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Local Boy Makes Good

Jim Dougherty, parade chairman Jim Gallagher, and Doc's wife Jane.

Conshohocken loves a parade, says this year’s Montgomery County St. Patrick’s Day grand marshal Jim Dougherty. And if anyone should know what they love in Conshy, Dougherty should.

Except for a two-year hitch in the Marine Corps, including a year in Vietnam, Dougherty has lived all his life within that Conshohocken ZIP code. He spent his early years on Hector Street. His dad Matthew was a Conshohocken police officer, later working for the Montgomery County sheriff’s department. After the young Dougherty returned from the service in 1981, he became a Conshohocken police officer, rising through the ranks to become a detective and, later, the department’s chief. (He retired in 1994.)

So six years ago, when the Ancient Order of Hibernians Notre Dame Division in Swedesburg went looking for a point man to help them move their annual parade from Norristown to the neighboring river borough of Conshohocken, they turned to their old friend “Doc” to help them gain all the necessary local approvals.

Says Dougherty, it was not a hard sell.

“I took it before the council. The vote was seven to nothing in favor,” he recalls. “That’s how tough it was. Most of the people on council were Irish, anyway.”

And with that, the first parade marched down Fayette Street on March 11, 2006. It’s been a popular event from one year to the next, with crowds lining the street from one end to the other. “It’s still wall to wall,” says Dougherty, and each year the crowd gets deeper.”

That the parade is now in his home town is gratifying to Jim Dougherty. He has never stopped loving and caring about that scrappy little borough, and the local attachments run deep.

“My family’s there and that’s where I’ve stayed,” he says. “It’s been redeveloped, but it’s still the same way it always was. It’s a quiet, quaint town. In Conshohocken (when he was a kid), everybody knew everybody. It was the kind of place where, if you got in trouble with the police department, your father and mother knew about it before you got home. And basically, it’s still the same way today—everybody still knows everybody.”

So when his friends in the AOH came calling with the idea to move the parade to Conshohocken, it wasn’t a tough sell for him, either. And he’s quick to add that it wasn’t all through his efforts that the parade came to town.

He recalls the event (AOH Notre Dame Appreciation Day on December 18) at which parade chairman Jim Gallagher read out all of his accomplishments and spent some time talking about his role in the move from Norristown to Conshy. “It was all true,” he says, “but there were other people in town who did a lot, too. We all brought the parade to Conshohocken.”

Dougherty will be honored and officially sashed as grand marshal at the Grand Marshal’s Ball on March 5 at the Jeffersonville Golf Club Ball Room. Any Irish organization that wishes to take part in the parade in Conshohocken please e-mail Pete Hand at hjerrylewis@comcast.net.

January 13, 2011 by Jeff Meade

News, People

Mass Planned at Cathedral to Remember Michaela Harte

Michaela Harte shown with her father, Mickey.

She was a beautiful girl, a beauty queen described by a childhood friend as “elegant.” Earlier this week, Michaela Harte, 28, daughter of popular Tyrone Gaelic football coach Mickey Harte, was murdered in her hotel room in a resort on the Indian Ocean nation of Mauritius where she was honeymooning.

On Sunday, friends and family members from her hometown of Ballygawley, County Tyrone, members of the Philadelphia Gaelic Athletic Association and the Philadelphia Rose of Tralee organization will mourn her death at a mass at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia. Father John McNamee, the poet-priest who is pastor emeritus of St. Malachy’s Parish in North Philadelphia, will celebrate the Mass which starts at 6 PM.

Ciara McGorman, a childhood friend who grew up with the Hartes in the small Northern Irish village near the Donegal border, has been helping to organize the memorial.

“We grew up in the same parish and I knew her and her brothers,” says McGorman, former manager of the Sligo Pub in Media and resident of Drexel Hill. “Her father Mickey was involved in everything before he became a manager. He had a shop locally, ran the youth club—he was part of everybody’s life. They’re a very close family, religious people with a great faith, and this is the only thing we can for them. It’s a heart-rending story and everyone wants to help.”

On December 30, Michaela Harte married John McAreavey, 30, a Down senior footballer. Bishop of Dromore, John McAreavy, officiated at the wedding of his nephew. Her husband of two weeks found the young woman’s body face up in a bathtub full of water. “She was a gift from God and I now have an angel,” he said in a statement. Three employees of the resort have been arrested for her murder. Published reports say that evidence, including skin tissue taken from beneath her nails, indicate that Michaela Harte interrupted the men as they were burglarizing her room and fought back. Death was caused by asphyxiation.

“The saddest thing is when we heard she had died on her honeymoon we all assumed it was natural causes,” says McGorman. “No one had heard why or how. When we heard what happened. . .it was just heart-breaking.”

Harte, says McGorman, had represented Ulster in the Rose of Tralee pageant. She taught Irish and religion to students aged 11-18 at St. Patrick’s Academy in Dungannon in County Tyrone.

The last time she saw her neighbor and friend was about five years ago, when the Hartes came to the US for a football match-up in New York and traveled south to Philadelphia to see friends. “I hadn’t been home in five years at that time so it was so good to see her again,” says McGorman who, with other members of the Philadelphia Tyrone community, is planning the music and readings for Sunday night’s Mass.

After the service, participants are invited to Con Murphy’s Pub, across the street from the Cathedral at 1700 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, for tea and sandwiches.

January 12, 2011 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

People

“I Was Completely and Utterly Shocked”

Stephanie Lennon enjoys a serenade by Vince Gallagher.

By Stephanie Lennon

My Irish heritage has always been a huge part of my life. Growing up, Irish music was the theme song in our home, the tea kettle was always warm, and visits between Donegal, Ireland and Philadelphia were customary. I grew up with a complete sense of my family in Ireland, as well as my Irish citizenship (I hold dual citizenship). I have been lucky enough to sit in the old farmhouse that my grandmother grew up in, hear stories of fairy rings and banshees, and watch my cousin, Brendan Devenney, win “Man of the Match” during Donegal GAA games. More often than not, it was the Irish who made the trek across the Atlantic to enjoy time with “the Philadelphia Lennon’s,” but we also traveled across the pond to experience our native soil firsthand.

As I was walking out the door on November 27, my cell phone rang and it was my cousins from Donegal. They were calling to wish me the luck of the Irish during the 2011 Philadelphia Mary from Dungloe Pageant. They asked if I was nervous, and without hesitation, I replied no. The previous night, as I said my evening prayers, I asked my grandmother, Mary Cannon Lennon, who hailed from Newtowncunningham, Donegal, to send me some Donegal Luck from heaven.

As soon as I entered the Irish Center, I felt completely comfortable. Michelle Mack, the chair for the Mary from Dungloe contest, and Kiera McDonagh, the reigning Philadelphia Mary from Dungloe, greeted each one of us. As the introductions started flowing, I found connections to the other girls. Each one of us was unique, with amazing resumes to wow the likes of Miss America. We brought our own energy and unique personality, as well as our passion for our Irish heritage. This contest, which emphasized personality, community involvement, knowledge of Irish history and most importantly a love for Irish heritage allowed each of us to highlight our individuality within the framework of the Philadelphia Irish society.

Throughout the night we exchanged stories, experiences and laughs. We danced the reels together and shared good craic and by the end of the night, I felt that I had made eight new friends. It wasn’t until midnight that I felt nervous. As we followed the grand march on stage, I started to wonder. After what seemed like hours, Theresa Flanagan Murtagh, the emcee, announced the runners up. Then, followed by a loud drum roll, she announced my name as the 2011 Philadelphia Mary. I don’t think I heard it at first, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw my family jump out of their seats in applause and it hit me. I was completely and utterly shocked.

I don’t know if it was my grandmother, Mary from Donegal, looking down on me from heaven or the fact that she met my grandfather at the original Irish Center shortly after they both immigrated to Philadelphia. Either way, I am blessed with the honor of being the 2011 Philadelphia Mary from Dungloe. I am looking forward to the coming year, as I represent the Donegal Association at various events and functions, including the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and the International Mary from Dungloe contest in Ireland this summer.

December 10, 2010 by Guest

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

People

Remembering Don Trefsger

The memorial service will take place at the Mermaid Inn. (Photo by Chris Woods)

Devotees of the Irish traditional music session at the Mermaid Inn in Chestnut Hill will remember Donald Trefsger. He was hard to miss. “Donny” was the big guy with the big upright bass.

Friends today are mourning his loss. Paralyzed following an accident on his treasured Harley on July 11, 2009, Trefsger died November 20 of complications from his injuries. He was 62.

Fiddler Chris Brennan Hagy, who anchors the Mermaid session, was one of his closest friends. She recalls meeting him for the first time at a weekend gathering of the Philadelphia Folksong Society. “There was this big fella in the back of the room playing bass, smoking a cigar. He had tattoos,” she remembers. “That was Donny.”

That meeting was about 26 years ago. Hagy and Trefsger became fast friends, and they played together in the SPUDS contra dance band. It was only a matter of time before he would wind up taking his place in the circle at the Mermaid. He would go on to play on two “live at the Mermaid” recordings, including Hagy’s.

Trefsger was devoted to music, Hagy says. “He played in a lot of groups. He loved bluegrass. He went to folk conferences, and he traveled to the Grand Ole Opry. When he was a kid, he and his dad marched down Broad Street in the Dick Crean String Band. He was always around music.”

For the past 16 months, Hagy and other musical friends were his constant companions at Arista Care in Plymouth Meeting. They would talk for hours and play CDs. “He always had a smile for you,” she recalls.

This Sunday, a group of musicians will gather once again at the Mermaid for a celebration of Don Trefsger’s life. Hagy plans to bring along Trefsger’s trademark stool and his cremains. Before he died, Hagy says, she and Trefsger never talked about anything like a memorial, but she has a feeling he’d have liked the idea. It’s hard saying goodbye to such a good friend, but in his time Don Tresfsger had an impact on local music, and those who knew him appreciated his contribution. “Don was a good fellow, a good-hearted guy,” says Hagy. “And he loved to play.”

December 2, 2010 by Jeff Meade

People

At Last, a Sash of Her Own

Kathleen Paulson

When Neumann University accounting major Kathleen Paulson decided to enter Philadelphia’s 2010 Miss Mayo pageant, she already had a pretty good idea what to expect. Caitlin Lotty, Miss Mayo 2009, is one of her best friends at Neumann and was her roommate in sophomore year. And when Caitlin, a nursing major, traveled to Ireland last summer—her prize for winning the pageant—Kathleen went along.

And it was Caitlin who encouraged her to give it a try this year?with an added nudge from Sister Marguerite O’Beirne, Neumann’s vice president for mission. (Sister Margaret, something of a queen maker, also gave Caitlin a gentle shove last year.)

Without such encouragement, Kathleen says, “I don’t think I would have done it. She (Sister Margaret) and Caitlin both pushed me to do it. Sister Marguerite sent me the application form. She’s very persuasive.”

The thought that she might win also never entered her head. “The other girls I was talking to, they were all so accomplished,” Kathleen says. “I’m just a 20-year-old trying to get through college, I’m not doing anything life-changing. (Knowing that) kind of relaxed me because I didn’t think I was going to win. I thought maybe I‘d do OK, but I definitely didn’t think I was going to win.”

Looking at Kathleen’s background, she clearly had a better shot than she realized. She’s been an Irish dancer all her life, first at the McAleer School of Irish Dancing in Wilmington, Del., her home town, and later with the Broesler School of Irish Dance. Her mother Eileen also has been involved in dance as well. She danced as as a girl and serves as co-chair of the Irish Culture Club of Delaware Feis. Brother Nick dances competitively. Like most dance dads, father Nick was also pulled into the act, accompanying the kids to competitions and lugging all the costumes and other paraphernalia. (He has a bumper sticker, Kathleen says: I Don’t Dance, I Finance.)

As for many kids who wear the wigs and the ghillies, dance was Kathleen’s entree to Irish culture and, indeed, to Ireland. She’s traveled there five times. Her Miss Mayo trip will mark her sixth. She believes her great familiarity with the culture helped her snag the tiara.

“I’m fifth generation Irish, so I don’t have any direct connection,” Kathleen says. “Still, I identify with my Irish heritage. As an Irish dancer, we always went over to Ireland. Some of my closest friends are from dancing. For a lot of kids, your friends are from school and your neighborhood, but mine are from dancing, and they’re from all around the world.

“A lot of the people I encountered through dance (like Veronica McAleer), they had direct relatives in Ireland. Those relatives would all take us in like we were a member of their family. We have a couple of good friends in Killarney; we like to say they’re our adoptive family. They love to have us over and it’s always a lot of fun.”

In her interview with the Miss Mayo judges, Kathleen says, she thinks her love of the culture and people of Ireland shone through. She says she especially appreciates the legendary hospitality of the Irish. “They’ll always ask you in for a cup of tea and a scone and a biscuit,” she says. “They always have time to sit and chat with you.”

Now, with her Miss Mayo win, Kathleen will have another chance to experience the warmth and companionship of the Irish up close and personal. And of course, she says, the win itself is gratifying.

Even though she danced for years, competition was never her thing. She was always in it mostly for the ceilis and socializing. Her brother Nick was the one who racked up all the medals. But winning Miss Mayo makes up for a lot. “My brother always won the sashes,” she says. “So now I finally got my own sash.”

November 24, 2010 by Jeff Meade

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

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