By: Denise Foley

 Eileen Ivers from her wild Wildwood, NJ, show in September.

Gerard Devine, a 54-year-old program manager and father of three daughters in Philadelphia, is the winner of our first contest to build up circulation for Mickmail, our e-newsletter that keeps you informed of what’s on the site and what’s going on in the region, Celtically speaking. He’ll be getting two tickets to see the New York fiddle sensation, Eileen Ivers, and her group, Immigrant Soul, on November 9 at the Sellersville Theater.

“I heard of the site subscribed to Mickmail about a year ago,” Gerard told us. “I read it often, mostly checking the calendar for things to do and reviews of things I missed.”

In fact, he said, he and his wife first saw Ivers about a year ago at a concert near Plymouth Meeting. “We heard about it through Mickmail,” he said. Really, he said that. We didn’t make him say it.

Gerard is like many of us. “I see myself as someone who continues to learn about my Irish background and culture, but grew up primarily as a ‘Philly-American,’" he says. “Over the past five years I have spent about four weeks touring Ireland on 3 separate trips.  I love the pace of the country, the culture, language, history and people.  Most of our stay was in small, family run B&Bs which is the best way to connect.”

We think Mickmail is a pretty good way to connect too. Even though we’re not running a contest right now (one is the works!), please continue to forward Mickmail to friends you think might be interested, just as Gerard did (thanks, Gerard!). And if you’re not a subscriber, click on that little button at the top of the homepage and respond to the email you’ll get. It’s that simple.