Irish news for a wet dry January

PDX HIBERNIAN INDEPENDENT 8 January 2026                         

More than an email. Less than a newspaper. Delivered every Thursday. Published by the Portland Hibernian Society.  

Go n-éirí leat, a lachain! - Go Ducks!  

NEXT MEETING – Thursday January 15 – Kells Restaurant Downtown – Six P.M. 

DIGGING UP YOUR IRISH ROOTS THIS YEAR

2026 provides an opportunity to meet up again with your friends in Hibernia and make new friends. This month we’ll try something new after dinner. TELL US YOUR IRISH STORY. Whether your relatives arrived last year or last century, we’d like to hear about them. Any heroes or rogues, saints or sinners in your closet? 2026 is your IRISH ROOTS YEAR at the Portland Hibernian Society. We’ll start at the beginning: Which of the 32 counties do your people come from? 

How many of Ireland's 32 Counties can you locate and name?

WHO’S COUNTING? SAINT PATRICK'S DAY IS 69 DAYS AWAY

It’s been a wet dry January but hang in there. The annual Portland Hibernian St. Patrick’s Day Banquet is only two months away. Saturday evening March 7 Upstairs at Kells in Downtown Portland. Music – Cary Novotny and Friends.  Dance – The Yeates Academy A Team. Save the date. Details to come. 

On 17 March the All Ireland Cultural Society is hosting the longest-running St. Patrick’s Day Celebration in Oregon again this year. Always a blast. Especially for those born since 2015. Get tickets.

COLLEGE IN IRELAND? WHY NOT?

On the one hand, you’d hate to see your student go so far away. On the other hand, wouldn’t you have wanted to know more about going to college in Ireland? The fine folks at Irish Network Portland have put together a session this Saturday afternoon for parents and students wondering if Ireland might be the perfect place to continue their education. 2 P.M. Saturday, Jan. 10 at T.C. O’Leary’s. 

IRELAND HAS DENMARK'S BACK ON GREENLAND

In diplomatic terms, Ireland is supporting Denmark in its row with the White House over Greenland. “This is a matter to be determined by Denmark and by Greenlandic people in line with well-established democratic principles and international law,” said Helen McEntee, Minister of Foreign Affairs. In non-diplomatic terms, Trump should fuhgeddaboutit when it comes to annexing Greenland, says McEntee.

TRUMP WANTS GREENLAND. BANNON WANTS IRELAND.

Stephen Kevin Bannon, son of the Irish Diaspora, took advantage of the slow news week between Christmas and New Year to steal a bit of Trump’s imperialistic thunder by suggesting the land of his ancestors is ready for a taste of what’s now called the Donroe Doctrine. A classic troll*. We took the bait. Here’s some background on Bannon’s real Irish Connection: Limerick and the Rose of Tralee. *A form of deliberate provocation or antagonism...designed purely to generate a negative emotional reaction... typically carried out online.

CZECH IMMIGRANT, IRELAND'S OLDEST MAN, DIES AT 107

He escaped the Nazis and fled the Communists before landing in Ireland where he lived a very long life. Born in 1918, Josef “Joe” Veselsky emigrated to Ireland after fighting the Third Reich. His older brother and parents were killed at Auschwitz. RTE reported, “In 1949, he emigrated to Dublin....started a successful jewelry business...and also served as the captain of the Irish national table tennis team for 20 years.” The Irish Table Tennis Association named one of its annual awards after Veselsky. (Anyone who has seen the movie Marty Supreme knows that ping pong was a big deal worldwide in the 1950s.) He was also once known as Ireland’s oldest student, Veselsky also took classes at Trinity College Dublin where he was awarded an honorary master's in arts degree in 2016 according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 

POPULAR DONEGAL PUBLICAN MURDERED. KIN CHARGED.

There’s been a stunning development in the senseless murder of one of Co. Donegal’s exemplary citizens. Stephen McCahill (65) was stabbed to death and died early Monday morning. A co-owner of the Corner House Bar in Ardara for the past 25 years, he was known affectionately as Mr Ardara by many.  In 2022 he was named Donegal Person of the Year. He knew well the young man now accused of killing him. The accused, Michel Maloney, a nephew of the late Mr McCahill by marriage, was charged. Maloney has a song on Spotify that’s been streamed by millions. McCahill's funeral will take place on Saturday 10 January. 

Stephen McCahill. His nephew by marrige has been chrged with his murder.

SO 4,000 ARTISTS DON'T STARVE IN IRELAND

After COVID, the Government of Ireland launched a program to give artists feeling the impact of the shutdowns a weekly payment. Initially, 2,000 artists qualified for the $380 (325 euros) weekly grants ($1520 monthly). In 2026 another 2,000 artists will qualify and the Basic Income for Artists Scheme will become permanent. The artist stipends are not means-tested. “Worrying about putting bread on the table really impacts artists’ creative juices. This is about giving them space to work,” said Catherine Martin, Ireland’s former culture minister. 

MO' ROOTS