SEATTLE IRISH NEWS APRIL 2008
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OWEN BARRINGTON from Tacoma who is the new Senior Men's World Irish Dance Champion, the title he won in Belfast at the World Irish Dance Championships on March 30. |
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IRISH MUSICIAN and singer Seán Tyrrell will perform in Seattle on April 26. The Cry of the Dreamer tells through music and song the story of Nineteenth Century Irish patriot and poet, John Boyle O'Reilly. |
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SEATTLE GAELS Hurlers Euvin Kim, James Walsh, Justin Meaney, Brian Delahunty relax after the Seattle Gaels Field Day on March 30. |
By JOHN KEANE
2008 IRISH WEEK - We had what can only be described as a fantastic St. Patrick's Day celebration in Seattle this year! Starting with the first Irish Week event, we had a record 73 entries in the Irish Soda Bread Contest.
Then almost $35,000 was raised from a sell-out crowd at McRory's for the Matt Talbot Fundraising Dinner for the downtown Seattle homeless program.
The Irish Week Proclamation Luncheon was also a sell-out and that evening a large crowd attended the Green Stripe Laying, including a contingent from the Seattle Seafair Pirates.
At the Mass for Peace, there was a large crowd at Plymouth Church.
At the St. Patrick's Day parade, about 2,500 participants marched, the largest number that has ever marched, and another estimated 6,000 to 7,000 people watched from the sidewalks.
That evening, there was a big crowd and great fun at the Friends of St. Patrick Dinner and the following morning, over 15,500 runners competed in the Dash, the largest ever.
At the Irish Festival at the Seattle Center, there was a packed Seattle Center House on the Saturday and Sunday and even a good crowd on the Monday.
Irish government Minister John McGuinness TD expressed surprise at the size of the crowd at Seattle's St. Patrick's Day parade, saying that it'd be difficult to get that kind of crowd to attend a parade in Ireland!
Along with the Minister, Ambassador John Bruton, Galway Mayor Tom Costello, Galway City Manager Joe McGrath, Irish Vice-Consul Úna Fannon, and all the Irish visitors declared themselves surprised and delighted with what they saw and experienced in Seattle.
Míle Buíochas, a thousand thanks to all the participants and especially to all the volunteers! To view literally hundreds of photos from the different events, visit www.irishclub.org.
WORLD CHAMPION - Congratulations to Owen Barrington from Tacoma who is the new Senior Men's World Irish Dance Champion, the first such champion from the Seattle area.
More than 4,000 dancers from all over the world competed last weekend in Belfast at the World Irish Dance Championships and to win the title, Barrington had to defeat Champions from Ireland, England, Scotland, Australia, Austria, Hungary, Holland, Canada and the USA.
This was his fifth time qualifying for the All-World competition and last year in Glasgow, he took second place.
Born in Anchorage, he joined the cast of Riverdance after graduating from high school in 2004, but left the show in 2006 to take one more shot at winning the world title.
He also had moved to Tacoma in 2004 to study business at a community college and started dancing with the Comerford School of Irish Dance.
Other dancers from the Seattle area who qualified for the All-Worlds include Connor Nagan of the Comerford school who placed eighth in the Men's Championship, Julia Gats and Camille Gix of the Tara Academy, and Greta, Solana and Willow Gothard, and Luc Benoit of Comerford.
To qualify for the World Championships, dancers must have placed at the top of their respective age groups at the Western U.S. Championships, or Oireachtas, last November. They all are champions, and they represented Seattle and the Pacific Northwest very well in Belfast.
SEATTLE FEIS - The Pacific Northwest Irish Dance Championships Feis will be held May 17-18, at the Sea-Tac Airport Hilton, 17620 International Boulevard, across from Sea-Tac Airport.
Close to 600 dancers from Western Canada and the Western U.S. are expected to attend. The Feis is hosted by the Comerford School of Irish Dance and Celtic Arts Northwest and the public is invited to attend at no charge.
For more information, visit www.tonycomerford.com, email celticartsnw@hotmail.com, or call (206) 935-3225.
IRISH-BORN SENIORS - Irish-born seniors and their spouses have been invited by the Irish Immigrant Support Group to a lunch in Kirkland on April 12.
It is viewed as an opportunity for older Irish to connect with others who also grew up in Ireland, but especially for those who, because of the passing of family members, coupled with time, distance, cost and age, may have diminished contact with Ireland.
When the idea was first proposed, the organizers thought they might find 80-90 Irish-born seniors in the Seattle area, and have been amazed that so far, over 200 Irish-born people over 60 have been identified. For more information, call (425) 244-5147 or e-mail siisg@irishclub.org.
CRY OF THE DREAMER - This April 26 concert tells through music and song the amazing story of Irish hero John Boyle O'Reilly (1844-1890), JFK's favorite poet.
Irish musician Seán Tyrrell (www.seantyrrell.com) effortlessly traces O'Reilly's journey from early childhood in Co. Meath, the backdrop of the Famine, revolution, Fenianism, penal servitude for life in Australia, his escape to the U.S., to his speech to thousands in Seattle in 1889.
Songs drawn from a wide variety of sources allow Tyrrell to connect the history of the Nineteenth Century and modern times in a seamless way. The story is cleverly tied together with jigs, reels, a march, and a few slow airs.
Using an array of instruments, Tyrrell weaves effortlessly between narrative, instrumental and song. Tickets for the show at UW's Kane Hall on April 26 are $20. For more information, call (206) 621-777, e-mail tickets@irishclub.org, or purchase ONLINE at www.irishclub.org.
SEATTLE GAELS - The Seattle Gaels held their annual Open Field Day on March 30, and a lot of new and old faces came out to play a game of Gaelic football and hurling in what was one of the biggest attended Open Field Days in the past couple years.
The post event party was held at the Ould Triangle in Greenwood and was heavily attended as well. This event always marks the beginning of the GAA season in Seattle and the 2008 season looks to be off to a great start.
The Hurling team has already started practicing and the men's and women's Gaelic football teams will be starting in late April. The Hurling team city league will start in early May.
The Gaels have already scheduled a day of Gaelic football and hurling with the Vancouver Harps for May 31 in Burlington. Also note, the eighth annual Seattle Gaels golf tournament will be held on June 8.
For information on how you can sponsor or sign up, or for more information on hurling or Gaelic football, e-mail golf@seattlegaels.com, visit www.SeattleGaels.com or call (206) 940-1113.
MONTHLY FEICEÁIL - The April 15 Feiceáil socializing event is at 8 PM at the Kabul Restaurant, 2301 N. 45th Street, Seattle (www.kabulrestaurant.com) while the May 15 Feiceáil is helping out from 8:30 AM to 4 PM at the Redmond Habitat for Humanity, www.habitatekc.org. For more information, call Melissa at (206) 229-8512 or e-mail: MelissaE@irishclub.org.
LÁ GAEILGE - An Irish Language Day for beginners all the way to fluent enthusiasts will be held May 31, the Saturday following Memorial Day, from 9 AM to 5 PM at Marylhurst University, 10 minutes south of Portland (www.marylhurst.edu).
Bring your dance shoes and musical instruments for a seisiún at the end. For information, e-mail: AnRoibeard@Comcast.net.
IRISH NIGHT - Enjoy Irish Heritage Night at the Seattle Mariners on August 21. Purchase $20 tickets for $11 or $40 tickets for $25 for the evening game vs. the Oakland A's. Also receive a FREE Irish Heritage Night Mariners t-shirt and enjoy Irish dancers and bagpipers. But you must purchase your tickets at www.Mariners.com/Irish.
In addition, one 2008 Irish Heritage Club member will be drawn at random to help throw out the first pitch! E-mail membership@irishclub.org.
BLOOMSDAY READERS - The Wild Geese Players are looking for readers/actors for their annual staged reading of James Joyce's masterpiece of Irish literature, Ulysses. Rehearsals have already started for the Bloomsday performances on June 16. E-mail: wjoseph@cmc.net or billkuhn2@gmail.com if you're interested.
MISCELLANEOUS IRISH/CELTIC EVENTS:
AS GAEILGE, Seattle's Irish language conversational group, meets every second Tuesday! E-mail: WendyZ@irishclub.org.
IRISH DAY at the Races at Emerald Downs is June 22.
IRISH COMMUNITY PICNIC date has been changed to July 20, at St. Edward State Park in Kenmore.
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