Doodie Cahill: Alberta's Honourary Consul of Ireland
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DOODIE CAHILL (RIGHT), the Honourary Consul of Ireland for Alberta, with Margo Devaney, the general manager of the Sherlock Holmes Pub in the West Edmonton Mall. |
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
EDMONTON - On a recent visit to Edmonton, I met with Doodie Cahill who is the Honourary Consul of Ireland for Alberta. She drove in to Edmonton from her home in St. Albert to meet with me for lunch at the Sherlock Holmes Pub in West Edmonton Mall.
Doodie is an exhuberant and outgoing woman, originally from Galway, who has lived in Canada for the past 38 years. She thoroughly enjoys her position as Honourary Consul of Ireland for Alberta and is very much in demand at Irish and Scottish functions throughout the Edmonton area.
Elaborating on her duties as Honourary Consul, Cahill said, "well, it is mainly to help Irish citizens in Alberta who need an Irish passport, providing them with the necessary forms to be filled out and sent to Ottawa.
"If someone is here and loses their passport, then I can give them an emergency travel document. Also, if an Irish visitor to Alberta needs help such as locating a doctor or if their family in Ireland is trying to contact them, then I can be the contact person to help them connect.
"Generally I get three or four calls a day for people wanting to renew their passport. But by far, the biggest number of calls that I receive in Alberta are from children whose parents or grandparents were born in Ireland, and wanting to know if they are entitled to an Irish passport.
"The answer is yes. If your parents or grandparents were born in Ireland and you are living in Alberta, you are entitled to an Irish passport. All you have to do is give me a call and I will send out the documents to complete."
Doodie Cahill is working with Colm O'Carroll, the Chairman for the Ireland Canada Chamber of Commerce in Edmonton to help get the chamber up and running. One of their first functions will be their first annual St. Patrick's Day Ball on March 15.
The Ireland Canada Chamber of Commerce can help companies in Canada who are interested in expanding or setting up business in Ireland. The chamber can also advise these companies what tax concessions they would receive by locating to Ireland.
Speaking about the many functions that she is invited to attend, Cahill said, "I try to attend as many of the functions that I am invited to....as is humanly possible. March will be a very busy month with the Ireland Canada Chamber of Commerce Ball, along with the many other functions, and of course, I will be at the Edmonton Irish clubhouse for St. Patrick's Day celebrations."
To contact Doodie Cahill, the Honourary Consul of Ireland for Alberta, call (780) 458-0810, fax (780) 458-6483, or e-mail: gtcahill@shaw.ca.
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