Harry McPolin, 80, a native of Co. Down and a brother of Cathryn Quinn of Edmonds, died on February 5 in Comox, British Columbia.  

OBIT

Betty Butkowski, 80, the mother and mother-in-law of Gabby & David Jacobsen, died suddenly in Seattle on December 22. OBIT

Ellie Mae Cunnie,

Thomas Smith,

Kathleen Williams, 80, a sister of Dan Kavanaugh of Yelm, died on December 17.

Margaret Colleen Kelleher, 87, the daughter-in-law of a Corkman, and the mother of Seattle's Kate Maughan, died December 19 in Ellensburg. OBIT

Sister Mary Kenny, OSF, 84, a native of Dublin, died in Tacoma on December 16. OBIT

Sally Gallagher Gaschk, 92, the daughter of a Donegal man, died in Tacoma on December 6. OBIT

Ann Fitzgerald, 76, a native of Kilrush, Co. Clare, died in Seattle on December 4. OBIT

Mary "Eileen" Ferrell, 91, a native of Dublin, died in Spokane on December 3. OBIT

Sr. Scholastica Lee, 92, a native of Castlerea, Co. Roscommon, died December 1 after 62 years as a Sister of Providence. OBIT

Paul Livingston, 90, died November 28 in Seattle, and was buried in Cork beside his late wife Rose. OBIT

THIS WEEKEND

2014 TIONÓL - The 33rd West Coast Tionól is this weekend, February 15 and 16. Every two years the Irish Pipers' Club in Seattle hosts the West Coast Irish Pipers Convention, or Tionól (pronounced Chin-ole) as it's called in Gaelic. Uilleann pipers from along the west coast will converge in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood for this 33rd annual event featuring the uilleann pipe, Ireland's unique bagpipe. Over the course of the weekend Irish Music Workshops will be offered in piping, reedmaking, flute, tin whistle, and fiddle. A concert of featured performers tomorrow, Saturday night is a highlight of the weekend. The Concert & Céilí Dance starts at 7.30 pm at The Doric Lodge, 619 N. 36th St, in Fremont. Admission $20 ($5 for children 12 and under. For more details, visit IrishPipersClub.org.

THIS COMING WEEK

HIGH TECH PRESENTATION - This coming Thursday, February 20, Irish Network Seattle and Invest Northern Ireland co-host a panel discussion at Cornish College, 1000 Lenora St, corner of Terry and Lenora, Seattle, with leaders in the high-tech industry. The evening starts at 6:30 pm with a wine and cheese reception. Titled "Success in High Tech: the view from Seattle", the panel discussion at 7 pm addresses two of the big concerns of people in the Tech world - how to get that killer job, and how to be successful. On the panel will be Áine Brolly of Invest Northern Ireland, Emma Hughes at NewBay Software, James Maiocco at Microsoft Ventures, Mary Newman at Microsoft Premier Field Enablement and Michelle Duffy at Google. Reservations and other details at IrishNetworkSeattle.org.

CELTIC BALLADEER - Born in the Connemara Gaeltacht, Danny O'Flaherty performs at Seattle's Owl 'N Thistle Pub, 808 Post Ave, at Columbia, at 7:30 pm Thursday, February 20. Admission $10 - call 206-621-7777 for details. Danny is a widely respected entertainer who plays the guitar, accordion, and penny whistle. He sprinkles his shows with stories and jokes, and you can expect a very enjoyable evening. For information, visit dannyoflaherty.com.

SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF

IRISH WEEK 2014

MARCH 1 - A hands-on IRISH SODA BREAD COOKING CLASS will be held on Saturday, March 1, from 1 - 5 pm, at St. Patrick's Church Hall, 2702 Broadway E, just off I-5 at Roanoke St, Seattle. Master Soda Bread Bakers Fionna Shriane-Travis and Mary Shriane will demonstrate how to bake great traditional Irish soda bread, and nutritionist Maureen Keane will speak to the nutritional value of Irish food. $10 per person and class size is limited. For all the details and reservations, visit Irish Soda Bread Cooking Class, call Fionna Shriane-Travis at 206-354-7406 or email SodaBread@irishclub.org.

IRISH PLAY - The Irish play A ROSE FOR DANNY will be performed Thursday-Sunday, March 6-16, at Theater4 at the Seattle Center (Floor 4 of the Armory). Performed by The Irish Heritage Players, the play is based on a factual event in the life of Seattle playwright Kevin Moriarty and is the story of an Irish-American family caught between their grandfather's uprooted status as an Irish immigrant and his children's desire to move on into the future of America. For tickets and all the details, visit IrishHeritagePlayers.org or email Players@irishclub.org.

MARCH 8 - The annual IRISH SODA BREAD CONTEST is Saturday, March 8 from 2 - 4 pm at T S McHugh's Restaurant, 1st & Mercer, Seattle. Contest Admission is free and judging starts at 2 pm. Entries should be dropped off at the restaurant between 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm and contest winners will be announced at 3 pm. For the rules, sample recipes, etc., visit irishclub.org, call Fionna at 206-354-7406 or email SodaBread@irishclub.org.

MARCH 9 - The annual MATT TALBOT CENTER'S ST. PATRICK'S DAY DINNER is on Sunday, March 9, at 6 pm at F X McRory's near CenturyLink Field. Suggested donation $100. For tickets and more information, visit MTCenter.org, or call 206-256-9865.

MARCH 13 - There will be a DNA GENEALOGY WORKSHOP on Thursday, March 13, from 6-9 pm, at Faith Lutheran Church (lower level Social Hall), 8208 18th Ave NE, Seattle. Presenter Dr. Tyrone Bowes is a Biotechnologist with a Ph.D. in Neuroimmunology who regularly presents workshops on using commercial ancestral DNA testing to pinpoint a person's Irish, Scottish, English, or Welsh ancestors. Genetic genealogy is the application of genetics to traditional genealogy and involves the use of genealogical DNA testing to determine the level and type of the genetic relationship between individuals. Reservations are $10 pp - visit irishclub.org or email Genealogy@irishclub.org.

MARCH 14 - The annual MASS FOR PEACE at 10 am on Friday, March 14, is moving FROM PLYMOUTH CHURCH and will this year be celebrated at St. Patrick's Church, 2702 Broadway E (just off Roanoke). For details, see irishclub.org/mass or email Mass@irishclub.org.

MARCH 16 - The 74th annual FRIENDS OF ST PATRICK BANQUET is Sunday evening, March 16, starting with cocktails at 5:00 pm at The Harbor Club, 801 2nd Ave, Seattle. Tickets are $125 per person (TABLE OF TEN $1,000 IF PAID BEFORE MARCH 7) and includes an Irish Community Happy Hour starting at 5 pm, free parking, Irish music, singing and dancing, and much more. For tickets and more information, visit FOSP.org, email Friends@irishclub.org or call 425-821-3044.

MAYOR'S IRISH WEEK PROCLAMATION LUNCHEON is Friday March 14, 12 Noon, F X McRory's. Reservations: 206-361-1713.

GREEN STRIPE is Friday March 14, 7 pm. Meet at 6:30 pm at F X McRory's.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARADE is Saturday, March 15, 12:30 pm

IRISH FESTIVAL 2014 at the Seattle Center is Saturday & Sunday, March 16-17, Noon-6 pm Saturday, 10am - 6 pm Sunday.

March 15 St. Patrick's Day

PARADE GRAND MARSHALS

GRAND MARSHAL

Dr. Katherine Zappone, since 2011 a member of Seanad Éireann, the Irish Senate or upper house of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), will be the Grand Marshal of Seattle's 2014 St. Patrick's Day Parade. Senator Zappone grew up in Seattle, all the way from grade school through graduation from Seattle University. She later pursued graduate degrees at Catholic University, Boston College and University College Dublin, and has been living in Ireland since the 1980s. She is a noted academic and civil rights campaigner, and is a member of Ireland's Human Rights Commission. She is also a former CEO of the National Women's Council of Ireland, and has also taught ethics, practical theology and education at Trinity College Dublin.

HONORARY GRAND MARSHAL

OTHER MARCH EVENTS

BAYS CONCERT - Randal Bays and Family, with Suzanne Taylor play Irish traditional music Saturday, March 1, 7:30 pm at the Phinney Neighbor Center, 6532 Phinney Ave N, Seattle. The Bays Family Band includes Randal on fiddle, Susan Waters on fiddle and vocals, and sons Willie and Owen Bays on flute and concertina. Rounding out the sound is former Seattleite Suzanne Taylor on keyboard and flute. Tickets at seafolklore.org or 206-528-8523.

PIPES & DRUMS - The 1st Annual Seattle Police Pipes & Drums Dinner and Auction is Saturday, March 8, 5:30 pm, at the Washington Athletic Club. Whiskey tasting, silent auction, band performance, dinner and dessert. More details at seattlepolicepipesanddrums.com. Tickets are $75 at Ryan@irishclub.org. The Pipe Band is leading a trip to Ireland this September taking in Dublin, Belfast and ending at the Galway Oyster Festival the weekend of September 26-28. If you're interested in traveling with the band or in meeting them in Galway, email Ryan@irishclub.org and you'll be sent all the details once they are finalized.

MARCH 22 CÉILI MÓR - Tacoma's Museum of Glass hosts a Céili Mór (Large Irish Dance Party!) in its grand hall on Saturday, March 22, to celebrate Irish culture and the museum's ongoing exhibition of contemporary Irish glass. Enjoy traditional Irish music with performers like Liam Ó Maonlaí of  Hothouse Flowers fame, the Carrigaline Celtic band and Comerford Irish Dancers. This is a Family event where children and adults learn and practice dancing to live music. Full bar and food service available. Open to all ages. More information at museumofglass.org.

MORE SEATTLE AREA NEWS

SEATTLE MAYOR - When new Seattle Mayor Ed Murray was sworn into office on January 1, he took the oath of office with one hand placed on a bible that his grandmother brought from Ireland in the early 1900s and the other hand holding her Rosary beads. While in New York for the Super Bowl (Go Hawks!), Murray was interviewed by Niall O'Dowd, the publisher of IrishCentral.com, the Irish Voice and Irish America magazine. Here's is a link to the story on IrishCentral.com.

IRISH APP - Calculator Plus, invented by Seattle-based Irishman Aidan Hughes and his 12 year old daughter Isabel, is now the number one calculator app for the Kindle Fire tablet in the US and UK and is the second-highest rated app in all categories on Amazon's Android App Store. USA Today recently named Calculator Plus as one of their 25 essential Kindle Fire apps and Amazon have pre-installed it on their shop demo models across the US. - See more at: ereleases.com.

VANCOUVER PARADE - Vancouver, BC, holds its 10th Anniversary St. Patrick's Day Parade on Sunday, March 16 at 11 am beginning on Howe and Davie and ending at Georgia & Granville Streets. Festival organizers anticipate award-winning pipe and drum bands, Celtic musicians, Scottish and Irish dancers, acrobats, stilt walkers, vintage cars, the Vancouver police motorcycle drill team and pipe band, fire and police dogs, mounted horse drill teams, multi-cultural organizations and performers, and many more. For information email parade@celticfestvancouver.com.

MISCELLANEOUS

• Irish Night at the Seattle University Redhawks is this Thursday, February 20, at 7 pm at Key Arena. Tickets $6 through Sean McLain at 206-220-8584.
• Seattle's Irish Language and Heritage Meetup Group meets this Sunday, February 16 at 4 pm at the Wayward Coffee House, 6417 Roosevelt Way NE, #104, Seattle.
• The School of Magical Strings Celtic Harp Classes start Monday, February 17 in Seattle, and Tuesday, February 18 in Olalla. More information and registration at magicalstrings.com.
• The Irish Book Club meets Tuesday, February 25 - contact hudit@comcast.net for details.
• Don't miss Caution Fragile, the Irish glass exhibition through September 1 at Tacoma's Museum of Glass
• Follow the Eastside Genealogical Society's Irish and Scots-Irish Special Interest Group's blog.
• If anyone knows Conor Benjamin Underwood, a native of Dublin, please ask him to contact me as something belonging to him has been found.
• Irish Socialist Joe Higgins, TD, a member of the Dáil (Irish Parliament), was in Seattle to attend the inauguration of Seattle's new Socialist City Councilmember Kshama Sawant.
• For details on the 72nd Annual St. Patrick's Day Festival organized by Portland's All-Ireland Cultural Society, visit OregonIrishClub.org.

IRISH ECONOMIC NEWS

BUSINESS FRIENDLY - Ireland has for the first time ever been named as the "best country for business" in world rankings carried out by Forbes magazine. The USA is in 14th place with the UK 12th. The rankings were determined by grading 145 nations on 11 different factors: property rights, innovation, taxes, technology, corruption, freedom (personal, trade and monetary), red tape, investor protection and stock market performance. "It is the only nation that ranks among the top 15% of countries in every one of the 11 metrics we examined to gauge the best countries," says the article

INVESTMENT QUALITY - The IBM 2013

CREDIT UPGRADE - Because of the growth potential of the economy and Ireland's exit from the EU-IMF bailout program, Moody's, the most influential of the international credit rating agencies, has joined Standard & Poor's and Fitch in raising Ireland's credit rating to Baa3, the lowest investment grade. Prior to the financial crisis Ireland held a AAA rating, the highest possible. Moody's also changed the outlook for Ireland's credit rating from stable to positive, holding out the prospects of a further upward re-rating later in the year.

CELTIC TIGER 2.0 - The Huffington Post says that "The Irish economy, while by no means booming, is out of recession and heading in the right direction." However, it says "Dublin's tech scene - Silicon Docks - is booming. Ireland is open for business. The Celtic Tiger 2.0 is waiting."

POSITIVE NEWS - Forbes.com says that "Ireland may have looked like the underdog, a tiny nation, just four-and-a-half million people-strong, when it was facing economic ruin in the financial crisis of 2008, but you should never underestimate the strength of its entrepreneurial spirit." The article also states "Ireland's entrepreneurs seem to be naturals at the start-up game."

MORE POSITIVES - Quartz.com says, "The star performer, though, is Ireland. Only a month after exiting its bailout, the country has had no trouble issuing new debt. In fact, Ireland's five-year borrowing cost recently dipped below its American and British equivalents, to the lowest level recorded in the republic's 92-year history."

HOT START-UP - Cork-based fraud protection firm Trustev has been named by Forbes magazine as one of the "hottest global start-ups of 2013". The Irish start-up verifies the identity of online shoppers by generating a digital fingerprint through various social media accounts which prove you are who you claim to be. The Irish startup has raised $3 million since it was founded in 2012.

BANKERS' TRIAL - The trial of three former senior executives at the now-defunct Anglo Irish Bank, began in Dublin last week. The Telegraph says "It's a high-profile case that is set to last up to four months, one of the first in the world of senior executives involved in the collapse of a major bank during the financial crisis of 2008 and is one of the most complex fraud cases in Irish legal history".

JOINT MISSION - Government ministers from Dublin, London and Stormont took part in a first-ever joint international trade mission this month. Representatives from all three administrations attended the Singapore Airshow to pursue trade and investment opportunities in the aviation sector and were accompanied by representatives of companies from the three jurisdictions. The trade mission was part of ongoing and increased cooperation between the countries on economic matters.

MORE NEWS FROM IRELAND

BEST TOURISM DESTINATION - For the second year running, Ireland has been named 'Best Tourism Destination' by frequent travelers in the US. In a survey conducted during 2013, more than 22,000 readers of American travel magazine Global Traveler named Ireland their favorite tourism destination overall.  

COOL BRAIN - An Irish company has developed a medical device that may be of significant benefit in cases of brain injury. Developed in collaboration with researchers from Trinity College Dublin, the 'Cool Brain' is designed to cool the brain at the earliest possible opportunity in the event of a stroke, heart attack or brain trauma to achieve the best possible prognosis. The device is portable with a rechargeable battery, and the ability to administer such a treatment prior to hospital admission, could offer enormous benefits.

IRISH IMMIGRATION - Anne Anderson, ambassador of Ireland to the United States, wrote recently about the Irish dimension of U.S. immigration reform. "Since the 1965 U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, there has been very little scope for legal migration from Ireland to the U.S. The lack of legal access is promoting Ireland's best and brightest to look elsewhere."

IMMIGRATION FACTS - While many assume immigration from Ireland is relatively easy due to the cultural and familial ties between the two countries, the facts are that from 2002-2011, Ireland received 15,999 of the 10.5 million US Green Cards that were issued (0.001 % of the total). Most current immigration reform proposals offer a way to legalize Irish people who are living in the US illegally (an estimated 50,000 but no one really knows) providing for up to 10,000 visas each year for Irish people.

UNDOCUMENTED STORIES - Undocumented people can't go home for the holidays, for fear of being shut out of returning to where they and their families now live. Three undocumented Irish workers in the US, and three undocumented immigrants in Ireland, describe for the Irish Times the harsh realities of living an unofficial life. BBC News Magazine says that many thousands of those moving from Ireland to the US may be becoming illegal immigrants.

VOTING ABROAD - Ireland is one of only a few EU countries that doesn't allow citizens resident outside the country a vote and the European Commission said last week that "such disenfranchisement practices can negatively affect EU free movement rights". The EU suggests that member states "Enable their nationals .. to retain their right to vote in national elections if they demonstrate a continuing interest in the political life of their country." Last year Ireland's Constitutional Convention recommended to the Government that Irish citizens living outside Ireland should be able to vote in Presidential elections.

SPECTACULAR NEWGRANGE - In 2013, 30,000 people applied for one of the 50 places available to witness the winter solstice on the morning of December 22 from inside the tomb at Newgrange, Co. Meath. The monument's solar alignment was first documented in 1967 and as the sun rises at 8.58am, the beam illuminates the chamber for 17 minutes. The structure supports about 200,000 tons of earth and stone within its fabric and was built sometime around 3,100 BC - about 600 years before the pyramids and 1,000 years before Stonehenge. The stones are held in place by their own weight, and with the help of sea sand and burnt soil to fill the gaps, have kept the interior chamber dry for 5,000 years.

IRISH OLYMPIANS - In a country of 4.5 million people where winters often pass without snowfall, Ireland has for the first time sent a team to the Winter Olympics made up exclusively of people with Irish heritage who live outside Ireland, including Sean Greenwood, a skeleton competitor from Vancouver, BC.

FICTION LAUREATE - Ireland's Arts Council is creating a Laureate for Irish Fiction, "to promote Irish literature nationally and internationally and to encourage the public to engage with high-quality Irish fiction." The Laureate will receive $206,000 over three years to focus on his or her work, participate in public events and teach creative writing at University College Dublin and New York University, which are co-sponsoring the initiative. In comparison, Britain's poet laureate, currently Carol Ann Duffy, traditionally receives a "butt of sack," or 600 bottles of sherry, and an annual stipend of about $9,400. The US poet laureate is paid $35,000 annually.

ARCHITECTURE AWARD - Irish architecture firm Heneghan Peng Architects recently won an international competition to build Moscow's "super museum" - the new National Centre for Contemporary Art - after a competition that attracted more than 900 submissions from around the world. Heneghan Peng is also the architect of the National Gallery Ireland, the Giant's Causeway Visitor Center and the Grand Egyptian Museum outside Cairo, the largest archaeological museum in the world. That competition attracted 1557 entries from 82 countries, making it the largest architectural competition in history.

LOW TRANSATLANTIC FARES - The Irish subsidiary of budget airline Norwegian Air been granted approval to start low-fare flight operations between Europe and the USA. The third-largest low-cost airline in Europe after Ryanair and EasyJet, Norwegian carried more than 20 million passengers last year. But not everyone is happy, according to Barrons. 

GARTH BROOKS - 400,000 tickets have been sold for the five Garth Brooks performances in Ireland this summer, and 70,000 of them were purchased outside the Republic of Ireland! Brooks' concerts will be his first in Ireland since 1997. He retired from the music industry in 2001 to rear his children, but has recently made a comeback with a series of shows in Las Vegas. The Irish shows are not part of a world tour, but are one-off specials in advance of his world tour next autumn.

RODDY DOYLE - The Guts, Roddy Doyle's new novel that was recently reviewed by Atlantic.com, features the return of Jimmy Rabbitte, hero of Doyle's first novel The Commitments. Doyle is the author of eight novels, a collection of stories, and Rory & Ita, a memoir of his parents. He won the Booker Prize in 1993 for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. He lives and works in Dublin and had a reading last week at the University Book Store in Seattle's U District.

GPO PLANS - Plans for a 1916 Rising exhibition and visitor center for the General Post Office (GPO) in Dublin have been lodged with Dublin City Council. The facility, expected to cost almost $7 million, will feature a cafe and "sculpture court" as well as a two-story exhibition center. The reading of a proclamation of Ireland's independence from Britain was read by Patrick Pearse outside the GPO on Easter Monday, 1916, marking the beginning of the Rebellion. During the following week, the GPO was the headquarters of the Irish Volunteers.

SELF-SERVICE LIBRARIES - Members of the Irish public will soon be able to access their library and check books out outside the normal opening hours, without a member of staff present. Under the pilot scheme, selected library buildings will be fitted with automatic doors. Users will gain access to the library by using their membership card and a pin number. They will be tracked as they move through the building by both prominent and discreet security cameras. Radio-frequency identification tags will be attached to books, which will have to be scanned prior to removal.

TRUMP IN IRELAND - US billionaire Donald Trump has bought one of Ireland's top golf resorts, Doonbeg Golf Club and five-star lodge in Co. Clare. Doonbeg becomes the 16th golf club in the Trump portfolio, and his first in Ireland. The 400-acre development will be renamed Trump International Golf Links, Ireland. The Greg Norman-designed resort was reportedly purchased for around $20 million. The Lodge at Doonbeg includes 218 hotel suites as well as an expansive spa and several restaurants.

UCD YANTAI - The city government of Yantai in northeast China will provide $410 million and a 300-acre campus to set up a University College Dublin campus focusing on innovation. It is expected to provide a pipeline of students to Ireland and to support Irish enterprises seeking a foothold in China. UCD Yantai will be the first comprehensive international university north of the Yangtze river, and will grow to accommodate a student population of up to 10,000. Students will graduate with a UCD degree and up to 1,000 of UCD Yantai's students will study in Ireland every year as part of their degree course.

PARADE BOYCOTTS - New York's recently-elected mayor, Bill de Blasio, saying he will skip the New York St Patrick's Day parade because it excludes recognition to gay and lesbian groups. Boston's new Mayor Martin Walsh, whose parents were born in Connemara, Co. Galway, will also boycott the South Boston St Patrick's Day Parade unless organizers also permit LGBT groups to march. Both the NY and Boston parades are considered private events and as such the organizers may decide who can participate. However, Irish Taoiseach (PM) Enda Kenny plans to march in the New York parade saying he has been urged to do so by members of the LGBT community.

PHILOMENA - Philomena Lee, the real-life Irish woman behind the hit movie "Philomena," was in Rome last week to meet the Pope, 60 years after nuns in Ireland forced her to give up her baby son for adoption because she was an unwed mother. Later on in life, Lee's search for her son led her to the USA, where she learned that her adopted son had died nine years earlier of AIDS. She also learned that her son had visited Ireland - and the home where he was born - to try and learn about her but was told that his mother had abandoned him. Vatican sources say the pope has also screened "Philomena" at the Vatican. For more information, visit thephilomenaproject.org.

PILGRIM PATHS - The Pilgrim Paths of Ireland are a collection of ancient religious routes around the country which have documented claims to having been used by pilgrims since ancient times. The inaugural National Pilgrim Paths (NPP) Day is on Easter Saturday, April 19 with a nationwide series of walks planned along all of Ireland's major medieval, penitential walkways. NPP day is non-denominational and welcomes participation by people of all religious backgrounds or those without religious affiliation. The idea is to create a unifying event with the emphasis on exploring Ireland's pre-Reformation Christian heritage and facilitating a deeper understanding of the island's common history.

IRISH CENTENARIANS - More than 400 Irish-born people are expected to celebrate their 100th birthday in 2014 and to receive the centenarian bounty from Irish President Michael D Higgins. The bounty consists of a letter of congratulations and a check for $3,500, and is available to all Irish-born persons, including to those reside outside Ireland. In 2013, the centenarian bounty was issued to 345 people living in Ireland, 48 in Britain and another 30 elsewhere.

O'CONNELL TOWER - A new internal winding staircase is to be installed leading to the top of the 168ft high O'Connell Tower at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin, 42 years after the original stairs were destroyed in a Loyalist paramilitary explosion in 1971. At the top will be a new viewing platform, which will accommodate up to eight people at one time. As the site is 110ft above sea level, there will be spectacular views from the tower's windows, taking in the Mountains of Mourne and Wicklow and to Irelands Eye. Glasnevin Cemetery was established in 1832 under the direction of Daniel O'Connell. The tower was built in the 1860s, around the same time as the Wellington Monument in Phoenix Park and Nelson's Pillar on then-Sackville Street (now O'Connell Street).

DÚNBEG FORT - Recent storms have caused serious damage to an important Iron Age fort on the Dingle peninsula in Co. Kerry. Much of the western wall of the dramatically perched cliff stone structure at Dúnbeg fell into the sea and the site has now been closed. It is believed that little can be done to save the promontory fort which is both a national monument and a tourist attraction. Excavations at the Dúnbeg fort showed its earliest phase may date to the Bronze Age, around 800 BC, but it was in use throughout the Celtic period.

GLASNEVIN CHAPEL - A new chapel will be built at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin to commemorate the 232 civilians killed during the Easter Rising in 1916. Following the Rising, 131 civilians were buried in a mass grave in the St Paul's cemetery section of Glasnevin. It is hoped to open the chapel during the Easter Rising commemorations in 2016.

DUCHAS.IE - In December, University College Dublin launched the website duchas.ie, a project to digitize the National Folklore Collection of Ireland, one of the largest folklore collections in the world. The first phase has digitized about 64,000 handwritten items from four counties in the Schools' Collection, the writings of Irish school children collected in 1937-1938. The word Duchas is translated as nature or instinct.

LAW REFORM - The latest work on repealing archaic and obsolete Irish laws, orders and regulations, will repeal a law requiring that "arms, armour and ammunition be seized by force from any Papist (or) reputed Papist". Another law requires everyone to pay respects to the 1801 Union of the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland by observing "a general fast and humiliation" to avoid God's "wrath and indignation" for their sins.

McCORMACK COIN - 8,000 limited edition €10 silver coins have been issued in honor of tenor John McCormack, considered to be Ireland's greatest ever tenor. Born in 1884 in Athlone, Co. Westmeath, McCormack was one of the most popular singers in the world in the early 20th Century and sang to sold out shows in Ireland, England, the US and Australia. In 1928, he received the title Papal Count from Pope Pius XI in recognition of his work for Catholic charities. Watch McCormack singing in the first Technicolor film made in the UK, Wings of the Morning, a 1937 film starring a young Henry Fonda. McCormack died in 1945 aged 61.

GALWAY MURMURATION - Some experts claim that, during murmuration, birds swirl and loop about in the sky doing battle to determine the weakest of the flock and who is a target for predators. However, it's not certain what is really behind this amazing ballet in motion which usually take place just before dark when the birds are looking for a place to rest, as they were doing recently in Co. Galway.

INTERESTING IRISH VIDEOS - A time-lapse video of Dublin's Grafton Street consists of 750 photographs taken over a 24hr period, capturing all that happens on one of Europe's busiest shopping streets. Another video is a timelapse of Dublin's Sandymount Strand, and yet another video is a collection of timelapse shots from Dublin, Wicklow, Kerry, and Clare.

OLD LETTERS - In the midst of the world's first global war, the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), an Irish wine ship returning home from the French port of Bordeaux was captured at sea by a British warship. More than 250 years later, the mailbag from that ship - the Two Sisters of Dublin - was discovered in 2011 at the British National Archives. The letters, most of them opened for the first time, shed light on the significant Irish presence in Europe during that period. Now a new exhibition, "The Bordeaux-Dublin Letters, 1757: The Voice of an Irish Community Abroad," is open at NYU Bobst Library through April 1. 

ORPHAN TRAINS- Some estimates are that between 400,000 and 600,000 children, including many who were Irish, were transported by train from New York City between 1854 to 1929 to live with families in rural America. Few records exist of what may have been the largest mass relocation of children in American history. 

1921 TREATY FILM - Watch an historic silent film shot outside No 10 Downing St on December 6, 1921, shortly after the signing of the Anglo Irish Treaty. It shows the members of the Irish delegation who were led by Michael Collins and also the British negotiators posing with King George V. 

FAGEL COLLECTION - Dublin's Trinity College has announced a project to digitize the Fagel Collection, the single largest intact and most important Dutch private library collection of books anywhere in the world. Acquired "en bloc" by Trinity in 1802, many documents in the collection are over 350 years old and in total spans 1 mile of shelf space in about 20,000 volumes. It consists of geography, statistics, politics, religion, and pamphlets. There are nearly 15,000 maps and cartographic items, many in color. There are battle plans showing what happened during major conflicts from 1650 to 1800. There are sea atlases, maps of the stars and 900 detailed urban street plans. The documents were collected over 150 years from 1650-1800 by the head of the civil service in the Dutch republic who commissioned maps from around the globe illustrating parts of every continent and even Antarctica. 

DOCUMENTARY ON THE BRONX - A new online documentary explores the story of the settlement of Irish immigrants in the north Bronx, New York, and examines how the once predominantly Irish neighborhoods are changing because of the influx of other groups. It also examines the different roles of the Catholic Church and pubs in Irish American life. The 30 minute film can be viewed for free at folkstreams.net. 

CHOCTAW DONATION - A plaque on Dublin's Mansion House honors a Famine contribution received in 1847 from the Choctaw Indians. The plaque reads: "Their humanity calls us to remember the millions of human beings throughout our world today who die of hunger and hunger-related illness in a world of plenty." On March 23, 1847, the Indians of the Choctaw nation took up a collection and raised $170 for Irish Famine relief. The Choctaw themselves had been forced off their lands in 1831 and made embark on a 500 mile trek to Oklahoma called "The Trail of Tears." The man who forced them off their lands was President Andrew Jackson, the son of Irish immigrants. 

PENSIONS COLLECTION - Ireland's Military Service Pensions Collection is considered to be the single most important archival collection relating to the republican revolution from 1916-23. Containing the actual applications for pensions, the applicants had to provide very detailed accounts of their activities and their testimony needed to be verified and clarified, sometimes through oral hearings. The process involved the creation of an enormous body of supporting documentation. 82,000 people applied for pensions under the 1924 and 1934 acts; of these, 15,700 were successful and 66,300 were rejected. 

PENSIONS COLLECTION 2 - The Military Service Pensions Collection contains more than 300,000 files with the pension applications and supporting documentation from 82,000 people who claimed to have been involved in Ireland's republican movement from 1916 to 1923. A total of 15,700 people were granted pensions under the scheme, which began in the 1920s and was expanded in the 1930s. Now many of the files can be accessed online with the first batch relating to almost 3,000 individuals and featuring about 452,000 images. The real treasures in the collection are the stories of ordinary volunteers and civilians caught up in the tide of history. 

MORE PENSIONS INFO - The records show that Patrick Dalton and Michael McCabe were two Irishmen who took part in the 1916 Rising as 16-year-olds, but were captured by the British and released early on account of their age. They subsequently joined the British Army and fought in WWI but later took part in the 1921-1922 Irish Civil War - Dalton fighting on the pro-Treaty side and McCabe on the other. 

WWI RECORDS - Digital records of Irish soldiers serving in WWI are now available online, following a collaborative project between Google and the In Flanders Fields Museum. The records are free and available to all worldwide. To access the records, visit and search for a name to see the place of birth, rank, regiment, service number, date of death and place of burial / commemoration of each individual soldier with that name, where the information is available. A completion of the Irish Memorial Records, beyond the casualties linked to Belgian territory, should be ready by the end of 2014. Over 200,000 Irishmen fought in the war and over 49,000 were killed.  

WWI VC WINNERS - A total of 27 British army soldiers who were born in what is now the Republic of Ireland and who won a Victoria Cross (VC) in WWI, will be remembered with a paving stone erected in their honor in their home town, paid for by the British government.  Maurice Dease, a native of Coole, Co. Westmeath, was the first British soldier to be awarded a VC on August 23rd, 1914, the first day of engagement by the British army in WWI. Martin Doyle from New Ross, Co Wexford, also won a VC, and later after the war, fought against the British army when he joined the IRA during the War of Independence. He too will be remembered. 

Pangúr Bán

I and Pangúr Bán my cat,

'Tis a like task we are at:

Hunting mice is his delight,

Hunting words I sit all night.

See the rest at: irisharchaeology.ie.

TID BITS

• According to the World Giving Index 2013, Ireland is the most generous nation in Europe and the 5th most generous in the world with the US in 1st place.
• See the Earth Wind Map showing the prevailing winds over Ireland and Britain. Zoom out and move to see Seattle's prevailing winds.
• There are now more than 1,000 overseas companies with a presence in Ireland that employ 150,000 of the nation's 1.9 million workers.
• The NY Times says that "International investors have been impressed with Ireland's ability to improve its finances."
• Another NY Times article says that Ireland's domestic tech industry generates around $96 billion, or 40 percent, of Ireland's annual exports and employs more than 100,000 people.
• Agri-food, Ireland's largest indigenous sector, in underpinning exports and economic activity and Irish food and drink exports rose 9% in 2013, hitting a record $13.5 billion.
• An estimated 100,000 American children take part in Irish dancing every weekend across the US.
• Bono discusses with USA Today his ongoing work on U2's new album and efforts against poverty.
• Executives of ConnectIreland, an Irish government program that helps companies learn the benefits and incentives for locating in Ireland, were recently interviewed on CNN.
• From an economy that was losing 7,000 jobs a month, Ireland is now creating almost 5,000 net new jobs a month.
• Irish Taoiseach (PM) Enda Kenny was interviewed on CNBC at the DAVOS summit in Switzerland where he said "The single biggest crisis facing the European Union is youth unemployment."
• On Bloomberg TV recently Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan talked about the outlook for emerging markets and for Ireland's economy.
• IDA-Ireland, which provides tax and investment advice for companies looking to invest in Ireland, had a major unexpected major announcement just before Christmas.
• In December, an International Monetary Fund report on the Irish economy says that "Ireland has pulled back from an exceptionally deep banking crisis, significantly improved its fiscal position, and regained its access to the international financial markets."
• More than 30,000 Irish passports are reported missing each year.
• 153,248 Irish-born live in the US according to the 2012 census.
• 70 Irish citizens joined the British Army in 2012.
• A Douglas fir on the Powerscourt Estate river walk in Co Wicklow has been crowned the tallest tree in Ireland, the first in Ireland to have ever reached over 200ft since records began.
• A new Guinness basketball commercial is drawing rave reviews.
• A new history of the Famine, The Great Famine: Ireland's Agony 1845 - 52, argues that the British may have deliberately used the Famine to thin out the ranks of the Irish by allowing mass death and emigration, something that the author equates with genocide.
• Ireland's Radio Éireann was the first radio station in Europe to broadcast a live commentary on a field sporting event when it covered the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Semi-Final on August 29, 1926.
• Irish audiences are the largest consumers of YouTube in Europe with 81% of the population viewing content on the site weekly,
• Irish company CRH is the largest provider of raw materials into the US highway building market.
• Irish hotels are rated the third cheapest in Europe.
• Over 190,000 Irish-born Americans fought in the US Civil War.
• Kilbeggan locals are not coping very well with the news.
• See photos showing some of the ingenious ways that Irish people handled the summer's heat wave.
• See You At The Pillar 1967 is a 15-minute Oscar/Academy Award-nominated documentary about Dublin in 1967. It was shot the year after the Pillar was blown up.
• So popular has Dublin become among Venezuela's youth that a leading satirical Venezuelan website recently joked that Dublin had become Venezuela's safest city.
• Spending generated by film, TV drama and animation production in Ireland has never been higher, according to Variety, the weekly entertainment-trade magazine.
• The Irish Government has decided to reopen its Vatican embassy, 26 months after closing it.
• The manufacturing of hurley sticks in Ireland contributes between $8 and $11 million to the Irish economy.
• The New York Times featured a slide show of photos of some of the 100,000 pilgrims who each year climb Croagh Patrick in Co. Mayo.
• The New York Times had a short video called 'For Seamus', about Seamus Heaney, Ireland's most famous poet
• The number of Irish passports being issued annually has increased from 250,000 in 1995 to 631,000 in 2013.
• The Round Tower at Kilmacduagh, near Gort, Co. Galway, is the tallest surviving round tower in Ireland at 111 feet high. Built in the 10th century, it also leans 67 inches out of perpendicular!
• TheDailyBeast.com reports that "A comic musical about the Bible has ruffled Protestant feathers in one small Northern Irish town".

Seanfhocal - Proverb

Fáilte na múrthaíl sa samhradh nuair a bhíonns an t-uisce gann 

You're welcome as the showers in summer when water is scarce 

Beannachtaí na Féile Vailintín

Happy St. Valentine's Day

John Keane