People
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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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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
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2023 Philadelphia Irish Festival at Penns Landing
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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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Trivia with “Billy D”
I stopped in the’ Pub on the Pike’, Rockledge’s Gaul & Co Malt House to see what all the quizzo hubbub was about. Billy Donahue of Shantys fame was holding court and trying to stump the house full of Quizzo buffs. As I looked around, everyone sitting at the tables in both rooms and even those at the bar had their sheets and pencils in front of them anxiously waiting for the next question. The […] Read More
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Dinner and Dancing “At the Crossroads”
Inspired by Janet McShain’s beautiful painting, that graces the stage at the Commodore John Barry Arts and Cultural Center, Pari Livermore and Kathy Magee Burns conceived of this event to benefit the Irish Center. The crossroads dance was a type of event popular in Ireland years ago, in which people would congregate at the large cleared space of a crossroads to dance. The tradition of the dance was continued in America at local Social clubs, […] Read More