Radio hosts Marianne MacDonald and Vince Gallagher, far right, with just some of the folks helping out with the pledge drive. From left, Attracta O'Malley, Vera Gallagher, Jimmy Meehan, Fintan Malone (behind Meehan), Carmel and Barney Boyce, Kathy McGee Burns and Brenda McDonald.
A musical benefit on Sunday, August 24, will mark the end of the on-air campaign to raise money to save two Irish radio shows on WTMR 800AM.
“So far we’ve gotten $26,965 in pledges—and we never expected to get that much,” says Marianne MacDonald who hosts the “Come West Along the Road” traditional Irish music hour every Sunday at noon, following the Vince Gallagher Irish Hour. “To date,” she said this week, “WTMR has received $19,225.”
The pledges and the money raised by the benefit and a special raffle will help offset the cost of producing the shows, which, along with a little advertising money, has been borne by both MacDonald and Gallagher who estimate each has personally spent about $10,000 to keep the Irish music cranking out every weekend.
Many of the region’s Irish organizations have rallied to raise the funds. Along with making donations—some as high as $1,000—Philadelphia’s county societies, AOH divisions, and organizations such as the Delaware Valley Hall of Fame and the Mayfair Community Development Corporation have supplied volunteer pledge-takers every Sunday since late June.
The fundraising effort hits a crescendo with the benefit, featuring John Boyce of Blackthorn, Round Tower, the King Brothers, The Vince Gallagher Band, Fintan Malone, fiddler Mary Malone with piper Den Vykopel, singer Terry Kane, and Kevin and Jimmy McGillian (who will be playing for the all-afternoon ceili dance in the Fireside Room), and many others.
The $20 ticket includes food and music and an opportunity to win several door prizes, among them a “Wheelbarrow of Cheer,” a large framed photograph of an Irish scene, and an original painting. A raffle is planned, but the grand prize is still being “assembled” so details will be available at a later date.
The event starts at 5 PM and the music kicks off at 6 PM at the Irish Center, Carpenter and Emlen Streets, in the Mt. Airy section Philadelphia.
If you’ve already made a pledge and haven’t sent it in, mail your donation to WTMR Radio, C/O Sunday Irish Radio Shows, 2775 Mt. Ephraim Avenue, Camden, NJ 08104. If you haven’t made a pledge and would like to donate, do the same thing. Write “Irish Radio Shows” on your check. Thanks!
