SEATTLE IRISH NEWS By JOHN KEANE
CONDOLENCES
• To Austin Dwyer of Mukilteo whose brother William died recently in England. Both Austin and William were born in Co. Tipperary.
• To the family of Clarice Brogan who died recently in Des Moines. Clarice was born in Belfast in 1936 and has lived in the Seattle area since 1966.
• To Dominic Rossbotham of Seattle whose 45-year-old brother Vincent Rossbotham died recently in Belfast following a heart attack.
• To Seattleites Maeve O'Malley, Maria, Joey and John Lyons on the recent death following a long illness of their father Michael Lyons, 81, in Monivea, Co. Galway.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha - May their faithful souls rest at the right hand of God
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SEATTLEITES Gerrarda O'Beirne and John Fuhrman who met their Irish relatives half-way and were married at St. Monica's Church in Manhattan on May 3. |
NEWLYWEDS - Congratulations and best wishes to Seattleites Gerrarda O'Beirne and John Fuhrman who were married at St. Monica's Church in Manhattan on May 3. Roscommon-born Gerrarda is a former president of the Washington State Society of Periodontics.
IRISH DAY RACES - Free admission tickets are available to the annual Irish Day at the Races at the Emerald Downs Racetrack in Auburn on June 22, first race at 2 PM. The free tickets can be printed as needed off the Irish Heritage Club website at www.irishclub.org or call (425) 290-7839.
Free activities for kids include pony rides, face painters, the inflatable slide, and wax hand booth. Enjoy Irish music, Irish step-dancers, food and drink specials in the Irish tent, or watch and wager on the $50,000 Irish Day Handicap.
For information on Emerald Downs, visit www.emeralddowns.com, call (253) 288-7000, or for seating and dining reservations, call (253) 288-7711.
IHC AGM - The Irish Heritage Club's annual general meeting and election of officers will be on June 29, at 6 PM at the Wilde Rover Irish Restaurant, 111 Central Way, one mile west of I-405 on 85th Street, Kirkland.
Four new board members will be elected followed by elections for all officer positions. Board members whose terms expire in 2008 are Ralph Kosche, Judy Donoghue, Jane Sepede and David Jacobsen. All members and prospective members are invited to attend. For more information on the Irish Heritage Club, contact Melissa Estelle at (206) 229-8512 or visit www.irishclub.org.
GAA TELECASTS - Live telecasts of Gaelic football and hurling games from Ireland are held weekly at Fadó Irish Pub at First and Columbia, downtown Seattle. Admission is $125 for the season (40+ games) or $20 per telecast. Call (206) 264-2700.
BLOOMSDAY - A staged performance of Oxen of the Sun, chapter 14 of James Joyce's Ulysses, will be presented by the Wild Geese Players at 4 PM 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. For information, visit www.wildegeeseseattle.org.
IRISH BASEBALL - For reduced price tickets to Irish Heritage Night at the Seattle Mariners vs. Oakland on August 21, visit www.Mariners.com/Irish. Admission includes a free t-shirt and entertainment by bagpipers and Irish step-dancers.
One 2008 Irish Heritage Club member will be drawn at random to help throw out the first pitch! E-mail membership@irishclub.org, or call (206) 526-5993.
IRISH PICNIC - The Seattle area's Irish Community Picnic is July 20, from noon to 6 PM, at St. Edward State Park in Kenmore (see www.parks.wa.gov for directions, etc.). All members of Seattle's Irish community are welcome, especially families, and the more the merrier.
Barbequed hot dogs and hamburgers are provided but please do bring your favorite food and drink. The hurling and Gaelic football games start around 12 noon and everyone is welcome to participate.
There are tug-a-war contests, kid's races, three-legged races, sack-races, water balloon toss, straw search for the kids, etc. No charge! For information, call (425) 290-7839, or e-mail
picnic@irishclub.org
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LAW FELLOWS - Kelly Mackey, a law student at University College Dublin, arrives in Seattle this month to work for two months on public service law projects with Seattle's Appleseed Foundation (www.waappleseed.org).
She is the 2008 Thomas Addis Emmet Fellow of International Law, a program named for the man who was a senior member of the United Irishmen in Ireland in the 1790s and who later served as New York State Attorney General from 1812-1813.
At the same time, eight students at the UW Law School are traveling to Ireland as William Sampson Fellows of International Law to work on free legal aid projects in Galway, Dublin and Belfast.
The Sampson Fellowship program is named for William Sampson, an exiled United Irishmen who became an eminent attorney in the U.S. in the early 1800s. Both programs are supported by the Irish Heritage Club, the Friends of St. Patrick, and the Seattle Galway Association.
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AT A RECENT fundraiser at Mick Kelly's in Burien for a new organization, Thar Sáile, Matt Morrison of the Irish American Unity Conference, visiting from St. Louis, Missouri, talks about the problems being encountered in the U.S. by former IRA prisoners because of their undocumented status. |
THAR SÁILE - Thar Sáile, Irish (Gaelic) for "Overseas", is a U.S.-based organization of U.S. residents who, because of their time in prison in Northern Ireland on IRA-related charges, are now in a U.S. Immigration "No Man's Land" despite the fact they have been productive members of U.S. society for decades.
President Bill Clinton promised before he left office that deportation proceedings would be halted and their status regularized, but they still cannot travel back to Ireland to visit family, and work permit renewals are an ongoing problem.
Most have U.S.-born spouses and children, but still face potential deportation because of their "Limbo" status. As the peace process in the north of Ireland continues to unfold, they are now launching a campaign to bring a permanent resolution to their legal status in the U.S.
Thar Sáile, with the assistance of the Irish American Unity Conference, hopes to pressure politicians to bring an end to the uncertainty by providing these individuals permanent legal status and the right to live, work, and travel unencumbered.
Fundraisers are being organized to help, and one well-attended fundraiser was recently held at Mick Kelly's in Burien with more such events being planned. For more information, call (206) 523-8946.
KIDS DAY CAMP - Emerald Ballet Theatre in Bellevue hosts a three-day "Irish Traditional Arts" day camp for children ages 5-12. Participants meet 1-5 PM Monday-Wednesday, June 30-July 2, for lessons in Irish dancing, penny whistle, Irish language, song, and stories of Ireland.
Instructors include Maggie Corrigan TCRG, Peggy O'Toole Weber TMRF, Northwest Irish Pipers Club members, and Emerald Ballet directors. EBT studios are at 12368 Northup Way.
For more information, visit www.emeraldballet.org or contact baileglas@netscape.net.
NEW SCHOOL - Montessori teacher Eámaer McGuigan opens Glentaisie Montessori and Preschool in the Shoreline area in September. For information, contact Eámaer at (206) 335-5013 or glentaisiemontessori@hotmail.com.
RAMBLERS CONCERT - The Dublin City Ramblers appear at The Triple Door, Second and Union in downtown Seattle on August 9. The Ramblers have thrilled audiences worldwide with their unique blend of ballads, folk, humor, wit and foot-tapping music for more than 35 years, with over 30 albums, Top 10 hits, several awards for best Ballad/Folk Group and eight Gold Albums. All ages are welcome, visit www.dublincityramblers.com.
BUTTE IRISH WEEK - Butte, Montana, holds an Irish language and culture immersion week from July 19-26 that focuses on imparting a conversational knowledge of Irish along with traditional music and the basic steps of the most popular Irish céilí and set dances.
Classes run 9 AM - 5 PM with an evening program that includes dances, music and video presentations, talks and tours of old-town Butte. For detailed information, visit www.irishmontana.com or contact Terry O'Riordan at (406) 544-0311.
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.
• The next Irish-born Seniors' Luncheon at the Wilde Rover restaurant in Kirkland is arranged for September 20. For details, e-mail siisg@irishclub.org or call (425) 290-7839.
• An Irish language and singing class, Monday and Thursday evenings, June 23 - July 24, at Evergreen State College in Olympia. Contact Seán Williams at WilliamS@evergreen.edu for details.
• The Irish Heritage Club will have a booth at the 2008 Skagit Valley Highland Games www.celticarts.org, July 12-13, in Mount Vernon.
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MEMBERS of the Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus pose with Fr. Dick Ward before the Memorial Day Mass at Seattle's St. Patrick Cemetery. |
SEATTLE'S IRISH PIONEER CEMETERY
In the late 1870s, Cork-born Richard O'Connell and his wife Sarah, who was born in Galway, were farming south of Seattle in White River, an area later named O'Brien (for Morgan O'Brien from Co. Tipperary) but which is now part of the city of Kent.
In 1880, the O'Connells set aside four and a half acres on their farm to establish a cemetery which they named for St. Patrick, and the first burial at the cemetery was that same year, 1880.
The O'Connells also allowed their cemetery to be used by other Catholic families in the area, most of whom were also Irish. On February 13, 1902, the O'Connells formally transferred title to the cemetery to the Diocese of Nisqually (now the Archdiocese of Seattle) for the sum of $1.
St. Patrick's burial records and maintenance became the responsibility of St. Anthony Parish (now Holy Spirit Parish), Kent, but when St. Anthony church was relocated, the cemetery fell into disrepair due to lack of volunteers and vandalism.
While burial records from the 1880s and 1890s are not complete, and despite a great deal of vandalism over the years, the headstones and records that survive show that many of the early burials were mostly of Irish-born individuals and there are numerous gravestones that list people as being born in Ireland.
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AT THE MEMORIAL DAY MASS at Seattle's St. Patrick Cemetery, Jim Foskin from Co. Kilkenny (on left), John Keane from Co. Westmeath (on right), with Seattleite Tom O'Connell (center) whose Irish-born grandparents, Richard and Sarah O'Connell, in 1880 set aside four and a half acres on their farm to establish St. Patrick Cemetery. |
In several cases, the county names are misspelled, e.g., "Co. Donnegaal Ireland", "Co. Claire Ireland", "Corrick, Ireland", and "Tiparri Ireland."
Although almost forgotten among local Seattle-area Catholic cemeteries, St. Patrick currently hosts a large burial plot for deceased members of the Irish Christian Brothers who operate O'Dea High School and also has many other family plots available for purchase.
This year on Memorial Day, May 26, a group of about 50 people gathered for a Memorial Mass at St. Patrick Cemetery (located on Orillia Road at S. 204th, just off I-5 in Kent).
Fr. Dick Ward was the celebrant and an honor guard was provided by Fourth Degree members of the Knights of Columbus. The Mass remembered those many Irish and non-Irish who are buried in Seattle's Irish Pioneer Cemetery.
One of the Fourth Degree Knights present was Tom O'Connell whose grandfather and grandmother, Richard and Sarah O'Connell, established St. Patrick Cemetery in 1880.
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THE SEATTLE GAELS Gaelic football team that competed against Vancouver in Burlington on May 31. |
SEATTLE GAELS REPORT - On May 31, The Seattle Gaels Men and Women's Gaelic Football teams as well as the Men's Hurling team hosted the Vancouver Harps south of the border in Burlington for a couple of friendly's. The weather was just about all you could ask for during the games and the pitch was spectacular.
The Gaels ladies football team hit the field for two matches with the ladies of Vancouver. The battles were intense and the Gaels really put up a great effort, but ultimately lost to Vancouver. The lady Harps played extremely well and definitely have a strong squad this year.
The men played a Gaelic football match and the action was no less intense. The experience of the Harps came into factor here as they were able to outplay the Gaels and take the win.
This was the first full size game for a lot of players on the Gaels and it will definitely help to build on the rest of the year.
The men's hurling club took the opportunity to divide their team into two teams in preparation for Nationals, giving both their Junior "B" squad and Junior "C" squad some time against a strong Harps team.
The first half had the Gaels outplaying the Harps in what was described by coach James Walsh as "the best hurling I've seen by the Gaels since 2006." The second half saw a bit of a reversal of fortune as the Harps took the game back against the Junior "C" level Gaels.
Afterward the Americans and their friends from up north got the grills going and had a great time mingling and swapping stories. Overall the Gaels had a great time and got valuable game practice against a gracious Harps team. These two squads will be facing each other again on July 12 and 13 in Vancouver.
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