Oregon + Ireland
PDX HIBERNIAN INDEPENDENT Volume Three - Number Fifty-Seven – 24 July 2025
More than an email. Much less than a newspaper. Now delivered pretty early every Thursday morning. Published by The Portland Hibernian Society.
BREAKING NEWS – Oregon enters a new era with Ireland
Brian Doherty’s text yesterday afternoon was concise. The Governor signed the bill. That would be Senate Bill 961, the official summary of which is just as concise: The Oregon-Ireland Sister State Committee is created. That Committee will be made up of nine people, seven appointed by the Governor. The mission is to increase Oregon exports to Ireland and encourage Irish investments here according to the bill. Besides inviting and hosting delegations from Ireland, the committee “may” meet twice a year and travel to Ireland once every two years. Oregon is the eighth state to create a Sister State relationship with Ireland.
BREAKING NEWS II – Scotland asks NI for help with Trump protests
When President Trump arrives in Scotland Friday for a four-day visit, police resources will be stretched so thin that Police Scotland is asking Police Services Northern Ireland (PSNI) to send officers across the Irish Sea to provide mutual aid. The request has been made. No response yet. The PSNI is facing the same kind of officer shortages being experienced by police agencies in the U.S. The head of the union representing Scottish officers is worried. “It’s a recipe for disaster. We don’t have enough cops. President Trump is a magnet to certain groups. There will be protests,” David Kennedy of the Scottish Police Federation told the BBC. Scottish cities expecting to host protests are Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
HOW RORY WAS A WINNER WHILE FINISHING SEVENTH AT PORTRUSH
One more Major title in 2025 was not to be the Rory McIlroy story coming out of the Open just played at Portrush, a leisurely drive from where he grew up in Holywood. “Look, it’s been an awesome week. I've gotten everything I wanted out of this week apart from a Claret Jug,” he told reporters after seeing Scottie Scheffler hoist the first prize. He didn’t lose his temper and played very solid golf. "Rory had the light back in his eyes and it was so great to see,” seemed to be the consensus.
When Rory was 16 he shot a 61 at Portrush Golf Club.
FATHER JIM - A MAN FOR OTHERS
Kells Restaurant last Thursday night was the scene for a celebration of Father Jim Galluzzo, who has touched so many lives while serving so many causes here in Greater Portland. Next Thursday in the PDX HI (now a weekly) and at our website. Fr. Jim looks back on a lifetime of public service and talks about why the Irishness on his mother’s side made him who he is today.
Father Jim will be celebrating his 80th birthday and the 35th anniversary of his ordination Saturday, August 9th by saying a special mass at 11 A.M. at St.Clare's Church in SW Portland.
QUEEN AVA - "HELLO DUBLIN"
Come September, the woman crowned the Queen of the Portland Rose Festival in May will be an undergraduate at Trinity College in Dublin where her subjects will be Philosophy, Political Science, Economics and Sociology. Here’s the full story on her decision to travel 4,800 miles from Portland to study at Trinity
IRELAND PREPARING TO PICK TENTH PRESIDENT
The current President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, is finishing his second seven-year term. Voters will choose his successor in about three months. Even though the occupant of Áras an Uachtaráin (Ireland’s White House) is surrounded by the trappings of high office, the real power in Ireland resides with the Taoiseach (Ireland’s Prime Minister). As Michael D. Higgins wraps up 14 years in office, here’s a look at how he got there in the first place. The Poet President.
THE SHAME OF EAMMON CASEY
Catholic officials in Ireland not only dug up the remains of a Bishop last week, they dug up his sordid past as well. Eammon Casey was the Bishop of Galway until that past caught up with him. The revelation in 1992 that he fathered a child by his second cousin in America rocked Catholic Ireland, where he was revered. Then, after his atonement for that sin allowed him to be buried with blessings under Galway Cathedral, it was revealed that he was a serial sex abuser of children, including his niece, Patricia Donovan. She spoke to the RTE in a. documentary that lead to the exhumation of Caseys' remains from the Cathedral. Never before has the Catholic Church in Ireland had to unbury a Bishop.
JAMES JOYCE ON THE IRISH SUCCEEDING WHEN THEY LEAVE IRELAND
"When the Irishman is found outside of Ireland in another environment, he very often becomes a respected man. The economic and intellectual conditions that prevail in his own country do not permit the development of individuality. No one who has any self-respect stays in Ireland but flees afar as though from a country that has undergone the visitation of an angered Jove." (James Joyce, lecture: Ireland, Island of Saints and Sages)
SUPPORT FRIENDS OF THE PORTLAND HIBERNIAN SOCIETY
All of Ireland’s a Stage
Ever considered a tour of Ireland focused on Theater? It’s an immersive Irish experience with Dublin native and Portland Hibernian Gemma Whelan and Adam Liebman. You can book now for next year. "The Irish Theatre Tour continues its tradition of exceptional Irish theatre, discussions with leading playwrights and artists, and special events and activities, now as part of Shangana Press. We're about to depart on the 2025 tour with a group of enthusiastic participants, and we'd love to have you join us next summer in 2026 for its 10th anniversary."
Speaking of Theater...Corrib Season Announced
Portland is home to a dying breed: Live Irish Theater. And Corrib Theater has just announced the plays of the 2025-26 Season.There’s a special deal now available for readers of the PDX HI. Buy a subscription for all 3 plays for only $80.
Welcome to Gallager's Irish Celtic Corner on its new platform.