Rory McIlroy - A new book and a shot at back-to back Masters titles
PDX HIBERNIAN INDEPENDENT 9 April 2026
More than an email. Less than a newspaper. Weekly newsletter of the Portland Hibernian Society. Delivered every Thursday.
SAVE THE DATE - Next Meeting – April 16 Six P.M. – Kells Restaurant on SW Second. (Sunset is not until 7:58 P.M.)
PRESENTATION: Ireland united (briefly) when Hitler bombed Belfast in April 1941
Belfast, April 16, 1941
The photograph above has been hanging in my kitchen for years. I never knew the circumstances until Hibernian Tim Birr told me about thousands of families like the one above having to get out of Belfast 85 years ago on April 15 and 16, 1941. Tim, a retired Battalion Chief with TVF&R, will talk about how firefighters in the south of Ireland (The Irish Free State) headed north in a rare example of a United Ireland as massive fires burned in Belfast. Only London suffered more from German bombing. The Irish Times hailed this cross-border cooperation in an editorial on April 17, 1941. Has it taken bursting bombs to remind the people of this little country that they have common tradition, a common genius and a common home? Yesterday the hand of good-fellowship was reached across the Border. Men from the South worked with men from the North in the universal cause of the relief of suffering. Tim will talk at 7 P.M. There will be time after his words for questions and discussion: Was Ireland right to remain neutral in WW Two?
Bombs fell on Belfast. Delia Murphy kept singing and saved lives.
She was Ireland's first pop star, a singer of traditional songs born in Co. Mayo in 1902. Ulster Hall in Belfast was packed the night of April 15 when the air raid sirens went off. Delia Murphy was on stage. Remarkably, she kept singing. Hundreds who might have gone home in harm's way stayed put and survived. You can read about her career and heroics that night at the PHS website.
Now Playing: Outside Mullingar
Corrib Theatre presents John Patrick Shanley’s “Irish” play in NW Portland until April 19. Click here for tix. Not his most successful work (he wrote the play Doubt and the movie Moonstruck), but one worth watching, it debuted in New York in 2014 and was nominated for a Best Play Tony. Read more on the Bronx-born author and sample some lines from his script.Shanley also wrote and directed the movie version of Outside Mullingar, changing the name to Wild Mountain Thyme. Here are the details on the Corrib production.
Out of Ireland. Into San Francisco.
Portland Hibernian Gemma Whelan will be in San Francisco this weekend for a special literary event: The screenplay of her novel Painting In The Dark will get a splashy first public reading and she’ll be interviewed on KRON, the local NBC affiliate Sunday morning (4.12) at 8:15. Gemma told the PDX HI it was a case of right place, right time. "I fell in love with San Francisco the minute I arrived at the age of 22. I loved the openness, the vibrancy, the freedom and the way artists were welcomed. In a way "Painting Through the Dark" is a love letter to San Francisco in the late 1970's / early 80's. And there's always a dark side, too."
Sat. Night in the suburbs - Trad Irish tunes and songs
It’s Irish Music Saturday Night April 11 at the Winona Grange in Tualatin, which is an awesome venue: kind of like a very large living room. Cary Novotny, Johnny Connolly and John Weed will kick off a night of tunes and songs at 7:30 P.M. Cary’s a Pilot. From his bio: Cary earned a Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Portland and began a career as a professional guitarist, singer and songwriter in the Northwest. Cary is described as a masterful guitarist with an epic sense of harmony, song structure, and was called a soulful and captivating vocalist by Willamette Week. Click here for tix.
Rory ad Poppy McElroy after he won the 2025 Masters.
Rory – No More Mister Nice Guy? Not really.
The sports reporter who caused a lot of agita in the golf world with his tell-all book about Phil Mickelson has taken on Rory McIlroy as his latest subject. Rory: The Heartache and Triumph of Golf's Most Human Superstar hit the stands on Tuesday, April 7. Spoiler Alert: Other than an occasional tendency to be petty, Rory’s alright. (Though he did take a cheap shot at Irish cuisine the other day.)There’s reportedly no gambling, womanizing, inappropriate statements or even a whiff of scandal.There are details about his marriage to Erica Stoll and near-divorce. Rory (35) tees off today (April 9) in the first round of the Masters, which he won in a dramatic finish last year to complete a career Grand Slam by winning all four Majors. Only three players have won back-to-back at Augusta – Nicklaus, Faldo and Woods. McIlroy’s best friend, Offaly man Shane Lowry, tees off a few groups before Rory and thinks he can win this year. By the way, Amazon Prime streaming service is carrying the Masters this year and promises all sorts of bells and whistles.
Irish drivers feel some pain from the war in Iran
Imagine you’re driving to work on one of our major freeways and traffic is slower than usual because there’s a slow-motion convoy up ahead; semis are blocking each lane and going about 12 mph. Welcome to Ireland! Drivers across the country are getting hit where it hurts as truckers and farmers protest soaring fuel prices. Here's the latest- Fuel cost protests across Ireland have escalated today after it was confirmed the Defence Forces will be deployed to assist gardai.Take a wee trip to Ireland with this report from Steve Murphy of Sky News.
