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The 2012 Wren Party

Haley Richardson on fiddle.

 

The Wren Party tradition is alive and well–and is likely to remain so if the photos of the December 26 traditional Irish event marking the feast day of St. Stephen are any indication. Those musicians were kids! Really. And talented ones too, including All-Ireland qualifiers Keegan Loesel, Haley Richardson, and Emily Safko. Along with the music, there was dancing (and some of the dancers were kids too!) and the annual crazy Wren boy hat parade and competition, which draws more silly hats every year.

We have  thosephotos, thanks to Lynette Loesel and John Kelly.

January 4, 2013 by
Music, News

Reeling In the Years

Darin Kelly

Darin Kelly

Visit Fergie’s Pub on any Saturday afternoon, and the place will be rocking to traditional Irish music, performed by some of the city’s best players. Fiddlers, flutists, accordion players and more have called the pub home for a decade.

This Saturday (January 5), they’ll be positively blowing the doors off the joint as local musicians from all over the place descend upon the standout Sansom Street bar and restaurant to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Fergie’s traditional Irish music session.

Session anchor and guitarist Darin Kelly sees the big blowout as a way to thank owners Fergus Carey and Wajih Abed. Without them, he says, the Fergie’s session wouldn’t have lasted 10 weeks.

“I thought it would be a nice way to celebrate the support that Fergie and Wajih have given to traditional music for 10 years, which is like 80 years in human time,” says Kelly. “Sessions tend to live their functional lives in dog years, as trends come and go. But Fergie and the whole staff have been nothing but supportive and enthusiastic from the jump. I wanted to invite everyone who has been a part of the session since those first notes, and give Fergie our expression of thanks, in the best way we can.”

Gratitude perhaps goes both ways. When Fergie’s opened in 1994, Irish tenor banjo player Jack Crowley anchored the session. Then, for a while, there was a lull. Then, in January of 2003, Kelly—primarily known as a celebrated classical trumpeter—approached Fergie about re-starting the Saturday afternoon live music session. Fergie was enthusiastic from the start, he says. Soon, he and Brendan Callahan—a four-time all-Ireland medalist fiddler now living in Boston—were anchoring one of the jumpingest Irish sessions anywhere, let alone the city.

Like all traditional Irish music sessions, the Fergie’s Saturday afternoon get-together also serves a social purpose for the small core group of regulars who play there, off in a far corner of the room.

“People are there to enjoy each other’s company, swap stories, bust each others’ stones, and generally enjoy a good couple of hours of great music in a rare place without television,” says Kelly. “Fergie’s is pretty small, so naturally our group of players has remained fairly tight-knit. The regular players are people I’ve known and played with for years, and I’ve learned everything I know from these people. And we generally like each other—a rarity. Bottom line, there is better traditional Irish music on a consistent basis coming out of Fergie’s than any other session I know of around here.”

After 10 years, Kelly has piled up a guitar case full of fond memories. He recalls in particular the times when fiddler and dancer Dan Stacey would lace up his hard shoes and take to the floor. “The look on peoples’ faces when he would literally make the room shake was fantastic.”

Sometimes, the vibe was so irresistible, the session blew right through the scheduled 7 p.m. stop. “One night I remember playing pretty much non-stop until 9:45,” Kelly says. “The absolutely sublime moments of music I had with Brendan particularly are memories that I’ll have forever.”

You can find out why the Fergie’s session stirs such tender memories. The 10th anniversary blowout starts at 1 p.m., and lasts ‘til 7—at least, that’s the plan. Fergie’s is at 1214 Sansom Street. There’ll be food and drink specials as an extra incentive. Show up, eat, drink, play (or listen).

January 3, 2013 by
News, People

The Year That Was: 2012

wp-content/uploads/2012/12/bestpics-262×300.jpg” alt=”One of our absolute faves.” width=”262″ height=”300″ /> One of our absolute faves.

Where do we start?

How about parades? There’s no shortage of St. Patrick’s Day parades in the Philadelphia. The biggest and longest one by far is the Philadelphia parade, and it really brings together most of the major aspects of Philadelphia Irish life, from Ancient Order of Hibernians divisions to Gaelic Athletic Association teams to Irish dance schools. The Philly parade gave us one extra special reason to cheer: The Divine Providence Rainbow Irish Dancers, who won an award for their first performance in the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade. We’re so proud of them.

There were festivals, too, including the Philadelphia Ceili Group Festival, the Penn’s landing Irish Festival, the Scottish-Irish Midwinter Festival, and many others. We were there for most of them.

We spent an awful lot of time at Irish music concerts. We clapped along to the clatter of hard-shoe dancing. We applauded the local pageant winners, including Norristown’s own Meghan Davis, who became the 2012 International Mary from Dungloe.

The North American Gaelic Athletic Association championships came to Philly this year, and we were there for most of. We celebrated the championships of three local teams: the Notre Dames, Young Irelands and Eire Ogs. We also spent a lot of time along the sidelines at Cardinal Dougherty High School football field during the summer, as the local teams battled it out among themselves in the games leading up to the North American championship.

One championship that wasn’t decided locally was the all-Ireland Gaelic football win of the team from Donegal. There was substantially more than a passing interest in the outcome of that championship, given the many local folks with roots in Donegal. One of the most thrilling moments in the entire Irish Philly year came the night the Donegal coach, along with two of his all-star players, visited the Philadelphia Irish Center, bringing the Sam Maguire Cup with them.

Truth be told, we shot several thousand photographs throughout the year, at more Irish events than we can count. It’s hard to remember them all. (And no, it’s not because we’re older than dirt.) It was a real job just to narrow things down to 295 photos.

Anyhow, we’ve put together quite the photo essay, some our best moments and best pics. Check them out, above.

December 22, 2012 by
News

An Irish Gathering

.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/timoneygirlshome-300×255.jpg” alt=”The Timoney Girls” width=”300″ height=”255″ /> Dance teacher Rosemarie Timoney, with students Ragan and Siobhan

The Philadelphia Irish Center/Commodore Barry Club opened its doors on Sunday to the Irish community. Like any good open house, this one had lots of good food and drink, dancing, music, and engaging conversation.

Of course, the whole idea for the Irish Gathering, the brainchild of center board member Frank Hollingsworth, was to acquaint members of the city’s Irish community with this vibrant Mount Airy headquarters for Hibernians. It was also to re-acquaint local Irish who haven’t visited the center in some time.

Whichever camp you belonged to, there was plenty to help you get your Irish up. The ballroom featured music and dance all Sunday afternoon, including tunes by Vince Gallagher, the international Mary from Dungloe Meghan Davis, and Kevin McGillian friends, the Timoney dancers, the Rince Ri School of Irish Dance, the Philadelphia Emerald Society Pipe band, and more. Two Irish radio hosts, Marianne MacDonald and the aforementioned Vince Gallagher, broadcast from the center, local Irish authors chatted with visitors about their latest works, and the folks at Newbridge Silverware offered up some pretty Irish jewelry … just in time for Christmas.

We were there, and we have the pictures to prove it. Check them out.

December 14, 2012 by
News, People

Big Benefit for “Wee Oscar”

Brian McGarrity and Charlie Lord

Organizers Brian McGarrity and Charlie Lord

A little boy from Belfast continues to hold a special place in the hearts of the Philadelphia Irish community.

Everywhere you looked at a jam-packed fundraiser at Tír na nÓg Bar & Grill in Center City on Sunday, there were reminders of Oscar Knox, a 4-year-old boy from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who suffers from a rare genetic disorder and high risk neuroblastoma, a quite rare and aggressive childhood cancer.

Guests wore commemorative “Wee Oscar” T-shirts, pictures of the smiling boy flashed by on monitors throughout the bar, and musicians like John Byrne and Seamus Kelleher, who donated their time, never passed up a chance to remind everyone why they were there.

The grand total raised: $27,000.

On Sunday, organizer Brian McGarrity couldn’t even hazard a guess as to how much money was pouring into the local fund’s coffers—but he knew it was going to be big.

“We had sold maybe 200 to 250 tickets beforehand. I would say we might have sold at least another 100 to 150 at the door,” said McGarrity, straining to be heard over the happy crowd noise.

Perhaps no one should have been surprised by the outcome. At an October bake sale at Sacred Heart Parish in Havertown, Delaware County, McGarrity, his wife Laurie, and friends had hoped for a profit of $1,000; they wound up with $8,000.

The McGarritys and their friends first came to know Oscar Knox when he and his parents, Steven and Leona, came to Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in early October for a course of immunotherapy for his cancer. In a heartbreaking turn of events, Oscar developed pulmonary hypertension, an also rare condition affecting the lungs and heart. He had to discontinue immunotherapy and return home to North Ireland.

“We’re originally from Northern Ireland (County Tyrone), where Oscar is from,” said McGarrity. “It’s very, very big news in Northern Ireland. We had seen from watching the news from home that this little guy was coming to CHOP for treatment. There were a few of us who put together a hamper to send down to the family. Aisling Travers and Fidelma McGroary brought it down. That kind of got a connection going with the family, and then it just progressed.”

Despite the bad news and the family’s return to Northern Ireland, there’s still plenty of reason to continue aiding the family, McGarrity said.

“We wanted to keep the momentum going because everything we raise goes directly to the family to help them with living costs so they can concentrate on Oscar’s situation. They won’t have to worry about bills. We started out thinking we would be able to raise maybe a month or two worth of bill money, but it has progressed to be a lot, lot more than that.”

Of course, nothing as successful as the Sunday fundraiser happens without plenty of help. Among others, McGarrity said, Laurence Banville of Irish Network-Philadelphia, Celtic Clothing entrepreneur Charlie Lord, and Tir na Nog general manager Roger Power were a huge help.

All that work clearly paid off, McGarrity said, looking around the bar crawling with guests. “In our wildest dreams, we never thought it would be anything like this.”

December 6, 2012 by
News, People

Open House at the Irish Center

com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/hollingsworth-270×300.jpg” alt=”Frank Hollingsworth” width=”270″ height=”300″ /> Frank Hollingsworth

Never volunteer. That’s the old saying. Frank Hollingsworth doesn’t believe it, and it’s a good thing for the Philadelphia Irish Center/Commodore Barry Club.

Hollingsworth, a member of the center’s board of directors, is close to realizing a goal he set for himself several weeks ago: launching the first-ever “Irish Gathering,” a kind of open house for the rambling facility at Carpenter Lane and Emlen Street in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia—home to the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame, the Philadelphia Emerald Society Pipe Band, the Danny Browne Ancient Order of Hibernians Division, the Philadelphia Ceili Group, the Cummins School of Irish Dance, and so much more.

“This idea has been sort of on my mind for a while,” Hollingsworth says. “I’m a great believer in outreach, so I appointed myself outreach chairman.” With a good many old hands helping Hollingsworth pull everything together, the Irish Gathering should be an impressive affair.

The club is the living, breathing epicenter of Irish life in the Delaware Valley, and has been for years, but many Philly Irish folks are complete strangers to the place. Hollingsworth wants to bring them all into the Irish Center on Sunday, December 9, for a day of Gaelic schmoozing and socializing. He believes they’ll like what they see, and want to come back again and again.

“I know it’s been difficult to get people to come here, so I thought the thing to do would be to have an open house,” says Hollingsworth. “Some people have heard of the center, but they don’t know where it is. Where is Carpenter and Emlen? By doing this, it’ll let people know that there’s a lot going on here.”

Once upon a time, Hollingsworth himself was one of those curious strangers. Once drawn in, though, he knew he was going to be a regular. “I came here, and signed up to be a member. Then I volunteered to work in the Irish Center library, and then I stayed.”

The Irish Gathering promises to expose visitors to all of the groups and organizations that meet in the center on a regular basis. The open house begins at 10, fittingly, with a full Irish breakfast. The cost is $10.

After that, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Vince Gallagher and Marianne MacDonald will present a live airing of their Sunday Irish radio shows. From 1 to 6 p.m., you can check out many local Irish organizations, including the Cummins School of Irish Dance, the Philadelphia Emerald Society Pipe Band, the Next Generation youth Irish music group, John Shields and his adult Irish dance group, Rince Ri School of Irish Dance, the Timoney dancers, the Philadelphia Ceili Group, the Danny Browne AOH division, and more. You’ll also get to hear some great Irish music, performed by Terry Kane, and Kevin McGillian and Friends.

If you’re looking for a great Christmas gift, you can check out the vendor tables. You can also pick up some great books, signed by the authors who will be on hand, including Tom Lyons (“You Can’t Get to Heaven on the Frankford El”); Tim McGrath (“John Barry: An American Hero in the Age of Sail”), and Frank himself, co-author of “Northeast Philadelphia: A Brief History.” Marita Krivda Poxon, who is on the verge of publishing a book about the Irish in Philadelphia will also be there, Hollingsworth says.

For more details, visit the Irish Center website.

 

December 6, 2012 by
News

Giving to Help Others

See, it doesn’t hurt. Dubliner Siobhan Lyons, executive director of the Irish Immigration Center, gets tested for Tay Sachs.

Martin Fay comes from an Irish family blessed by longevity so he wasn’t worried that contributing a few vials of blood to a study of Tay-Sachs disease in the Irish was going to bring him bad news.

“My genes are all right,” said the Drexel Hill man, his youngest daughter, Orla, standing by his side at the Irish Immigration Center in Upper Darby a few Saturdays ago. “But if I can keep somebody else from going down that road, I thought, go for it.”

Most of the people who came to the center to have their blood tested weren’t worried about passing on a gene that could affect their children. Some were seniors who learned about the study at special programs at the immigration center or the Irish Center. They’d had their children—and their grandchildren. Tay Sachs is largely a disease of babies. Born seemingly normal, children with Tay-Sachs start to deteriorate at about six months, slowly losing their sight, their ability to move, their intellect. Most of them die by the time they’re 5.

Tay-Sachs is caused by a variety of genetic mutations of chromosome 15, some more common in certain ethnic groups, that affect the production of a vital enzyme called hexosaminidase (Hex-A) that clears out fatty protein and other substances from the tissues and nerve cells of the brain. That regular housecleaning allows an infant to develop vision, hearing, movement, and other vital functions. Without it, a baby will start to deteriorate physically and mentally. There is no cure and no effective treatments.

The aim of the research, started by Adele Schneider, MD, a pediatric geneticist at Albert Einstein Medical Center, is to determine the carrier rate among the Irish, who appear to be at higher risk of the disease than the general population. Traditionally, Tay-Sachs has been considered a genetic disease among  Jewish people, mainly Ashkenazi Jews who trace their roots to southwestern Asia, but who settled in Eastern Europe. Their carrier rate is about 1 in 27. French Canadians and Louisiana Cajuns have the same carrier rate. Current research—which is scant—suggests that the genetic mutation appears in about 1 in 50 people of Irish descent.

“There’s really nothing in the medical literature that gives an accurate carrier rate in the Irish,” said Dr. Schneider. Her impetus for launching the study, which is funded by the National Tay Sachs and Allied Diseases of the Delaware Valley and the Einstein Foundation, was not just the lack of good data, but the three Irish-American children she’s seen in the last 10 years who had the disease. Read about two of those children here.

What made that remarkable is the rarity of Tay-Sachs. There are only about 16 cases diagnosed every year in the US.

“What we want to do is test as many people with as pure Irish blood as we can get to see if the numbers are significant enough that we can recommend that Irish parents be screened the for the disease as we do for Jewish parents,” she explained. “We don’t want to have any more families go through the heartbreak of finding out when they have a baby that that baby is going to die.”

The study, which is funded for two years, will also test adults with at least three Irish grandparents in other Irish-centric cities such as New York and Boston. Along with genetic testing, participants also receive genetic counseling where they will learn that just because they’ve never seen Tay-Sachs in their line doesn’t mean they don’t carry the genetic mutation. It may just mean they’ve unwittingly chosen the right mate.

Tay Sachs is what is known as an autosomal recessive disorder. What that means is that “Tay Sachs occurs only when two carriers have children,” explained Divya Shah, a genetic counselor from Einstein. With every pregnancy, a couple runs a 25 percent chance of having a child with the disease, a 50 percent chance of having a child who is a carrier but who never develops any symptoms, and 25 percent odds of having a child who is not a carrier.

But those are just odds. In real life, it’s possible that carrier parents of four could have four normal children or four affected children or two carriers and one affected child and one normal child—it’s the luck of the draw.

More free screenings for Irish and Irish Americans are being planned, said Amy Beth Weaver, Einstein’s genetic counseling coordinator. You can find out more about the study here, or, if you’re interested in participating in the research, contact Weaver at irish@tay-sachs.org or call 215-887-0877. Testing is free for qualified adults and all results are confidential.

See photos from the day. 

 

November 30, 2012 by
News, People

Irish Hall of Fame Inductees Honored

=”http://irishinphilly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/front-photo.jpg” alt=”” width=”380″ height=”356″ /> Maureen Brett Saxon, vice president of the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame, presents the award to Siobhan Lyons, executive director of the Irish Immigration Center and the Brehon Law Society.

 

 

It’s hard to recall what drew the most laughs—longtime Irish Edition newspaper photographer Tom Keenan asking how many people in the crowd of more than 400 at the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame dinner Sunday night he he’d never photographed (then whipping out his camera to capture the three people who raised their hands) or Montgomery County Court Judge Kelly Wall revealing that her mother, president of the organization, “thought gourmet cooking was putting a can of fruit cocktail into a can of baked beans.”

There were plenty of laughs—and a few tears during emotional speeches—at the 12th annual awards ceremony at the Irish Center in Philadelphia during which Keenan, Burns, and Irish Immigration Center Executive Director Siobhan Lyons were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Burns is retiring this year after 7 years as president of the organization, which honors those who have made significant contributions to the Delaware Valley Irish community. Also honored this year with a special award was the Irish American Business Chamber and Network, founded 13 years ago by entrepreneur Bill McLaughlin to build a business bridge between the US and Ireland.

We were there and took photos. See the celebration here.

November 16, 2012 by