MAY 2010
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ANNETTE SAVAGE: 2010 Irish Woman of the Year
GERALDINE MEGANNETY of the Irish Women's Network, presenting Annette Savage with the award plaque as the 2010 Irish Woman of the Year. Colleen O'Keefe of the Irish Women's Networking is holding the presentation flowers.
VANCOUVER - Annette Savage is the 2010 Irish Woman of the Year. She was honoured by the Irish Women's Network on April 25 for her volunteer work with the Niall Mellon Township Trust.
This charity based in Ireland, builds houses for underprivileged people living in the township of Khayelitsha, 30 kilometres from Cape Town in South Africa. For more information, visit: www. irishto wnship .com.
Annette, is from Mullymux, Co. Roscommon, and was raised in a large family of six brothers and two sisters.
In 1971, Annette and her husband moved to Bermuda before journeying on to Canada in 1975. A tour of the
South Pacific beckoned in 1980 and off they went, living in both American Samoa and Fiji until their return to Canada in 1986.
On her return to Canada, Annette worked with Share Family and Community Services where she stayed for 15 years.
She has worked on a variety of volunteer projects over the years, including Golden Spike Days in Port Moody; the BC Summer Games; and raising funds for the United Way.
Annette spends a great deal of time throughout the year organizing events to raise the necessary funds to enable her to be invited to participate in the Niall Mellon township challenge building blitz in South Africa.
She was the sole Canadian representative last year and has plans to return again next year. Watch for news about her upcoming fundraising campaign to participate in the 2011
building blitz. Watch The Celtic Connection for more news in upcoming issues.
European Festival
The next event on the Irish Women's Network calendar is the European Festival on May 29 at the Scandinavian Centre located at 6540 Thomas Street inBurnaby, B.C.
The Festival opens at 10 AM with a parade of colourful ethnic costumes, followed by non-stop stage performances highlighting each country participating.
There are 32 cultural booths manned by representatives from each country, including Ireland.
Volunteers are needed for short shifts at the Irish booth throughout the day so if you can spare some time, or if you wish to purchase tickets, call Claire Fox at (604) 263-7651 or e-mail: barnesfox@telus.net.
IWN Annual Golf Tournament
It's time to brush off those golf clubs and get registered for the IWN Golf Tournament which will be held on June 13 at 11 AM at My lora Golf Course in Richmond.
It's a Texas Scramble (or best ball) which makes it a fun tournament for golfers of every level and followed by a great dinner and prizes for all.
The cost is $65 including green fees, dinner and taxes. It's always a fabulous day of fun so hope you canjoin us. Invite all your golfing friends!
To register, call Marie Morris at (604) 929-1042. Mail cheques (made out to Irish Women's Network) to: Eilis Courtney, #302 -1445 Marpole Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. V6H 1S5. For more information, see: www.irishwomen bc.net.
Fundraiser for Irish man critically injured at Whistler
VANCOUVER - Keith O'Connor arrived in Canada last November with his long term partner. Michelle Earley, to make the beautiful city of Vancouver their permanent home.
Keith is a native of Waterford, Ireland. He was a prominent player for his local hurling club, Mount Sion, and also played on both the county minor and Under 21 teams.
On the final weekend of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Keith was snowboarding on Blackcomb Mountain in Whistler. On his way down the slope, he hit some avalanche debris that was covered under the snow and was ragdolled down the hill.
Keith broke his back at the T4 level, completely severed his spinal cord, broke both his shoulder blades and perforated his lung with broken ribs. He was airlifted to Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) where he underwent lengthy spinal surgery.
At VGH, Keith was under the care of one of Canada's best spinal surgeons, Dr. Marcel Dvorak. Tragically, due to
the extent of his catastrophic injuries, Keith awoke to find he was paralysed from the chest down, a condition to which he is still coming to terms with at this time.
On March 18, when his lung was deemed to have recovered sufficiently to fly, Keith travelled from Vancouver to Ireland.
He spent approximately one week in the Mater Public Hospital, Dublin, Ireland before being transferred to the National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) in Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, Ireland on March 26.
Keith's operation and time at VGH, together with his flight home to Ireland was covered by his travel insurance, however, those funds are now exhausted.
It is Keith's wish to rehabilitate to the point where he can live his life with a degree of independence and return to pursue his career in software testing.
In an effort to raise money for Keith's rehab, equipment and home renovations, friends of Keith held a "Fundraiser Night for Keith O'Connor" on April 23 at Scribes Rugby Football Club.
KEITH O'Connor is shown above with his partner Michelle Earley. The couple arrived in Canada last November.
For more information or to contribute to the fund, contact Eucharia Commins at euchariacommins@gmail.com, or call at (778) 223-3231. If you couldn't make the event, you can also still make a donation via: www.helpkeith.com.
CORK CITY born Dayna Corbett has been selected as the 2010 Edmonton Irish Rose to represent western Canada at the Rose of Tralee International Festival in August. She is shown above escorted by two members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in full dress uniform.
Dayna Corbett -Edmonton Irish Rose
EDMONTON - The Edmonton Irish Sports and Social Society hosted the 2010 ceremony to select the new Edmonton Irish Rose on April 24.
Dayna Corbett (21) is the adjudicators' choice this year to represent Edmonton and western Canada at the Rose of Tralee International Festival in Ireland this August 20-24.
Dayna was born in Cork City, Ireland, and when she was three years old, her family moved to Fort McMurray, Alberta. She is a very talented classical singer and Irish dancer, and she also plays several musical instruments.
Dayna is an honour student with the University of Alberta in the Department of Civil Engineering. She is also taking courses in interior design.
All entrants for the Rose of Tralee must be of Irish birth or ancestry, female between the ages of 18 to 28 years, and never married with no dependents.
For more information about the Edmonton Irish Rose, contact Moira Quirke, the event co-ordinator at (780) 456-0818, or e-mail: edmontonroseoftralee@gmail.com.
Patricia Jarvis: A Dedicated Runner does the Boston Marathon
VANCOUVER - Patricia Jarvis, a member of the Irish Women's Network, is a dedicated marathon runner who recently ran the challenging Boston Marathon on April 19.
Runners from all around the world aspire to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Stringent conditions are applied before runners can participate and many consider merely qualifying an achievement in itself.
Patricia, who runs with the Richmond Spirit Runners, was the only one from her running group to qualify.
This year 26,000 participants took part in the Boston Marathon which coincides with the annual Patriot Day holiday in the U.S. Patricia said, "everyone was out lining the streets, cheering on the participants, and having a good time."
Runners in the Boston Marathon must complete the run in four hours 15 minutes. Patricia came in at four hours six minutes. She is proud to wear the much coveted Boston Marathon jacket.
Patricia, who completed her first marathon at age 50, started running several years ago, first running in the Vancouver Sun Run. A marathon is considered 42 kilometres or 26.2 miles.
In 2008, she ran the Victoria Marathon and the following year, completed the
PATRICIA JARVIS
Kelowna Marathon and the Dublin Marathon that autumn.
"Dublin was special," she said. "It was awesome to run through familiar streets and the Phoenix Park hearing the lions roar in the zoo." She placed sixth inner age group in Dublin.
Patricia is a great advocate for running. She said it's a great way to keep fit and it's also an excellent stress reliever.
Next on her list? Would love to compete in Hawaii, London and Berlin.