Seattle-Irish News Update

By JOHN KEANE

Irish Movie & Snacks

The Hard Road to Klondike, a documentary film made for Irish TV in 1999, will be shown at 6 PM, on October 16, at Assumption Church Hall, 6215 33rd Avenue NE, Seattle (10 blocks north of University Village).

The film is based on Mícheál (Micí) MacGowan’s autobiography of the same name and is the brilliant emigration story of a man who was born in Donegal in 1865, emigrated from Ireland in 1880, and returned home after 21 years working abroad, three of them spent mining for gold in the Klondike.

Combining archival photos from the period interspersed with clips from Hollywood silent films, the documentary follows MacGowan as he leaves Ireland in 1880 at the age of 15 looking for work in Scotland, then to the steel mills of Pennsylvania, through frontier America to the silver mines north of Butte, Montana, and across the Rockies to Seattle.

From there, he ships out to Alaska, and spends almost five months traveling up the Yukon River until he reaches the Klondike just before Christmas, 1898. In 1901, Micí returned to Ireland where he fell in love, married and raised a family. He died in 1948, aged 83.

Micí's account of St. Patrick's Day in the Klondike can be read on the internet at www.ballinagree.freeservers.com/klondike.html. Anyone interested is welcome to attend the 52-minute film that is narrated by Irish actor Stephen Rea and was declared "Best History Documentary" at the San Antonio Film Festival. For more information, call (425) 290-7839 or e-mail: Secretary@irishclub.org.

Seattle Trade Mission

A reception was held in Seattle for a combined Irish Trade Mission to Seattle organized by the Dublin Chamber of Commerce and the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Shown above are (L-R): Anne Maria Jacobsen with the Seattle Chamber of Commerce; Mike Mills from Belfast, the leader of the Northern Ireland delegation; Áine Maria Mizzoni, President, Dublin Chamber of Commerce; John Keane with Seattle's Irish Heritage Club.

GUESTS AT THE RECEPTION (L-R): Brian Gannon-McKinley who works with Microsoft in Redmond; Mike Mills, Chairman of Jigsaw Tree Ltd. in Belfast, the leader of the Northern Ireland delegation; Alice Gannon-McKinley with the Seattle Galway Association; Dr. Janice Lane, Managing Director of Sycadex in Belfast; Noreen McCormack, Vice-President of Entercom Seattle Radio Group; Bill Stafford, President of the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle; and John Keane with Seattle's Irish Heritage Club.

IHC Meetings

At 7 PM on October 16 following the film in Assumption Church Hall, there will be an Irish Heritage Club general membership meeting and Irish Week planning meeting. The meetings offer an opportunity to provide input to the club's plans for the coming year, and especially for Irish Week 2006. Anyone interested is invited to attend the meetings and the social hour that follows. For information, call (206) 229-8512, or e-mail: MelissaE@irishclub.org.

Volunteer Opportunities

Please consider lending a hand for an hour or two before or during Irish Week 2006 in Seattle. There are numerous ways for people to help, either by attending planning meetings (the first one is October 16), helping with mailing letters and newsletters, or volunteering to help with one or more specific Irish Week event, etc. There is a special need for help with the Irish Festival at the Seattle Center March 17-19, and with the St. Patrick's Day parade on March 18. Please call Melissa at (206) 229-8512, or e-mail: MelissaE@irishclub.org.

Martin McGuinness

MARTIN MCGUINNESS, a member of the Árd Comhairle (National Executive) of Sinn Féin and the party's chief negotiator, was the guest speaker at a Friends of Sinn Fein dinner in Seattle on September 29, a few days after the IRA had completed decommissioning. Shown with him following the dinner is Bernadette Noonan.

Matt Talbot Golf

On October 18, the Matt Talbot golf tournament will be held at Harbour Pointe Golf Club in Mukilteo to raise funds for Seattle's downtown program for the homeless. Shotgun start at 9 AM and the $75 fee includes greens fee, cart, afternoon BBQ, etc. For information, call (206) 290-7839 or e-mail: TalbotGolf@irishclub.org.

Mass In Gaelic

Seattle's Irish community Mass of Remembrance in the Gaelic language will be on November 4, at 7:30 PM at St. Patrick's Church, 2702 Broadway Avenue East (just off I-5 at Roanoke Street), Seattle. Mass booklets in English and Gaelic will be available. This Mass commemorates all deceased members of Seattle's Irish community, but especially those who have passed away in the past 12 months whose names will be read out during the service. For information or to submit names to be remembered at the Mass, contact (206) 361-1713 or e-mail: GaelicMass@irishclub.org.

Children's Christmas

Everyone is invited to the annual Irish Children's Christmas Party on December 11, from 1 - 4 PM at Maplewood Church, 19523 - 84th Avenue West (on 196th Street at 84th Avenue West), Edmonds. Starting at 1 PM, there will be crafts, games, and light refreshments for all, and Daidí na Nodhlaig (Father Christmas) will arrive in his green robes at 2 PM. For information and to register (so there's a present for every child), call (206) 361-1713 or, e-mail: xmas@irishclub.org.

Ocean Shores Festival

Galway Bay's second annual Irish music festival will be held in Ocean Shores from October 27-30 with 12 Irish bands performing. In addition, there will be a matchmaking festival (patterned after Lisdoonvarna, County Clare) with a professional matchmaker profiling the singles and setting up a speed dating round, etc. For information, call (360) 289-2300, or e-mail: irish@olynet.com, or visit: www.galwaybayirishpub.com.

Seattle Gaels

Despite having performed magnificently at the North American GAA finals in Philadelphia on the Labor Day weekend, the two participating Seattle Gaels teams came home without the silver. However, both teams did qualify for their respective competition’s final and were very pleased with their performances. San Diego defeated the Gaels women in the women's final, while Washington DC defeated the Gaels hurlers in the hurling final.

The Gaels are already back at it again, and every Sunday at 11 AM (until November 6), anyone interested in the game of hurling or football for men or women is invited to Magnolia Playfields (34th and West Barrett) to participate in sessions geared towards the very basics of the game. For more information, contact Rob Mullin at (206) 953-8460 or visit: www.seattlegaels.com.

Dance Workshops

Maldon Meehan and Ronan Regan travel from Ireland to Seattle this month to conduct workshops on set dancing and also on a unique form of Irish dance called sean-nós dance. On October 14 at 7 PM, they teach a workshop at Ti Guinn, 910 20th Avenue in Seattle. For information and cost, e-mail Alicia Guinn at: maithcailin@yahoo.com, or call (206) 860-3938. On October 23 at 7 PM, they teach a workshop on Irish set dance at the Irish Emigrant. For information and cost, e-mail Kathleen O'Grady-Graham at: irish-dancer@attbi.com.

Irish Genealogy

The Seattle Genealogical Society’s annual fall seminar will be held on November 5 from 9 AM-5 PM, at Faith Lutheran Church, 8208 18th Avenue NE, Seattle, and will feature Sherry Irvine, the internationally known genealogical writer and columnist who specializes in Irish, Scottish and English genealogy. For fees and other information call (206) 522-8568 or visit: www.rootsweb.com/~waseags.

Scottish Gaelic

Slighe nan Gaidheal, the Seattle-area Scottish Gaelic language and cultural society, promotes the language through its ongoing program Zero to Gaelic, a series of periodic Gaelic Intensive Days. On November 12, there is an intensive course for beginners and advanced students at the Center for the Community, 5031 University Way NE. For more information, and to register, e-mail: edcomm@slighe.com, or visit: www.slighe.com.

Dueling Poets

The Wild Geese Players present Dueling Poets - Walt Whitman and W.B. Yeats on November 18, 8 PM, at the UW Faculty Club. The evening will feature two competing poetry teams directed by Kieran O'Malley with a panel of judges to allocate votes and pick a winner! A fencing duel will also be woven into the evening's entertainment! Donations at the door. For information, call Kieran or Nancy at (425) 778-3403.

Irish & Celtic Concerts

Irish tenor, ANTHONY KEARNS, performs on October 16, at 4 PM at Mary Queen of Peace Church, 1121 - 228th SE, Sammamish. All proceeds to benefit St. Joseph School of Issaquah. For tickets, e-mail: AKC@sjsissaquah.org, or call (425) 313-9129.

MICHAEL FLATLEY and his cast of 60 dancers return to the Seattle area for one "Celtic Tiger" performance at the Everett Events Center on October 20 at 8 PM. Tickets are $49 and $69 and available by calling 1-866-332-8499 or at www.everetteventscenter.com.

THE KEITH HIGHLANDERS PIPE BAND performs at the Kirkland Performance Center on October 27-29, bringing the finest Celtic entertainment to Kirkland, with pipers, Scottish Highland dancers, champion Irish step dancers, drummers, and An Tua, a Seattle Celtic band anchored by flute player Hanz Araki. For tickets, e-mail Michael Martin at: khpb@khpb.org, or visit: www.kpcenter.org.

Scottish fiddler ALASDAIR FRASER and cellist NATALIE HAAS perform in a Celtic concert at Seattle's Benaroya Hall at 8 PM on January 27. Tickets from 206-292-ARTS, or e-mail:upwest@olympus.net.

THE CHIEFTAINS at Benaroya Hall, January 31, 2006. Tickets at Ticketmaster.

MASTERS OF SCOTTISH ARTS CONCERT, the world's best bagpipers, drummers, fiddlers and dancers, February 3, 2006, at 7:30 PM, at Benaroya Hall. Tickets at Ticketmaster.

Irish Immigrant Support

The Irish government has awarded grants totaling $915,000 to 13 different Irish Immigrant support groups in the U.S., including $2,000 to the Seattle area Irish Immigrant Support Group. These groups provide free assistance to Irish immigrants in need, whether because of drug or alcohol abuse, spousal abuse, work problems, family issues, visa problems, problems with the INS, police, or whatever. The local Seattle area support group can be contacted at (425) 244-5147,e-mail: SIISG@irishclub.org, or visit: www.irishseattle.com.

U.S. Visas

Registration for the 2007 Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery has started at www.dvlottery.state.gov. Anyone born in Ireland is eligible to apply, and applicants must register online before noon on December 4. There is no fee for applying.

New Pub

Best of luck to Irishmen Mick Purdy and Adrian Kelly who just opened Mick Kelly's Irish Pub at 435 SW 152nd Street, Burien. Located west of Sea-Tac Airport, just SW of the intersection of Highway 518 and Highway 509. They can be contacted at (206) 246-2473 for more information.

Pub Upgrade

Mulleady’s Irish Pub in Magnolia has re-opened at 3055 21st Avenue West, just a half-block up the hill from its original location (off Dravus, west of 15th Avenue NW). Now called Mulleady's Irish Pub & Restaurant, the new Mulleady's boasts a full-service kitchen, two floors, and a new identity, aiming to be one of the premiere Irish pubs and restaurants in Seattle. Dave Mulleady from County Longford and business partner Carl Rogers opened the original Mulleady's in 2001.

Celtic Café

The people at Tacoma’s Mandolin Café are big fans of Celtic music and want to get the word out to other Celtic musicians. Located at 3923 South 12th Street, near Cheney Stadium, they can be contacted at (253) 761-3482 or at: www.themandolincafe.com.

Condolences

- To the Nolan family on the death of Joan Nolan from County Cork, a longtime active member of the Irish Heritage Club who died in October in Seattle. Our deepest sympathy to her husband, Dan, and to the rest of the family.

- To the family of Maura Dominik of Swinford, County Mayo, a close friend and neighbor to many on Seattle's Capitol Hill, who died suddenly on September 16.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha.

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