Irish Seattle News
Dé hAoine, 15 Aibreán     2016    Friday, April 15
Seattle's 1916 Centenary Program, April 23-24

The 1916 Easter Rising started in Dublin on April 24, 1916 (Easter Monday), with the reading of the Proclamation. The printed Proclamation copies were signed by (L-R) P. H. Pearse, James Connolly, Thomas J. Clarke, Thomas MacDonagh, Seán Mac Diarmada, Joseph Plunkett and Éamonn Ceannt.
In This Issue
RECENT PASSINGS
John McAlerney, 82, a son of 1916 Rising combatant Lily Kempson McAlerney, died in Shoreline on April 4 

Leo Costello, 83, a former Honorary Grand Marshal of Seattle's St. Patrick's Day Parade, died in Kirkland on March 31 

Margaret "Phyllis" Omdal, 85, a native of Co. Cork, died in Burlington on March 25

Jim McClaskey, 75, whose wife was from Dublin, died in Vancouver, WA, on February 20 

Muriel Mahaffey, 82, a native of Ireland, died in Bothell on January 29

William "Coach" Wright, 76, a native of Co. Armagh, died in Spokane on January 23

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha dílse

May their faithful souls rest at God's right hand

AMAZON SHOPPING?

The offerings and the prices are exactly the same, but if you shop at
AmazonSmile rather than at Amazon.com, then 0.5% of the purchase price is donated to the Irish Heritage Club. Bookmark this link for AmazonSmile:
and support the IHC every time you shop at Amazon.

PASSPORT PHOTOS

If you need a Passport Photo taken to the Irish / European image size and poses, Irish photographer Rozarii Lynch can help. Her next passport photo session is Saturday May 14 (last one until November) at Studio 404, Bemis Building, 55 S Atlantic Street Seattle. Email Rozarii or call 206-979-0817 for an appointment.

Irish Heritage Club Affiliated Programs
Seattle Area Irish Resources
Irish Harp
Consulate General of Ireland,
San Francisco
Seattle Consulate Logo
Honorary Consul of Ireland,  Seattle
Handling questions regarding Irish  passports or Irish citizenship
Fr. John Madigan
Seattle's Irish Community Chaplain
serving emigrants of all faiths and none
2010 Festival
Irish Dancing Schools
Fiddle
Irish Musicians, Classes & Sessions
Irish Language
Irish Language Classes
Claddagh Ring
Irish Imports
Guinness Pint
Irish Pubs & Restaurants
Shamrock
Other Irish Links
Irish Passport
Are you eligible to apply for Irish Citizenship?
Green Card
If you're an Irish citizen with a US Green Card, why wait to apply for dual US-Irish citizenship?
Ireland Study
Would you like to study  in Ireland?
Students or recent graduates may qualify to work in Ireland for up to 12 months
Images of Ireland
Living & Working in Ireland / Moving to Ireland
Connect Ireland
Through your connections, help create jobs in Ireland and receive a reward from the Irish Government
Irish Seattle Book Cover
Irish Seattle
A pictorial history of the Irish in Seattle from 1851 to the 1990s
The Celtic Connection
The Celtic Connection Newspaper
The voice of Celts around the Pacific Northwest. Pick up a free copy each month at your local Seattle-area Irish Pub or Restaurant, or read the latest issue online for free!
Litriocht.com
Irish Books written in the Irish Language
LocalBooks.ie
Books in English about small localities in Ireland
10 Titanic Things to Do in Belfast
10 Titanic Things to Do in Belfast

The staff of the Polish Embassy in Dublin learnt an Irish song!
The staff of the Polish Embassy in Dublin sing a song in Irish to celebrate the 1916 Centenary!

The experiences that await the visitor to Sligo
The experiences that await the visitor to Co. Sligo
WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS
Admission is free to all of the events of the 1916 Centenary Program being held on Saturday and Sunday, April 23-24, at Antioch University, 2326 6th Ave (at Battery), in Seattle's Belltown area. The program starts at noon both days and includes lectures, a film documentary, a panel discussion, a poetry reading, Irish music, art exhibits, and other exhibits that highlight the road to Irish self-determination. There's a community reception at 5 pm on Saturday evening followed by a Keynote Speech at 6 pm by Kevin Byrne, the Vice Consul of Ireland for the Western US. Reservations are required for the Reception and Keynote Speech on Saturday evening as space is limited. For reservations and the full schedule, visit 1916 Program .
 
1916 DOCUMENTARY - Admission is free on Saturday at 3:30 pm & Sunday at 1:00 pm to see the University of Notre Dame documentary film,
1916 The Irish Rebellion (1916.nd.edu), being screened  at Antioch University,  2326 6th Ave (at Battery),  in Seattle's Belltown area. The film is a newly released documentary telling the dramatic story of the events that took place in Dublin during Easter Week 1916, when a small group of Irish rebels took on the might of the British Empire. Narrated by Irish actor Liam Neeson and lasting 85 minutes, the documentary features a combination of rarely seen archival footage, new segments filmed on location worldwide, and interviews with leading international experts. The film also tells the untold story of the central role Irish Americans played in the lead-up to the rebellion. To reserve your seat for a film screening, visit  1916 Program .
 
TRI-CITIES & SPOKANE - The Notre Dame documentary film, 1916 The Irish Rebellion, will also be screened in the Tri-Cities and in Spokane. The Tri-Cities screening will be on Monday, May 2, at 7:30 pm in the Planetarium at Columbia Basin College, 2600 N 20th Ave, Pasco. Admission is free and the public is invited to attend. For more information, email 
Tri-Cities@irishclub.org . Arrangements are also being made for a screening to be held in Spokane at a later date.  To be notified of the date in Spokane, email  Spokane@irishclub.org .
OTHER SEATTLE AREA IRISH EVENTS

APRIL 17 - MOUNT VERNON SESSIONS - The Littlefield Celtic Center, 1124 Cleveland Ave., Mount Vernon, has started new monthly Traditional Irish Music sessions on the third Sunday of each month at 2 pm. These sessions focus specifically on the music from the Irish Tradition and the initial session this coming Sunday, April 17, at 2 pm, will include Irish musicians from sessions throughout the area.
McCarthy's Irish Band will also perform at the Littlefield Celtic Center on Thursday, June 9, 7 - 9 pm - tickets available after May 1. For more information, visit CelticArts.org.
 
APRIL 28 - NETWORKING WORKSHOP - A Business & Networking event organized by Irish Network Seattle will be held on Thursday, April 28, 6-9 pm at SIFF at the Seattle Center - "Create Your Future: Hands-on Workshop with powerful Career Tools," with Paul O'Beirne. Learn how to develop yourself and your career or business, through understanding your skills, yourself, and others. This is very special opportunity to learn in an interactive workshop using Fortune 500, world-class assessment tools from TTI Success Insights. The workshop registration fee includes food and beverages for attendees, as well as the class-work and materials. Visit  IrishNetworkSeattle.org.
 
APRIL 30 - RETIRED SISTERS BENEFIT - On Saturday, April 30th, starting at 6 pm, Irish Supporters of the Tacoma Dominicans hold an Irish fundraising party in the Banquet Hall at Shawn O'Donnell's Irish Pub and Restaurant, 122 128th St SE, Everett (just off I-5 at exit # 186) to benefit retired Sisters and nuns. Hors d'oeuvres will be served all evening (so skip dinner!) while performers like The Emerald Bards, vocalist John Casey, and the Grafton Irish Dancers will entertain as you socialize and have a fabulous evening. Tickets are $50 per person. For more information or to donate something, call 425-337-9928 or email MaryS@irishclub.org.

MAY 15-16 - EVERETT and SHELTON CONCERTS - The Young Irelanders will be in Everett's Civic Auditorium on May 15 and in Shelton on May 16. They are an eight-member Irish music, song and dance troupe that uses authentic Celtic instruments to fuse Old World traditions with contemporary flair in an eclectic repertoire of Irish, world jazz and pop music. The performers have Irish traditional music, song and dance running through their veins and have performed for heads of state and throughout the US. The artists have also toured as lead performers with "Riverdance" and Michael Flatley's "Lord of the Dance." For more details, visit The Young Irelanders.

MAY 30 - MEMORIAL DAY MASS - An open-air Memorial Day Mass will be celebrated at the Seattle area's Irish Pioneer Cemetery, St. Patrick Cemetery in Kent, at 10:30 am on Monday, May 30. The 4½ acre cemetery is located 1 mile east of I-5 on Orillia Rd at 204th Street, just east of Sea-Tac Airport. Founded by Limerick-man Richard O'Connell in 1880, the cemetery is the resting place for numerous Irish-born Seattle Pioneers and they are especially remembered on Memorial Day in addition to remembering those who have given their lives in service to this country. All are welcome but bring a lawn chair! For information, contact Mass@irishclub.org.
 
JULY 17-23 - CASCADIA MUSIC CAMP - Registration is now open for Cascadia Irish Music Week 2016 being held July 17-23 at the Evergreen State College in Olympia. If you're interested in Irish traditional music, Cascadia is the place to be this summer. Take advantage of a full week of sessions, classes, intimate evening concerts, and afternoon talks. All this happens, as well as lots of fun with great people on the beautiful Evergreen State College campus in Olympia, Washington. Full details at CascadiaIrish.org
 
OTHER EVENTS:
JUNE 11 - IRISH SENIORS LUNCH, Wilde Rover, Kirkland
JUNE 26 - IRISH DAY AT THE RACES at Emerald Downs
JULY 10-11 - SKAGIT VALLEY HIGHLAND GAMES, Mount Vernon, celticarts.org
JULY 17 - IRISH COMMUNITY PICNIC at Lake Sammamish State Park
AUGUST 4 - IRISH NIGHT AT THE SEATTLE MARINERS - mariners.com/Irish
SEPTEMBER 2-4 - GAA NORTH AMERICAN FINALS - Magnuson Park, Seattle2016.com
OTHER SEATTLE AREA IRISH NEWS

IRISH YACHT - An Irish 70-foot ocean racing yacht called Derry/Londonderry/Doire docked at Bell Harbor Marina (Pier 66) Thursday morning on one of the legs of the record breaking 40,000 nautical mile Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. After just over 23 days at sea on this leg, Derry~Londonderry~Doire had won its third consecutive race, the Seattle Pacific Challenge / Race 9 from Qingdao, China. The Irish team also won Race 8, Da Nang, Vietnam, to Qingdao, China, and Race 7, The Whitsundays, Australia, to Da Nang, Vietnam, and is currently in first position overall. All of the crew members bar the skipper are amateurs who pay for the chance to sail around the world. Two weeks ago after an hour and a half searching, they finally recovered a crew member who fell overboard during a storm - watch the stressful rescue. The boats will leave Seattle on the next stage on April 28 headed for Panama. See their Seattle layover schedule with details on how you can tour the boats, etc.
 
SINCERE CONDOLENCES - To one of the Derry/Londonderry/Doire crew members, Clodagh Whelan from Dublin, who found out after the yacht docked in Seattle after 23 days at sea, that her brother Niall Whelan had died suddenly in Dublin and was buried last week.
 
GALWAY TRADERS - Seattle's premier Irish Import store, Galway Traders, nears the end of its operations in Ballard as they've lost their lease. So they're holding a big sale the weekend of April 30-May 1 to celebrate their 33-year run on 15th Ave NW at 75th St. Customers old and new are invited to stop in to say good-bye, including musicians who might want to play a few last tunes, maybe The Parting Glass? It is hoped that the shop may re-emerge in a new location under new ownership, but until then, Galway Traders is open 11-5 Monday-Saturday and noon-5 Sunday, at 7518 15th Ave NW - visit GalwayTraders.com/.
 
HOST FAMILY? - Seattle's World Affairs Council (WAC) in June will welcome seven professional leaders to Seattle for a two-week program as part of the State Department's Young Transatlantic Innovation Leaders Initiative. The WAC is looking for homestay families for the seven participants, which includes one from Ireland, from June 4 to June 19. If you can help, visit  World-Affairs.org.

LAW FELLOW - Sinéad Davies, a 3rd year law student at Trinity College Dublin, is this year's Thomas Addis Emmet Fellow who will be working in Seattle for two months this summer at the Appleseed Foundation. Founded in 1997, the law fellowship program is named for a hero of Ireland's 1798 United Irishmen rebellion. Sponsored by the UW and Ireland's Free Legal Advice Centers, the fellowship program is supported by Seattle's Irish Heritage Club and the Seattle Galway Association.
 
SEATTLE'S TD - Following two days of rechecks and recounts in the recent Irish General Election, Seattleite Katherine Zappone is a new TD (Teachta Dála, a member of the Irish Parliament), elected to the 32nd Dáil to represent the Dublin South West constituency. The former Irish Senator is an Independent and is not affiliated with any of the main political parties. Katherine was born in Spokane and grew up in Seattle but has been living in Ireland since 1982. She still has family in Seattle and was back here in 2015 to serve as Grand Marshal of the St. Patrick's Day Parade.
 
WOMEN'S BOXING - On February 20, Ireland's Olympic champion Katie Taylor outpointed Queen Underwood, Seattle's hometown Olympian and nine times US national champion, at a sell-out bout in Tralee, Co. Kerry. Taylor recorded her 61st consecutive win in the ring in a clash that was a repeat of the 2010 world championship semi-final. It was the last amateur bout for Underwood as the 31 year old former Pan American champion now plans to turn professional. Underwood also participated in Seattle's Irish Week activities in 2015 attending the Proclamation Luncheon and helping Galway Mayor Donal Lyons lay the Green Stripe.
 
ST. PATRICK OBIT - In the week leading up to St. Patrick's Day, the Spokesman Review newspaper carried its annual paid Obituary Notice tribute to a human rights standard bearer who died 1,556 years ago, ST PATRICK, BISHOP OF ARMAGH who died in 460 AD! The notice donor is Tom Keefe, the former President of the Seattle-Ireland Sister City Committee and a former Deputy Mayor of Seattle who now lives in Spokane.
 
GAELIC GAMES
- The 2016 North American GAA Championship Finals are coming to Seattle's Magnuson Park on the Labor Day weekend, with over 100 teams from across the US, Canada and the Carribean participating, including more than 2,000 athletes and an estimated 6,000 visitors altogether. The Finals will involve the Irish games of Men's and Women's Gaelic Football, Hurling and Camogie, and will be played Friday, September 2 through Sunday, September 4. For more details, visit
Seattle2016.com or see the March 11 announcement by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray.  
MISCELLANEOUS
* An Irish Tune Learning Class is being held Monday evenings 7-8:30 pm, through June 6 in Northeast Seattle. Email rsb@randalbays.com for details
* The annual Ethnic Heritage Council Dinner and Awards Ceremony is at the Polish Cultural Center on Saturday, May 7. If you're interested in sitting at the Irish Heritage Club table, contact EHCDinner@irishclub.org
* A new website, lily1916.com, has been established dedicated to Seattle woman Lily Kempson McAlerney, who was a combatant in Dublin during the 1916 Easter Rising  
The Seattle Police Pipes & Drums 2014 Tour of Ireland
The Seattle Police Pipes & Drums 
2014 Tour of Ireland

IRISH WEEK 2016

* See the Mayor of Galway on KING-5's New Day
* Brendan Shriane's photos from Irish Week
Seattle Times photos from the St. Patrick's Day Parade
Seattle P-I photos from the St. Patrick's Day Parade
St. Patrick's Day Address 2016 by Irish President Michael D. Higgins
* President Obama's proclamation of March as Irish-American Heritage Month, 2016
STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES
 
SUMMER CAMP IN IRELAND - The Global Irish Summer Camp, a new initiative of the Irish Government, is a summer camp program designed to provide an opportunity for young people of Irish descent to strengthen their links with Ireland though a short immersive residential visit of two and a half weeks in duration. It is open to US High School students of Irish descent, aged between 15 and 17, who have never before visited Ireland. All in-country costs are covered while in Ireland, including accommodation, meals and transport, while participants cover the costs of travel. This year's camp runs from July 20 to August 4 and the application deadline is April 20. Apply at GlobalIrishSummerCamp.com.
 
MITCHELL SCHOLARSHIPS - For students seeking to apply for a Mitchell Scholarship for the 2017-2018 academic year, the application is now online at US-IrelandAlliance.org. Up to twelve Scholars will be selected for one academic year of post-graduate study in any discipline offered by an institution of higher learning in the Republic of Ireland. The Mitchell Scholarship Program provides tuition, housing, a cash stipend for living expenses, and a travel stipend.

IRISH FLAGS - Buy any Irish-themed flag from our Seattle partner, Seattle Flagmakers, and they will make a donation to the Irish Heritage Club to support our activities.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY IN WASHINGTON, DC
 
1916 REMARKS - During his St. Patrick's Day party at the White House where he hosted Ireland's Taoiseach Enda Kenny, President Obama referred in his remarks to the 1916 Proclamation. He said he was struck with how ahead of its time the proclamation was. "It was a daring document; one which its authors were very particular to address to 'Irishmen and Irishwomen.' It's built around 'religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities,' and 'cherishing all the children of the nation equally.' Cherishing all the children of the nation equally. That's a vision statement 100 years ago, and it would be a visionary statement today." Read the full text of the president's remarks at WhiteHouse.gov.

PRESIDENT OBAMA - During his talk at White House St. Patrick's Day party, President Obama also  referred to something President Kennedy once said, that he'd endorse the Democratic candidate to succeed him who would promise to appoint him ambassador to Ireland. President Obama added "I would like to point out I have not yet endorsed. A certain commitment, quietly made, would not hurt." When the president reminded his guests that this would be his last Irish party as president, he added, "Well, I mean, we may meet in a pub in Dublin or something."
 
ROADBLOCK - Gerry Adams, the leader of Ireland's  Sinn Féin party , was stopped at the gates of the White House for a lengthy security check when he arrived for the St. Patrick's Day reception where Taoiseach Enda Kenny presented President Obama with the traditional bowl of shamrock . But after waiting more than an hour to be admitted, an upset Adams gave up and left.
 
SPEAKER'S LUNCH - Speaker Paul Ryan's press release on the Speaker's Lunch for St. Patrick's Day, noted that, aside from the State of the Union, "the Friends of Ireland Luncheon is the one day each year that the Speaker and the President are scheduled to be together in the Capitol". The first St. Patrick's Day Speaker's Lunch was in 1983 when Speaker "Tip" O'Neill hosted lunch at the US Capitol with President Reagan attending. The lunch has since become an annual bipartisan event on Capitol Hill for guests of all ethnicities, but with the President and Ireland's Taoiseach usually attending. The first celebration of St. Patrick's Day at the US Capitol was on St. Patrick's Day 1884, when Members of Congress wore green ribbons that had been distributed by Rep. John O'Neill, a Democrat from St. Louis.
IRELAND'S 1916 CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

The Parting Glass performed by the Island of Ireland Peace Choir at the Garden of Remembrance
The Parting Glass sung at the Garden of Remembrance  by the Island of Ireland Peace Choir 
RISING CELEBRATIONS - Gardaí (Irish Police) estimate that more than a million people attended either the Easter Sunday parade in Dublin or the Reflecting the Rising public events held across Ireland. Reflecting the Rising  events featured talks, debates, music, theatre, films and multimedia displays exploring the events of Easter week 1916 and its aftermath. There will be an estimated 2,500 events in Ireland this year reflecting on the rising's legacy. An estimated half a million people lined the streets of Dublin for a military parade to mark the centenary. See photos and more details.
 
VIDEO SNIPPETS - The commemorations on Easter Sunday in Dublin began with wreath-laying ceremonies at Glasnevin Cemetery and in the Stonebreakers' Yard in Kilmainham Gaol, where the leaders of the Rising were executed. Video snippets from the official State commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising can be viewed at RTE.ie. Make sure to watch and listen to the r endition of Mise Éire by the Irish Army No 1 Band played in front of Dublin's GPO during the commemoration ceremony.
* Photos of the events can also be seen at TheJournal.ie.
* In Pictures: Reflecting the Rising
Christies Auctions: " What's incredible here is that this text was written one day, printed the next, and put into action the day after that "
* British Imperial War Museum archive video footage of Dublin in 1916
 
CENTENARY CONCERT - An electrifying 1916 Centenary TV concert was shown live on Ireland's national TV station, RTÉ, on Easter Monday celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The concert, called Centenary and f eaturing some of Ireland's most celebrated artists, aimed to "tell the story of modern Ireland through music, song and dance", providing an artistic re-enactment of the Rising itself including the executions of the leaders. The program also touched on other themes in the nation's history including the War of Independence and Civil War, economic hardship, emigration, and the Troubles. Between now and April 28, the entire hour-and-a-half long show can be watched online for free at RTE.ie/player.
 
MEMORIAL WALL - A 1916 memorial wall at Glasnevin Cemetery has sparked criticism as it bears the names of all those who died during the Rising, including the names of British military alongside the name of Irish rebels and civilians who were killed. The names are presented in a chronological order without distinction between the different categories. Almost 500 people were killed in the uprising, the majority of whom - 268 - were civilians caught up in the violence.
 
1916 LIVEBLOG - To mark the 1916 centenary,  The 1916 LIVEBLOG reported the events of the Rising in chronological order as they happened every day during Easter Week. The blog starts the moment the rebels started assembling outside Liberty Hall on Easter Monday and ends with the surrender on the following Saturday.
 
PROCLAMATION PRINTING - On the night of Easter Sunday 1916 in the basement of Dublin's Liberty Hall, 2,500 copies of the 1916 Proclamation were printed. It is believed that Padraig Pearse drafted the document wording with input by James Connolly and Thomas McDonagh, and may have been based somewhat on an 1803 Proclamation that had been issued by Robert Emmet. Because of a shortage of type, the document was printed in two halves, first the top half of the page and then printing the bottom on the same piece of paper. The typesetters also ran out of some letters and had to manufacture a C from an O in the word REPUBLIC and an E from an F in the word THE. As a result some letters are smaller than others and do not quite match.

Countess Markievicz greeted in Dublin after her release from prison
Countess Markievicz greeted in Dublin after release from prison
COUNTESS MARKIEVICZ - Born in London into an Anglo-Irish Protestant ascendancy family, Constance Gore-Booth was presented at court to Queen Victoria in 1887. She married a Polish Count and settled in Dublin where she helped found Na Fianna Éireann and became active in the Irish suffragette movement. She cooperated closely with labor leaders, James Larkin and James Connolly, during the 1913 Dublin Strike/Lockout when she worked tirelessly to provide food for the workers' families. She helped organize the Irish Citizen Army and during the 1916 Easter Rising was second-in-command at St. Stephen's Green/College of Surgeons. Afterwards, she was the only woman court-martialed by the British and was sentenced to be shot, later commuted to penal servitude for life. After being released from jail in the 1917 general amnesty, Markievicz ran in the 1918 British General Election and became the first woman ever elected to the British Parliament although she refused to take her seat. She served as Minister of Labor in the first Dáil (Irish Parliament) and later supported de Valera in opposing the Anglo-Irish Treaty. She died in 1927 and was buried at Glasnevin Cemetery with de Valera giving her funeral oration.
 
1916 LETTERS - Letters of 1916  is an online collection of letters about Ireland written around the time of the Easter Rising. The thousands of letters cover all aspects of life, from major political events, the Easter Rising and WW-1, to letters that provide a candid glimpse into ordinary life, love and work a century ago. Letters have been collected from public institutions around the world as well as from private, family collections. This database allows you to explore the letters in great detail facilitating two modes of discovery: search and browse.
Other News from Ireland
 
NO GOVERNMENT - Since the February 26 election in Ireland, no party has been able to command enough votes in Dáil Éireann (the Irish Parliament) to elect a new government, which means that the outgoing Taoiseach (PM) Enda Kenny remains acting Taoiseach while inter-party negotiations continue towards forming a new government. T alks in recent days have provided encouragement that an agreement may soon be reached between the two largest parties, Fine Gael and Fianna F á il, to form a coalition government with Enda Kenny of Fine Gael continuing as Taoiseach.
 
UNEMPLOYMENT DOWN - Ireland's jobless rate hit a new eight-year low of 8.6% last month as conditions in the wider economy continued to improve. This is the lowest rate since December 2008. However, the pick-up in employment in Ireland contrasted with lackluster growth numbers from the euro area as a whole against fears about the global economy and a possible Brexit (Britain exiting the EU).
 
WHO BENEFITS? - Market Watch writes that Britain, Ireland, Switzerland will be big winners from the Panama Papers scandal which is likely to spell the final demise of the sealed-off world of offshore finance. The article comments, "there will be losers from that - mainly high-end real estate agents in places such as the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands. But there will be winners as well. The world's wealthy may no longer be able to stash their money secretly in tiny islands, and yet they won't suddenly want to pay huge sums of tax on it either. The big beneficiaries will be the mainstream countries with the lowest corporate tax rates - and those are Ireland, Switzerland and Britain. ... There are going to be some huge sums of money looking for a new, relatively safe home in the next year. It is fair bet that a lot of it will end up in Dublin, Geneva and London "  
 
NO DEAL - Pfizer Inc. has killed its planned $150 billion takeover of Allergan PLC, after the Obama administration took aim at a deal that would have moved the biggest drug company in the US to Ireland to lower its taxes. President Obama has pushed for greater action to stop big US companies shifting their tax base to low-cost nations. The controversial deal, in the works since last summer, would have created Ireland's biggest company by shifting Pfizer's global tax base to Ireland. The US levies a 35% tax on corporate profits, compared to the 12.5% rate in Ireland. Inversions allow companies to slash tax bills by re-domiciling outside the US even if their core operations and management stays in the US.
 
HAPPIEST WORKERS - Ireland is number 4 on the list of the world's happiest countries ranked for overall job satisfaction. The UK is # 23 and the US # 24 on the list which ranks 35 countries. The Workplace Happiness report says that compensation consistently ranks as the least significant factor when it comes to considering what makes people happy at work. Indeed, compensation ranks last on the list of measures employees consider when reporting on their job satisfaction. Dublin ranks highest among European cities for worker happiness, while Seattle is # 14 on the list of the happiest cities in the US.
 
IRISH EXPORTS - Ireland is corporate America's "strategic beachhead" to the EU according to a new report which finds the value of US assets in Ireland is about $.87 trillion. Research for the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU shows the sales of US affiliates in Ireland reached $313 billion in 2013. "America's assets in Ireland ($1.1 trillion in 2013) are much larger than those in either France ($393 billion) or Switzerland ($696 billion), and light years ahead of those in China ($290 billion)," said the Transatlantic Economy 2016 report. On a standalone basis, US affiliates exports from Ireland are greater than most countries' exports.
 
IRELAND BEST - The annual TMF Group's Global Benchmark Complexity Index 2015 shows Ireland is the least complex country in the world for businesses to stay compliant with corporate regulation and legislation . The study ranked 95 jurisdictions across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas. 2015 was the third year in which Ireland was ranked in the top three of the least complex places in the world to do business, finishing ahead of both the United Kingdom (74th) and United States (56th) - note the higher the # the better!
 
IRISH INVESTMENTS - Investment in Ireland by Chinese investors doubled to $10 million in 2015 with Chinese FDI in Ireland amounting to $142 million since 2000. Technology-related investments account for half of that sum, with agriculture and food at 19% and financial and business services at 18%. Forbes magazine has ranked Ireland as one of the best countries in the world for business.
 
Irish Passport IRISH PASSPORTS - There's an increase in the number of applications for Irish passports from Northern Ireland and Britain with media reports in the UK attributing the increased volume to eligible people in the UK wanting to retain an EU passport in the event of a so-called Brexit- an exit of Britain from the EU. Ireland offers automatic citizenship to anyone whose mother or father was born on the island of Ireland, while the grandchildren of the Irish-born are also entitled to claim Irish citizenship and ultimately an Irish passport. An estimated six million Britons have an Irish-born grandparent.

BREXIT SCENARIOS - The London School of Economics says that while the UK economy would suffer the most in a "Brexit" scenario, that Ireland "suffers the largest proportional losses" of any country after Britain. The effect of Brexit on Irish incomes will be a decline of 1.0% in the optimistic case and 2.4% in the pessimistic case. Such conclusions support Irish research findings which point to the threat of major trade and other losses in Ireland in the event the British people vote to leave the EU in the June referendum.
 
2016 CENSUS - Census 2016 forms are being delivered to every house in the Republic of Ireland for the census being held on April 24, the exact 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising and 195 years after the first census of Ireland. The responses will have a major impact on the shape and direction of the country over the next five years. All householders must answer 35 questions ranging from how they're feeling to how they get to school or work - or face a fine. The first census in Ireland was held in 1821 and there's been a census on a fairly regular basis since then. Initially, it was held every 10 years but now it's every five years. A first report on Census 2016 will be published in July, with a full report by April 2017.

Some of the 35 questions being asked in Ireland's 2016 Census:
* Have you lived outside the Republic of Ireland for a continuous period of one year or more?
* What is your religion?
* Can you speak Irish?
* Do you speak a language other than English or Irish at home?
* How is your health in general?
* What is the highest level of education/training (full-time or part-time) which you have completed to date?
* What time do you usually leave home to go to work, school or college?
* What is the full name and address of your place of work, school or college?
* If your accommodation is rented, how much rent does your household pay?
* Does your household have a personal computer (PC)?
* Does your household have access to the Internet?
 
CLINTON THANKS - Accepting a lifetime achievement award at the Irish America Hall of Fame luncheon for his role in bringing peace to Northern Ireland, former President Bill Clinton recalled how the Irish were key to his success in New York when he was running for President in 1992 . Clinton won that New York primary, and later the Democratic nomination and the presidency. Years later, he helped to broker the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 that ended The Troubles in Northern Ireland. "Mr. Clinton delivered a poetic address, praising the Irish for their inclusive government and weaving lines of poetry from W.B. Yeats into his extemporaneous remarks."
 
1998 AGREEMENT - The Good Friday Agreement was signed 18 years ago on April 10, 1998, ending the Northern Ireland Troubles. Former US senator George Mitchell, who chaired the talks that led to the agreement, described the agreement as one day of success which had been preceded by "700 days of failure". He recalled flying back to New York in October 1997 to be present for the birth of his son. The peace talks had "ground on relentlessly with invective, insult and repetition almost beyond human endurance but without progress". He had severe doubts about whether he should continue, but the birth of his son made him consider how different his son's life would be if he had been born in a Northern Ireland scarred by conflict His son's birth convinced him to see the talks all the way through to an agreement.
 
SENATE CANDIDATE - Long time New York resident and immigration reform campaigner Ciaran Staunton is running for a seat in the Irish Seanad (Senate). Staunton, a native of Co. Mayo who has lived in New York since the 1980s, is a co-founder of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform. While Staunton can legally be elected, under current Irish voting law he is not eligible to vote in an Irish election as he resides in the US.
 
HOTEL RATINGS - In the Trivago Global Ranking 2016, Killarney has made its top ten list for destinations with the best reputation, based on reviews of the town's hotels. Only towns or cities with over 130 hotels made the list. Killarney's overall average hotel rating was just above 85% while Galway finished in 57th place, one spot ahead of Washington DC, with a rating of 82.5%.
 
IRISH FILM - The New Yorker says that "Boogaloo and Graham," by the Northern Irish director Michael Lennox, is a delightful and funny short film that contains, as a kind of hidden surprise, a meditation on fear. The movie, which was nominated for an Academy Award this year, follows a family-two boys (Riley Hamilton and Aaron Lynch) and their father and mother (Martin McCann and Charlene McKenna)-during a few months in Belfast during the Troubles.  
 
CALLING O'KEEFFES - A major gathering of the global O' Keeffe Clan, which includes those named O'Keefe, Ó Cuív , Ó Caoimh, and Keefe, will be held in the Barony of Duhallow, Co. Cork on September 9th-11th, 2016. O' Keeffes and their descendants from all over the world are invited to Dromtarriffe, Kanturk, Co Cork, to visit their ancestral home. Visit okeeffeclans.com or email killowengirl@yahoo.co.uk for more details.

DONEGAL GOLD - The presence of gold in the hills of Donegal has been confirmed, but it is likely to take years to establish whether it is worth the effort to mine it. After drilling holes in the rocks on the Inishowen peninsula, Irish exploration firm Connemara Mining confirms that they found a gold-bearing vein system. However, the company will have to carry out more work to find out whether the site is commercially viable.
 
ELLIS ISLAND CONNECTION - Irish and US descendants of Annie Moore, the first immigrant processed through Ellis Island when it opened on January 1, 1892, recently met in New York for the first time ever after the Moore's US descendants were traced by a New York genealogist. Moore had left Cork on December 20, 1891 aboard the SS Nevada, and after a 12 day journey arrived in New York on December 31. The passengers were processed through Ellis Island the following morning, New Year's Day. For decades it was believed that, after landing in New York, Moore had moved to Texas where she died in 1923, but the genealogist proved that Moore lived in New York until she died in 1924 and is buried in a cemetery in Queens.
 
ANTARCTIC CENTENARY - On the same day as the 1916 Rising started in Dublin, a team led by Co. Kildare-born Ernest Shackleton began what's now considered one of the greatest small boat journeys of all time. Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition had left England in 1914 headed for the South Pole, but he and his 27 man crew became stranded on Elephant Island after their ship, the Endurance, was swallowed by the Antarctic ice. On Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, along with five others including fellow Irishman Tom Crean, Shackleton set out to raise the alarm. He masterminded a rescue mission that has been re-told in books, plays and even a mini-series starring Kenneth Branagh. The epic ordeal finally ended on May 10 when their boat reached South Georgia, 800 miles from Elephant Island, eventually leading to all of Shackleton's crewmen being saved.
 
OLD INHABITANTS - Radiocarbon dating of a butchered brown bear bone has established that humans were on the island of Ireland some 12,500 years ago. The adult bear bone was one of thousands of bones originally discovered in a cave in Co Clare in 1903 but radiocarbon testing wasn't done until now as The National Museum of Ireland holds collections of approximately two million specimens. Since the 1970s, the oldest evidence of human occupation on the island of Ireland was at Mount Sandel in Co Derry, with the site dated at 8,000 BC, in the Mesolithic period.
 
NOT CELTS - An Irishman's discovery of bones under his pub could forever change what we know about the Irish . DNA research indicates that the three skeletons found are the ancestors of the modern Irish and they predate the Celts and their purported arrival by 1,000 years or more. The genetic roots of today's Irish, in other words, existed in Ireland before the Celts arrived. The DNA evidence provides the biological certitude that the science has sometimes brought to criminal trials. According to the genetic research, the Irish are at the extreme end of a genetic wave that washed across Europe from above the Black Sea about 2,500 B.C.
Malin Head, Co. Donegal
Malin Head, Co. Donegal
MALIN HEAD - Ireland's most northerly point,
Donegal's Malin Head , is steeped in history and offers activities such as walking, fishing, swimming and bird watching. North of Trawbreaga Bay is Five Finger Strand, home to some of Europe's largest sand dunes. At low tide, you can spot the wreckage of the 'Twilight', which sank in 1889 while sailing to Derry. There's the old radio station, built in 1910, and The Tower, a derelict signal station located on Banba's Crown, the most northerly point in Ireland. The panorama includes Inistrahull and Tory islands, as well as the Scottish hills on a clear day. You can walk along the cliffs to Hell's Hole, a chasm where the tide rushes in with impressive force. Nearby Ballyhillion beach dates back to the ice age and is known for its many semi-precious stones. 
GALWAY RENTAL - Fully furnished townhouse for rent in Galway City, Ireland, located in Lower Salthill just 400 yards from the Seapoint Promenade on Galway Bay. 3 furnished bedrooms, sleeps six. Available for $425 per week (plus an additional 10% reduction for IHC members). See details at montcrehan.club, or contact Mike or Sheila at Tansymc@aol.com.
Actress and producer Roma Downey, a native of Derry, received the inaugural Irish Diaspora Award from the Irish Film & Television Academy
Actress and producer Roma Downey, a native of Derry, received the inaugural Irish Diaspora Award from the Irish Film & Television Academy
Tid-Bits
  • A columnist in the London Telegraph says, the wrongs the British did Ireland, and their consequences, require an apology
  • The British Ambassador to Ireland Dominick Chilcott attended the 1916 celebrations in Dublin
  • Ireland recorded the biggest rise in industrial production across the European Union in the year to the end of January.
  • At the end of December, $264.2 billion worth of US Treasury debt was held in Ireland.
  • The US Department of Transportation has tentatively ruled that Irish airline Norwegian Air International should be issued a foreign air carrier permit which will allow the airline to offer flights to the US from Cork Airport
  • Patty Duke, the acclaimed actress of stage, film, and TV who died on March 29 aged 69, had two grandparents who were born in Co. Longford
  • No criminal charges are being filed in connection with the Berkeley balcony collapse which last June killed six Irish college students and seriously injured seven others.
  • Actress and producer Roma Downey, a native of Derry, was presented the inaugural Irish Diaspora Award by the Irish Film and Television Academy
  • Irish Athlete Rob Heffernan has recently been awarded a 2012 Olympic bronze medal in the 50 kilometre walk at the London Olympics after the Russian winner was stripped of his medal for doping offences.
  • The New York Times describes House Hunting in Ireland
  • If you are of Irish Heritage but don't know where in Ireland you are from, contact the volunteers at Ireland Reaching Out for suggestions
  • In 1832 there were 789 Elementary Schools in Ireland, but by 1900 there were 8,670.
  • The NY Times says that scenic Galway may be Ireland's most charming city
  • Butte, the most Irish town in America?
  • Each year on his birthday, someone leaves a pint of plain (Guinness) at Brendan Behan's grave in Glasnevin Cemetery.
  • To celebrate St. Patrick's Day, National Geographic compiled their favorite pictures of Ireland since the 1960s
  • Trace your relatives from Ireland's Revolutionary Age on Irish Lives Remembered free online genealogy magazine
  • It's easier to get people to stop speaking a language than to take it up again. Just ask the Irish
  • The artist who dared to paint Ireland's Great Famine
  • "A Haunting Beauty Flourishes Along Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way"
  • New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio marched in New York's 2016 St. Patrick's Day parade for the first time after the 255-year-old parade ended its long-standing ban on gay groups marching
  • The Washington Post says "Artisan cider makers are sprouting all over Ireland, spurred by the craft beer movement but also by foodies' interest in all things artisanal."
The Edge of Europe (1998) - Skellig Michael
In 1910, George Bernard Shaw wrote about Skellig Michael, an island off the Co. Kerry coast, "I tell you the thing does not belong to any world that you and I have lived and worked in: it is part of our dream world."

Irish Heritage Club Membership

Membership is used to support IHC activities throughout the year and is open to anyone interested in "Things Irish". Dues are $20 (single membership), $30 (family membership), or $100 (business membership), and you can pay by cash, check, or Credit Card. For more information, email  Membership@irishclub.org  or visit  www.irishclub.org .
Seanfhocal - Proverb

Níor bhris focal maith fiacail riamh
 
A good word never broke a tooth 

John Keane