Cassidy was guest of honor at the museum’s “Irish Song and Slang” event last March.
He was on a national tour speaking about his acclaimed book: “How the Irish Invented Slang.”
“Danny was on a roll,” said his friend author Peter Quinn, who was master of ceremonies at last year’s event.
However when he returned home to San Francisco, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given six months to a year to live. He died on Oct. 12.
“He was a force of nature,” Quinn said. “People continue to admire him and continue the work he began.
“It was Mick’s idea to do a tribute,” he added, referring to Mick Moloney who will return to perform in the museum event on March 3 alongside Quinn.
Moloney is considered the foremost expert on 19th century Irish-American music. Some of his recorded songs about the immigrant experience are used in an interactive feature in the Tenement Museum’s newest tour: “The Moores: An Irish Family in America.”
Quinn, author most recently of “Looking for Jimmy: A Search for Irish America,” said that several of Cassidy’s friends will be at this year’s event, including writer T.J. English, with whom he founded the Irish American Writers’ and Artists’ Association last year. The group took out full-page ads backing Barack Obama’s bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The event at the Lolita Bar, on Broome Street at the corner of Orchard Street, is free of charge (though one must be over 21 to attend) and will begin at 6:30. Email events@tenement.org to reserve a place or visit www.tenement.org for more information.