How to Be Irish in Philly

Karan Casey will be at the Sellersville Theatre.

This will be a double-stuffed “How to Be Irish” this week since the entire staff of the website voted to take Christmas off this year.

Lots of folks must be finished with their Christmas shopping because there are plenty of events this weekend. Don’t let a little snow stop you!

In Upper Darby, the Mairead Farrell Ladies Gaelic football club is holding its holiday party fundraiser at Cawley’s Pub in Upper Darby. The Mairead Farrells competed in the national championship games in Boston this fall, but the highlight of their year was meeting Sinn Fein MP Gerry Adams this fall—at his request.

The phenomenal Irish singer Karan Casey (late of Solas) will be performing at the Sellersville Theatre on Saturday night. Also on the bill: Buille, a boundary-pushing Irish trio.

In Allentown, the O’Grady Quinlan Academy of Irish Dance is presenting its Celtic Christmas show featuring the very funny Seamus Kennedy and the school’s championship dancers.

On Sunday, piper Scot Walker will perform with harpist Carole Thompson at Moravian College in Bethlehem, a show produced by the Celtic Cultural Alliabce and the Donegal Square Irish shop.

On Wedneaday, The Morrigan Traditional Irish Band featuring fiddler Mary Malone will be performing at the Mermaid Inn in Chestnut Hill, and a session will follow.

After Christmas, get ready for the Comhaltas annual Wren Party, New Year’s Eve at the Irish Center, followed by Barleyjuice at the Sellersville Theatre on January 2. That would be 2010.

And make your reservations for “The Irish and How They Got That Way,” the popular play by the late Frank McCourt, which opens at the Kimmel Center on January 7.

We appreciate that many of you have been doing some of your shopping on our Irish gift store guide (yes, we can tell). We hope you’ll continue to support the Irish community throughout the year.

And from Jeff, Lori, and myself, may we say, “Nollaig Shona agus Athbhliain faoi Mhaise Daoibh!” Well, none of us can actually say that, but we do wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Oisin Mac Diarmada of Teada at last year's "Irish Christmas in America" show at the Irish Center.

Snow or no snow, we’re knee deep in Christmas season. This is how we know:

Teada, Matt and Shannon Heaton, and tenor Michael Londra are bringing their Christmas shows to the area in the next few days.

Teada’s “Irish Christmas in America” with Seamus Begley and dancer Brian Cunningham (and local musician Sean Earnest on guitar!) will be at Penn on Friday night. We hear through the grapevine that they might be on the prowl for a session afterwards so if someone wants to direct them to the appropriate pub. . . .

Two wonderful singer-musicians from the Boston area, Shannon and Matt Heaton, will perform at Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem on Friday night and at Trinity Church in Swarthmore on Saturday.

Michael Londra, who makes the angels sound like a neighborhood choir, will be at Sellersville Theatre on Tuesday, surrounded by Irish musicians and dancers.

On Sunday evening, St. Thomas Church in Whitemarsh will hold a Celtic worship service.

On Sunday afternoon, the Mayo and Donegal Associations are holding their Christmas parties at the Irish Center with arts and crafts and face painting and a visit from Santa for the kids and some vendors for the grownups. A special holiday mass will be said at 4 PM, prepared by Sister James Ann and celebrated by Father Ed Brady of Quakertown. Dinner will be available for purchase. The Mayo Association is collecting donations for Project Rainbow, for homeless and abused women and their families.

Also on Sunday, The Irish Club of Delaware County has its monthly meeting scheduled. Good Deed Doer alert: This club is conducting a gift drive this holiday season to benefit an Irish family in need. They’re accepting any unwrapped gifts, gift cards, toys, or clothing gift cards. They’ve roped Santa into helping them deliver the gifts—after all, he has the experience.

You can drop off your donations at two places:

The Irish Immigration Center
7 South Cedar Lane
Upper Darby, Pa

Knights of Columbus
18 Baltimore Pike
Springfield, PA

Looking for a good Christmas gift for a first-year Irish language student? On Sunday, Penn Professor Rosalyn Blyn-LaDrew will be autographing her new text, “Colloquial Irish,” at Catherine Rooney’s in Wilmington, DE.

Don’t forget to patronize your local Irish gift shop, pub, restaurant, and event. Shop Irish!

I’m about to get all Scrooge on you. This is the kind of week I hate. There are so many fabulous events and many of them are scheduled at the same time so you’re going to have to make some tough choices. Let’s coordinate, people!

Not a tough choice: Saturday, the third annual Peter J. Hanlon Memorial Jingle Bell Run in Philadelphia—it’s an Ancient Order of Hibernians fundraiser. As a rule, I don’t find road races all that exciting. And if you stand too close as the runners pass, you can sometimes get drenched in sweat yourself—and it’s not your own. But in this race, many of the competitors dress up as their favorite Christmas character, which means that occasionally someone dressed like Rudolph really wins by a nose.

But Sunday is a different story. Here’s what’s up:

Noon to 8 PM: The Mid-Winter Irish Festival thrown annually by Finnigan’s Wake in Philly, featuring Paddy’s Well, the Broken Shillelaghs (they’re getting so much work, you’d think they’d have themselves fixed) the Bare Knuckle Boxers (they play rather than fight), Irish dancers, food, and vendors, all for only $10 admission. Though technically this is the Late Autumn Irish Festival (winter doesn’t even start for a couple of weeks), we quibble. It’s important to remember that your attendance will indirectly support the Philly St. Patrick’s Day Parade, for which Finnigans and owner Mike Driscoll are major sponsors.

2 PM. The Philadelphia Rose of Tralee Santa’s Workshop and Christmas Celebration takes place at the lovely Willows Mansion in Villanova. This kid-centric event features music, refreshments, arts and crafts, face painting and a visit from the bearded guy himself (no, not ZZ Top, you fool!). Bring nonperishable food items to share with the needy. And, like Finnigan’s Wake, the organizers of the Philadelphia Rose of Tralee Pageant (Sarah Conaghan and Karen Conaghan Race) are tireless supporters of various causes in the Irish community, so while this event is fun, it’s a fundraiser too and counts as a good deed for those of you counting.

2 PM. See? Over in Cherry Hill, the wonderful and melodious Andy Cooney will be bringing his “Classic Irish Christmas” to the stage at St. Mary’s Parish Hall. Fundraiser? You bet. And Cooney is a treat.

4 PM. “Once Upon a Winter’s Night,” will usher the Celtic Christmas season in with traditional Irish and American Christmas songs and a session at the Irish Center.

Okay now, days pass, you do some Christmas shopping, trim the tree, start baking cookies, fill out the Irish Community Survey, and suddenly it’s Friday and you have some choosin’ to do.

If you’re heading north to Bethlehem (which would be appropriate, as it is the Christmas City and no one does it better), you can enjoy a “Fine Winter’s Night” at the Godfrey Daniels Coffee Shop with husband-and-wife duo Matt and Shannon Heaton. They’re wonderful. If you have to miss them, though, they’re playing in Swarthmore the next night.

If you’re staying closer to home, Teada along with Seamus Begley and the amazing sean nos dancer Brian Cunningham are returning with their “Irish Christmas in America” show which will play for one night (Friday) at The Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. They brought the show to the Irish Center last year and it still makes me smile.

Remember to shop Irish this year and don’t forget those in need. Share with your favorite charity, or just toss a buck into the Salvation Army bucket. This year, it’s the rare person who doesn’t know someone who is struggling.

If you had pie for breakfast and finished all your Christmas shopping at the mall before the sun came up, you may be too tired to head to downtown Philadelphia to the Mid-Atlantic Oireachtas—the annual regional Irish dancing competition. If you just had pie for breakfast and were smart enough to realize that the stores also had online sales, you might just want to swing by the Downtown Marriott on Market Street, where all weekend you can see the top Irish dancers in the area.

Last week, the McDade-Cara School put its best dancers forward at a recital at Msgr. Bonner High School in Drexel Hill. We were there and have pictures to share.

But that’s not all that’s going on this Thanksgiving weekend. The Philadelphia Donegal Association is holding its 121st annual ball at the Irish Center on Saturday night. We heard through the grapevine that one of the attendees is coming all the way from Dublin for the event, which will feature the Sean Wilson Band from Ireland, DJ John McDaid (he’s from Ireland too, but lives here now) and the Mary from Dungloe contest.

And that will segue us right into the Christmas season. We have two Irish Christmas events coming up over the next week. McDermott’s Handy will be celebrating its Irish Christmas in music and song at the Audubon Senior Center in Audubon on Wednesday, December 2.

On Thursday, a great Christmas gift for the Irish music lover—Solas! They’re at the Sellersville Theatre and if you haven’t heard former Hatboro guy, Seamus Egan  (he grew up in Ireland), and his group, you’ve been missing out. Here’s your chance to catch up with the rest of us. You will become an instant fan. Everyone does.

As we do occasionally, we’re going to give you a sneak peak into the week after this one because it’s a busy time and you want to make room on your calendar for the craic (especially the Christmas craic—we added that just because we like alliteration).

We’re going to specifically point you to Sunday, December 6, the date way too many groups in the area picked for their events. Here are your choices:

12 PM: The Mid-Winter Irish Festival at Finnigan’s Wake in Philadelphia will feature some of the best local Irish bands, including Paddy’s Well, the Broken Shillelaghs and the Bare Knuckle Boxers, along with Irish dancers, food, vendors, the works.

2 PM: The Philadelphia Rose of Tralee will hold its annual Santa’s Workshop and Christmas celebration at The Willows Mansion in Villanova. There will be music, refreshments, arts and crafts and face-painting, as well as a visit from Father Christmas, better known as Santa Claus. You need to RSVP by December 1 and they’re requesting that you bring canned or other nonperishable goods for the Delco Fish and Loaves Food Pantry Holiday Drive.

2:30 PM: Andy Cooney’s “A Classic Irish Christmas” is on tap at St. Mary’s Parish Hall in Cherry Hill, NJ. Along with his angelic voice (and face!), Cooney is bringing Ireland’s “King of Blarney” (there’s only one of those?), comic George Casey, soprano Emma Kate Tobia, and the Darrah Carr Dance Troupe.

5 PM: “Once Upon A Winter’s Night,” with noted guitarist and keyboardist Gabriel Donohue (he’s played with Eileen Ivers, Cherish the Ladies, the Chieftains and the Boston Pops); Alaskan Caitlin Warbelow who is a regular on the New York music scene, and singer Marian Makins (she recently wowed the audience at the Philadelphia Ceili Group’s annual festival) will be on stage at the Irish Center in Philadelphia.

Also coming up: Matt and Shannon Heaton will be bringing their Christmas show, “A Fine Winter’s Night,” to Godfrey Daniels Coffee House in Bethlehem on December 11. That same night, Teada is making a return visit with “Irish Christmas in America” at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

Over the holiday season, try to remember to support your local Irish merchant, publican, entertainer, and restaurateur. They help keep the Irish culture alive and well in the region and they need our business. So, get out there and give them the business! 

And if you haven’t already, fill out the Irish Community Survey being conducted now by the Philadelphia Irish Immigration Center. You don’t have to be an immigrant to do it. Even if your Irish family has been here since shortly after the Pilgrims arrived, the center wants to hear from you.

Leave the household errands behind this week. Sure, Thanksgiving is next Thursday, but let’s face it—you’ve made this dinner dozens of times and you could probably do it in your sleep. It doesn’t take that long to roast a turkey, mash some potatoes, and incinerate some tiny marshmallows on top of a goopy yam casserole. Go out. Be Irish.

You can start on Friday night at the Irish Center’s November Rambling House. There will be jokes, songs, dancing, and free food. Maybe you can pick up a little party piece to do when company comes.

On Saturday afternoon, two great Irish dancing schools join forces to present their pre-Oireachtas recital at Msgr. Bonner High School in Drexel Hill. On Saturday evening, Cherish the Ladies will be performing at Appel Farm Arts and Music Center in Elmer, NJ.

The ladies and gents of AOH Div. 87 will be holding their annual Ball at Romano Caterers on Saturday night, so you probably won’t see them out and about.

And St. Patrick’s Church in Norristown is holding Classic Rock Night that evening too. It’s a funraiser for the charities of LAOH Notre Dame Div. 2.

It’s not too late to sign up for the free legal clinic on Tuesday, November 24, at the Irish Immigration Center in Upper Darby. The center has partnered with the Brehon Law Society and Drexel Law School to provide free and confidential legal consultations, mainly in the area of immigration law, although family and criminal lawyers are available on request. Call 610-789-6355 to make an appointment, which is required.

On Wednesday night, forget about making pies. Enter the Haggis is playing at the Sellersville Theatre. Hmmm. Haggis. Might make a nice side dish. Never had it? It’s sort of like Scottish scrapple, only it tastes more like chopped liver.

If you’re in the Bethlehem area on Wednesday night, the Broken Shillelaghs are playing St. James Gate Pub at the Sands Casino.

And we shouldn’t have saved this for last: The day after Thanksgiving, hundreds of boys and girls, men and women, will converge on Philadelphia for the Mid-Atlantic Oireachtas, a fabulous Irish dance competition that runs all weekend.

Don’t forget the Donegal Ball—that’s on November 28. The Sean Wilson Band from Ireland will provide the music. John McDaid will also DJ. And the crowning event of the evening will be the crowning of the new Mary from Dungloe. The winner of this pageant will travel to Ireland to compete in the international competition next year.

As always, check the calendar for times and details.

Last week, I had to be Irish in Florida and let me tell you, we have it good here. Not that I didn’t enjoy Creel, the house band at Raglan Road, the Epcot Center’s version of an Irish pub (it’s about the size of a junior high gymnasium, so “cozy” was totally off the table). And the strip mall Irish pub my son took us to served good food, but the entertainment couldn’t hold a candle to the motley crew of mostly amateurs that shows up every Tuesday night at The Shanachie in Ambler.

And to top it off, the waitress took my Jameson’s before I was finished, so now they’re dead to me.

Needless to say, I’m happy to be back to being Irish in Philly. And here’s how I’m going to do it this week:

The 9th Annual Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame Awards are being held on Sunday at the Irish Center. Read what Hall of Fame President Kathy McGee Burns has to say about this year’s winners.

Also on Sunday, one of my all-time favorite groups, Cherish the Ladies (with the inimitable Joanie Madden) will be at Penn’s Zellerbach Theatre, quite possibly raising the roof. (If you miss them this week, you’ll have to travel to the Appel Farm Arts and Music Center in Elmer, NJ, next week to catch them.)

On Monday, Penn is sponsoring a celebration of Irish poet Thomas Kinsella, with Kinsella himself reading from his works. Also on hand: Father John McNamee, retired pastor of St. Malachy’s Church in North Philadelphia, himself a published poet.

On Wednesday, consider joining the Irish Immigration Center at St. Lawrence Church in Upper Darby for a prayer vigil for immigration reform followed by a conference call with Rep. Bob Gutierrez.

On Thursday, another Irish act you shouldn’t miss: Karan Casey, who wowed audiences a year ago when she performed with Teada’s Christmas Show at the Irish Center (they’re bringing it back this year to the Kimmel). She’ll be at the Sellersville Theatre.

We’re heading into dance season (the Mid-Atlantic Oireachtas, a huge Irish dance competion comes to Philly at the end of November), but you can get a glimpse of some local talent next weekend when the McDade-Cara Dancers (two schools that have joined forces) put on an exhibition at Msgr. Bonner High School in Drexel Hill.

Prepare to get spiffy this weekend! The 104th annual Mayo Ball is coming to town. All the Mayos—and they are a fun group of people—wlll be dancing to the Noel Henry Irish Show Band in the ballroom of the Philadelphia Irish Center on Saturday night. You don’t have to be from Mayo to attend (I know—they invited me) and they’re a very hospitable bunch.

It’s total immersion time in Jamison again—the Gaeltacht Weekend during which very little English is spoken. That kicks off on Friday night and goes through Sunday.

There are workshops on Saturday featuring (Pat) Egan, (Laura) Egan, and (Jim) Eagan who are performing on Friday night at the Irish Center, singing many of the songs written by local tunesmith Ed Reavy.

On Sunday, the Irish Club of Delaware County holds its monthly meeting at the Irish Immigration Center in Upper Darby.

And St. Thomas Church in Whitemarsh is holding a Celtic worship service starting at 5:30 Sunday night.

Also on Sunday night: The Swell Season at the Merriam Theater in Philadelphia. That’s Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, Oscar winners for “Falling Slowly,” a song from the movie, “Once.” In which they starred. This is their second visit to the area.

On Tuesday, look for a visit from Irish Consul General Niall Burgess to the Irish Immigration Center and the kick-off of a survey aimed at assessing the needs of the local Irish community. We’ll have more about that for you later.

On Friday, AOL and LAOH Div 22 are holding their annual awards dinner honoring Municpal Court Judge Patrick Dugan, retired fireman and past president of Div. 22 Thomas Meehan (Hibernian of the year), LAOH Div 22 President Maureen Daly (Hibernian of the year) and, as Irishman of the Year, Michael Callahan, president of the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Observance Association (way to go, Michael!).

Also on Friday, the Catholic Leadership Institute of Exton will present its 2009 Award for Outstanding Catholic Leadership to Irish-born Sister Briege McKenna, OSC, and three other Catholic leaders at a reception and dinner at the Drexelbrook in Drexel Hill. Sister Briege, who entered the Sisters of St. Clare at the age of 15 was crippled by arthritis and then miraculously healed during a Eucharistic celebration. She supports the priesthood by hosting healing and support retreats. The other honorees are Barbara Henkels, national Catholic philanthropist and advocate for Catholic education; Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, the Archibishop of Galveston-Houston and Jim Nicholson, former Vatican ambassador.

But check out our calendar. Did you know that in any given week you could learn to speak Irish, pick up a few authentic set dance steps, get Irish guitar, tin whistle, or flute lessons, hear live traditional Irish music every night of the week, and tune into four radio shows playing Celtic tunes? If you can’t be Irish in this town, you can’t be Irish anywhere.

So get out there and be Irish!