Filmmakers tell new tales of Irish-American life and culture
PROSPECT PARK >> March is traditionally “Irish month” in America, when millions of people of Irish descent reignite their green and revel in their Irish heritage all month long. If Delaware County residents Shawn Swords and Joe Magee have it their way, Irish-American history, people, and culture will be recognized and celebrated not just on select days, but 365 days a year.
Joe Magee of Prospect Park, the owner of Marty Magee’s Irish Pub, partnered with filmmaker/producer Shawn Swords of Glenolden, owner of Character Driven Productions, to form Irish American Films production company. Irish American Films is in production on four feature length documentaries, and have more Irish-American documentary films and television programming on tap. All productions will highlight the rich, vivid history of the Irish-American people and their important contributions to the progress and enrichment of American culture. The final productions will be available on public and cable television for viewing.
The company, in conjunction with producer/cinematographer Roger Bruce of Southwest Philadelphia, is currently in post-production and final editing on its first feature length documentary, “The Cut: The Journey of the Men and Women of Duffy’s Cut.” The film, which will be ready to launch at the end of the month, chronicles the story of the Irish immigrants who came to America in the 1800s to build mile 59 of the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad known as “Duffy’s Cut” and died near Malvern within six to eight weeks after their arrival, from violence and cholera. The 57 Irish railroad workers, of the average age of 22, were from Donegal, Tyrone, and Derry in Ulster.
Dr. William Watson of Springfield, a history professor at Immaculata University, served as the consultant for “The Cut” film. The professor, along with his brother, Rev. Frank Watson, have been directors of the actual Duffy’s Cut project, underway since 2002, to locate the graves of the workers and properly rebury them. To date, the graves of seven workers have been excavated. Work is ongoing to recover the remaining 50 bodies.
Several recent Immaculata alumni from Delaware County, who continue to assist Dr. Watson with excavation at the Duffy’s Cut site, participated in the “The Cut” film as re-enactors, including Joseph Conte of Glen Mills, Matthew McStravog of Clifton Heights and Taylor Sims of Wayne.
“The Cut: The Journey of the Men and Women of Duffy’s Cut” is scheduled to premiere 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 1, in at a special screening event in the Green Room at Immaculata University, followed by a question and answer session with the experts. Cost is a $5 donation which will be used to support the nonprofit Duffy’s Cut Project. For more information on the screening, call Dr. Watson at 484-323-3491. The film’s official trailer was released in February. Pre-orders for the DVD and downloadable media are currently available at irishamericanfilms.com
In addition to “The Cut,” Irish American Films has been at work on additional projects that it hopes to release in 2017, including a documentary entitled “Irish Philadelphia,” which explores the Irish American history in Philadelphia; a feature-length documentary on the Molly Maguires, the Irish immigrant coal miners working and living in Pennsylvania; and a feature on the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the second-oldest St. Patrick’s Day parade in American history, dating back to the 1700s. Three films have been shot partially on location at Radnor Studio 21 in Wayne, with producer John Ricciutti.
Editor/Post Production Supervisor Art Swanlund of Collingdale is helping to put the stories together for filming. Dr. Jim Murphy, professor emeritus of Irish Studies, Villanova University, is the consultant on the “Irish Philadelphia” documentary, which the production team hopes to be finished by late spring.
“Having the expertise of Dr. Watson and Dr. Murphy is like having two Wikipedias at our fingertips,” smiled Magee. “Villanova has incredible archives on the Irish. We live and work in the perfect area for research and to gather stories. The Middle Eastern states have a rich history of Irish Americans with plenty of interesting stories to tell.”
Before partnering with Magee in Irish American Films, Swords was a part of a collaboration with Bruce, Philadelphia radio personality/producer Bob Charger, Producer/Host “John Ricciutti and several others on several episodes of “Out and About USA Philadelphia” for Irish/Sky TV.
The “Irish Eyes TV Special” and “Marty Magee’s 10th Anniversary TV Special” will air on Mainline TV (RS21) Comcast and Verizon 21 on The Mainline Line and Comcast 99 and Verizon 34 in Lower Merion and several pockets in Delaware County at various times throughout this month.
“Irish Philadelphia,” a feature length documentary film that explores the Irish presence in Philadelphia from the 1700s to the present, is also expected to be released in late spring. Its trailer is available for viewing on the company’s website (irishamericanfilms.com). The film examines several prominent aspects of the Irish-American culture in the Delaware Valley.
Swords initially sought the involvement of Magee while looking for live Irish music for the Irish Eyes filming. Magee, not only owns Marty Magee’s Irish Pub on Route 420 in Prospect Park and is a certified aerial cinematographer, but he is an active member of the Irish rock band, Galway Guild, and has many connections on the Irish-American music scene. Also an active member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and a representative for “Freedom for all Ireland,” Magee became passionate about the idea of programming to capture the Irish American history and experience and instantly wanted to be an active part of it.
“I’m really excited for not only the release of ‘The Cut,’ but for all of the films we currently have in our production pipeline,” Magee stated. “Irish American Films is an Irishcentric, Irish-forward thinking company. Our films are about real people — they’re the real deal. There is genuine substance to them and no fluff. Our topics are explored through archives and we do lots of homework and a serious compiling of true facts to bring viewers authenticity in each story. We want the viewers to learn and feel something. In this geographic area, we can never see ourselves running out of Irish American stories to explore and every story will be told with heart and with universal appeal. We have put a lot of our company’s resources, time, talent and funding towards these projects and have a strong emotional connection to the stories and desire for quality Irish-themed programming to succeed in the Delaware Valley.”