SEATTLE IRISH NEWS
By JOHN KEANE
 COSTELLOS at Irish Day at the Races at Emerald Downs in Auburn: (L-R) Mary Jo and John Costello, Rose Boyle, Carol and Leo Costello. |
 SEATTLE’S Danny Quinn, left, from Co. Down, one of the founders of the Seattle Gaels; Denver’s Ciaran Dwyer, center, from Co. Kilkenny, one of the founders of the Denver Gaels; and P. J. O’Donnell, right, from Co. Galway, one of the founders of the Vancouver GAA at the Seattle Gaels’ Green Lake Tournament. |
 IHC-GROUP at Irish Day at the Races at Emerald Downs in Auburn: (L-R) Harriet and Jay Rathbun, P.J. O’Donnell, Dorothy Warden, Mary Rose Kerg, Shannon and Mike McQuaid, and Paul McGarry. |
 MICHAEL Collins, the Irish Ambassador to the United States, scheduled to visit Seattle on June 8 and 9. This will be the first official visit of an Irish Ambassador to Washington State since 1987. |
RECENT PASSINGS
• Condolences on the passing of Sister Lorenzo Lyons who died in Limerick. She was the aunt of Seattleites Joey, John and Maria Lyons and of Maeve O’Malley.
• Denis Archer died in Bellevue on April 23, aged 79. He was from the Channel Islands. He is survived by his wife of 55 years Eileen from Co. Mayo, their son Paul and three grandchildren.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha – May their faithful souls rest at the right hand of God
AMBASSADORIAL IRISH EVENTS – When Irish Ambassador Michael Collins visits Seattle on June 8 and 9, on the first official visit of an Irish ambassador to Seattle since 1987, he won’t have time for any sightseeing as his schedule is packed with activities.
The main purpose of his visit is to connect with Seattle’s Irish community, and his first event in Seattle is an Irish seniors’ luncheon where he will visit with about 130 Irish-born and Irish-American seniors.
He will also be hosted at an Irish community reception where several hundred members of the area’s Irish community are expected to pay their respects.
In Tacoma, he will visit St. Ann’s Franciscan Convent to greet 18 elderly Irish-born sisters who have kept the Irish flag flying for decades while they ministered to Catholic communities around the Pacific Northwest.
And he will also launch Irish Network Seattle, a new Seattle-area chapter of Irish Network-USA (www.IrishNetwork-USA.com).
When Irish Taoiseach Brian Cowen was in Washington, DC, in March, he announced the launch of Irish Network USA to enable Irish people to take advantage of the great opportunities to be had from networking with one another.
Irish Network USA tries to connect young Irish professionals within cities and also across the U.S., to help them develop relationships that will foster success in their business, economic and social ventures.
There are already several established Irish networks in cities like San Francisco, New York and Chicago, and Irish Network USA provides a framework to bring them all together.
Irish Network Seattle will be part of that and is dedicated to providing a business, professional and social network that connects Irish-born, Irish Americans and friends of Ireland throughout the Puget Sound Area. For more information, visit www.IrishNetwork-Seattle.com.
STRICTLY BUSINESS – While in Seattle, Ambassador Collins will also be the featured speaker at a Technology Forum being conducted on the Microsoft campus in Redmond.
Organized by Enterprise Ireland, the event features two technology panels with leading Seattle and Irish-based companies discussing next generation wireless networks and cloud computing.
This is part of Ambassador Collins’ ongoing strategy to cultivate the Irish diaspora and connect Ireland with executives from America’s most exciting technology companies.
POLITICAL & PROFESSIONAL – On Wednesday, the Ambassador will be hosted by Washington Governor Christine Gregoire at a breakfast in the governor’s mansion in Olympia.
At the breakfast, the ambassador will be accompanied by his wife Marie, by Consul General Gerry Staunton, by Honorary Consul John Keane, and by State Senator Ed Murray who arranged the breakfast.
At noon on Wednesday, the Ambassador will speak at a private lunch organized by the World Affairs Council in Seattle attended by about 40 community and business leaders.
In the afternoon, he will meet with the newspaper publisher and members of The Seattle Times editorial board, and afterwards will speak to students and faculty at an event at Seattle University.
SEATTLE BLOOMSDAY – Bloomsday, June 16, is celebrated worldwide with readings from James Joyce’s works, especially from Ulysses, Joyce’s most famous novel.
Ulysses is set on June 16, 1904 and follows the wanderings of Leopold Bloom, a Jewish everyman, as he wanders the streets of Dublin.
On Bloomsday in Seattle, June 16, 7-9:15 PM at the Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Avenue N, Seattle, the Wild Geese Players of Seattle (www.wildgeeseseattle.org) present a staged reading of Part II of Chapter 15, "Circe," adapted from the 1922 edition of James Joyce's Ulysses.
The reading is intended for an adult audience as the chapter covers Stephen Dedalus and his friend Lynch, Joyce’s alter ego, entering Nighttown, Dublin's red-light district. The Wild Geese Players have been staging readings of Irish literature in Seattle since 1998.
BUTTE PASSING – Many in Seattle are mourning the passing of one of Butte’s most respected Irishmen, Father Sarsfield O Sullivan, who died on May 1. The son of parents from Cork, Sarsfield was a storyteller, Gaelic scholar, historian and a gentleman.
As a child, his family hosted Countess Markievicz, Padraig Pearse’s mother, Tom Clark’s widow, Terence McSweeney’s widow, Hannah Skeehy Skeffington, and many other historic Irish figures.
Irish President Mary McAleese visited him in his home in 2006 during her historic visit to Butte when his illness prevented him from attending any public events. His most recent appearance was in the documentary film, Butte, America, that was shown on PBS last October.
AUGUST PICNIC – Seattle's Irish community picnic is Noon-6 PM, August 1, at Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah (exit # 15 off I-90). Games and fun for the entire family, and all are welcome at no charge. For details, email: Picnic@irishclub.org or call (425) 745-1263.
IRISH AQUASOX NIGHT – Irish Night at the Everett Aquasox is August 6, 7:05 PM, preceded by a Seattle Gaels hurling exhibition game and featuring a special appearance by 1989 World Series MVP Dave Stewart. Call (425) 258-3673 for information.
IRISH MARINERS NIGHT – Half-way to St. Patrick's Day, Irish Night at the Seattle Mariners is September 17, 7:10 PM, vs. the Texas Rangers.
Enjoy Irish music, Irish stepdancers, bagpipers, a FREE Seattle Mariners Irish Heritage Night cap and reduced price tickets ($40 tickets for $28, $20 tickets for $14) if you purchase online at mariner.com/Irish or call Yoko McCann at (206) 346-4505.
SEATTLE GAELS – Vancouver (BC) took away the major hurling and ladies football trophies at the Green Lake games in Seattle on June 5. The games, hosted by the Seattle Gaels, featured a wonderful sunny day with about a dozen games on two fields. Hurling, Camogie, and Gaelic Football games were played by teams from five different states, including Seattle, Corvallis (Orgeon), Denver (Colorado), San Diego (California), Vancouver (Washington), and Vancouver (BC), all making for some great hurling and great football. For photos and details on all the games, visit www.SeattleGaels.com.
MISCELLANEOUS
– Gaelic football and hurling games from Ireland will be telecast live at Fadó Irish Pub, First and Columbia, downtown Seattle. Visit the Fadó for weekly updates on teams, telecast times, annual or individual game fees, etc, or call (206) 264-2700.
– An Irish Language Immersion Week in Butte, Mt., offers credit and non-credit courses, July 17-24. E-mail: traolach.oriordain@mso.umt.edu.
- For the latest information on all the Irish/Celtic music and dance events in the Seattle area, visit: www.hoilands.com.
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