Music, Videos

Sneak Preview: “The Christmas Letter,” With Cherish the Ladies and Don Stiffe

On Saturday, December 1, Cherish the Ladies with Don Stiffe take the stage at the Commodore Barry Arts & Cultural Center (the Irish Center) to present their amazing Celtic Christmas show. The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets here.

One of the seasonal songs to be presented will be the poignant “The Christmas Letter,” with lead vocals performed by Stiffe. As the YouTube promo explains: “The song tells the sad story of forced immigration due to starvation and unemployment and a mother’s broken heart lamenting over the loneliness of a Christmas morning knowing that her family is forever torn apart and the only contact she’ll ever have is the letters that arrive for Christmas.”

Try listening to it without developing a little tremble in the lips and forming a few tears. Heart-breaking and lovely.

Here’s a sneak preview.

November 23, 2018 by
How to Be Irish in Philly

How to Be Irish in Philly This Week

We’re publishing early this week on the theory that a lot of us are still recovering from Turkey Day. I don’t know about you, but a long nap might be in order. Opening emails might be the last thing you do on Friday.

Besides, there’s a lot going on, and for some of it, the sooner you hear about it, the better.

So here we go. Take a deep breath.

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November 21, 2018 by
Audio, Music

Podcast: Interview with Derek Warfield

Derek Warfield, leader of the Young Wolfe Tones, continues his illustrious musical career, now exceeding the 50-year mark. We recently interviewed him, and he looked back on those 50 years—his life, musical upbringing, career, and hopes for the future of the Irish musical tradition.

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November 21, 2018 by
Audio, Music

Podcast: Interview with Joanie Madden

Joanie Madden brings her band Cherish the Ladies to the Commodore John Barry Arts & Cultural Center (The Irish Center) Saturday, December 1, for the first stop of the Celtic Christmas tour. Tickets here.

Joanie, who recently won the Eugene O’Neill Lifetime Achievement Award from the Irish-American Writers and Artists, recently took time for a chat about the award, the band, her career, and the new Christmas music tour.

Jeff: So I guess I’ll just jump right into it. You recently received the Eugene O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award from the Irish-American Writers and Artists. That had to be gratifying after so many years of performing.

Joanie: Well, you know, Jeff, first off it’s great to speak to you again, and secondly, you know, it’s always nice to receive awards and honors and we had a great night. It was actually Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas presented me with the award, and it was great to join this illustrious list of names of people that have won it previously. But it was a great night. What was great about it for me, more importantly, was that so many of the musicians in New York and New Jersey and Connecticut came out. You know, all my great friends in the music business, so it was wonderful to see them all there for that.

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November 20, 2018 by
Photos

Photos! Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame 2018

There was a whole lot of love in the ballroom of the Commodore John Barry Arts & Cultural Center Sunday night. A full house of friends and family members joined in honoring the 2018 Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame awardees Sunday night.

Honorees included irishphiladelphia.com co-founder Denise Foley, Pearse Kerr, whose lifetime experience included a stint in British custody during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and Sister Frances Kirk, SSJ, renowned as the Delaware Valley chairperson and organizer of Project Children, a program that provided a summer holiday in the United States. away from those aforementioned Troubles for literals thousands of Catholic and Protestant kids.

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November 19, 2018 by
News

Mary Courtney Sings of Ireland and ‘Freedom’s Pioneers’

She’s been living in NYC since 1982, but Mary Courtney’s voice is pure Irish, the acoustic rendering of an evening around a turf fire, drinking a cuppa fortified with whiskey and honey, while the winds blow in from the west and an ethereal mist shrouds the cottage. It’s a voice that is mighty belting out rebel rock, but exalted when it has a ballad to bestow. It’s a voice that never disappoints, and is able to take old songs to new places.

The Castlegregory, County Kerry, native has a new CD out titled “Freedom’s Pioneers” that pays tribute to heroes of the rebellions Ireland has borne witness to over the last several hundred years. She explained, “I felt that the sacrifice of those souls needed to be remembered and honoured as well.” And not only the Catholics who fought for Ireland, for, as she points out, “A lot of our patriots were Protestants, both those that fought and those who were writers. I feel that their sacrifice is often overlooked, and I hope this CD shines a light on their contributions & highlights the fact that the struggle for freedom was not always split along religious lines.”

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November 16, 2018 by
How to Be Irish in Philly

How to Be Irish in Philly This Week

This coming week, there’s a lot to be thankful for—including some night-before-Thanksgiving Irish activities sure to get you in the holiday spirit.

One quick reminder: Sunday night, the 18th, starting at 5 p.m., we’re celebrating the contributions of four of our favorite peeps at the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame Dinner, at the Commodore Barry Arts & Cultural Center (the Irish Center), 6815 Emlen Street in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia. Honored will be irishphiladelphia.com founding editor Denise Foley, Pearse Kerr and Sister Frances Kirk, SSJ. Receiving the Commodore John Barry Award will be Sister James Anne Feerick, IHM. Details here.

Now … on to the Thanksgiving week festivities.

On Thanksgiving Eve, you’ll have a lot of choices:

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November 16, 2018 by