by Jeff Meade

If you were looking for a place to celebrate the beginning of St. Patrick’s week in Philadelphia, the Commodore John Barry Arts and Cultural Center in Mt. Airy – known to many simply as “the Irish Center” – was the place to be on Sunday afternoon.

Billed as a post-parade party, drawing participants from the annual spectacle on Market Street, it was really more of a family-friendly open house for all comers. Being Irish was optional.

Every room was jammed, a tidal wave of green. Folks wearing the sashes of the Donegal Association rubbed shoulders with folks who couldn’t find County Donegal on a map. A band called the Birmingham Six banged out tunes in the ballroom. Here and there, a pint of Guinness might have been raised.

“We were surprised. We generally start at 3, but the parade downtown seemed to have gone quickly, so people started showing up at 2,” said Lisa Maloney, board chair and president of the center. “I’d say we had about 250 to 300 people there, coming and going. The ballroom was filled. The Fireside Room was filled with dancers, and we had a separate contingent of Ireland’s County Mayo Council and the Mayo Association in the dining room.”

In what proved to be a big day for Philadelphia’s Irish, Taoiseach Micheál Martin – Ireland’s prime minister – was in town for the parade but didn’t make it back for the party. Something about a prior engagement with the President.

In his place was Deputy Consul General Katie Daughen, who is no stranger to the center. She’s visited a few times, but this was her first post-parade party in Philadelphia. Asked about her parade day, she laughed, “I don’t want to even call it a day. Call it a season.”

On a more serious note, Daughen noted the importance of the Barry Center to the Philadelphia Irish diaspora. “The center was one of the first places I came to visit when I took my post in New York in April. It’s a really important channel for us to know what’s going on, but to be able to reach out to the community and connect as well.”

In that sense, the party also had a serious purpose. The party, Maloney says, “is absolutely vital. This event brings in people who don’t normally come to other events. Kids run around; everybody enjoys the music. We try to engage the crowd so that they do come back for our other events throughout the year, and we are going to try and focus on trying to have even more family-friendly events so that we draw these people, not just on St. Patrick’s Day, but throughout the year.”