Irish Night at the Phillies

Bob Hurst at the mike.

A 9-3 thumping of the Giants? Always fun. A shamrock-bedecked Phanatic? Priceless.

Tuesday night marked the second Irish night of the season. (Hey, it was such a great idea the first time …)

Even if you couldn’t tell by all the green Phillies caps that it was a special night, there was no escaping the great sounds emanating from the vicinity of Harry the K’s, where the Bogside Rogues were banging out tunes and drawing crowds.

A little later on, several of the area’s Irish dance schools decended upon the field (well, technically, the warning track) to prance up a storm. And roung about the sixth inning, they came out again, this joined joined by the Phanatic himself, who tried valiantly to keep up with the kids.

Vince Gallagher gets a Phanatic smooch.

There were no wardrobe malfunctions. No American Idol-esque vocal calisthenics. No tortured operatics.

What there was, was Vince Gallagher, the well-known Philadelphia Irish musician, radio host and president of the Philadelphia Irish Center, standing at home plate at Citizens Bank Park and belting out the National Anthem in his Donegal lilt, singing it straight out, and doing it nearly flawlessly. (There was one little flub early on, but who doesn’t mix up the lines of the National Anthem?)

And with that, as the saying goes: Play ball!

Vince’s performance capped off the pregame activities at Irish Heritage Day at the Phillies, a Saturday promotion that included performances by the Bogside Rogues, along with the Cummins and Lynn Irish dance schools. Brian Morris, former pitcher for the Irish National Baseball Team, tossed the first pitch, and John Fitzgerald, the film-maker who documented the team’s rocky road to success in “The Emerald Diamond,” caught it. (With the Philly Phanatic serving as umpire.)

And, amazingly, the Phillies won. (Gallagher friend Jim McGill later suggested that the Phils adopt Vince as their Kate Smith.) Anyway, maybe there really is something to this hokey “luck of the Irish” business.

It was all great fun. See for yourself.

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