Out & About

A big hello to the Queens County Saint Patrick's Day Parade which was held at Rockaway Beach last Saturday.

It was a great privilege to be honored as the parade's Gael of the Year and I would like to send my deepest apologies to Mike Benn and the Parade Committee as I did not attend for personal reasons and hope, hope, that you can forgive me for that.

I have been told it was a unbelievable success again this year with all the hard work that the volunteers put in, they deserve the recognition again for what they all have done; congratulations again to you all and I hope to see you on March 17th.

Mayor Bloomberg was present along with a lot dignitaries so I would have been in some fine company and hopefully next year I will.

I would also like to congratulate the Queens County Grand Marshal Kevin O'Brien Vice President/Mission Critical Center of Excellence Gilbane Building Company.

Mr. O'Brien serves as sector leader of Gilbane's Mission Critical Center of Excellence.

He is a 32-year veteran of the engineering and construction industries specializing in mission critical facilities.

He has been involved in the planning, construction and commissioning of well over 10 million SF of data centers at all levels of redundancy and density.

His experience includes data centers for such clients as JPMC, Bank of America, Halifax Bank of Scotland, Lowes, New York Stock Exchange, Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Digital Realty Trust so look what I missed, some great company! Thanks again Michael.

I did make it to the County Cork  B.P. & P. Association of New York  128th Annual  St. Patrick's Dinner Dance though, that was held the same night at Antun's in Queens Village.

They honored  Corkman of the Year Jeremiah Harrington, Cork Woman of the Year Mary Power, Frank T. Carvill Distinguished  Service Award Timothy B.Driscoll,Esq. and a great lady Catherine O'Shea as a 50 year member and what a night it was too I can tell you. 

Again they outdid themselves again. Talking about hard work, boy these folks are no strangers: Mae O'Driscoll - now what can I say she is like the energizer bunny rabbit and this is a complement as she never stops and keeps everything going; good on you Mae.

And how about the officers: President Timothy Murphy, Denis McCarthy, Gary Power, Treasa Goodwin Smyth, Larry Finn, Deirdre O'Hea, Kathy Feeley, Martin Hurley, Fr. Drew and the Iron lady herself, Mary Waters... oh boy does she work hard as well and she has a good heart too!

Oh! I almost forgot the man himself, Denis Forde who is back! Congratulations again to all the volunteers.

I was on the dais with  Siobhan Dennehy who takes care of a lot of immigration problems at the Emerald Isle and she deserves a lot respect for all the help and information for all those in need. Her husband Dan is the man behind the woman!

Also on the dais was the Lord Mayor of Cork Terry Shannon and Lady Mayoress Kathleen Lynch, Cork City Manager Tim Lucey, New York GAA President Liam Bermingham, the Consul General of Ireland Noel Kilkenny and his wife Hanora.

I keep on saying this we of all the Counties stick together we can only be stronger; let's show it on this Saint Patrick's Day at the New York Parade (Saturday March 17) and make it the biggest ever. So, spread the word that we need everyone to walk because in numbers we show our strength.

I am not forgetting the Woodside and Mineola Saint Patrick's Day Parades that also were held on Sunday. They both had great turnouts and with Betty McLoughlin the Grand Marshal of the Mineola Parade who could be better that herself.

Opportunity Ireland had their first meeting at Gloria Starr Kin's apartment on 66th Street and some apartment it is too; "Big"  is an understatement.

The guest speaker was none other than William J. Flynn, Chairman Emeritus of Mutual of America. He was joined by some high profile people at this event including Ambassador Anne Anderson (Ireland), Ambassador Quinlan (Australia),  Peter Ryan Deputy Consul of Ireland Japan Consulate,  Steve Forbes and and quite a few other VIPs like James O'Malley and, of course, Maurice Landers who put the whole event together.

Again, what a success and thanks to Paul Hurley for taking care of the catering. He again outdid himself - the food was delicious - and to the host herself Gloria it was magnificent.

Hey, Joe Hurley  will have his annual St. Patrick's Day bash at the famous Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette Street) - which becomes an Irish pub that day. He tells me he has an all-star lineup with some very special guests.

In lieu of the annual 'Irish Rock Revue', the St. Pat's Day show on March 17 will be a more intimate evening about connecting, sharing stories in song, both ballads and rabble rousers, swaying to the singsongs, soaking in the beauty of Irish storytelling, kinship, empathy, moving each other, so bring your vocal cords, poetic souls, big hearts, sharpest shoes, turn off your cells, and ROAR... as NYC's finest sing Ireland's greatest.

Tickets are $20 and can be ordered by calling (212) 539-8778

We've some very good news from the Irish Business Organization of New York who will be showcasing Irish food and beverage purveyors at "Celebrating Ireland, a Night of Cuisine & Culture" on March 14 at the Irish Consulate with renowned chef Stephen Harrington joining them.

Chef Harrington will introduce a signature dish for the evening using quality Irish ingredients to be enjoyed by attendees.

Other food and beverage tastings will include wild Irish smoked salmon, traditional Irish breads, desserts and numerous whiskeys and liqueurs.

"We were inspired by our last guest, An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, to promote Irish businesses in New York, and thought that creating a showcase of the great products Ireland has to offer would be an appropriate way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day while the eyes of the city are on the Irish community", said IBO President, Sheila Lynott Hourican. 

"Irish foods are known to be among the finest quality in the world, and so we want to help spread the word to our discerning foodies in New York".

The March 14 showcase follows a hugely successful IBO breakfast event last Tuesday morning, attended by over fifty business people which featured Dermot O'Brien, Executive VP of Human Resources at TIAA-CREF as the guest speaker.

The next breakfast event will take place on March 27, at the Fitzpatrick Manhattan Hotel on Lexington Avenue. 

Next week's paper will be our Saint Patrick's Day edition so if you would like to advertise in the special issue call (212) 490-8062. Thanks yet again for your support.

See you all next week...