Irish Seattle News
D� Sathairn, 18 I�il       2015       Saturday, July 18
Ireland in the Northwest, the Cascadia Irish Music Week Faculty Concerts,
Friday, July 24 in Olympia, and Saturday, July 25 in Seattle - cascadiairish.org
In This Issue
RECENT PASSINGS

Ellen McAleer, a native of Co. Tyrone, died July 7 in Bellevue 

Tom Butler, a native of Co. Mayo and a great GAA friend of the Seattle Gaels, died in Vancouver, BC, on June 25 

Tom Beirne, 90, a native of Co. Roscommon, died in Seattle on June 7 

Ar dheis D� go raibh a n-anam d�lis

May their faithful souls rest at God's right hand

AMAZON SHOPPING?

The offerings and the prices are exactly the same, but if you shop at
AmazonSmile rather than at Amazon.com, then 0.5% of the purchase price is donated to the Irish Heritage Club. Bookmark this link for AmazonSmile:
and support the IHC every time you shop at Amazon.
Irish Heritage Club Affiliated Programs
Seattle Area Irish Resources
Irish Harp
Consulate General of Ireland,
San Francisco
Seattle Consulate Logo
Honorary Consul of Ireland, Seattle
Handling questions regarding Irish  passports or Irish citizenship
2010 Festival
Irish Dancing Schools
Fiddle
Irish Musicians, Classes & Sessions
Irish Language
Irish Language Classes
Claddagh Ring
Irish Imports
Guinness Pint
Irish Pubs & Restaurants
Shamrock
Other Irish Links
Irish Passport
Are you eligible to apply for Irish Citizenship?
Green Card
If you'r an Irish citizen with a US Green Card, why wait to apply for dual US-Irish citizenship?
Ireland Study
Would you like to study in Ireland?
Images of Ireland
Living & Working in Ireland / Moving to Ireland
Connect Ireland
Through your connections, help create jobs in Ireland and receive a reward from the Irish Government
Irish Seattle Book Cover
Irish Seattle
A pictorial history of the Irish in Seattle from 1851 to the 1990s
The Celtic Connection
The Celtic Connection Newspaper
The voice of Celts around the Pacific Northwest. Pick up a free copy each month at your local Seattle-area Irish Pub or Restaurant, or read the latest issue online for free!
Litriocht.com
Irish Books written in the Irish Language
LocalBooks.ie
Books in English about small localities in Ireland

SHACKLETON PAINTINGS

Irish-born explorer Ernest Shackleton is one of the principal figures of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Artist Austin Dwyer, a Co. Tipperary native who lives in Mukilteo, has available for sale 4 limited edition signed Shackleton prints that have been faithfully reproduced on the highest quality archival paper. See details at AustinDwyer.com.

The Gaeilge (Irish language) enthusiasts at Col�iste Lurgan in Co. Galway use their as Gaeilige rapping and reggae skills to perform 'Cheerleader', a song originally recorded by Jamaican singer OMI
The Gaeilge (Irish language) enthusiasts at Col�iste Lurgan in Co. Galway use their as Gaeilige rapping and reggae skills to perform a song originally recorded by Jamaican singer OMI, "Cheerleader."
What makes Ireland great, makes Ireland great for business
What makes Ireland great, makes Ireland great for business
The Big Jig Irish Dance Documentary
The Big Jig Irish Dance Documentary
Irish Picnic

Seattle's Irish Community Picnic is Noon-6 pm tomorrow, Sunday, July 19, at Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah (exit # 15 off I-90), 15 miles east of downtown Seattle. Games and fun for the entire family and their friends, and all are welcome. Free hot dogs and hamburgers will be provided but bring your own beverages and a dessert to be shared. There's a covered picnic area and several BBQ grills - bring charcoal. A Gaelic Football game starts at 12:30 pm followed at around 3 pm by games and fun for the entire family - tug-o-war, sack-races, water balloon toss, etc. For details, contact [email protected] or 425-290-7839.

Irish Concerts

The Reel Tradition - Ireland in the Northwest, the Cascadia Irish Music Week Farewell Concerts are Friday, July 24, 8 pm at Evergreen State College, Olympia, and Saturday, July 25, 8 pm at Phinney Center Community Hall, 6532 Phinney Ave N, Seattle. Performances by some of the world's finest Irish traditional musicians including Patsy Hanly - flute, Antoin MacGabhann - fiddle, Sean Gavin - flute, Josh Dukes - guitar, Josephine Marsh - button accordion, Angelina Carberry - tenor banjo, tenor guitar, mandolin, Randal Bays - fiddle and Program Director. The Olympia concert will feature the same musicians plus Caitl�n Nic Gabhann - concertina.  Click here for Olympia tickets and for Seattle tickets. For more information, visit cascadiairish.org or call 206-235-2061. 


Luby & Thomson, Certified Public Accountants
providing a full spectrum of tax and accounting services
More Seattle Events

 

THUNDER TENOR - Irish tenor Emmet Cahill, the former member of the world renowned Irish music show Celtic Thunder, performs in a solo concert on Thursday, August 6 at 8 pm at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW, Seattle. This is a one night only concert! Widely regarded as Ireland's most exciting young tenor, he will take his audience on a journey through the classic Irish songs like Macushla, I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen, Irish Eyes are Smiling, as well as old musical favorites such as Some Enchanted Evening. Click for information and tickets.

 

SENIORS' LUNCHEON -The next Irish Seniors' Luncheon is at 12 noon on Saturday, September 19, at the Wilde Rover Irish Restaurant, 111 Central Way, Kirkland, with special guest Lesley Cordner, Assistant Chief of the Seattle Police Department. Chief Cordner is a native of Portadown, Co. Armagh, and has been with the Seattle Police Department since 1989. She will have just returned from a trip to Ireland to visit family and friends. All seniors and their friends and guests are invited to attend. The cost is $10 for seniors and $15 for non-seniors, and reservations are required - contact [email protected] or 206-915-1878.

 

GALWAY TRADERS - The closing date for the sale of the building housing Galway Traders, Seattle's premiere Irish import store, has been pushed back until next spring (tentatively early May). So the store is still operating and will host another Samhain Harp Concert in October, the usual Christmas activities and the St. Patrick's Festival next March. Owner Evi Murray is interested in finding someone who will buy the shop and find a new home for it so that she can retire! For details, visit galwaytraders.com.

 

FOSP SCHOLARSHIP - On June 24, members of the Friends of St. Patrick presented a $5,000 check to Seattle University Law School to fund the Costello Irish-American Scholarship Endowment. This year's Costello Scholarship student is Catherine Connell, Editor-in-Chief of the Seattle University Law Review. Catherine carries a 3.81 GPA, and is a Summer Associate (Intern) at Seattle law firm K&L Gates. The FOSP also donated $10,000 through The Fulcrum Foundation to the new Nativity School which is located just east of Seattle's Beacon Hill and serves students from low-income backgrounds. The funds were raised at the annual FOSP banquet in March.

 

NEW IHC OFFICERS - At the recent Annual General Meeting of the Irish Heritage Club, outgoing President David Jacobsen was re-elected President and most other officers and board members up for election were also re-elected. Newly elected to the Board of Directors was Diana Jacobsen replacing Justin McMahon who was also nominated but deferred to Diana. For more detailed information, visit irishclub.org.

 

CELTIC CENTER - The Celtic Arts Foundation in Mount Vernon recently opened the Littlefield Celtic Center, located at 1124 Cleveland Ave, Mount Vernon. The beautifully designed building will accommodate seated meals, concerts and lectures for up to 150 people, and other events celebrating all things Celtic! Already being held at the Center are regular Irish stepdancing classes. The Celtic Arts Foundation also runs the annual Highland Games in Mount Vernon where the Irish Heritage Club had a booth this past weekend.

 

BASEBALL'S #1 FAN - Congratulations to Seattleite and Spokane resident Tom Keefe who is this year's recipient of the Hilda Award which recognizes "distinguished service to the game by a baseball fan." The award is an old cowbell, a noisemaker encased and mounted in a Plexiglas box bearing an engraved inscription. Besides being a lifelong baseball fan, Keefe in 2011 founded the Eddie Gaedel Society to recognize one of baseball's quirkiest episodes, when Gaedel batted in a baseball game for the St. Louis Browns in 1951. The 3 feet 7 inch tall Gaedel made a single plate appearance in his career and was walked with four consecutive balls before being replaced by a pinch-runner. One of the previous winners of the Hilda award was comedian Bill Murray. More details on the 2015 award can be found at spokesman.com.

Miscellaneous

  • The 18th Annual Dance for Life Feis organized by Scoil Rince Slieveloughane concludes today, Saturday July 18, at the Great Wolf Lodge Grand Mound in Centralia. For information, visit SRSirishdance.com
  • The next Irish Book Club meeting is July 28 in Ballard where At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien will be discussed. Email [email protected] for details.
  • Although the new Statue of St. Patrick was erected in May at St. Patrick Cemetery in Kent, the official blessing and unveiling of the statue will be held on Thursday, September 3, following Mass celebrated at 10 am.
  • Irish Network Seattle will have their very popular annual end of summer party on Friday, September 12 at the Novilhos Steakhouse, 901 Fairview Ave N on lovely Lake Union. 
  • The Irish Reels Film Festival will be September 25-27 at the SIFF at the Seattle Center
  • The newly elected Mayor of Galway is Councillor Frank Fahy who in 2013 visited Seattle as Galway Deputy Mayor and who has already committed to visiting Seattle again in March, 2016
  • Join the Irish language choir which will be singing for the Mass in Gaelic in October. New voices welcome, with a little Gaelic or a lot! Contact [email protected]

Ireland_National_flag IRISH FLAGS - Buy any Irish-themed flag from our Seattle partner, Seattle Flagmakers, and they will make a donation to the Irish Heritage Club to support our activities.

Balcony Collapse
Early in the morning on June 16, 13 Irish college students spending the summer in Berkeley, Calif., were involved in a balcony collapse which resulted in six fatalities and seven serious injuries. The balcony was supported by wooden beams that had been badly rotted by water damage. An account has been established to raise funds for the students affected by this tragedy and their families. Your tax-deductible donations will be administered by the Irish Immigration Pastoral Center in San Francisco, a 501(c)3 charitable organization assisting Irish immigrants in the San Francisco Bay Area. To donate, go to: Berkeley Tragedy Fund.

 

MEDIA REPORTS:

New York Times: Sorrowing Ireland Buries Its Own - The country showed its deep capacity for empathy at a time of shock and grief

New York Times: Report Cites Dry-Rotting in Collapse of Balcony in Berkeley

San Francisco Chronicle: The District Attorney for Berkeley has announced a criminal investigation will be held into the balcony collapse

Irish Times: We can be proud of Irish Consul's efforts in dark days in Berkeley

 

NY TIMES STORY - There was strong reaction in Ireland to a New York Times article about the tragedy which referred to J1 students as being an embarrassment to Ireland at times. The New York Times has since apologized for the article which was also carried in the Seattle Times. The Washington Post coverage of this story was headlined: Irish people are really, really angry with the New York Times today. This is why.

Speaker's Irish Visit

 

BOEHNER VISIT - The speaker of the US House of Representatives John Boehner and seven members of Congress met with Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny in Dublin on July 2 for talks about US-Ireland links. They discussed the Irish economic recovery, immigration reform including the plight of the undocumented Irish in the US, and the situation in the North. In a speech in Dublin to the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland, Boehner told of his determination to overcome Republican resistance to immigration reform. The delegation also met representatives of Irish and US companies during the visit and celebrated July 4th at a garden party at the US Ambassador's residence in Dublin along with about 3,000 other guests.

 

BOEHNER'S REPORT - On his blog, Speaker Boehner posted a glowing report of his Irish visit writing: "We are blessed to have such courageous and determined allies as the Irish people. Before our country was even a country, Ben Franklin said Ireland would be "disposed to be friends of America." But with all we've weathered together-and all the work that lies ahead-we know that it's more than that. It's blood. It's family." The Washington Post says that John Boehner skipped America's birthday to hang in Ireland.

News from Ireland

 

AER LINGUS SALE - Aer Lingus shareholders at an EGM this week approved a takeover offer by International Airline Group (IAG), the parent company of British Airways and Iberia Airlines, and if shareholder acceptance meets the 90% threshold level by the end of this month, the eight-month takeover process will be concluded. The approval comes after Ireland's low-cost carrier Ryanair on Friday accepted the bid by IAG for its near 30% stake in Aer Lingus. The Irish government has already agreed to sell its 25% share and the European Commission has also approved the takeover. IAG's plans include building a new transatlantic hub at Dublin airport.

 

IMPROVED RATING - Standard & Poor's has raised Ireland's credit rating one notch to A+, citing the country's strong growth and debt reduction. "The upgrade reflects our view of Ireland's improved fiscal performance, higher state asset sales, and robust economic performance, which have combined to lead to a quicker decline in net general government debt than we had previously forecast," the agency said. It said it expected real GDP growth of 3.6% until 2018 with exports, employment and debt costs all moving in the right direction.

 

IRISH PARISH RECORDS - The entire collection of Irish Catholic parish register microfilms held by the National Library of Ireland has been digitized, and the database of over 370,000 digital images is now accessible free of charge online at www.nli.ie. Dating from the 1740s to the 1880s, the registers cover 1,086 parishes and consist primarily of baptismal and marriage records from the majority of Catholic parishes on the island of Ireland. The filming of registers began diocese by diocese in the 1950s and wasn't fully completed until the late 1990s. The start dates of the registers vary from parish to parish, with some city parishes having records starting in the 1740/50s to some parishes not beginning until the 1850/60s.

 

HAPPIER IRISH - The Wall Street Journal says there's now statistical proof of "The Luck of the Irish." Reporting results from Eurostat, the European Statistics Agency, the article says that the "austerity-hammered" Irish are happier than the "economically successful" Germans and finds the results even more surprising as the statistics are from 2013 when Ireland was still in the bailout program. "With 7.4 out of 10 possible points, the Irish rated their quality of life far above their counterparts in other crisis-hit countries such as Greece, Portugal, Cyprus and Spain, who scored between 6.2 and 6.9 points." The EU well-being measurement includes eight criteria, ranging from accommodation and commuting time to time use and job satisfaction, plus are an overall score on general life satisfaction.

 

PRE-CLEARANCE FACILITIES - Dublin and Shannon are currently the only airports in Europe that have pre-inspection facilities hosted by US Customs and Border Protection. Pre-clearance means that passengers can clear US customs and security before leaving Ireland, allowing them to enter the US classed as domestic flyers. That enables passengers to avoid long immigration and customs lines at US airports when they land. The value of the pre-inspection facilities at Irish airports for transatlantic traffic was a key reason for IAG's offer to buy Aer Lingus, but now there are plans to offer pre-clearance facilities for US-bound travelers at 10 other global airports.

 

FINANCIAL SKULLDUGGERY - The NY Times in an article headlined "Lawyers, Funds and Money in Toxic Irish Stew," describes an unfolding scandal involving the acquisition of NAMA's Northern Ireland loan portfolio after the financial crisis, describing it as "a toxic mix of money, lawyers, politicians and the continued wreckage of the financial crisis." Among the people reportedly involved in some of the meetings was former US Vice-President Dan Quayle.

 

ORANGE PARADES - Tens of thousands of loyalist participated in last weekend's Twelfth of July celebrations across Northern Ireland to commemorate the 1690 victory of Protestant King William of Orange over Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne. The parades were held on Monday, July 13, as the Orange Order doesn't march on Sundays. At all the events the same three resolutions were read out committing members to the Protestant faith, to the British monarchy and to the union of Northern Ireland and Britain. Bonfires were lit in loyalist areas, at least one of which flew both a confederate flag and a swastika. Violence followed the parades in Belfast and twenty-four police officers were hurt. Each year there are over 3,000 Loyalist parades held in Northern Ireland, an area about the size of the Olympic peninsula, with most parades held between May and August.

 

IRISH EMBASSIES - 12 Irish embassies outside Ireland that are owned by the Irish government are valued at about $100 million, including the Irish Embassy in Paris which alone is valued at about $50 million. The former H�tel de Breteuil in Paris has been the Irish Embassy since 1954 when the building was bought by the Irish government. In Washington DC the Irish Embassy is currently worth about $3 million and the building was purchased in 1949. Two blocks north of the DC Embassy is a bronze sculpture of Irish patriot Robert Emmett which was dedicated in 1917 at a ceremony attended by President Woodrow Wilson.

 

IRISH ZIP CODES - A new postal location code system called Eircode has been launched in Ireland with all 2.2 million homes and businesses in the State being allocated a unique seven-digit code. The first three characters, made up of one letter and two numbers, are based on major national routes and will identify the area. The second set of four characters, made up of letters and numbers, are randomly assigned and provide a unique code for each individual buiding. The format will be along the lines of A65 3M2N. At present 35% of addresses in Ireland don't have a name or number, particularly in rural areas where many homes just have the townland as its given address.

 

NORWEGIAN AIR - Norwegian Air Shuttle has delayed ordering more Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets until US regulators back its plans to register in Ireland, which the airline views as central to its ambitions for an expanded long-haul network. The discount carrier is interested in a follow-on order for as many as 20 787s, in addition to the 17 due to be delivered by 2018. However, the company is awaiting a US permit for trans-Atlantic flights using planes registered in Ireland.

 

WATERLOO COMMEMORATION - Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny attended the commemorative banquet in London on June 17 marking the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, serving to highlight the role played by Irishmen at the battle on June 18, 1815. Recent studies suggest that about one-third of the Duke of Wellington's army was composed of Irishmen who were members of various regiments of the British Army, while Wellington himself was also Irish having been born in Dublin in 1769. Later in 1829 as British Prime Minister, Wellington was also instrumental in the granting of Catholic Emancipation, convincing a deeply reluctant King George IV to give his consent.

 

NI REPLANTATION - In the 1980s at the height of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, when Britain was discussing the logistics of returning Hong Kong to China, British government officials raised the idea of resettling the 5.5 million residents of Hong Kong into Northern Ireland. The proposal, entitled The Replantation of N. Ireland from Hong Kong, was originally intended as a joke but one British civil servant at the time thought it should be taken seriously. In the 1600s Northern Ireland was planted by English, Scottish and Welsh loyalists onto land confiscated from the native Irish landowners while Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997 without any replantation.

 

SEXY MOLLY - A Dublin author hoping to use Facebook to promote his first-time novel, "Diary of the Wolf", was initially refused permission to advertise his book on the social media site because the book's cover features a photo of Dublin's famous Molly Malone statue. Facebook's Ads team initially felt that the statue's cleavage was too much, but the company has since back-tracked and will allow the book cover to be used in advertising. The Molly Malone statue has been a favorite Dublin attraction since 1988.

 

NY PARADE - The NY Times reports that the board of directors of New York's St. Patrick's Day Parade has appointed a new Chair who is authorized to add a second lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender group to the annual parade. The paper comments that the decision to allow a second group in the 2016 parade, coming shortly after Ireland took the historic step of approving same-sex marriage by a popular vote, appeared unlikely to stem the annual protests surrounding the world's largest St. Patrick's Day Parade.

 

BRITISH COLLUSION - Northern Ireland's former police ombudsman says that "hundreds and hundreds" of deaths happened in Northern Ireland as a result of British security force collusion with paramilitaries. RT�'s Prime Time program on Irish TV recently featured several instances of alleged collusion in Northern Ireland between loyalist paramilitaries and the British army, MI5 and the RUC, from the 1970s through the early 2000s. The instances included the 1974 Dublin-Monaghan bombings which claimed 34 lives, the 1989 murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane, the "Glennane Gang" which operated in Mid-Ulster during the 1970s, and the Mount Vernon UVF gang which was involved in numerous killings in the 1990s. A recent BBC Panorama program, Britain's Secret Terror Deals, also alleged British security force collusion with paramilitaries and The Washington Post reports that there has long been suspicions that British security forces had colluded with paramilitaries during The Troubles.

 

SPOKEN LANGUAGES - More than one in 10 people in Ireland speak a language other than Irish or English while at home and Ireland's 2011 census recorded a total of 182 different languages being regularly spoken in Irish homes. In all but one county, Polish was the most commonly recorded language among non-native speakers with 119,526 people speaking Polish as their first language. Of these, 10,573 were born in Ireland. French is the next most common first language, spoken by 56,430 people, followed by 31,635 people who speak Lithuanian. A quarter of people with a foreign first language were born in Ireland.

 

NEW CITIZENS - Nigerian citizens represented 23.9% of all new Irish citizenships granted in 2013, followed by Indian citizens and citizens of the Philippines. 24,262 people were granted Irish citizenship in Ireland in 2013. Of those, 93% came from outside the EU while 7% came from other EU member states.

 

VOTING ABROAD - The Irish government is discussing extending voting rights to Irish emigrants for three years after moving abroad. Currently, Irish citizens are entitled to vote for 18 months after emigrating, if they intend to return to live in Ireland within that time frame and if they return home to cast their ballot. More than 120 countries worldwide have some provision to allow emigrants to vote from overseas, but Ireland does not. The European Commission criticized Ireland last year for "disenfranchising" its citizens abroad.

 

GOODBYE COINS - The Irish government proposes to withdraw from circulation all one and two cent euro coins following the success of a pilot project in Wexford during which transactions were rounded up or down to the nearest five cents. Ireland has issued about $33 million worth of one and two cent coins since the euro was introduced in 2001 and the issuing of replacement one cent and two cent coins accounts for 85% of all coin production. Each one cent coin cost 1.7 cents to mint and each two cent coin cost more than two cents to mint.

 

ROAMING CHARGES - The European Union plans to eliminate charges for cell phone roaming - the fees that carriers charge consumers when they travel to another country in the EU. In the future, an Irish person with an Irish phone plan will be able to go to France or Italy and pay the same call rates as if they were still in Ireland. Cell-phone companies will also be prohibited from charging more than two cents per roaming text message or six cents for a megabyte of data or a minute of voice service.

 

PLUTO'S IRISH CONNECTION - A prominent feature on Pluto will likely be named for Kenneth Edgeworth, a native of Co. Westmeath. As early as 1938, Edgeworth claimed that Pluto was too small to be a planet, but was probably the largest member of a family of objects that formed out of the rubble left over from the formation of the solar system. For years it was widely assumed he was wrong and that the worlds of the Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt were cold and lifeless places. We now know that is not true and that Pluto and its moon, Charon, have some source of internal heat driving geological processes on the surface, proving Edgeworth correct.

 

PROPERTY BOOM? - The Wall Street Journal reports that foreign property buyers are putting down roots and hoping "for green in Ireland." The paper states that long-term investors are pushing into Dublin. "Starwood Property Trust, the biggest US commercial mortgage real-estate investment trust, paid about €452 million ($508 million) for 12 Dublin office buildings and a multifamily residential property. It was the biggest property deal in Ireland so far this year."

1916 NAMES - A total of 2,558 people are officially recognized as Easter Rising participants, those who were involved on the rebel side during the 1916 Easter Rebellion. That number counts all those whose families were awarded a pension, or got an allowance or a 1916 Easter Rising medal in the years after independence. All of the 2,558 names are listed at militaryarchives.ie. Relatives of those on the list of  1916 participants  

Lily Kempson McAlerney

will be invited to participate in the parades and gatherings surrounding the centenary commemorations next year. 508 of those 2,558 persons were in the GPO during Easter Week. Among them was one Lily Kempson McAlerney who died in Seattle in 1996. She's also named on that official list of Easter Rising participants.

 

1916 FILES - Secret police files dating from 1915-1916 in Dublin are now available online at nationalarchives.ie, and include daily reports by the Dublin Metropolitan Police Detective Department on the movements and associations of "extremists". The files run from June 1, 1915 up to April 20, 1916, just four days before the start of the 1916 Rising, and paint a fascinating picture of how the Dublin Metropolitan Police were monitoring people whom they believed were plotting Ireland's independence. Here is information on "the extremists" being followed.

OXFORD BOSS - Co. Waterford-born academic Prof. Louise Richardson will become the first woman to lead the University of Oxford as Vice-Chancellor - a post equivalent to chief executive. The Irish political scientist is currently based at the University of St Andrews and will take over at the helm at Oxford on January 1, 2016. Founded in 1230, the university is the oldest in the English speaking world. Richardson attended school at the Ursuline Convent in Waterford, got a history degree at Trinity College Dublin, a Master's degree in political science from UCLA, and a Master's and PhD in government from Harvard. Richardson is also known for her stand against the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews which until recently did not allow women to be members.

 

OLDEST SCHOOL - The oldest school in Belfast is celebrating its 230th anniversary. Belfast Royal Academy, located on Cliftonville Road in north Belfast since 1880, was founded in 1785 on Academy Street as Belfast Academy. In 1888, Queen Victoria granted the school its royal charter. The year it was founded, 1785, was also the year the dollar was chosen as the currency of the United States, Napoleon became a lieutenant in the French artillery, and the London Times was first published (as the Daily Universal Register). Of the school's 1,400 pupils today, about 55% are Protestant and 25% Catholic, with the remaining 20% of other religious traditions or none.

 

OBSOLETE LAWS - A new Irish Statute Law Revision Bill has revoked 800 years of obsolete British proclamations, directions and orders which remained in the Irish statute books after independence in 1921. Some 5,782 laws have been revoked, including...

  • A Proclamation of 1533 warning against criticizing the marriage of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn
  • A 1601 reward offered for the capture or death of the "arch traitor" Earl of Tyrone Hugh O'Neill
  • A Proclamation of 1612 which prohibited single women from running taverns
  • A proclamation of 1618 ordering the Irish to depart with all their belongings from lands given to planters from Scotland, England and Wales during the Plantation of Ulster
  • A Proclamation of 1693 prohibiting all trade with France
  • A Proclamation of 1712 calling for the arrest of any nuns living in Dublin

VAL DOONICAN - Ireland's Bing Crosby, crooner Val Doonican, 88, died on July 1 in England. A native of Co. Waterford, Doonican appeared regularly on BBC as host of The Val Doonican Show and also hosted the same show in the US on ABC in 1971. He was so popular in Britain in the 1960s and '70s that he once dislodged the Beatles from the top of the album charts there.

 

OLDEST PERSON - Kathleen Hayes Snavely, the oldest Irish-born person ever, died July 6 in Syracuse, NY, aged 113 years and 140 days. At the time of her death she was the 16th oldest person in the world, and the sixth oldest in the US. Born on February 16, 1902 in Feakle, Co Clare, Kathleen left Ireland in 1921, sailing from Cork to Ellis Island while carrying the equivalent of $25 in her pocket.

 

WHALE WATCHING - Ireland has become something of a whale-watcher's paradise as some of the world's biggest mammals chase a rich variety of fish to the waters around Ireland. Living off Irish coasts for up to ten months of the year, various types of whale from minke to fin and humpback are frequently seen swimming through Irish waters. In 1991 all of Ireland's waters were declared a whale and dolphin sanctuary, the first of its kind in Europe.

 

IRISH DIVORCES - More people than ever are applying for divorces in Ireland. In 2014, there were 3,831 divorces before the courts, up from 3,609 in 2013. There were 3,482 divorces in 2012. The 1996 vote permitting divorce included a provision that requires couples to live apart for a minimum of four years before a marriage can be legally dissolved.

 

ALCOHOL RESTRICTIONS - An Oireachtas (Irish Parliamentary) committee has backed the Irish government's plan to introduce a minimum price for alcohol under measures designed to reduce harmful drinking. Under the legislation, the minimum price for a can of beer will be about $2.20, a bottle of wine around $8.70 and a bottle of spirits $26. No alcohol commercials will be permitted on TV and radio before 9 pm, and retail discounting and multi-buy alcohol promotions will be prohibited. Alcoholic drinks are already more expensive in Ireland, on average, than anywhere else in the EU except Finland.

 

IRISH MAGNA CARTE - The Magna Charta Hiberniae (Great Charter of Ireland) was issued on November 12, 1216. Drawing from the English Magna Carta promulgated by King John in 1215, this document was issued in the name of his nine-year-old son, Henry III, after King John had died in 1215. The Great Charter of Ireland was issued specifically for Ireland and grants the same rights and liberties to the Anglo-Irish settlers as to their English counterparts. While the protections conferred by the charter did not extend to the Irish population, the Irish Charter today is still part of the retained law of Ireland, being mentioned in the 2007 Statute Law Revision Act.

 

W B YEATS - NPR recently had a piece on W B Yeats, "In The Rolling Hills Of Galway, Spirit Of W.B. Yeats Lives On". The story features an Irish nun, Sister Mary de Lourdes Fahy, who helped transform a one-room schoolhouse into the Kiltartan Gregory Museum, named for Lady Gregory, one of Yeats' patrons. The nun's father and uncle farmed land nearby in the early 1900s and sometimes would give the poet rides into town on their horse-drawn cart. Near Kiltartan, there's a 15th-century stone tower called Thoor Ballylee where Yeats lived for many years. 2015 is the 150th anniversary of Yeats' birth.

YEATS' RE-BURIAL? - W B Yeats died in 1939 in France during WW-II and, although he had expressed a wish to be buried in Co. Sligo where he had spent his childhood holidays, because of the war he was buried in France near Nice. In 1948, his body was exhumed and transported to Ireland by the LE Macha, the first overseas deployment of a ship of the Irish Naval Service. The LE Macha called to Gibraltar on the way to and from Nice and a film crew traveled with the ship to record the voyage (above). Now there are reports that the body repatriated to Ireland in 1948 may not actually have been that of W B Yeats.

 

MAUD GONNE - The 1948 Yeats' re-burial operation was overseen by the then Irish Minister for External Affairs, Sean McBride, the son of Maud Gonne-McBride. Yeats had loved Maud Gonne-McBride and had twice proposed to her after her husband was executed in 1916 as one of the Rebellion leaders.

 

BEE ABORT - A flight from Southampton to Dublin was forced to abort after a bee became lodged inside an instrument. The insect got stuck in a device used to measure wind speed, causing the pilot to turn the flight around and land in Southampton. There, ground engineers discovered the remains of a bee inside the instrument. The insect was removed and the flight took off again, landing safely in Dublin.

 

MARKREE CASTLE -Since 1663, Markree Castle in CollooneyCo. Sligo, has been the ancestral seat of the Cooper family, but it now has changed owners for the first time in over 350 years. Edward Cooper was gifted the property in the mid-1600s after Cromwell's army overthrew the local O'Brien clan, and Coopers had lived on the property for all but a brief stint during the Irish Civil War. According to some sources Cecil F. Alexander wrote her famous hymn, All Things Bright and Beautiful, while a guest there in 1848. The new owners are the Corscadden family.

 

GALWAY'S IRISH - Renowned classical flautist James Galway, who was knighted by the Queen in 2001, said in a BBC interview that he considers himself to be Irish, rather than Northern Irish, and that he supports the idea of both parts of Ireland being re-united. He also said that the late Ian Paisley "was responsible for killing indirectly by planting the thoughts of violence and no surrender in the heads of people who had no more sense." Galway was born in Belfast and said he grew up as a young Protestant in Northern Ireland where he was "brainwashed to the Protestant ethic" by politicians.

 

CLASSICAL THANKS - A retired US chemical engineering professor with a terminal illness left an unusual bequest to the people of his adopted village of Oughterard, Co. Galway - a free concert of classical music involving renowned Irish pianist Finghin Collins, classical violinist Elizabeth Cooney, the Contempo Quartet and the Galway Baroque Singers. The concert was held in the Oughterard Roman Catholic church to thank residents for their friendship. The late Richard Gilbert and his family moved to Oughterard 21 years ago after he had retired from lecturing in chemical engineering at the University of Nebraska.

 

LUCKY HANDBALL - The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) is under pressure to explain why a payment of almost $5.5 million was made to the FAI by FIFA, world soccer's governing body, in return for Ireland dropping legal action over a handball that prevented Ireland reaching the World Cup finals in 2010. A Washington Post story says Irish FA executive admits that FIFA paid them off after controversial Thierry Henry handball.

 

AMERICAN FOOTBALL - Boston College and Georgia Tech will play each other at Dublin's Aviva Stadium on September 3, 2016. The Atlanta Business Journal says that Georgia Tech will "swarm Ireland for 2016 football season opener against Boston College" in the "first international game in Yellow Jackets history." It will be the ninth college football game held in Ireland and the seventh featuring FBS schools. The official ACC opener for both schools is scheduled to be televised on ESPN2.

 

ARTS FESTIVAL - About 180,000 people have traveled from around the world to enjoy the Galway International Arts Festival which started last weekend. Free street spectacles make up a huge part of this year's festival, with highlights that include a giant skywhale floating over the city and enormous opera singers 25 ft in the air blaring out songs. The 38th Galway International Arts Festival runs until July 26 and more details can be found at www.giaf.ie.

 

SEAFLOOR MAPPING - Irish marine research vessel RV Celtic Explorer has been deployed from Newfoundland to map the seafloor between Canada and Ireland under a new European, Canadian and US research alliance. The survey will focus on an area known as the "great circle route" between Ireland and Newfoundland where the first trans-Atlantic cable was deployed in 1857.

 

PRESBYTERIAN NUMBERS - The number of Presbyterians in Ireland has dropped by almost 40% in the past 40 years. The 2015 General Assembly annual reports of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland show that in 1975 it had a membership of approximately 375,000. Today, that figure is 230,000 in 545 congregations across its 19 presbyteries on the island of Ireland.

 

SMOKING RATES - Smoking rates are falling faster in Ireland than in any other EU country, and Ireland now has the fourth lowest rate of smoking in the EU, according to data released by the European Commission. Irish smoking rates declined from 29% in 2012 to 21% last year, and the remaining Irish smokers are consuming fewer cigarettes, down to an average of almost 14 a day from 16 in 2012. In Ireland just 3% currently use e-cigarettes.
GALWAY RENTAL - Fully furnished townhouse for rent in Galway City, Ireland, located in Lower Salthill just 400 yards from the Seapoint Promenade on Galway Bay. 3 furnished bedrooms, sleeps six. Available in May and June 2015 for $425 per week (plus an additional 10% reduction for IHC members). See photos and more details at montcrehan.club, or contact Mike or Sheila at [email protected].
Tid-Bits
  • The Washington Post recommends Fly-fishing and golf in County Mayo
  • A car used to transport Dublin's new Lord Mayor Cr�ona N� Dh�laigh was clamped outside the offices of Dublin city council the week after she was elected
  • The award-winning Irish film "Bloom," adapted from James Joyce's Ulysses and starring Academy Award Nominee Stephen Rea, is being released on iTunes, Google Play and Amazon Instant Video on July 28
  • Waterford is Ireland's oldest city, founded by the Vikings in 914
  • Ireland's standard domestic letter rate for mailing items up to about 3.5 oz weight is now $0.76 while the international letter rate is $1.14
  • At the time when America gained its independence, Ireland's population was nearly twice that of the US, and stayed that way through 1800
  • Irish American Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan is a former NASA astronaut who was the first American woman to ever walk in space
  • The Washington Post had an interview with Irish Ambassador to the US, Anne Anderson
  • Three Irish people were among those killed in the recent terrorist attack on a beach in Tunisia. A couple from Athlone, Co. Westmeath, were killed while waiting for a bus to take them to the airport for the trip home
  • Conde Nast Traveler magazine claims the Wild Atlantic Way, the newly-named road trip around the scenic West of Ireland, "is set to join the prestigious list of the world's best car journeys"
  • Irish company Turfgrass was involved with the 115th US Open at Chambers Bay, collaborating on the construction and grow-in agronomy on the challenging links course
  • Irish golfer Shane Lowry's liked the Chambers Bay Golf course. From Co. Offaly, Lowry finished tied for 9th
  • Facebook wants to build a new data center in Co. Meath in an investment thought to be worth close to $217 million
  • Belfast singer Van Morrison has been knighted by Britain's Queen Elizabeth, honored for his services to music and tourism in Northern Ireland
  • The 2015 "Ireland's Most Powerful Women: Top 25 Awards" named Irish Ambassador to the US Anne Anderson as one of Ireland's most influential leaders in public service
  • English comedian Chris Addison thinks hurling is quite dangerous! Last week he tweeted "Saw some Hurling on TV last night so I'd just like to say congratulations, Ireland, on any of you being left alive"
  • Time magazine reports on Amnesty International's recent claims that Ireland's abortion laws puts women in danger
  • The Irish Film Board has refused to confirm or deny that it is in negotiations for a return to a Star Wars filming this fall at Skellig Michael, the monastic rock off the Kerry coast
  • About 1,300 English soccer fans considered to be potential troublemakers were banned by British Police from traveling to Dublin for the recent Ireland-England soccer game which ended in a 0-0 tie
  • An Irish tricolor flag was briefly and illegally flown recently over the Parliament Buildings at Stormont outside Belfast
  • A plan to sell off nine works of art from the art collection at Russborough House in Co. Wicklow, including two paintings by Rubens, has sparked protests in Ireland
  • An address in Co. Kilkenny was used on US tax return applications submitted to the Internal Revenue Service in 2012, leading to "refunds" totaling $218,974

Irish Heritage Club Membership

Please show your support by being a member of the Irish Heritage Club in 2015. All 2015 members remain in good standing with the organization until March 31, 2016. Membership is used to support all IHC activities throughout the year, including the St. Patrick's Day Parade and the Irish Festival, and is open to anyone interested in "Things Irish". Dues are $20 (single membership), $30 (family membership), or $100 (business membership), and you can pay by cash, check, or Credit Card. For more information, email [email protected] or visit www.irishclub.org.

Seanfhocal - Proverb

 

Is minic nach ndeachaigh b le b dhchais
 
It is often a cow does not take after its breed 

 

John Keane