First Aer Lingus Flight from Dublin to Philly Touches Down

Aer Lingus Photo by Brendan Clay

By Brendan Clay Philadelphia’s connections to Ireland just got a lot more direct. At around quarter after 4 p.m. on March 25th, the first Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Philadelphia touched down at the Philadelphia International Airport. Its arrival… Continue Reading

Parade Grand Marshal Sister Mary Scullion—Champion of the Homeless

By Sabina Clarke The theme of this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is St. Patrick Bless Those Who Respond to the Call of the Needy and Sister Mary Scullion, R.S.M. the daughter of Irish immigrants lives this call every minute… Continue Reading

At Play in the Lion’s Den…A Biography and Memoir of Daniel Berrigan

By Jim Forest Orbis Books Maryknoll, New York 2017 $28.00 Reviewed by Sabina Clarke In his compelling portrait of Daniel Berrigan, Jim Forest has given us a wonderful gift. He captures the amazing grace of Berrigan’s remarkable life as priest,… Continue Reading

2nd Street Plough Bhoys Kick Off Féile at The Plough & The Stars

By Tim McCloskey The cold weeks between New Year’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day have traditionally been a slow and painful period for Philly’s downtown Irish bars, but one group of diehard soccer fans have been throwing an annual event… Continue Reading

Up Close: Fox29’s Bob Kelly, ‘The Dean of Traffic’

By Thom Nickels It took some time to land a phone interview with Fox 29’s traffic guy, Bob Kelly, but when the green light flashed the so called “Dean of Traffic” was more than gracious with his time and energy.… Continue Reading

Anthony Robert Byrne Chronicles — Captain/Instructor Pilot, Air America, Inc., 1965-1974

Thakkek is a town along the Mekong River in Laos with a nice long runway nearby. The mission was that at dawn 10 H-34 helicopters would line up on the runway and each would board 10 local combat soldiers. My… Continue Reading

The Mullingar Shuffler Has Only Pity for His Opponent

Photo (above): John Joe battling Jesús Acha Iule Raya of Mexico in 2016 at Sugarhouse Casino (Photo / Daniel Cork / courtesy of Raging Babe) By Tim McCloskey Saint Patrick’s Day festivities start early this year with an old-fashioned Irish boxing… Continue Reading

The Jedi of Aran

Photo (above): © Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved By Brendan Clay 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens (dir. J.J. Abrams) ends with the movie’s new Force-wielding protagonist, Rey, tracking down a grizzled, bearded Luke Skywalker living as a… Continue Reading

Meet Stormy…My Person of the Year

by Sabina Clarke Stormy the cow, seven years old and approximately 1600 pounds is my pick for the Person of the Year Award because of her determination to ‘follow her bliss’ in the face of insurmountable obstacles: the Philadelphia Police… Continue Reading

Villanova Hosts 5th Annual Irish Dance Festival

Photos: Brendan Clay By Brendan Clay On Saturday, November 4th, Villanova University hosted its fifth annual Intercollegiate Irish Dance Festival in St. Mary’s Gym on Villanova’s campus. The festival is a showcase of some of the best Irish dance American… Continue Reading