Honourary Consul of Ireland for Alberta, Doodie Cahill Handles Immigration Issues
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
Doodie Cahill is the Honourary Consul of Ireland for Alberta and the only female Honourary Consul of Ireland in Canada.
I met with Doodie on my recent visit to Edmonton and she spoke to me about her responsibilities as Honorary Consul. She said, "My biggest job is giving out passport application forms as they are ever changing. The other thing is issuing emergency travel documents, particularly for people who have lost their passport."
Doodie said, “anyone whose grandparents were born in Ireland is entitled to an Irish passport, and there are quite a number of them. I get calls from anywhere in Alberta and Saskatchewan.”
Officially, Doodie’s working hours are nine to five but she said, “not everyone can call during those hours. If I’m at home I’ll always answer the calls, as you never know what the problem might be...so it is important to be available. I am kept quite busy with phone calls. There is really very little office work apart from sending out forms and ensuring people have the right information.”
Speaking about compensation for the position of Honourary Consul of Ireland, Doodie said, “we do not receive any payment.” She laughed and said, “we’re cheap labour, but it’s nice to have a representative here in Alberta. There are about 35 other consuls in Alberta and we meet once a month to get to know each other and there is great fellowship between us.”
Speaking about her involvement with the Edmonton Irish community and events she attends in her capacity as Honourary Consul of Ireland, Doodie said, “I can’t always go to the events at the Irish club but if there is something they would like me to attend, then I’m only too happy and willing to do so.
“For instance, I have been invited to open the Feis next week. I usually go out to schools around St. Patrick’s Day and often make my own brown bread and stew for the children in order to give them a little bit of Irish heritage.”
Doodie Cahill is also the Vice-Chairman of the Ireland Fund of Canada and a board director. She said, “the Ireland Fund was started by Hilary Weston of Toronto in 1970. She and her husband started the fund to help Ireland economically, along with peace and culture.”
Doodie said, “We mainly focus on the peace aspect and there’s still a lot of work to be done there. There are several programs which we support here in Canada such as the upcoming Feis. Also because we get such good support from the Irish community, we give back some of what they have given us. We usually give the funds to an established group for the simple reason that they are going to be there and they have proven themselves.
“The Ireland Fund hosts an annual ball to raise funds and this year it will be held on March 19 at the Crown Plaza, Chateau Lacombe in Edmonton. We also have a silent auction and a live auction and last year we raised $40,000. This year we have a flight to Ireland to auction, so that should make quite a bit of money.”
Doodie Cahill and her husband Gabriel, a doctor, are from Galway. They met at the Regional Hospital in Galway where Doodie was a nurse and Gabriel a doctor. They emigrated to Edmonton in 1970, raised four children and have eight grandchildren. Gabriel still practices medicine in general practice.
Anyone in Alberta wishing to obtain Irish passports, immigration or Irish citizenship information, call Doodie Cahill, the Honourary Consul of Ireland for Alberta, at (780) 458-0810, fax (780) 458-6483, or e-mail: gtcahill@shaw.ca.
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