Deirdre Halferty: President
of Calgary’s Irish Cultural Society
 DEIRDRE Halferty is from Maghera, County Derry.
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By CATHOLINE BUTLER
Deirdre Halferty from Maghera, County Derry, is the president of the Irish Cultural Society of Calgary (ICSC). She is currently serving her second term as president.
I met up with her on my recent trip to Calgary and she spoke about her position saying, “I took on this second term, because I really believe in the organization and wanted to help promote the culture.
“I had an inkling that I may be nominated again as president, so I worked very hard at getting some new blood and younger members on the board such as Orla McKiernan, who has ties with the Calgary Chieftains GAA Club.”
Similar to many of the Irish clubs across Canada, there is a wide gulf between the Irish who emigrated in the Fifties and Sixties and a new generation of young immigrants now arriving.
One of the reasons is that the economy in Ireland was booming with the Celtic Tiger for many years and the young Irish weren’t emigrating, in fact many returned home. But, the worldwide recession has hit Ireland particularly hard and as a result many are now turning to Canada for employment.
Deirdre said, “Yes, we do have a lot of new Irish emigrants that have just recently arrived in Calgary. Many seem to be interested in Gaelic sports and are joining the Calgary Chieftains Gaelic Football Club and that’s fine because the Chieftains are members of the Irish Cultural Society.
“Our society is still primarily an older population and so, we still have to promote the concerts and all the other events such as card games and book readings. But, the Calgary Chieftains, run trivia nights and tournament events and that attracts the younger generation.”
Deirdre arrived in Calgary in 1987 and immediately joined the Irish Cultural Society. She recalls, “At that time there wasn’t a clubhouse so we held our meetings and events in various locations. In 1990, we got the Irish Cultural Centre in the Bowness area of Calgary.
“I did a lot of theatre myself and actually founded Aisling Productions and started the North American Acting Irish Theatre Group. Mike Tuohy, the past president was one of my actors, as was Eamon McMahon and Chris Kane who stage managed one of our first productions.”
On June 27, the outgoing Irish Ambassador Declan Kelly, will be at the ICSC for a farewell gathering before leaving for his new posting in Cyprus.
In July, the society will host their annual golf tournament and Stampede Breakfast at the club during Stampede week.
In August, they welcome Four Men and A Dog for a concert at the club. “They are playing at the Edmonton Folk Festival, so that has tied in very well for us,” said Deirdre.
The Calgary Irish Centre is located in the Bowness area at 6452 - 35th Avenue, NW, Calgary, Alberta.
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[Watch the July/August issue of The Celtic Connection for an interview with Orla McKiernan, the new membership and communications director for the Irish Cultural Society Calgary.]
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