Lazy Dog Coffeehouse
Special Events
 


LORETTA MURPHY, author

LORETTA MURPHY // PAUL NOON,  'The Troubles'
 Musical Performance. Poetry Reading, Discussion, Book Signing

      
 




Books are on sale now $24.95 + tax each.
Call 544-4800 to make your reservation.
 

 

 

Irish Roads is a poetic journey across an ocean and into the imagination. It is the story of the author’s 21-day sojourn through Ireland—a fantasy mixed with reality amidst the mystery and wild beauty of the Emerald Isle. Join Murphy for a romantic and whimsical glimpse of Irish culture, life, and love as she travels the roads of her beloved Ireland from Dublin on the east coast to Donegal on the west. Irish Roads is proof that no one goes to Ireland without leaving behind a piece of their heart.

Single mother Maggie Carroll longs to go to Ireland, but two young daughters and financial troubles take precedence until she enters a contest on the internet that leads her closer to her dreams than she ever imagined. Irishman Galen Devlin, working the tourism trade in post-9/11 New York City, is a lonely bachelor longing for love. Both have a distant shared past that includes Thomas Terrance O’Toole, a modern-day leprechaun with matchmaking on his mind. The Irish ballad “Danny Boy” often brings tears to the eyes of those longing for home. Join Maggie and Galen in The Pipes Are Calling, as they share a homeward journey that includes the true saga of the Molly Maguires, a 19th-century group of impoverished Irish immigrants struggling for labor rights against the rough backdrop of the Pennsylvania hard coal industry. And listen…the bittersweet strains of the pipes may be calling you.



The Troubles are an Irish folk singing duo with musical roots in rock, traditional Irish, bluegrass, and blues.  The name of the duo is taken from the famous conflicts that occurred in Northern Ireland during the 60's, 70's, and 80's, and was inspired by Murphy & Noon's Irish family roots.  In addition to traditional Irish pub songs and ballads, the duo also performs the occasional folk and vintage rock tune. 

Paul Noon (string instruments/vocals), has been a working musician since he was knee high to a toadstool. A journeyman bass player, Noon is currently working with Bob and the Done Caughts and San Antonio Rose. He also performs in the “pit bands” of the Lift Your Spirits Performing Arts Group and Penn State Schuylkill Players. Noon is also a lead vocalist with the Schuylkill Express Barbershop Chorus.

Loretta Murphy (vocals/percussions) has been performing and singing in the northeast Pennsylvania region for over 20 years.  In addition to being a cast member of the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire and the Medieval Feasting Guild, Murphy was part of the Wylde Roses, a female quartet specializing in folk music, dance, storytelling, and humor from Ireland, Scotland, and England. Murphy has been a dancer with the McCune School of Irish Dance.  She has worked in the past with community theatre groups, such as York Little Theatre, but is now performing regularly with the Lift Your Spirits Performing Arts Group. Annually, Murphy directs and performs in Finnegans Wake at the Clover Irish Festival, and in other local and community events, such as the recent Civil War Rally and Vignettes at the Majestic Theatre in September, ‘08.  Murphy has penned several original songs and is author of the Irish and Molly Maguire themed novel, The Pipes Are Calling (2006) and a brand new volume of poetry, Irish Roads (2008). 

They have not yet quit their day jobs.

Tentative Schedule for the evening:

Friday, February 27  An Irish Pub Experience with Music & Book signing at the Lazy Dog Coffeehouse 7-10 pm,
Irish Roads & The Pipes Are Calling.  Poet, lyricist and novelist Loretta Murphy will transform the Lazy Dog into an Irish Pub experience with a night of dinner, music, readings, story telling and book signing.  Irish Roads is a collection of poems inspired by Loretta's recent pilgrimage across Ireland.  The Pipes Are Calling is a novel laced with romance, coal-country (Molly Maguire) history, and the lure of Ireland.  Loretta and guitarist, Paul Noon, aka "The Troubles" will perform original music as well as folk songs from the 60's, 70's and 80's.