How to Be Irish in Philly

A relatively slow week is on tap, but … at a time like this, we’ll take anything we can get, right?

So here’s what’s going on:

Friday, January 15

Difficult choice tonight:

The effervescent Raymond Coleman will be playing at the Henry James Saloon, 577 Jamestown Avenue in Philadelphia, from 6 to 9 p.m. He’s always a guaranteed good time. Masks required, of course.

Jamison Celtic Rock front man Frank Daly is slated to appear at Gaul & Co. Malt House, 704 Huntingdon Pike in Rockledge, from 7 to 11 p.m. Also one of our very best performers. 

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We’re baaaaaaaa-aaaaaaaack.

Hope you all had a nice Christmas and New Year. (And here’s hoping and praying for a better new year, while we’re at it, though we’re clearly off to an incredibly rough start.)

We have a bunch of Irish-ness lined up for you.

So here’s what’s on tap:

Saturday, January 9

Frank Daly, front man for Jamison Celtic Rock, and fiddler Alice Marie, take the stage at Haggerty’s Cafe, 2373 MacDade Boulevard in Holmes, starting at 7 p.m.

Sunday, January 10

And … catch them again at Mifflin Tavern, 1843 South 2nd Street, Philadelphia, beginning at 1 p.m.

Tuesday, January 12

The Irish Diaspora Center hosts its genealogy group (virtually), starting at 11 a.m. This session’s guest is Emily Schmidt, author of “The Galvin Girls.” (Story about that here.) You can register for the presentation right here.

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It’s beginning to look a lot like Irish Philly Christmas. Most of what’s happening is online—however, there are a couple of live performances. Don’t let a little cold weather stop ya. There’s also a very special online concert that you will not want to miss on Monday.

Here’s what’s what.

Friday, December 18

You can’t keep a good band down, pandemic or no.

Jamison Celtic Rock presents “Celtic Christmas Live” at Renault Winery Resort’s “Vintner Wonderland,” 72 North Bremen Avenue, Egg Harbor City, N.J., starting at 6 p.m. It’s all socially distanced in the winery garden. (With lots of fire pits.) Details here.

Starting at 6 p.m., singer Mary Courtney offers up a bunch of tunes via Facebook. Check it out here. Mary will be accepting tips by PayPal and Venmo.

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Time to get in the Christmas spirit!

One way to do it safely: Check out Facebook live concerts all this week, sponsored by Irish Music Magazine. We’ll tell you about a few of them.

Friday, December 11

Locally-based Celtic roots band RUNA has a new album out, “The Tide of Winter.” We’ve heard it, and you should, too. It’ll put you in the Christmas spirit like nobody’s business. Fortunately, you can get a sneak preview tonight with the band’s virtual release party on Facebook, presented by Irish Music Magazine. The show starts at 6 p.m. Eastern Time. Details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/748170932447035

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We’re baaaaa-aaaaaaaack!!!

All website woes finally resolved and ready to tell you where to go.

Wait a minute … that might have come out wrong.

Kind of a lean week, but given the circumstances, perfectly understandable. Just about everything has been pushed online these days.

Nevertheless, no reason not to be Irish, is there? 

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Every edition of “How to Be Irish” is an opportunity to celebrate your heritage, but this week even more so, as you can delve into what, in Irish terms, might seem like relatively recent history. You can also dig into your own family story.

Here’s what’s up.

Friday, October 30

Frank Daly of Jamison Celtic Rock takes the stage at Gaul & Co. Malt House, 704 Huntingdon Pike in Rockledge, starting at 5 p.m. A great venue, and a crowd-pleasing musician. Live music is still a rarity—at least not as common as you’d like—so support this performance if you can.

If you’re not out and about and you’d like to indulge your taste for live Irish music, the great Mary Courtney is back with a show live on Facebook. Will she ever run out of tunes? Not likely. Is there any end to her talent? Not really. Anyway, check out her tunes here, starting at 6 p.m.: https://www.facebook.com/MorningStarBand/. She’ll be accepting tips, too, so chip in.

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Looking for a Covid-safe dinner out? Hoping to catch some live Irish tunes? Want to catch up on your Irish history?

This is the week for all of the above and more.

Here’s the deal:

Friday, October 23

Jamison Celtic Rock takes the stage outdoors at Sweeney’s Philly, 13639 Philmont Avenue, starting at 6 p.m. If you’re looking for live music, Jamison won’t disappoint.

Saturday, October 24

If you love the Screaming Orphans—we’ve seen them many times—they’re back with a Facebook Live concert starting at 5 p.m. Check it out here. (And if you haven’t seen them, do … they’re a party.)

Sunday, October 25

Caitlin Finley and Will Woodson resume their Facebook Live cocktail hour and a half, Sunday at 5 p.m. Watch it here. You can also watch it on YouTube. We’ve written about Caitlin and Will recently. Be sure to catch their wonderful traditional Irish tunes.

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Here’s another week with a nice mix of virtual and in-person events.

Let’s get to it:

Friday, October 16

Irish singer Mary Courtney is back with her weekly concert, streaming live to Facebook, tonight at 6 p.m. Tune in here: https://www.facebook.com/MorningStarBand/

Also, kicking off at 7 p.m., it’s Friday Night Virtual Bingo hosted by the Tyrone Society of Philadelphia. (And every Friday night through November 20, FYI.) For $10 per night, you get to play five games of bingo. Cash prizes are based on how many people sign up to play. All the details are here.

Saturday, October 17

Grab your Irish traditional musical instrument and join a Mid-Tempo Virtual Irish Session hosted by Matt and Shannon Heaton. Meant for tune learners and second instrument players, this session kicks off at 2 p.m. Details here.

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