Out & About

It is with sad news that I start this column as we lost two great men last week who came from totally different backgrounds.

One was George Gibbons Jr. who was well know in the Irish community as a bar owner in Maspeth, Queens and for his passion for DJ-ing all over New York.

Two orange and blue seats from Shea Stadium, numbered 4 and 3, sat empty outside Maspeth's Gibbons' Home bar on Sunday, one day after he was killed in a senseless auto accident.

We will miss a great friend as he was loved by everyone who crossed his path.

According to police, Gibbons was riding in the back of a Lincoln livery car just before 7am Saturday morning, traveling eastbound on the Long Island Expressway service road just blocks from the bar, when a Chrysler Sebring moving in the wrong direction struck the car head-on.

George was taken to Elmhurst General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, police said. He was 37.

George came from a big Irish family, the son of George Gibbons Sr., was the eldest of his six siblings: Siobhon, Brenda, Eamon, Maureen and Bernadette.

May he rest in peace.

Another great friend of mine was Tom Kennedy, one of the great gentlemen in the Irish American community. He passed away at age 90.

Kennedy was Public Relations & Advertising Manager for Aer Lingus for many years.

May he too rest in peace.

I will have to tell you this, that anytime I walked in to a room Tom and his wife Val were the first over to welcome me and have a chat as well.

We here at The Irish Examiner newspaper will miss Tom and for all his friendship, thanks!

My friend Dave Cremin is performing back in Dangerfield's (1st Avenue and 60th Street) on Halloween Night (Monday October 31) with showtime at 8.30pm.

His show is not to be missed as he is just so funny!

For more information call (212) 593-1650 and for complimentary tickets visit www.dangerfields.com. 

Ronan Downs is been  being awarded Dubliner of the Year by the Dublin Society of NY on Oct 29. 

It's at Rosie O'Grady's on 7th Avenue starting at 8pm. 

The tickets are $90 and you can pay at the door.

Darrah Carr returns to the Irish Arts stage with the world premiere of a bold new choreography set to the remarkable sounds of James Shipp's Nos Novo - a fusion of Irish, Brazilian and Jazz styling.

The show will be performed from Friday November 12 at 8pm, Saturday, November 13 at 11am (family show - 1 hour) Saturday November 13 at 8pm and Sunday November 14 at 3pm.

For $18 Discount tickets purchased by November 6th use Discount Code: DANCE1 at smarttix.com,  irishartscenter.org or darrahcarrdance.com

James O'Malley's wife Lelia sent this to me: "James and I are organizing a benefit for Village Health Works (VHW) - villagehealthworks.org - at the Brooklyn Brewery in Williamsburg on Tuesday, November 15, from 6:30 to 9pm.

"We are inviting you all to join us for a fun night. 

"As you know, in 2006 our friend Deo (Deogratias Niyizonkiza)  founded Village Health Works, which built a health clinic in Kigutu, Burundi, one of the poorest countries in the world.

"James and I visited the VHW clinic in December 2009 and we were amazed.

"In a short time an empty field on top of a mountain had been transformed into an oasis where lives are saved everyday.

"We are now raising funds for the salaries of nurses and doctors, for medication and equipment, as well as for the construction of a Women's Health Pavilion.

"This pavillion will help reduce Burundi's infant and mother mortality rate - one of the highest in the world.

"Your donations will help enormously in this great work.

"We are looking forward to seeing you at the Brooklyn Brewery on November 15."

For more information contact O'Malley & Associates Attorneys-at-Law  (299 Broadway, Suite 1305  New York, NY 10007) at   omalleyimmigrationlaw.com. 

You can call (212) 619-8387 Ext 107 or fax (212) 406-2967.

Rex Ryan, head coach of the New York Jets visited the Pig'N'Whistle on 36th Street and we've got the photographic evidence to prove it!

Now where was Pat Burke or Des O'Brien? Probably looking out the window...

See you all next week...