All posts from Jeff Meade
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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
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Next Generation, Celebrating 25 Years, Influences the Lives of Young Traditional Irish Musicians
Call it a very happy accident. One day 25 years ago, Voorhees, N.J., Irish musician and teacher Kathy DeAngelo received a call from the Garden State Discovery Museum in Cherry Hill, asking if she could arrange a performance of some of her harp students “and stuff.” “I said, yeah, what are you looking for? An hour or something?” DeAngelo recalls. “They said, ‘Yeah, sure. We just want to bill it as part of our multicultural […] Read More
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Kersti Powell, Advancing Irish Studies at St. Joe’s
Born in the Baltic nation of Estonia, St. Joseph’s University associate professor of English Kersti Tarien Powell first encountered the works of John Banville, Irish author of the Booker Prize-winning novel “The Sea,” in the British Council library in the Estonian capital city of Talinn. “It wasn’t even a library,” Powell says, looking back. “It was more like a bookcase that they had there, for people who just didn’t feel like taking their paperbacks home. […] Read More
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Sister James Anne: A Life Lesson in Irish Pride
Ask Sister James Anne Feerick where she grew up, and, like many Philadelphia Catholics, she answers with the name of her parish—Transfiguration of Our Lord, 56th and Cedar Avenue, in West Philadelphia. “It’s one of those churches that was taken down,” she says, “but it was a great place.” Transy, as locals called it, was the center of everything. Sister James Anne—then known as Nancy—recalls Valentine’s dances for the grown-ups, and Christmas parties for the children. […] Read More
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If You Can’t Be Back Home in Derry, Do the Next Best Thing … Join the Derry Society
Philadelphia’s Irish community is gifted with several societies and associations for people with family ties back to counties throughout the Emerald Isle, but the Derry Society is relatively small. Small, yes … but mighty. Unlike larger county associations, the Derry folks don’t host a large fancy gala. Nothing against the big, splashy events—Derry Society people happily support and attend them, dressed to the nines. However, Derry generally hosts less formal events. Their Spring Fling on […] Read More
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Local Irish Musician’s Daughter Spurs Effort to Raise Funds–and Awareness–for Autism
Philadelphia area musician Raymond Coleman remembers when he and his wife Jaclyn first started worrying about their daughter Céilí. Céilí was a year and a half, and she didn’t respond when they called her name or rolled a ball back to her. At first, they thought she might have a hearing problem. Then, Coleman says, he wondered whether Céilí might be developmentally delayed. They consulted with Céilí’s pediatrician, who recommended testing. “We were calling her […] Read More
