June 2023
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
2023 Mass at the Irish Memorial – The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Huge thank you to everyone who made our Mass special Special gratitude to our celebrant:Rev. Michael Callaghan, CMChaplain, Camilla Hall, infirmary for Sisters,Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary at Immaculata University,Malvern PA 19355 Music Ministry: Karen Boyce McCollum and John HoeyLectors: Andrew Maloney and Jim CoyneGift Bearers: John Donovan and Michael Flynn Sincere appreciation to everyone whocontributed to making this Mass possible especially:Norbert McGettigan, VP, Irish MemorialEveryone who help get the word outOur flag […] Read More
-
2023 Philadelphia Irish Festival at Penns Landing
-
Irish Story Hour Debuts at The Irish Center This Weekend
When Marianne MacDonald first went into teaching, she loved reading books to her students. Today, she does early intervention for kids with disabilities so the only reading to kids she does is to her two youngest grandsons. “As soon as I see them they say, ‘Read to us, Grandma!’ says MacDonald, who hosts the “Come West Along the Road” radio show on WTMR 800AM on Sunday at noon and runs Trad Tours, a travel company that […] Read More
-
Memorial Service Set for Nun Who Worked Tirelessly for the Children of Northern Ireland
Sister Frances (Betty Jane) Kirk, SSJ, died on May 9 at the age of 90. She the first woman grand marshal of the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade (1990) and a coordinator for Project Children, a program that brought children from war-torn Northern Ireland to the US for the summer. A memorial mass will held for here on Friday, June 9, 2023, at 10:30 AM, and will be livestreamed from the Chapel of St. Joseph’s […] Read More