Columns, How to Be Irish in Philly

How To Be Irish In Philly This Week

You know what this means: St. Paddy's month is about to start!

Hope the words “busy week ahead” don’t scare you because you’re going to be hearing it for the next month. This weekend alone is jam-packed with Irish-themed events, including a visit from Derek Warfield and the Young Wolfe Tones (at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Glenside on Saturday) and the John Byrne Band, fresh from their appearance this week on The 10! Show, appearing at World Café Live on Saturday night – in the big room downstairs!

AOH Division 51 is having its pre-St. Patrick’s Day party at the Holy Name of Jesus Hall on Saturday night, with live music by Jamie and the Quietmen (why do we think they’re probably not all that quiet?).

The Second Street Irish Society is throwing a fund-raising bash for the benefit of the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Saturday night. This is the second to the last fundraiser before the parade on March 13 (the last one will by at the Springfield Country Club, featuring Blackthorn).

St. Denis parish of Havetown is holding its annual St. Denis Irish Night on Saturday too, with entertainment by Misty Isle, a group that will get you up and dancing whether you like it or not.

The Broken Shillelaghs will be at McMichael’s Pub and Grill in Gloucester City, one of New Jersey’s most Irish towns, right on the river.

It gets serious on Sunday: A group of Irish community activists are gathering at Spencer Gifts at the Franklin Mills Mall to protest the derogatory Irish merchandise the store carries. (You’re welcome to join them at noon.) Expect to see more of this—we heard recently that a local supermarket agreed to pull its collection of Irish t-shirts after customers of Irish descent complained. What do the products say? Usually drinking and fighting are involved. We’re waiting to see what happens at the festivals—including the AOH festival in Wildwood—where you can see the same t-shirts and paraphernalia. Will ethnic pride triumph over capitalism? In a recession? We’ll see.

On Sunday afternoon, head to The Shanachie Pub and Restaurant in Ambler for the afternoon-long Sunday Irish Radio Shows benefit, featuring many great local musicians (including the aforementioned John Byrne), raffle prizes and auction items (and the stand-up auctioneering comedy routine of Publican Gerry Timlin).

If you’re in Lehigh County, Jack Callaghan’s Ale House on Tilgman Street is the headquarters for the Allentown St. Patrick’s Day parade fundraiser that features a Chinese auction, a DJ, and Jello shots (hey, sign me up).

Like to play the flute or tin whistle? There’s a free workshop at West Chester University’s Phillips Autograph Library by one of our favorite librarians and musicians Dennis Gormley. He’ll have a limited number of tin whistles for sale if you’ve been thinking of taking it up. Follow it up with am Irish session with Dennis and his wife, Kathy DeAngelo (a harper), at Kildare’s Irish Pub in West Chester.

On Tuesday, the Celtic folk group DeDannan, with founding members Alec Finn and Johnny “Ringo” Mcdonagh will be on stage at the Grand Opera House in Wilmington with special guest Eleanor Shanley. Mention Green Willow for a ticket discount—this is a Green Willow production.

We’re sorry we won’t be getting to those one – a fundraiser for the York St. Patrick’s Day parade for which a dozen York restaurants are creating a menu item containing Guinness. It’s called “There’s Guinness In It,” and we think it’s a great idea! This happens next Friday, March 4.

In Bucks County, the Bucks County St. Patrick’s Day group is honoring its grand marshal, John T. Galloway, at the Irish Ball at Kings Caterers in Bristol on Friday night, March 4.

That same night: Catch Solas in concert at the Sellersville Theatre or the play, “Brendan,” by Ronan Noone, about an Irish immigrant in Boston who is visited by the ghost of his mammy, at McCoole’s Arts and Events Place in Quakertown.

On stage all week is The Lieutenant of Inishmore at the Plays and Players Theatre in Philadelphia.

There’s loads going on next week, including Gael Scoil—and immersion weekend in Irish—in Lawrenceville, NJ, the Erin Express has a warm-up voyage, Queen of Peace Parish in Ardsley is holding its annual Irish night, Celtic Kilt night kicks off at the Temperance House in Newtown,  the Gloucester County AOH is throwing its St. Paddy’s Party, and Blackthorn is rocking it for the Philly parade.

Plenty more where that came from—on our calendar, as well as details on all these events.

February 24, 2011 by
Columns, People, Travel

Return of the Wild Geese

Tom Finnigan: Son of Irish immigrants who moved to England, he's emigrated to Ireland.

Editor’s Note: Tom Finnigan is the son of Irish immigrants who moved to England, where he was born. This is the first of a series of essays he wrote about being an immigrant of a different sort: an Englishman of Irish descent who emigrated to Ireland–to the country’s northern most point, Malin, County Donegal.

We came to Malin and built a house in Goorey, on rocks above Trawbreaga Bay. My neighbor Connel Byrne calls it Ard na Si and tells us that Niall – king of all the fairies of Inishowen – holds court here. Barney Doherty used to come for gooseberries. Enid Stewart remembers it as a place full of hazel bushes, where fishermen came for wands to make lobster pots. She came for nuts when she was a child.

‘You’re nuts!’ shouted my father in Manchester when we announced our plans.

He remembers the poverty of Mayo in 1930; how De Valera suggested that he dance at the crossroads; how Doctor Walshe demanded a pound note before he would mount a trap in Ballyhaunis and visit my sick grandmother. Donegal, insisted my father, is full of rain and wind. The women wear shawls and fishermen drown.

“If ye go back and show an English number plate, some eejit from Derry will shoot ye.”

He couldn’t conceive of anyone choosing to live here.

And there’s the point. We have chosen. My father’s generation did not have choice. The Inishowen of holiday homes and art studios is inconceivable to the mind of my mother-in-law, the eldest of 13 children from Ballygorman in Malin Head. She has lived in Manchester for 70 years. When she comes to visit us, she doesn’t watch light stream through cloud. She has nothing to say about how mist hovers. She marvels at lights on the Isle of Doagh, the spread of houses in Carndonagh. Her memory is of blackness at night, the lighthouse at Inistrahull flashing, oil lamps smelling of kerosene. Her talk is of neighbours and where they went–to the tunnels in Glasgow, the towers of Boston.

And we?

We observe the light. We read John McGahern or something by Seamus Heaney. We identify birds–herons rigid on the shore, wood pigeons flapping, oystercatchers piping. We wonder if we shall cook scallops from Malin Head or some pasta from Sainsbury’s. We listen to Lyric FM or watch a DVD, put a bottle of Frascati in the fridge and rustle the business pages of the Irish Times. We are anxious about our SSIs. We lobby for broadband and sing in church. We e-mail Holland and Singapore, sell in Ballsbridge and Cork. We book a flight to Stanstead, then walk on Five Fingers strand, amazed at the light.

The children of the Wild Geese are back. We have sold our English property and returned to claim our heritage. We talk of Colmcille, visit Gartan and Derry, discuss the peace process. In Malin, once the demesne of the Harveys, Gaels with broad English vowels oust Planters with rich Irish consanants. Our Jeeps climb Knockamany and frighten the goats. We learn Irish, join writing groups, take up water colours.

On Five Fingers strand, wind lashes the Atlantic. Gulls scream. I raise my binoculars and scan the Bar Mouth. A sail billows, then another. Oars flash. Steel glints.

The Vikings are back.

Editor’s note: Who are the Wild Geese? Read more about them here.

February 24, 2011 by
Dance, Music, News

Video Highlights: 2011 Mid-Winter Scottish & Irish Music Festival

The pipes were calling

The pipes, the pipes were calling. And these two little Campbell School dancers were having none of it.

We were there for the whole weekend. We saw what you did. We know who you are.

Seriously, we tried to capture all of the essential elements of the 2011 Mid-Winter Scottish & Irish Music Festival in a video retrospective. Washington Memorial Pipe Band, the insane drummers of Albannach, our favorite juggler, and dancers of both the Scottish and Irish persuasions—we have it all.

For Saturday, we piled it all into one big honkin’ video; for Sunday, we broke things up a bit. If you were there, relive the experience. If you weren’t, well, let us fill you in on what you missed. (And make plans for next year.)

Thanks to Bill and Karen Reid for another great party.

Click on the arrows to right and left of the video frame to see all the videos.

February 22, 2011 by
News, People

All That Glitters

The Newbridge Ladies: Kathleen Reagan, Fidelma McGroary, and Linda Maguire.

Since the 1930s, many Irish newlyweds were choosing their silver pattern from a small company in Newbridge, County Kildare, that grew out of an economic vacuum after the British Army abandoned its garrison there in 1921, leaving Newbridge in financial crisis.

It didn’t take long for Newbridge Silverware to take over the cutlery market from the English companies, such as Sheffield, to become the iconic Irish wedding gift. But it wasn’t until the 1990s that Newbridge made a move that gave the company, feeling the pinch of cheaper foreign imports, a whole new life. It started when one of the company’s craftsman started playing around with the scraps of silver left on the factory floor, making pendants and bracelets out of the valuable detritus of soup spoons and butter knives. Owner William Doyle knew a good idea when he saw one, and the Newbridge Jewelry line took off.

Until this year, though, if you wanted a piece of Newbridge, you’d have to get it on your trip to Ireland or in one of the rare shops in the US that carried it. Today, thanks to an Erdenheim woman, Linda Maguire, you can get a Tara pendant, Rose earrings or a sterling silver baby frame right in your own livingroom.

Maguire recently founded Curragh LLC, the only company in the US licensed to sell Newbridge, and she’s taking a page from hugely successful companies like Silpada, Pampered Chef, and Avon and going the home show route.

A jewelry designer herself, Maguire had a special place in her heart for Newbridge. Her husband, Paul, a native of Newbridge, often bought a piece for her when he was home for a visit. “I absolutely love Newbridge and always have,” Maguire said as she took a moment from toting up a jewelry order at a recent Newbridge party hosted by the Philadelphia Rose of Tralee Centre to talk about her brand new venture. “It’s a simple, classic design, and even though it’s very modern for the most part, it does harken back to traditional Irish images.”

Many pieces are the modern equivalent of Celtic knots, spirals, and the interlacing Book of Kells calligraphy patterns that are so recognizably Irish. Even more modern is the giftware, also sold a home shows, from executive desk clocks to baby gifts to wine holders. But there are also replicas of vintage items—Grace Kelly’s string of pearls and pendants based on William Doyle’s Paris flea market finds—as well as the chunky bead bracelets that have become so popular in the US. And they’re all relatively modestly priced.

If Paul Maguire hadn’t been buying his wife a piece of Newbridge the last time he was in Ireland, there might not be a Curragh LLC. “Paul and William Doyle went to school together,” explains Maguire. “He hadn’t see the Doyles in 30 years and be was buying me a bracelet when he ran into Oonagh Doyle (William’s sister).”

The idea that eventually became a serious move to market Newbridge in the US came with the innocent question Paul Maguire asked. “Why don’t you think about coming into the US market?”

And the home show seemed like the perfect fit. “I’d done them before with my own jewelry,” says Linda Maguire. “Home shows and fundraisers are a big area. I remember doing one to benefit Heifer International. It was very successful.”

When Linda Maguire set up her company, she called her sales people “Irish ambassadors” and the two in the Philadelphia area really are Irish—Kathleen Regan and Fidelma McGrory, both immigrants. She also created an incentive program for the home hostesses who can earn up to a 50 percent discount on any Newbridge silver product—with lots of smaller discounts, depending on how much is sold at the show.

“It’s a really attractive program and women seem to really like it,” says Maguire. Around her, the din of chatter had died down as the party-goers got down to the serious business of actually deciding what to buy, their heads bowed over their catalogs and order forms. “I think it’s going to be very successful.”

To find out more about Newbridge in the US, you can contact Linda Maguire through her website.

Check out our photos of the Newbridge party that was a fundraiser for the Philadephia Rose of Tralee Centre. (Newbridge is a longtime sponsor of the Rose of Tralee Festival and Pageant in Ireland.)

February 18, 2011 by
News

Parade Fund-Raising Kicks into High Gear

Why is this man smiling?

Why is this man smiling? It's parade director Michael Bradley, and he's raising money for the parade and having fun at the same time!

You know that old saying about trying to stuff ten pounds of—well, stuff— into a five-pound bag?

That’s the situation the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Observance Association faces between now and parade day, Sunday, March 13. The association needs to raise $70,000 to $80,000 between now and then, and they’re squeezing the lion’s share of their fund-raising into that really, really small window.

Attending to the logistical details of the parade—which float goes where, which dance school goes before the TV cameras and when—is relatively easy, says parade director Michael Bradley. The hard part is raising the money necessary to run the parade in the first place.

The most recent big fund-raiser was held at Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 39 last Sunday. Now, there are two more big cash-collecting events in the offing. The first one will be held Saturday, February 26, from 8 ’til midnight, at the Second Street Irish Society. “That’s a new group helping us out this year, and we’re very appreciative,” says Bradley.

The next event—and always a big boost—is the Blackthorn concert at Springfield (Delco) Country Club on Sunday, March 6, from 3 to 7 p.m.

Between those two events and our ad book, that’s the bulk of our fund-raising,” he says.

All of that fund-raising is serious business, but it can be a great time, too.

“We’re going to have a lot of fun, no matter what we do,” Bradley says. “There’s nothing worse than going to an event and feeling like they’re just taking your money. I’m not going to be involved if its not fun. That has a lot to do with our success.”

(We’ve gone to the Blackthorn event, and it was standing room only. Trust us, no one was too overly caught up worrying about raising thousands of dollars. They were too busy partying.)

That’s just how the folks organizing the parade want it. Says Bradley: “Theres no parade without the people, and if you don’t make the fund-raisers special, nobody is going to come.”

One last detail: The ad book. If you have a business or organization (or maybe it’s just you or your family), you can help out by buying an ad in the parade ad book. For details, contact Michael Bradley at (610) 308-8994.

February 18, 2011 by
News

They Danced All Afternoon at Division 39

Sister James and court

This year's parade grand marshal, Sister James Anne Feerick, is second from left. She's joined by Mary Frances Fogg, left, parade committee president Kathy McGee Burns, right, and Mary Patrick, right.

The AOH Hall down on Tulip Street was jammed to the rafters Sunday as Division 39 hosted a big fund-raiser for the 2011 Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Jamison provided the tunes, and both the girls of the Celtic Flame School and guests alike took to the dance floor often throughout the afternoon.

There was plenty to munch on (are meatballs Irish?) and the beer flowed liberally. (No, not too liberally.)

It won’t be the last fund-raiser for this year’s parade … but it will be remembered as one of the best.

Click here to see the photo essay with captions.

February 18, 2011 by
How to Be Irish in Philly

How To Be Irish In Philadelphia This Week

Shannon and Matt Heaton

Less than a month away. That’s right. St. Paddy’s Day—and all the local St. Paddy’s day activities are less than a month away. In fact, this week many pubs are celebrating “St. Practice Day” to help folks get ready for March 17, commonly known among Irish bartenders as “amateur night.”

Well, there’s plenty to do to get yourself conditioned. On Friday night, for example, Tir Na Nog in Center City is hosting the Bogside Rogues for “The Great Guinness Toast,” an international more-or-less simultaneous quaffing of the brown stuff.

And the 19th annual Greater Philadelphia Mid-Winter Scottish and Irish Festival gets underway in Valley Forge with a concert featuring the Scottish tribal drum group Albannach and The Dubliners, as well as locals Jamison and The Hooligans. This one runs all weekend and features everything from swordplay to whiskey tasting, with a whole lot of music and dance thrown in. There are people who need to practice for this event too. Not us—we’ll be there all weekend and you can see how we handle all things Celtic.

Direct from Boston, Irish duo Matt and Shannon Heaton will be making their magic at Trinity Episcopal Church in Swarthmore on Friday night.

And you have your choice of two great Irish plays – Terminus at the Zellerbach Theatre and The Lieutenant of Inishmore at Plays and Players. Better yet, go to both. If you buy tickets for two or more plays in Philadelphia’s Irish Theatre Festival, you get  a 20 percent discount. Go to the Philadelphia Theater Alliance website to order.

On Sunday, Dr. William Watson, director of the Duffy’s Cut Project in Malvern, where the bodies of 19th century Irish immigrants have been unearthed, will be speaking at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Glenside.

At 12:30 PM on Sunday, Irish Network-Philadelphia is holding a public meeting at the Irish Immigration Center in Upper Darby to discuss future events. Tea, coffee and sandwiches will be provided. If you’re not a member of this networking group, here’s your chance to join and. . .network.

There are still a few spaces in a one-day course at Temple University-Fort Washington on Celtic Christianity, which will be held on Wednesday evening. Dr. Ken Ostrand will take you from Irish Christianity before Saint Patrick to today, and introduce you to a variety of Irish saints (some with amazing powers).

Big day next Friday. The Irish American Business Chamber and Network Ambassador’s Awards Luncheon will honor Aramark Corp, the Rev. Timothy R. Lannon, outgoing president of St. Joseph’s University, and businessman James Hasson and his wife, Sarah. The event will take place at the Crystal Tea Room at 100 East Penn Square in Center City. Irish Ambassador to the US, Michael Collins, will make the presentations.

Later that evening, Collins along with Consul General Noel Kilkenny will be attending a fundraiser for the Duffy’s Cut Project. Money raised at the event, which will feature the music of Paul Moore and Friends, will be used to cover the costs of continued DNA tests on the remains found at the archeological site and to erect a memorial to the dead at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in East Falls.

The details for all these events and more are on our amazing calendar. If you have an event you want to publicize, you can add it to our calendar yourself or email me at denise.foley@comcast.net.

February 17, 2011 by
Music

Review: “A Moment of Madness,” by Brendan Begley and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh

Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh and Brendan Begley

Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh and Brendan Begley

Button accordionist Brendan Begley and fiddler Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh call their new CD “Le Gealaigh/A Moment of Madness.” If this be madness, there is method in it.

This 12-track recording is a bit of barely controlled wildness. I’m thinking in particular of one live track (“The Green Cottage,” “The Glin Cottage” and “Julia’s Norwegian Polka”) that brings to mind the image of a freight train roaring downhill, going faster and faster until the whole thing threatens to run off the rails.

It never does—but it’s a near thing.

There are a few moments like that on this recording, moments where musical expression could well be sacrificed on the altar of speed. In the hands of anyone less capable, that’s exactly what would happen. But wildness, Begley says, is a hallmark of the West Kerry style of accordion playing—and it’s Begley who seems to be leading this charge. You get the sense that wildness is exactly what these two musicians want to bring out in their tunes.

So yes, it is all a bit mad on occasion, but somehow they maintain their sanity.

We started out talking about a particular set of polkas. We could well talk a good deal more about them. There are six sets of polkas on this recording. As for the rest, it’s a neat little mix of jigs, a pair of laments and one set of hornpipes. Anyway, if you like polkas, you won’t be disappointed. With the exception of the aforementioned runaway train, most of them are well-suited to dancing. A particular favorite is track three—”Sean Keane’s” and “The Ardgroom Polka.” Begley plays the first tune, hitting all those deep, resonant chords, setting the pace. One of the interesting things about this CD is that you can hear the clicking of the accordion buttons on a few tracks. Maybe this isn’t what the musicians intended—it’s not the polished thing to do—but it gives the CD the ring of authenticity. It’s as if you were sitting next to Begley in the circle at a session. It’s almost visual. Ó Raghallaigh jumps in on the second tune, and the two together play with authority and great presence. They draw you in.

You’ll also be pulled in by the laments, “An Chéad Mháirt de Fhomhair” (The First Tuesday in Autumn) and “Na Gamhna Geala,” which Begley performs unaccompanied. Begley’s use of deep, droning chords is very pipe-like. There’s a stark beauty to both tunes.

Ó Raghallaigh gets his own chance to shine on a soaring set of polkas, “Tá Dhá Gabhairín Buí Agam,” “The Glen Cottage” and “I’ll Tell Me Ma.” It sounds like two fiddles playing.

With all the polkas, the jigs almost take a back seat. But not quite. The catchiest, most toe-tapping moments come on a set of jigs, “The Humors of Lisheen,” “The Munster Jig” and “Sean Coughlin’s.” You’re carried along by the rhythmic rising and falling of fiddle and box. It’s a perfect pairing.

With two players so well-matched and at the top of their game, “A Moment of Madness” is essential listening. It’s crazy good.

February 11, 2011 by