A Fond Farewell to Ambassador Declan Kelly
 FAREWELL RECEPTION for Declan Kelly the Irish ambassador to Canada: (L-R) [Front Row] Anne Kelly, Teresa McDonnell, Tony McCamley (president of the Irish Heritage Society), Adrienne Sutherland (secretary of the Irish Heritage Society) and Irish Ambassador Declan Kelly. [Back Row] George McDonnell (vice-president of the Irish Heritage Society) and Gwen McCamley (treasurer of the Irish Heritage Society).
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 TONY HAYES, Ken Keenan and Paul Gleeson of the Vancouver Irish Business Group (VIBE) at the farewell reception for Ambassador Declan Kelly at Malone’s.
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 BRENDAN FLYNN, chairman of the Irish Monument Committee and Vancouver councillor Suzanne Anton at the Irish ambassador’s farewell reception.
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 PAUL JACOBS owner of Malone’s with his wife Lynne and Aisling Delahunt of VIBE.
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 SEAN O’HARA and Elegwen Ó Maoileóin of The Craic who entertained at the reception. The band is thrilled they have been recruited to work on the film Red Riding Hood by Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke.
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 VISITING from Cork, Ireland were Finbar and Veronica Deane with their son Ronan Deane, chairman of the Western Canada Division of the GAA.
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VANCOUVER – Irish Ambassador Declan Kelly and his lovely wife Anne paid a brief farewell visit to Vancouver on June 25. Ambassador Kelly’s posting to Canada is coming to an end and he will be taking up his new posting in Malaysia at the end of this summer.
Malone’s Bar on Pender Street was the gathering spot for the many friends and the various Irish organizations who dropped by for a fond farewell and to offer best wishes to the Kellys on their new posting.
As far as visiting dignitaries go, we often hear the refrain that the west is the forgotten part of Canada, however Ambassador Kelly could never be accused of neglecting the western provinces. As with any Irish ambassador to Canada, his responsibilities cover a vast territory from sea to sea.
On many occasions Ambassador Kelly has taken the time to visit western Canada with the express purpose of meeting the communities and learning how the various Irish groups and organizations function within each province. Each one of these visits have been joyous occasions, giving everyone a great sense of Irish pride.
We will also miss Karl Gardiner, the first secretary at the Embassy of Ireland in Ottawa, who will be returning to Dublin this summer. Karl was always so approachable and genuinely interested and helpful to our needs.
Declan Kelly was the Irish ambassador that we could all put a face to and he made the embassy in Ottawa seem a lot closer to the west. We offer bon voyage and very best wishes to Ambassador Kelly on his new posting.
In September we look forward to welcoming Ray Bassett as the incoming Irish ambassador to Canada. Hillary Reilly will be the new first secretary at the Embassy of Ireland.
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