News, People, Photos

An Immigration Center Christmas

The Irish Immigration Center’s annual Christmas party had a bittersweet tinge to it on Thursday night. It’s the last party Siobhan Lyons will preside over as executive director.

The Dublin-born Lyons has taken a new job as CEO of Citizen Diplomacy International of Philadelphia, an international relations organization that, among other things, runs international exchange programs for the federal government and the city of Philadelphia and matches leaders from other countries with their counterparts in the US. Their slogan: “Make friends. Make contacts. Make peace.”

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December 18, 2015 by
Dance, Music, News, Photos, Videos

Need a Little Christmas? Right This Very Minute?

We got your Christmas.

This past week saw more than a few Irish holiday-oriented events, and we have souvenirs from three.

On Sunday, the Divine Providence Village Rainbow Irish Step Dancers joined the Tara Gael Dancers at the Irish Center for a memorable Christmas show. The Rainbow dancers are a group of developmentally disabled women taught by local Irish step dancer Kathy Madigan. They live at the archdiocesan home in Delaware County.

They never fail to inspire, and their most recent holiday performance was no exception.

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December 11, 2015 by
News

How to Be Irish in Philly This Week

Weatherwise it may feel like spring, but you’ll still get into the Christmas spirit this week in Irish Philadelphia.

This Sunday, musicians Gabriel Donohue and Cathy Maguire will arrive via horse carriage at the Dubliner on the Delaware in New Hope for an afternoon and evening of Christmas and other music. The show benefits Fisherman’s Mark, a Lambertville, NJ, nonprofit serving the local community.

On Wednesday, Cherish the Ladies, along with singer Don Stiffe, will be performing some of the songs and tunes from their new album, “Christmas in Ireland,” at The Grand Opera House, 818 N. Market Street in Wilmington, DE.

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December 11, 2015 by
News, People

It Sure Looks Like Dancing

It might be a stretch to say that poetry saved Liam Porter’s life, but the longtime newspaper reporter and editor thinks it might have helped turn his life around after he lost his job at The Inishowen Independent  during Ireland’s drawn-out economic recession.

Poetry wasn’t the only light he saw in the darkness, but that was a good thing, because there was plenty of darkness.

“I was applying for jobs and going on interviews and not getting any positivity,” says Porter of Raphoe, County Donegal, who has about a dozen family members living in the Philadelphia area. “You begin to devalue your own self-worth. My wife was working, but it was hard to be home every day to see the postman coming and bringing another bill and knowing I couldn’t contribute. Our girls were going to dance classes and all of a sudden we had to say ‘You can’t go there. We don’t have the money.’ It came to the point where I was calculating that maybe they might be better off without me. Then you know you’re not in a good place.”

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December 11, 2015 by
News, Photos, Videos

The Christmas Tree Arrives at the Plough

I’ve always wondered how they got that huge Christmas tree into the Plough & the Stars.

And make no mistake—every year, the Plough, at 2nd and Chestnut, manages to wedge a fir tree that stands over 20 feet into a corner or the restaurant, not far from the fireplace. (Not too close, though.)

I had heard rumors that it was lowered into place through trap door just an arm’s length from the restaurant’s second level. I Never quite believed it, but still … how else?

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December 4, 2015 by
How to Be Irish in Philly

How To Be Irish in Philly This Week

It’s going to be a very Christmassy week here in Irish Philadelphia land.

An American Celtic Christmas, a multi-media, multi-genre spectacular, produced annually by Frank Daly and CJ Mills of Jamison and American Paddy’s Productions, will be on stage twice on Saturday at Bensalem High School—a matinee at 3 PM and an evening show at 7 PM. Along with Jamison, you’ll hear John Byrne of the John Byrne Band, Bob Hurst of the Bogside Rogues, singer Kimberly Killen Clark, and Sean Hicks. The Celtic Flame School Of Irish Dance and the Bucks County Dance Center will, obviously, be providing the dancing—and it will be thrilling.

On Sunday morning, local Irish folks and organizations will be massing on the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum for a photograph to send support and holiday wishes to political prisoners in Northern Ireland. All are welcome.

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December 4, 2015 by
How to Be Irish in Philly

How to Be Irish in Philly This Week

Still feeling too stuffed to move? Not the case for the teems of Irish dancers from the Mid-Atlantic region that are in Philadelphia this weekend at the Oireachtas, a major competition being held at the Marriott Downtown on Market Street. It’s an annual event, open to the public and a lot of fun, even if you’re competing.

The Donegal Ball is Saturday night at the Irish Center. The Philadelphia Mary from Dungloe, Shannon Alexander, will be giving up her crown to a new Mary who will compete this summer in Dungloe, County Donegal.

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November 27, 2015 by