The Weekend That Was in Ireland

PDX Hibernian Independent – 17 September 2026 - Halfway to Saint Patrick’s Day

More than an email. Less than a newspaper. Weekly newsletter of the Portland Hibernian Society. Delivered every Thursday morning.

Next Meeting - September 17 – Kells Restaurant 112 SW Second Ave Portland – Six P.M. No host dinner.

Guest Speaker – Steve Law, author of Peddlers of Hate – How the Ku Klux Klan Seized Power in 1920s Oregon – Seven P.M.

If you know your Oregon history, you know the Irish weren’t the first immigrants made to feel unwelcome in Oregon. It was their turn to face discrimination in the 1920s. Most of the native Irish and their descendants were Catholic. There weren’t many of them in Oregon, so the second Ku Klux Klan tried to curb their rights as Americans. Steve Law went deep on this forgotten chapter in Oregon’s history and will share his findings. Click here for a PDX HI interview with Steve Law..

How two Irishmen saved Forest Grove’s Grand Lodge

Though Steve Law will be talking about an era in Oregon politics that’s long gone, reminders of that era abound around town. Masonic lodges and temples. Pythian Halls. Streets named for Freemasons. As you’ll hear, Masons and Catholics clashed back then. Nowadays though, it’s a different story. Read here about a happy ending.

Ireland’s Consul General Marianne Bolger at a previous posting.

Madam Diplomat

Ireland’s newest Consul General in San Francisco, Marianne Bolger, is scheduled to visit Portland on October 20, according to Irish Network Portland. We’re fairly certain here at the PDX HI that Ms. Bolger is the first woman to hold that post. The San Francisco Consulate is the third consulate opened in the United States by the government of the Irish Free State. That was in 1933. New York first. Chicago second. Then San Francisco. The new Consul General may have an announcement when she comes to Portland. (the Oct. 20 date is tentative.) In late April, Consulate staff started accepting applications for the position of Honorary Consul of Ireland in Portland. Closing date was May 18. No word yet on an appointment.

Trump in Ireland. The golf was great.

If the goal of the Irish government was to stay out of Donald Trump’s doghouse, avoid his wrath and remain in his good graces, score one for the home squad. The President had such a great time during his 36 hours in Ireland that just before he left, he lifted all tariffs on....Irish whiskey. They are still talking in Ireland about how he came out in favor of eliminating the British presence on the island of Ireland, becoming the first US President to endorse a United Ireland. ICYMI click here for a recap.

No water cannons needed

There was no “film at eleven” of mass protests in Ireland during Trump’s time in Ireland. There weren't even many headlines, much less arrests or disruptions. “Thousands protested across Dublin and Clare at Trump’s arrival today” was about as wild as it got. The total number of Irish who took the time to take to the streets to let others now how they feel about our President was an ESTIMATED 10 to 25 thousand.. Dublin has seen protests ten times as large. The crowd was estimated at 150,000 in 2003 when Irish protestors took on the Iraq War A water rate protest in 2015 drew 80,000 marchers. Pro-Palestine marches in downtown Dublin usually draw about 10,000 protestors. The turn out in Doonbeg was about 800. A couple of thousand, at the most, turned up at Shanon Airpot. Garda Siochana kept parked two water cannons it purchased after Dublin riots in 2023. (Has Ireland got a touch of Trump fatigue?)

Ireland shares Shane Lowry with Florida

It’s fitting that with all the drama surrounding the playing of this year’s Irish Open it should have such a storybook ending. This was no cliff hanger. Shane Lowry, who grew up two and a half hours from Doonbeg in Clara, Co. Offaly, cruised to an eleven-stroke victory. That’s comparable to his beloved Man U beating Everton 8 – 0. Lowry, who turns 40 next summer, has settled in Florida. He’s also got a house in South Dublin, but Jupiter, Florida is where he’s raising his family until his golf career is over, he says. Then it’s back to Ireland. That would be some time around 2050 if he keeps playing the way he did at Doonbeg Sunday. Rory McElroy and Toger Woods live nearby.

Crowd size at farm fest surpasses protests

The largest agricultural event of its kind in Europe wraps up today in Screegan Tullamore, Co. Offaly, Ireland. "Livestock displays, sheep shearing, sean nós dancing and welly throwing” were all on the agenda at the 95th National Ploughing Championships. Est. attendance: 225,000. Sounds like Ireland’s version of a very big State Fair to me. President Catherine Connolly kicked things off. She sees all this as something more. From the Offaly Independent, ‘The President said the three day event fell...as the farming community "transitions into autumn" with its own "life and rhythms. It is the start of the harvest, as we move from Lúnasa to Mean Fomhair, a busy time of planting and preparing for winter,.”Only in Ireland. Photos from the event in the Irish Farmers Journal (Free with sign-in).

Can you spare less than three dollars a month?

Thanks for reading this week’s PDX HI. Is there an interesting Irish-adjacent story I left out? A local event? Hit reply and let me know, please. As you may have noticed, we don’t sell ads. Nor do we receive any outside funding. You can support the PDX HI by joining the Portland Hibernian Society. We’d appreciate it if you did. Just click here. Go raibh maith agat.

Go raibh maith agat.

Bill Gallagher

503-939-8732