by Deirdre Woodbyrne | Apr 23, 2014 | Blog
By Sean Moynihan, President of Irish Network Boston on a recent visit by Belfast Mayor Mairtin O’Muilleoir.
If the level of energy of Belfast’s Lord Mayor is any indication, the north of Ireland is on the right track and doing extremely well. Not that it surprises anyone who has taken notice. Hosting companies like AllState, Liberty Mutual, CVS, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, NY Stock Exchange, Intel, Concentrix, and Citi; Belfast and the North are hosts to major blue chip American companies. Let’s not forget an incredibly successful City of Culture 2013 and 2013 All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann for Derry – a city that has consequently been at the forefront of world wide press for all the right reasons.
Some other interesting facts about the northern part of the country:
• One of youngest cities in Europe, almost 1 in 5 under 15;
• Biggest film production in Europe last year with $700m in Belfast, Game of Thrones;
• Biggest investment at university level in Europe – currently University of Ulster at $400m to create new campus in inner city;
• Biggest stadium development in Europe taking place in Belfast now with new Gaelic $120m stadium, soccer $45m, and Rugby $30m.
Lord Mayor Máirtín Ó Muilleoir is no stranger to the city of Boston. I have known and worked with him since 2007 when the Irish Echo first launched the Golden Bridges Awards Ceremony, which has become an annual event honoring the likes of Senate President Therese Murray, Lt Governor Tim Murray, Sister Lena Deevy and many others.
This visit, however, was of particular significance as he and our new Mayor Marty Walsh, who in just 3 months is making major positive changes for Boston, agreed in principle to a sister city arrangement that will most certainly prove mutually beneficial. Improv Asylum, a TMG client, which has grown in both Boston – Laugh Boston was launched under a year ago – and Ireland – IA Innovations was launched in Dublin; has begun initial conversations with Ó Muilleoir and others for a possible expansion in Belfast.
Boston has been just one of his many stops throughout the States and the world over for Ó Muilleoir over the past 10 months as he flies the flag for Belfast and the North. We had the pleasure of catching up at a breakfast sponsored by Invest Northern Ireland, under the successful leadership of all stars Gary Hanley and John Logan.
I will see the Lord Mayor this Summer in Belfast and then again in October for the annual Northwest of Ireland Conference and Golden Bridges award ceremonies. Something tells me there will be more positive news coming our way from across the Atlantic.
by Deirdre Woodbyrne | Apr 6, 2014 | Blog
By: Steve Lenox, Co-President
In cities across America Irish Network USA and its chapters are connecting Irish, Irish Americans and ‘friends’ of Ireland. These connections happen in a variety of forums- film screenings, networking happy hours, fundraising galas, etc. The common thread through all of these though is our commitment to making sure our members are meeting face to face.
Emails, tweets and the occasional phone call are all modern conveniences that keep us connected when the miles separate us, and we of course take advantage of our robust social media and web presence, but it is clear that there is no substitute for making direct connections.
Our friend Pat Carroll, a Digital Marketer in Limerick, Ireland, and a driving force behind the continued success of IIBN in New York City, Dublin and London, captured perfectly the importance of and strategies to connect both offline and online.
We are proud to share his 10 Habits for Highly Effective Networking.
We know you’ll like what you read! Find out more by following him on LinkedIn and on Twitter at @PatCarrollTouch.
by Deirdre Woodbyrne | Mar 27, 2014 | Blog
Irish Network USA Encourages Members to ‘Engage’ with Irish Government
By: Steve Lenox, Co-President
At the core of Irish Network USA’s mission are efforts to connect Irish and Irish American communities across the United States with each other- and also back home to Ireland. These efforts come in many forms: business networking, celebration of Irish arts and culture, supporting efforts to populate local pitches with top class Hurling and Gaelic Football players.
We take special pride in our ability to bring the entire community together in recognition of our common bonds to Ireland. At any of our chapter’s events, now spread out to 16 cities in every corner of America, you are as likely to find yourself shoulder to shoulder with a firefighter as you are a Fortune 500 business executive. It is as common to be sought after for advice from a newly arrived immigrant seeking to set a new course in life as it is to get advice from a ‘veteran’ who set roots in the US decades ago and started their own chapter in the great story of the Irish Disapora.
In just the past 18 months alone we have been proud to support efforts by the Irish Government to further strengthen the ties that bind two great nations together. Whether it was helping to roll out efforts to bring the Diaspora home for the Gathering, or encouraging our members to fully exercise their ability to be a “Connector” and attract even more great companies to Ireland’s shores, we have shown that there is a spot for every person of Irish descent to play a role in the resurgence of an island we all refer to as “home”.
The Irish Government and its representatives in the United States have been with Irish Network USA every step of the way throughout our growth. Opening the doors of the Embassy and Consulates, attending our events, and allowing for our members to communicate in a meaningful way with visiting dignitaries are but a few examples of the tremendous support we have received. They have also struck a critical balance recognizing that our road to success and growth is one for us to plow, always leaving it to us to set the agenda and goals for the future. We have been proud to engage with Government and know that these bonds will only grow stronger.
We welcome the recent invitation by Tanaiste and Minster for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore for Irish abroad to participate in a comprehensive review of Ireland’s Diaspora policy. We know that the views within the ranks of Irish Network USA in this regard are as diverse as our membership itself, and that’s why we encourage all of our members to take this opportunity to be heard.
Submissions are due by April 23, 2014 for more information, check out this website.
https://www.dfa.ie/our-role-policies/the-irish-abroad/diaspora-policy-review/
by Deirdre Woodbyrne | Mar 26, 2014 | All Chapters, Event Information, In The News, Networking, New Orleans, News
http://www.irishnetworkneworleans.org/Default.aspx?pageId=1065837&eventId=856866&EventViewMode=EventDetails
New Orleans has been selected by the Irish Government to host the 2014 International Irish Famine Commemoration (IFC) which will honor New Orleans’ Irish and celebrate the triumph of Famine survivors in the face of tremendous adversity with several activities scheduled November 6th through November 9th. Previously selected cities include New York, Sydney, Liverpool and Toronto.
Activities during the four day event will have a distinctly New Orleans flavor as the city’s Irish and Irish American community rally for this historic remembrance. The IN-NOLA Black-Tie Gala is one of the weekend’s highlights.
Illustrating the importance of the Gala, many Irish dignitaries are expected to attend including Culture Minister Jimmy Deenihan, the Irish Ambassador to the United States, H.E. Anne Anderson, and, it is hoped, the Irish President, Michael D. Higgins.
For this special occasion IN-NOLA has secured the great (and aptly named) Celtic rock band, Black 47. Led by Irish author, and playwright, Larry Kirwan, Black 47 play a uniquely Irish form of rock ‘n’ roll that touches on many social and political issues, and yet is never less than entertaining and riveting
Tara O’Grady and her Black Velvet Band will also provide musical entertainment. Tara O’Grady is the full package, combining celtic, folk, blues, and especially jazz in her unique style. Of course, as always, the IN-NOLA gala will feature traditional Irish music and dance presented by local groups.
Currently registration for the Gala is open for IN-NOLA members and members from our sister IN-USA chapters at a discounted price until May 1st. After May 1st, Gala ticket prices will increase by $50 per ticket. These tickets will be available to both the general public and to IN-NOLA members.
The code is: IFCGALA
For more information on the event and to purchase tickets, please go to;
http://www.irishnetworkneworleans.org/Default.aspxpageId=1065837&eventId=856866&EventViewMode=EventDetails
by Deirdre Woodbyrne | Mar 22, 2014 | Event Information, In The News, News, Seattle
03/20/2014
Submitted by Taryn Kama
Tacoma’s Museum of Glass will host a Céili Mór (a large Irish Dance Party) in its grand hall to celebrate Irish culture and also its on-going exhibition of contemporary Irish glass on Sat. March 22 from 7 to 10 p.m.
The event will include traditional Irish music with performers: Liam Ó Maonlaí of Hothouse Flowers fame, and the Carrigaline Celtic Band. Full details can be found at here.
Céili dancing is a popular form of Irish folk dancing and this is a family event where children and adults learn and practice dancing to live music. Everyone will have an opportunity to get on the floor and dance without any pressure. A full bar and food service will be available. The event is open to all ages.
The Céili Mór event is part of the Irish Heritage Club of Seattle’s full slate of Irish Week festivities. However, the Irish glass exhibit, called “CAUTION! Fragile. Irish Glass: Tradition in Transition,” is in Tacoma until September 2014.
Club member and glass artist Paula Stokes was involved in this exhibition. She said it is significant because it is the first museum exhibition of contemporary Irish glass in the America.
“It marries the tradition of the past with the contemporary. It celebrates the essence of Ireland in a proud, poetic and authentic way,” Stokes said.
Irish glass artist Róisín de Buitléar helped develop the exhibition, which takes a deep look at the Irish glass industry and the impact of recent factory closures on artists, tradition and personal identity.
The collaboration with three of the best masters: Fred Curtis, Eamonn Hartley and Greg Sullivan, has resulted in an exhibition of work celebrating their skills in glass cutting and engraving. Many of the pieces in the exhibition were made at Museum of Glass and shipped to Ireland to be cut and engraved.
For centuries, the Irish have been regarded as supreme artists in crystal glass, particularly in the techniques of cutting and engraving. Apprentices, under the guidance of Master Craftsmen, began working as teenagers to learn the intricacies of the art of working with crystal and these skills have been handed down over generations.
Now, however, crystal glass manufacturing in Ireland is hanging by a thread. The famous Waterford factory, which served for decades as a symbol of Irish artistic heritage, closed in 2009 and other famous glass factories in Cavan, Galway, and Tyrone have closed, selling off equipment and putting hundreds of glassmakers out of work. Once known worldwide as the best and finest, Irish crystal glass manufacturing has faced impossible challenges partly due to economic shifts, which were beyond the control of the thousands of families intertwined in the decline of the industry.
Stokes studied in Ireland with Róisín. “Róisín was my first glassmaking teacher in Ireland. I studied art at the National College of Art in Dublin. Since I moved to Seattle in 1993 to pursue my career, we have worked together on many projects over the years to create a dialog and relationship between the glass scene in Ireland and in the Pacific Northwest.”
“Róisín’s plan to work collaboratively with Master Cutters with sensitivity, and vision resonated profoundly with me,” Stokes said.
Stokes helped her in the hotshop and, on occasion, she schlepped glass back to Ireland in her suitcase. Stokes then got together with some amazing Irish women in Seattle to help fundraise for the exhibition.
Stokes said people should see the exhibit because: “It is simply wonderful on so many levels. It celebrates contemporary Irish culture through music, art, history and storytelling. The work is poetic and resonates with authenticity and is uniquely Irish.”
A full listing of Irish Week events can be found at http://irishweek.com.
