daley won her match.

The Irish Center ballroom turned into a boxing ring last Saturday night for the second annual Young Irelands Gaelic Football Club’s “Fight Night.” Except for the mirrored balls on the ceiling and the occasional glimpses of the Irish countryside backdrop on the stage, you would have sworn you were at Madison Square Garden.

There were 10 match-ups of male and female amateur boxers and while they pulled no punches–literally, as you could tell by the blood–the purpose was and remained entertainment.

The Young Irelands has been playing Gaelic football in the Philadelphia area for about 28 years.

Check out our photos above and pretend you were there!

May 2, 2013 by Jeff Meade

News

Philadelphia Loves Jane

Logo for the Philadelphia Loves Boston campaign for the Richard Family.

Across the country, the Irish dance community has come together to support 7-year-old Jane Richard, a budding Irish dancer, who lost her leg in the Boston Marathon bombing on April 15. Jane’s brother, Martin, 8, was one of three people killed in the blast which also injured her mother, Denise.

And, of course, Philadelphia is sending the love. Last week, the Cummins School of Irish Dance raised more than $8,500 for the Richard Family Fund at its Feis at the Beach in Wildwood, NJ. Local schools have also sent t-shirts to a group that calls itself “Wrapping Jane in Our Love,” which is turning those shirts into a quilt for Jane, who has been an Irish dance student at Clifden Academy in Milton, MA.

This week, Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade Director Michael Bradley, along with Sheila Sweeney of the McDade-Cara School of Irish Dance in Delaware County and John Dougherty, business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 98, sent out a joint email inviting other Irish organizations to join “Philadelphia Loves Boston,” an effort to raise money for the family who are facing crushing medical bills. Checks made out to the Richard Family Fund can be sent to PO Box 477, Paoli, PA 19301. The fund, started by family and friends of the Richards, has raised more than $300,000 so far.

The campaign will culminate with a dance event at the annual Penn’s Landing Irish Festival, which will be held on June 2 this year. One child from each of the region’s many schools will be on stage to dance for Jane and there will be specially designed t-shirts on sale, the proceeds of which will go to the fund.

“We sent the email out on Monday and we already have 100 people who’ve pledged their support,” says Sweeney. “We have four checks in the post office box already too. The Irish community in Philadelphia is really, really generous.”

McDade-Cara’s annual Four Provinces Feis, to be held this weekend at Marple Sports Arena, 611 Parkway Drive in Broomall, was already raising money for a victim of Hurricane Sandy, but, says Sweeney, they decided to donate all entry fees for the Charity Treble Reel to the Richard family. “Normally you have to register for the feis a month ahead of time, but we changed it so you can enter the Charity Treble Reel that day,” she says. “We have 10 groups so far, and more than 1,000 kids are entered altogether. We’ll also have donation buckets for those who want to donate.”

Jane Richard remains in the hospital in Boston, though her mother has been released. Her brother was buried this week in a private ceremony . In this amateur video, you can see Jane being ministered to by an off-duty fireman who was in a coffee shop at the time of the second blast, which struck the Richard family who were watching the race behind the barricades.

The story of the Richard family would have been touching whether or not Jane Richard was an Irish dancer, but Sweeney admits that connection brought it closer to home. “First as a mother,” she says, “and then as someone who teaches 100 students a week, it’s just so hard to fathom. When you look at these little girls, they’re so sweet, so innocent. I’m just happy to see all the Irish dance schools coming together for this cause.”

April 26, 2013 by Jeff Meade

News

Rust in Peace, Iron Lady

Maggie gets a big send-off.

Pallbearers usually don’t grin as if they’ve just won the lottery, but these were not just any pallbearers, and the deceased was not just any stiff.

Saturday afternoon, with the obligatory piper blasting out patriotic Irish tunes, several “mourners” toted a silver casket through the dining room of the Red Rooster in Northeast Philadelphia and unceremoniously dropped it down onto a couple of chairs in front of the stage.

The casket was actually a much lighter Halloween decoration version of the real thing, and probably a good thing. It was much too flimsy to have held the remains of Margaret Thatcher, the late but still universally reviled former British prime minister, who died in early April.

Let’s just say the Iron Lady was there in spirit, and have done with it.

The mood inside the pub was celebratory, which is exactly what “fake wake” organizer and well-known local musician Fintan Malone wanted.

And he’s wanted it for a long time.

Malone first broached the subject six or seven years ago, when he was playing at the Shanachie Pub in Ambler, owned by friend and fellow musician Gerry Timlin.

“I said to him, when Maggie Thatcher kicks the bucket, would you think about hosting the wake? He said it was a great idea.”

The Shanachie has long since closed, so Malone was casting about for an alternative pub. He settled on the popular Red Rooster. “It was all a rush thing,” Malone said. “We didn’t have time to get it into the Irish Edition, and the Red Rooster already had a band booked for that afternoon.”

Malone worked with the pub to get the band rescheduled, and then he lined up some friends to play for several hours. The acts included the Celtic Connection, singer Terry Kane, the Bogside Rogues, and more.

Obviously, there was never any love lost between local Irish and the late Mrs. Thatcher. Suffice to say Fintan Malone was not the president of her fan club.

“I’ve been an Irish republican all my life,” Malone says, “so I suppose you could call this more of a celebration than a wake.”

If you couldn’t be there for the festivities, fear not. We have photos. (Above.) And our friend Jim Loque shot a pretty nice video for us. (Below.)

April 24, 2013 by Jeff Meade

News, People

They Bopped Till They Dropped

Someone needed a nap!

If you didn’t make it to the Derry Social on Sunday, you can see what fun you missed in our photos of the event, which featured music, dancing, face-painting, raffles, food, drink, and a chance to buy Newbridge jewelry. Photos by Gwyneth MacArthur.

April 19, 2013 by Jeff Meade

Music, News

Coming Soon!

Philly’s next big Irish event.

Like many Irish-American musicians, Frank Daly, a Mayfair boy, grew up listening to Irish music. “My grandmother used to play the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem all the time,” recalls the lead vocalist for the popular Celtic rock group, Jamison. “I hated it.”

You didn’t see that coming, did you? Yet Daly’s story probably resonates with many Irish-Americans who were force-fed music—from interminable slow airs to diddly-die tunes—that couldn’t hold a candle to the rock (or, in Daly’s case, punk) they were hearing on the radio or watching on MTV.

Then, something happened to change his thinking. “I’ll tell you the moment when I said, ‘Wow, this is awesome.’ It was seeing the Pogues [the ‘80s Celtic band from London] play ‘White City.’ I remember watching and going, Oh. My. God. I bought the Pogue’s cassette and played it until it snapped and then I bought it again. It was like, Irish songs can be fun! And then, as I got older, I began to appreciate the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, the Bothy Band, and Solas.”

That was, in part, the impetus for Daly and Jamison fiddler C.J. Mills, to launch American Paddy’s LLC—to lure those Irish Americans who had lost or never connected with their culture by setting it to a different beat.

Their first show was the very successful An American Celtic Christmas, featuring a Mrs. Murphy’s chowder of performers, from traditional and Celtic rock to hip-hop with some Irish step-dancing sprinkled in, held last December at Bensalem High School.

Their second production is on an even grander scale. The Young Dubliners are headlining The Philadelphia Fleadh (fleadh is an Irish word meaning festival) at the Ed Kelly Amphitheater in Pennypack Park in Philadelphia on June 22. There will be five different stages, each highlighting a different aspect of Irish culture, including Celtic rock, traditional music, and dance, as well as an international bagpipe event, sheepdog demonstrations (“yes, they’ll be bringing sheep,” Daly laughs) and traditional sessions and workshops. Right now, the bill also includes Jamison, Blackthorn, the Bogside Rogues, Galway Guild, The John Byrne Band, Raymond Coleman, and Seamus Kelleher, and seven DJs spinning all kinds of music. More is being added every day.

“The idea is that people who aren’t regularly exposed to the Irish culture and who are coming to see DJ Freezie because she’s great will see the ceili stage and think, hey, that’s awesome too and it becomes a cool segue into the Irish culture,” says Daly, who left his job as marketing director of the Kildare’s Pub chain in October last year to become a fulltime musician and entrepreneur.

He was inspired last year by visiting the Dublin, Ohio, Irish festival which sprawls over 29 acres and draws 100,000 people from all over the country, and Bethlehem’s Celtic Classic, a three-day event in September. “There’s no reason why Philly can’t have the same thing,” says Daly. “Philadelphia is a great Irish American city, with the third or fourth largest Irish population in the country. I can foresee in four or five years this becoming a destination festival like those, where people are coming from out of town to attend.”

Big dreams? Maybe. But when three people started Bethlehem’s Celtic Classic in 1988, it drew 30,000 people, even though the temperatures dipped down into the 30s. Last year, more than a quarter of a million people showed up—many of them people who have kept the festival’s dates permanently on their calendars for decades.

Daly is hopeful, largely because of what he’s seen on the Irish music scene in Philadelphia. “CJ and I did [St. Patrick’s Day] parade benefits all throughout the city in March and we met a lot of people who want desperately to be part of the Irish community,” says Daly. “For some of them, this may be how they start.”

Tickets, which cost $18-$20, are on sale now and you can find out more at the Philadelphia Fleadh website.

April 19, 2013 by Jeff Meade

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