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Celts to Gather at Graeme Park

Have a hot time with the Hooligans.

Have a hot time with the Hooligans.

Another weekend, another festival.

This time out, its the 15th Annual Celtic Festival at Graeme Park in Horsham, Montgomery County.

As festivals go, this one’s a nice comfy size, spread out across the park, which features the historic Keith House, once home—in the early 1700s—to the provincial governor of Pennsylvania, Sir William Keith.

The festival started out pretty modestly, says park spokesman Carla Loughlin, but over the past six or seven years it has grown. The Graeme Park Celtic Festival features about 30 vendors selling all manner of Celtic-themed merch, from T-shirts to jewelry to gifts. Occupying a corner of the park will be about 10 Scottish clans and non-profits, hosting their customary There’s music all day on the main stage, local Irish dancers and three pipe bands—Bucks Caledonian, McKay and McGregor, circling up and playing several times during the day. The full schedule is below.

The festival started out as solely Scottish, Loughlin says, in honor of the local Keith, Graeme, and Fergusson families, but the festival is really for Celts of every stripe.

“Maybe the first few years it may have just been Scottish, but since then we’ve always included the Irish, and even Cornish the past few years,” Loughlin says.

In the past, the festival has drawn between 1,000 and 2,000 visitors, says Loughlin. “It all depends on the weather,” she says. “The weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow (Saturday), so we should be on the higher side.”

Here’s the schedule:

Schedule of Events

Main Stage (behind the Keith House)

11:30: Flag raising and pipe bands
12:00: Carl Peterson
12:30: Sabo School of Irish Dance
1:00: Timoney School of Irish Dance
1:30: Pipe Bands
2:00: The Martin Family Band
3:00: Sabo School of Irish Dance
3:30: Timoney School of Irish Dance
4:00: The Martin Family Band
5:00: The Hooligans
5:45: Pipe Bands
6:15: The Hooligans

Barnyard

Carl Peterson

Front of the Keith House

Now & Then
WireHarp

Kids’ Area

The Kilted Juggler

To get there: Graeme Park is at 859 County Line Road in Horsham.

July 15, 2011 by
News

Bristol Hosts Its 15th Celtic Festival

Irish tunes at the gazebo

Irish tunes at the gazebo

The wonderfully diverse Bristol is a small borough in Lower Bucks County—population 9,726—but it has a big Celtic heart.

You can see it on display Sunday from 1 to 8 p.m. as the borough’s Celtic Heritage Foundation takes over Lions Park at the foot of friendly Mill Street (at Samuel Cliff Drive).

Dave McGlynn, for one, is looking forward to the day. “Each ethnic group in the borough has a festival in the summer time,” says McGlynn, vice president of the 300-member group. “The Puerto Rican Day Festival is in July, the Afro-American Festival is in August, and the Bristol Lions Italian Festival is in September. We’re the first one, in June.

“Fifteen years ago, when we started, we held it in July. The we found out it was a little warm for the Celts. So we switched it to the end of June. Turns out that’s not always too cool, either.”

This Sunday should be pretty nice, though. The weatherman predicts partly sunny skies, with the high a relatively comfy 84.

Expect the day to be jam-packed with Irish tunes. The music begins at 1 p.m., with the band No Irish Need Apply. The Martin Family Band follows at 3, and the Bogside Rogues at 6, running to the festival’s end.

You’ll see plenty of the area’s toe-tapping dancers, too, with the McCoy School appearing at 2:15, and the Fitzpatrick School at 5.

All of that action happens at the gazebo behind the Bristol Riverside Theatre. Bring a lawn chair.

Between tunes and steps, you can check out the many food and merchandise vendors in the park nearby.

If the experience of past years is any indicator, you can expect to run shoulders with a lot of local Irish.

“We get anywhere from 4,000 to 5000 people,” says McGlynn. “We get good crowds.”

Learn more.

June 24, 2011 by
Music, News, People

Haunted by the Memories of Molly-O-Ween … All Very Good Ones

Katie, our winged hostess.

Katie, our winged hostess.

Off in the back, the kids were carving and scooping out jack-o-lanterns.

On stage, kilted performer Seamus Kennedy was singing songs, telling stories (funny ones, not ghostly ones), and occasionally flashing a jack-o-lantern grin.

Oh, yes, and Elvis was in the house … about an 8-year-old version of the king who came and went before we could get his (her?) picture.

This was the very first Molly-O-Ween celebration at Molly Maguire’s pub in Lansdale, but it probably won’t be the last.

Luckily, the day dawned bright and clear and, by the time the festival began, the temperatures had warmed up. A little too warm for some of the costumes, maybe, but, hey, they’re kids, and kids put comfort aside in the name of Halloween.

Shoppers kept the Irish vendors busy, and musicians (Kennedy, Celtic Spirit and Doc Freeman) kept many of the festival-goers up and on their feet. Food and beer, too, of course, and inside the tavern, business was brisk.

We have photos from the day.

October 19, 2010 by
Music

Philadelphia Ceili Group Festival Ends on a High Note

Kevin McGillian was honored for his 30-plus years playing at the festival.

Kevin McGillian was honored for his 30-plus years playing at the festival.

They’re going to be talking about this one for a long time. The Philadelphia Ceili Group’s annual festival of Irish dance and music ended a three-day run on Saturday night, September 11, at the Irish Center in Mt. Airy with a concert that audience members were calling magical—even before it was over.

Headliners Liz Carroll—the only Irish trad artist ever nominated for a Grammy award—and Daithi Sproule, best known for his work with the Irish group, Altan, invited the performers who preceded them on stage for the finale which brought the audience to its feet before the last note sounded.
It was an appropriate finish for a festival that couldn’t have gone any better. There were crowds for the Singers Circle on Thursday—dedicated to the late Frank Malley, who ran the festival for many years—for the Gary Quinn and Anthony McGrath concert on Friday night, the ceilis on Friday night and Saturday and the workshops, from the fiddle session with Carroll to the St. Brigid’s Cross lessons and the drama workshop for kids. 
The kids were well taken care of. In fact, many stayed for the entire afternoon,  having their faces painted, coloring, learning to act, blowing bubbles, and making new friends.
On Friday night, the Philadelphia Ceili Group recognized musician Kevin McGillian, who has been playing at the festival for almost its entire 36 years, with a plaque and a lifetime membership. They also surprised festival organizer Anne McNiff—the emcee of Saturday’s concert—with an award for her work. 
 
Check out our photos of the event.
September 15, 2010 by
Music

A Night of Songs and Memories

Everyone had Frank Malley on their mind. Standing alongside the photo is his daughter Courtney.

Everyone had Frank Malley on their mind. Standing alongside the photo is his daughter Courtney.

“This is like having a big night in your own living room,” said singer and publican Gerry Timlin as he looked out on the crowd gathered in the Philadelphia Irish Center for Singers’ Night at the Philadelphia Ceili Group Festival.

It was hard not to think of the Fireside Room as Frank Malley’s living room. Frank was, for many years, the driving force behind the Ceili Group Festival. He died of cancer last July. Singers’ night was dedicated to him. In fact, a large colorful portrait of a smiling Frank Malley was propped on an easel just to the right of the stage.

Standing alongside the portrait, Frank’s daughter Courtney said she was sure her father would have approved of this year’s Singers’ Night. “He would have been thrilled,” she said. “My dad was a singer, and there were so many other singers he enjoyed. He loved all of these singers.” Courtney, a well-known singer herself, confessed to also being partial to Singers’ Night. “For me, this is my favorite night of the festival,” she said.

It was evidently a favorite of many other Irish music fans. Most of the chairs in the Fireside Room—and at the nearby bar, of course—were filled. Surely no one could have been disappointed by the showing of singers, starting with Gerry Timlin himself, who also threw in a funny little story about what would have to be the ultimate handyman, Dixon from Dungallen. (Ask him to recite it. It’s a hoot.) And he shared memories of some of the greats who have gone before, including the late musician and radio host Tommy Moffit, who died in May.

There were several superb singing performances from the likes of Marian Makins, Rosaleen McGill and Karen, John and Michael Boyce. If you came hoping for the old standards, you couldn’t have been disappointed by Karen Boyce’s tender rendering of “Skibbereen” or all the Boyces’ superb harmonies on “Peggy Gordon.” Marian Makins sang a lovely version of “Green Grows the Laurel,” and everyone loved Rosie’s take on “The Emigrant’s Farewell.”

Couldn’t be there? We have photos and videos!

Here are the videos:

September 10, 2010 by
News

2nd Annual Brittingham’s Irish Festival

Little Daniel wants to get in on the act.

Little Daniel wants to get in on the act.

It would have been hard to find a better day for this popular little event at Brittingham’s in Lafayette Hill.

Bright and sunny, but not too hot, and breezy. Bands and dancers all afternoon, Hot dogs and burgers hot off the grill … and cold beer to wash it all down. It’s always hard to see summer ending … but if it has to end, this is the way to do it.

The main attraction was the music: Paddy’s Well, Jamison, Oliver McElhone, all taking turns on the stage, with the Coyle Dancers performing in between sets. It was bright and warm enough for pale-skinned Celts to do a slow burn, but the promoters made sure there was a big tent, and plenty of room underneath.

Several vendors also seemed to attract their fair share of attention throughout the afternoon—as did Yo-Yo Man (“Tim,” for short), who had no shortage of kids buying his toy.

We have photos and lots of videos.

Check out the videos:

September 9, 2010 by
Music

Gary Quinn: He Keeps Her Lit

Accordion player Gary Quinn from Galway.

Accordion player Gary Quinn from Galway.

There’s just no way around the truth of it—life and Facebook, they work in mysterious ways. One minute, you’re updating your status, and the next Facebook friend whom you’ve never met invites you to fly into Philadelphia to play the Philadelphia Ceili Group’s 36th Annual Traditional Irish Music and Dance Festival. (It starts this coming Thursday and runs through Saturday night at the Irish Center.)

For former All-Ireland Champion Accordion player Gary Quinn, this is exactly what happened a few weeks ago when a last minute change was made to the Festival’s line-up, and a spot became open for the Friday, September 10 Fireside Concert.

The County Galway musician was happy to take the gig. Since his debut cd, “Keep Her Lit,” launched in 2008 to critical and popular acclaim, Quinn has seen his music career take off. A performance stateside is a natural progression.

“A few years ago, I was getting near to turning 40, and I began to take my music more seriously. I’d always been playing, and writing tunes, but I decided that I mean to go out of this world the way I came in—playing music.”

Quinn isn’t kidding. He began taking accordion lessons at age 4, but a deeper interest in the chips at the nearby take-away shop caused his mother put a stop to the lessons. A year later, at age 5, Quinn was listening to the radio when a tune came on that hooked him, and he sat down and played it on his accordion.

“That was my first reel, ‘Bonnie Kate,’ and it’s still my favorite tune,” Quinn recalled. “I’ll play it next Friday night at the concert.”

“I realized that music is the international language of the world. If you can play music, you can communicate with anyone. It doesn’t matter if you can’t speak the same language … if you can sit down together and play the same 8 notes, then you can understand each other.”

Quinn immediately knew who to call to bring with him for the trip: Derry-born guitar player Anthony McGrath. “He’s a fantastic guitar player, and a really good guy. He’s played with all sorts of people.”

In fact, Quinn and McGrath joined forces recently with Limerick fiddle player Kevin Farrell and Dublin singer and bodhran player Joyce Redmond to form the band Eriuna. The name is derived from that of the celtic goddess Eriu, also the source of Ireland’s identity as Erin.

Quinn, who hails from Brierfield near Moylough in County Galway, where he still lives now with his wife and two young children, grew up in an area infused with brilliant music and brilliant musicians. His first influence was Joe Cooley, “who was a revolutionist when it came to accordion playing. You could hear his personality in his music. He played with such feeling.”

Joe Burke and Finbarr Dwyer, “both technically brilliant and fantastic players,“ also left an imprint on Quinn’s style. But it is Mairtin O’Connor that Quinn holds up as “a total gentleman. He gave me permission to record a few of his tunes on my cd.” And after the album was completed O’Connor had this to say about it: “The spirit of joyful music is alive and well in his hands and on this recording he keeps our spirits well buoyed … He is joined by some wonderful players and the overall result is a pleasure to listen to.”

Quinn could not have been more elated by this endorsement from his hero.

Many of the tunes on “Keep Her Lit” are Quinn’s own compositions, including the title track. A mechanic by trade, Quinn hears music in the whole world around him.

“I get inspiration from everything. Good feelings, happy feelings, sad feelings. For instance with “Keep Her Lit,” I could hear the tune in the lorry engine as I was working on it. I’m so fortunate to be able to combine these two things I love, playing music and working on cars.”

“I’m very, very happy right now. It’s a bit too late for me to get famous now, at 40, but my life is exactly where I want it.”

Gary Quinn and Anthony McGrath will be performing at 8PM, Friday, September 10 at The Philadelphia Ceili Group Festival, and will be teaching workshops on Saturday, September 11th from 11AM to 1PM. The Irish Center is located at 6815 Emlen Street, near the Carpenter Lane SEPTA station, in Philadelphia.

September 2, 2010 by
People

Today Tralee, Tomorrow the World

Karen Conaghan Race is at far left and her sister, Sarah Conaghan at far right, with Roses in between.

Karen Conaghan Race is at far left and her sister, Sarah Conaghan at far right, with Roses in between.

As you watch Saturday night’s Mid-Atlantic Rose of Tralee Final at the Philadelphia Irish Center—you are going, aren’t you?—know this: you’re catching a glimpse of the future of this long-running County Kerry Festival.

Since 1959, the festival has been selecting a young woman on a yearly basis to serve as its Rose of Tralee, with the candidates coming from around the world.

Anthony O’Gara, managing director of the festival, says the United States is about to gain many, many new Rose of Tralee Centres–groups of people responsible for running their own local and regional festivals.

“Our ambition is to build 250 centres in America in nine regions,” says O’Gara. “Sarah Conaghan and her sister Karen Conaghan Race have spearheaded the movement here in the United States. This [instead of running just one local festival], they’ll be running a regional festival pulling in six centres.”

This expansion is all part of the international festival’s mission to bring a bit of the Irish culture to the rest of the world. In 2004, the international festival had just 28 centres; today there are 80, only half of them in Ireland.

O’Gara acknowledges that there are many Rose of Tralee Centers in the States already–but they’re scattered. “There are pockets of Irish in cities and regions all over the united States,” he notes. “If you just have one centre for every state, you’re only reaching a tiny portion of the Irish and irish-Americans living in that state,” he says.

If the international committee has anything to say about it, the vast increase in local centres ought to capture a far bigger audience.

If you want to see how that ambitious plan is progressing, check out the Mid-Atlantic final at the Irish Center Saturday night.

[googleMap name=”Philadelphia Irish Center” width=”600″ height=”600″ directions_from=”true”]6815 Emlen Street, Philadelphia, PA 19118[/googleMap]

June 25, 2010 by