All posts from Denise Foley
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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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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
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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
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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
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The 2023 Philly Rose of Tralee Marissa Berry Has a Special Platform to Share
Marissa Berry was pretty sure that becoming the 2023 Philadelphia Rose of Tralee “wasn’t in the cards for me.” The Rose of Tralee Center in Ireland instituted a policy for the 65 Rose Centers around the world that stipulates that each send competitors to the 64-year-old community festival only every other year. It had become unmanageable to have 65 Rose candidates competing in Tralee, a town of about 23,000 people in County Kerry. “I was […] Read More
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Four Irish Dancers Who Share a Love of Dancing–and a Serious Disease
They call themselves the “Diabesties.” They’re four young dancers at McGough Academy of Irish Dance in West Chester who share more than a competitive spirit and a passion for Irish dance. All four, who range in age from 9 to 12 and include a brother and sister, have Type 1 diabetes, a relatively rare disease that’s seen a 30 percent increase in diagnoses since 2002, mainly in children and teens. It’s an odd fluke that […] Read More
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Looking for Some Craic? Face “The Consequences”
They call themselves “The Consequences,” but this exciting young Irish trad group could have called themselves “The Champions.” Because they all are. Lexie Boatright is a multiple All-Ireland award winning harpist and concertina player. Jake James is a two-time All-Ireland fiddle champion. Cara Wildman is an All-Ireland champion bodhran player. And pianist and accordion player Ryan Ward is the current reigning Senior All-Ireland Accompaniment Champion. They come from all over: Lexi from the Washington, DC, area, […] Read More
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Learn the Shocking True Story Behind This Novel of Immigration
John Heagney’s four years of family history research turned up some surprises, particularly for his wife Linda. She came from the Scots-Irish clan that owned Dunluce Castle, the fairytale cliffside ruins on the spectacular Antrim coast in Northern Ireland. She had three ancestors on the Mayflower. His own ancestors trod a more humble path. “As far back as the 18th century it was Heagney the dirt farmer, Heagney the dirt farmer, Heagney the dirt farmer, Heagney […] Read More
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The Best Seat in the House: A Dance Judge Takes You Behind the Scenes
By Kate O’Neill Wosczyna In the fall of 1974 when I was four, my Mom started me in Irish dancing. Being a first generation Irish American, my Mom felt it was important that I remain close to my Irish heritage. All four of my grandparents were from Ireland–Mayo, Donegal, and Tyrone. Along with the dancing, I attempted playing the accordion, fiddle, piano, and tin whistle. Needless to say (and for the betterment of everyone’s ears), […] Read More
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Cherishing Joanie Madden
By Frank Keel Many apt descriptors come to mind when one thinks about Joanie Madden, the world-renowned flute and tin whistle virtuoso and unquestionable leader of the acclaimed Irish-American trad band, Cherish The Ladies. Gifted. Visionary. Trail-blazing. All the terms fit. But, for this long-time fan of Cherish The Ladies and Joanie Madden, there is one descriptor that truly captures the essence of this remarkable musician and band leader. Indefatigable. Take a glance at her […] Read More