Local Cemetery Tour Digs Deeper Into Irish Souls Of Philadelphia
By Kristen Johanson
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - For many Irish people in Philadelphia, Saint Patrick's Day is about heritage and history, and Laurel Hill Cemetery in East Falls is filled with that.
Superintendent of the cemetery, Bill Doran, guides groups through the East Falls graves, telling tales of Irish who rest in the hills.
"We try to tell people about the facts and figures, and we try to make it fun." he tells KYW Newsradio.
Doran works with a fellow tour guide and Irishman, Jerry McCormick, for a tour called 'Saint Patrick's Day Tour, Toasts and Tastes.'
"Jerry is Northern Ireland and I am a Southern Ireland," says Dolan. "He's an orangeman and I am a republican."
Together, Doran says, they tap into the stories and history of the Philadelphia Irish:
"We are going over to the south side of Laurel Hill, to visit some of the graves of noted Irish people and people that have Irish connections."
And after the tour, they toast to the souls who keep the hills alive with stories.
