Page 30
www.celtic-connection.com
NOVEMBER 2012
SEATTLE IRISH NEWS
EILEEN Kilgren, Rod Margason, Evi Murray (front), Frank Shriane, Mary Charles and Linda Noe at the Coffee Hour social following Seattle's Mass in Gaelic.
HARVEY Losh, Seattle's "Periodontist and Leprechaun" died recently aged 95. He was well known in Seattle's Irish community for his participation in the St. Patrick's Day Parade.
Kilrush Town Council and Clare County Council have formally submitted a bid for Kilrush as a host location for the 2013 National Famine Commemoration.
The local authorities have submitted the expression of interest to the National Famine Commemoration Committee, led by Jimmy Deenihan T.D., Minister for Arts. Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
The annual observance in Ireland commemorating the Great Famine has been organised officially by the government since 2009.
The main commemoration event is held in a different province each year and will be held in Munster in 2013.
The Mayor of Clare Councillor Pat Daly and Mayor of Kilrush Councillor Mairead O'Brien pledged their support for the bid, stating that Kilrush is an appropriate host location considering the significant impact of the Great Famine on the town and surrounding area.
Kilrush is recognised nationally as one of the locations worst affected by starvation, disease and emigration between 1845 and 1852.
RICHARD Bruton, Irish Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, was in Seattle recently trying to attract firms to invest and create jobs in Ireland.
The famine years brought much hardship to Kilrush.
Evictions, fever and cholera reduced the population of south-west Clare to such an extent that it has never again attained its pre-famine numbers.
The Kilrush workhouse witnessed terrible deprivation and deaths. TKning and after the famine, the Vandeleur name became synonymous with the worst of landlord evictions, with over 20,000 evicted in the Kilrush area.
Illustrations from Kilrush at the time of the famine featured in the Illustrated London News and these illustrations are the best recognised images of the famine conditions in Ireland.
Images of the famine from Moveen were depicted and the ruins of this famine village are visible today.
The National Famine Commemoration Committee 2013 will assess bids from other counties in Munster over the coming weeks.
The date and location of the 2013 Commemoration will be announced later this year.
Minister Deenihan has already announced that the 2013 International Commemoration of the Great Irish Famine will take place in Sydney, Australia on Sunday, August 25,2013.
PASSINGS
• Joyce Dunne, 81, died recently in Edmonds. She was the mother of Candace and grandmother of Mary Dunne, both Irish Heritage Club Board Members.
• Rosemary Boyle, who died recently of cancer at the age of 50, was the wife of Michael Boyle and daughter-in-law of Catherine Boyle, both of Seattle.
• Irene Teresa Glover, 85, a native of Belfast who died recently in Bellevue, was a sister of Pat, Gerard and Eamonn Conlon who all live in the Seattle area.
• Sean Morrissey who died in October in England, was a brother of Joan Kluck of Everett.
• John Coyne, 72, who died recently in Limerick, was a brother of Tony Coyne of Seattle.
KNIGHTS NIGHT-Thisyear's Irish Night at The Knights in support of St. Mary's Food Bank will be on Saturday, December 8 (note the date change), at The Knights of Columbus Hall, 722 E Union Street, Seattle.
Music - dinner - dancing - auction, all to support the food bank at St. Mary's Church which serves an average of over 2,000 people each week. Good cause, good music and great fun - contact John O'Malley at (206) 547-1612 or jomalley@mail.com.
DANCING COMPETITIONS - The
Western Region Oireachtas, the 2012 Irish Dance Championships for the western U.S., is on Friday-Sunday, November 16-18, at the Hyatt Regency, 900 Bellevue Way, Bellevue.
About 1,700 dancers from around the western U.S. will compete attempting to qualify for the All-World Irish Dancing Championships in 2013.
Free spectator admission all three days, but drivers should note that the 520 Freeway Bridge is scheduled to be closed that weekend. For more details, visit wroireachtas.com.
GLASS EXHIBITION - Irish glass and printmaking artist Paula Stokes, whose work has recently been added to the permanent collection of the National Museum of Ireland, has an exhibition through to December 2 at Shift Collaborative Studio, 306 S Washington Street, # 105, Seattle.
Transformation is a collaboration between Stokes and Eric Mead where Stokes creates a fluid, vitreous transparency in her monoprints and Mead reinterprets them into leaded glass panels.
A native of Dublin where she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Glass Design from the National College of Art and Design, Stokes did post baccalaureate studies in printmaking at the University of Washington. For more information, visit paulastokes.com.
SENIORS' LUNCHEON - The Irish Seniors' Christmas luncheon will be at noon on Saturday, December 1, at F X McRory's in Seattle. All seniors of Irish birth, extraction or interest are welcome along with their spouses and senior friends.
Over 300 different Irish seniors, the majority of whom are Irish-born, have attended these luncheons over the past four years.
Advance reservations are required - call Lorraine at (206) 915-1878 ore-mail: lunch@irishclub.org.
DAIDi na NOLLAG - Seattle's Irish community children's Christmas party with Daidi na Nollag (Father Christmas), is 1-4 PM on Sunday, December 2, Maplewood Church Hall, 19523 84th Avenue West (on 196th Street), Edmonds.
Everyone is invited to meet Daidi na Nollag who arrives in his green robes at 2 PM. Games and crafts for kids start at 1 PM, and dessert and tea or coffee will be provided.
To make sure there's a present for every child, please register children in advance (names and ages) by e-mailing: Xmas@lrishClub.org.
HELPING FINN - Irish musician Finn MacGinty lived in Seattle for about 20 years playing with groups like The Suffering Gaels, Setanta and Crumac.
Five years ago, he moved back to Ireland but last December he suffered a severe brain injury in a fall at his home in Tipperary. He is now in a rehab center in Oxford and there's hope for the best.
His last visit to Seattle in September of 2011 included a fabulous house concert which was recorded and is now available on CD with all proceeds going to Finn's family.
Suggested donation is $25 or five CDs for $100. To get yours, e-mail: tomcreegan@Hotmail.com.
CELTIC YULETIDE - Magical Strings' 34th Annual Celtic Yuletide Concert series starts November 30 and Seattle's concert will be December 12 with Tacoma's on December 14.
Concerts will also be held in Coupeville on Whidbey Island, in Kent, Mount Vernon, Bellevue, and Portland.
This grand gala of Celtic-inspired holiday music is filled with Irish singing, dancing, juggling, caroling, storytelling and more. For the details, visit magicalstrings.com.
SEPHIRA CONCERT - Exciting sister act, Sephira (sephira.ie) perform in concert at the Shoreline Center Auditorium on December 1 at 7 PM!
Composed of the O'Leary sisters from Co. Monaghan, Sephira toured the U.S. and Canada as the fiery dancing violinists for Celtic Thunder, and afterwards performed in the PBS special Beyond Celtic. Tickets ($20) and details at brownpapertickets.com or call (206) 417-4645.
BURNS NIGHT - Kenmore & District Pipe Band's annual Burns Night Dinner is Saturday, January
26 at the Legion Memorial Golf Course Clubhouse, 144 West Marine View Drive, Everett.
Parade of the haggis, bagpiping, Highland dancing, door prizes, raffle, and more! Tickets: $35 at info@kdpipeband.com.
IDA MISSION - Richard Bruton, the Irish Government Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, was in Seattle for two days recently trying to attract firms to invest and create jobs in Ireland.
The minister was accompanied on the Industrial Development Agency (Ireland)-led mission by IDA Ireland chief Barry O'Leary and other officials.
In Seattle, the group met with executives at Microsoft, Amazon.com, Expedia and other companies headquartered here.
After Seattle, the group traveled to California for meetings focused particularly on the technology sector.
In the last 18 months, 12,000 jobs have been added in Ireland by multinationals which currently employ over 100,000 people.
OAK HARBOR IRISH - Helen Chatfield Weeks, a leader of the Irish Wildlife Society in Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island, was recently honored by the Island County Historical Society for her community involvement and her historical contributions.
Helen is very proud of her Irish heritage and, despite the long journey to Seattle, has attended some of the recent Irish senior luncheons.
She is also one of the organizers of Oak Harbor's St. Patrick's Day Parade which is annually sponsored by the Irish Wildlife Society.
HARVEY THE LEPRECHAUN - On
his business card Harvey Losh billed himself as "Periodontist and Leprechaun," and he was well known in Seattle's Irish community through his annual participation since the 1970s as a leprechaun in Seattle's St. Patrick's Day Parade.
He always dressed in full leprechaun regalia including pointed ears and brogues with curled toes, handing out candy to kids and bringing smiles to faces all along the route.
He never missed a parade even in later years when he had to use a walker to participate. This year's parade was his last as he died last month at the ripe old age of 95.
MISCELLANEOUS NEWS & EVENTS
• Cork musician Liam O'Riordan, a member of the Trad Routes (tradroutesireland.com) performs at Kells Pub on Saturday, November 24, 7:30 -9:30 pm.
Liam plays traditional Irish music and historical ballads, and is known for his beautiful voice, quick wit, and ability to charm an audience.
• Are you an Irish senior in need of a listening ear? Call Irish Senior Connect on (855) 249-5146.
The program is a listening line for Irish seniors, a community outreach program of the Coalition of Irish Immigration Centers of which
Kilrush Seeks To Host
2013 Famine Commemoration Event