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Harvesting a Summer Herb Bonanza
Tomatoes and basil; potatoes and rosemary; salmon and dill. Perfect partners in summer dishes, of course, so grab as many fresh herbs as you can to pair with the last of summer’s bounty. Herbs are the easiest of all edible plants to grow — whether in a small pot on your windowsill, in a container on your patio, or tucked in-between other vegetables or flowers in garden — so grab all you can to embellish […] Read More
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August 25 Banquet to Honor Heroes of Duffy’s Cut
In August 2004, brothers Dr. Bill Watson from Immaculate University and Rev. Dr. Frank Watson were part of a team that began excavation at Duffy’s Cut, a mass grave of 57 Irish immigrant railroad laborers along the SEPTA railroad tracks in Malvern. Excavation at the site, based on research from the old Pennsylvania Railroad, suggested the bodies were buried at the site following their deaths in 1832 from cholera—and, as the evidence also suggests, gruesome […] Read More
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A Beau-tea-ful Send-Off for Philly’s Rose
Marissa Berry, Philadelphia’s 2023 Rose of Tralee, will be heading off to Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland in a week to participate in the annual international festival that’s been going on since 1957. She’ll be competing with Roses from around the world for the coveted title of International Rose of Tralee. Friends, family and members of the Philadelphia Irish community gave her a send-off tea at the Irish Diaspora Center in Havertown on Sunday. The 28-year-old […] Read More
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Christmas in July! (August, Too!
Depending on when you read this, there are about 150 days until Christmas! Shocking, I know, but you can get a head start on shopping for all the cooks in your family by taking advantage of the “Christmas in July” preview of my holiday cookbook Festive Flavors of Ireland. However, if you’re barely surviving the current heat wave and think it’s too early to start thinking about Christmas (shopping or eating), here’s a recipe from […] Read More
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Join a Trip to Visit the Grave of a Lady of Knock Witness in New York City
Photo of Knock Shrine in County Mayo taken by Denise Foley On a rainy August night in 1879, a five-year-old boy named John Curry witnessed one of the most significant events in Irish Catholic history while sitting on the shoulders of his 11-year-old cousin. There, on the south gable of the Church of St, John the Baptist in Knock, County Mayo, Ireland, little John and more than a dozen other local residents saw an apparition […] Read More
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A Great Night for a Great Man
Early in the recent Irish Center benefit for beloved local musician Pat Kildea, Bernadette Browne Mahr, one of the organizers, said that the original fundraising goal was $10,000. The ballroom was already packed with supporters at that time. However, she added, “At this point, we’re probably good for $30,000.” By the event’s end, that tally had been increased yet again, to something more like $40,000. Kildea is recovering from life-threatening medical issues, entailing weeks in […] Read More
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A Tasty Journey in “Ireland’s Ancient East”
I recently spend 10 days visiting “Ireland’s Ancient East,” a touring region tapping 5,000 years of history in the south and eastern area of the country. Described as a touring region rather than a specific route, it was designed to offer a “relaxing, compact journey of discovery” stretching from the Boyne Valley through the Midlands and down to East Cork. Launched in 2015 as a follow-up to the popular west coast “Wild Atlantic Way,” a journey here […] Read More
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Next Generation Alumni Join with Current Members to Celebrate 25th Anniversary
Chris Brennan Hagy, Kathy DeAngelo, and Dennis Gormley know how to throw a party. And what better occasion than the 25th anniversary of the youth Irish music project known as Next Generation. Dozens of Next Gen current members, former members—including some from the very beginning—along with parents and friends gathered Sunday in the Commodore John Barry Arts & Cultural Center Sunday to commemorate the very special anniversary. The event began with a veritable potluck feast in […] Read More
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Celebrate Joyce’s “Ulysses” in Mt. Holly, NJ with Music and a Free Lunch Taken from the Novel
Bloomsday is celebrated around the world, usually on June 16, the day James Joyce’s character Leopold Bloom took his storied walk around Dublin in the book, Ulysses. In Philadelphia, The Rosenbach Museum and Library, which houses the original handwritten manuscript of the book that took Joyce seven years to write and most people a lifetime to read, hosts 10 hours of readings by local actors, scholars, and dignitaries at its location in Delancey Place. This year, […] Read More
