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Last Minute Gift Ideas for the Irish Person on Your List

Chocolate-covered Irish potatoes: magically delicious!

You do this every year, right? You wait till the last minute to buy Christmas presents and the people on your list wind up with expensive but impersonal boxes of perfume and bath gel that smell like an alcoholic fell into a rose garden or with bottles of calamari liqueur because you liked the way the bottle was tricked out and you don’t speak Italian (calamari=squid).

We know you’re not going to shop any earlier no matter what we say, so we’re going to encourage you to shop Irish instead. Here are some last-minute gift ideas from the staff of www.irishphiladelphia.com. This is stuff we like, have, or want to have. Don’t forget to check out our Irish Gift Shop finder too!

Sqian dubhs. For the kilt wearer on your list (like our own Jeff Meade), this is a little knife that can be tucked into the tops of their hose. It should only be used for peaceful purposes (opening CDs, slicing cheese) and not if someone insults their hairy legs. You can get your sqian dubhs and other very cool kilt acoutrements such as buckles, dirks, kilt pins and of, course, kilts themselves, at Pipers Way Imports, 109 West Church Street, in West Chester. We personally love sporrans—that’s the Scottish man purse worn with kilts.

Irish Yummies. We recently heard from a San Francisco friend that she ordered Taytos at an Irish pub, thinking they were Tater Tots, and is now addicted to these potato crisps from Ireland that come in flavors like cheese and onion and malt vinegar. Want Taytos? Or Cadbury Dairy Milk Bars? Some bangers for Christmas breakfast? You can find a taste of Ireland right here in the Delaware Valley: Your first stop is the Irish Coffee Shop at 8443 West Chester Pike; the second is (yes, really) an AM-PM Minimart just a couple of blocks away at 8203. What you don’t find in one, you may find in the other. If you plan your trip right, you can hang around the Irish Coffee Shop for a full Irish breakfast. (It’s great.)

Chocolate Covered Irish Potatoes. Okay, what fiendish mind came up with these? That would be Jodi Boylan of Emerald Confections who has a stand at the 263 Marketplace (Booth C3), 700 York Road, Warminster, PA. She has these devilishly delicious candies there—along with other gift items, including local high school shirts with a Celtic flavor—Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so this is your last weekend before Christmas to buy them. Check out her website.

A Civilized Tea. A family member visiting from out of town told us he checked our “Find a Local Tea Shop” page to choose a place for afternoon tea. He and his significant other chose the Mary Cassatt Tea Room at the Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia (on the square) and kindly invited us along. It was heavenly. There were delicious little sandwiches, scone, and sweet treats, and everyone got their own little pot of tea — a twee little pot covered in violets with matching porcelain cups (the only way to drink tea). The Signature Tea is only about $25 per person. You can learn more at their website.

Books! There’s a great treasure trove of books by local Irish and Irish-American authors to choose from. Here are our recommendations:

“You Can’t Get to Heaven on the Frankford El,” by Thomas J. Lyons II is a funny, touching, poignant book about growing up in Philadelphia from the 1940s to the 1960s. If you ever played buck-buck, got your bread from Friehofer’s, were taught by nuns or priests, and know the rhyme that the book’s title comes from, you’ll enjoy this bit of nostalgia. You can buy the book at Magis Press.
“John Barry: An American Hero in the Age of Sail,” by Tim McGrath, chronicles the history of Wexford and Philly’s favorite son, Commodore John Barry from his boyhood in Ireland where he took to sea to his exploits as a ship’s captain in the American revolution. This often forgotten hero, father of the US Navy, has a story worth telling and it is told well in this book which is available at www.amazon.com.

“Mother from Hell,” by Ken and Patrick Doyle, is an unforgettable, horrifying, yet ultimately uplifting story of two young Irish boys who were tortured by their sadistic mother and yet lived to tell this tale. Ken Doyle, now of Gloucester City, NJ, sells the books on his website.

“Confessions of a Second Story Man: Junior Kripplebauer and the K & A Gang” by Allen M. Hornblum, tells the story of a group of mostly Irish burglars known as the K & A Gang who plied their trade (and well) in wealthy suburban neighborhoods from Bar Harbor to Boca Raton. Though not so much in their own blue collar Philly neighborhood around Kensington and Allegheny. Available from amazon.com.

“Past Forward” by Maureen Wlodarczyk will interest all you amateur genealogists who’ve hit a brick wall. Wlodarczyk (who is Irish) spent three decades tracking down her ancestry and shares details of her journey to uncover her family history that may help you. You can order her book at her blog.

“Beat Cop to Top Cop: A Tale of Three Cities,” by John F. Timoney is a fascinating autobiography that takes John Timoney from his boyhood in Dublin to his rise through three major metropolitan police departments, New York, Philadelphia (where he was police commissioner) and Miami. A great gift for the cop on your list (surely we all have at least one!). Also available at amazon.com.

A Cup of Kindness. There are many ways to share the love this season, but we can’t think of anything more worthy than the Hibernian Hunger Project, a nationwide community service program of the Ancient Order of Hibernians that feeds hundreds of needy families every year. We’ve seen first hand the generosity of this organization, which started in Philadelphia: Right now, as you’re reading this, there are volunteers taking time out of their busy schedules delivering food baskets and gift cards to families who might have a sparse holiday without them. If that’s not the spirit of Christmas, we don’t know what is. Visit them at their website and find out how you can help.

We leave you with the last stanza of the Christmas hymn, “Good King Wenceslas,” which celebrates the many benefits of doing good to others.

“Therefore, Christian men, be sure, wealth or rank possessing, ye who now will bless the poor, shall yourself find blessing.”

December 17, 2010 by Denise Foley

News, People

Santa Claus Visits the Irish Center

Santa's little helper, Sarah Conaghan, and the Big Guy himself.

Nobody pouted. No one cried.

These essential contractual preconditions having been met, Santa Claus came to town.

Even better than that, he came to the Philadelphia Irish Center on Saturday for a Christmas party sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Rose of Tralee Center.

Before the jolly old elf arrived, in the Nick of time of course, the many kids who crowded into the Fireside Room found plenty to help them occupy their waiting time. They crafted their candy cane bracelets with care. They colored. They glued things to other things. And they snacked. (They were joined by the many kids who had shown up for a feis in the ballroom, who seemed only too happy to help.)

We’ve several photos of the party. And remember, he sees you when you’re sleeping. Which, when you come to think about it, is kinda creepy.

Check out the pics.

December 10, 2010 by Jeff Meade

News, People

New Mary from Dungloe Crowned at Donegal Ball

We catch Karen Boyce McCollum dancing with her dad, Barney Boyce, a Donegal native. Those faces tell the story: Ball-goers were having. . .a ball.

A 27-year-old speech-language pathologist from Philadelphia was crowned the new Mary from Dungloe at Sunday night’s Donegal Ball at the Philadelphia Irish Center.

Stephanie Lennon, who works with autistic and developmentally disabled children and is also the religious education teacher and softball coach at St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church, will travel to Ireland next summer to compete in the international Mary from Dungloe Festival in Dungloe, County Donegal. She succeeds Kiera McDonagh, an honors graduate of LaSalle who majored in integrated science, business and technology. McDonagh recently became engaged to attorney Justin Gdula.

Judges this year were apparently selected on a Law and Order theme: They were Montgomery County Court Judge Kelly C. Wall; John McNesby, a 22-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department and president of FOP Lodge #5; and Laurence P. Banville, Esq., a Wexford native, an insurance defense attorney in Philadelphia, and founding chairperson of Irish Network-Philadelphia.

Lennon’s crowning capped off a magical evening of music and dancing at the 122nd annual ball, which featured the Celtic rock group Blackthorn and Vince Gallagher and his band. This year’s ball chairman was Nora Campbell, vice president of the Donegal Association of Philadelphia. Jim Crosson was Ball co-chair and the Mary from Dungloe Pageant was organized by a former Mary, Michelle Mack, and Coleen McCrea Katz. Several former winners, including Emily Weideman (’09) and Brittany Lough Basis (’06) and Theresa Flanagan Murtagh (’91) were in attendance. Murtagh was emcee for the evening.

The 2010 Rose of Tralee, Mairead Conley, along with three former Roses—Jocelyn McGillian, Colleen Tully, and Sinead Cunningham (of Southern California)—were at the ball. McGillian was a Mary contestant this year and came in second runner-up. First runner up was 19-year-old Villanova student Kristin Ward, a native of Pearl River, NY.

Grand Marshal for this year’s ball was longtime Donegal Association member John McCaul.

The Philadelphia Donegal Association was founded in 1888 to take care of the needs of the vast influx of immigrants from Ireland’s northern most county. One of the first official acts of the new organization was to hold a concert and ball to raise money for the suffering people of Gweedore, County Donegal. Even today, the organization, through fundraisers like the ball, donates money to a variety of charities and sponsors a summer trip to the US for children from Northern Ireland.

The Mary from Dungloe Festival is one of Ireland’s biggest, founded in 1967 and named for a young woman, Mary Gallagher, whose sad love story is told in a traditional song.

Check out our photos of the event–and see the new Mary’s unusual footwear! We loved it.

December 3, 2010 by Denise Foley

News, People

IN-Philly Celebrates Irish Culture

Fiach MacConghall with IN-Philly's Laurence Banville in back.

The director of Dublin’s Abbey Theatre, Fiach MacConghall, was the guest speaker at a meeting of Irish Network-Philly this week at the Philopatrian Society in downtown Philadelphia.

Also on hand were representatives from the city’s rich theater community, as well as artists, photographers and painters.

One of our own was there too: Photographer Brian Mengini brought back photos of the event.

November 18, 2010 by Denise Foley

News, People

Three More Names in the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame

Vera and Vince

Now this is how to run an event: An elegant dinner, fabulous music, short, punchy speeches, and honorees that everyone loves. That was Sunday night’s Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame dinner.

The honorees were Vince Gallagher, the local musician and businessman who is president of the Irish Center and founder of the Hall of Fame; Msgr. Joseph McLoone, chaplain of the Hall of Fame and the Donegal Association as well as pastor of a diverse parish in Chester County; and Kathleen Sullivan, a former city representative under Ed Rendell who served as his liaison on the board of the Irish Memorial then stayed to continue the work, becoming vice president of the board.

Tom Farrelly of the Cavan Society was master of ceremonies and two former presidents of the Hall of Fame – John Egan and Bob Hurst—were given special awards for their contributions to the organization, which is celebrating its tenth year. Current president is Kathy McGee Burns, who also recently became president of the St. Patrick’s Day Observance Committee, only the second woman to helm the group that runs the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade in its more than 100-year history.

November 18, 2010 by Denise Foley

News

Looking for a Few Good Sax Players

This could be you!

STORY UPDATED! The Irish American String Band is sending out an SOS to all sax players who don’t mind dressing up in feathers and spangles. They’re a few short for this year’s New Year’s Day Mummers Parade in Philadelphia. They could use a few dancers, marshals, and other musicians so they can strut proudly up the street for the big event. If you’d like to join the band, formed in the Northeast Philly area in 1998, and their sprightly captain, Kelly Marie Mahon, contact them at ishamericansb@gmail.com. The band also performs at weddings, corporate events, private parties, and even went to Dublin in 2002 to participate in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

November 18, 2010 by Denise Foley

News, People

A Singular Honor for Sister James Anne Feerick

Sister James Anne, receiving flowers at the St. Patrick's Day Parade in 2008.

Sister James Anne Feerick, I.H.M., longtime dedicated Catholic school educator, is the 2011 Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day grand marshal.

Sister James Anne has been a member of the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary since 1960. Currently, she is director and teacher at the IHM Educational Center in Bryn Mawr. Earlier in the week, she was named the recipient of the Mayo Association of Philadelphia’s 2010 President’s Award—so you could say that this was a spectacular week for this stellar graduate of West Catholic Girls High. (Sister is also the longtime chaplain of the Mayo Association.)

Associated with the parade for many years—as a judge since 1985 and, in 2008, a member of the Ring of Honor—she dates her involvement in the parade back to 1956, when she first started marching in it.

It would be hard to find anyone more steeped in Irish tradition than Sister James Anne. Going back to her youth, she was a violin player who performed on Will Regan’s Irish Hour and was secretary of the old Irish Musicians Union in Southwest Philadelphia for two years.

Of course, people who know her also recognize her as a superb Irish dancer. She started as a student at Sean Lavery School of Irish Dance in West Philadelphia (from 1949-1960), and she’s been on her toes ever since. As an educator, she often taught students Irish dance as a way of developing coordination.

Fittingly, the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Observance Association chose as its 2011 theme: St. Patrick, Bless Our Religious Sisters Who Serve, Inspire and Educate.

Sister James Anne is the first woman selected as grand marshal since Rosemarie Timoney, in 1997.

In what apparently marks a banner year for Irish women, Kathy McGee Burns, previously 1st vice president of the parade association, was elected president. She is only the second woman to serve in that capacity. (The first was Marie C. Burns, 1993-1994.)

McGee Burns already is a very busy and accomplished woman. She is the first president of the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame. She also was the first woman president of the Donegal Association. In 2010, she was selected to receive one of the first Inspirational Irish Women awards. Also in 2010, she was named winner of the third annual Joseph E. Montgomery Award from Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 62.

The board also elected two new members, two new board members, Mike Driscoll, owner of Finnigan’s Wake and a longtime notable parade booster, and police Sgt. John Stevenson.

November 12, 2010 by Guest

News, People

2010 Irish Hall of Fame Inductee: Kathleen Sullivan

Honoree Kathleen Sullivan

By Kathy McGee Burns

Ordinary riches can be stolen.
Real riches can not.
In your soul are infinitely precious things.
They can not be taken from you.
—Oscar Wilde

Riches to Kathleen Sullivan are family and friends. They are the core of her being and she holds them dear to her. Sullivan, former city representative under Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell, is being honored this year at the 10th Annual Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame Dinner, for her tireless efforts to bring the Irish Memorial to Penn’s Landing.

The night we agreed to meet for this interview was one of those hot, muggy, thick July evenings. We met for dinner and started out on the terrace of the restaurant. She sat there cool, calm and composed, beautifully dressed in a white linen suit and a black ruffled blouse looking positively stunning, sophisticated and self assured. Sullivan is a true Irish beauty–burnished copper hair and flawless white skin. She is one of those women about whom the Bards wrote their lilting lyrics. And, underneath that Celtic façade there lays a dynamic woman.

There are many layers to Kathleen but the foundation is family. Her Irish roots are Wexford (via her Mom, Kathryn Hannify) and Cavan (Dad, Larry Sullivan). Larry and Kate met at ages 15 and 16. It was love at first sight and they married three years later. The Sullivans settled in Kensington, in Ascension Parish, and had nine children. Kathleen was fourth from the top. Sullivan remembers a childhood with little money, but lots of fun and nuturing. The Sullivans were competitive, loving and a true team. Everyone pitched in. Her early upbringing, she says, dealing with so many diverse personalities, taught her how to resolve conflicts.

Love of community is a second layer to Kathleen. She is proud to be from Kensington and raved about growing up there. The Sullivan kids competed citywide in basketball, soccer, swimming and other sports they learned and practiced at McVeigh Center, their home away from home. One of Sullivan’s coaches was a former Olympian, Pearl Nightingale, who took her swim team to a new level and taught lessons in leadership Sullivan says she’ll never forget. This was a lesson to Kathleen in leadership.

Kathleen Sullivan graduated from Little Flower High School where she made “All Catholic” as a basketball player and was offered a full scholarship to Penn State. At the same time she was offered a job at a prominent Philadelphia law firm for $90 a week and 21 days of vacation. To the young Kathleen Sullivan, the job presented both an exciting challenge and the opportunity for a respite from academics. Later, Kathleen went to court reporting school and worked for Judge Charles Lord for 18 years.

But she had come to regret turning down the scholarship. Her mother encouraged her to go to night school and get her degree but she hesitated. She was concerned that she would be 40 years old by the time she finished. Her mother told her: “You’re going to be 40 no matter what.”

So at the age of 39, Kathleen Sullivan graduated summa cum laude from Temple University with a degree in journalism. After graduation, a friend suggested she volunteer with one of the mayoral candidates. She chose Ed Rendell, a fortuitous choice. Impressed by her talents and energy, Rendell assured her, “I’m going to win this election and I will make you one of my city officials.” That was Kathleen Sullivan’s start in public service—the new layer of her life.

She told me that her years of working as his city representative were priceless for her. Though it was a 24/7 job, she says, he was “one of the smartest people” she’d ever met: tough, a perfectionist who expected everyone else to follow suit. She said she was touched when, at the end of his years as mayor, he told her that they were like John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara in “The Quiet Man,” always fighting tooth and nail about issues but he knew she had his best interests at heart.

During the Rendell administration, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick launched plans to build a memorial dedicated to the Irish immigrants who were forced to flee Ireland during “an gorta mor,” the Great Starvation. Board member and director emeritus Jim Coyne took over the job. He knew that they needed someone of importance to be an honorary chairperson.

He met with Rendell, who loved the idea—along with bringing a beautiful piece of art to the city, it would attract tourists. He immediately appointed Kathleen Sullivan to come on board as his liaison. The Glenna Goodacre sculpture on Penns Landing was uinveiled in 2003.

Jim Coyne, who nominated her as a Hall of Fame Honoree, said Sullivan was a faithful member from that day on and she now serves as vice president of the Irish Memorial. She rolled up her sleeves, helped with fund raising and was a quiet source of support with the city and state.

Joe Martz, who was city managing director during the Rendell years and an old family friend, said about Kathleen Sullivan: “She is incredibly modest, very smart, has an enormous heart and is comfortable in every situation.” Not to mention “a phenomenal” golfer, he adds.

“What makes Kathleen Sullivan special,” he wrote, “is the size of her heart, the breadth of her mind and the depth of her soul.” He said that she enriches the lives of many people and that what he knows about her family and friends, hers is a particularly “rich life.”

November 11, 2010 by Guest

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