PDX Hibernian Independent 9.24.26
More than an email. Less than a newspaper. Weekly newsletter of the Portland Hibernian Society. Delivered every Thursday morning.
Irish Canada. Aer Lingus cuts Seattle service. Fred Ryan RIP. Corrib at Kells. IRE v ISRAEL row intensifies. Ed Sheeran apologizes. Two PMs talk about the best tea. Glen Hansard and Waking Ned Devine.
Look familiar? It’s pretty rare to see the Stars and Stripes, Maple Leaf and Tri Color flags flying side by side. Any guesses where this is? The location will be revealed in due time in the PDX HI.
October Meeting - Oh Canada!
American by birth, Irish Canadian by descent, Dan Holden will draw on his own lived experience to summon the story of those sons and daughters of Erin exiled to Canada. This history is often overlooked in America. Dan, who’s an author, historian and founding Hibernian will speak at Seven P.M. on Thursday October 15 at Kells Restaurant on SW Second. No-host dinner at Six P.M.
Fred Ryan RIP
“If everyone who has ever made a positive connection with Fred Ryan shows up for his memorial on November 21, Holy Cross Catholic Church and the North Portland Eagles Lodge won’t be big enough.” Click here if you knew Fred Ryan. Or even if you didn’t. His is an Old Portland story worth sharing.
Corrib Theatre @ Kells Restaurant
A time of apparent magic..." That’s how the era of The Odyssey is described. Christopher Nolan could have been referring to the olde days in Ireland and Mexico captured in An Scéal: Samhain x Día De Muertos. Samhain, the ancient Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest and the thinning of the veil between the living and the dead, meets Día de Muertos, the Mexican tradition of honoring ancestors through ofrendas (offerings), celebration, and remembrance. OCTOBER 7 – 10 there will be Happy Hour performances of An Scéal: Samhain x Día De Muertos at Kells Restaurant on SW Second. “This is the second year that Corrib is putting up this show, which sold out swiftly due to the intimate venue space of T.C. O'Leary's last year,” cautions Corrib Engagement Director Daye Thomas. Click here for details and ticket info.
The annual blessing of the Aer Lingus fleet on the tarmac at Dublin International Airport.
PDX to DUB nonstop on Aer Lingus? Fuhgeddaboutit
A direct flight between here and Ireland on Aer Lingus isn’t going to happen anytime soon. In fact, the daily non-stop from Sea Tac to Dublin stops flying on October 25, not to resume until late April. Aer Lingus announced significant cutbacks in July due to the economy, higher fuel costs and not a lot of people flying to Ireland when the days are short and the weather is like Oregon’s. It could be worse for Seattle. Denver, Las Vegs and Minneapolis are losing direct flights to DUB year round. BEST OPTION FOR GREATER PORTLAND PILGRIMS TO IRELAND Spend a few days in what was once the most Irish cIty in America and fly out of San Francisco International Airport. Thanks to the Irish Heritage Club in Seattle for the tip on this story.
“The two leaders travelled together to the Brian Boru Irish Club, Britain’s oldest Irish club. They arrived during a celebration marking the 90th birthday of Canon Patrick McNally, originally from Louisburgh, Co. Mayo.” Irish Post.
Micheal and Andy meet and talk tea (Barry’s vs Tetley)
The leaders of Ireland and Great Britain got together the other day. This high level meeting between onetime foes was once seen as a rarity. Now it seems routine. This meeting felt different though. Andy Burnham, the new PM, met Micheal Martin, the Taoiseach, and right after a formal meet and greet they went to the oldest Irish club in Manchester to attend the 90th birthday party for a Catholic priest. Acc to the Irish Post, Burnham, whose grandfather emigrated to England from Ireland, did eveything but speak Irish, The two leaders joked over cups of Barry’s tea, debating whether it was better than the local Tetley brand, and chatted with club members about Gaelic games. Mr Burnham said: “I’d love to get to the All-Ireland final some day.”Mr Martin replied: “Look, we can arrange that.” The two spent little time talking about the reunification of Ireland. Neither is a supporter.
IRE v ISR
Because there’s more than enough politics mixed in with sports in America, you may not be aware of a major controversy in Ireland surrounding a match on Sunday (9.27) between the national teams of Ireland and Israel. The two countries do not get along diplomatically. The issue is Palestine. The two teams will meet Sunday in Debrecen, Hungary because it was considered unwise to play in Dublin or Tel Aviv. (A week later, the designated Irish 'home' match will be staged in Backa Topola, Serbia on 4 October.) One poll showed 75% of respondents in Ireland favored a boycott of the games. Here’s the latest from RTE.
The show must go on. Ed Sheeran will perform without his Irish back up band Begora. Aaron Rowe, a singer songwriter from Dublin, also left the Loop Tour.
Ed Sheeran apologizes. Irish musicians leave tour anyhow.
Key Irish musicians in Ed Sheeran’s performing entourage on his latest American tour walked away when he allowed Seattle artist Macklemore to be removed from the tour. The Seattle rapper reportedly upset at least one owner of the NFL arena hosting a show, -Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots - with a pro-Palestine speech. The promoter said the show can’t go on unless Maclemore leaves. Which he did. Sheeran performed solo in Philadelphia and said he had been forced to make tough decisions and acknowledged that he may not have handled everything perfectly, as he apologized to fans. Dublin musician Aaron Rowe and the Galway group Begora opted out even though Sheeran is an old buddy. Click here for a chronological rundown of this affair.
David Kelly played Michael O’Sullivan in the original movie version of Waking Ned Devine.
What Glen Hansard left behind - Waking Ned Devine - The Musical
Remember the 1999 movie Waking Ned Devine? Well, the story of two Irish tricksters conspiring to claim the lottery prize won by a dead man is being revived.....as a musical.... featuring music and lyrics by the late singer-songwriter Glen Hansard. Market Irglova, Hansard’s fellow Tony and Oscar-winning creative partner, is helping to create the stage musical. It’s supposed to premiere in Belfast next year. Here’s the story from the Journal.ie.