All posts from Jeff Meade
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Podcast: Interview with Merton Play Actress Kirsten Quinn
“Rendezvous in Bangkok … Who Killed Thomas Merton,” written by Sabina Clarke and Thom Nickels, premiered in 2021. It’s back, revised, for a performance at the Commodore Barry Arts & Cultural Center (the Irish Center) Sunday, Sept. 22. What follows is a transcript of an audio interview with Kirsten Quinn, who portrays Merton friend Joan Baez. She is also the casting director. Quinn is associated with several theater groups in the Philadelphia area, including, notably, […] Read More
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Eight Months and Counting Until the First Glenside St. Patrick’s Day Parade
It’s going to be a relatively modest affair compared to other parades in the area, but the first St. Patrick’s Day parade planned for Glenside in Montgomery County is a pretty big deal to its well-organized planners. Members of the organizing committee met one evening recently around the dining room table at Noreen Donahue McAleer’s house not far from the proposed parade route. The parade—planned for March 8, 2025—is still months away, but the committee […] Read More
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Help the Philadelphia Ceili Group Celebrate 50 Years of Its Annual Festival
Come October 10, 11 and 12, the Philadelphia Ceili Group hopes to present its 50th annual traditional Irish music and dance festival. “Hopes to” because it isn’t necessarily a sure thing. Whether it happens is in large part up to you. The Ceili Group is trying to raise $25,000 to bring the very best in Irish traditional music and dance to the Commodore John Barry Arts and Cultural Center (the Irish Center) because, frankly, that’s what […] Read More
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Raise a Toast to the Inspired Creator of Pops McCann Irish Whiskey
Jason Fogg grew up in the bar business. So, it’s probably not a big surprise that he is the driving force behind Pops McCann Whiskey, his brainchild and a means of perpetuating family history. Now, Fogg has opened a storefront in Wayne, where patrons can imbibe his whiskeys, and hand-crafted cocktails. Fogg’s mother, Mary Frances (Frassee), has been a bartender for 45 years, and his father owned a neighborhood bar in Juniata Park, Pat’s Pub. […] Read More
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RUNA: When the Light Gets In
Like many of us, Shannon Lambert-Ryan recalls the pandemic as a dark time. Since the gradual return to normal life, the Philadelphia area-based lead singer of Celtic roots supergroup RUNA says, “there was finally a light coming up at the end of the tunnel.” The idea of members of the band being able to play together again fostered a fresh new round of creativity. The result is the ensemble’s new recording, “When the Light Gets […] Read More
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With a Final Ceremony, Philadelphia Irish Memorial Set for Big Move
With a final blessing by Father Ed Brady Saturday morning and a bittersweet ceremony, the iconic Philadelphia Irish Memorial at Front and Chestnut is temporarily moving from that location, which it has occupied for 20 years, to a new spot at Foglietta Plaza, Front and Spruce. The solemn occasion was observed with the U.S. and Irish national anthems by Tim Kelly and Theresa Flanagan Murtagh, and lowering of the flags. The move is necessitated by a long […] Read More
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Emerald Pipers and Michael and Linda Bradley Draw Mayo Association Honors
It’s difficult—maybe impossible—to think of an event that the Philadelphia Emerald Society Pipe Band has not helped commemorate, mourn or celebrate. “They’re simply ubiquitous,” says Maureen Callahan of the Mayo Association of Philadelphia. “Every event you go to, they’re there. The band has provided the soundtrack of Irish culture in the Philadelphia area for decades. They’re part of so many events from one year to the next, and not just on St. Patrick’s Day. They’ve […] 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 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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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