It was one of the saddest moments when I heard my great friend Joe Murphy passed away on Saturday night after putting up a big fight during a long illness. I am so proud that I crossed paths with Joe who had worked with the Irish Echo newspaper as a columnist and in marketing and advertising. This man had a wealth of experience in the media business. Joe was also a founding member of the Irish Voice newspaper. Joe was just one of the ones who stood out and he was the man that introduced me to the media business and coached me with his experience. I have learned a lot. Thanks Joe for everything. I would extend my condolences to his wife Judy and his extended family in Ireland.
He will be sadly missed by all the members and friends at the Cork Association of New York and around the world as he was so well liked by everybody. Maureen O’Hara once said to me that Joe was her man as she loved him as one of her best friends, we will all miss you and thank you again for everything you have done for me. RIP. Joe.
Now this is what was sent in to me from the United Irish Counties Association, now I don’t believe it either, ha. It said “before I get to Dublin Society business I want to stop a rumor going around before it gets worse. There is absolutely no truth to the story that Met Eireann, the Irish Weather Service is changing the name of Storm Lorenzo, to Storm “The Dubs” because of the hammering it gave County Mayo.” Now here is what I am saying do not underestimate Mayo for one minute.
On December 8, the Dublin Society will hold its Third Annual Christmas Brunch from 1 pm to 4 pm, and maybe a little after, at Gossip (9th Ave, at 49 Street). There will be a full Irish brunch, open bar (beer & wine) live music and mighty craic. Dublin Society annual 50/50 tickets are also available. Only 100 are printed, with up to $2,500 in prize money if all sold. These tickets are $50 each and the winner will be drawn at the Christmas brunch though you do not need to be present to win.
The five-in-a-row All Ireland Winning Dubs are set to visit New York in November. There is a celebration planned for November 15 at Tito Murphy’s (346 West 46 Street) from 8 pm to midnight. Jim Gavin and members of the team will be there to meet and greet, and of course Sam will also be present. Tickets are $120 per head, which includes a four hour open bar, buffet dinner and live music. For tickets please contact Keith Murray at (646) 239-3864 or Deidre Maher at (914) 224-1274 or email DeidreMaher@aol.com. Mention the Dublin Society when you call.
Here are some short reminders of some other events upcoming in the next week. The HOPe Annual Dinner will be held on October 15 at Rosie O’Grady’s from 6.30 pm to 10 pm. Make a donation at the door, $50 or above. Their guest speaker will be Loretta Brennan Glucksman. For more information visit hope-charity.org.
The UCD Alumni are hosting two events beginning with an evening reception on October 15 at Mutual of America (320 Park Avenue). They will also hold the Business Alumni Breakfast on October 17 at Bank of NY Mellon (240 Greenwich Street). For more information and to register, visit ucd.ie/alum.
The IBO October Business Breakfast with Kevin McKenna – Deputy Business Editor at The New York – will be held on Tuesday, October 15 from 7.30 am to 9 am at the Fitzpatrick Manhattan Hotel (687 Lexington Avenue, between 56th and 57th Streets).
Following that will be the IBO October Evening Meeting with Conor Twomey – Managing Director, Kx/First Derivatives North America. This event will be held on Wednesday, October 9, at Scandinavia House (58 Park Avenue, between 37th and 38th Streets) with networking starting at 6.30 pm and the meeting proper beginning at 7.15 pm.
Conor Twomey is the Managing Director of First Derivatives North America. First Derivatives are the largest indigenous software company on the island of Ireland and one of the island’s top graduate recruiters. The Group employees over 850 staff across 12 cities in the US, Canada and Mexico. It’s biggest location is New York City with over 330 employees where Conor is based.
Starting as a software engineer, Conor has worked in a number of locations and roles for First Derivatives around the world (London, Tokyo and Newry, Co. Down) during his 10+ years with the company specializing in building bespoke trading and risk systems. He has a Bsc. in Financial, Mathematical and Actuarial Sciences from University College Cork and a Msc. in Computational Finance from the University of Limerick where he graduated top of his class.
For more information on both events you should email info@IBONewYork.org.
The great Mary Courtney will be performing at a new Irish establishment in New Rochelle. She will be playing a solo dinner concert at Hurley’s Steak House & Pub (15 Division Street, New Rochelle NY). Please call (914) 738-6000 to reserve your table. This should not be missed as she is one of the most outstanding Irish folk singers and musicians to come out of Ireland and has a big fan base on this side of the Atlantic so make sure you go and see her as Mary Courtney is a star.
Oh, I also have a correction on something I wrote in last week’s column and that is I should have said OKTOBER Fest, instead of October. Well, we all can’t be right all the time, ha ha.
See you all again next week when I am Out&About again and come on Ireland in the Rugby World Cup!