Benefits

Marianne MacDonald, left, assisted at the mike by Hall of Fame President Kathy McGee Burns.

Who listens to Irish radio on Sunday morning? People like the Philadelphia businessman who called in a pledge last week when I was helping to man the phones for WTMR radio personalities Vince Gallagher and Marianne MacDonald, whose shows are in financial peril.

A widower, he chatted about his Irish-born wife whom he met many years ago at a dance in the city. The music, he said, reminded him of good times.

And then there was Bridget, whose granddaughter called in a pledge for her. “My grandmother is from Newfoundland. She lives in Juniata now and she loves the music,” she said.

And the Italian woman who’s been to Ireland 11 times because she adores the place, the culture, and, of course, the music, even though she’s only a little Irish, “maybe, way back.”

They’re only three of hundreds of people who have called in during the current pledge drive to raise money for the two WTMR Irish radio shows that air on Sunday. Since June 29, more than $11,000 in checks have been mailed in to the station, says Marianne MacDonald, whose “Come West Along the Road” show, featuring Irish traditional music, airs at noon, following the Vince Gallagher Radio Hour. Volunteers from Irish organizations throughout the Delaware Valley, from the Shantys band to the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame, have been taking the pledged donations over the phone. Several local businesses, including The Shanachie Pub and Restaurant in Ambler and Brittingham’s Irish Pub and Restaurant in Lafayette Hill, have donated gift certificates.

“I have been very surprised and gratified, and so has Vince,” says MacDonald, who took over her hour from Irish musician Tommy Moffitt, when he retired (though Moffitt was back at the mike a few weeks ago, filling in for Marianne when she was in Ireland). “It’s really amazing to see that people really do care about the shows and are willing to show that they care.”

MacDonald estimates that airtime alone for the two shows costs about $35,000 a year. The largely religious broadcasting station, located in Camden, doesn’t pay the hosts nor does it sell ads for the Irish shows. Gallagher and MacDonald are expected to bring in their own advertising, which has always been an iffy proposition that isn’t helped by today’s sagging economy. Several long-time advertisers have dropped out, at least two without paying their bills. It’s been up to Gallagher and MacDonald to front the money and they have. Both have spent at least $10,000 of their own cash keeping the shows afloat.

“I’ve done some cold-calling to get ads,” says MacDonald, “and that’s really hard. What’s worse, you hardly every get anything out of it.”

The public-radio-style pledge drive will continue through August 17. In the works for August 24 is a musical benefit to be held at the Irish Center in Mt. Airy. Caterer Mickey Kavanaugh has donated a buffet meal and a number of local Celtic rock bands and traditional musicians have agreed to perform gratis. MacDonald is looking for volunteers to work that day and door prizes. You can contact her at rinceseit@msn.com.

Mail your donation to WTMR Radio, C/O Sunday Irish Radio Shows, 2775 Mt. Ephraim Avenue, Camden, NJ 08104.

If, as it is for many, your Sunday morning ritual is Mass, breakfast, and Irish radio, you may need to make other arrangements. Two of the longest running radio shows in Philadelphia are in serious financial trouble and may come to an end.

“Come West Along the Road,” with Marianne MacDonald, and the Vince Gallagher Irish Radio Hour, on WTMR 800 AM, rely on revenues from ads that the hosts must sell themselves. If there aren’t enough ads—and there haven’t been—both MacDonald and Gallagher must come up with the difference to pay for the airtime themselves. “Both Vince and I have spent thousands of dollars of our own money to keep the shows on the air, and we can’t do it anymore,” said MacDonald.

Neither MacDonald or Gallagher make money from the shows. “Contrary to what many people believe, we don’t get paid any type of salary,” said MacDonald, who took over her show from longtime Irish musician and radio host, Tommy Moffitt, about three years ago. Gallagher took over the spot hosted for many years by Mary O’Kane. “We took over something that was already broke,” said MacDonald. “Both Tommy and Mary were struggling too.”

For both hosts, the shows are a labor of love. If you love what they’re doing, come to the Philadelphia Irish Center at Carpenter and Emlen Streets on Friday, June 6,at 8 PM, for a meeting to brainstorm ways to save this important part of Philadelphia’s Irish tradition.