So who wasn’t there?
It seemed like everyone who had ever played music or danced to it in Emmett’s Place, the Northeast’s venerable Irish pub, was on hand for the big farewell bash. The joint was so crowded, people had to enter in shifts. At one point, an entire drum set needed to be assembled out on the sidewalk.
We could tell you more, but far better to show.
As medical disorders go, methylmalonic acidemia—MMA—probably is one of the lesser known. There are no monster Labor Day telethons to fund research into this inherited metabolic disorder. MMA can cause a buildup of methylmalonic acid in the bloodstream, resulting in severe ketoacidosis and, often, death.
The boys of Blackthorn can’t single-handedly replicate the success of a Jerry Lewis telethon, but, hey, they’re going to give it their best.
You can help Blackthorn raise money for research into MMA by slipping into your dancing shoes and traipsing on down to the Knights of Columbus on Baltimore Pike in Springfield-Delco Sunday, November 2, for the 8th annual “Ceili for Kayleigh.” All proceeds benefit MMA research. The event goes from 4 to 8 p.m.
The organization is named in honor of (soon to be) 9-year-old Kayleigh Moran. The Moran and Boyce families, together with her wide circle of friends, created the fund in her name to raise money for the research that is being conducted to find a cure for this disease.
“Ceili for Kayleigh” is dependent on continued and new support from individuals, clubs, organizations, and corporate sponsors to further its work. The organization is asking you to contribute to the cause in any way you can.
At the 8th annual benefit, organizers will be holding a “Pick-a-Prize” raffle table. Donors are welcome to give any type of “new” item that can be raffled off at this table during the benefit. (Examples: Gift certificates, sports items, signed memorabilia, crafts, electronics, business t-shirts.) You can also sponsor a table, enabling you to place your business cards, menus, coupons, and signs on the table that you sponsor. Because this event will be well attended by the local community—last year’s attendance reached 500 people—it is a great opportunity to advertise your business for the low cost of $50. Please make checks payable to “Ceili for Kayleigh.”
Tickets are $25. For tickets, call Marty Moran at (610) 356-6072.
Perhaps the best way to be Irish this week is to attend the October Feis sponsored by the Dennis Kelly AOH Division 1 in Havertown, which benefits the “Heroes Homecoming Fund,” a charity that offers help to financially needy injured soliders from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. See our story about this wonderful benefit.
Also on tap this weekend, friends of Emmett Ruane will be holding a “wake” for Emmett’s Place, a small pub in Oxford Circle that has been a mainstay of Irish entertainment for 37 years. Emmett is retiring, and many of those friends are musicians who’ve played at his place over the years, who will be performing starting at 7 PM Saturday and going into the wee hours. If you enjoy Irish dancing, you can pretty much count on burning lots of calories doing sets.
On Sunday, at the Irish Center in Mt. Airy, there’s a benefit, with live music by Paddy’s Well, to raise money for a Havertown plumber named Tony McDermott who has been battling cancer since last year and unable to work. Your $25 will help support the family of this Creeslough, Donegal native: his wife Bernadette, and two daughters, ages 5 and 7. If you’re unable to attend, you can send donations to the McDermott Family Benefit, Box 823, Havertown PA, 19083.
One of Ireland’s finest traditional musicians, John Carty, will be performing on Sunday night at the Coatesville Cultural Society—a very comfy and intimate venue—with guitarist Donal Clancy, who is now actively touring with the group Danu. Singly, they are remarkable performers; together, wow.
On Monday, Irish novelist Tom Phelan will give a talk at Villanova University’s St. Augustine Center on Ireland’s “forgotten heroes,” its World War I soldiers who fought in the British army. Phelan, whose novel, The Canal Bridge, tells the story of these soldiers who were not welcomed home as heroes, will discuss the conditions these soldiers—and there a quarter of a million of them—faced in the trenches and the reception they got at home.
On Wednesday, the group, Crowfoot, will be appearing at the Blue Ball Barn at Alapocas Run State Park in Wilmington, DE. This group melds musical influences from England, Ireland, Quebec, and the Appalachian mountains into a distinctive style.
There are also several performances of the Brendan Behan play, “The Hostage,” at the Roselle Center for the Arts in Newark, DE, this coming week.
Of course, we all know that Samhain is coming (that would be Irish for Halloween, or, strictly translated, summer’s end), so be sure to have some goodies on hand to keep the wandering souls of the faithful departed at bay. Halloween is an Irish invention; the ancients used to leave gifts of food for the dead during this magical time when the laws of space and time were suspended. They carved out turnips to look like protective spirits and lit candles to help guide the spirits home. This was also the time when the “wee folk” pulled pranks on unsuspecting humans, though in those days, no toilet paper or soap were involved.
As always, check our calendar of events, and don’t be surprised to see it trick-or-treating at your door next week. It’s thinking of going out as CNN.
Kevin Kane, center, and his brothers, John, left, and Christian, during a recent trip to Galway, Ireland.
Every Ancient Order of Hibernians division across the US spends a good part of its time and effort raising money for local charities. In Havertown, the Dennis Kelly Div. 1 AOH is no different. But its focus has been on helping veterans, either on the battlefield or, as they’re doing this year, on the home front. We spoke to Div. 1 Vice President Kevin Kane about Saturday’s benefit at St. Denis Gym in Havertown—featuring live Irish music by The Shantys, comedy, TVs all around for watching the Phillies, and gourmet food and drink—that will raise money for The Hero’s Homecoming Fund, the division’s own charity.
What is the Hero’s Homecoming Fund?
The “Hero’s Homecoming Fund” is a name we gave to the monies that we will be raising at our October benefit. The idea is to cut as many checks as possible directly to injured troops and their families for them to use as they see fit to improve their holiday season this year. We did not want to shower a family with $300 worth of Christmas gifts if what they really needed was help with their PECO bill, so it would seem actual checks cut directly to the troops would be the most effective way to help. Last year our fundraiser was “Treasures for our Troops” where we raised money, bought the care items for troops currently stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and sent over about 100 individual packages to them. This year, we are going on the home front with returned soldiers.
What got you personally involved in this particular charity?
It’s a cause near and dear to my heart. On October 14, 2006, Staff
Sergeant Joseph Kane, my cousin and friend, was killed by an IED (improvised explosive device) outside Baghdad. He was a Monsignor Bonner graduate and from Darby. Because of my AOH Division’s work in the cause and also my obvious family attachments to the cause, I was put in touch with one of the heads of Operation First Response, Nick Constantino. While it is a national organization that helps wounded troops, Nick is a local guy in Broomall who knows my aunt and uncle well (the parents of my cousin who was killed in action. After the final tally from our event we will sit down and figure out how many checks we can write, then Nick will give our division access to as many cases as we wish to review for donations. We hope to be able to help local guys but will not hesitate to go outside of the area as well.
Your division has other personal links to the troops, isn’t that right?
Yes, one of our division members, Jim McCans, spent time
in Iraq last year with his cadaver dog “Stashe.” When Jim was working with the military there, they came across a land mine and two of the soldiers assigned to help and guard Jim were severely wounded, Sgt. Rob Laux and Sgt. Chris Payne. Both soldiers are still recovering from their injuries at Walter Reed Hospital. Our division is putting both of the up for the night at a
local hotel, and they will be the guests of honor at our event.
[Editor’s note: This week, Havertown paramedic Jim McCans and Stache will receive an ASPCA Presidential Service Award for their work in Iraq, searching for the remains of US troops. The incident Kane refers to resulted in Stache breaking his eardrum, leading to temporary hearing loss from which the four-year-old Police Academy-trained black lab has since recovered.]
Like the other AOHs in the region, your division is active in the Hibernian Hunger Project, which was launched in this area and is now a national AOH charity. You’ve linked your work with veterans to that too, haven’t you?
Our commitment to veterans is also evident by our selection of recipients for our recent Hibernian Hunger Drive, where local schools and parishes donated food stuffs that we delivered to The Philadelphia Comfort House, at 41st and Baltimore Avenue, a temporary residence operated for the benefit of financially needy veterans and family members who require temporary housing while being treated at the VA Hospital. Our division also supported the recent charity benefits for Corporal Matthew Sonderman, another local severely wounded vet.
Your division recently co-sponsored a charity basketball game at Msgr. Bonner High School involving a ball team from a Belfast School. Tell us about that.
Our division sponsors a group of Irish basketball players from St. Malachy’s in Belfast to come over and tour the area, and play some basketball against some local high school basketball teams. In turn, we send a dozen or so local high school players once a year over to Belfast to do the same. We used part of the monies we raised at our “Bonner to Belfast and Back” basketball game this past Monday night to donate, along with the Bonner Fathers Association, a $500 check to the foundation set up for Officer Patrick McDonald, a Philadelphia cop of Irish descent shot and killed in the line of duty last month.
If you can’t make it to the benefit, you can still donate to help a returning injured vet. Send checks payable to “AOH Inc.” and mail them to division financial secretary Chuck Harrington at 715 Ardmore Ave, Ardmore, PA 19003.
Since 1971, Emmett’s Place in Oxford Circle has been the place to go for great Irish music and dancing every weekend. But now, after 37 years, owner Emmett Ruane is retiring. And in true Irish fashion, his friends are holding a “wake” for the place where they drank beer and danced sets even as the neighborhood became less and less Irish.
On Saturday, October 25, some of the musicians who played at Emmett’s—for some of them, one of their first gigs after arriving in the city from Ireland—will be providing the music one last time. (Update, October 27, 2008: Here’s a video sampler of the farewell party.)
Starting at 7 PM, you might catch Tommy Moffitt, the Vince Gallagher Band, the Malones and Their Cousin, Gerry TImlin, the King Brothers, Erins’ Heirs, Mike Brill, Paul Moore, Tom McHugh, Pat Campbell, Oliver McElhone, The Birmingham Six, The Brigade, Cletus McBride, The Celtic Connection, Tom Kelly, the Tara Gael Dancers, and more. (If you’re interested in being a part of the musical troupe, contact Fintan Malone at (215) 379-0424.)
Moore, lead singer of Paddy’s Well, previously of Blackthorn, says he knows the place and its owner “all too well.”
“He’s one of the finest people I know.” says Moore. “I am thrilled he can retire happily after all those years and that we can give him a nice farewell this weekend. All of the bands that I have ever played with got our first chance to play publicly there—Blarney Stones a/k/a Blarney, Blackthorn and Paddy’s Well. He was always true to keeping Irish music in the pub all through the years—’til the very end—through good years and bad.
“I love and respect the fact that he gave so many musicians a chance to succeed in the past 40 years so I am really looking forward to giving him a big farewell this weekend and saying thanks for everything.
“I have so many funny stories and happy memories from emmett’s place that it is hard to pick one. But I would say that my dad (Paul) and my grandfather (Will O’Donnell) only ever heard me perform in public in one place before they both passed away in 1990. It was Emmett’s Place and that’s something i’ll always remember.”
Dancers, too have their memories.
Marianne MacDonald, host of the radio show “Come West Along the Road,” has been going to Emmett’s since the early ’90s. She recalls her first visit. “I went to see Blarney (Fintan and Tom Brett). There was a full crowd, with several folks from New Jersey. On the way home, we realized that Levick Street was one way in the wrong direction and, not being sure what to do, we made a right and ended up doing a scenic tour of North Philly on the way home. The next time we made sure we followed someone who knew the way.
“There were many memorable times but probably one of my favorites was the night before Thanksgiving when Tommy Moffit would play and all of the folks would come in and catch up with each other. The place would be packed to the gills, you could hardly move, you were lucky if you got a seat and there would be three or four sets dancing on the tiny dance floor. It was always a great night, lots of fun and you’d see people you hadn’t seen in months.
“I think it’s sort of like the Northeast’s answer to Cheers, where everyone knows your name. You always felt very comfortable coming through that front door and you’d hear folks calling hello, waving to you and there would be Emmett at the back of the bar by the kitchen or at his table with the lamp.
“I know I will miss the place an awful lot. I hadn’t been getting there as much as I used to but I always tried to get there at least once a month. Emmett deserves a lot of credit for starting the Irish music and keeping it running all these years, through thick and thin. I feel like it’s the end of an era but Emmett certainly deserves a well-earned retirement! I hope everyone comes out next Saturday night for the send-off party.”
Hey, we’re going to be there! Hope to see you too! Emmett’s Place is at 925 Levick Street.
The Martin family at play. (Photo by Bill O’Neal)
By Tom Slattery
On October 11, Bucks County Community College and CCC Celt presented their 16th annual concert. This year’s featured performers were the Martin Family Band, a family group that brought down the house.
From Berks County, the four-year old group featured the fiddling and Irish dance talents of the three Martin sisters, Emily (17), Melissa (15) and Christy (10), who were accompanied by brother Brian (12) on drums, as well as father Nelson on guitar and mother Elaine on bass. Every so often 7-year old Zach would add his fiddle to the mix.
One of their two CDs is entitled “Emily’s Dream.” Emily is the one who met Eileen Ivers several years ago and had the dream of having her family play the Irish fiddle. Their Web site is http://www.martinfamilyband.net/
Although the music was primarily Irish traditional, the talented group also added a little Appalachian bluegrass and a few French-Canadian reels. They had the enthusiastic audience clapping away on several numbers.
Having been the emcee and entertainment selector for this event over the past umpteen years, I was amazed at the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the group. What was amazing was the number of people who have attended several of these concerts, exclaiming, “the best act yet.” In fact, the reaction was so positive that we signed them on the spot for nest year’s concert which will be on October 10, 2009.
In addition to the fiddles, guitar and drums, the group also played bagpipes, mandolin, concertina, whistles, and the bones.
The show was emceed by Tom Slattery, who also turned storyteller to open each half.
After the show, and included in the price, there was a reception which included Celtic baked goods, and coffee, tea and cider, as well as the opportunity to visit with the entertainers and to view parts of the Celtic Collection which were on display.
Luckily we have cornered the market on top shelf bakers with Grace and Ellen making Irish soda bread, Bill doing Welsh cookies, and Jinny baking Cornish cookies. We would like to get someone who bakes Scottish rock buns to fill out the Celtic theme. Any volunteers?
If you just can’t wait for Mick Moloney’s big musical fund-raiser at St. Malachy’s Church in North Philly—a benefit for the parish’s vibrant and indispensible school on November 2—you can get yourself a great little preview.
Compass has recently released “Absolutely Irish,” the CD version of the April 2007 Public Television show of the same name.
It’s Moloney’s magic that he can bring together many of your favorite artists—you never know quite who will show up for the St. Malachy show, and you’ll kick yourself for sure if you miss it. On this CD, producer Moloney has assembled quite the stellar cast, including guitarist John Doyle, Séamus Egan of Solas, the irrepressible Joanie Madden of Cherish the Ladies, the brilliant singers Karan Casey and Robbie O’Connell, and fiddlers Liz Carroll, Athena Tergis and Eileen Ivers. Also appearing: Susan McKeown, Niall O’Leary, Darrah Carr, Jerry O’Sullivan, Billy McComiskey, Brendan Dolan, Rhys Jones, Tim Collins, Mac Benford, Mike Rafferty and Jo McNamara.
Yikes.
O’Connell and Tergis were part of last year’s lineup at St. Malachy’s. (Read our story.)
It’s hard to pick a bad tune off this CD, though there were a couple of “off” notes.
For example, I didn’t particularly care for Susan McKeown’s interpretation of “Fair London Town.” It just seemed slightly out of her range, and she was noticeably flat on many of the higher notes. She’s a wondrous singer, so figure it was an off night. And I’m a nut for bluegrass, which has deep ties to traditional Scottish and Irish music, but “June Apple,” with Mac Benford and Rhys Jones, was not my cup of tea. It might be yours, though.
As for all the rest, there are few tunes that are now enjoying heavy rotation on my car CD player. Particular favorites were several songs, including “Flower of Kilkenny,” featuring Robbie O’Connell, “The King’s Shilling,” with Karan Casey doing the honors, and “McNally’s Row of Flats,” a great little ensemble tune that Mick and friends performed last year at St. Malachy.
All of the stars get a chance to shine, including Liz Carroll and John Doyle first, then Doyle and Joanie on a blazing set, “Before the Storm/The Black Rogue/The Lass of Ballintra/The (Other) High.” Many of the gang—John Doyle, Séamus Egan, Liz Carroll, Joanie Madden, Tim Collins, Eileen Ivers, Billy McComiskey and Jerry O’Sullivan—get together on a gorgeous set of jigs, “Lark in the Morning/Cannabhan Ban/Humours of Ballyloughlin.”
Listen to the fireworks, too, on a fiddle extravaganza “Never Was Piping So Gay/The Chandelier/Paddy Fahey,” with Liz Carroll, Eileen Ivers, Athena Tergis each taking a turn, accompanied by the inimitable John Doyle on guitar. The three ladies bow at breakneck speed to start, but when Ivers comes in, the whole things slips into overdrive. (At least it seems noticeable to a drummer.) If anyone but John Doyle was playing accompaniment, his arm would be falling off at the end.
It’s another of those weekends: So much to do, so little time. Here are your choices. . .
On Saturday:
Hear some great Irish bands at a benefit for the families of slain Philadelphia police officers Patrick McDonald and Isabel Nazario at the Bridesburg VFW. The event starts with a mass at 11 AM.
Watch screenings of the latest film from Irish-American filmmaker Shawn Swords which will be running continuously from 5 PM at Rembrandt’s Restaurant in Philadelphia. Swords, who previously produced a documentary on local Celtic rockers Blackthorn, had turned his focus on the American Bandstand era in Philadelphia and the payola scandals in “Wages of Spin.”
Enjoy McDermott’s Handy (Dennis Gormley and Kathy DeAngelo) at the Celtic Café concert series at the Medford Friends Meeting House in New Jersey, starting at 7:30 PM.
Help the LAOH Trinity Div. 4 raise money for AOH charities at Sacred Heart Parish Hall in Clifton Heights, Delaware County. The Old News Band provides the soundtrack, starting at 8 PM.
Tap your feet and clap your hands to Tony DeMarco, noted New York fiddler in the exuberant Sligo style, at the World Café Live in Philadelphia at 8 PM.
But don’t stop there. On Sunday:
Put on your dancing shoes for a ceili at the Polk Township Fire Hall in Kresgeville, PA, starting at 2 PM.
Help raise money for the Inis Nua Theatre Company at a special performance of “Trad,” a play written by Mark Doherty at Fergie’s Pub on Sansom Street in center city. Inis Nua is the only theater company in the city to produce the best of plays by Celtic playwrights. Everything starts at 6 PM.
And it’s not over yet.
On Monday, Monsignor Bonner High School in Drexel Hill will be hosting the players from St. Malachy’s College in Northern Ireland in a basketball game (the last one in 2006 ended in double overtime, so prepare for excitement). Donations will be sent to a scholarship fun at Archbishop Ryan High School in the name of slain Police Officer Patrick McDonald. The Dennis Kelly AOH Div. 1 in Havertown is sponsoring the event, which starts at 7 PM.
On Wednesday, brush up your Gaelic at an Irish language meet-up at 7:30 PM at The Irish Times in Queen Village.
Also on Wednesday, the Roselle Center for the Arts in Newark, DE, begins a run of “The Hostage” by Brendan Behan, which concludes on November 8.
And don’t forget: On Thursday, John Carty and Donal Clancy will be playing at the Moorestown Community House in Moorestown, NJ. If you miss them there, they’ll be playing at one of our favorite venues, The Coatesville Cultural Society in Coatesville, on October 26. Carty is one of Ireland’s finest Irish traditional musicians. Clancy (of the famous Clancy family) is touring with the group, Danu.