All posts from Jeff Meade
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Interview with Irish Choreographer Marguerite Donlon
Irish Philadelphia: You are choreographing a piece for BalletX. It’s a world premiere and what’s it called? Marguerite Donlon: Yeah, that’s right. It’s a world premiere and it’s called “Big Wig.” Irish Philadelphia: And where is that coming from? Marguerite Donlon: Well, the inspiration came basically from my childhood of Irish dancing. Back in Ireland, that’s all we ever did. There was no other kind of dancing at that time. And I just remember as a child, first […] Read More
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‘Duffy’s Cut’: Local Oncology Nurse and Playwright Tells a Ghost Story with a Modern Moral
When Einstein oncology nurse Liz Kerr sat down to write an ambitious three-act play about 57 Irish railroad workers and two women buried in a deep mass grave not far from the tracks in East Whiteland Township, she had an unusual muse. It was the ghost of young John Ruddy, believed to have been savagely murdered by nativists who wrongly blamed the Irish for bringing cholera to a nearby town near the worksite now known […] Read More
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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