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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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Have a Red, White and Blue Salad Celebration
Once upon a time in Ireland — at least at the time I made my first trip in 1984, and even a decade later — a salad was not a salad as we know it today: think a few leaves of iceberg and a slice or two of tomato. Perfectly acceptable at the time, but four decades later, you’ll find salads worthy of celebrating. Yes, greens are often dressed with a simple blend of oil […] 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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William Trevor: Master of “the Glimpse”
Within hours of his death at 88 in 2016, tributes from Irish writers poured in to the Irish Times describing how much William Trevor’s work meant to them. Described by many as the “greatest living English language writer,” Trevor’s books are considered very English, yet he considered himself an “Irish writer” belonging to the “Irish tradition.” His stated goal was to take Irish provincialism and make it universal. The picture that emerges is that of a […] Read More
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Get a “Flavor Hit” of Spring With this Asparagus Recipe
Imported asparagus spears are available all year round, but there’s nothing to beat the flavor and texture of those locally grown in its short spring season: in Ireland, traditionally beginning on April 23 and ending on Midsummer Day. Although its delicate flavor and seasonality make it highly desirable in the kitchen, asparagus is much more than just a pretty vegetable: it’s long been recognized as a good source of dietary fiber and is high in […] Read More
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“Foster” … a Quiet Tour de Force
“Foster,” a novella by Irish writer Claire Keegan, set in rural Ireland, was the inspiration for the award-winning movie “The Quiet Girl”—in Irish, “An Cailín Ciúin,” a 2022 Irish coming of age drama written and directed by Colm Bairead in his feature film debut. Keegan’s novella is narrated through the eyes of a 9-year-old girl. She is one of many siblings in a household with few amenities and another baby on the way, with an overwhelmed mother and a somewhat disinterested father. […] Read More
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Love’s Labors Won: The Philadelphia Fleadh
Photo: Chrissy and CJ Mills, Fleadh organizers. Photographer: Tom Keenan The Philadelphia Fleadh—a one-day extravaganza of Celtic rock bands and trad muscians—has become so well known worldwide that organizer CJ Mills gets dozens of requests from international bands asking to perform. He always says no. Is this man crazy? Not really. He’s just a real hometown guy. “All of our bands are local,” says Mills who has played fiddle with several bands in the area. “They’re […] Read More
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Book Review and Commentary: The Letters of Scott Fitzgerald
The Letters of Scott Fitzgerald, Edited by Andrew Turnbull, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1963 Reading the letters of F Scott Fitzgerald is like eavesdropping on a private conversation as the unseen listener, where nothing is censored except a reference here and there to an individual that might offend. Fitzgerald’s letters offer a highly intimate unguarded glimpse into his personal life and relationships and reveal his deep bond with his only child his daughter “Scottie,” whom he sometimes addresses […] Read More
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You Know You Love Them!
I assume I speak for anyone reading this page that potatoes are your favorite side! I grew up loving potatoes, but when I first visited Ireland in 1984 I was surprised to find not one but possibly two or three types of potatoes offered with my meals. And guess what, I think I ate them all! In my newest cookbook, Delicious Ireland, you’ll find lots of recipes for potato side dishes in the chapter “Mash & […] Read More
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“Prophet Song” … a Wakeup Call for All Who Listen
This book, winner of one of the literary world’s most prestigious awards—the 2023 Booker Prize for the “best piece of English language fiction published in the United Kingdom and Ireland in a given year” —is my first introduction to the Irish writer Paul Lynch. For some readers, Lynch’s depiction of a society unravelling under a totalitarian government in the Republic of Ireland—is a figment of a wild imagination; for others tuned in to our changing […] Read More
