September 2011 - Irish American News

2 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” September 2011Northwestern Wildcats HeadCoach Pat Fitzgerald Talks to IANDriving to the city from my homein the Northern suburbs of ChicagoI can’t help but notice all of themassive purple billboards that read“Northwestern, Chicago’s Big TenTeam” along the highway. Listeningto my morning radio sports show Ihear the ads for NU athletics, andrecently while reading my morningpaper, I noticed a new marketingtactic entitled “PersaStrong.” Thecampaign promotes NorthwesternSenior quarterback Dan Persa asa 2011 Heisman trophy candidate.The anchor of this Purple revival isthe Northwestern football team. Forthe first time in a while NU athleticshas seen a rise in relevance in theChicagoland sports landscape. Thisyears’ revamped Big Ten, with theaddition of the Nebraska Cornhuskersand the separation of the teamsinto the “Legends” and “Leaders”divisions, should provide plenty ofcompelling storylines. As autumn inthe Midwest approaches I am eagerfor the college football season tobegin. And after talking with NU’shead football coach about this years’new look Big Ten, my excitementlevel is off the charts!The man behind the NorthwesternWildcats football team is headcoach Pat Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald,better known as “Fitz” has become amainstay in Wildcat football. At only31 years old, he gained national attentionin 2006 when he was named thehead football coach at NU following“I’m proudto be Irish, itdefines who Iam. Before I’ma NorthwesternWildcat oranythingelse I’m anIrishman—and to methat meanseverything.—Pat Fitzgeraldthe sudden death of his mentor andclose friend, Randy Walker.Fitzgerald, who grew up in the SouthChicago suburb of Orland Park, was athree-sport athlete, playing baseball,basketball and football. While at CarlSandburg High School in Orland Park,he played football and admits that afterhis parents, his high school coacheswere his role models. After high school,Fitzgerald began his Big Ten playingcareer at Northwestern. During hiscollege playing days, he earned twoNagurski and Bednarik awards, as defensiveplayer of the year and two firstteamAll-American honors. He helpedlead Northwestern to consecutive BigTen titles and a Rose Bowl appearancein 1996.After graduating from Northwestern,Fitzgerald signed a free-agent contractwith the Dallas Cowboys, playing inthree pre-season games before hangingup his cleats and moving back toChicago. He took a sales job sellingradio air-time for a year, but returned tofootball in 1998. He worked as a defensivegraduate assistant at Maryland fora year, followed by Colorado, before securinghis first full-time position at theUniversity of Idaho in 2000. In 2001,Randy Walker brought Fitzgerald backhome to his alma mater, hiring him onas the Wildcats’ defensive secondarycoach. Within a year, Fitz had movedto linebackers’ coach and later addedrecruiting coordinator to his resume.In 2008, Coach Fitz became a memberof the College Football Hall of Famefor his accomplishments as a Wildcatplayer. Aside from his personal athleticaccomplishments, his achievements asa coach are what continue to make himthe envy of college programs in Division1 sports. Now, about to enter hissixth season at the helm, Coach Fitz satdown with Irish American News to discusshis team goals and personal goalsfor the upcoming football season.Upon walking into Coach Fitz’soffice I am immediately surroundedCoach Fitzgerald puts his team thru pre-workout stretches.by a sea of purple. I see aerial views ofNorthwestern’s campus and the Wildcat’shome turf, Ryan Field displayedon the wall. Fitz’s old jersey #51 isframed and hangs proudly in his office.There are family photos and team rosterphotos, a picture of Fitz with White Soxpitcher John Danks, and various othershots of appearances around Chicagoland,all in which Fitz is donning purpleNU polos. As we begin talking, itbecomes very clear that Pat Fitzgeraldbleeds purple; he is extremely passionateabout all things NU Wildcats. Fiveminutes into the interview and CoachFitz’s intensity level has me ready to runto the practice fields and hit the tacklingsleds at full speed.I cut to the chase and ask Fitz whathis next personal goal is and withouthesitation he answers “win the BigTen national championship.” Duringhis past five seasons as head coach, hehas already set school records, with histeam earning three consecutive postseasonberths and four straight yearsof bowl-eligibility. The pressure is onto continue this trend and reach evenhigher levels of excellence.This past May, Northwestern announcedthat Fitz had received a contractextension that will last until 2020.

September 2011 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” 3He claims to have no NFL aspirationsand no intention of leaving Northwestern.“I want to be at Northwestern mywhole career, this is my home.” Thiscontact will allow Fitz to stay homeand coach his beloved for the foreseeablefuture.For a school that prides itself onhaving one of the highest graduationrates of division I athletes, Fitz saysit’s easy. “We only recruit for whatwe want. My philosophy is prettysimple. You need to be brutally honest.Tell people what they need to hearnot what they want to hear. We havea niche for what we believe in andwe recruit directly to that. We have10 values and that is our philosophyin recruiting… if you’ve got all ofthem—then we can cohabitate. Ourstaff motto is we want to be the bestdevelopmental program in Americaand I truly believe we are the best developingprogram in the country.” Inhis past five years of coaching, everysingle player who has stayed in theprogram has graduated.When asked if his Irish heritagehas anything to do with his workethic today, Coach said, “My dadalways said, if you put Fitzgerald onit, you’re going to finish it. You maynot like it, but you will finish it.” Asidefrom coaching, Fitz is also very activewith the St. Baldrick’s foundation, anorganization that helps raise funds forchildhood cancer research and lastyear Fitz and 15 other Wildcat playersshaved their heads bald for the cause.He supports Misericordia, whichprovides residential, vocational, andrecreational opportunities to adultsand children with developmental disabilities.He and his wife Stacy arealso the annual honorary chairpersonsfor the Erin Olmsted Memorial Scholarship5K Race in their hometown ofOrland Park.As I wrap up my day on the NUcampus, Fitz tells me “I’m proud tobe Irish, it defines who I am. BeforeI’m a Northwestern Wildcat or anythingelse I’m an Irishman—and tome that means everything. It is myfamily, my roots, our heritage, ourhistory. I wouldn’t be here in thisrole, and I wouldn’t even be here inAmerica without my grandparentstaking a huge leap of faith to come toa new world to start a beginning forour family. And to that, I hope I’mliving proof that it can happen. Butmore importantly, I understand whatmy role is in that too.”Pat Fitzgerald has changed theculture of Northwestern with his determination,passion and love of thegame. As the football team continuesits trend of annual bowl appearances,preseason predictions have the Wildcatsback in the hunt for another bowlgame and many have the Cats as achallenger for the Big 10 Legendsdivision crown.The Northwestern Wildcats kickoffthe 2011 college football seasonon September 3rd at Boston College.Their first home game at Ryan Fieldis Saturday, September 10th againstEastern Illinois.For a complete list of the Wildcatsschedule visit http://nusports.cstv.com. Follow Coach Fitz on his twitterpage @CoachFitz51.Liam Kelly Benefit 10-15Come to the special benefit to beheld in the Erin Room at the Irish AmericanHeritage Center on October 15,2011 from 4-10 pm to assist Liam Kellyand his parents Maureen (Murtagh) &Will Kelly with medical costs associatedwith Liam’s cancer treatments andsecondary health issues.Liam is the grandson of Bridget& Noel Murtagh of Co. Tipperary& Co. Monaghan and Nancy &Paul Kelly of Rogers Park.Three-year-old Liam endured 18months of grueling cancer treatments.He now suffers from the secondary effectsof Neuroblastoma. Please join usat this benefit to help his family providethe best medical care for their son!There will be plenty of food, livemusic, Irish dancers, raffles and silentauction. Free parking as well! IAHC islocated at 4626 N. Knox Ave., Chica-go IL 60630.Donations atthe door oronline.Don’tworry abouta babysitter!All kids arewelcome fora fun afternoon in the Kid’s Room!For more information or to donate, goto www.liamsgang.com.

4 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” September 2011(ISSN #1085-4053) USPS #013454September 2011 Vol. XXxV 09PERIODICALCover photo by Cathy CurryFounderBob BurnsPublisherCliff CarlsonEditorial Assistant/Art DirectorJoyce EdwardsAdvertising SalesNancy MoorePhotographerCathy Curry - Senior PhotographerPatricia Brach -Staff PhotographerStacy McReynolds - Staff PhotographerEditorial InternKatey MitchellColumns and ReviewsBooks & Theatre - Frank WestTheatre - Terrence BoyleSenior Trad Music Editor -Bill MargesonHealy Law - Martin HealyMick - Mike MorleySafe Home - Heather BegleyChicago Gaelic News - Pat HennessyA Word With Monsignor Boland -Msgr. Michael BolandIrish Musings - Fr. Michael LeonardHooliganism - Mike HoulihanIrish Diaspora - Charles BradyFor The Republic - Chris FogartyFrom the Motherland - Sean FarrellSwimming Upstream - Charles BradyCareers - James Fitzgerald, CPARaised on Songs & Stories - Shay ClarkeReel Jiggy - Deirdre KozickiBoyle The Kettle - Tom BoyleHoroscopes - Theresa CastroIrish Connection - Colleen KellyIrish Rover - Jim McClurePiping it In - Jack BakerReal Ireland - Rachel GaffneySpoirts - Mary Margaret O’LearyDaly Investor - John Daly CFPCeltic Traveller - Maureen CallahanCrowley on Kells - Frank CrowleyMeehall Recalls - Michael CarrollWebsite - Cathy CurryIrish News, Inc. is publishedmonthly on the 1st of monthSubscriptionFirst class deliveryFastest! Delivered in envelope1 year $ 35 2 year $ 65 3 year $ 90Regular delivery1 year $ 30 2 year $ 55 3 year $ 75Canada 1year $ 35 2 year $ 60International: 1 year $ 85(Periodicals Postage Paid atPalatine, IL.) Postmaster:Send address changes toIrish News, Inc.7115 W North Ave #327Oak Park, IL 60302708-445-0700e-mail to:editor@irishamericannews.comPUBLISHERS STATEMENTThe opinions and statementsexpressed in this newspaper areentirely those of the authors, and donot reflect in any way the opinionsof Irish American News.Distribution20,013Let me begin by admitting my deepanimosity towards the New York Timesand all East Coast culturally elite phonies.I’m a born and bred South SideIrish Catholic and my BS detector goesoff whenever I come into contact withany of these fakers who have been lookingdown their noses at Irish Americansfor over a hundred years. As far as I’mconcerned the New York Times is a commierag and should wear the jacket forpropagating moral relativism and thetrend of whiny victimization for allAmericans.Another publication that has reallybeen getting under my skin lately is theInternet portal “Irish Central,” whichdispenses stories on Ireland and IrishAmerica while bashing the CatholicChurch and promoting the gay agenda.Irish Central recently championed apedophile candidate for President ofIreland.So I wasn’t surprised by reportsof their shoddy journalism when myfriend Kevin Kennelly called to askif I could help set the record straightconcerning the death of his only childKevin Kennelly Jr.Kevin Jr., 17, was killed in a July4th tragedy up in Long Beach, Indianawhen he tried to break up a fight. Maybeyou read about in the news. Hopefullyyou didn’t read about in the New YorkTimes or Irish Central because they gotthe story wrong while throwing thefalse spectre of racism into the mix.Irish Central ripped their story onthe incident out of the New York Timesand slapped another byline on it. Theydo that a lot. The New York Times accountmisrepresented the incidentas some kind of class war whilealso getting the timeline of eventswrong. Both reports had an insidiousinsinuation that these supposedlyrich Irish kids had tangled with afew poor Korean immigrants. It’scalled playing the race card and itreeks of a defense dreamed up bysome hotshot attorney who hired aPR guy to start spinning.So here is the statement fromKevin Kennelly Sr. regarding theunfortunate tragedy of a great kidfrom the south side of Chicago.“After 6 weeks of grief and anguishover the violent death of our belovedson, I am starting to respond to someof the bad journalism regarding theincident and comments by peoplewho know nothing about it.My son and his four friends (onlyone of whom had any Irish ancestry)went to the beach at 11pm after havingwatched the fireworks on the golfcourse. We saw them there. They weresober. My son’s friends are chargedwith no crimes. When they recountthe events, they have no motive otherthan to seek justice for the murder oftheir friend.When they got to the beach, they sawa group of 25 to 30 teenagers, a coupleof whom they knew to be students atSt. Ignatius HS. They did not desire tojoin that group, which was reported tohave been on the beach all day drinking.They elected to remain about 30 yardsaway just to talk among themselves.They were then approached by twovery drunk girls, one of whom theyknew from grade school, who offeredthem vodka from a bottle they had andKevin Kennelly Jr.invited them to join their group. Theydeclined both. The girl they didn’t know,who they later learned was the Koreanborn Ann Malecek, persisted. My son’sMexican American friend then committedthe unpardonable offense of tellingher that she was drunk and should goaway and leave them alone. At this shewent into a rage and punched him in theface twice. He did not retaliate. (He hada black eye at my son’s funeral.) Shethen left, and my son’s friends thoughtthat this was the end of the bizarreincident.James Malecek soon approachedthem. Had they known he intendedany harm, three of them would nothave been sitting on the sand. He immediatelyand without warning shovedmy son’s Mexican American friend andthen hit my son from the side with suchforce to drive a piece of his temporomandibularjoint into his brain.The Lake County Coroner has ruledit a homicide caused by blunt forcetrauma. By all reports my son had beenstanding there with his open hands upcalling for calm, (as if to say wait aminute, what’s this about?) As Kevin’sfriends attempted to check his condition(he was immediately bleeding from hismouth and nose), Malecek celebratedwhat he had done by jumping up anddown and yelling, ‘I knocked one of youout, I’ll knock you all out.’ The group of25 to 30 then fled the scene.A good Samaritan, who had renderedwhatever first aid possible, leftthe scene when LaPorte County EMStook over. As she walked down LakeShore Drive she encountered a cardriven by Mrs. Malecek, with Ann in thefront seat and James in the back, withtwo other teens unknown to her. Mrs.Malecek asked her where she had been.She said she was on the beach with avery seriously injured boy who was beingtaken away in an ambulance. Withthat, James Malecek rolled down hiswindow and asked, ‘Was it from mehitting him?’ She responded , ‘Yes.’Did Mrs. Malecek go to the police,or to the hospital to check on Kevin’scondition? No. James Malecekturned himself in 3 days later, sincepolice cars were waiting in front ofboth their Chicago and Long Beachhomes. If there is any Irish Americanconnection to this it sadly is thatnone of the 25 to 30 teenagers withLong Beach and or St. Ignatius connectionshas willingly come forwardto say what they had seen. Many ofthem did have Irish ancestry.I originally sent this to Irish Central.comwhich on July 17th put out abunch of lies about my son, the wayhe died and his four friends from Mt.Carmel. This added to our despair,that people in the Irish Americancommunity would publish fabricationsdesigned to keep Malecek outof prison as fact. When all else failsplay the race card.Kevin played varsity baseball andsoccer at Mount Carmel. He was farmore aware than most of his Irishheritage. He wrote high school papersabout Boru’s victory over the Danesat Clontarf, and on the custom, datingfrom the penal days, of lightingone candle to let the neighbors knowwhich cottage the secret ChristmasMass was being said in. He quit takingfiddle lessons about 4 years ago, but hecould still play ‘The Boys of Bluehill,’‘Lady of Knock,’ ‘Rolling in the RyeGrass,’ etc. This was the young manthey slandered.Kevin F. Kennelly Sr.”OnlineThis MonthDue to the large quantityof columns this month andthe lack of extra space a fewcolumns will be online only.• For the Republic• Horoscopes• Our Take On SocialServicesThey will be back next monthfor your reading pleasure!

September 2011 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” 7I’ve always dreamed about staying overnightat a real castle. I’m not talking about a fictitious“magical kingdom-type” castle, but a real castlewith a rich history and a real story behind it. Mylifelong dream came true this June when we visitedAshford Castle on the Emerald Isle. Built in1228 and the former estate of the legendary Guinnessfamily (brewers of my favorite stout), it waseverything I could have imagined. Well, sort of,I didn’t arrive on a white horse with a prince, butI did arrive in a white rental car loaded with twokids, a husband and lots of snacks. But I digress…back to that dream I was mentioning.A few months ago, I flew to Dublin and threehours later was transformed as my white horse, Imean white rental car, entered the former Guinnessfamily private estate of the legendary castle inCounty Mayo. We drove through the picturesqueterrain along a winding Irish road, the groundsspeckled with pure lavender Irish heather. (Justfor the record, I have always wanted to use thatline.) We crossed over the drawbridge leading overthe moat and then, there it was… the majestic,breathtaking 13th century Irish castle, my oasis,my castle in the hills, my dream! At that exactmoment, when time stood still, my sister and herfamily, who were also traveling with us, pulled upalongside. My sister and I both locked eyes andshared a moment of pure astonishment. This wasgoing to be the best two-night get away ever!Oops! Right. We brought the kids. Now what?At first, I was concerned that Ashford might beone of those castlesbuilt mainlyfor adults… youknow, high teasand three-hourdinners, but Iquickly realizedthere was somethingfor everybodyhere. Thankgoodness! With kids in tow, there was no turningback. Plus, we did have husbands to watch the kidswhile we experienced the, ummm, MANDATORYhigh tea, spa and a bit of relaxation time. (P.S.Please do not divulge this to ourhusbands, as we have convincedthem that this is part of the Irishexperience).After driving from Dublin, itwas time to go inside and checkout the castle. As we unloadedour luggage and tried to tidy upthe crayons and potato crisps thatwere overflowing in the back seat,my daughter pulled on my jacketand asked me the simple question,“Where’s the pool?”“What?” I thought, “We are ata historic 13th century castle inIreland! Why would you want togo swimming? There is so muchto do here!”My youngest insisted onputting on her bathing suit andsearching for the pool. I let her putit on under her clothes and off wewent in search of it. Quickly, weboth learned, there was no need forpool with so many activities. Bythe time we checked into our room,played hide and seek, pretended toA Castle Fit for a Queen… and a Family TooColleen Kelly and family at Ashford Castle, Co. Mayo, Irelandbe princesses, and explored themysteries of the castle, she hadlong forgotten all about the pool.Although, I must admit, I did let her take a bathwith her bathing suit on. As you know, when youhave a 6 and 9-year-old, getting them in the bathis half the battle! It turned out to be a win-win.Luckily, for us, there was more for a family to dothan we had ever imagined.Our days started with a full Irish breakfast(and I mean FULL with bangers, mash and blackpudding) and plenty of activities for everyone.There was hiking, horseback riding, exploringthe castle’s mystical forest grounds, as well aslooking for the occasional leprechaun. The girlswere happily exhausted by the end of each day.To my complete surprise, Ashford was incrediblyfamily-friendly, and yet also caters to coupleslooking for a romantic get-away. That’s the beautyof a castle. It is so grand and spacious, plus thewalls are THICK in a castle, perfect for familiesand anyone else looking for some fun or a littlepeace and quiet.Speaking of quiet, the five-star spa at Ashfordshould not be missed! My sister and I managedto sneak away on one of the days. We were able tocompletely unwind and be ready for dinner withour families at Cullen’s Restaurant, the authenticlookingthatched roof cottage located right on thegrounds. For couples or groups, there is also thefamous George V restaurant, well known for theirexquisite cuisine. Again, all part of the mandatoryexperience, remember? Wink. Wink. Don’tworry, our husbands managed to find time fortheir activities as well. Each day they found timeto fish Irish salmon and met an instructor to learnhow to properly shoot clay pigeons, followed bya nightly tradition of a pint or two of Guinness inthe drawing room. All was well. (Note to golfers:golf is included in the overnight package. Makesure to make reservations in advance.) All in all,Ashford is magical at every age!I have never been to heaven, at least I don’tthink I have; but the Ashford Castle experiencewas a little piece of heaven right in the heart ofCounty Mayo. Who knew? If you are traveling toIreland, make sure to leave a little time to enjoyAshford Castle for yourself. Whether you arrive ona white horse or in a snack-filled white rental car,the whole family will enjoy it and hopefully, willcreate memories that will last a lifetime.If you are traveling to Ireland this fall and are aHarry Potter fanatic, be sure to check out the 2ndannual “Hogwarts Halloween” event at AshfordCastle taking place October 28th-November 6th.Packages include Harry Potter-themed dinnerevents and many mystical activities that come tolife in an authentic castle.For more information regarding any specialrates or packages offered by Ashford Castle, visitwww.ashford.ie.Colleen Kelly can be reached through TravelFilm Productions by email at info@travelfilmproductions.com.(Please reference Irish AmericanNews).

8 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” September 2011On a Wing and a Prayer - The MusicalChicago Premiere, Sunday, September 25th, 2011The remarkable life story of Monsignor James Horan of Knock and hismany feats.Showing in the auditorium at: The Irish American Heritage Center at3pm; and Gaelic Park at 7pmCost: $20 & Includes a copy of the Limited Edition DVDSpecial Guest, Director & Co-Writer Tommy MarrenProceeds in aid of the Mayo-Roscommon Hospice.The Women’sEmpowerment ForumOn Thursday, Sept. 22, from 8:30am-2:00pm, The Women’s Empowerment Forumwill be held at Trinity InternationalUniversity, 2065 Half Day Rd., Deerfield,IL 60015, in the Nyberg Executive MeetingRoom, at the Waybright Center.The Women’s Empowerment Forumis an interactive seminar for women whoare contemplating, in the process of orfinalizing a divorce. Meet new friendsgoing through similar situations aswell as obtain knowledge and strengthneeded to get through this challengingphase. Open to all. www.nexushealingsolutions.com.Phone: 847-914-0092.

September 2011 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” 11

September 2011 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” 17City of DreamsWe recently attended the IrishFreedom Committee’s commemorationat the Irish American HeritageCenter for the 30th anniversary of the1981 Republican prisoners’ hungerstrike. One of the speakerswas our friend GeorgeMcLaughlin who, until recently,was a teacher andguidance counselor at RhodeIsland’s Central Falls HighSchool. That might soundvaguely familiar. It’s theschool where in February2010 the school board firedall their teachers.As you approach that littlecity (the smallest and mostdensely populated city in thesmallest US state) a road signwelcomes you to the “Cityof Dreams.” The city’s websiteis bannered “A City with A BrightFuture.”George said Central Falls remindshim of his teaching days in Brooklyn:“People there don’t have a lotof money. The town is the poorestplace in RI. It has the highest percentageof non-English speakers, thehighest percentage of single-parenthouseholds, the highest percentageof teenage pregnancies. We can godown the whole list.”What happened at Central Falls?“There was a plan to reform theschool because our scores were lowand our graduation rate wasn’t sohigh as other places. What we knownow is that this was all by design, anational design. It led to the firingof every single teacher.” Of courseChicago has had this happen inmany schools, beginning when ourgreat friend Secretary of EducationArne Duncan was in Chicago. Mostpeople don’t know about that.“Eventually we were rehired basedon a side agreement signed by theunion, which gave up a lot of ourrights. We had no right to seniority.We had no right to contest involuntarytransfer. We had no right tocontest evaluations, which from thatpoint on would not be done by peoplewho knew us from within the school.But we were brought back and hadour jobs. Shortly after that they gaveme a bad evaluation; they gave mywife a bad evaluation.” (George andhis wife Anne were media spokespersonsfor the fired teachers.) “Andwe knew we’d probably be gone. So,sadly, we had to exit and find otherjobs.” (George holds a Ph.D. fromFordham University and is a boardmember of the National Academy forGeorge McLaughlinAlternative Education. Annie holdsa cum laude B.A. in Anthropology,an M.S. in Science Education andwas nominated for the PresidentialAward for Excellence in Mathematicsand Science.)I’ve seen figures in the press aboutthe school. Were half the kids failingall their subjects? “No, that is incorrect.I was interviewed by CampbellBrown on CNN and she quoted thisstatistic to me. Many of these newsoutlets had these statistics before wewere fired. They were sent by anonymoussources. And then when thosenews people contacted the CentralFalls School District, they were‘verified.’ I told Campbell Brown: ‘Ihave to stop you and I have to tellyou that’s wrong.’ She asked: ‘Howdo you know that’s wrong?’ I said:‘Because I work in the guidance officeand I have the statistics; and I canshow them to you and verify they arewrong.’ And she said: ‘But I have itfrom a very reputable source.’ I said:‘You do; who’s that?’ And she said‘the Central Falls School District.’Which, as far as I’m concerned representsthe death of fair journalism.To quote the other side in a conflictas a ‘reputable source’ is ridiculous.“It’s the old story; the big lie is believed,the little lie isn’t.”How many kids were actually failingall subjects? “The actual figurewas 4%, not 50%. The media wereoff by 46%.”There’s another figure out therestating that during negotiations theunion demanded as much a $90 perhour for extra work. “Not true. Biglie. Not true… It was repeated adnauseum throughout the US that‘they wanted $90 an hour.’ The crucialelement was job security. You’dhave to be out of your mind to agreeto have a side agreement to a viablecontract and not have a guaranteethat you’d have a job. Who’d agreeto such a thing?”What did Gallo use to justify themass firing. Did her power comefrom Washington? “Under ‘Race tothe Top,’ (a $4.35 billion programannounced by PresidentObama and Arne Duncan inJuly 2009) if you’re an “underperformingschool” theygive you options. Those optionsare a means to reformthe school radically; otherwiseyou don’t get any federalmoney. By the way, thereare no rich underperformingschools; they are always poorschools. They are comparingus to rich communities. Andthat’s really, really unfair toplaces like Central Falls.”So, it’s all about money?“Money, money. This is happeningin urban school districts allaround the United States. And it’sfrightening. This is the destructionof the traditional public school.There is a steamroller behind thiseffort to create charter schools; andthere’s big money behind it… Manypeople in this country who lamentthat there’s not a complete separationof church and state really should belamenting the growing problem ofbusiness and state being joined. If weget rid of all of our traditional publiceducation we’ll have no way of goingback. We’ll just have a series ofmom and pop, avant-garde charterschools which, as in the case of NewYork City, will just open up, get ‘badreport cards’ after 3 or 4 years, andclose down. Then we create anothercharter school.”“We have many, many peoplelike Arne Duncan, the Secretary ofEducation, who’ve never taught, whoare running schools, running schoolsystems. Plumbers would not standfor this. Electricians would not standfor it. They wouldn’t say ‘It’s OK;you can run our union or run ourcompany, and you have no idea ofwhat we are actually doing exceptyou’ve read books about it.’”Folks, I have an idea that no oneas yet takes seriously: issue diplomasat birth. Now, that would be a real“cultural revolution.”This column is condensed from amore expanded, detailed version tobe found online at: IrishAmerican-News.com, Columns, Mick.

18 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” September 2011Safe HomeBoard the Bus SafelyThe summer is drawing to a closeand school is back in session. Myeldest daughter, Maeve, embarksupon another chapter in her schoolingthis year as she begins first grade.Last year, the big yellow school busserved as a backdrop to a special dayfor the Begleys as Maeve climbed upthe stairs of the bus solo, turned to meand proudly waved “goodbye.” Themoment was bittersweet. The photo Isnapped of Maeve on the bus—withher pink hair bow and big smile—showed her excitement. I shared herexcitement, but I felt a wide rangeof emotions as that bus pulled awaywith her inside. Primarily, I hoped mykindergartner would be safe as sheembarked upon this wonderful partof her childhood.As parents, we should make ourschool children aware of certainhazards to keep them safe. Middleschoolersand teens may be old prosat taking the bus, but a reminder ofthe safety rules will not hurt. Talk toBy Heather Begleyyour son or daughter about stayingsafe near the school bus. Ideally, yourchild should arrive at the bus stopseveral minutes before the bus so heor she is not in a rush and less likelyto make an impulsive move. Whilewalking to the bus stop or school,children should avoid running intothe street or in between parked cars.Teach kids to use traffic signals andcrosswalks while crossing the street.Once at the bus stop, studentsshould wait at least 6 feet from thecurb. Teach little ones that they shouldstand behind a certain landmark (firehydrant, tree, crack in the sidewalk)and line up away from the road. Ifyour child has to cross the street oncethe bus comes, he or she should walkon the sidewalk or the side of the roaduntil they are ten feet ahead of the busand then cross. Sadly, children canbe injured by their own school buseswhen they are obscured by the hoodand the driver does not see them infront of the bus. Explain the distancethe child has to walk in front of the busto children by using terminology theyunderstand, such as “five giant steps.”It is imperative that the bus driversees the child. Teach your childrenthat they should wait for a commandfrom the bus driver before they steponto the bus and to be careful as theyascend and descend the stairs thattheir book bags do not get caught onhandrails or doors. Children shouldremain seated while on the school busand use seat belts, if available. Makesure your child knows their schoolbus number and where their schoolbus stop is located.As drivers, use extra caution drivingknowing that school is in session.Pay attention to the road and slowdown. Of course, avoid texting orusing your smart phone while driving.Be aware that a bus displaying yellowflashing lights is preparing to load orunload children. A bus displayingred flashing lights and extended stopsign arms has stopped. Children maybe embarking or disembarking fromthe bus.I hope your families have a safe,fun school year. For those readerswith kindergartners, capture thatspecial moment as your little onewaves “goodbye” on the bus or asthey start their first day of school. Itis a milestone for both of you!Michael Londra: Beyond CelticSpecial Book Signing at Donegal Imports 9-22Book Explores History of Irish American Heritage CenterThe newest addition to ArcadiaPublishing’s popular Images ofAmerica series is Irish AmericanHeritage Center from local authorsMonica Dougherty and Mary BethSammons. The book boasts morethan 200 vintage images and memoriesof this home where history andcultural traditions are kept alive.Join the authors, Monica Dougherty,Mary Beth Sammons, for a booksigning at Donegal Imports, 5358 W.Devon in Chicago, on Thursday, September22, 2011 from 4-7pm. If youcan’t be there, you can pre-order bycalling Alex at 773-792-2377. Alexcan ship anywhere!This month your local PBS stationis featuring a wonderful new showfrom one of Ireland’s most belovedperformers, Michael Londra. BeyondCeltic is a brilliant, live musicalspectacular that recreates soundsfrom around the world with a uniqueCeltic twist. Michael Londra wasthe featured singer in Riverdance’sBroadway show in New York, beforeembarking on extensive touring onhis own, throughout the world andthe United States. Different from anyIrish musical performance releasedin the past, Michael Londra: BeyondCeltic features Londra’s 16-pieceOrchestra, Irish Legend FrankieGavin and his Celtic “supergroup”De Dannan, the musical O’Learysisters of Sephira and some of thetop Irish dancers in the world. Thesepassionate talents ignite the audienceon a full-force Celtic journeyinto the heart of Irish culture.Michael Londra: Beyond Celticis part of special programming thatpremiered on PBS stations in Augustand is continuing to air on PublicTelevision in September (checklocal listings). Beyond Celtic isMichael Londra’s first PBS specialand he will be touring this amazingnew show throughout the US inIn 1976, a small group of IrishAmericans was looking for a permanentplace to celebrate and sharetheir heritage and culture. Aftermany fundraisers and Irish FamilyDays, they purchased an abandoned,graffiti-covered building on thenorthwest side of Chicago.Over the past 25 years, a crewof passionate volunteers has transformedthe derelict structure into apremier institution. Through dance,music, festivals, language, history,and art, the Irish American HeritageCenter delivers on its mission as anonprofit organization enhancingthe life of every member and of thethe fall of 2011 and spring of 2012.Michael Londra: Beyond Celtic willbe released on DVD and CD onOctober 11th 2001 on the Razor &Tie record label.Michael Londra has been describedas “one of the greatest Irishsingers of our time.” Since hisbreakthrough role as lead singer ofRiverdance on Broadway, Londrahas emerged as a highly acclaimedinternational soloist. Michael’soriginal recording of “Danny Boy”has over four million views on You-Tube and is regarded as “one of thebest recordings in history.”community. But for the vision ofthose original dreamers and the blood,sweat, and tears of the thousands ofvolunteers, it would not exist.Highlights of Irish AmericanHeritage Center: Profiles in courage,the history of special events, dignitaries,stars and other notable visitors, atour of the center, and celebration ofall things Irish!Irish American Heritage Centerby Monica Dougherty, Mary BethSammons. Images of America Series,$21.99, 128 pages, softcover.

September 2011 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” 19My Music – And How It Got That WayMy Dad, who had grown upin the middle of twelve brothersand sisters, viewed Irish music as‘Greenhorn’ stuff. He was 100%American, though all of his sistersstudied Irish Dance with Pat Rocheand Mae Kennedy Kane. He learnedthe Sax and could play a very tolerablesolo rendition of “Stardust.”His music was Jazz but later in lifehe grew to appreciate the soundsheard in his father’s basement. Mygrandfather was a Stationary Engineerwho helped found the ChicagoLocal 399 and always tried to helpthe many, immigrant Irish whoflooded into Chicago between theIrish Civil War up to the Presidencyof JFK. He was a Kerryman andlike his brother back home wassomewhat of a musician.My Grandfather, Larry Hickey,played button accordion and fiddle.He was an amateur basement playerwho filled that large damp roomonce a week or so with some of thegreatest Irish musicians in Chicago.Terry ‘Cuz’ Teahan (accordion),Tom Masterson (flute), Eleanor(piano) and Jimmy Neary and thegreat Johnny McGreavey (fiddlers)all played sessions with Larry, notso much because he was an artist;rather, as he was a gateway to employment.I am sure their complimentson his button and string workwere sincere.Every Hickey party featuredIrish music and dancing and veryoften the music was provided bythe genius of the people above whowould influence Fiddler Liz Carroll,Jimmy Keane, Sean Cleland andJohn Williams.My Dad with three older andthree younger brothers was themusical odd man out as far as jigs,reels, hornpipes, and polkas wereconcerned. He was a 100% jitterbugAmerican and that Greenhorn stuffwas for the birds.During WWII while in theMarines, he was tented with WestVirginia, Texas, and Louisiana fiddlers,banjo whackers and guit-boxplayers. Like his father they wereamateur country, cowboy and bluegrass artists, but the St. Rita HighSchool saxophone playing wiseguy from Chicago always equatedCountry and Bluegrass with theIrish Session Music that he grewup with in the house on 75thMarshfield—Greenhorn stuff. Heextended his contempt for stringbasedfolkish polyphony with theadvent of Rock and Roll which hecalled Hillbilly Music until the dayhe died. “Jesus Christ Almighty!Turn that $#%^ off!” He’d yellthrough his closed bedroom doorbetween shifts for Mom to geton me or my brother and sister.“Ginny, I got to go into the State inthree hours and I had more thanenough of that bull$#%^ on Guam.Craaaassh on the High waaaayyyy!Christ!”Dad’s sleepy imprecations notwithstanding,I grew up with thesounds of great music. Like mosthomes, we had the radio in the kitchengoing during waking hours—primarily for the great music thatonce aired in Chicago—MikeRapjack on the Voice of Labor inChicago (WCFL). Rapjack fromHammond, Indiana’s Robertsdaleneighborhood—a suburb of Whiting,as they say, gave all of us greatportions of the best in Americanmusic. Rapjack played the AmericanSongbook’s vocalists: EllaFitzgerald, Helen Whiting, KeeleySmith, Sarah Vaughan, Frank Sinatraand Tony Bennett, as well asorchestral arrangements by GlenMiller, Duke Ellington, Count Basie,and Chico Hamilton Quintet. Mr.Rapjack also featured the edgierReal Jazz which introduced so manyof us helot squares to Dave Brubeck,Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, ErrollGarner and the youngsters KeithJarrett and Ramsey Lewis.The radio dial was enchanted byMater et Pater intonations—“Keepyour goddam hands off it! You canwatch the idiot box; do not touch theradio.” With age and the arroganceof adolescence, I would slip the dialto WLS where Ron Riley, Dex Card,Fred Winston, and Dick Biondi spunstacks of wax for us Jills and Jacks:Mitch and the Detroit Wheels, TheKinks, The Yardbirds and The YoungRascals. Later, WLS was eschewedfor WVON; “You’re Standing’ TallWith The Butterball!” for the soundof The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye,Shorty Long, Edwin Starr, LouRawls, Soul Survivors, The FantasticJohnny C, and The Tempting T’sand the most religious man aliveThe Wicked, Wicked Wilson Pickett.Good Gawd!.Somewhere between the traditionalIrish session music, rock androll, Motown, the American songbook, the Latin Mass, and real jazz,I picked up a taste for high browsymphonic, chamber and choralmusic. My uncle Dan managed toget me a job working as a janitor atChicago’s Orchestra on and off between1969-1974—The Solti Years.Sir Georg Solti replaced the unfortunateIrwin Hoffman as musicaldirector of the Chicago SymphonyOrchestra. Poor Irwin Hoffman wassandwiched between the giants FritzReiner and Georg Solti.Solti was the Michael Jordanof music and brought the CSOits world renowned reputation asthe world’s most disciplined andcreative orchestra. I met some ofthe greats—Phil Scharf (SecondViolin), Victor Aitay (violin Co-Concert Master), Frank Miller(cello), Adolph Herseth (trumpet)Gordon Peters (percussion), MarySauer (piano), Maestro Henry Mazer(real great guy) and Sir Georgwho seemed to treat every otherhuman footstep with all of the welcomeof a leper in a hot tub.Along my plodding way throughlife, I somehow picked up the guitarand banjo (5-string C-tuning)and sang along with what I played.Honor bright; I even got paid to doso for about ten years, thus addingto my Catholic teacher pay and evenmanaged to cut a record. Musicsaturates our lives, but more so itleads us into the path of wonderfulhuman beings and even a few greatones who have the personalitiesof dial tones—like Sir. Georg. Webecome discerning creatures for themost part. With luck, we get introducedto the very best in sounds andhuman musical reproduction thatmakes us more aware of the soul inMan and heart of God.

20 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” September 2011They’ll Make Great Pets (Part 2 of 2)“Turtles!” Mom exclaimed when wearrived home from the pet shop, her nosewrinkling in disgust. “I thought you wanteda puppy.”“Well, I did, but then I saw the turtles,” Iexplained.“Joe!” She turned to face my father, and Ithought I saw him lean back a little.“They were a lot cheaper than dogs, Mary,”Dad whispered confidentially, “and now wewon’t have to be out in the backyard, cleaningup the you-know-what.”“But, they’re going to smell!”“Not as bad as the you-know-what, outback.”So that was that. I had my new pets, andeven if they weren’t as warm and cuddly asa dog, I thought, at least I was now the onlykid on the block who owned turtles.The weekend after next, my parents hadpromised us a short vacation up to ChalayeLake in Michigan. At last Friday came andoff we rolledin Dad’s ’66Galaxie, everyonesmiling inanticipation ofanother lazy, relaxingthree-dayweekend.“Ow! Ow!!Ow!!! MOM! Quitit!” I wailed thenext afternoon at the cottage, where I satmiserably on the bed while Mom drippedmedieval hot oil treatment into my left ear.“Michael, I told you not to dunk your headunderwater in that dirty lake! The doctor saidyou need to have these drops, every eighthours! Now, hold still.”It had been that kind of vacation. As soonas I could escape my mother’s clutches, Isnuck into the bathroom, donned my swimtrunks, and slipped out to join my brothersand sisters.We splashed and goofed off for over an hourbefore Dad came strolling up the beach.“Mike! What are you doing? Get the helloutta there, right now!”“I’m not that deep!” I called to him, inbetween mouthfuls of gray-green water. “Myear is still dry.”“MICHAEL!!!”Uh-oh. I was surely dead, now.“No more swimming this weekend, and infact, no more swimming for a week whenwe get back! You’re grounded from the pool,until further notice!”What a crappy vacation. Fighting backangry tears, I ran to our cottage and flungmyself facefirst onto my cot. Thank God we’dbe driving back tomorrow morning. I wishedwe could leave right now. I just wanted togo home.After a fun-filled, fisticuff-filled, threehourride in the back seat with my brothersand sisters, I was greatly relieved when Dadpulled the old Ford into the garage… ah,home at last. I ran upstairs as fast as I couldto greet my four baby turtle friends in theirbeachside spa.“Hi, you guys!” I sang out as I ploppeddown beside the kiddie pool. I received noreply, but that wasn’t unusual, since theywere turtles, after all. Suddenly I noticed, tomy dismay, that none of them was moving.Oh my god, oh my god… no!I moved in closer to see if any had survived.That was a mistake. The half-open mouthsgaped, grinning at me accusingly like macabreterrapin voodoo masks. I recoiled inshock and sheer, unmitigated horror. Theywere all dead, dead, dead…!!! And I hadkilled them! It was all my fault! I had forgottento refill the tank before we left! It was themost horrible thing I had ever done. My poorturtles. How they must have suffered!“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” I sobbedover them. My head swam with horror, guilt,sorrow, shame and grief, all at once. I hadnever before felt so many emotions, all atthe same time.“Mike! What’s wrong? What’s the matter?”I heard my Dad come pounding up thestairs. A sixth emotion quickly rose up in mygut: fear. Oh, no, not Dad… I couldn’t dealwith his almighty wrath, not now. He wouldground me for life, and that would be it. Andto my sorrowful amazement I discovered thatat this moment, I didn’t care. I deserved myfate. Let him kill me, just like I killed… mypoor turtles! I looked over at their still, darkforms, high and dry, and began to wail.The door of my room burst open. Myfather had arrived to pass judgment on me,a sinner and an outcast.“What’s going on, Mi-… oh. Oh, no.”Then, all six emotions and the weight ofthe world crushed down upon me. I buriedmy face in the pillow, shoulders racked withheaving sobs. Dad ducked out of my roomand called down the stairs.“Mary! I think you better get up here, onthe double!”Finally I heard Dad gently close the bedroomdoor. Good. I was alone with my shame.I continued to weep under the blankets. Then,I felt a warm hand on the back of my neck,and a soft voice whispered,“Michael? Are you okay?”“Just go away, Mom. I… I….”“It’s all right, Michael. You what…?”“I killed them!” My body was again rackedwith sobs, and I turned away so that my motherwouldn’t see me in such a disgraceful state.“It wasn’t your fault, Michael. We were allin a big hurry to go on vacation that day. Peopleforget things. It happens all the time.”“But people don’t always forget, and thenkill their turtles!” I sniffled.“No, that’s true, but sometimes they forget toturn the stove off, and then their whole houseblows up,” Mom countered. “How would youlike to be the one who forgot that?”“But I feel so bad, Mom… I killed them.”I glanced past her at the dry tank, and tearsagain welled up. “Oh God oh God… I’m sosorry…!”“Look at me, Michael,” she said.Through my tears, I glanced up into hereyes and found not one ounce of retributionthere, only two deep, blue pools of serenityand peace and forgiveness.“It’s not a sin to forget. We all do. We’re alljust human, and God still loves us. Once inawhile we hurt people, or even turtles, whenwe forget things. It happens, and we’re sorryabout it, and then, we go on. We can’t doanything more other than to be sorry, andespecially, to learn from our mistakes.”She pulled me close and kissed me onthe forehead, then quietly closed the doorbehind her as she left. I sat in the darkenedroom alone with the victims of my transgression,contemplating the deed and mymother’s words of wisdom. It was not morethan a half-hour later that I began to detectthe aroma of chocolate chips wafting up thestairs. A little later Mom returned, her outlinesilhouetted in the rectangle of light as sheentered my bedroom with a plate of cookiesand a glass of milk.“Here, Michael, I brought you something.You never came down for dinner, but I didn’tthink you’d feel like meatloaf tonight.”“Thanks, Mom.” I snuffled to clear myrunny nose, wiped my sleeve across my face,and got up from the bed to retrieve a cookiefrom the plate.“I suppose we’ll have to get the tank andthe turtles out of here soon.” She regarded thescene of mass murder in the corner.“I think we should have a funeral for themtomorrow, in the backyard under the tree,” Idecided, sadly munching on my cookie, theice-cold glass of milk in my other hand.“I think that would be nice. And you cansay a prayer for them.”“I will, Mom. Can you and Dad come tothe funeral?”“Well, your father has to go to work, butI’ll be there. And your brothers and sisters.We’ll have a proper wake and funeral for allfour turtles.”She smiled and picked up the empty milkglass from my dresser. Leaving me the plateof chocolate chip cookies all for myself, sheturned to go. I looked up at her from the bed.“Good night, Michael.”“Thanks, Mom.”PLASTERINGWilliam McNulty & SonsPlastering Co.InsuredAll Work GuaranteedPLASTERINGSTUCCO • DRYVIT708-386-2951Doherty OpensFarmhouse Sept. 6Ferdia Doherty's Farmhouse will giveMidwestern culture the attention that it deservesin its renovated River North location(228 W. Chicago) steps from the ChicagoBrown/Purple line stop.Farmhouse opens September 6 servinglunch and dinner every day. Open from 11amto 2am. Outdoor seating. Reservations at312-280-4960 or www.farmhousechicago.com. Twitter (@farmhousechi).

September 2011 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” 21Rioting for Nothing“Cynic: a blackguard whose faulty vision seesthings as they are, not as they should be.”“A year: 365 more disappointments.”— the great Ambrose BierceI’ve been thinking a lot this week abouta guy who grew up in the same area that Idid. We didn’t really know each other. Noparticular reason; we just didn’t. I went to theCatholic school and he went to the Protestantone. That didn’t mean a thing to us becauseit wasn’t the kind of area where you foughteach other simply because you supposedlybelieved in different things. Well, not mostof the time, and if we did then it was for adifferent reason.I remember him though as a kind of cheeryindividual and that’s about it.Years later I was on a visit back home and Iheard that he had died for a particularly stupidreason. I thought about that a lot this week.In England, on the week that I am writingthis, people went on the rampage for nothingat all. People died for nothing at all. Homeswere destroyed, both in the physical sense andin the sense that some fools destroyed theirfamilies. I don’t know what is worse. It wasall for nothing at all.For some reason, when I heard from thesafety of Galway how bad things had gottenover in Manchester and London, I thought ofthat guy that grew up in the same area as me,dead these more than three decades; and yetthe stupidity of his death came home to meall over again.Is that how it will be for these fools whowent on a rampage last week? Will they suddenlywake up to themselves in twenty orthirty years time and ask themselves: “Whatthe Christ did I do that for?”Well, why did they do it? Already we havethe sociologists and the psychiatrists andevery other idiot who sees a way to makea greasy shekel out of this, jumping upand begging to be interviewed on whatevertelevision network will take their miserabletwo minutes of time to tell us that WE areto blame. They are telling us that SOCIETYis to blame.What a steaming load of horse manurethat kind of dodging is. The looters and themuggers and the thugs that you saw runningriot were not doing this because “society”had made them outcasts. Christ, you crybabies; in this world that we live in we areall to some extent outcasts. It does not giveyou the right to burn out the cars of yourneighbours; it does not give you the right tosmash in their windows or to remove theirplace of work and income by destroying theplaces that they work in.You unredeemable morons! Some of youhave the cheek tocall yourselvesAnarchists. Youdon’t even knowwhat that means!If it was a legitimategripe whyweren’t you takingit to DowningStreet? No, much easier to burn out yourown neighbourhoods, to take war to yourown people.You are thugs and vermin. You are thatmost despicable of individuals: you are looters.All that you have done is make it evenmore impossible for decent people to live intheir own areas.For what? You ripped off a few DVDplayers and suits of clothes that you willprobably never wear; you stole televisionsthat you will never watch and rings that youwill never put on a finger. In a country thatneeds tourism, as most countries need now,you put the boot into tourism. What you havedone by your selfish thuggish actions has noend in sight.Yet it is the cops to blame for being tooheavy handed, and it is society to blame fornot giving you enough facilities. Well, boohoo hoo! The cops were not heavy handed;you don’t get away with that this time. Societywas not to blame. It was just you, the lootersand the savages. Deprived? Take a look athistory; take a look at where many of us grewup. How is it that we didn’t feel the need todo what you scumbags did last week… toyour own neighbourhoods?As to the parents who allowed their kids often and eleven to be involved in this, I haveno sympathy for you at all. I’m not interestedin your whining about not being allowed toknow where they are at that age.As to the many professional people whoare already in jail for looting: It keeps mewarm at night thinking about what youidiots must be going through. You stolefrom your own people; you think about thatas you snuggle down in your cells. Was itworth it; for a few handfuls of extra cash,was it really worth that adrenalin rush ofexcitement?The poor devils that died in that week ofmadness were not the only ones that died.There are people in jail now who wonderwhat the hell they did that for.Now that is what I call to dying for nothing.International Eucharistic CongressDublin, Ireland, June 10th-17th, 2012By Fr. Jim O’BrienWhile I was on vacation in Ireland at the end ofMay, I received an e-mail request from CardinalGeorge through his secretary Father Dan Flens.Cardinal George was asking if I would be his OfficialChicago Archdiocesan Delegate to the 50thInternational Eucharistic Congress to be held inDublin from June 10th until June 17th of 2012. Iprayed and thought about it and then accepted theCardinal’s invitation.The Eucharistic Congress is held every fouryears at different venues throughout the world. Itwas in Toronto, Canada in 2006. It was then thatPope Benedict announced it would be held inIreland in June of 2012.Much preparation is underway in Ireland tomake this gathering a success, bringing Catholicstogether from all over the world.For my part, I am hosting the Chicago ArchdiocesanOfficial Pilgrimage to Ireland June 6ththrough 19th. Trans World Travel of HighlandPark, Illinois is the Official Tour Operator for us.Father Karl Langsdorf, of the St. Patrick Fatherswhom you all know, has agreed to assist me withthis endeavor. He will be with us on our journey.The dates chosen allow for a few days beforeand after the actual Eucharistic Congress. It providesus with an opportunity to do some sightseeingalong with attending events at the InternationalHallelujah BroadwayHallelujah Broadway is a musical extravaganzaperformed with a 32-piece orchestra that will gladdenhearts andgive audiencessomething tocheer about.The AuditoriumTheatreof RooseveltUniversity(ATRU) willbe filled withAnthony Kearnsthe joyous sounds of Hallelujah Broadway Saturday,Sept. 17, 2011 at 7:30pm.Hallelujah Broadway was featured on PBSspecial programming during July and August2010 and now it makes its Chicago debut at ATRU.Featuring inspired vocal performances from threefeatured soloists, including “Too Hot to Handel”tenor Rodrick Dixon and soprano Alfreda Burkeas well as Anthony Kearns of The Irish Tenors.Hallelujah Broadway includes uplifting songsEucharistic Congress. We will visit Galway, theCliffs of Moher, Knock Shrine, Kylemore Abbey,Kilkenny, Drogheda, Armagh, Belfast, Glendalough,Powerscourt, Clonmacnoise, etc.If you are interested in coming with us on thispilgrimage, please call me at 773-919-0103, orTWT at 847-432-2400 or St. Monica Parish at773-763-1661 for a brochure/itinerary. Copies ofthe itinerary are available for pick up at St. MonicaParish, 5136 N. Nottingham, Chicago 60656.Space is limited so please act soon and cometravel with us to Ireland in June of 2012. We wouldbe delighted to have you.2011 C.I.B. Golf OutingAre you ready to golf, with an hour openbar before t-off? On Saturday, Sept. 24th,the Chicago Irish Brotherhood will hold the2011 C.I.B. Golf Outing at Sugar Creek GolfCourse in Elmhurst. The outing will benefitTerry Egan who is battling Parkinson’s disease.Check-in with an open bar is at 1pm; theT-off for 9-holes is at 2pm with a food buffet,3-hours open bar, awards and fun after golf.The cost is $75 per person for golfers; $35for non-golfers.For more information please call 708-606-6700 or email cib_ceo@yahoo.com.from beloved musicals such as Godspell, Wicked,Rent, West Side Story, Sound of Music and LesMiserables among others.Tickets are available online at ticketmaster.com/auditorium, by calling 800-982-2787 or at theATRU Box Office (50 E. Congress Parkway).

22 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” September 2011A Salute to Ground ZeroOne of the most touching events one canexperience in the naval service is passing theUSS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. Thecrew of an entire naval vessel, be it a tinyminesweeper or a giant supercarrier “mansthe rails” standing at attention while theship’s officers salute the unique Pearl Harbormemorial.The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2011has been called this generation’s Pearl Harbor,and thinking back ten years the comparisonwasn’t lost on my Greatest Generation parents.As I saw news of the first World Trade Centertower struck on my computer and learned ofthe second via live television, I made a quickcall home to Northbrook. My mom Audrey wasalways the one to call me with breaking news...this time I barely beat her. “Mom, are you watchingthis? Is this what Pearl Harbor was like?”At then age 83 and two months shy of 84,Mom was still in real estate sales and startedher day in front of the tube.“Oh Good Lord yes, this is exactly what itwas like. We were just shocked. Jim, weren’tyou downtown at the time?”My dad James Henry McClure, 87, shoutedup the stairs “Yeah, I was at the office backwhen I was a bigshot, so what!?” “Dadwas in downtown Chicago working in hisoffice catchingup when I heardthe news on theradio, “Momrelated. “Wecalled and talkedit over andknew nothingwould be thesame from that point.”After the three of us talked nothing was thesame, either from that point on the phone in2011 or the one in 1941. During the surrenderceremony in Tokyo Bay, a beanpole skinny2nd Lt. J.H. McClure of the U.S. Army SignalCorps watched the historic event from aVictory ship loaded with occupation materielalongside the USS Missouri. Dad spent fouryears in the Pacific after enlisting in 1941,missing the death of his father and the birthof his first son.If my dad was somewhat aged in his late20’s my grandfather Tom Corley was a federalmuseum piece.A former World War I artillery captain, hecajoled, bullied and fitness-tested his way atage 44 into a combat assignment as a chiefpetty officer gunnery instructor on a jeepcarrierhe helped save by shooting down akamikaze during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Heand several black cooks manned a gun whoseprevious occupants were cut down by enemyfire. His captain would bring him on chargesfor shooting across the bow, an admiral sawotherwise and gave him the Bronze Star.At age 40 and rising my own less thandistinguished career as a Marine midshipmanon a Notre Dame NROTC scholarship cutshort by a medical discharge after a combattraining injury, was neither the stuff of legendnor of beating 38-year old age limits. “Youknow you can do more with a pen, don’t you?”said Marine Sgt. Major Mac Elvington, mycollege assistant Marine officer instructor asa staff sergeant. Mac’s own reputation waslegendary as drill instructor of two futureMarine generals at Notre Dame, not to mentionseveral generations of enlisted Marines,female Marines, British Royal Marines (androyalty), and several classes at the U.S. NavalAcademy, where Mac was the model for TomClancy’s spit-polish Marine officer instructorin his novel Patriot Games.As usual I didn’t quite follow Mac’s advice(a.k.a. “seeing the (pool) shot”) and spentthe next two years lobbying, cajoling, andimploring National Guard and Naval Reserverecruiters that I was the best old man for thejob. “If you want to go to Afghanistan so bad,why don’t you freelance report? I’ll carry yourcamera bag fer ya,” Mac suggested. Later asthe economy, my public relations career andmy marriage crumbled, Mac would cheerlead.“You bust into that recruiter’s office andtell him you’re Six-Foot-Three of Rompin’Stompin’ Death and Destruction!”It didn’t work. Not in the National Guard,the Naval Reserve, the regular Navy not tomention the halls of Springfield, Washington,D.C., the Pentagon, the local state senator orthe very local Speaker of the U.S. House. Hedid send a very nice commemorative flag upthe Rotunda pole for me just as the letter requestingan age waiver from the acting Secretaryof the Navy was going down in flames.I felt strongly that most of my tail-endbaby boomer generation had paid their duesin Grenada and Kuwait… and some werestriking the mountains in Afghanistan andsweeping into Iraq as I stayed home old, aloneand worn out.I did find my way into the U.S. Naval SeaCadet Officer Corps, which uses volunteerveterans to help teach citizenship and militaryskills to future Marines, sailors and CoastGuardsmen. A couple years back I foundmyself on the deck of the assault ship USSIwo Jima as it steamed into New York harborapproaching Ground Zero. “STAND BY TORENDER HONORS” blared the loudspeakeras thousands of sailors in white snapped to attentionon the rails. Just like Pearl Harbor!“I NEED FOUR OFFICERS FORWARDON THE FLIGHT DECK!” echoed thespeaker. Three were already there… onelooked back at me in my humble Ensign dresswhites. “Well, what are YOU waiting for Mister?”“Sir, I’m just a Sea Cadet escort officer,”I meekly replied as the gaping hole where theTwin Towers were loomed near. “Yeah,” hespat back. “And you’re what the future is allabout… and part of the family. Get your buttover here!”A few seconds later three regular Navyofficers and a slighty disheveled if somewhatout of shape 47 year old junior officer smartlysaluted for ship’s company as we passed theWorld Trade Center.Part of the family.IrishRoverJim@aol.com.Remember the TenBy Pol O’Hearcain (Long Kesh, 1975/1981)On Oct. 2nd, 2011, at the Irish AmericanHeritage Center in Chicago, supporters of the mainbody of Irish Republicanism led by Gerry Adamsand Martin McGuinness will commemorate the30th anniversary of the infamous Long Kesh/HBlock Hunger strike in which ten young men gavetheir lives thattheir comradescould be grantedthe reinstatementof Prisoner ofWar status. Thefight for POWstatus was notnew to Irish Republicans.TheBritish have alwayssought toBobby Sandscriminalise the struggle for Irish freedom, believingthat by doing so they could demoralize theIRA and her Volunteers and break their will toresist British occupation. Maggie Thatcher, thethen Leader of the British establishment, totallyunderestimated the will and courage of the incarceratedIrish Republican Volunteers. Bobby Sands,Francis Hughs, Ramond McCreesh, Patsy O’Hara,Keiran Doherty, Kevin Lynch, Joe McDonald,Martin Hurson, Thomas McElwee, and MichaelDivene gave their young lives that their comradeswould not have to continue to endure conditionsthat were described as being like the “Sewers ofCalcutta” by the late Bishop Thomas O’Feigh whovisited the prison.I recently read an article in this very paper, theauthor of which asserted that Gerry Adams hadconspired to use the hunger strike and the prisonersplight to further his political career. ApparentlyAdams’ plan was to encourage these young mento give up their lives so that he and his party, SinnFéin, could then ride the tide of sympathy. As aformer Irish Republican POW, I was incarceratedin Long Kesh throughout the blanket protests andthe first and second Hunger strikes. During thatperiod, I held the position of Public RelationsOfficer and was in direct contact with protestingprisoners. I can state that at no time were weinfluenced or ordered to protest by the leadershipof the movement on the outside. All decisions toprotest, including the Hunger Strikes, were madeby the prisoners themselves and were influencedonly by the excessively harsh treatment of ourBritish captors.Today, thirty years on, We have come a long…Continued on Page 26

September 2011 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” 23AA BondsLooks like all the political bullheadswith all their political bullcrap have finallybrought us down. Now they’re investigatingStandard & Poor. Even the Chinesesaid reign in your military and the socialwelfare. Now that the rest of the world isbeginning to realize the game is over, evenCuba is now cutting welfare programs and isturning a blind eye towards small businesses.Capitalism will set you free. We have beenliving beyond our means for quite some time,deficit spending is the poison pill. Obama’sapproval rating has hit an all-time low.Abuse RaphoeDiocese, Co. DonegalAnother church cover-up scandal—RaphoeDiocese, Co. Donegal—20 pedophilepriests over 40 years, you read it right, 40years, abused more than 200 children in 30parishes. Bishop Philip Boyce has cooperatedfully, according to the reports. The civilauthorities were left out of the loop onceagain. Stay tuned for the final report.LixnawAugust 2nd, I took off on AA Flight 92for Dublin. The flight was an hour and a halflate. During the long night, if you walkedup and down the aisle you would see peoplereading their books on their Kindles. Mycousin, Dermot Cooney, met me at theairport and we headed for Bunbrosna inWestmeath. After a good sleep and a cup oftea, I settled in. That evening we went overto the village of Multyfarnham and enjoyeddinner at Weirs Bar-if you like roast duck,there’s none better. Thursday we headedback to Dublin to Cathedral Stamps whereI bought the 1916 Golden Jubilee medallion.One side of the medallion has the GPO,and the obverse has the signatories of theProclamation. This is an extremely rare coinand difficult to find. At 5 o’clock we metour cousin Margaret O’Connor at Bewleyson Grafton Street, where they have thebest iced coffeein Dublin. Onto Trocadero’son St. AndrewStreet, one ofDublin’s finerrestaurants, fora wonderfuldinner. Friday, it’s off to Kerry, with stopsin Moneygall, which is overrun with tourists.We met a couple of Yanks outside ofBarack Obama’s ancestral home, where abronze plaque adorns the wall of the house.At least he’s got the economy moving inMoneygall, enough said!Our next stop, Nenagh in Co. Tipperary,for lunch with our cousin MargaretCooney. The final leg of the trip takes usinto Tralee, Co. Kerry.Friday night, therewas a gathering at the Boyle ancestralhome in Ballinglanna, Causeway. Tomand Josephine Boyle form Burr Ridge, Illinois,and Margie Boyle-Bylund and herhusband Howard from Virginia, and Tomand Kathleen Boyle, our hosts, and theirdaughter Eileen Boyle-O’Sullivan, gatheredto enjoy tea, sandwiches, cookies and cake,and catching up on the family news was theorder of business.Saturday, Aug. 6th, the main event wasthe wedding of Maire McCarthy and NigelO’Leary at St. Michael’s Church in Lixnaw.A reception followed at the Bally RoeHeights Hotel in Tralee. Sunday morningwe went to Mass at St. Brendan’s Churchin Tralee. I was surprised to meet up withCatherine Reidy Cantillon. Catherine waswith her mother Theresa Boyle-Reidy, whois suffering from Alzheimer’s. The familywas surprised when it appeared that Theresaactually knew who I was. She shookmy hand, smiling all the time, and thenkissed my hand several times. Apparentlyshe hadn’t reacted to anybody else in thismanner. Theresa’s my father’s first cousinand they are from Glendhalen, Ballyheigue.I first met them 42 years ago, and I carriedlittle Catherine, then 4 years old, on myshoulders down over the fields to find herfather, Timmy Joe Reidy. After we went tothe antique show at the Carlton Hotel, wespent the rest of the day visiting family.Monday, Aug. 8th, I met up with my oldfriend John Griffin at the Ashe MemorialHall. John headed up the Jeanne JohnstonProject a number of years back, we discusseda new initiative. Lunch followed atthe Brandon Hotel. At 3 o’clock, Tom Boyleand I headed for Adare Manor where we metup once again with Dermot Cooney. Thenit was back to Bunbrosna. Tuesday we wentup to the town of Boyle, in Co. Roscommon,and visited the Boyle Abbey. The man at theinformation booth was Tony Conboy. Smallworld, he has relatives by the name Heaveyin De Plaines, IL. From Boyle, we went toLough Key Forest Park; from there to theArigna Coal Mine in Lietrim. The coal mineis well worth the visit. It was the last activecoal mine in Ireland, and closed in 1990.The working conditions in those mines werepretty rugged. The seam of coal was roughly6 ft. wide and 4 ft. high and the miners had toeither kneel and swing a pick or lay on theirside and swing a pick. The vistas from thetop of that mountain are breathtaking.Wednesday finds us in Kilkenny to meetJohn and Noreen Cooney, Bernadette Marnell,Theresa Brennan and Sr. Judy Kellyfor lunch at Langton’s, where the food issuperb. The Kilkenny Arts Festival was on,but the weather was a little bit on the rainyside. Back to home base, Bunbrosna, andearly to bed as I needed to be at DublinAirport at 7am.Security is more comprehensive at Irishairports. Profilers ask you questions as youcheck your bags. You pass through securitytwice, once with your shoes on, and oncemore with them off. You now clear UScustoms and immigration in Dublin. And asthey scanned my passport I was surprisedto see that they pulled up a picture of mychecked baggage on a computer screen, andasked me to identify it.Moonlight GamblerMayor Rahm Emmanuel now wants aCasino—Gov. Quinn says not so fast. Howmuch arm twisting can the Governor take?Has somebody already sliced up the “insider’sminced pie,” while citizens wince atthe potential for increased crime? Don’t goto the goat’s house for wool.PresidentialIs it possible he inherited Nero’s penchantfor fiddling? I wonder if there are any“Great Whites” off the coast of Martha’sVineyard.FINANCIAL PLANNINGCorrigan Financial Services, Inc.Money Concepts Financial Planning CentreEstablished 1980Retirement Planning SpecialistforIndividuals - Families - BusinessInvestment - Tax - Estate PlanningCallMike & Chuck Corrigan(708)482-3800Member International Association for Financial Planning8th Annual Golf Outing& Fundraiser at PeggyKinnane’s - September 13Join Peggy Kinnane’s Irish Restaurant& Pub for the daylong 8th Annual GolfOuting & Fundraiser to benefit Hospiceof Northeastern Illinois (in memory ofJack Hanley,) which includes breakfastat Peggy’s, best ball scramble at Old OrchardCountry Club Old Orchard CountryClub, 700 W. Rand Rd, Mount Prospect,IL, lunch at the turn, complimentary beerand water on the course, raffle prizes,including 2 hole-in-one contests to win aMercedes Benz and dinner and open barfollowing the outing at Peggy’s. For ticketsand more information visit http://www.peggykinnanes.com/annual-golf-outing.

24 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” September 2011Lots of mini-type reviews thismonth. As usual, they have backed upon the desk. The result? We bring youonly the best of the best, as usual.Ceol Sidhe features Steve Cooney,Charlie Lennon, and Michael Hyneson guitar, fiddle and concertina,respectively. There are 19 cuts onthe album, each more brilliant thanthe other. Believe it or not, there areonly two sets of reels! This album isadults playing Irish music. Perfectly.Not 305mph, like so many of today’schildren. If you love Irish traditionalmusic, this is the perfect instrumentalalbum. We know Copperplate inLondon has it.Fiddle & Flute is by BlayneChastain, Natalie Padilla, and PeterRomero. Another all-instrumentaltreat from this trio of flute, fiddle,and piano. Denver, Colorado? Whoknew? A great album from reallytasty musicians.The Two Tap Trio is Nora Rendellon vocals and flute, Brian Milleron guitar, and Nathan Gourley onfiddle. The album’s title is A Nightat the Fair. What a stunning piece ofbusiness from these Minnesota-basedmusicians. We get several albums ayear that we just keep listening to,and this is one of them. This groupis getting a lot of work and it is nothard to see why. Terrific.The Morning Star is an absolutelystunning all-instrumental album fromMarla Fibish and Jimmy Crowley. Onthe album, Marla plays mandolinand mandola. Jimmy is on bouzouki,dordan, mandolin, and mandocello.Apparently, the creative aim of thealbum was to let you hear what anumber of the great tunes of Celticmusic would sound like with onlytwo stringed instruments being perfectlyplayed. Or something. We arenever sure about what musicians aretrying to express artistically in an album,and we quite frankly don’t care.What we do care about is whether thealbum is fun to listen to, and playedwell. This album is both. These aretwo really superior musicians flexingtheir artistic muscles and givingus a rare treat. And, it is different.With just the two instruments, themelodies really stand out, and aregorgeous. A thorough winner.Cathal Clohessy and EamonnCostello are out with Bosca Ceoil &Fiddle. We know this one is also availablefrom Copperplate in London, asit was they who brought it to ourattention. We assume our pal, JackBaker at Rampant Lion would alsobe able to get it. This all-instrumentaltreat of 14 cuts is only for the dyedin-the-wool,honest-to-heavens tradfan. But if that describes you, thisis a great piece of business that youwill love. A lot of the tunes are raretreats to be recorded and recordedperfectly. We cannot urge this albumupon the real trad fan highly enough.A must-have.We feel that the next two albumswe’re going to tell you about shouldbe considered under one umbrella.Full Set is a brilliant-AND WEMEAN BRILLIANT-new group outof Ireland. The album is Notes atLiberty. It is vocal/instrumental at thehighest level of the music. Sean Mc-Carthy is on uilleann pipes, MichaelHarrison on fiddle, Janine Redmondon button accordion, Teresa Horganwith flute and vocals, Eamonn Moloneyon bodhran and Andrew Meaneyon guitar. The two new groups thathave really blown us out of the waterlately are Outside Track, and nowFull Set. Stunning. It can be arguedthat Outside Track is the hottestthing in traditional music right now.Full Set will soon join them. They’reyoung, gifted, and understanding ofthe music far beyond their years. Aswe grow older, it becomes increasinglyeasy to dislike people like this.Unless, they’re this good. And, theyare this good. Simultaneous with therelease of Notes at Liberty is piperSean McCarthy’s Halcyon Days. Ofcourse, this features Sean playinghis pipes and low whistles. He isjoined by Fergal Scahill and ConalEarly on guitars. What a brilliantsolo and first album this is. We don’tknow how young Sean is. We don’twant to even contemplate that. Whatdoes keep us up at night is how hegot this good this young. HalcyonDays establishes Sean McCarthy inthat small, but select group of thevery best world-class uilleann pipers.Stunning. Did we already say that?No matter. It is.Hope you are tuning in everyMonday night at 8 o’clock for IrelandTonight, WDCB 90.9 FM and www.wdcb.org for our weekly show of realIrish Music. And, visit www.irelandtonight.com.Traditional.I sat waiting patiently at the CreamCity Feis in front of the results board. Iwent there to dance only one dance, myreel. Reel was the last dance I neededto get a first in to get into the next level,which is Preliminary Championship. Itried not to get too excited. Then a waveof panic hit me. I started thinking ofsome dancers I know that have beenone dance away from PC for over ayear. I had danced the best I could andthat was all I could do. I felt a surge ofexcitement as I watched them hang upthe results at the stage that I had danced.I was afraid to look. First I need to tellyou that I am blind without my glassesand I wasn’t wearing them that day. Isquinted as hard as I could. OMG itwas! Right next to the first place boxwas Deirdre Kozicki! I couldn’t believeit. I finally made it into PC. I was sohappy. I had been in Prizewinner fora long time. I’ve been in it longer thanI’ve been writing this column.I also have my National results. Thecompetition was held at the OprylandHotel. It is a pretty cool hotel. It feelslike your outside but your inside. It wasa long day. I did a girls ceili in the morning.I felt my team did pretty well. Inthe afternoon my team danced our choreography.This is what we practicedfor the most. I was the most nervousfor this. I knew I couldn’t focus on mynerves or I would forget my steps. OnceI get on stage I really don’t think aboutanything else but the dance. I thinkabout all the critiques and adjustmentsmy teachers have told me in the last 2months of practice. The music soundsin my ears and my body goes into“auto dance mode.” We all agreed thatthis was the best choreography we haddanced. Then I had to dance my mixedceili, which is with both boys and girls.We did really well at that one, too. I wasdone dancing. I was happy I got to takemy wig off! I checked the recall board.My choreography and mixed ceiliboth recalled. Then it was results time.The teachers had given us all cowboyhats to decorate to wear at results. Mychoreography placed 3rd. I was a littledisappointed because we had practicedso hard and we had danced so well. Mymixed ceili got a 4th and I was happywith that because that was the first timeI danced on a mixed ceili team. Overall,it was a great trip and I had a great timewith everyone at Nationals.There’s a new book of the Liffy Riverseries by Brenna Briggs. It is a book of4 mini mysteries Irish dance style. Myfavorite on is The Case of the ClumsyClowns. It wasn’t a suspenseful mysterybut a funny one. It was hilarious. Iwould recommend that one if you wantto laugh. The Werewolves of Ossory isa good history mystery. It put an oldIreland myth in a modern Irish dancersetting. The Mystery of the MissingNovice was the hardest mystery to solve.I would read that one for a brainteaser.And last but not least, The Mystery of theTemporary Trophy is centered mostly onIrish dance. It was a very good plot. Ienjoyed all the stories very much. Thisbook has a mystery for everyone in thefamily. I highly recommend it.Well as my grandma would say “theparty’s over!” School has started. I’msad summer is over, but I’m excitedfor the school year ahead. I’m excitedabout being Student Council Presidentand being in 8th grade. I hope everyonehas a great school and dance year.

September 2011 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” 25The Deficit & ImmigrationAs I compose these words thebig news on all fronts is relatingto the downgrading of the USbond rating. The previous day,I listened to an expert on theradio state that, “there is a onein three chance of a double-diprecession.” And for the remainderof the segment all of the focuswas on the reasons for the one inthree becoming a reality. Thenthe thought struck me, what happensto the 66 and two third %and the factors that exist that arepresent and can be used to enablethe country to avoid a double-diprecession.We have the ability to influencewhat way this whole mess is goingto turn out and it brings to mindthe question of the wise man tohis students seeking wisdom. Heasked, “If you have two opposingforces inside of you fighting fordominance which one is going towin?” The students debated thequestion for hours and came upwith all sorts of arguments as towhich one would emerge the winner.Finally, the wise man calledfor silence and said, the answer isnot complicated; whichever oneyou feed the most is the one whowill win.The fact remains that the biggestdeficit we face is not one ofresources but one of imagination.This lack of imagination is oneof the key factors that preventus from moving out of fear tosearch and put our talents andenergy into developing the twothirdsreason for not falling intoa “double-dip” recession.This country has the talent andskills to solve our economic woes,the questions which remain to beseen are this; do our elected officialshave what it takes to stop thebickering and start putting theirenergy into building a sustainablestructure. Can our electedfolks from both sides of the aislefollow the advice of the Greekphilosophers; namely, “virtue isin the middle.” Aristotle defined avirtue as a balance point betweena deficiency and an excess of atrait. The point of greatest virtuelies not in the exact middle, butat a golden mean sometimescloser to one extreme than theother. For example, confidence isthe mean between undervaluingoneself and vanity, and generosityis the mean between miserlinessand extravagance. It requirescommon sense reasoning, notnecessarily extreme intelligenceto find this golden mean.What we need most from ourelected officials to solve our woeswith the economy, immigrationand whatever else needs attentionis a group of people who arepledged to working together tofinding the golden mean.Should you have any comments,questions or suggestions,please feel free to contact me at:sliabhanoir@yahoo.com or 773-282-8445Murph’s Pub Crawl Planned for Sept 24thMike Murphy was amember of the Larkinand Moran Brothersfrom 2000 until hislife was cut short at32 in 2008. His familyand friends help set upThe Michael J. MurphyMusic ScholarshipFund (a 501(c)3 nonprofitorganization).Murph taught at theMusic School in OakLawn and encouragedand inspired people ofall ages to learn how to play aninstrument and love music.The Scholarship Fund hasbeen created with the mission toprovide music related lessons andinstruments to children from familiesthat do not have the financialmeans to provide this opportunity.The organization’s goal is to carryon Murph’s legacy and make a differencein a life by giving them thegift of music.Back in 2009, the first PubCrawl was held in support of thefirst Murph’s Gift Of Music benefit.It was a blast and raised a lotof money for the fund. They areworking on the schedule whichwill published by press time. Theyhave secured a bus again, so leavethe driving to them or meet up atany pub along the crawl.Please contact Dan Larkinat larkinbros@aol.com or 773-960-3892 to sign up. They havehad a great response but are wellprepared to handle all who wantto attend. A $10 dollar donationhelps defray costs of the bus andshirt.They will be playing sessionsat all pubs along the way so anymusician who wants to join in, justbring your instrument or voices!

26 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” September 2011A Modern FarmetteSome time back, I came acrossthe name ‘A Modern Farmette’on Twitter, and knewI needed to look furtherto see what thislady’s definition ofa Modern Farmettewas. I was curious,to say the least. Wasit simply the fact thatthis lady was a farmerin 2011? Was she indeeda farmer? Theuse of the diminutiveprompted me towonder if the farmwas tiny.One of my favoritebooks as a child wasThe Secret Garden by FrancesHodgson Burnett. When Maryentered this world it held manypromises, much potential andeven healing powers. This childlikewonder is a special thingand although I am older in years,it has never waned. So when Ipeered into this new world or inthis case, someone else’s newImen McDonnell and Rachel Gaffneyworld, my childlike wonder wasre-awakened.This Modern Farmette, is ImenMcDonnell, who grew up in Minneapolis,Minnesota, worked inTV and film production in NewYork City, Los Angeles and Minneapolis,traveled extensively,and is now living in an eighteenthcentury farmhouse, miles awayfrom her nearest neighbors inrural Ireland.My most recent trip home toIreland was last June. My travelstook me to the beautiful regionof County Clare. By now Imenand I had been in contact witheach other for several weeks, soit seemed only natural for usmodern day pen pals tomeet in person.Imen lives in ruralLimerick and I wasstaying at The Lodgeat Doonbeg, Co. Clare,perched at the edge ofthe Atlantic Ocean. Itwas a Sunday and wewere meeting for lunch.Imen was taking the ferryaround the coast anddriving the remainder ofthe way. Cell phone servicecan be sparse at best,but somehow, we wereable to stay connectedvia social media sites.Imen McDonnell exuded energyand charm. We were seatedby the window in Darby’s Barat The Lodge of Doonbeg, withpanoramic views of the AtlanticOcean. This was going to be a funand interesting lunch.I wondered what was differentabout her modern day farmerhusband, so I asked.“Today, most farmers are collegeeducated and into diversification.[My husband] has a B.Ain philosophy and is planning togo back for an MBA. Educationis absolutely necessary to besuccessful in farming these days.No longer are the profitable daysof dairy, poultry, vegetables andcattle alone; farming is a businessand diversification is key. Ourfarm also specializes in alternativeenergies, i.e wind power andbiogas” (a biogas is an anaerobicdigester that treats farm waste).Their five year old son is growingup in a world that is combiningthe comforts of past traditionsin early farming Ireland andmodern technology. They innatelyunderstand the importanceof preserving and cherishing thepast. In fact they have embarkedon a period restoration of a centuriesold thatched farmhouseand there is a possibility that itmay even be used for farm staysand traditional cookery classes. Ifthey do, then I plan on being theirfirst guest… anyone else want tojoin me?http://marriedanirishfarmer.com/Follow Rachel on Twitter: @Rachelgaffney, Facebook: RachelGaffney. www.Rachelgaffneys.com.Remember The TenContinued from Page 22…way. Thirty years ago the British andtheir Unionists counterparts in Irelandrefused to even acknowledge that SinnFéin existed. There only words to uswere ”NO,” “No Pope,” “No surrender,”“Not an inch,” “No, No, No.” All weasked was that they sit before us, acknowledgeour right to exist and discussour demands. It took 30 years to get tothe Good Friday Agreement, another 10years passed before they gave in to givingus devolved policing powers. Backin 1969 we had no alternative but to beararms, defend our neighbourhoods andfight for recognition. Today, 42 yearslater, the British are sitting before usat the negotiating table. Slowly, we areinching towards an inevitable UnitedIreland.In the Northern occupied countiesof Ireland and, indeed, here in Chicago,there are dissidents that continue to supportthe old traditionalist Irish Republicanview that as long as the British continueto occupy part of Ireland they shouldcontinue to use force of arms. It seemslogical to me and apparently to the vastmajority of the Irish people who haverepeatedly rejected the dissidents at theballot box, that if the Irish Republicanagenda can be moved forward peacefullyand without the use of arms, then thatis the path we should take. As an IrishRepublican who supports the main bodyof Irish Republicanism, Sinn Féin, I callon the Chicago Irish community to rejectthe dissenters by coming out to the IrishAmerican Heritage Ctr. on Oct. 2nd tocommemorate the 30th anniversary of thedeath of the H Block Hunger Strikers.Ed McElroy, host of “The Ed McElroy Show” recently interviewed OrlandPark Mayor, Dan McLaughlin, Orland Park Village Manager, Paul G. Grimesand Village Senior Planner, Kimberly Flom. The show will air on Tues.,Sept. 6, 2011 and again on Tues. Sept. 13, 2011. Both shows air at 8pmon Comcast Channel 19. Pictured (L-R) are Mayor Dan McLaughlin, EdMcElroy and Paul G. Grimes, Village Manager.If you have an iPhone andthe Kaywa Quick ResponseCode Reader App, just scanthe code to the right and betaken directly to the IrishAmerican News website!

September 2011 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” 27The Big Picture… And The SmallA silly season story to make youweep. Retiring employees of FAS, thealready discredited Irish state trainingagency, receive up to seven weeks extrapaid holidays during each of theirfinal two years, to help them preparefor retirement (!) No wonder Ireland’seconomic situation is sometimes characterisedas critical but not serious.The Big Picture is now with us. Inthe context of the tremors coursingthrough the world economy, Ireland’seconomic problems, real or otherwise,represent small beer indeed. Who cantell what will be the outcome of the currentworld wide economic upheaval?Will the international economy stutteron? Will the euro survive? Politically,what will happen in the Middle East?Will democracy prevail—eventually—in Libya and Syria? What then? Willthe Arab Spring spread to the Gulf,to Saudi Arabia? Will the pundit whoforecast that in a year or two the southernrim of the Mediterranean would beone Islamic state be proved correct?And what about the price of oil?Thus far the big picture has helped.The need for Europe’s big states tofocus on protecting the Euro hassubsumed Ireland’s problems into thebigger euro whole (“w” optional!). Theimmediate interim solutions, a secondbailout for Greece and moves towardsnew fiscal mechanisms, have, as a byproduct,lowered the interest rate payableby Ireland on monies borrowed.The government has been handed, on aplate, one of it’s chief election commitments.The net effect will be a savingof $1 billion plus annually on interestpayable, giving slightly more wiggleroom on the financial bind. (The savingdoes not mean more money; merelythat the cost of our ongoing borrowingsimply to run the country will beslightly less.)It must be comforting for the Government,just six months in, to have thisinternational economic background asa fallback. There is still mileage out ofblaming Fianna Fail for the domesticsituation and the harsh measures pending,but there is now the added comfortof external economic factors. Shouldthe Irish economy continue to stagnate,and unemployment persist at currentlevels, the international economicuncertainty can be cited as hinderingrecovery. Moreover, the praise andplaudits we are receiving internationallyfor policies pursued are encouraging.If we could only factor out the costof the bank bailout, we would be wellon the way to recovery. If only!The saving on interest will not goamiss. For even if so far Enda Kennyseems blessed with Napoleon’s sine quanon for a general—Luck—the thirdhundred days of the coalition promisesto be interesting. At the very least thegovernment has to find $4.5 billion inextra savings in the December budgetand who knows what else may be lyingin the economic long grass out there(last year $5 billion morphed to $7billion after September, which provedthe tipping point necessitating IMF intervention).A formidable enough targetin itself but made more complicated bya mystifying commitment, celebrating100 days in office, by Kenny and hisdeputy and Labour leader Gilmore, notto raise income tax or cut welfare levelsto achieve the target.Given this commitment, just howthe target—an IMF one—will be metis unclear. Perhaps the Governmentbelieves its luck (and public support)will hold. This is a dangerousstrategy. The money has got to comefrom somewhere. Presumably someform of semantics will be employed,changing tax bands, changing age orincome levels for benefits, a slew ofstealth taxes, but the net effect will beto damage seriously the government’sreputation for transparency. This hasalready taken one blow over RoscommonHospital, where a needless preelectioncommitment was given. Thestrategy should surely have been totake the harsh measures every oneknew were necessary early on in thegovernment’s term and blame it all onFianna Fail.The fallback strategy, to blame theIMF, already used to excuse the newproperty levy, cuts less ice and is lesseffective politically. There is everydanger that the brief opportunity forthe new government to dent decisivelythe public sense of entitlement andregenerate the political system andculture will be lost. Already voices canbe heard complaining that they “votedfor change” and asking where is it, as ifthe economic mess could be banishedby simply casting a vote. While mostpeople recognise the seriousness ofthe situation and the need for firm andpainful action, the danger in delayis that impetus will be lost. As timepasses, and as further harsh measuresare introduced piecemeal, the ficklefinger of blame could quickly redirectat the government.There is no doubt that Fine Gaelfeels it has to tread with care lest itfrighten the Labour horses. Labour forits part has its own frightened horsesto worry about. The unprecedentednumber of new Labour backbenchersis both a blessing and a curse; greatto have the numbers but a slight lossof support could lose those seats nexttime round. The new backbenchers arevery much aware of this, and of theradical left snapping at Labour’s heels.The recent election showed the punishmentthat an angry and disillusionedelectorate can hand out.While all this is true (and also applies,mutatis mutandis, to the FineGael backbenchers), there is surely astronger case to be made in the currentsituation for the tactics of Machiavellirather than Fabian the Delayer, i.e. getthe harsh measures over quickly.Whatever the outcome on the worldmacro- stage, the problem of thebudget deficit on the Irish micro-stagewill remain and this cannot be solvedwithout pain.The first strains on inter-coalitionrelations should come later this monthwhen the comprehensive review of governmentexpenditure is due. Grantedthat the Minister in charge is a LabourMinister, nevertheless any proposedcutbacks in spending, to help meet theIMF target, are likely to impact more onLabour supporters and support and leadto some soul-searching in the ranks. Atoe to toe battle between the two partiesin the October Presidential electionwould also not improve matters, thoughas I write it is not clear what the finalline-up of candidates will be.The mood of the electorate shouldalso be watched. While there has beena healthy dose of realism up to now,as evidenced by the muted reactionto the medicine the public has had toswallow (unlike Greece, there has beenno rioting in the streets), this was accompaniedby a grim resolve to punishthose deemed responsible, as FiannaFail found out. However, into Year Four,with more screw-tightening in prospect,the cumulative effect is mounting, withmany hitherto unscathed (includingsections of the middle class) nowbeing hit.The potential for grievance developingis rising. Revelations suchas the FAS one do not help, nor thefact, underscored daily, that everyonewill hang on doggedly to what theyhave. Ultimately so much depends oninternational developments that theGovernment should be careful lestwhat it does, or doesn’t do, makesmatters worse.Chicago Kilt Run to Try for Guinness RecordOnly a short year ago, a few ChicagoPolice Detectives formed theCommittee for the Chicago Kilt Run. Itwas a tremendous success in fundraisingand as a social event, organized tobenefit Police Charities.This is the only Kilt Run where allparticipants are encouraged to wear akilt to start the race. Kilts are madeavailable by event organizers. CharitableRun/Walk. All are welcome…Even your pets may participate!Afterward… Hang out at our rollickingpost-run celebration with alldayentertainment at the main stagestarring Joe McShane, Fast EddieMcAteer, and Barry Fagan.The current Guinness record is heldby the City of Perth, Ontario, Canada,Seanachai’sThe ShadowOf A GunmanSeanachaí Theatre Companyopens its 2011/12 season ClassicVoices: The Revolutionaries withSean O’Casey’s The Shadow of aGunman in the 3rd Floor Theatre atthe Irish American Heritage Center,4626 N. Knox Ave. in Chicago, fromSeptember 17th to October 23rd.In a Dublin tenement four yearsafter the Easter Rising, poet DonalDavoren finds himself the victimof mistaken identity as an IRAgunman. The notoriety of beingwith 1,089 participants—join in helpbreak this record!When: Sunday, September 18, 2011at 10amWhere: Start and Finish at TrinityPub Festival Grounds located at 5943N. Northwest Hwy., Chicago, ILWhat: A 3K (1.87 mile) run, walk,jog, etc not a strictly competitive race.It will be a C.A.R.A. (Chicago AreaRunners Association) emerging race. Aportion of the proceeds will be donatedto select local schools, and The ChicagoPolice Memorial Foundation. Everyyear this charity/fund changes and willbe community-based. A Celtic Fest followsthe event featuring a concert stagewith The House of Blues; house band,step dancing demonstrations, and moreCeltic entertainers and activities.Registration: via www.chicagokiltrun.com;Pricing is $25 if registeredby Monday, September 12th, 2011,12:00 am; $35 if registered by Saturday,September 17th, 2011, Midnight. Adiscount of $10 will be automaticallyapplied for participants of age 13 andyounger.Also visit the website at chicagokiltrun.comand view the video and photogallery from last year’s event.a “gunmanon the run”becomesan amusingand attractivealter ego, especially given thenewfound affection of the lovelypatriot Minnie Powell. But at whatcost?The Shadow of a Gunman (1923)is part of O’Casey’s well-knownDublin Trilogy, which includesJuno and the Paycock (1924) andThe Plough and the Stars (1926),the latter of which inspired Irishpatriots to riot.www.seanachai.org.RESTAURANT/pubOWNERS:FERDYNAND & ANNA HEBALInvite you to enjoyThe RedApple Buffet!Czerwone JabtuszkoRESTAURANT & DELI’S3121-23 N. MILWAUKEE AVE.PH 773-588-5781FAX 773-588-39756474 N. MILWAUKEE AVE.PH 773-763-3407 FAX 773-763-3406

28 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” September 2011One of the real benefits of vendingat Irish festivals around the countryis that I get to hear some superb localbands that for one reason or anotherdon’t tour. Jobs and families tend torestrict their ability to travel but nottheir ability to play some great music.One of the real delights at the DaytonCeltic Fest, for instance, is a localband called Dulahan. Kyle Augheperforms lead vocals and writes allthe words and music for the songsthe band performs. He has a greatvoice and an even greater talent asa songsmith. Kyle is well assistedby a crew of multi instrumentalists,Leo Butler, Mark Sandlin, BartCason and Tony Williams. On theirlatest CD, Little Bits of Truth, theband is joined by Kyle’s daughterMackenzie, who sings admirablyon the song “When My Love SailsAway”—nice to see that the talenthas been handed down to anothergeneration. The songs on this CDare intelligent, well-written, fun andmemorable. Kyle needs to publish asongbook and is, I believe, workingon one. Meanwhile you can see moreof his work at our store or online atwww.dulahan.com.Another great local band that it’sbeen my great pleasure to hear is TheDrowsy Lads from Columbus, Ohio.A good customer tipped me to theirtalent. I gave them a listen and havebeen mightily impressed and pleasedever since. The Lads have releasedtheir second CD this year, Pick It Up,and it’s as fine a trad Irish recordingas you can find. Strong vocals and impressiveinstrumentation are providedby Bryan Brookes on flute, whistles,concertina, Phil Franck on fiddle,banjo bass fiddle & vocals, JoshFranck on button accordion, bodhran,guitar and vocals, John McKewen onbouzouki, tenor banjo and vocals andDaniel McKewen on guitar, uilleannpipes, low whistle and bodhran. ThisCD has the distinction of stopping myson in his tracks as he heard their renditionof the Wild Irishman reel, trulyan attention grabber. At the DublinIrish Fest this year, the Drowsy Ladswere one of the bands that customerswere talking about. Folks loved theirpowerful performances and I canagree that they are a lovely surprisefor the jaded music fan. They toohave a website where you can sampletheir stuff, www.thedrowsylads.com,give them a listen.The last CD I want to talk aboutthis month is truly a landmark recordingand one that all piping fanswill want to add to their personallibraries. Greentrax Recordings,certainly the finest label in Scotland,has again produced a classic,Seudan. Before I can describe thisCD, I need to give you a little backstory.The Highland bagpipe wasstandardized in design and style inthe 19th century. Very few of the oldinstruments still exist. One that doesis the “Black Set of Kintail” datingfrom the late 18th or very early 19thcentury and housed in the InvernessMuseum. In 1992 Hamish Mooremeasured these pipes with the ideaof creating a modern instrument ofthe same proportions. Today severalsets of these unique pipes have beencreated and are played on this CD byAngus MacKenzie, Angus Nicolson,Calum MacCrimmon and Fin Moore.Vocals are supplied by Kathleen MacInnesand Allan MacDonald. Allanalso plays Scottish Small Pipes andJew’s Harp on the recording. Uponhearing the CD at the store, MikeDietz stated that this is what Red HotChili Pipers wished they soundedlike. No, there are no electric guitarsor banging drums to muck up thesweet sound of these very specialpipes. I can guarantee you’ve neverheard piping quite like this, but itwill give you an idea of why theScots fell in love with the pipes, andyou just might do the same. The vocalsare all in Scots Gaelic, hauntingand beautiful. This is a one-of-kindrecording, a must-have for anyonewho loves the pipes.My last bit of news concernsmaster composer of original Irish traditionalmusic, Denis Carey. Asidefrom his work as the piano playerwith the Brock McGuire Band, Denishas recorded two stunning CDs ofhis original compositions, An Turasand Moving On.Now he has published a book ofhis compositions, suitable for fiddle,accordion, banjo, mandolin, flute, tinwhistle, concertina, piano and guitar.You musicians looking for some newpieces need look no further. I’mhappy to see this book because thisshould allow us the chance to hearDenis’ great music more often. Alovely fat book, it contains no fewerthan 20 reels, 14 jigs, 9 hornpipes, 2barn dances, 16 airs, 5 waltzes and 7odd bits that will delight players andaudiences alike. Lest I forget to mention,it’s very reasonably priced.You can reach me at RampantLion Celtic Traders, 630-834-8108or online at www.pipingitin@comcast.net.New Irish Consul GeneralAidan Cronin is the new IrishConsul General, replacing MartinRouine, who is retiring back tothe lovely Wicklow area in Ireland.Aidan has served in Iran, Australia,and Ireland during his career, andthis will be his first appointment asConsul General. Aidan, along withhis wife and two children, are settlingin on the Northside of Chicago. Wewelcome Mr. Cronin, and his familyto the Midwest for the next fouryears! Céad míle fáilte!Photo by Cathy Curry.Damian McGinty Wins The Glee ProjectDamian McGinty from Derryin Northern Ireland was recentlynamed the winner of The GleeProject in Los Angeles. In thefinale of the 10-episode show,Glee producer Ryan Murphyannounced that Damian McGintyand Samuel Larsen had co-wonThe Glee Project. Both winnerswill now appear in guest roles inseven episodes in season three ofthe hit show Glee on Fox. Lastweek Damian won a place in thefinal four, and after demandingfinal week he chose to performthe Bobby Darren classic “Some-where Beyond the Sea” as his lastsong for Ryan Murphy. Initially,Murphy named Samuel Larsenas the contest winner, andthen sprung the surprise ofthe evening on Damian, tellinghim he had also won.Damian first attended auditionsin LA last Decemberand was bowled over whenhe made it to the final 12contenders, selected outof 40,000 hopefuls. He describedThe Glee Project asan incredible experience andone in which he has grownand developed as an artistwith each episode.To win the Glee Project,and the seven-episode guestrole on Glee is a once ina lifetime opportunity foryoung Damian and he is determinedto grab it with bothhands. Ambition is somethingthat Damian has in abundance.He is extremely excited abouthis future and is looking forwardto the chance to learn as muchas possible on the set of Gleeand to continue his growth as aperformer. Ultimately Damianwould like to record his own soloalbum and take it out on tour.For more information on DamianMcGinty visit www.damianmcginty.com.

September 2011 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” 29

30 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” September 2011Great Expectations: The Fighting Irish PreviewBy Coleman ClarkeThe Fighting Irish head into the 2011 seasonhoping to build on the momentum of a strong finishlast year, when they won four games in a rowculminating in a 33-17 whitewash of the MiamiHurricanes that wasn’t as close as the final scorewould indicate. They bring back virtually theirentire defense intact ,as well as most of their startersfrom last year, including senior quarterbackDayne Crist, who has completely recovered from aknee injury suffered last season in a heartbreakingloss to the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes. All reportsfrom fall camp indicate that Crist has a muchbetter understanding of the offense and is morecomfortable with his reads.Crist was able to stave off Tommy Rees, a truefreshman, who played admirably in his absencehelping the Irish to a 4-0 record in their last fourgames—in which the offensive game plan wasscaled back to suit the strengths of its quarterback.Last season, Crist attempted to assimilatethe nuances of head coach Brian Kelly’s offense,leading to flashes of brilliance followed by periodsof maddening inconsistency, which kept the Irishfrom being able to establish their offensive identityearly in the season. Kelly himself was under firefor some questionable decisions, most notablyduring the Tulsa game in which he elected to throwthe ball into double coverage instead of attemptto kick the game winning field goal.The Irish did overcome tremendous obstaclesduring the season including a humiliating loss tothe Naval Academy during which they were physicallyand mentally dominated in all facets of thegame—specifically coaching. The turning pointfor the Irish, however, may have been the convincingwin over then—No. 14 Utah—their largestvictory over a Top 15 team in over 14 years. TheIrish were able to carry the momentum from thatvictory through the remaining three games, beatingSouthern Cal for the first time since 2001.Heading into this year’s slate, the Irish, onpaper, are as good if not better than every teamon their schedule. Yes, I said as good—with theemphasis on better. They open the season againstSouth Florida and should be able to win by doubledigits. Next, they look ahead to a Michigan teamthat is rebuilding and must replace its personnelto suit new head coach BradyHoke’s traditional smash mouthoffense that has been the hallmarkof the Wolverines for years.The Irish should go into AnnArbor (the first-ever night gamein Ann Arbor) and dismantle theWolverines, who will probablykeep the game close for about aquarter or two before the talentand depth of Notre Dame wearsthem down. Michigan State will visit South Bendonce again, and may pose a formidable test for theIrish with senior quarterback Kirk Cousins, a bluecollar quarterback with decent mobility who canthrow on the run to a host of talented receivers.However, since this is a home game for the Irish,I expect them to win and pull away in the secondhalf of the contest.The rest of the schedule has the usual suspectssuch as Purdue, Navy, Boston College, Pittsburgh,and Stanford. The other teams rounding out theschedule are Wake Forest, Maryland, and Air Force.While this schedule has some potential pitfalls,there are no teams that should jump out and causealarm for Irish fans. Of course, Stanford is rankedin the top ten of the AP poll and might be the mostoverrated team in the country in my opinion. Yes,they return All-American quarterback AndrewLuck, a frontrunner for the Heisman award, butthey lose valuable personnel as well, including theman who instilled their winning ways in formerhead coach Jim Harbaugh, who jettisoned to theNFL last year. The marquee game of course willbe against USC at night, in front of what will be araucous Notre Dame crowd. This will be the firstnight game in South Bend since 1990!In addition to the Irish returning many playerson both defense and offense, with players such aslinebacker Mantei Teo and running back CierreWood, they bring in one of the most heraldeddefensive line hauls in recent years. Among someof the players snagged in last year’s class includedefensive end Aaron Lynch, linebacker Ishaq Williams,and defensive tackle Stephon Tuitt, givingthe Irish depth at many positions that they haven’thad in years. These freshmen, among many others,are expected to contribute right away and give themore experienced starts a much needed rest duringthe course of the games. With these factors inmind, the Irish should win at least 10 games toconsider the season a success.They have excellent players atthe skills positions, highlightedby wide receiver Michael Floyd,who can out jump any defenderfor a catch along with receiver/running back in Theo Riddickand Cierre Wood, who may endup being one of the best one twopunches in the country with theirability to move in space after thecatch. Throw in the mix much improved runningback Jonas Gray, with his blazing 4.4 speed andyou have a combination that will make many defensivecoaches reach for the Maalox.Wrapping up, this team still rests on the shouldersof Dayne Christ and the Notre Dame defense.If Christ can show that he is able to go through hisprogressions and check downs better this season,and can improve greatly on his consistency, inparticular, the Irish could be very explosive onoffense and difficult to contain. Head Coach BrianKelly stated in his previous press conferences thathe wants to run the ball more, which served theIrish well, particularly against USC and Miamilast season when they ran the ball down bothteams’ throats. In addition, the defense must pickup where they left off last year when they madeteams fight tooth and nail to move the ball intothe end zone. The Irish actually ended up in thetop 25 in the points scored against category bythe end of the season. They should be able toimprove upon that statistic, which would mostlikely have them playing in a BCS bowl game byseason’s end. Anything less than 10-2 would be adisappointment, considering the returning talenton this years’ team, combined with the outstandingdefensive recruiting haul for 2011.If the Notre Dame detractors are at fever pitchthis year, Notre Dame is probably winning on thefootball field.If you have an iPhone andthe Kaywa Quick ResponseCode Reader App,just scan the code belowand be taken directly tothe iBAM! website!

September 2011 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” 31Illinois Makes Important Changesto the Workers’ Compensation ActThis is the first in a two-part series on the recent changes to the Workers’Compensation Act. This month, and next, we will focus on what effect thesechanges will have, on a practical level, for the injured worker. This columnwill also respond to legal questions relating to workers’ compensation andpersonal injury that are sent to us.The Healy Law Firm is compromised of eight trial attorneys, two ofwhom are from Ireland. We are located at 111 West Washington Street,Suite 1425, Chicago, Illinois 60602 (800-922-4500 or 312-977-0100).The firm concentrates in the representation of injured victims of all typesof accidents.www.HealyLawFirm.Com. Readers are encouraged to call or write withquestions concerning personal injury law.Following months of speculation,lobbying, and legislative compromise,the changes to the Workers’ CompensationAct were signed into law byGovernor Quinn on June 28th, 2011.While the changes affect both employersand employee, this first articlefocuses on certain changes that mostlimit the workers’ rights. Next monthwe will focus on additional changesand their impact to both employersand employees.Limitation of EmployeeRight to Select DoctorsOne of the most significant changesin the 2011 rewrite of the Act is therestriction of the worker’s choice ofdoctor. The Act allows for the employeror its representative (i.e. their insurancecompany) to provide a panel ofmedical providers from which theemployee must choose. The employeemay opt out of this ‘preferred providernetwork,’ but in doing so the employeeloses the choice of one doctor. Thismeans that the employee who opts-outof the employer’s panel is restricted toone doctor, whereas those that do notopt-out may choose two doctors withinthe ‘preferred provider network.’ Ineffect, the Act penalizes workers whowish to choose their own doctors wheremultiple doctors are needed. Underthe previous law, the worker had anunrestricted choice of two doctors, ifnecessary. While this can be a seriouslimitation on previous rights held bythe employee to choose two doctors ifnecessary, it is not as drastic as whatwas sought by employers to completelyeliminate the employee’s right tochoose any doctor.Limitationof Benefit PeriodsWage loss differential cases, wherea worker returns to work at a lesserpay, have now been restricted to theinjured worker reaching the age of 67,or five years from the date of any finalaward, whichever is longer. Under theold rules, wage loss differentials werepaid throughout the worker’s life.Limitationof Hand Injury ClaimsThe number of weeks of compensationpayable for a hand injury hasbeen reduced to a maximum of 190weeks. Under old rules the maximumnumber of weeks for a hand injury was205 weeks. This amounts to a loss ofcompensation of almost 10% to theworker for a serious hand injury. TheAct also limits recovery for one of themost common of workers’ compensationclaims, carpal tunnel syndrome.Recovery for carpal tunnel syndrome isnow limited at 15% of loss of the hand,unless there is clear and convincingevidence to the contrary. Where suchevidence is provided, recovery still cannotexceed 30% loss of the hand.Required Useof AMA GuidelinesAn additional change to the Actwhich directly affects the injuredworker is the required use of theAmerican Medical Association’s(AMA) guide for the Evaluation ofPermanent Impairment, also known asthe AMA guidelines. Thearbitrator at the IndustrialCommission must use theguidelines when awardingan injured worker permanentpartial disabilitybenefits. The impact of theuse of AMA guidelines onarbitrator’s awards is notcurrently clear. However,in states that use the AMAGuidelines, the impacthas been awards far belowthose in Illinois compensation cases.Addition of a NewEmployer DefensePreviously, workers’ compensationcould be denied where the employeewas so intoxicated that, as a matterof law, the injury arose out of theemployee’s drunken condition and nothis employment. The Act now specificallyexpands the intoxication defense,by stating that an injured worker willnot be entitled to compensation ifthe proximate cause of the accidentof the injury was due to intoxication.Additionally, there will be a rebuttablepresumption if the employee wasintoxicated, that the intoxication wasthe proximate cause of the injury. If anemployee does not submit to testing ofblood, breath or urine at the time of theaccident, that also raises a rebuttablepresumption that the employee wasintoxicated, and that such intoxicationwas the legal cause of the employee’sinjury.The Burden ofProving CausationRemains the SameWhile many changes in the Actlimit the rights of the injured worker,one hard fought issue remained thesame. Illinois law requires an employeeseeking recovery to prove thatthe accident “arose out of ” and “inthe course of ” employment. The businesscommunity had sought a changein the standard, so that the injuredworker would have to prove that theaccident was a “significant factor” orthe “primary cause” of the injury. Thisspecifically targeted repetitive traumainjuries where an injured worker hadbeen working in a factory or a buildingsite for many years repeatedly doingcertain activities and their body wearswithout any specific trauma. Therewas no change on what is required tobe proved.ConclusionThe Act has made significant changesto the Workers’ Compensation Actand to worker benefits. Next monthwe will focus on additional changesand their impact to both the employerand employee.Ireland Network Chicago MembersForum for Business & Service ProvidersBy Imelda Gallagher – IN Committee MemberIn a recently published IAN article,members of the Ireland Network Chicago(IN) were delighted to introduceour group and ourselves to IAN readers.IN is a business andsocial network of Irishpeople living and workingin the Chicagolandarea. We mentioned thatthe IN acts as “a readilyaccessible and relevant forum for thesharing of individual resources, expertise,industry knowledge, businessopportunities, contacts, connections;to share individual experiences, successesand challenges for the benefitof the membership at large; and tosupport newly-arrived Irish in theirefforts to connect with the greaterChicago business and social community.”The IN wishes to promotebusiness relationships within a socialsetting to be mutual beneficial for ourmembers and also enjoyable!IN is proceeding with our commitmentto these objectives by announcingour first Members’ Forumfor Business Owners and ServiceProviders. The Forum will take placeon Friday, October 7, 2011 from6-9pm at The Gage, 24 S. MichiganAve. The Forum will provide businessowners with the opportunity to showcasetheir businesses at this event.Each business can reserve a spaceat the Forum to promote and markettheir business in a social setting of“business network-minded” peoplewhere business owners can speak toIN members and attendees while theyare circulating socially at this event.The Members’ Forum will replace theusual IN First Friday informal socialevent for October, but will retain thesocial element. We are delighted withthe high participation at these FirstFriday events and anticipate that itwill be a great opportunity for businessowners and participants to learnabout the businesses and servicesavailable within the community. Allare welcome!The Forum showcasespaces for business ownersand service providersare $150 and are available to SubscribedMembers only. It is a greatopportunity to learn more aboutthe industries, services and marketsrepresented within the INmembership. Currentlythe companies alreadysigned up are: AmericanInternational Realty, ArtaneConstruction, BIKAccountants, Concord Group, ConlonReal Estate, Conor Cunneen, IrishAmerican Heritage Center, McEnteeLaw, Perl Mortgage and SoluisceSolutions. There are more spacesavailable!One of the Forum participants,Greg Lloyd, President of SoluisceSolutions Inc. said that “the IrelandNetwork is always open to ideas andsuggestions about how to further supportand encourage business developmentand awareness. The Network isproactive, energy is always high andthe people are great to work with.” Wehope that other Forum participantswill have similar positive experienceswith the IN through this Forum.All are welcome to attend thisMembers’ Forum and admissionis free for attendees. There will beappetizers served courtesy of TheGage and there will be an open baravailable for Subscribed Membersuntil 8pm courtesy of IN (cash bar fornon-members). New members maysubscribe at any IN event for $50 perannum which will provide access tothe IN Chicago website. Also comingsoon, there will be access to theIN-USA website to connect with ourmembers nationwide.For more information about howto sign up for the Members’ Forum,please contact: Ken Dooley 312-305-4919; Rachel McCormac 773-316-9400 or Deborah Ryder 312-342-7150. You may also visit our website:www.theirelandnetwork.com.We look forward to seeing youat the Members’ Forum on Friday,October 7, 2011 at 6pm!

32 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” September 2011A Foot In Either CampSince I began living in the United Statesless than a decade ago, I have been intriguedwith the process of feeling at home, and yetnot quite. Moving to Chicago was a great decision.I love the city, the people are friendly,and it has great theatre. The drawback in livingin such an urban centre, however, (apart fromthe cold winters) is the difficulty of getting beyondthe borders of the concrete sprawl andinto the countryside.Since I don’t have ready access to a car,I look forward to the opportunities to visitfriends, or travel back to Ireland. I hanker afterthe isolation of Donegal when the interminablehigh-pitched sounds of emergency vehicles remindme that I’m in the third largest city ofthe U.S. And yet, at other times, I find thesediscordant sounds comforting.As I have slowly assimilated to the Americanway of life, my views of belonging seem tobe in a state of flux. There are times when bothfeet are firmly grounded on North Americansoil, while at other times, the complexities anddifferences of both Ireland and the U.S strugglefor dominancy. None of us like to live with innerturmoil, and we all seek to silence the innervoices that trouble us, since the ideal is to be atpeace with oneself. I say ‘ideal,’ but in reality,I’m inclined tothink that this isa myth.For when Iwas living inIreland, I was athome, but notquite. I movedfrom Derry, a population of just over 100,000,to Buncrana, a small seaside town in Donegal.The idea presented itself to me that it was timeto retreat from the city and into the comfortingarms of the environs of Lough Swilly.I had had enough of city life and now itwas time to become one with the harmonioustones of nature. Before I moved, I had plannedto walk every day along the beautiful banksof the Lake of Shadows. This was the holidayspot for my family. It held precious memoriesof playing on the beach and eating a stick ofrock (candy). And, if I needed the impressionsof the city, Derry was only fourteen miles away.I could have the best of both worlds.My first few days in Buncrana were busywith unpacking, getting acquainted with livingin the Republic of Ireland, as opposed to aBritish Northern Ireland. It was quite exciting,and I was enthusiastic about this new phase inmy life.Getting a broadband connection installed inthe house would give me access to email etc.The first week passed by quickly. There wasa lot to do, and even though I hadn’t walkedalong the banks of the Swilly, I would, oncemy life settled down. One of the disadvantagesof moving from a more populous area is thelack of conveniences. But I was convinced theBlake-LambFuneral Homes4727 W. 103rd StreetOak Lawn IL 60453All phones: 708-636-1193Owned by SCI Illinois Services, Inc.trade-off was worth it.Becoming starved of Internet connectivitywas beginning to show. By the second week asmy trips into the city became more frequent.When finally the man came to set me up withmy lifeline link to the greater cyber community,he greeted me with these words. ‘Whaton under God brought you to this hell hole!’ Iwondered if he could see the disappointmentin my face.Inside, I was trying desperately to stick myfinger in the hole in the dam, hoping to stallthe inevitable deluge. It was no use, I couldsee the cracks in my quest for utopia beginningto show. This local began to tell me about howmean spirited my neighbours were, warnedme about trusting any of them, and offer hissagely wisdom as to how to survive living ina hell hole.Faced with such cynicism, I tried re-constructingmy nostalgic, somewhat romanticreminiscences of this childhood haven, but itwas no good. There was something in his rubbingmy nose in his grubby reality that was reallygetting up my nostrils. The people in thetown did appear quite cliquish. There was nodoubt that I would be always the outsider, ‘theDerry wan.’Before coming to Chicago, I lived in Buncranafor two years and during that time Ifound myself with a foot in either camp. Thebeauty of the Inishshowen peninsula, the incrediblebeauty of south Donegal, and comfortingsense of isolation was all mine, but itwas not enough. I was at home, but not quite.Half my time was spent visiting friends andfamily in Derry, returning in the evening alongthe shores of the Swilly. As time when on, Iknew that what I was experiencing was simplythe longing for the grass on the other side.In some ways the experience has helped meunderstand my life here. I seek out what I thinkI’m missing on the internet, trawling throughIrish newspaper sites to get a sense of home.And while I enjoy the occasional encounterwith a fellow countryman/woman, or the moreelaborate Irish fest, I am aware of the dangersof becoming an ex-pat with a thirst for sentimentalism.But still it offers me a sense of being athome. And there are times when the whole celebrationof being Irish diminishes my sense ofconnection since it seems exaggerated. What Ihave discovered is that the feeling of being athome, but not quite is with us wherever we are.It’s a part of our human condition.Good Morning IrelandRadio’s ”An Irish Party”The Good Morning Ireland Radio Show willhost an “Irish Party” in the Erin Ballroom at theIrish American Heritage Center, 4626 N. KnoxAve. in Chicago, from 7pm-midnight on Saturday,September 24th, 2011. Proceeds from this event gotowards off-setting the costs of producing the GoodMorning Ireland Radio Show with a portion also goingtowards the St. Patrick’s Missionary Fathers.The Good MorningIreland Radio Show isbroadcast LIVE on Saturdaysfrom 1:05-3pmon 1450 AM WCEV. Itfeatures weekly LIVEnews reports with RTE’sEileen MagnierTommy MarrenEileen Magnier—thenorthwestern correspondentfor Ireland’s State Broadcaster. The weeklysports report is presented by Tommy Marren fromMid West Radio in Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo—one ofIreland’s Top Independent Radio Stations.The “Irish Party”fundraising event willfeature special guestsand musical acts fromIreland including EileenMagnier, Tommy Marrenand one of Connemara’stop musical groups “Cillian.”Local entertainerswill also include Country& Irish singing star John Staunton, originally fromWestport in County Mayo, Ireland, and he’ll bejoined by that great Sligo man John Kivlehan,collectively known as the “Two Johnnies.” There’llalso be other special guests. Newly crowned worldtitle holder professional boxer Henry Coyle willlend his support, as will highly accomplished SeanNós Dancer Brian Cunningham, who will enthrallguests with a “not to be missed” Sean Nós danceperformance! The ticket price is $35.While the event may be a fundraiser, it’s alsoa party! A party that will hopefully bring peopletogether from right across the Irish communityin Chicago for a great time, and at the same timeprovide a unique opportunity to support Irish radioprogramming in Chicago. There are various costsassociated with the production and airing of theshow, and the added costs of providing news andsports reports live from Ireland from such highlyregarded professionals as Eileen Magnier & TommyMarren. If you enjoy the program, if you appreciatethe content and the effort that goes into the program;this is your opportunity to support it. Part of whatthe program does is to help various charitable, cultural,social and sporting organizations to publicizetheir various events. It’s a community service that isand should be FREE to all the great organizationsout there that do so much for and on behalf of theIrish community. With help and support they cancontinue to provide this public service at NO cost.Of course, if you just want to come alongbecause it’s going to be the biggest and best Irishparty ever… that’s fine too!Tickets are available at the box office at theIrish American Heritage Center, 773-282-7035.For more information contact Sean Ginnelly224-715-8292. To sponsor a raffle prize contactBernie Heveran at 773-501-9457.

September 2011 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” 33Celtic Thunder’s DVD/CD Storm & Fall TourCeltic Thunder’s vibrant and enthralling newrelease Storm delves into a different aspect ofthe past, the struggle for land and security andacceptance. The magnitude of the show’s set combinedwith the creative musical arrangements andengaging choreography makefor a compelling experienceall around. Both the new CDand DVD will be availableeverywhere September 20thon Decca.In support of their previousrelease Heritage and PublicTelevision Special of thesame name, this acclaimedshow will crisscross the U.S.in 45 cities this Fall. Stormis a turbulent, raucous battlebetween the darkness of gypsiesand the resolution of thesettlers, both fighting for thesame piece of land. The gypsieshave inhabited the landfor generations and the settlers are looking to putdown roots and build their community. Irish cultureand tradition permeate throughout the stage.Since the airing of their first Public Televi-sion special in 2008, Celtic Thunder consistentlyremains one of the most popular musical acts forthe network. Storm was filmed alongside It’s Entertainmentat the Toronto International Centre Hall5 in Toronto, Ontario. Their 60-minute DVD wasshot in high definition with a15-camera multi directionalshoot and exceptionally highproduction values, and willinclude exciting special featuresand additional bonusmaterial.Midwest Tour Dates: 10/6,Cincinnati, OH, Taft Theatre;10/18, Kansas City, KS, MidlandTheater; 10/20, 2011 St. Louis,MO, Fox Theatre; 10/22, Denver,CO, The Paramount; 12/6,Cleveland, OH, Palace Theatre; 12/7, Detroit, MI, Fox Theatre;12/9, Kalamazoo, MI, MillerAuditorium; 12/10, Minneapolis,MN, State Theatre; 12/11,Chicago, IL, Rosemont (Matinee Show Only); Dec 13,2011 Duluth, MN, Event Centre; 12/15, Bloomington,IL, Bloomington PAC.celticthunder.com. www.deccarecords-us.com.

34 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” September 2011A Behanding in SpokaneProfiles Theatre is producing the Chicagopremiere of Martin McDonagh’s 2010 play, ABehanding in Spokane.McDonagh’s plays are staged worldwide. TheTheatre of Martin McDonagh states, “It has beenclaimed that by 2000 he was more produced inthe United States than any other dramatist butShakespeare.”Tis is great success for a young playwright.He was born in 1970, and has written eight playsand three movies.His 2000 film, In Bruges, was widely praised,and was a huge success at the box office.The young Irishman was raised in London andwas greatly influenced by American Noir films,TV comedies and horror films.But, when asked to explain hisplays, McDonagh would probably answer withthe words of one of his characters: “It’s a puzzlewithout a solution.”A Behanding in Spokane, like his other playsis a black comedy. It is the first McDonagh playset in America, or as the script says, it is set in“small town America.”In his plays, as in life, there is no clear distinctionbetween good and evil. They are marked bygreat humor, but also violence. As the Wall StreetJournal says: “When blood is shed in a MartinMcDonagh play the audience always laughs—and usually gasps. Mr. McDonagh is partial tocomic violence.”Bloomberg.com says this violence is “Insaneyet also fiendishly funny.”A Behanding in Spokane will be produced atProfiles Theatre, 4147 N. Broadway in Chicago,from September 14 through October 30. 773-549-1815.Oh, What a Bloody Good FridayKatie Miller is a delightful person: optimisticand energetic. Her enthusiasm about life andtheater is refreshing.Having worked with theater companies, andread hundreds of plays, Miller’s knowledge of thetheater is impressive.Miller came from the U.K. to direct the newplay, which was a semi-finalist for the prestigiousEugene O’Neill Prize. That play is: Oh, What aBloody Good Friday: A Playful Mystery. Millersays that a play must tell a story that we can feela part of, and it must be entertaining. This playdoes both, beautifully.The playwright is Terry Boyle. He teachesat Loyola University and is a theater reviewerfor IAN.Katie Miller will be here for the next severalweeks. Luckily, she has the support and encouragementof her husband and children. They knowhow much she loves theater. She is a lay ministerin the Episcopal Church, and this responsibilitygives her a lot of different experience withpeople.When I asked her why theater is so importantto people, she replied, “People want to connectwith the community and theater is an immediatecommunal experience.”The play will be presented at Loyola’s CuneoMansion in Vernon Hills. 847-362-3042.It will be presented on Friday, September 9 at7:30pm, and at 1pm on Saturday, September 10,and also at 1pm on Sunday, September 11. Ticketsare $18, and $15 for students and seniors.An Enduring VisionLady Gregory (1852-1932) continues to havean enormous influence on Irish culture. She was aprolific playwright (40 plays), poet, essayist, andeditor of collections of Irish folklore.Lady Gregory: An Irish Life, is a lively biographyof this amazing person.There was a desire by the Irish public for anational theatre. So in 1904, she, with W. B Yeats,J. M. Synge and E. Martyn founded the AbbeyTheatre. It has had a profound influence on Irishtheatre ever since.Lady Gregory worked to restore Ireland’slanguage, literature, and culture. She also workedfor Ireland’s political independence. And, she defendedSynge and Shaw against political attacks.None of this would have been expected fromGregory’s origin. Her family owned a huge estate,was very wealthy, and strongly supported theunion with England.However, the young Augusta was greatlyinfluenced by her Irish speaking governess. Sheintroduced her to a world of heroes, legends andimagination. This awareness became the focusof her life.Lady Gregory: An Irish Life, by Judith Hill.The Collins Press and DuFour editions. factotum@dufoureditions.com.He Wanted to Unite IrelandBrian Boru is an almost mythic figure inIrish history. What did he want to accomplish?Brian Boru: King of Ireland, tries to answer thatquestion.Brian (about 941 to 1014) saw around him apatchwork of warring kingdoms, with no centralauthority strong enough to stop the constantwarfare. (Later, England would side with onekingdom against another, and thus gain controlof Ireland.)Brian wanted to unite Ireland into a nationalstate with him as king of all Ireland.After a series of wars against local kings, hebecame king of Munster. And by 1005, he ruledmost of Ireland, except for Dublin.He besieged Dublin, and in the Spring of 1014,at Clontarf, he defeated the Dublin Danes. Norsemenand Irishmen fought on both sides. Brian,however was killed, as were his successors.What did Brian accomplish during hisshort reign as High King? He promoted thevision of a united, Gaelic Ireland. He protectedlearning by rebuilding ruined monasteryschools and he improved communication bybuilding roads.The legacy of the people from Northern Europewas great. They came first as raiders, butthen settled. (They are called Vikings, Norsemen,Northern Danes or Norwegians.) They added theirvigor, enthusiasm and trading skills to Ireland.They also introduced the idea of a trade, commerce,and manufacturing areas within the citiesthey founded—Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Carlingford,Bantry, Youghal, Wexford and Limerick.They introduced the concept of money and evenminted the first Irish coins.Brian Boru: King of Ireland, by Roger ChatteronNewman, shows the life of this amazingman. And, it poses the tantalizing possibility thathe could have created a united Ireland.Brian Boru: King of Ireland, by Roger ChattertonNewman, Mercier Press and DuFour Editions.factotum@dufoureditions.com.

September 2011 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” 35Why Do Bishops Cover Up?Author, Tom Mooney, “is editorof The Wexford Echo group of newspapers.”His reporting has won several prestigiousawards, including an AmnestyInternational Media Award.Since 1990, Mooney has fearlesslyreported on the sexual molestationscandal. He tells the story of the abuseof children in one Irish diocese, butreaders know this sordid problem isworldwide.Priests who molested children “wereshunted from parish to parish or frompsychiatrist to psychiatrist and canonlaw used to protect the abuser, not theabused.” Why do bishops do this? I suggesttwo theories to explain this.One suggestion to explain why bishopsprotect child molesters, is about thechurch itself. A church belief is “thatthe presence of evil is compatible withfaith. One proves the existence of theother.” But, does this mean that the molestingof children is to be tolerated?Another suggestion is the possiblemindset of the bishops. Do they believethat once a man has been ordained, heis a priest forever?But the “made man” in the mafia is“made” forever too.Is there a difference then, betweenAl Capone or Whitey Bulger protectingtheir criminal henchmen, and a bishopprotecting his criminal henchmen?The bishop preaches love andkindness. But to the molested, this ishigh-pocrisy.Tom Mooney is a careful observerof human actions. His book is well researchedand quite readable. It will generatemany emotions and questions.All the Bishop’s Men, by Tom Mooney,The Collins Press and DuFour Editions.factotum@dufoureditions.com.A recent Wall Street Journal had an articleabout the Cloyne Report and PrimeMinister Enda Kenny’s speech about it.Kenny is incredulous that from 1996to 2009 complaints against 19 priests inthe Cloyne Diocese for molesting childrenwere not reported to police. Kenny,also accused the Vatican of trying tostop the Cloyne Report. It “exposesan attempt by the church to frustratean inquiry in a sovereign, democraticrepublic.”The former Archbishop of Cloyne,John Magee, escaped from Ireland tothe United States, and is now believedto be hiding here.PowerfulValues for ChildrenThey broke down the door of TomasMacCurtain’s home, and crashed in. Theyhad blackened their faces, but wore regulationRoyal Irish Constabulary shoes.They pushed his children aside, and evenhis very pregnant wife. They ran upstairsand shot MacCurtain to death.MacCurtain was the first IrishRepublican Lord Mayor of Cork. Hehad been active in the IRA’s War forIndependence.The time was 1920—a time ofdeadly retaliation by British forces. TheRoyal Irish Constabulary was part ofthat British occupation force.I believe wearing the official RICshoes was deliberate intimidation, andMichael Collins believed this too.Collins greatly respected MacCurtain,and promised his widow to avengehis killing. His agents tracked downmany of the raiders and killed them.One, thought to be the leader, was shotwith Curtain’s pistol.This is another book in the wonderfulseries: Irish Heroes for Children.So You Want to Review Books?By Frank West"The past is the present, isn't it?It's the future too!"This powerful comment by EugeneO'Neill summarizes my interestsin books to review.I taught history for many yearsand like to review books aboutireland's history, biography andtheatre.However, there are many areasI have little knowledge of: sports,Tomas MacCurtain is an example ofstrong family values and of dedicationto principle.The Story of Tomas MacCurtain, byFionnuala MacCurtain, Mercier Pressand DuFour Editions. factotum@dufoureditions.com.dance, music, art, etc. A knowledgeblereviewer is needed for thoseareas. The publisher will supply youwith the books.Please send a summary of yourinterests and writing experienceto: editor@irishamericannews.com.There is no pay, but the books areyours to keep, and there will besome benefits like plays to reviewor authors to interview!

36 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” September 2011Chicago CelticYouth Win in BostonCongratulations to all of the ChicagoCeltic Youth GFC players, coaches andfamilies that traveled to CYC in Boston,2011 for a job well done. Pictured aresome of the kids who played, and theirsiblings attending a celebration in Brookfield.The 2012 CYC Tournament will beheld in Chicago at Gaelic Park in OakForest, IL. The 9th annualContinental Youth Championshipswill be held in Chicagofrom Thursday, July 26 toSunday, July 29, 2012.Go to www.iannews.comfor more pictures of the winningplayers!Back row (l-r): LiamO’Farrell , Aoife Swan, CiaraBrady, Sinead Molloy, ErinO’Farrell, Michael O’Farrell,Maeve SwanFront row: Sean Molloy, SeanO’Farrell, Michael Molloy,Niall Brady, Brennan Harkin,Shane SwanPhoto by Cathy Curry.

September 2011 Irish American News “We’ve Always Been Green!” 37Do You Have A Mentor?Throughout our lives, we havereceived guidance from “mentors,”such as teachers, coaches, bosses,business associates, and yes, evenparents. “Mentor” is defined as awise and trusted advisor.People who realize the importanceof attracting and keeping mentorsgreatly improve their odds of corporatesuccess. Their work lives arebolstered by the insight and politicalsavvy provided by mentors who havealready fought the “good” wars andhave learned from their scars. Severalyears ago a human resourcesconsultant made a statement thatstill resonates today: “In an environmentwhere companies are laying offpeople in droves, you don’t want togive them a reason to lay you off.”The corporate equivalents of bigbrothers/sisters-mentors can be aninvaluable resource. They can helpyou understand the inner workingsof your employer and provide constructivecriticism regarding yourmanagement style and decisionmaking. Many of our silly mistakescould have been avoided by enlistingthe help of more experiencedcolleagues.They’ve BeenAround For A Long TimeEstablishing a mentoring relationshipwith someone you respect andtrust isn’t a new concept. Accomplishedmen and women have historicallysought help from those who wereolder and wiser. Even such luminariesas Thomas Becket, Abraham Lincoln,and Louis Brandeis, stated in theirpersonal papers the importance ofsecuring the counsel of others whowere older and wiser.The ideal mentor should be severalyears older than the protégé. This istrue even when the protégé is a matureperson with years of experience. Onceyou reach a certain level of responsibility,your approach to delegatingand other on-the-job duties may needrefinement.Finding a mentor at a senior levelcan be difficult because likely mentorsare commonly busy people.Consider recently retired executives,board members, and former managerswho transferred to other divisions,etc. Never limit your search to justthe obvious candidates whom othermanagers may also be courting.At the beginning of your career,finding a mentor shouldn’t be a taxingchore. Identify older executives/managers whom you admire and havealready met, even if only casually.Strive to enlist the help of someonewith a strong reputation who appearsto be “on the move” or at least, appearsto be well respected in his or her currentposition.Should your mentor(s) be thesame gender as you? Is that wise?A woman manager operating in amale-dominated environment mightconsider selecting a male mentor, ifonly to send a signal that she belongsin the mainstream. Conversely, the reversemay be equally true. One shouldalways strive to understand the rulesof the work environment.If the younger employee lets theseasoned veteran know that his adviceis genuinely sought and appreciated,the veteran may accept a mentoringrole without any real formal commitment.Ideally, your mentor should workfor the same company as you, but thisisn’t mandatory. That’s no reason tosever your ties because your mentorchanges jobs. Sometimes distancewill allow your mentor to be evenmore valuable.If your prime mentor becomesunavailable to you, don’t hesitate infinding another. Ideally, you shouldalways have more than one mentor.Multiple mentors may provide youwith different approaches or rationaleson the same problem. You won’t insultone mentor by asking someone else toprovide guidance periodically. Neverplay one mentor off against another.Consider their advice independentlyweigh it carefully, and then select thestrategy that best suits your situation.Line Them Up NowUnless you have already had twoor three mentors, consider these stepswhen recruiting one.1. Prepare a list of likely candidates,including current and former colleagues.List everyone who might beeven remotely helpful. It’s okay if yourmentors know each other, but avoidpicking two mentors who are close,personal friends. You are looking fordiversity of opinion, not singularity.2. Sort through your list carefully.Reduce it to three or four candidates.This analysis will help you understandyour needs better. If you require guidancein dealing with your boss, choosesomeone who knows how your bossoperates. If a new duty causes youconcern, a specialist in that field, orat least someone who handled the jobin the past, is a good choice.3. Eliminate anyone who made yourlist strictly just for sentimental reasons.Your brother-in-law, the airline pilot,may be a terrific person with goodjudgment but how much does he knowabout construction, manufacturing,banking or whatever business youconduct?4. Meet your candidates. Tell eachthat you would appreciate seeing themfrom time to time for lunch, a gameof tennis or just a chat to discuss yourcareer. Provide them with a completehistory of your background. Help themunderstand your company’s culture.Complete this orientation before discussingany “real” problems you mayface and don’t contact them only whenproblems arise. Keep them posted onthe progress of your career, even whenall is well. Be intentional about keepingin touch.5. When you’re certain that someonewill offer valuable advice, tell himor her of your decision to considerthem as a part of your brain trust. Mostwill be flattered and more than willingto oblige.The primary reason people agreeto be mentors is the feeling that theiradvice is useful and will be valued.Once you demonstrate that you don’tconsider his advice helpful, the mentormay turn a cold shoulder withouthesitation. Now, go and find yourselftwo or three mentors. Carpe diem.James F. Fitzgerald is the presidentof James F. Fitzgerald & Associates,Inc., an Oakbrook, IL-based executivecoaching and career transitionfirm. Phone: 630-384-2204. Email:jamesffitz37@hotmail.com. Website:www.jamesffizgerald.com.Go Green at 16th Fox Valley Irish FestCelebrate all things Irish at FoxValley Irish Fest with new performersand familiar favorites, expanded Irishcuisine, toe-tapping championship Irishdance troupes and much more!The 16th Annual Fox Valley IrishFest, part of the Saint Catherine ofSiena Centennial Celebration, will beheld on Friday through Sunday, September9-11, 2011 on the grounds ofSt. Catherine of Siena Church, Routes31 and 72, in West Dundee, two milesnorth of I-90. Visit www.foxvalleyirishfest.comor call 847-426-2217.The Fox Valley Irish festival takesplace rain or shine; all events are outdoorsunder the main tent. Daily admissionis $10 on Friday and Saturday withhalf-price $5 admission on Sunday;a three-day pass is $20. Children 12and under are free with a paid adult.Admission for fun loving fest-goersage 65 and over is $8 on Friday andSaturday and $5 on Sunday. Fest hoursare: Friday 5-11pm, Saturday 1-11pm,and Sunday 12:30-7pm.Entertainment tapped for this year’sFox Valley Irish Fest includes: Brigid’sCross, The Fenians, The Whigmaleeries,Band of Rogues, The Larkin and MoranBrothers, Dyed in the Wool, Solid-Aire,Paddy Homan and the Chicago CelticBag Pipers.Enjoy three solid days of familyentertainment, fun, food, and shoppingat the Fox Valley Irish Festival inWest Dundee - one of the finest IrishFestivals in the Chicago area!For information and a full scheduleof entertainment, please visit www.foxvalleyirishfest.com or call 847-426-2217.

Clan na Gael Irish Northern Aid Friends of Sinn FeinREMEMBER THE TENMEMORIAL MASSBobby SandsSunday, October 2nd, 1pmin the Erin Ballroom at theIrish American Heritage Center4626 N. Knox Ave., Chicago, ILKevin LynchFrancis HughesKeiran DohertyRaymond McCreeshPatsy O’HaraJoe McDonnellOpen House After Mass Hunger Strike Photo Display Live Music By The Original Irish Brigade,Joe McShane, Paddy Homan Guest Speaker from IrelandJenifer McCann, Sinn Fein M.L.A. West Beflast Cash Bar Raffle - 30th Anniversary Football Jerseyand Much MoreMartin HursonProceeds will go towards buying Ten Paving Blocksfor the Front of the Heritage CenterIN MEMORY OF THE TENThomas McElweeMichael Divene