By Paddy McCarthy
I feel so sorry for all the shoppers as with the weather it slows everything down. I have seen the hussle and bustle with people trying to shop in the rain for their Christmas gifts and it’s sad to see. Now that I’ve got that out of the way it will get a little better towards Christmas Day so you won’t need that umbrella, it is going to be much better, especially from December 22 to Christmas Eve. Now how do I know that? I checked it. Here is the bad news it will be cold so you can have that hot cocoa to warm you up, yippee!
Some friends of mine who have been here in the USA for a long time have decided to return back to Ireland for good and just in time for Christmas. The family is the Coyne family from Youghal County Cork who lived in Miami. Sean Coyne the father started here in New York as a bartender in Queens and went on to own his own bar and then became a very successful real-estate broker in Florida. We wish them lots of luck and I am sure they will settle back in with no problem.
Talking about bar owners, I got to meet John Moran of the Kilarney Rose on Pearl Street in the Financial District here in New York City. I do not have to say any more about John as you will see in another part of the paper that we have interviewed him.
I was at two events last week, the first one was the IBO Christmas Party that was held in O’Lunney’s restaurant on 43rd Street that was a great success again and had nice turnout as well. The entertainment was provided by none other than Mary Courtney and she was fabulous. I have to thank Nicholas Malito for inviting me and also the incoming President John Lee for his welcome. I have to say that Nicholas will be a hard act to follow because what a great job he has done for the last couple of years. The event was dedicated to the late Sean McNeil, with the Inaugural Sean McNeil Award presented to Emerald Isle Immigration Center Executive Director Siobhan Dennehy. Well done Siobhan from all of us here at The Irish Examiner.
Now for the second event and boy was this a great success… I saw The Irish Tenors perform at the NYCB Theatre at Westbury on Saturday. They brought the house down with their performance and had a great backing orchestra. They were able to sing almost anything from well-known folk songs to classical in their own style and all I can say was that they were brilliant and received a big encore from the audience who never stopped clapping. I was so happy for the winners of our giveaway tickets who got to enjoy The Irish Tenors and for the people that entered the contest but did not win tickets we wish you lots of luck for the next giveaway.
SantaCon is an annual pub crawl in which people dressed in Santa Claus costumes or as other Christmas characters parade in various cities around the world. Here in New York City last Saturday SantaCon it went off without a hitch. I know for a fact that Stout, Public House, McFadden’s and Tuttle’s all had full houses and everybody was just having a fun day and it was also for charity.
The Irish Repertory Theatre will present Incantata, a Galway International Arts Festival and Jen Coppinger Production on the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage. Written by Paul Muldoon, directed by Sam Yates and starring Stanley Townsend this production will run from February 18 to March 15, 2020.
A beautiful one-man show, an elegy to life, love and loss, Incantata tells the story of a man celebrating and remembering a great love affair. Incantata is written by one of Ireland’s most revered writers, the New York based, Pulitzer Prize-winning Paul Muldoon and interpreted for the stage by Stanley Townsend and Sam Yates. Fresh from a fall 2019 run at Dublin’s famed Gate Theatre, Incantata premiered to wide acclaim at the 2018 Galway International Arts Festival.
Tickets for Incanata are now on sale from the Box Office at 132 West 22nd Street or online at irishrep.org.
Mary Reed mailed in to let us know about the Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of The HOPE Foundation with Maureen Forrest being honored for her 20 years of service which will take place at Manhattan Manor (201 West 52nd Street) on Thursday, January 30, 2020. Their keynote speaker will be Kathleen Kennedy Townsend with entertainment provided by Mary Courtney. There will also be a live auction with Master of Ceremonies George Heslin.
The evening will start with a cocktail hour at 7pm followed by an elegant dinner, their celebrity speaker Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (coming from DC) Mary Courtney singing and a brilliant live auction and raffle. The benefit is organized by The Hope Foundation in New York City.
The elegant and fun filled evening aims to raise awareness and funds for marginalized children in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India. Renowned Irish humanitarian, founder and Hon. Director of The Hope Foundation, Maureen Forrest from East Cork Ireland, will be honored for her 20 years of service and dedication to the children in Kolkata India. After visiting Mother Teresa in the 90s Maureen returned to Ireland determined to fundraise for a protection home for girls and set up The Hope Foundation in 1999.
Since then her dedication, passion, drive and commitment have inspired thousands of people all over the world to fundraise for Hope’s 60 projects and to visit Kolkata. For tickets contact Mary Reed at maryreed@hopefoundationusa.com or visit them online at www.hopefoundationusa.com.
Happy Christmas to you all, see you next week when I am Out&About again.