After a year of challenges, Ed Slivak will don his top hat and pointy ears one last time as the Grand Marshal of the 2010 Conshohocken St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Call ahead to see if your weekend event is taking a snow day. The Irish Center's Super Bowl Party to raise money for the St. Paddy's Day Parade will go on, as will some fabulous music events this week, including Karan Casey, John Doyle, a couple of Bogside Rogues, and the Mid-Winter Scottish-Irish Festival in Valley Forge. Read on for the details.

At the urging of the city's AOHs--and national president Seamus Boyle--city council passed a resolution supporting a united Ireland. The lawmakers formally presented the AOH with a copy of the resolution last week. It was a personal moment of triumph for Jenkintown's Liz and Pearse Kerr.

That was Irish Philly--and irishphiladelphia.com--manning the phones during the Thursday morning on-air fundraiser for WHYY this week.

Deirdre Maitre has travelled to Haiti many times to produce films on the nonprofit organizations that are helping to get one of the world's poorest nations on its feet. She'll be joining others from the Haitian community on Friday night at the Irish Center to talk about the best ways to help.

Stalled talks continue into the night in Northern Ireland, the cops hold a bank robbery suspect for questioning, and Dublin drivers do a slow burn.

The premier Irish-American band is back with a new CD and fresh new sounds.

The price tag is coming down, says Parade Director Michael Bradley. He and other ethnic parade organizers met this week with city council and representatives of Mayor Nutter's office. Fundraisers are still planned.

Blackthorn at Ryan, a ceili in Swedesburg, DeDanaan's Maura O'Connell in Sellersville, and some of your favorite Irish beauty queens, GAA coaches, and journalists manning the phones for a WHYY fund drive--that's the way this week is shaping up.

A local insurance agent is collecting baseball equipment to put in the hands of kids who can't afford it. Read on to find out how you can help.