Belfast Blitz. Monument Irishman. Racing Irishwoman.
PDX HIBERNIAN INDEPENDENT 16 April 2026
More than an email. Less than a newspaper. Weekly newsletter of the Portland Hibernian Society. Delivered every Thursday. PDX HI is available on your browser.
We meet tonight. Six P.M. at Kells Restaurant - 112 SW Second Ave - No host dinner.
Seven P.M. Presentation - 85th Anniversary of the Belfast Blitz. What this World War Two attack tells us about Ireland.
Tim Birr won’t be playing the bagpipes tonight (April 16), he’ll be sharing the story of how South and North in Ireland came together (briefly) when Germany bombed Belfast 85 years ago today. The South was neutral in 1941. The North was still part of the UK, so neutrality was not an option. It’s a fine story. What does it say about a United Ireland some day? Click here for the story of Celia Murphy of Co. Mayo, who saved lives with her singing during the Blitz.
Portland’s Monument Man – David O’Longaigh
His fingerprints are all over two of Portland’s most iconic, historic structures. At the rededication of the Thompson Elk Fountain, Portland Hibernian O'Longaigh was acknowledged by City Commissioner Dan Ryan as “that Irish guy in the Water Bureau” who had all the answers. It was O’Longaigh who also played a key role in the building of the Oregon Potato Famine Memorial at Mt. Calvary Cemetery. Click here to read more at the PHS website.David will be available after Tim's presentation tonight for your questions, etc.
Not pennies from heaven. Dollars from the ceiling.
A clean sweep of “Green Rain” took place at Kells Pub the other day. You might have noticed the currency on the ceiling. Can’t tell you how those bills got there, but when they came down the total was $3,229. That brings to $415,000 the amount of money raised by Lucy and Gerard McAleese and generous Kells patrons for the Providence Center for Medically Fragile Children in the last 31 years. Go raibh maith agat.
Irishwoman starts her engine in Shelton WA this weekend
It’s not often you’ll see coverage of motorsports in the PDX HI. But who can resist the story of the up-and-coming young driver from Galway who will be racing on gravel roads in the nearby Olympic Forest this weekend?Meet Aoife Raftery, rally race car driver from Craughwell in Co. Galway and “a rising star from Ireland with global ambitions, making waves across Europe and beyond.” She’s back in the PNW to race at the Olympus Rally in Shelton, WA this weekend.
Rory's world. Shane's struggles.
Rory McIlroy, Holywood, Northern Ireland’s gift to the world of golf, didn’t make it look easy last Sunday. But he made birdies when he had to and won the Masters. Again. For the second year in a row. Not that you asked, but here’s how much McIlroy is worth after this latest win. His best friend and fellow Irishman Shane Lowry struggled Sunday. Here’s how much that cost him.
Moya Brennan of Clannad.“First Lady of Celtic Music,” dies
There’s been a death in the Irish music family. Moya Brennan, singer and harpist with Clannad, was 73. The Irish folk singer, who was born Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin, grew up in Gweedore – a remote Irish-speaking parish in the Gaeltacht in County Donegal... Brennan formed the band Clannad with her brothers, Pól and Ciarán, and their mother’s twin brothers, Noel and Pádraig Ó Dúgáin, in 1970.(Irish Independent). Clannad's first big hit was the Theme From Harry’s Game It remains the only UK single to have been sung entirely in Irish. “Known as the First Lady of Celtic music... A powerful ambassador for Ireland - she took our music, language and culture and shared it with the world,” said Sinn Fein TD for Donegal Pearse Doherty. (Note: Why First Lady? No Queens has been the rule in Ireland for centuries.)
Fuel Price Protests continue. Irish govt. tries to remain calm
"We got certain things wrong in terms of our approach last week." Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne said on RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme this morning re: Fuel price protests that caused civic paroxysms in Ireland last week. (Centre ground tested as marginalised turn radicalised in fuel-tax Mexican standoff - Independent Thursday Ap. 9) The Taoiseach, who may face a vote of confidence, GETS IT said Byrne; Micheal Martin understands the pain and pressure people are under. Click here to read how the fuel price protests ended in time for the Masters telecast in Ireland.
MEETING TONIGHT SIX PM - KELLS RESTAURANT - 112 SW SECOND AVE - PORTLAND - FAILTE - ALL ARE WELCOME
