SEATTLE IRISH NEWS MAY 2008
By JOHN KEANE
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TINA BONFIELD and Niall McDonnell during the 2007 Bloomsday staged performance. |
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AT THE LUNCHEON for Irish-born seniors on April 12 were (L-R), Danny Quinn (Down), Phil and Maureen Fitzpatrick (both Dublin), Rosaleen Sweeney (Leitrim), Catherine Boyle (Kerry), Leo Bray (Dublin), and Ita Bray (Donegal). |
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FRANK AND MARY SHRIANE who celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on April 27. Frank is originally from Roscommon and Mary from Carlow. |
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DUBLINER Mike Ryan who was recently inducted into the Washington State Soccer Hall of Fame. |
CONDOLENCES to Irish Heritage Club Board Member Kathleen Anderson on the recent death of her father, Roger Anderson. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis - May his faithful soul be at the right of God.
CONGRATULATIONS to Irish Heritage Club Secretary Wendy and husband Todd Zboyan who are celebrating the recent birth of an eight pound 15 ounce daughter Elizabeth (Lilli) Anne, and to Frank and Mary Shriane who recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary.
SEATTLE FEIS - Admission is FREE to the Pacific Northwest Irish Dance Championships Feis, the Irish Dancing competitions on May 17-18, at the Sea-Tac Airport Hilton, 17620 International Boulevard, across from Sea-Tac Airport.
About 600 beginner and champion dancers from Western Canada and the Western U.S. will compete during a weekend of Irish reels, jigs, hornpipes and choreographed set pieces.
Among those competing will be Owen Barrington from Tacoma who is the new Senior Men's World Irish Dance Champion, the first such champion from the Seattle area. For more details on the feis, visit: www.tonycomerford.com.
SEATTLE GAELS - The Seattle Gaels Gaelic footballers and hurlers held their annual open field day on March 30, and a lot of new and old faces came out for what was one of the best attended open field days in the past couple of years.
The hurling team and the men's and women's Gaelic football teams have already started weekly practices at Magnolia Playfields, but are still looking for beginning and experienced players, even for the hurling city league which started the first weekend of May.
Games will be held every weekend from now through the end of July at Magnolia Playfield. All the details are available at: www.SeattleGaels.com, or call (206) 940-1113.
BLOOMSDAY - A staged performance of Oxen of the Sun, chapter 14 of James Joyce's Ulysses, will be presented by the Wild Geese Players on June 14, at Elliott Bay Books, 101 S. Main Street, Seattle.
In this chapter, the wandering Leopold Bloom visits a maternity hospital, where poor Mina Purefoy is entering her third day of labor. Bloom encounters a group of drunken medical students, who carry on wildly while discussing poor Purefoy's fate.
The performance is directed by Bill Kuhn, script preparation by George Reilly, with assistance by Wendy Joseph. For more information, visit: www.wildegeeseseattle.org.
DEPORTEES BENEFIT - A fundraiser on May 18, 5-9 PM, at Mick Kelly's Irish Pub, 435 SW 152nd Street, Burien, will assist individuals who are in a U.S. Immigration "No Man's Land" because of their past involvement in Northern Ireland's Troubles.
Numerous Irish immigrants with U.S.-born spouses and children face potential deportation because their names are on lists provided the U.S. Immigration Service by the British government. This fundraiser is an effort to help in any such situation that arises locally.
Suggested donation is $10 ($20 per family) and Raybone Experience followed by Leo McNamara and Grian provide live music. For information, call Maura at (206) 542-3781.
HALL OF FAME - A senior member of Seattle's Irish community, 73-year-old Dubliner Mike Ryan, has been inducted into the Washington State Soccer Association Hall of Fame.
Mike has been a certified soccer coach for over 30 years, although he actually started coaching soccer teams as a 12-year-old in Dublin. As a teenager in Dublin, Mike was offered tryouts with Manchester United and Liverpool, and did tryout with Blackpool, but he never landed a professional contract.
Fifty years ago this year, aged 23 and looking for work, Mike came to the U.S. and ended up in the Army. After a tour in Germany, he was stationed in Fort Lewis near Tacoma which is how he ended up in Seattle.
In 1962 he married Karen and they had four children. Sadly, Karen succumbed to cancer in 1977. After Karen and his family, soccer has been Mike's life passion.
He was the first head coach of the U.S. women's national team. He helped build the University of Washington men's soccer program and coached the Huskies to four NCAA tournament appearances.
He also coached at several Seattle area High Schools: Garfield, Bush School and Nathan Hale. At 73, Mike is still coaching boys and girls soccer at Nathan Hale High School and guided the boy's team to the Metro League Sound Division title last spring.
Congratulations to Mike on a well-deserved honor to Seattle's own soccer legend.
SENIORS' LUNCH - Over 200 Irish-born seniors have been identified as living in the Seattle area and 75 of them, along with 20 U.S.-born spouses and friends, attended a recent Irish seniors' luncheon at the Wilde Rover Restaurant in Kirkland organized by Seattle's Irish Immigrant Support Group.
For photos and more information, visit www.irishseattle.com. Another senior luncheon will be held in September. If you know of an Irish-born senior who would like to attend, e-mail: siisg@irishclub.org, or call (425) 290-7839.
LÁ GAEILGE - An Irish language day for beginners to fluent enthusiasts takes place May 31 (Saturday following Memorial Day), 9 AM - 5 PM at Marylhurst University, 10 minutes south of Portland. Bring your dance shoes and musical instruments for a seisiún Saturday evening. For information, contact: AnRoibeard@Comcast.net.
IRISH NIGHT - Enjoy reduced price tickets to Irish Heritage Night at the Seattle Mariners vs. Oakland on August 21 by going to: www.Mariners.com/Irish.
Tickets which normally cost $20 are available for $11 and $40 tickets for $25. Receive a FREE T-Shirt and enjoy Irish dancers and bagpipers. One 2008 Irish Heritage Club member will be drawn at random to help throw out the first pitch! Call (206) 526-5993.
OLYMPIA IRISH - An Irish language and singing class takes place Monday and Thursday evenings from June 23 through July 24 at Evergreen State College in Olympia. Led by Seán Williams, half of each class will be spent learning the Irish language and the other half learning songs in Irish. Contact: WilliamS@evergreen.edu for details.
LAW FELLOWS - The UW Law School has announced eight 2008 William Sampson Fellows of International Law. These eight University of Washington law students this summer will travel to Ireland to work on public service law projects - four in Dublin, three in Galway, and one in Belfast. The Law Fellowship program is sponsored by the UW Law School and supported by The Irish Heritage Club, the Friends of St. Patrick and the Seattle Galway Association.
IRISH PLAY - From May 15 to June 8, the Historic Bathhouse Theatre at Green Lake produces Spokesong, a whimsical play about an idealistic bike shop owner in Belfast during the Troubles. As his city becomes a war-zone, he dreams of peace through superior transportation: the bicycle. It's a romance with plenty of music, wit, whimsy, and bike history to boot. Call (206) 524-1300, or visit: www.seattlepublictheater.org.
IRISH SNOWBOARDER - Winter sports athlete Jen Grace represented Ireland at the 2007 World Snowboarding Championships in Switzerland, and now hopes to represent Ireland at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C.
A graduate student at the University of Montana, she was in Seattle for St. Patrick's Day looking for support and sponsors to permit her to train full-time for the next two years. If you can help, or for more information, visit: www.jengrace.com.
IRISH HORSERACING - If you fancy experiencing the Sport of Kings in Ireland, you might want to join Tacoma's Tom Quinlan on a 15-day Ireland trip starting August 26 that takes in Stud Farms, Race Meets (including the Galway Races), sightseeing and visits to historical sites. For more information, call Tom at (253) 857-4430.
IRISH LETTERS - Seattle Glee Club's Metropolitan Chorus presents Irish songs, Letters from Ireland, folk songs and a few surprises on May 18 at 4 PM at the Peace Lutheran Church, 8316 - 39th Avenue SW, West Seattle. For tickets and more information, visit: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/33329.
MISCELLANEOUS IRISH/CELTIC EVENTS
• For the latest information on Irish/Celtic events in the Seattle area, visit: www.hoilands.com.
• AS GAEILGE, Seattle's Irish language conversational group, meets every second Tuesday! Contact: WendyZ@irishclub.org.
• June 8, is the annual SEATTLE GAELS GOLF CLASSIC at West Seattle Golf Club - email: golf@seattlegaels.com.
• The May 15 Feiceáil helps out 8:30 AM-4 PM at Redmond Habitat for Humanity. For information, contact Melissa at (206) 229-8512.
• IRISH DAY at the Races at Emerald Downs, June 22. Free tickets available by calling (206) 223-3608.
• IRISH COMMUNITY PICNIC is July 20, at St. Edward State Park in Kenmore. No Charge.
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