It’s often said that everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, and if you were in Philadelphia this March 17, you could have been Irish from dawn till midnight. So many ways to celebrate, so little time…here’s just a little sampling from four of the finest events the city had to offer:
Brittingham’s Irish Pub & Restaurant in Lafayette Hill opened the day with songs from County Derry born singer, Oliver McElhone. Favorite tunes like “The Fields of Athenry”and “Dirty Old town” had the folks in the crowded bar and dining room singing and dancing along, and really starting to feel Irish.
Downtown, at The Kimmel Center, the Frank McCourt play “The Irish…and How They Got That Way” was demonstrating through songs and skits that “It isn’t easy being Irish.” Indeed, the five member cast, in the intimate setting of the Innovation Studio, brought the history of the Irish people’s suffering and survival to the stage with enthusiasm and earnestness. Deftly blending traditional songs like “Skibereen” and “Danny Boy” with history lessons (Did you know that the first witch hanged in America was Irish?), and humor (Did you know that the English conquered the world to escape their own cooking?), this is an entertaining way to pass an afternoon or evening. It’s playing through March 29th, and tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999.
In the midst of all the revelry, the fallen police officers of the city were not forgotten; at popular downtown pub & restaurant Tir na Nog, the local Irish band BarleyJuice donated their amazing musical talents to the cause. All money raised at the door went to a fund for families of Philadelphia’s fallen officers. This is a group that knows how to kick it up for the cause; check out video clips of their rousing version of “Monto,” and a medley that includes “Ring of Fire” and “Whiskey in the Jar.”
Finally, there is no finer way to round out a St. Patrick’s Day than with a performance from Irish-American supergroup Solas at the World Café. Their set list included songs from their latest cd, “For Love and Laughter” as well as a lovely tribute to the late John Martyn with his “Spencer the Rover.” But Seamus Egan, Mick McAuley, Eamon McElholm, Chico Huff, phiddle phenom Winifred Horan, and singer Mairead Phelan enthralled a crowd beyond just the one gathered tableside in Philly. The band didn’t know it at the time, but from the audience, a United States airman was Skyping the show to a deployed unit overseas, and when Mairead Phelan sang “Mollai na Gcuach ni Chuilleanain,” a Gaelic-speaking military captain stationed somewhere in a more dangerous part of the world, cried. It was as it should be on March 17, everyone the world over got to share in the Irish spirit. Make sure you watch the video of “Spencer the Rover.”
