The Philadelphia Ceili Group hosted two of Irish music’s greats at The Irish Center last Saturday night: fiddle player Matt Cranitch and accordion player Jackie Daly. Their forte: the Sliabh Luachre style of playing that’s unique to the region of northwest Cork and east Kerry, and they’re considered to be among the preeminent interpreters of this music. And not only that, but they’re funny, too.
The two are on an October tour of the U.S. with their new CD, “Rolling On.” For more information on their tour dates, check out their website.
We captured a few of their tunes on video, but as Matt said at the end of the evening, “These concerts are only successful if there’s an audience…The world’s infested by disco culture, so let’s fight back and support live music. Make live music where it’s happening.”
Next up for the Ceili Group concerts: James Keane & Michael Tubridy at 8PM on Friday, October 24th and Rose Flanagan & Laura Byrne at 8PM on Saturday, November 15th. Come out and make live music where it’s happening!
This past Sunday, close to 500 people gathered at the Irish Center to show their support for Kathy Meehan-Guilin. The daughter of Donegal native Jimmy Meehan, one of the most beloved members of Philadelphia’s Irish Community, Kathy was diagnosed with breast cancer in February of 2014, and it’s been a long road. From April to July, the mother of three children (Jimmy, 18; Moira, 14 and Anna, 13) underwent chemotherapy treatment, in early September she had a mastectomy and she’s about to begin six weeks of radiation. And in the midst of all of this, her husband of 19 years, Dave, was laid off from his job.
Among the Irish, there is a particularly strong tradition of community, and when someone in the extended family is in trouble, people come together. So when word got out last spring about Kathy’s diagnosis, the Irish in Philadelphia mobilized. Calls were made, a committee was formed and Jim Boyle and Liam Hegarty took on the role of co-chairing a fund-raising effort.
“Tom Boyle called me and said, ‘Jimmy Meehan’s daughter needs help,'” Liam explained. “That was all it took. Thirty people showed up at the first meeting. Historically, you start out with a large group of volunteers, and people fall away. Not with this group. You couldn’t go wrong with this group. Everyone pitched in immediately, everyone took on a job.”
The fundraising initially began by reaching out with a leaflet that members of the group took to local parishes and grocery stores, telling Kathy’s story. Volunteers spent untold hours collecting money and selling raffle tickets. Vince Gallagher and Marianne MacDonald talked about Kathy’s story on their Sunday Irish radio shows. Leslie Alcock, who is the Director of Community Programs at the Irish Immigration Center of Philadelphia, was appointed the group’s Public Relations person, and set up a Facebook page and sent out newsletters. In June, the planning began for Sunday’s big event—a culmination that brought out everything that is wonderful about a community that knows how to pull together.
The Irish Center donated the space, Paddy Rooney’s Catering in Havertown donated the food, local musicians donated their time and talents, raffle donations poured in from local pubs and restaurants and individuals who donated baskets of goods as well as larger items that included a bicycle, a signed Donegal Jersey and tickets to an Eagles game.
“I’m overwhelmed,” Kathy said. “I’m amazed at how many people showed up. The way these people have been so generous, it’s a source of strength. It’s really lifted my spirits—people just want to help. Strangers, people I don’t even know. I don’t know how to thank everybody. People come up to me and say, ‘You’re Kathy, Jimmy’s daughter, I know your father.’ People have been so good. I feel cocooned, wrapped in so much love.”
Jimmy Meehan understands: “It’s the Irish Community. With this community, you can’t lose. We’ve been a very active and close-knit family for years. It’s how you were raised. You take care of family and neighbors and anybody close to you. If a time arises when someone needs help, we’ll take care of each other.”
And Leslie Alcock understands why so many people want to help the Meehan-Guilin family: “Everyone knows how much Jimmy has done for the community over the years. He always looks out for his friends, he’s always so kind, the first to volunteer and do anything to help out; he’s never just sitting back.You ask him to do something and he always says yes.”
The community isn’t finished helping yet. As Kathy begins her radiation treatment, a “Take Them a Meal” program has been set up. The schedule can be accessed by going to the website: TakeThemAMeal.com and typing in the name “Meehan-Guilin” and password “4829.”
As Leslie summed it up, ” All the work that went into this, all the time and energy, it warms your heart. There’s so much good in the world.”
The real Lady Augusta Gregory, whose plays are in Philadelphia for a run.
Duffy’s Cut dominates the calendar this week. Along with a day-long symposium on Saturday at Immaculata which employs the arts to explore the mystery of the deaths of 57 Irish railroad workers in Malvern in 1832, Immaculata Professor William Watson, who led an archeological dig that found the bodies, will also be speaking on Tuesday at AOH Division 39 Hall on Tulip Street in Philadelphia.
History buffs might also enjoy “A Night with Lady G,” a trilogy of funny plays by celebrated Irish playwright Augusta, Lady Gregory, which opens at Plays and Players Theater on Delancey Street in Philadelphia. My favorite Lady Gregory quotes: “It is the old battle, between those who use a toothbrush and those who don’t” and “I feel more and more the time wasted that is not spent in Ireland.”
For some great music, head to the Tin Angel, where The John Byrne Band opens for the Palm Ghosts at the Tin Angel on Second Street in the city.
The JBB will be in Jim Thorpe on Sunday for the Fall Foliage Fest. History buffs can enjoy the fest and also check out the jail where the Irish miners, the Molly Maguires, were hanged, in this beautiful little town.
On Sunday, be prepared to burn some serious calories at the Ceili at AOH Notre Dame Div. 1 in Bridgeport.
Later, head down to the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts to hear the Makem and Spain Brothers (yes, that Makem—they’re the sons of Tommy Makem) for an evening of Irish folk music.
There won’t be any Irish language lessons at Villanova on Monday, October 13 because the university is closed that day. Classes will resume on October 20.
On Friday, the Pulley and Buttonhole Theater Company is performing Conor McPherson’s play, The Weir, which will run Fridays and Saturdays, the 17, 18, 24. and 25 at 305 Old York Road in Jenkintown (the theater is on the second floor and there is no elevator).
Looking ahead: Iconic Irish singer Mary Black will be appearing on October 24 at the Colonial Theater in Phoenixville. This is her “last call” tour—she’s retiring from touring the world after 30 years. The first of the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day fundraisers takes place on October 25—a beef and beer at St. Denis Church Hall in Havertown.
Please check our calendar for details and updates.
The memorial at Wesst Laurel Hill Cemetery where some of the victims are buried.
You’ll learn everything there is to know about Duffy’s Cut—its history, the songs, poems, novels, and plays written about it, films made and in the works, and even view artifacts recovered from the archeological dig—at a special day-long symposium at Immaculata College on Saturday, October 11.
Sponsored by Irish Network-Philadelphia, the day starts at 1 PM with screenings of the Kilmaine Saints’ video of a song about the 57 Irish immigrant railroad workers who died or were killed during a cholera epidemic in Malvern in 1832. That’s followed by screenings of “The Ghosts of Duffy’s Cut” and “Death on the Railroad,” two documentaries about the event and the work of Bill and Frank Watson and the late John Ahtes, who spearheaded the investigation into Duffy’s Cut which led to the discovery of mass graves not far from the Immaculata campus, where Bill Watson is a history professor.
The Duffy’s Cut Museum, which contains artifacts including clay pipes, coffin nails, and railroad spikes, will be open throughout the day. Take a virtual tour here.
Music will be provided by Marian Makins, Rosaleen McGill, Vince Gallagher, Pat Kenneally, and Mickey Coleman, as well as the Watson brothers on bagpipes. There will be two panel discussions, including one on Duffy’s Cut and the Pennsylvania Railroad and the other on “Duffy’s Cut: Why It atters,” which will feature CBS3 reporter Walt Hunter, and former Warner Brothers’ VP Bill Daly and actor and Drexel film studies professor Pat McDade, who, with Daily, has formed a company, duffyscutfilm, which is producing a feature film on this 19th century tragedy.
Novelist Kristen Walker will read excerpts from her forthcoming novel, “Between Darkness and The Tide,” which was inspired by Duffy’s Cut. Kelly Clark will be reading from her forthcoming book, “Duffy’s Cut—A Novel” and John Bohannon will read selected poems from “Barmaids of Tir na Nog.”
Ticket prices, which include a meal and a beverage provided by Tellus360 of Lancaster, range from $35 for students and seniors to $120 for the event and a IN-Philadelphia membership. Proceeds from the event will help pay for the next phase of the Duffy’s Cut dig—to recover the bodies of 50 of the victims.
So far, the remains of only seven have been recovered. Six were interred in a plot donated by West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd.
The seventh, identified as teenager John Ruddy from Inishowen, County Donegal, was buried in a family plot owned by Vincent Gallagher, president of the Philadelphia Irish Center, in Ardara, County Donegal.
To learn more about the second phase of the Duffy’s Cut dig, read our story.
Photos of some of the Duffy’s Cut artifacts, including bones, are below.
Everyone their feet for the “Siege of Ennis” set dance.
The number you’ve been waiting for. It was $60,000, give or take. While the final tally isn’t in, it looks like the 3-month “Save the Irish Center” campaign not only met its goal of $50,000, but exceeded it by about $10,000. That made the final fundraiser of the year—an open house at the center in Philadelphia on Sunday—a celebration.
About 200 people cycled in and out of the center over 6 hours, buying raffle tickets, tasting scone bread, dancing, clapping, and—if you were a kid—getting their faces intricately painted with butterflies, tiger muzzles, or fanciful Celtic designs. The day opened with a full Irish breakfast and the broadcasting of the Sunday Irish Radio Shows from the Fireside Room—named for its big working fireplace–in the rambling center in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of the city.
The campaign was launched following a citywide reassessment that raised the center’s taxes by 800 percent (later, through the help of attorneys from the city’s Brehon Society, an organization of Irish lawyers and judges, reduced to a 300 percent hike) and a notice from the city Board of Health that the kitchen range hood—a $22,000 item—had to be replaced to meet code.
The Center, founded in 1958, makes money as an event hall, taking in about a quarter of a million dollars a year. However, the building is in dire need of maintenance and its size makes it expensive to heat and cool. It is the home of the county societies, the Emerald Society Pipes and Drums, the Delaware Valley Hall of Fame, the Philadelphia Ceili Group, and the Cummins School of Irish Dance. Dozens of dancers come each week to learn and practice ceili dancing with instructors John Shields and Cass Tinney and audiences drawn from both within and outside the Irish community attend concerts by top-name and rising traditional musicians brought to the region by the Ceili Group.
A small group of concerned people from all parts of the community and members of the Irish Center board met several months ago at the home of Kathy McGee Burns, president of the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame, to come up with a strategy to raise money to get the center over its fiscal crisis and, ultimately, to help it achieve a more secure financial footing for the future. A combination of fundraisers, raffles, a web-based crowd-sourcing campaign via gofundme.com, and a direct mail appeal raised more than $50,000 before Sunday’s final fundraiser, which edged it well over the top. Michael Bradley, director of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, this week pledged $300 to tip the total to and even $60,000.
The first event was a fundraiser at Maloney’s Pub in Ardmore, followed by a Night of Comedy with New York-based, Irish-born comic Mick Thomas and friends, a Quizzo Night at the Irish Center, and, finally, the Irish Center open house.
At the open house, four dance schools—Cummins, Coyle, McDade-Cara, Shades of Green—performed (and many joined in for a center-wide “Siege of Ennis” set dance), along with John and Michael Boyce of Blackthorn with their sister, Karen Boyce McCollum, a member of the fundraising committee, and at least once with their uncle, box player Kevin McGillian; Kathy DeAngelo and Dennis Gormley with two members of their Next Generation group of young trad players, Keegan Loesel and Olivia Lisowski; fiddler Bette Conway; bodhran player Bill Whitman; Irish Center President Vince Gallagher and his band; and the Emerald Society Pipes and Drums.
There were 11 entries in the Irish Philadelphia-sponsored scone-baking contest—judged by Tom Wyatt, Irish Immigration Center Executive Director Siobhan Lyons, and WXPN Kids’ Corner host, Kathy O’Connell—and the winners were: first place, Mary Shea; second place, Bridie Brady; third place, Denise Byrnes; and honorable mention, Jimmy Meehan. Shea, who won $100 for her first-ever scone, donated the money to the Irish Center.
The Irish Coffee Shop of Upper Darby catered the event which was organized by Frank Hollingsworth with other members of the fundraising committee.
This year’s fundraising activities may be at an end, but the campaign is a two-year project and there will be other events in 2015 to help raise an additional $50,000. With the help of the Brehons, the Center’s board is in the process of filing for a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit designation which will help defray some future costs, make it eligible for grants, and allow all donations to be tax deductible.
The fundraising committee is seeking suggestions and recommendations from the Irish community on ways the Center can better respond to your needs. If you have ideas on ways the Center can become more of hub for Irish events in the Philadelphia region, you can send them to us (Jeff Meade, Lori Lander Murphy and I serve on the committee) at either dmfoley1950@gmail.com or irishphilly@gmail.com , or through the website or our Facebook page.
And if you couldn’t be at Sunday’s open house, you can catch a glimpse of some of the fun via our photo essay below, and watch the moments we caught on video.
Get ready for some Gaelic football on the brand new Limerick Field October 4.
For as long as we’ve been cranking out this website (I think we’re heading into our ninth St. Patrick’s Day season in 2015) the Philadelphia Gaelic Athletic Association has been planning, fundraising, and creating its new field in Limerick. And now, it’s opening for the first time for play.
On Saturday, October 4, Irish Vice Consul Anne McGllicuddy and head of the US GAA board Gareth Fitzsimons will be on hand as teams take to the brand new field, starting at 11 AM with a St. Joe’s Vs. Alumni game followed by McCartan Cup play, hurling, an over-40 game (hopefully there will be a defibrillator standing by) and a game pitting American-born players vs. the Irish born. The McDade Cara Irish Dancers will be there, and there will be food and festivities all day at the field, which is located at 485 Longview Avenue, Limerick.
If you’ve never seen Gaelic football or hurling, you’re in for a treat. Warning: You might get hooked. We are!
It’s quite a busy day in Irish Philadelphia land. At 2 PM on Saturday the Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 87 is holding a forum on the question of Irish freedom, an issue that has taken center stage again as the result of the Scottish independence vote last month. Guest speakers from the 1916 Societies of Ireland, an Irish separatist movement, will be on hand.
On Saturday night, top trad performers Jackie Daly (accordion) and Matt Cranitch (fiddle) will be on stage at the Irish Center for a Philadelphia Ceil Group concert. There are also workshops in the afternoon.
On Sunday, head to the high seas—oh, okay, just the Delaware River—for Irish music on the A.J. Meerwald, a 120-foot oyster schooner, a tall ship of New Jersey. The mini-cruise, featuring Friends of Eric, will sail the river from Penns Landing.
On Monday, get teed off at the Jack McNamee Masters of the Green Golf Tournament at Paxson Hollow Country Club in Broomall—a fundraiser for the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
On Wednesday, Anne Cadwallader, author of “Lethal Allies: British Collusion in Ireland,” an Irish bestseller, will be speaking and signing books at AOH Div. 39 in Philadelphia. Drawing on police files, Cadwallader documents collusion between the Ulster Defense Regiment, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, and illegal loyalist paramilitaries on both sides of the Irish border. The book names more than 20 police and soliders involved in murders and coverups and includes interviews with the relatives of the 120 victims who were killed on both sides of the border.
On Thursday, Plays and Players will present “An Evening with Lady G”—no, not Gaga, but Lady Augusta Gregory, the Irish playwright—at its theater on Delancey Street. The play runs through October 25.
On Friday, the John Byrne Band teams up with old friends, Citizens Band Radio, at Havana’s in New Hope. The JBB will also be playing at the Tin Angel on October 11 and at the Fall Foliage Fest in Jim Thorpe on October 12.
Look for more details on these and other events on our calendar.
“Is Feidir Linn” AKA “Yes We Can,” The Winning Quizzo Team
Think Quizzo is only an American invention? It’s not. The team trivia game played in bars, churches and other venues may be all the rage now, especially here in Philadelphia, but its roots are planted firmly in Ireland.
The history of the game, known as Table Quiz or Pub Quiz in Ireland, harks back to the 1950’s and the introduction of television. Before most families could afford to buy their own TV sets, the pubs became the the place to go not only for eating, drinking and socializing—but also for calling out answers to the popular quiz shows of the day. Pub owners, never ones to miss an opportunity for bringing in more patrons, began offering their own live quiz nights. And thus a tradition was born.
So when the Commodore Barry Center AKA The Irish Center here in Philly was looking for fun and innovative ways to raise money for its fundraising campaign this summer, Marianne MacDonald and Tom Ivory came up with the idea to host a Quizzo night. Years ago, the Center used to host Quizzo games, but the crowd outgrew the ballroom’s capacity and moved to another location. The success of last Friday’s event, however, is poised to herald in a new era of Irish Center Quizzo nights.
“Coming up with the idea was easy,” Tom explained. “They are the go-to quick fundraiser for sports clubs and things like that in Ireland.”
The idea may have been an easy one, but the questions weren’t. Covering everything from history, pop culture, literature, sports, politics and movies, the ratio was split between Irish and American trivia. The most difficult category? Hands down, sports. The ratio was about 70% American sports to 30% Irish sports questions, but they were still brain busters.
But with a full house—there were 18 tables of six players each—the night was a rousing success and raised about $2500 for the Irish Center’s fundraising effort. The Plough and the Stars, one of Philadelphia’s most popular Irish pubs, not only donated $1,000 to the event but also provided six $50 gift certificates to the winning team. And that winning team was led by Siobhan Lyons of the Immigration Center. The team, named “Is Feidir Linn,” which is Irish for “Yes We Can,” lived up to its moniker.
“I think one of the hardest rounds was the round about Philadelphia,” Siobhan revealed. “Had it not been for Cathy Moffit, who was only supposed to be on our team as decoration, we would have been destroyed. It was pure fluke that we ended up as the Quizzo Dream Team.”
But there were plenty of prizes to go around—all donated by individuals and local businesses—and many teams were able to win for feats such as having a perfect score of ten out of ten for a single round. That particular accolade went to the third place team, The Withered Roses of Tralee, made up of Kathy Guerin Scriber, Demi Brooks, Vince Gallagher, Carmel Boyce, Mary Beth Phillips and Lori Murphy.
Tom and Marianne had a lot of fun coming up with those formidable questions, and have promised more Quizzo nights in the future.
“Yes,” Tom announced. “We will do it again. Definitely.”
The Philadelphia Ceili Group Festival may have ended last week, but there are still musical riches from the event that need to be shared.
In Ireland, a Rambling House is a long-held tradition, an evening where people gather to share music, songs and stories in an atmosphere based on community and good cheer. The Irish Center here in Philly was the setting for just such an event on the second night of the Festival.
Hosted by Galway native Gabriel Donohue, whom we now claim as one of Philadelphia’s finest musicians, he brought his music and stories to the evening as well as introducing and joining in on the fun. The special guests of the evening were Niamh Dunne and Sean Og Graham, who are part of the super group Beoga, but have been touring recently as a duo, performing songs from Niamh’s solo album “Portraits.” And as an added bonus, Niamh’s father, Mickey Dunne, a talented Uillean pipe and whistle player, was along for the craic. The musical legacy of the Dunne Family is well-known in Ireland and includes the late Pecker Dunne.
Among the wealth of talent present for the evening were singer Briege Murphy who hails from County Armagh, Philadelphia’s Rosaleen McGill, Terry Kane and Ellen Tepper (who play together as the Jameson Sisters) and some outstanding younger musicians from Philadelphia: Uillean piper Keegan Loesel and fiddlers Alex Weir and Haley Richardson. Keegan, Alex and Haley recently returned from Sligo where they competed in the Fleadh Cheoil.
So, if you were unlucky enough to have missed it, or if you were wise enough to have been present for the unforgettable evening and want to relive the experience, sit back and enjoy some of the videos from the Rambling House.
