irish buffaloirishtimes

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www.buffaloirishcenter.com
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BUFFALOIRISHTIMES
IRISH
February 2013 - March 2013
Gaelic American Athletic Association
Buffaloirishtimes
February/March 2015
Gaelic American Athletic Association of Buffalo, NY
Denice Morrison,
Lee Hartung
Named Grand Marshal of
Irishman
the Year for 2013
75th ofAnniversary
Saint
Patrick’s Day Parade
Sunday, March 15th on Delaware Avenue
Lee E. Hartung will be honored as
Irishman of the Year at the 165th Annual
Friendly Sons dinner on Saturday, March
2nd at the Buffalo Irish Center. He will
receive this highest honor of the Knights
of Equity as his wife Nancy Hartung receives the Daughters of Erin Tara Award,
the highest award given to a member of
the organization. This is the first time a
husband and wife will receive the awards
together.
Lee is the son of the late A. Walter
and Lucy (Meyer) Hartung and grandson ofUnited
the late Anthony
and Anna (DilThe
Irish American
Aslon) Hartung and is the oldest of five
sociation of Erie County (UIAA)
children. He attended St. James School
is
celebrating its 75th anniversain Buffalo, and when the family moved
ry.
Denice
Morrison
of Darien
to Bliss,
NY he finished
grammar
school
Center,
wasSchools.
electedHethe
Grand
at ArcadeNY
Central
then
Marshal
of theTimon
2015High
Diamond
attended Bishop
School Jubilee
Saint Patrick’s
Parade.
and graduated
in the thirdDay
graduating
class Parade
in 1952. He
Canisius
The
is attended
on Sunday,
March
College
and
went
to
work
at
the
Ford
15th at 2PM on Delaware Avenue
Motor
where he worked
in
the Company,
City of Buffalo.
Mass will
for the next 43 years. He and Nancy
be celebrated by Bishop Richard
Riordan married on October 1, 1955 and
J. Malone at Saint Joseph’s Catogether had 8 children, two of whom
thedral
at 10:30
AM.
The
are still living
– Janet
(Don)
KillParade
and
route
north
on They
Delaware
AvNadine is
(Jim)
Ormond.
are proud
enue
from of
theeight
McKinley
Monugrandparents
granddaughters,
ment
to North Street. two greatthree great-granddaughters,
grandsons and two great-great granddaughters.
He is a long time member of the
Knights of Equity and currently serves
as Court 5 Recording Secretary. He held
the post of Guard for the organization
and along with his wife Nancy, hosts the
annual Stag and Doe Picnic every fall
as they open their beautiful home and
grounds to the Knights and Daughters.
new home in Darien Center.
Denice has been employed with
M&T Bank for 20 years. She is
currently Vice President in the
Customer Asset Management Department.
Lee has been a registered Boy Scout
for over 40 years currently serving as
Assistant Scout Master of Troop 230 at
Nativity Church in Orchard Park. He received the highly regarded Scouter of the
Year Award in 1980 and is also a member
of the Order of the Arrow and served as
canoe instructor and guide for the troop.
He has been a member of Nativity
Church in Orchard Park for 63 years
and is still active serving as a Eucharistic Minister (Lee was in the First Class
in the Diocese of Buffalo in the early
1970’s), an usher and affiliated with
the St. Vincent de Paul Conference at
Nativity. Lee and Nancy received the
prestigious St. Joseph the Worker Award
in 1998.
years, serving as Past Grand Knight of
the Bishop Burke Council and the First
and Past Navigator of the Msgr. Leo J.
Toomey Assembly, of which he is very
proud as he is a distant relative to the
late Msgr. Toomey. He also has held
many offices in the organization and
served on the Masters Staff as District
Marshall for the 4th and 6th New York
Districts. The Hartungs also belong to
the Senior Knights of Columbus Bishop
Burke Council and host the annual summer picnic at their Orchard Park home.
Lee received the distinguished Knight of
the Year Award from the Bishop Burke
Council and the Top Recruiter Award in
1991. He currently serves as a Trustee.
Lee has been an active member of
the Knights of Columbus for over 45
In the 1990’s, Lee and Nancy
hosted nine college students from Europe
that
to the US toJohn
volunteerMorrison
as counHercamehusband
selors at Green Lake Girl Scout camp.
served as Grand Marshal for the
The Hartungs were invited to Austria to
2007 Saint Patrick’s Day Parade.
attend the wedding of one of the girls and
He ismade
currently
Nancy
her weddingPresident
cake. While and
CEO
of
Financial
Trust
overseas, they visited many of theFederal
girls
Credit
and
their Union
families.
Lee is currently still active with
The 2015
Saint
Patrick’s
Day
Bishop
Timon/St.
Jude
High school
andParade
is ofdedicated
toand
theNancy
memory
the
Class
1952, and he
of
Scott
Burchard.
Scott
host their annual summer picnic. Hewas
is a
the
owner of
antique automobiles
and is
project
manager
in the Buffalo
aarea
member
of
the
Antique
Auto
Club
of
with construction companies
America
(AACA)
and
the
Vintage
Chevincluding Ciminelli Construction.
rolet
of Americaloved
(VCCA).
He loves
Mr. Club
Burchard
the
Saint
travelling, bowling and spending time
Patrick’s Day Parade and all the
with family and friends.
formal dress that went along with
Lee on thisFor
mostthe
beingWea congratulate
division marshal.
deserving honor.
past 15 years he donned his black
top hat, coat and blackthorn stick
and worked on the Parade lineup
and crowd control for the groups
participating. He took pride in the
formal proper attire and counted
two great-grandsons and two great-great
Nancy
also
served
a religious
educaParade
Day
as as
one
of his favorites
granddaughters.
tion
volunteer,
Parish Bereavement
Comof the
year. Scott
and his often
dry
mittee
and
Meals
on
Wheels.
She
and
her
sense of humor are missed by his
She has been a member of the Daughhusband Lee received the esteemed St.
ters of Erin for many years, serving as a
family and friends on the Saint
Joseph the Worker Award in 1998.
trustee,
chair
of
the
telephone
commitcurrently continues to work as a Patrick’s Day Parade Committee.
tee, and host of the annual Knights of
Among her other activities, Nancy
division marshal and is directly
Equity and Daughters of Erin Stag and
is Past President of the Eleanor Roosinvolved in the fund raising ef- Groups interested in marching in
Doe picnic, where she and Lee open their evelt Democratic Club of Orchard Park,
forts of the UIAA. The UIAA has this year’s Saint Patrick’s Day
beautiful home and grounds for a delight- an election inspector for the Town of
Parade may find an entry applinopicnic
paid each
employees,
are is
volunful
September.all
Nancy
also
Orchard Park and also the school system,
cationofattheour
www.Bufandof the
raising
to and
fund Citizen
ateers
member
Ladiesmoney
of Kincora
Weekwebsite
in Orchard
Park in
faloStPatricksDayParade.com
theLadies
musicw in
the ParadeShe
is isa still
major 1997,
the
of Hibernians.
and currently remains a member ofor
phone
875-0282
more and
inforvery
active at her alma mater, Mt. Mercy
the
Antique
Auto Club for
of America
effort.
Academy, serving on the Alumnae board
the
Vintage Chevrolet
Club of America.
mation.
UIAA Executive
Comfor
over
50
years
and
a
past
President.
also available
Mrs. Morrison grew up in Ham- mittee
Nancymembers
has been a are
registered
member
In
2002,
she
received
the
distinguished
on
Sunday
afternoons
at
over 50at
burg, graduated from Frontier of the Girl Scouts of America for 3PM
Spirit of Mercy Award for living her life
having received
three awards
the
the Buffalo
Irish Center,
245– AbHigh School and attended Erie years,
through her spirit of compassion, loyalty
Green
Angel
Award,
the
Council
Award
bott
Road.
Community College. She is the
and service. She has been a member of
for Volunteerism and the Thanks Badge
daughter
of inKathleen
Nativity
Church
Orchard Park(McDerfor
is the annual
highest award
given to aParty
The 25th
Valentine’s
mott)
Thomas
Lorka,
her fa- which
56
yearsand
and is
a Eucharistic
Minister,
volunteer. In the 1990’s, the Hartungs
will be held Friday February 13th
ther is retired
from
Gibralter
Steel. were
Minister
to the Sick,
Lector
and conducts
host to nine college students from
at the Buffalo
Irish Center. Music
aDenice
monthlyis
Communion
at a local
a memberService
of Saint
John overseas
who came to the US to volunretirement
facility.
She
has
served
on
is
by
the
Heard
Buffalo,
tickets
Vianney parish. Active in com- teer as counselors atofGirl
Scout Green
the
Parishactivities,
Council, where
she currently
are available
at Tara
Gift
Shop
munity
Denice
enjoyed Lake
Camp in Orchard
Park.
They
were or
is
a
Trustee,
past
Chair
of
the
Liturgy
by calling
875-0282.
$20of ticket
her years as a Buffalo Jill. She invited
to Europe
to the wedding
one
Committee, past President of the Altar
includes
beer,
wine,
pop
and
a
of
the
girls
from
Austria
and
...
and her husband John recently
and Rosary Society, serving as Secretary/
moved from Orchard Park to their flower for the Ladies.
For this once in a lifetime honor
Denice, has tapped her husband
John Morrison, Chairman of the
UIAA Executive Committee, her
dear sister Shawn Baumgarden
has been
selected
Nancy is one of two daughters and
andNancy
her Hartung
wonderful
stepchildren,
by
the
Daughters
of
Erin
to
receive
the
two
sons of the late Cornelius and Anne
Aryan and Jason Morrison to be
Tara Award, the highest honor given to
(Lynch) Riordan of South Buffalo. She
her deputy marshals.
Nancy Hartung to Receive Tara Award
attended St. Monica’s grade school and
Mt. Mercy Academy, graduating in the
rick’s
Class ofDay
1952.Parade.
Nancy and Lee Hartung
married in St. Monica’s Church on OctoBefore
to eight
serve
ber 1, 1955being
and wereelected
blessed with
on
the
Executive
Committee
children, two still living, Janet (Don) of
Kill and Nadine
(Jim) Ormond. She
UIAA,
she volunteered
onis the
the
proud
grandmother
of
eight
grandwork of the Saint Patrick’s Day
daughters,for
threemany
great-granddaughters,
Parade
years. Denice
Buffalo IrIsh TImes
GaelIc-amerIcan aThleTIc assocIaTIon
245 aBBoTT road
Buffalo, nY 14220-1305
a member of the organization. She will
receive the award at the Friendly Sons
Her
brother
JasonMarch
Lorka,
wife
Dinner
on Saturday,
2nd his
at the
Julianna
and
daughter
Ellee
Buffalo Irish Center, along with her will
be
travelling
to Buffalo
from
their
husband
Lee Hartung
who will
receive
the Knights
of Equity’sto
Irishman
the
home
in Arizona
lead aof large
Year Award. This
is the firstand
timefriends
a huscontingent
of family
band and wife
have received
awards
honoring
Saint
Patrick the
and
suptogether.
porting Denice in the Saint Pat-
Buffalo Irish Times -
Trustee until it’s dissolution in 2012.
1
- January/February Edition 2015
conTInued on pG
2
The 2015 Knights of Equity
Irish Heritage Award Recipient
- Patrick Gillooly
A Letter From
The Editor...
Greetings!
By Craig Speers
A New Year is here and we are off to a running start with our 1st. issue of 2015.
I want to thank everyone for the continued support and positive comments I have
been hearing around town about our newspaper. It would not happen without the
dedication of so many contributors.
Although, our paper is continuing to be published on a regular schedule it comes
with a price and this price is being covered by the Buffalo Irish Center accounts.
There are plans in the near future to have a fund raiser at the Buffalo Irish Center
to support the Buffalo Irish Times. I ask that when the fundraiser is announced that
you support the Buffalo Irish Center with your attendance.
There will be five issues for 2015. The past years response for articles has been
significant and we will do our best to get your articles in the paper. You can help
by getting them in time to the Buffalo Irish Times ([email protected])
. The next deadline is March 20th, 2015.
Consider subscriptions as gifts for family and friends in town and out of town.
What a surprise they will have to read the familiar stories and see old friends and
family in the Buffalo Irish Times.
Please support the businesses that advertise in our paper and suggest to your business friends their help is welcome and we would like to see their advertisement in
our paper.
Patrick Gillooly
We are excited about this year we welcome your impute.
Slán go fóill
Patrick Gillooly’s interest in Gaelic
games arose at an early stage, soon after his birth in 1923 to Brigid and James
Gillooly of the hamlet of Treanboy, Ballymoe District, County Galway. Ballyme is the home of two very famous
Irish citizens - including the 1916 Irish
revolutionary Eamon Ceantt and Father
Thomas Flanagan, the founder of Boys
Town USA - the home for orphaned and
troubled boys.
Kevin
Kevin J. O’Brien, Editor
Pat was the third child in a family of
eight from the farm district of eastern
Galway, very near the border of County
Roscommon. His sisters are May, Kitt,
Anne Doyle (Buffalo), and Sadie. His
brothers are John, Martin, Tom and Michael. His was educated at St. Croan’s
Parish School, and excelled at Irish football - with special emphasis on speed and
grit.
Upper Ardboe, County Tyrone, in All
Saints Church in Riverside. They resided in Buffalo and raised four daughters - Theresa, Bridget, Mary, and Patricia all of whom excelled at Irish dance
with the Butler School of Irish Dance.
Susan passed away in 2011, after fifty
eight years of marriage. She was always
a supporter of his accomplishments. Pat
and Susan have been blessed by fourteen
grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Soon after his arrival in Buffalo he
began a twenty-two year career with
St. Pat’s Buffalo Irish Football club, as
an active player for sixteen years, as an
on field official for four years, and as
the team coach for two additional years.
Playing for the old green and gold at the
club home field at Mulroy Park, he was
a member of the 1953 Mid West Division Championship team, which went to
As a young man he worked hard on the national championship game against
his grandfather Morgan and his father’s Chicago in the windy city, a game they
farms, worked for the County Council narrowly lost.
and the national Electric Supply Board.
As a member of St. Croan’s Irish FootPat was honored to be a member of the
ball Club starting as a sixteen year old, 1953 National All Star team along with
he enjoyed success. The club won the teammates Bertie Cronan, Kiernan HarIrish national junior club championship rington and Kevin Nolan. The All Star
in 1944, after winning the Roscommon game was played in Boston, and ironiCounty championship. among his team cally officiated by a St. Croan’s Club ex
mates were the Eagan brothers who pat - Bill Carlos. Pat continues to be an
would later operate the general store and avid follower of the Gaelic games, and
hotel in Ballymoe.
is in attendance at numerous Buffalo
Fenian games including visits to the naOn Christmas Eve 1947 Pat arrived tional playoffs in Cleveland in 2013 and
in Buffalo, sponsored by his uncle and Boston in 2014. His grandson Brian is
namesake Pat Gillooly, operator of the a member and former Player of the Year
famous Silver Dollar Pub on Swan Street. of the Fenians, and other grandchildren
Pat soon landed a position as a machin- have excelled in Irish sport and culture
ist with Herr Manufacturing on Franklin too - Jennifer as a national championship
Street in Buffalo, where he would be em- dancer and teacher of Irish dance, Kathployed for forty years. In later years he leen as a MAAC conference champion
would also work security for St. Mary’s soccer and lacrosse player and Patrick as
School for the Deaf for forty six years.
a league goalie in Florida. His love of
Irish sport now spans nine decades and
In 1953 Pat married Susan Conlan of counting!
BUFFALOIRISHTIMES
Buffalo Irish Times | 245 Abbott Road | Buffalo, NY 14220
A bi-monthly publication of the Gaelic American Association, Inc.
EDITOR:
Kevin O’Brien
FOUNDERS:
Mary Heneghan • Michael McCafferty • Charlie McMahon
CALENDAR:
Tim Hartnett
ADVERTISING:
John Oakley • Dan McCue
STAFF:
Donna Shine • James R. Shine • Ed Patton • Diane Blaser • W. Daniel Fitzpatrick • Steve Banko
Neil Farrell • James Keane • Joe Marren • Joseph Xavier Martin • Catherine O’Brian
Robert O’Connor • Joan Graham Scahill
THE NEW
G.A.A.A. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mary C. Heneghan • Randy McPhee • Mary Clare Dolata • Catherine Carey • Margaret McGrath
Brian O’Hara • Jack Fecio • Skip Sommer • Shane Devlin • Gary Holzerland
Ken Hansen • Michael O’Sullivan
The Buffalo Irish Times welcomes letters or articles from readers. Submissions must be typed in a Macintosh or PC compatible format,
and be no more than 500 words. Include your name, address and phone number with your submission. Material may be subject to condensation. Opinion letters are welcomed, however all submissions must include the authors name and contact information. We reserve
the right to reject any submission. Submissions or submitted
photographs will only be returned if accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Please email submissions to [email protected].
Opinions expressed in this paper reflect those of the authors and or subjects interviewed and do not necessarily reflect those of the
editors and staff of the Buffalo Irish Times or the Gaelic American Athletic Association, its Board or membership.
BUFFALOIRISHTIMES
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2
Paul Mulcaire Recipient of Prestigious International Award
By Padraic Walsh
Paul Mulcaire giving some lessons on the game of hurling.
GAA President Liam O’Neill (left) with Buffalo Fenians Chairperson Paul Mulcaire
(right) during a Fenians dinner in Buffalo, January 2014.
Paul Mulcaire, Chairperson of Buffalo Fenians Gaelic Athletic Association, is
to be honored with the prestigious GAA
President’s International Award. Paul was
chosen for this honor because of his tireless
commitment to the organization and promotion of Gaelic Games and activities. The
awards are staged annually by the GAA and
provide the GAA President with an opportunity to acknowledge outstanding commitment and long service across the club, county, and international network from people
whose highly valued contribution is seldom
recognized. The GAA President Awards are
made up of fourteen individual awards, with
only one international award reserved for a
recipient who resides outside of Ireland. The
entire Buffalo Fenians GAA family are delighted for Paul on this very illustrious recognition from the GAA in Ireland. Paul will
travel to Ireland with family, and friends to
receive his award from GAA President Liam
O’Neill at a gala event which will take place
in Croke Park, Dublin on Friday, February 6,
2015.
Paul Mulcaire is a native of Kilrush, Co. Clare. Paul played Gaelic Games
throughout his youth in Co. Clare with local club, Kilrush Shamrocks. Paul continued
playing with Kilrush in both codes, Gaelic
Football, and hurling, until he made the difficult decision to immigrate to Buffalo, NY
in 1986. Now a resident of Lancaster, Paul
is married to Kathy, and has four children,
Matthew, Patrick, Jack, and Bridget.
Upon arriving in the city of good
neighbors, Paul immediately set about immersing himself in the Irish scene around
Buffalo. Meeting, and spending time with
other Irish immigrants, and American Irish
people, Paul was soon hired as a carpenter.
While working as a carpenter, Paul always
longed to keep playing the sport of his youth,
and the national games of Ireland. While
Gaelic games had been played in Buffalo
since the early 1920’s, there was no official
organization for Gaelic games in Buffalo.
Paul began to play Gaelic games with the interested locals. Paul brought his knowledge
and passion for the games to the area, along
with his desire to see a club thrive. This was
the backbone of Paul’s involvement.
By the mid 1990’s, Paul Mulcaire,
along with some likeminded individuals, decided the time was right for a new GAA club
to be formed in the Western New York area.
The Buffalo Na Fianna GAA Club was the
result of their labor. While beginning slowly, Na Fianna began to get results from the
beginning, but it was not until a youth program was initiated did the club begin to see
success? “Youth are the future of any club,”
Mulcaire is often quoted as saying. This was
certainly true for Na Fianna.
As the 90’s passed into the 2000’s,
Na Fianna began to reevaluate their programs, and the decision was made to rebrand the club as Buffalo Fenians. Mulcaire
explained that if a local club is to thrive in
the local area, the club must take something
from the history of that local area. Buffalo
Fenians was aptly named so as to recognize
Buffalo’s local Irish history, and of course
the brave Fenian Raids which took place in
Buffalo along the banks of the Niagara River in 1866.
In 2009, Paul Mulcaire was elected
as Buffalo Fenians Youth Officer. Once in
this position, Paul set about reenergizing
the youth program from Na Fianna. He enlisted the help, and talents, from young men
and women who were products from the Na
Paul Mulcaire giving some final words of encouragement to his team
at Chicago CYC 2012.
Fianna youth program. Now mostly adults,
and some with children of their own, Paul’s
move to involve the past with the future was
a great strategic move. From the beginning,
Buffalo Fenians youth program found success with great numbers of children, parents,
and help. With the new youth program initiated, Mulcaire now set about on his next
mission. Mulcaire wanted Buffalo to compete on a National stage.
The now 10 year old Continental
Youth Championship (CYC) was seeing
great successes within North America, and
Canada, so five years ago Paul Mulcaire felt
that the time was right for Buffalo Fenians
to enter a team. Traveling to Boston for their
first ever CYC, Mulcaire, along with many
parents and athletes, Buffalo Fenians partook in their first CYC in 2009. Building off
the successes from 2009, Mulcaire’s band
of youth has gone from strength to strength,
and success to success. In 2014, Buffalo
Fenians entered six underage teams at the
annual CYC, and watching Buffalo Fenians
U14 taste success was a dream realized for
Paul Mulcaire, and his volunteers. “This is
only the first national trophy of the many
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more to come” Paul Mulcaire espoused after
the 2014 games.
Not content with his successes at
Buffalo, Paul felt he had more to offer the
general GAA body for the Midwest United
States, and the North American County
Board. Paul currently serves as Youth Officer for the United States: Midwest Division;
Development Officer for the Continental
Youth Championships; and Public Relations
Officer for the North American Youth Committee, while also serving as Chairperson for
Buffalo Fenians GAA.
Paul is the epitome of what it
means to be “GAA.” Always giving his
time freely, and selflessly, Paul Mulcaire is a
very deserving recipient of this year’s GAA
President’s International Award. Paul has
been receiving congratulations from all over
the world from people who have never met
Paul, but have heard of Paul’s exploits.
Congratulations Paul Mulcaire,
and family. All your club affiliates, colleagues, and friends are very proud of you,
and Buffalo Fenians GAA is always better
for having you involved. Comhghairdeas
leat agus taisteal sábháilte.
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Unsung Hero Nellie Moran
A place Like Home
Saint Patrick’s Irish American Club has
named Nellie Moran as the 2015 Unsung
Hero. Nellie has been an active member for
many years. Her most famous help comes
at our annual Saint Brigid’s Party which has
become an annual success because of the
chairmanship of Nellie. Her spirited contributions of her own “party pieces” as well
as encouraging others in attendance, to contribute their own song or story have created
many enjoyable parties.
We congratulate her, and invite you to join
us at this year’s St. Brigid’s Party on Saturday, February 7th at 6PM. For tickets
contact Kathy Masterson at 826-0828 or the
Tara Gift Shoppe 825-6700.
- Sinead Tyrone
World full of solitary spheres,
each of us spinning our own circles,
cold air filling the spaces between us
as we travel on, preoccupied
by unspoken troubles,
the pressures and demands
life forces upon us,
too busy to step out of our circle
to ask of the needs of others,
and I myself, do this,
am just as guilty as the person on my left,
and the one on my right,
and wonder at times
why my own world feels so cold,
so silent,
Art event, music to be featured
at Dog Ears Bookstore & Café
An art show featuring the work of local artist Fred Fielding will take place from 7 to 9
p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, at Dog Ears Bookstore & Café, 688 Abbott Road, Buffalo.
The public is invited to attend the event,
which will also feature music by HEARsay,
featuring Dave Kane and Michael Miskuly.
was young and I have been using them ever
since,” Fielding said. “Most of my work is
done on sanded paper mounted on foamcore
board with an under painting of watermedia
or oil. I enjoy observing the landscape and
interpreting its moods through composition,
value and color.”
Fielding, a practicing dentist with Southtowns Dental and a self-taught artist from
a family of artists, has been awarded signature status with the Pastel Artists of Canada.
To view examples of his work, please visit
www.fredfieldingfineart.com.
Light refreshments will be provided during the event. For more information on the
nonprofit community bookstore, please call
823-2665, visit www.dogearsbookstore.org
or follow Dog Ears on Facebook for frequent updates.
until I step inside your place,
smell the fine aroma of your breakfasts cooking
and baked good offerings,
and your coffees and teas,
hear your soft Irish music,
touching a special place in my heart,
as it must touch every heart
that enters your doors,
and I want to become a part
of the sphere of every person
that sits at table here,
want to be part of this gathering of friends,
this community,
and I think this must be
what the pubs in Ireland are like,
gathering of friends,
circles interconnected,
each person belonging with others,
no one alone.
“My mother introduced me to pastels when I
And for the first time
in a long time
I feel less pain at being away
from the land of my dreams,
and feel more like I am home.
An Irishman Is A Guy Who:
McAnonymous
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Gets more Irish the farther he gets from Ireland.
Considers funerals a festivity but weddings sad events to be put off as long
as possible.
St. Pat’s Irish American Club
Believes in everything he can’t see and nothing he can.
MEETINGS:
Is irrational in important things but a tower of strength in trivialities.
1st Friday of the
Month at 8:00pm
p
Can argue either side of a question, often at the same time.
New Members Welcome!
Cries at sad songs, but cheers in battle.
Believes that to forgive is divine, therefore does not practice it himself.
CALL KATHY MASTERSON
716-826-0828
716
16 826 0828
Is lovable and charming, but banks heavily on the fact that God has a sense
of humor.
FIR DOITEAN
Clann Na Cara
Irish Dance Classes
IRISH PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS OF W.N.Y
Fir Doitean is am Irish Catholic
Professional Firefighters’ Group
encompassing all of WNY.
MEETINGS:
Locations is S. Buffalo, Orchard Park,
Amherst, Lancaster & Kenmore
7:00PM ON THE SECOND
WEDNESDAY OF EVERY MONTH
716-861-7074
(EXCEPT JULY & AUGUST)
[email protected] • www.clannnacara.com
THE IRISH CENTER: 245 ABBOTT ROAD, BUFFALO, NY 14220
4
More Irish Gaelic Mythical Creatures ~
Créatúir na Miotaseolaíotchta Gaelaí
-by Kevin Conroy
I will continue this month with an examination of a couple more
creatures from the Gaelic mythological tradition.
• An tAos Sí ‘Fairies’
The Gaelic/Celtic fairy is different from the
typical modern Anglo-American fairy. Rather than being diminutive winged creatures,
they are more traditionally viewed as beautiful tall beings that were both powerful and
troublesome. In origin, these Gaelic fairies
are adaptations of earlier mythological beings who, according to legend, were driven
underground to the “fairy mounds” (Ir. síthe
or liosanna). In the earliest tales these beings
are humanized versions of Celtic gods that
the Christian monks tried de-deify (although
their attempts are very transparent and not
very convincing). Most of these pre-Christian Gaelic deities belong to the Tuatha Dé
Danann (“the peoples of the goddess Danu”).
According to Gaelic mythology, these divine
figures, who once ruled the whole island,
were driven underground by the conquering
Gaels/Milesians. Eventually these former
gods morphed into “fairies”. In some more
Christianized versions of Irish folklore, fairies are described as fallen angels.
Whatever their supposed origin, the Irish
language has no shortage of words for these
supernatural beings, most of which are based
on the word sí (pl. síthe) ‘fairy mound, barrow, tumulus,’ where the fairies are said to
dwell: aos sí (older spellings: aos sídhe, áes
síde) ‘inhabitants of a fairy mound,’ an slua
sí ‘the fairy host,’ siógaí ‘fairies,’ síogaithe
‘fairies, elves; weaklings; precocious people,’ and síofróga ‘elf-women, fairies; enchantresses.’ Euphemistically, the fairies
were referred to as na daoine maithe “the
good people” or na daoine beaga “the small
people.” In English, the term ‘fairy’ (and
more rarely ‘elf’) has been borrowed from
other cultures and applied to the aos sí from
Gaelic tales as well.
In the Gaelic tradition, one would most likely
encounter the fairies if one went near where
they lived, i.e. fairy mounds (síthe, liosanna, siáin), fairy forts (liosacháin), and even
certain forests and lakes. Thus, one would
typically try to avoid the places where fairies were thought to live and there were many
superstitions associated with these places. In
some tales people are abducted by fairies.
In early tales, in which the aos sí were more
clearly divine beings, some of the abducted
woman would return pregnant, c.f. Sétanta/
Cú Chulainn, who was fathered by the god
Lug(h) under strange circumstances at Sí
an Bhrú/Brú na Bóinne (the passage tomb
known in English as Newgrange). In other
tales, people are magically enticed (often
by fairy music) to follow the fairy host in
a trance-like state in which they fail to perceive the passage of time and many remain
following the fairy host for centuries.
In most Gaelic tales, one had to be careful
not to anger or insult the fairies, since doing so could lead to some not so nice con-
sequences. This is the reason that fairies are
often referred to euphemistically as na daoine maithe or na daoine beaga in Irish or as
‘the good folk’ or ‘the wee folk’ in English.
Likewise, offerings (especially milk) were
traditionally made to fairies so as to appease
them and prevent them from doing harm. In
the Scottish tradition at least, milk used to be
placed on certain rocks (in strange circular
rings said to have been made by the fairies)
as an offering to fairies, particularly around
Samhain (i.e. Halloween). If you search for
“Clach a’ Bhainne” onYouTube, you can
watch a short video of Griogair Labhruidh (a
Scottish musician) showing and explaining
the tradition relating to one of these “Milk
Stones” in Scottish Gaelic (with English subtitles). Clach a’ bhainne is Scottish Gaelic for
“(the) stone of the milk”; the Irish equivalent
is cloch an bhainne.
Skye in Scotland.
There is a long (35 verses total) 8-9th century Old Irish poem in which the Cailleach
Bhéarra herself speaks to us, lamenting her
old age and reminiscing of the days she was
younger, less bony, and less miserable! She
used to drink with kings and in fact had lived
through multiple generations of husbands
(having had seven periods of youth), including royal and mythological figures. She
may well have been the divine ancestor to a
few population groups in south-west Ireland
(she is particularly associated with the tribal
group Corcu Duibne, from which derives the
modern placename Corca Dhuibhne—which
is the native Irish name for the Dingle Peninsula). I will give a few verses of the Old Irish
poem here from Gerard Murphy’s scholarly
edition & translation (‘The Lament for the
Old Woman of Beare’ in Proceedings of the
Royal Irish Academy, Vol. 55 (1952/1953),
pp 83-109):
• Cailleach
Cailleach is an Irish (and Scottish) Gaelic word meaning “old woman, hag; nun;
witch...” It originally meant “veiled one”
and derives from the Old Irish caille ‘veil’,
which itself is an early loan from the Latin
pallium. Cailleach has a wide range of meanings and uses in Irish. In some Gaeltacht areas (especially Donegal) old men call each
other cailleach in a joking manner. Cailleach
can also be applied to a man as an insult, implying that he is a spineless coward. Context
determines the meaning. Looking in the Irish
dictionary gives a few more interesting uses
of cailleach: cailleach phráta ‘shriveled potato’ (“a hag of a potato”), cailleach na luatha ‘cricket’ (“hag of the ashes”), cailleach
ghoile ‘tapeworm’ (“hag of stomach”), cailleach na gcearc ‘witch’ (“hag of the hens”),
and cailleach dhubh ‘cormorant’ (“black
hag”). But beware, for cailleach dhubh also
means ‘nun’!
(*Change of Venue)
HDC LIBRARY
Heritage Discovery Center
100 Lee Street, Buffalo, NY 14210
Is mé Caillech Bérri Buí;
no·meilinn léini mbithnuí;
indiu táth-um, dom ṡéimi,
ná melainn cid aithléini.
In folkloric contexts, cailleach often refers to
Cailleach Bhéarra(ch) “the hag of Béarra,”
possibly referring to the Beara(/Beare) Peninsula (Béarra in Irish) in SW County Cork.
This cailleach is a divine hag, functioning
variously as a goddess of winter and/or as
a creator of other divine figures, peoples/
tribes, and of mountains and other landmarks. Scottish Gaelic mythology also has
the Cailleach Bheur who is the goddess of
winter. In some versions of Gaelic mythology, the Cailleach Bhéarra is said to rule
the winter half of the year, while Brighid
(~Brigit ~ Bríd) rules over the summer half
of the year. (NB Traditions associated with
the Celtic goddess Brighid and that of St.
Brigit/Brighid/Bríd/Bridget of Kildare have
long been conflated and confused). There are
many placenames in Ireland and Scotland
that include Cailleach, such as Ceann Caillí
“hag’s head” at southern end of the Cliffs of
Moher (Ir. Aillte an Mhothair) and Beinn na
Caillich “the hag’s mountain” on the Isle of
Rom-boí denus la ríga
oc ól meda ocus ḟína;
in-díu ibim medcuisce
eter sentainni crína.
Céin mair insi mora máir:
do·sn-ic tuile íarna tráig;
os mé, ní frescu do·mi-í
tuile tar éisi n-aithbi.
Is súaill mennatán in-díu
ara taibrinn-se aithgne;
a n-í ro boí for tuile
atá uile for aithbe.
I am the Old Woman of Beare, beside
Dursey;
I used to wear a smock that was everrenewed;
to-day it has befallen me, by reason of my
mean estate,
that I could not have even a second smock
to wear.
I have had my day with kings,
drinking mead and wine;
now I drink whey-and-water
among shriveled old hags.
Returning to more modern times, Pádraig
Pearse (one of the executed leaders of the
1916 Easter Uprising) includes a reference
to the Cailleach Bhéarra in his famous poem
Mise Éire:
Mise Éire:
Sine mé ioná an Chailleach Bhéarra.
Mór mo ghlóir:
Mé do rug Cú Chulainn cródha.
Mór mo náir:
Mo chlann féin do dhíol a máthair.
Mise Éire:
Uaignighe mé ioná an Chailleach Bhéarra.
Finally, the Cailleach also had a role in New
Year’s Eve traditions from the West Cork
Gaeltacht (Ir. Múscraí). To strongly encourage young people to go to sleep on New
Year’s Eve, the old folks would warm them
that the Seana-Chailleach “old hag” (likely
connected to old goddess of winter) would
come and take away those who weren’t
sleeping. Here’s one version of a traditional
rhyme they would say to get the kids to go to
bed (in dialectal spelling taken from Seanchas Amhlaoibh Í Luínse):
Oíche Choille: a cholla ón gCaillig!
A cholla libh, a dhaoine,
Mar an méid ná beig ’n-úr gcolla agaibh,
Agamsa bhe’ sibh choíche!
In standardized Irish spelling:
Oíche Chaille, a chodladh ón gCailligh!
A chodladh libh, a dhaoine,
Mar an méid ná beidh in bhur gcodladh
agaibh,
Agamsa a bheidh sibh choíche!
And my English translation:
New Year’s Eve: to sleep from the cailleach!
(Go) to sleep with you, oh people,
For those of you who won’t be asleep,
I’ll have you forever!
SOUTH END FLORAL
Dress Up Your Occassion With One
Of Our Specialty Arrangements!
*Saturday, April 18, 2015 ........................10:30am
*Tuesday, July 21, 2015 .............................6:00pm
*Tuesday, October 3, 2015 .....................10:30am
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING
IN THE GAAA IRISH LIBRARY
JANUARY 16, 2016 AT 10:30AM
DAILY CITY-WIDE AND SUBURBAN DELIVERIES
Buffalo Irish Center
245 Abbott Road, Buffalo, NY 14220
822-7562
VISIT OUR WEB SITE! http://bigs.limewebs.com
or link thru
To-day there is scarcely
a dwelling-place I could recognize;
what was in flood
is all ebbing.
My translation:
I am Ireland [Éire, besides being the primary Irish name for Ireland, is also the name of
a Celtic goddess]:
I am older than the Hag of Béarra.
Great is my glory:
I who bore the brave Cú Chulainn.
Great is my shame:
My own children sold their mother.
I am Ireland:
I am lonelier than the Hag of Béarra.
Ebb-tide has come to me as to the sea;
old age makes me yellow;
though I may grieve thereat,
it approaches its food joyfully.
BUFFALO IRISH
GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
REGULAR
MEETINGS
Aithbe dam-sa bés mora;
sentu fom-dera croan;
toirsi oca cía do-gnéo,
sona do-tét a loan.
It is well for an island of the great sea:
flood comes to it after its ebb;
as for me, I expect
no flood after ebb to come to me.
218 Abbott Road (accross from the Irish Center)
5
The Annual
Buffalo Fenians host 5th
Annual Awards Ceremony St. Patrick’s Day Children’s
By Padraic Walsh
Art Competition
On December 20, 2014, Buffalo Fenians
hosted their 5th Awards Ceremony. What is
now a staple in the American-Irish calendar,
the Awards Night see’s the annual gathering of
Fenians Gaelic Games players, and club members. The club presents awards to recipients
who have made their mark within the Fenians
family throughout the season gone by. Buffalo
Fenians were delighted to welcome NYPD
GAA President Sgt. Peter McCormack to
Buffalo on the night. Sgt. Peter traveled from
NYC with his wife Karan, and daughter Hanna
to act as Guest of Honor for the Fenians.
Buffalo Fenians would like to take this
opportunity to thank everyone who made the
2014 season an outstanding success. Special
thanks must go to Fenians sponsors, without
who the club would find it difficult to operate
at such a high level. Amherst Gaelic League,
and Yotality Frozen Yogurt are the main sponsors of both our adult program, and youth
program respectively. Next Buffalo Fenians
would like to thank all the players, parents, and
coaches for all your hard work, and dedication
throughout the year. To Conor Hawkins, Manager of LiFT Nightclub in downtown Buffalo
for making available LiFT Nightclub, and staff
for our Awards Night. Lastly, many thanks
to Sgt. Peter McCormack, and his family, for
making the trip to Buffalo so as to be with our
club on our special evening.
Congratulations to all our award recipients,
2014 Rookie of the Year: Colin McManus
2014 Most Improved Player: Pat McCarthy
2014 Player of the Year: Declan Doherty
2014 Clubperson of the Year: Matt Lomot
As our club looks forward to 2015, we
would like to wish everyone a safe, and happy
St. Patrick’s Day, and to thank everyone for
their continued support of the only GAA Club
in the Buffalo area.
Sgt. Peter McCormack (R) presenting Buffalo
Fenians Secretary, Padraic Walsh (L) with a commemorative #23 NYPD GAA jersey. NYPD GAA
has retired #23 in honor of the 23 NYPD Officers
who lost their lives on 9/11.
2014 Rookie of the Year: Colin McManus
Sponsored by: the Buffalo Irish Center and the Buffalo Irish Festival the goal of this
competition is: to foster an awareness of the reasons St. Patrick is celebrated in Ireland
throughout the world.
Contestants must be between the ages of 6 and 16 years
There are 4 categoriesCategory A: children 6-8 yrs.
Category B: children 9-12
Category C: teens 13-16
Category D: Special needs students
Each artist will re-create part of the story of St. Patrick or depict what St. Patrick means
to him/her. Artwork must be presented on 8.5 x 11 white paper, The Buffalo Irish Center
and the Buffalo Irish Festival will award the following prizes to the winning participants
in each category:
1st $50, 2nd $30, 3rd $20, 4th $15
Buffalo Fenians at LiFT Nightclub,
December 20, 2014.
The winners’ artwork will be displayed in the Buffalo Irish Center
ALL entries must be submitted to the
Buffalo Irish Center,
245 Abbott Rd. Buffalo. NY 14220
by Friday March 6th.
L to R: Sgt. Peter McCormack (NYPD GAA), Paul
Mulcaire (Buffalo Fenians), Hanna McCormack,
Karan McCormack, Padraic Walsh (Buffalo Fenians)
Awards will be presented on Saint Patrick’s Day at the Buffalo Irish Center.
ANDY’S
“…the magical journey to find my Irish
ancestral grounds became the inspiration for
IRELAND SPEAKS:
Poems From My Soul.”
Written, illustrated and published
by Donna M. Shine
DRIVING
SCHOOL
5 HOUR PRE-LICENSING COURSE
PRIVATE DRIVING LESSONS • DRIVER EDUCATION PROGRAM
Cardinal O’Hara H.S.
$13.00 ($10 PLUS $3 POSTAGE) TO:
Andy Moynihan
874-1653
Donna M. Shine
6350 Scherff Rd
Orchard Park, NY 14127
(716) 662-1164
Email: [email protected]
39 O’Hara Rd., Tonawanda, NY 14150
IRISH CULTURE
& FOLK ART
ASSOCIATION OF BUFFALO, NY INC.
SPONSOR OF
THE ANNUAL
BUFFALO FEIS
All interested in our
Irish Heritage are welcome.
MEETINGS:
2nd Wednesday at 7:00pm
at the Buffalo Irish Center
For Information, Call
Charlie McSwain at 716-677-4497
For Membership Information Call
Skip Sommer 716-812-0538 • [email protected]
www.buffalofeis.org
6
How “Friedcakes” Got Me A Ride Home
By Michael McMorrow
Heavy industries in the City of Buffalo
and adjacent areas were dwindling toward
nothing as the 1950s closed. That meant,
also, the end of a full century in which the
waterfront and the Irish of the First Ward
entwined.
At mid-20th century, Irish names out of
the Ward permeated all corners of the local
maritime industry.
William M. (“Bill”) Connelly was a man
with soft edges to his gruffness. He was a
lawyer and a veteran of both World Wars
and carried Coast Guard papers as First
Class Pilot of Great Lakes and Connecting
Waterways. For all that, he attracted most
lawsuits where things had gone wrong
at the water’s edge. Family foundations
were the home at 72 Michigan Avenue
and the business begun by his father, John
the immigrant, behind the sign “Connelly
Bro’s & Co., ship chandlers” at 159 Ohio
Street. (A chandler was a supermarket for
everyone with anything that floated. If the
chandler did not have it, you did not need
it.)
Thomas W. (“Tom”) Burke, with hallmark
bow tie, was operations chief of Boland &
Cornelius/American Steamship Co., later
rising to president of the latter corporation. The firms owned and managed huge
bulk freighters that plied the Great Lakes
and some distance down the St. Lawrence River. From the tenth floor of the
now-dwarfed Marine Trust Building, Tom
could see the watery horizon of the lake
through stacks and smoke of the makers of
steel and cement and coke which were his
customers. He also might see South Street
where the Burkes grew up.
wed for the second time, Patrick Brennan,
Superintendent of the Public Water Works,
who would captain the tugs. Obstructing Chauncey’s attraction to the stage, his
mother demanded he take regular work.
Thus, for a short while, he toiled as fireman tending the boilers on tugboats. In
time, he returned to the theatre and moved
upward to world-wide acclaim on the musical stage.
All this is background for a story.
High school and college students had little
trouble finding work in the years following
World War II. Mills and factories at waEntire families sailed, like generations terside, and the building trades throughout
named Mahaney. They found a home the area, beckoned. Office jobs held little
away from the neighborhood in ships’ allure. Strapping on work shoes and tough
engine rooms and were renowned for pre- denims and being out-of-doors all day was
venting machinery “break down,” all the itself an attraction. Too, the money was
while pulling the last pound of steam from better. A rare few were able “to sail.” I
a handful of coal or a cup of marine diesel. was one of them.
Both their fathers had started out on the
docks.
In yet earlier times, there were deeper roots
of the Ward’s Irish at Buffalo’s waterfront.
William J. “Fringy” Connors controlled
the stevedores, men who moved packaged cargo to, from and between ships and
shore. By all reports he was a tyrant who
forgot what he
learned (or should have learned) growing
up at home off Louisiana Street. Whenever workers demanded improved wages
or conditions, he ignored them. If there
was a work stoppage, he brought in “scab
labor.” Connors stubbornly resisted open
opposition from the Catholic Bishop who
espoused social justice and the rights of labor - - particularly on the waterfront. The
bishop, James E. Quigley, was from The
Ward, too, and had grown up some blocks
from the Connors homestead.
Perhaps, the greatest celebrity connected
with Buffalo’s waterfront was Chauncey
Olcott, the songwriter and performer of
sentimental Irish tunes. When father died,
his Ireland-born mother made a small
“killing” through speculation in the boomtown called Oil City, Pennsylvania. She
returned to Buffalo, invested in real estate and owned a tugboat company homeberthed in the Ward on the Buffalo River.
She sought advice from, and eventually
I knew one uncle had many jobs along the
waterfront over the years. My plan was
sprung when I asked ”Did any of you
know my uncle, Tom McBride?” One man
wondered “which” Tom McBride. The reply, “’Friedcakes’ from Kentucky Street”
resulted in the offer on the spot to drive me
home. Two others had become interested
because they knew either “Friedcakes” or
my mother “Al” (for Alice), or both. They
decided to ride along.
One summer, endorsed by Connelly and
received by Burke, I signed articles on a
lake
boat. Meeting her in Cleveland, as I recall,
there was disappointment because I had
been told that Cain (or another) Mahaney
ran the engine room. The information was
wrong, and I never did have a Mahaney as
shipmate. For more than a month we plied
the coal and limestone and taconite trades
and wound up at head-of-the lakes. Our
cargo of grain was addressed to Buffalo.
In short order, the automobile stopped at
48 Zittel Street. Conversation en route established that my companions actually did
know the McBrides, so I invited them in.
My mother appeared immediately upon
opening the door. Since I was not expected, a little commotion ensued and the upshot was the whole house awakened. Explaining my new friends waiting outside,
parents and siblings scattered, each “to
make myself presentable.”
The boat tied up at General Mills, Michigan Avenue corner of Ganson Street, late
of an evening. Standing the 12-to-4 watch,
discharge of cargo into the elevator was
well along when I went off duty. With
unloading sure to last several more hours,
I hoped for a surprise visit home. At the
time, and perhaps even today, no buses ran
at four-something in the morning. With no
thought of “wasting” money on a taxicab,
I had a plan.
In no time at all, the four walk-ins, myself included, and my father were sitting at the kitchen table while my mother
went here-and-there preparing coffee and
tea and a full breakfast for all. Siblings
perched where they could. Talk was constant from all points of the compass. Topics ran through the timeless litany: deaths,
births, sickness (always expressed in terms
of “not doing well”), employment, unemployment, movings-in and movings-out,
neighborhood businesses opened and shuttered, jobs with the city - - - and all the
other things at the heart of matters when
people from The Ward meet again after
Close to the dock, four men were sitting in
a small office not doing much of anything.
I stepped in, explained my need for a ride
and asked if someone was ending work
and heading toward Seneca and Cazenovia. To say their reaction was far less than
warm would not be far from overstating it.
7
some time apart.
Sated with good conversation and better food, the three visitors decided it was
time to “punch out” at shift’s end. They
left. I would be returned to my ship in due
course.
The story itself is unimportant except for
the insights it provides to the people who
once inhabited The Ward. One assumption was that the mill’s workers lived
nearby the job. Another was that at least
one worker would have known my uncle
in such a close-knit
neighborhood. Nicknames were rampant,
to the point where life-long friends often
did not know one another’s given name.
In effect, nicknames served as passwords
between “insiders.”
Once deployed,
“Friedcakes” would assure a ride home.
The response of
being helpful was automatic, merely an
occasion of “ourselves to ourselves”; in
other words, sinn fein. Lastly, the neartribal relationships in what amounted to a
village would prompt, without hint of hesitation or embarrassment on either side, the
invitation “come in for a bit” - - - - even at
four-something in the morning, and unannounced.
Massive waterfront industry is gone.
Large lake boats are gone. Now spaced
by vacant lots, many of the tightly-packed
houses are gone. The densely populated
area where the Irish worked and lived, on
and in them all, is gone. Saddest of all, the
wonder that was the one-of-a-kind First
Ward is gone.
Padraic Walsh: Honorary Chairman
of the 2015 Annual Civic Luncheon
Born on St. Patrick’s Day some
years ago, I am the third of four children
born to Kathleen, and Michael Walsh. I was
raised in the small east Co. Mayo town of
Kiltimagh. Most people may be familiar
with the village of Knock, well Kiltimagh is
about 5 miles from the village of Knock.
Kiltimagh is where I first got involved with the Gaelic Athletic Association,
or the GAA. Children in Ireland are introduced to the GAA at a young age, and Gaelic Games is the first team sports introduced
during a young person’s school days. Not
understanding the importance that GAA
would have in my later life, I was happy to
learn the skills of the games, and to be with
my friends on many cold dark evenings as
we trained for upcoming games.
At an early age I always wanted
to travel. My parents, aunt, and an uncle
had immigrated to Philadelphia, PA in their
younger days, but all eventually returned
to Ireland. Throughout my childhood days
when family would come to visit, I was always enthralled by the stories they would
tell about their days in America, and the fun,
along with some mischief, they had.
The United States was ingrained in me
from a young age, so upon completing
High School in Ireland, I decided to take
my chances. I immigrated to Chicago, IL.
Figured I already knew what Philadelphia
had to offer! The joys of being from a small
West of Ireland town, is that someone always knows someone! I was introduced to
an ex-pat from Kiltimagh, and this gentlemen was only willing to help me get settled
into a new beginning in Chicago.
Once settled in Chicago, I completed my
trade as a carpenter with a local union company. I was fortunate to have employment
through the harsh Chicago winters. Upon
completing my apprenticeship, I quickly began to make my mark on the Windy City. I
was promoted to an assistant foreman’s position, and eventually foreman. I was fortunate that the company which I worked also
had international opportunities available. I
applied for a number of international posts,
and was lucky enough to have be accepted.
I have traveled, and worked in a vast majority of major American cities, in many cities throughout Europe, and lastly in Russia,
and Siberia.
After a number of years traveling with this
firm, I began to tire of living from a suitcase.
The experiences I received were priceless,
but I began to think that I should maybe settle down again. I returned to Chicago where
I quickly gained a new position working as
an assistant project manager. This is where I
stayed until the crash of 2008.
While experiencing some turbulent times in
the months after the financial crash, I relocated to Buffalo on the advice of a friend
Hawkins, Ellen & Bill Coyle, John McNally, and many more, Buffalo Fenians began
to see fruits to our labor. First the club finances were put on a more steady footing.
To get the club into a better financial position, a business plan was drafted. This plan
included gaining new sponsors for our club,
and adding a youth program. The backbone
of any GAA Club is the promotion, and
preservation of Irish sport, and culture. Our
club quickly realized that in order to promote, and preserve, the youth of the area
must be invited into a safe, sporting, and
learning environment. Through the tireless
work of club members, and club board, today Buffalo Fenians has one of the better
youth programs in the United States.
Sponsors began to take notice of our club,
and of course some gentle persuasion from
myself, and board members, today we
have some of the best sponsors any amateur sporting organization could hope for.
Amherst Gaelic League has been a sponsor
since 2011, and in 2014 we were delighted
to add Yotality Frozen Yogurts to our list
of main sponsors. Buffalo Fenians have
some great yearly sponsors including Chris
O’Brien Esq; Shannon McCarthy DDS;
Byrne/McCarthy Insurance; Buffalo Irish
Center; Conlon’s Pub; Potters Field; NYS
Assembly Members; Irishman Pub; M&T
Bank; and D’Arcy McGee’s Irish Pub, to
name but a few.
Once the games development, and the financial situation was found in a better position,
and volunteers working hard at all the day to
day events, I began a mission to place Buffalo, and Buffalo Fenians on an international stage. My first step in this process was to
invite the GAA President to come visit our
great city, and club. Fortunately, President
Liam O’Neill accepted my invitation, and
in January 2014, our club hosted the GAA
President for five days here in Buffalo. This
was history as a sitting GAA President had
never visited Buffalo since the formation of
the GAA in 1884.
Before the GAA President’s visit to Buffalo,
I contacted the Consul General of Ireland in
NYC. Consul General Peter Ryan, a stanch
GAA person himself, was only delighted
to join us here while Liam O’Neill visited.
Over the few days, I became good friends
with Consul Ryan, and this gave me, and
Buffalo Fenians GAA a direct voice within
the Irish Government. Consul Ryan saw the
work we were doing in the Buffalo community, and he recognized our work by selecting me as one of the top Irish 40 under 40
Leaders to watch in 2014. This was a great
honor for me, and for Buffalo Fenians GAA.
The popularity continued to grow with our
youth program, our club began traveling
to a yearly GAA youth event known as the
Continental Youth Championship, or CYC.
from Chicago. Upon arriving in Buffalo,
I was introduced to the local GAA Club,
Buffalo Fenians GAA. Having been away
from Gaelic Games for a number of years,
I quickly realized the importance of being
part of a group of people who share the
same ideals. Through the GAA, I began to
meet many great people in the local Buffalo
area.
Once I became settled in the area, I made
the decision to return to school. I felt that
a higher education would be most important in today’s competitive market place.
I began by completing an Associate’s degree at ECC City, continuing to complete a
Bachelor’s Degree at SUNY Empire State
College. Currently I am studying for a Juris
Doctorate at SUNY Buffalo Law. I am still
very pleased with my decision to return to
college, and I will be delighted to complete
my J.D. at SUNY Buffalo Law.
Buffalo Fenians GAA began to become a
very important part of my time here in Buffalo. I started out playing with the team,
which I have to say I enjoyed, but the young
men on the team were far fitter than I! I
figured that my best playing days were behind me, so in true GAA spirit, I set about
helping the club in whatever way I could. I
was fortunate enough to be elected Public
Relations Officer of the club in 2010. From
there I set about raising the profile of the
club. Along with many dedicated members,
and now lifelong friends, the club began to
transform from a local Gaelic Games club
to a serious contender on the national, and
international stage.
Along with help from Paul Mulcaire, Conor
The CYC is an annual weekend tournament
encompassing Gaelic Football, Hurling,
and Camogie. It began in 2004, bringing together youth teams from all across the U.S.
and Canada to compete at annually rotating
host cities. Cities such as NYC; Boston;
Philadelphia; Chicago; and San Francisco
have all being previous host cities. While
attending other CYC’s, Paul Mulcaire, and
myself began to wonder why Buffalo was
not on the list of possible host cities. From
that point onwards, I began to devise a plan
to have Buffalo selected as the host city for
CYC 2017.
The planning, and constructing of a presentation was going to be no easy feat. I started
by knocking on doors, and just asking people for their advice. Fortunately by this stage
I was a member of the student body at University at Buffalo. I started off in the School
of Management, and thankfully once everyone had a grasp on what I was talking about,
University at Buffalo were more than happy
to help. By securing an internship program
at UB, I met with my team twice weekly.
Between us, and with help from club members, Buffalo Fenians officially submitted a
bid to host the 2017 CYC on April 23, 2014.
I am glad to be able to announce to you all
that our bid was successful, and Buffalo is
now the official host for 2017 CYC. This
international competition draws crowds of
approx. 18,000 people annually. It was figured what better way to help the local community then by placing our community on
an international stage, and by creating 5 to 6
million dollars’ worth of economic activity
in our local community. Not too shabby for
a group of volunteers, if I do say so myself!
More details to follow on these games in the
coming months.
In my spare time I really like to travel. Getting to Ireland at least once a year is what I
look forward to most. To be able to spend
time with my family, and friends is always
a nice getaway. I also partake in an annual humanitarian mission to Vietnam with
DDS4Kids.org. This organization is a small
group of dentists who travel to Vietnam to
bring basic dental care to underserved children in southern Vietnam.
I would like to thank the board of Buffalo
Fenians GAA, the board of Buffalo Irish
Center, and the organizers of the Civic Luncheon for this great opportunity to serve as
this year’s Honorary Chairperson. Thanks
to all the great friends who I have met
along the way, and I look forward to more
very exciting years being involved with the
American-Irish Community of Buffalo.
Go raibh maith agat.
Fíor mise
Padraic Breathnach
THE IRISHMAN
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8
2015 International
Friendship Cup Results
QUERIES
O’DEA: Looking for descendents of James
J. O’Dea - born in Ireland 15 Feb 1893 and
immigrated to Buffalo, NY - worked 25+
years for the NYC Railroad. Please contact
James E O’Dea 941-607-2002 or jeodea@
aol.com
HUGHES: Looking for information on MICHAEL HUGHES, father of Peter Hughes.
Peter was b. 1834 possibly in Ireland, died
13 Oct 1913 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada.
Only lead so far is father Michael was listed
on Peter’s 1913 death certificate and both
may have lived in Richmond, Quebec. Peter resided in Lancaster-Bainsville Ontario
area and worked for the Grand Trunk Railroad for much of his life. Canadian censuses have Peter’s birthplace as Ireland.
He married Katherine Watson and had several children; Peter, Thomas, William, John,
Eliza and DONALD, my great grandfather.
Donald moved to Toronto and married Margret Harrison (b. 25 Dec 1877) on 20 Apr
1907. They had several children; William,
Kenneth, Kathleen, Alzora, Anthony, Mary
and DONALD, my father b. 25 Mar 1911.
They all emigrated from Toronto to Buffalo
on 15 Aug 1916 and resided at 52 Cornelia St., in the Seneca-Smith streets area.
Grandmother Margret died 18 Feb 1922
weakened from childbirth complications
along with her newborn Roger at 3 days
old. Both reside at Holy Cross Cemetery
as well as my Grandfather Donald. Hoping
to find the Ireland connection of Michael
my 3x grandfather and Peter my 2x grandfather and any relatives in US, Canada and
of course Ireland is very much desired.Any
information or help with this search would
be greatly appreciated at [email protected].
HENNESSY/CONNORS/COURTNEY/
HUGES: Siblings: Bridget, Mary, Margaret & James HENNESSY of Cloonyogan
South, Miltown Malbay, County Clare arrived in Buffalo, New York in the 1880’s.
They came to Buffalo because their uncle
William 1827 was living in Alden, NY.
Bridget married John F Connors, Margaret married John J Courtney, Mary married
Edward Hughes and James married Mary
Dewyer & Minnie Gerber. William had
a sister married in Montreal, Quebec, and
another brother, Jeremiah stayed on farm
in Ireland. If you have any relationship to
this family and want to meet your relations
contact: Kevin J O’Brien killernanfarm@
gmail.com
Reported by Michael A. Mc Duffie, USCF
Tournament Director
Date: January 20, 2015
Bryanna Ely, Coach Michael McDuffie, front-Ryan Carmina,
Jonathan Carmina, Alyssa Dobrowolski
The 2015 Buffalo Winter Chess Festival
played host to the first International Friendship Cup, a two day, World Chess Federation (F.I.D.E) event to promote, develop and
exchange cultural friendships with Canadian
and US Chess players.
The event was organized by the Canadian
Mississauga Chess Club members Gary Hua,
President Paul Roschman and Arbiter Ferdinand Supsup, Old First Ward Community
Center Director, Laura Kelly, International
Master Kenneth W. Regan, Ph.D. and Michael A. Mc Duffie, USCF Tournament Director, Founder of the Urban Thinkers Chess
Club on Saturday, January 17th and 18th,
2015 at the Old First Ward Community Center in Buffalo NY.
The Old First Ward Irish Buffalo Chess Team
takes 1st and 3rd Place trophies in the David W. Mc Duffie “PawnMaster” Memorial
O’Dea Clan Gatherine
An International Clan Gathering of the
O’Dea’s is being planned for the Buffalo Niagara Falls area in August of 2016.
The gathering is an offshoot of the Dysert
O’Dea Clan Association gatherings held every 3 years in Ennis, County Clare, Ireland.
If you are interested in learning more about
this event contact Jim O’Dea at 941-6072002 or [email protected] Information on
the Dysert O’Dea Clan Association is available at http://www.odeaclan.org
Scholastic section was undefeated Champion – Alyssa Dobrowolski, Discovery Charter
School, Second Place – Jonathan Carmina,
Lockport NY, Third Place - Bryanna Ely,
Tapestry Charter and K-3 winner Ryan Carmina, Lockport NY.
The Irish Buffalo Chess Club meets every
Friday from 4:30pm to 6:30pm, where the
students play three games of chess at the
community center.
The Urban Thinkers Chess Club awarded
Alyssa and Bryanna, a one year Youth membership to the United States Chess Federation
and they were invited to compete at the 2015
Urban Thinkers Scholastic (K-12) Chess
Tournament on Sat February 14, 2015 held at
the Buffalo & Erie County Downtown Central Library in Buffalo NY. To Register or
get more information about the tournament,
please email [email protected].
Rince Na Tiarna
Rince Na Tiarna has been lucky enough to
have been featured on local television, national television and even reality TV when
they were featured in TLC’s “The Big Jig”.
Now there is more exciting news for the
dancers of Rince na Tiarna. Kevinah Dargan, Erin Lynch and Rose White were all
asked to train to be part of the cast of “Lord
of the Dance: Dangerous Games”. The
girls are off to London in late January to
start rehearsals. The tour is set to open in
March so we look forward to catching the
girls in a performance with the one and only
Michael Flatley. The school threw a ‘send
9
off’ party for the girls this past weekend.
Locally, the school will once again be a
featured group at Hunter’s Day of Hope
on February 14th at the Buffalo Bills Field
House. This is a wonderful family event
that runs from 1pm – 4pm so mark your
calendar. Rince Na Tiarna is also looking
forward to participating in the Guinness
Toast at the Irish Center on February 20th
at 9:30pm.
The school is currently booking for St Patrick Day performances. Please contact
Mary Kay Heneghan at mkhrince@msn.
com to schedule your event.
Seneca Street Capers
Valley “Old Neighborhood”
St. Patrick’s Day Parade
By Jimmy Keane
In a past issue of the Buffalo Irish Times I
wrote a piece entitled, “Midnight Madness,”
which was a story about a group of Seneca
Street boys in 1960 who regularly got together
for clandestine, midnight swims at the old Cazenovia diving pool. The Seneca Street boys
carried on with other gambols that were not as
daring. However, these episodes of my youth
are just as humorous, nostalgic and, I hope,
worth retelling.
Generally our group consisted of guys from
Kingston Place, Geary Street, Norman, Yale,
Kamper and other streets off Seneca Street in
St Teresa’s Parish. Although the names of the
actual participants in any one of these events
are lost to history, the usual suspects were:
Larry Hughes, Louie Reiner, John Dugan, Jimmy Stewart, Paul Eckert, Dutch Hawthorne,
Don Gee, Mike Mercer, Charlie Kam, Ray Dietrich, Pat Harrigan, Bill Sherman, my brother
Dan and yours truly. There were many more.
The Seneca Street boys of the late 50’s and
early 60’s were a group that thrived on practical jokes. We obtained at least some of our
ideas from the popular television program of
the period, “Candid Camera.” The host of the
show was a man named Alan Funt.
One such caper entailed the placement of
a wallet on the sidewalk in front of George
Hamburger’s men’s clothing store on Seneca
near Cazenovia. A couple of fake greenbacks
strategically protruded from the wallet. It
was intended to be so enticing that a passerby
couldn’t possibly resist an exploration of the
situation and it worked to perfection. In the
fold of the wallet, we had placed a note that
read, “Smile, You’re on Candid Camera.”
Most of our unsuspecting victims who stooped
to pick up the wallet were astonished, looking
in all directions expecting Alan Funt to suddenly appear, when we sprang from our hidden
lair alongside Hamburger’s building. It was a
hilarious and triumphant moment with most of
our victims laughing right along with us.
On one of these occasions, a man, seeing the
wallet, quickly looked around to see if anyone
else was looking. Making sure no one saw him,
he hastily put one foot on the wallet, then the
other. He then scooped up the wallet and hurried off with the booty. He was several stores
down the block when he opened the wallet,
read the note, threw the wallet in the street and
ran like the Dickens down Seneca Street. We
Seneca Street boys laughed ‘til our sides split.
Then there was the time we took the NFT bus
downtown and surreptitiously sprayed sneezing powder up and down the aisles of the Paramount Movie Theater. We had procured these
small plastic tubes of sneezing spray from
Woolworth’s on Seneca near Cazenovia. We
had the entire place sneezing up a storm but
victimized ourselves along with the rest of the
movie patrons. I think I sneezed for an hour
and laughed for days. We didn’t dare pull off
this same trick at our very own Shea’s Seneca Theater lest we incurred the wrath of our
friends and neighbors who would have easily
fingered us, our modus operandi being widely
known.
One final antic, at least for this writing, was the
time we tied a long, thin rope to a coon skin cap
and slung it over the stop light at the intersection of Seneca and Cazenovia. Coon skin caps
were made popular by one of the great television series of the day, Walt Disney’s, “Davey
Crockett,” starring Fess Parker, who wore a
coon skin cap. Every kid I knew was glued to
the family television set during each and every weekly episode. We knew every word to
the Davey Crockett theme song, “King of the
Wild Frontier.” Many of us owned one of these
Davey Crockett, furry-tailed, hats. Some even
had the nerve to wear them.
Before slinging the cap over the stop light, we
placed a small rock inside it to give it the required weight for our trickery. As automobiles
that had stopped for the light began to slowly
accelerate when the red signal turned green,
we’d let go of the rope and the coon skin cap
would suddenly descend upon the hood of the
car. Our victims were shocked at the abrupt
presence of a wild animal on their car’s hood.
They’d be aghast, at least for an instant, and
the looks on their faces was incredibly funny.
We laughed hysterically at the absurdity of
the situation and, like the wallet caper noted
above, our victims usually laughed right along
with us as we hoisted the coon skin cap back
atop the stop light to await the next unsuspecting driver.
This particular caper came to a halt when the
coon skin cap got stuck atop the stop light. We
tried in vain to dislodge it by tugging on it. We
tugged and pulled until the rope snapped and
the cap remained stuck in place. So the boys
resorted to throwing stones at the cap, in a futile attempt to free it, until one of the stones hit
the Sample Shop window, shattering it to pieces. The Sample Shop was a women’s clothing
store next door to the Seneca Show.
Everyone immediately scattered. Everyone
but me. I figured that since I hadn’t thrown any
stones, I was not responsible for the damage
and had nothing to worry about. In the process
of scurrying away, the gum ball machine in
front of Harvey and Carey’s Drug Store was
knocked over, breaking its glass globe and
sending hundreds of multi-colored candy balls
rolling down Seneca and Cazenovia Streets. It
was a very funny scene with people dodging
the rolling balls all over the place. Still I neglected to run as I had nothing to do with the
gum ball machine tipping over.
The Buffalo cops who had been dispatched to
the scene felt otherwise. They collared me and
took me straight home, only a block away to
101 Kingston where my father took over the
situation. That’s what cops did in those days.
They took you home to face the wrath of a
very upset parent. When the cops left, my dad
asked me why I hadn’t run from the scene. I
reminded him that he once told me I didn’t
need to run if I had done nothing wrong. Astonished, my dad exclaimed to my mother,
“Imagine that Kate, I’ve got the only son in
all of South Buffalo who actually listens to his
father.” Now that was even funnier than anything that happened on either this or any other
caper in which we Seneca Street boys were
engaged.
Scheduled For Saturday, March 14th
The Valley Community Association’s signature event – the 22ndAnnual “Old Neighborhood” St. Patrick’s Day
Parade – will kick off on Saturday, March
14th, 2015 at 12 Noon from the Valley
Community Center.
The parade will wind through the streets of
the historic Buffalo River Community including South Park Avenue, Smith Street,
Elk Street, Hamburg Street, and O’Connell
Avenue.
Over 100 marching units are anticipated
to participate this year, making the “Old
Neighborhood” St. Patrick’s Day Parade
just as large as the downtown edition!!
Marching contingents will include marching bands, clowns, community floats, social
clubs, classic cars, Irish dancers, family
clans, sports groups, fire and police departments, and much more!! New groups are
welcome to march and registration forms
will be available after February 1st, 2015
by calling 716-823-4707 ext.4.
Immediately following the parade is the traditional grand Irish “Hooley” featuring live
music as well as plenty of food and drink.
The “Hooley” runs from 1pm-6pm at the
Valley Community Center.
The Valley Community Association will
formally announce their selection for the
Grand Marshal of the 22nd Annual “Old
Neighborhood” St. Patrick’s Day Parade at
the fundraiser party on Saturday, February
28th, 2015. The party will be held at the
Valley Community Center, which is located
at 93 Leddy Street, Buffalo, near the junction of South Park Avenue and Elk Street.
The cost is just $20 per person and includes
admission, draft beer, and pop. Canned
beer and wine will also be available for sale.
The party takes place from 6pm-10pm and
tickets will be available at the door. Live
Irish entertainment by “Crikwater” will also
take place.
The 2015 “Old Neighborhood” St. Patrick’s
Day Parade Grand Marshal is John “Noey”
Lori Overdorf
Director of Development
& Youth Services
Valley Community Association
Phone 716-823-4707 ext. 4
Fax 716-823-4254
www.thevalleycenter.com
William E. Raffel
By Joan Scahill
The Irish Community has lost a
fine musician, dancer and good friend. Bill
Raffel, 47, was a radio host and professor
who lost his long fight with brain cancer on
October 13, 2014.
Bill was an associate professor at
SUNY Buffalo State and radio host who
shared Celtic, classical and holiday music
with thousands of listeners. He was born
in Buffalo and was a graduate of Kenmore
West High School and earned a bachelor’s
degree in communications in 1989 from
Ithaca College, where he produced broadcasts of the college’s football games.
He worked as a news anchor and
news director at WNCE-TV in Glenns
Falls, then returned to Buffalo, working
as a part-time news reporter at WEBR and
WNED-AM from 1992 to 1994, then as a
reporter covering the University at Buffalo
and a fill-in news anchor at WBFO.
After completing a law degree at
UB in 1996 and a doctorate in communications at UB in 2001, Mr Raffel joined the
Buffalo State faculty as an associate professor of communications and journalism, specializing in law and mass communication.
He also served as vice chairman of the College Senate.
He authored several papers and
book chapters dealing mostly with talk radio and communication at they apply to
Cara L. Masterson & Scott Myers
Cara L. Masterson and Scott Myers were married at
4p.m. on November 14, 2014 in Our Lady of Charity
Church (Holy Family). Guests gathered for a reception at The Greenhouse Room at the Hotel Lafayette. The bride is the daughter of Kathy Masterson
and the late Tom Masterson. The bridegroom is the
son of Bill and Jerri Myers of Clinton, Mississippi.
The bride is a graduate of Mt. Mercy Academy. She
earned her bachelor’s degree from Marrietta College and master’s degree in Business Administration
from Sejong University in Seoul, Korea. The bridegroom earned his bachelor’s degree from Colorado
State University. The bride is employed with the
Department of Defense, and the bridegroom works
for the U.S. Army in Maryland. The couple will
make their home in Glen Burnie, MD.
Nostrant and he will lead the parade through
the historic streets of the Valley and Old
First Ward neighborhoods, retracing the
original 1913 parade route. “Noey”, who
is one of the founding fathers of the “Old
Neighborhood” Parade, is a native Old First
Ward son who attended St. Brigid’s School
and graduated from Bishop Timon High
School in 1958. Born on Hamburg Street,
he lived at various addresses in the First
Ward before moving to Abbott Road as a
teenager. Nostrant was part of a small group
of individuals who planned the first edition
of the parade in 1994. A co-owner of McGintys Tavern, which is currently known
as Irish Times and located on Swan Street,
John continues to support the parade and
the Valley Community Association today.
This year the parade will be dedicated in
memory of four very special people who
passed away this past year that were part of
the “Old Neighborhood” - Helen Kearns, a
lifelong resident of the Valley; Larry Carroll
who was born and raised in the Valley and
participated in programs at the Valley Community Center growing up; Al Dee, a retired policeman and Valley Senior for many
years; and Mike Larusch whose last outing
was attending a concert at the Valley’s Buffalo River Fest Park before succumbing to
brain cancer.
For more information regarding
any of the Valley Community Association’s
St. Patrick’s Day activities contact Lori at
716-823-4707 ext. 4or visit www.thevalleycenter.com. Make sure to “like” the Valley
Community Center on Facebook as well!
10
community policing.
He played the clarinet, tin whistle,
Irish flute and harp and was a member of
the local Irish band, Hobson’s Choice and
danced with the Inishfree Ceili Dancers. He
was past chairman and a longtime member
of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann.
Bill and his wife, the former Eloisa
Padilha traveled to many countried, including Ireland and Brazil. He is survived by his
wife Eloisa and Mother Elizabeth.
Bill donated his body to UB and a
memorial service was held at Holy Trinity
Lutheran Church in Buffalo.
Trip to New Ireland
By Larry Beahan
Paul Lewis promised to take us to New Ireland, Allegany State Park’s bygone village
of Irish immigrants. He and his history class
at Cleveland Hill High School have made a
prize-winning study of it so he knows the
place well. It was a beautiful sunny May
Day in the Park as we sat confined indoors
at the Red House Administration building.
Paul seemed to be welshing on the deal. “It’s
been raining for a week and there’s going to
be lots of mud and bugs up there,” said he,
this squarely built man in the longish black
crew cut and bristling black moustache. If
I place him right, I would say his accent is
South Buffalo Irish with its characteristic
hard “a.” He was at ease before us in the
casual manner of the longtime teacher and
athletic coach that he is.
He says, “Now, for the good of the Order,
we have to decide what we’re gonna do.”
That “for the good of the Order” interested
me. I asked him later and, as I guessed, it is
a Jesuit expression. Paul has two advanced
teaching degrees from Jesuit Canisius College. For the good of the Order, the group
he decided to talk indoors about the History
of New Ireland and if there were any of us
left at the end, he would lead us up onto the
mountain, past Thunder Rock for a look at
the storied place itself.
He and his students have yarn after yarn
about the place. Their web-site (http://home.
comcast.net/~dickallen5/nycattar/new_ireland/NI_Index.html) has pictures and family histories and stories that are a microcosm
of the Irish diaspora. He started in on the
telling of it and, being a descendant of that
massive expatriation I was fascinated. I ate
up every word. Though in his loquacious
Irish way he did carry on and on, and as I
began to think that he was stretching a point
here and there, instead of, at the front of the
room raising my eyebrows, I drifted to the
back for a cup of coffee. It might enhance
my attention span, I thought.
There I made the most marvelous discovery, chocolate Irish potato cake made by
our surely-to-be-sainted refreshment chairman Lou Budnick. His cake was very moist
and darkly delicious. The flavor of cinnamon broke through the chocolate and rang
bells for me. I had to devour a second piece
before I could summon the nerve to try to
break into Paul’s revelations and inform the
group of my very own discovery. Finally
Paul closed his mug for a well deserved
breath of air. I stepped into the breach
pointing at the refreshment table, “You are
missing a miracle of a cake. It’s made of
rare oriental spices and rarer still ‘chocolate
Irish potatoes’.”
Twelve of us outlasted the talk and after
eating our fill we rendezvoused with Paul
at the mountain top parking lot within view
of the great calcified chunks of paleo-ocean
bottom that are called Thunder Rocks.
The sunny sky and warm, moist air where
delicious to us as we milled about expectantly. Then one after another started swatting as a horde of tiny black flies engulfed
us. I zoomed back to my car, hopped inside
where I put on full bug gear including mittens and bug-net hat. They teased me a bit
but by the time we finished the hike they
were bidding over $100 for the hat alone.
It was warm inside all my layers of protection as we climbed up and down grades,
over old roads and along the grass covered pipeline that conveys natural gas to
and from storage in the dome of sandstone
under the center of the park. But I didn’t
mind as others spit out bugs dodged them
and tried to cover up with what ever they
had. There were muddy spots and puddles
to splash through too. Paul seemed immune to the bugs, mud and exertion as he
continued to unfold a torrent of information.
He’d stop for a moment or as long as the
others could stand it and jab a finger at a
map. He’d be saying, “This end of the road
wasn’t used at the time. They came in the
other end of it from Limestone. There’s no
bridge across Irish brook that way now and
the beavers have built a dam so you can’t
use it.” Or “OK, now where do you think
the barn was?” or “Who can find the first
foundation?”
big family, seven children. Even more hands
were needed and boys were sent down from
Father Baker’s orphanage in Lackawanna
to find homes and work. The big economic
story was not farming but the discovery of
oil. New Ireland sprung up just in time to
catch the region’s oil boom. The Carmody
place, the most fortunate, had nine wells.
The inhabitants of New Ireland with their
oil money and skills acquired in the Oil industry moved out. The place was deserted
by the 1920’s when Allegany State Park
was formed. The houses stood for a time.
In the 1930’s the depression drove homeless people to squat there. After that some of
the wood and fittings are said to have been
salvaged. The rest has rotted away leaving
only moss-covered stone foundations that
are gradually being taken over by the forest.
He was talking every step of the way.
Sometimes I’d be close enough to hear and
sometimes not. In recollection it is hard to
distinguish what I heard when. He and his
students first explored New Ireland in 1984.
They have seen considerable deterioration
in it since then. Old stone cellar walls have
fallen in. Trees have fallen across foundations. Vegetation has grown in and many of
the rusted out buckets old shoes and bottles
that were lying about have been carried off.
I had hike in there twice on my own using
a U.S. Geological Survey 7.5 minute Limestone Quadrangle topographic map. It is
simple to get to the vicinity put after leaf
out it can be tricky to find the actual ruins
with out having some one familiar with
the site on hand. From Red House you go
south on Allegany State Park Highway 2
to the intersection with France Brook road.
Turn left and go up the hill. Cross the ridge
road and start down the old dirt road toward
Limestone. About a quarter of a mile down
the hill a much older road takes off to the
left and if you follow that about a mile you
are in downtown New Ireland but you wont
know it without looking carefully to either
side of the road for its remains.
Paul told us the rumor about New Ireland
was that in 1825 when the work on the Erie
Canal was finished. Irish laborers were
looking for a place like home to settle in.
Some of them came to Limestone NY and
built New Ireland up on the mountain. The
kids form Paul’s class found otherwise.
They checked census records, the county
clerk’s office and the tombstones in Saint
Patrick’s Catholic Cemetery in Limestone.
There were twelve students and twelve
New Ireland families. Each student took a
family and developed all the information
they could about that family. They wrote
to survivors and their children. They found
old letters and they got in touch with Ennistymon, the small town in County Clare,
Ireland, from which these folks had come.
Another way to do this is to turn left at the
ridge road instead of coming down the hill
and continue over to Thunder Rock. There
is an unmarked but frequently trod trail out
the back of the Rocks that leads to the old
town site but this route is better taken with
someone who knows it.
Times were poor in Ennistymon in the
1850’s following the great famine. John
Carmody moved to England where he married another Irish émigré Mary O’Day.
They moved to New York where John got
a job on a railroad running from New York
to Pittsburgh by way of Limestone. They
saved some money and in 1866 long after the completion of the Erie Canal, they
bought 50 acres up on Irish Brooke West of
Limestone. Their farm prospered. Gradually they expanded their holdings. Other
neighbors and family from Ennistymon
were so impressed with their stories of meat
and milk on the table, of land and jobs that
they clamored to come out here as well. The
Carmodys helped them and the new comers helped others till there were twelve farm
homes in the colony.
The Carmodys like the rest of them had a
When I was there alone I had an eerie feeling. I was on some one else’s property prying about their homes, looking at the things
they had left all the work they had done. I
was intruding and unsure of my welcome.
11
Paul tells of others with strange feelings
and unusual experiences in New Ireland.
A woman who rides her horse on the trail
that passes close by, whenever she gets to
a certain spot she is overcome with feeling
and has to dismount and cry. A hunter fell
asleep sitting on a log and woke suddenly
to see a woman in old fashioned dress disappear down the road. Life was not easy
there. Many died young and in child birth.
There lives and deaths are recorded in
Saint Patrick’s grave yard. Poor 21 year
old Catherine McCarthy died in New Ireland when a house fell on her. Some say it
is Catherine who wanders there still.
Just a few years ago Charlie Sheets, one
of those Father Baker’s boys who grew up
in New Ireland drove across the country to
come home to New Ireland. He was in his
eighties and came ostensibly to dig up a
tin can full of coins he buried in his youth.
Paul thinks it wasn’t money but his youth
he was after. He found the vastly changed
place; laid himself down by a broken wall
went to sleep and died. Park police found
his abandoned car at Thunder Rock which
occasioned a massive hunt. They found
him gone home here at New Ireland for his
eternal rest.
Our group was pretty cheerful despite the
inconvenience of spring hiking in the Park.
The fresh air and sunshine made up for it
and the fact that trees and brush were just
greening up and not fully leafed out made
the layout of New Ireland much more obvious. We found the spring that flowed into
the dammed up pond that was there water
source. We found the shallow foundation
of a barn. There were several foundations
of houses none very large but one had a
perfectly preserved front walk. We gathered around that basement. Two huge trees
lay across it where they had fallen breaking apart the carefully cut and fitted masonry.
Some one handed Paul an iron hatchet
head they had found. Paul handed it on to
Bob Schmid the custodian of many historical relics and said, “I’d rather see you have
this than for it to just wander off. We used
to find lots of things, old shoes put together
with wooden pegs stoves and buckets but
it’s all disappearing. That’s why we need
to get this place listed on the National Register of Historic places and get some protection for it.”
I thought of my own Irish ancestors who
came out here from the old country, the
“old sod” at the time of the famine. They
found homes and a way of life on this continent. But here on this spot, here in New
Ireland we have a unique record of this
migration. Here are recorded the efforts of
a few dozen impoverished Irishman who
left there homes in Europe to suffer in the
holds of starvation and illness ridden ships.
They took up land. They built homes and
lives and moved on. What they survived,
what they accomplished, they wrote here
in rock. Indeed we must see that their record is preserved.
IRELAND LAMPOONED US 37
By: Donna M. Shine
It was nearly half-noon when we reached
Mrs. Murphy’s in Boherbue, County
Cork, but to our surprise, it wasn’t Mrs.
Murphy who greeted us at the door. Poor
Margaret was recovering from some kind
of flu bug and sent her condolences by
means of her son Billy, for not properly
greeting us. We told Billy that we completely understood and appreciated her
concern for our health.
Now the young man Billy had an appointment and had to quickly show us
the ins and outs of the small apartmentlike accommodations Margaret provided
for us. Billy had a bit of concern for the
operation of the washing machine coin
dispenser. It used only old coins: the Irish
punt! They had several punts on hand for
our use, which was very thoughtful, and
any concerns, we were not to hesitate to
“come ‘round” and ask. The apartment
was a very tidy and warm living space
with hardwood floors throughout and a
fresh soda bread waited on the kitchen table. The bathtub itself was the likes we’d
never seen: it was the old deep cast iron,
lion’s-claw style tub, very familiar to us,
BUT IT WAS LONG! James would not
have to bend his knees to enjoy relaxing
in that! With so many cupboards, a nice
large stove, and a full size refrigerator
at for our convenience, the hunger pains
started to make their demands.
So, it was off with our grocery list to
the Boherbue Co-op with our Wegman’s
shopping bags for our carry-outs. Before shopping, I wanted to find the final
resting place of my dear friend Michael
Linehan of Ballyhoulihan who died only
two weeks after we last talked on the
alive the traditions of the old Irish ways.
There, in Kilmeen Cemetery, just outside
of Boherbue, James and I walked the cordoned off plots of dearly departeds until
his stone cried out: “PEACE, Treasured
MEMORIES Of MICHAEL LINEHAN,
Ballyhoulihan, Died 15th October 2002,
NOT GONE FROM US, BUT BEFORE US”. My heart sank at the same
time it beat heartily at finding him. Tears
streamed down my face as I struggled to
read the smaller plaque centered within
his plot, “DAD, We hold you close within
our hearts, And there you shall remain, To
walk with us through out our lives, Until
we meet again.” Michael was so loved. To
be so loved is what life is about. And I
respect whatever life offers me, especially
his friendship and love at having known
him. I placed a pebble on the top of his
headstone as he had once told me was an
old tradition. Rest in Peace my dear Michael. After that truly heartfelt moment of
our trip, I had to shop in the co-op with
red swollen eyes and smile upon my face
because, as Michael would have said,
“Life goes on.”
Michael Linehan.jpg– Final resting place of seanchaí,
Michael Linehan of Ballyhoulihan in Kilmeen Cemetery,
outside of Boherbue.Co. Cork.
telephone. I had since written a book of
poetry called, IRELAND SPEAKS: Po-
ems From My Soul, in honor of Michael
and his merry friends who tried to keep
After unpacking the groceries, a nice cup
of soup and ham sandwich with local red
cheddar cheese fit the bill for our lunch.
James and I joked about not having to
worry about things due to the Garde office being right across the street. Besides,
Boherbue was always a peaceful place to
visit. Hmmm, whatever happened to the
old gentleman with his cane who used
to sit on the windowsill at the corner of
town? He was noticeably as absent as a
demolished building would have been. He
was a staple to the character in the townland of Boherbue.
Greater Buffalo Firefighters
Pipes & Drums Band
On Monday, January 26th, members of
the Greater Buffalo Firefighters Pipes &
Drums band presented a check to cover the
cost of a rescue flight mission, to Mercy
Flight of WNY. The band held it’s annual
Pipes & Pints Night party late last year, and
earmarked a portion of the nights receipts
to be given to the rescue helicopter service.
MPB TRAVEL
480 Abbott Road, Buffalo, NY 14220
716.826.1009 • 800.234.0672
www.mpbtravel.com
Specializing in Ireland since 1973
Escorted Tours
Self Drive Tours
B&B Packages
Golf Packages
Pictured are piper Kathleen Pawlak, Drum Major Lindsay Dunn, Band Manager
Mike Kick, and snare drummer Clark Reinard along with a Mercy Flight air crew.
TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT EDITION OF THE:
BUFFALOIRISHTIMES
Call Today!
12
RISH TIMES starting
est year that we have
. Only the burials with
h listed as “IRELAND”
ber
ber
er
h
ber
ber
ber
y
er
t
ber
ber
y
ber
h
3
11
7
7
1
03
5
02
03
17
01
8
25
5
19
7
24
23
2
01
02
16
For further information on Holy
Cross burials, call (716) 823-1197 his death in a rail yard accident on
or view films at the GAAA Irish Li- 12 Sep 1879. Catherine was also
born in Ireland around 1826 and
brary (see library ad).
emigrated during the famine. She
Fahey Mary (Mrs)
Ireland 79 yrs Im Conception
Falvey Ellen
Ireland 34 yrs Im Conception died in Buffalo on 8 Jan 1889. They
Farmer Johanna
Ireland 48 yrs Holy Cross
are buried in Holy Cross Cemetery.
Farrell Mary
Ireland 32 yrs St Patricks
Their son Mathew, my great-grandFerris Thomas
Ireland 19 yrs Holy Angels
father, was born 18 Jan 1853. He
Fitzgerald James
married Catherine Theresa Hughes
Fitzgerald Michael
Ireland 33 yrs St Patricks
FitzpatrickJames
Ireland
Poor House
By
Meme
in 1880,
worked Riedy
for various railFreeman Sarah
G Ireland 27 yrs Im Conception
roads,
and
died
in
Buffalo 27 Jun
Friedman (Mrs)The Daughters
Ireland of Erin
Cathedral
are pleased to an1924. choAlso children of John and
Gallaghernounce
Ellen
Ireland 9 yrsA. Lynch
Orphan Asylum
that Patricia
has been
GamogamPeter
Ireland
34
yrs
Cathedral
Catherine
sen to receive the Tara Award, the highestare: Catherine Elizabeth
Garvey Michael
25 yrs Hospital
honor given Ireland
to a member.
She will(1855
receive
- 1907), Patrick H (1858 Gavin Margaret
Ireand 40 yrs St Bridgets
this
award
at
the
Friendly
Sons
of
St.
Patrick
1936),
John Joseph (1863 -1913),
Gibney Bridget
7.
GilgallonDinner
Lawrence on Saturday
Ireland 33March
yrs St Patrick
Mary (1864 - 1913), and Thomas
raised
Buffalo area, her
Glennen Mary Born andIreland
60 yrsin the
Im Conception
(1867
- ?)
Co.
Cavan
Gorman father
Maria was born
Irelandin Ballyjamesduff,
22 yrs Hospital
AnyShe
help is
would be greatly appreciGrady and
John her mother
Irelandwas bornCathedral
in Buffalo.
GreenwooSarah
(Mrs)
Ireland
50
yrs
St
Bridgets
ated. Pat
the eldest of a sister and two brothers.
Griffin attended
Michael
Ireland 40yrsschools
Cathedralin Buffalo and
elementary
Please contact: Brian Scanlon,
Griffin Michael
Ireland 23 yrs St Bridgets
received a scholarship
to Buffalo Academy
PO Box 78, Felton, CA 95018.
of the Sacred Heart High School. After high
email: [email protected].
school she went on to Rosary Hill (now Daephone:Col(831) 229-0146.
men) College and Buffalo State Teachers
James Lawson [email protected]
SULLIVAN/
Patricia A. LynchMcINTYRE/
to
STURM/
Receive Tara Award
O’MALLEY:
n Irish-American
Hero Needs You:
TRAVELIN’
‘bout IRELAND
Trying to locate information on
John Aloysius Sullivan (1890-1957)
born to John Sullivan and Margaret McIntyre (both from Ireland).
John A. came to Buffalo around
1910 from Joliet, Illinois and Married Edith b. 1917. John had sisters in Chicago area of Nell, May
[O’Malley], and Margaret [Ray
Oslen husband]. John A. Sullivan
worked for Buffalo International
Railroad Bus & Trolly, retiring after
45 years from NFTA in 1950. Before the Bus & Trolly, it is believed
he was a bartender as he was after
his retirement. It is also believed
that John A.’s grandfather may have
been Francis. John’s younger brother is Elmer Sylvester Sullivan. Any
information, please contact Linda
L. Lee, [email protected]
By: Donna M Shine
We once traveled ‘long by the Liffey
Where pageants and parades were real spiffy;
Though the stay right in Dublin
Was without much for troublin’
Our return on that trip was quite iffy.
Up north there’s a bridge made of rope
When my husband got there, he said, “Nope!”
So, I crossed it alone
Trembled in every bone
‘Til I scurried back across like a dope!
lege. She also attended the American Institute of Banking.
After graduation from college, she began
a teaching career in Catholic schools. After a
change in careers, Pat began working at Libam researching
James J. Manning
erty bank for many years and retired Ifrom
the
Tonawanda-Grand Island Teachers’ Center
b. 1848 inasIreland who married three
an Administrative Assistant.
times. 1st wife, Susan Buttler /YotPat is the mother of Anne Panzarella (hustler died shortly after giving birth
band Tim) Binga and John (Jay) Panzarella Erin, as well as an active participant in the St.
to Thomas
in Day
1874 inparade – driving members who
and the proud grandmother of Rose Binga
andJ. Manning
Patrick’s
Manchester,
Mich.
Thomas
and Marissa
to march in the parade but wish to
ck H. O’Rorke, anJustine
Irish O’Rorke
MemorialPanzarella.
Society, is peti-She enjoys are unablemoved
spending
time
with
her
family
and
has
interparticipate.
She is also a member of the Lato
Buffalo,
NY
and
married
Doloo grew up in Rochester tioning Congress and the President
ests in hockey, music, reading and travel,
her Daly
dies
of
Kincora
and she can always be found
res
Mildred
on
20
Dec
1924
d first in his classIrish
from heritage
to get this–brave
Irish-American the
but misses her golfing!
volunteering
her
time and
talent
at allb. Abt
the
for Anne
Rhoades,
in Welland, Ontario. (That record Looking
ied heroically leading She
Congressional
of Honor.
has beenMedal
a long
time member and functions held by the organizations.
lists his mother as Buttler).
Dolores 1919, who married Howard McMaregiment in the Past
retak- President of the Town O’ Tonawanda
Patricia A. Lynch truly exemplifies the
To help us inClub,
this effort
to cele1914.Award,
They livedwhich
at 782 Eagle
Mildredand
Daly b.requirements
1898 in Buffalo,
Irish American
a –25andyear
member
Round Top at a pivotal
for hon,
the b.Tara
are,
brate
Rochester’s
greatest
Civil
War
Street
in
Buffalo,
NY
in
1940.
Anne
was
the
daughter
of
William
Joseph
former board member of the International As- “One who promotes the organization,
assists
e Battle of Gettysburg,
sociation
Professionals
and1869 the
heroof
andAdministrative
an Irishman who epitomizes
Knights
in their
may have
had endeavors,
a sister Helen.takes
Any
Daly. Apr
in Buffalo
and of
Mil-Equity
.
has been
an active
the Daughters
part1871
in Catholic
fosters
the Irish
effort to member
preserve theofUnited
information
on thisAmericanism
family, please
dred C. Otto b. Oct
in Illinois. Action,
ErinStates
for of
over
50 years.
has served as and promotes Irish
Culture.
Congratulations
courage and ofvalor
America—go
to: h�Pat
p://ggw.
Mr. & Mrs.
Priel, 3783 TeleIf you have any information regard- contact
Trustee, Financial Secretary, Secretary, Trea- on this well deserved award, the Daughters of
erlooked and now, the org/~aoh/ororke/index.html.
graph
Rd,
Bliss,
NY
14024.
ing
these
families,
please
contact
surer and Vice President of the Daughters of Erin are very proud of you!
l War Hero Patrick O’Rorke
eserves the Medal of Honor
MANNING/
DALY/BUTTLER:
At the octagon rocks of the Causeway
Where a giant lived way back in the day
Sea waves crashed so high
They rained down from the sky
And freighted all us tourists away.
A short visit to a place making whiskey
Where a taste made me feel light and frisky
Though it was just early morn’
I couldn’t stand any loud horn
So we returned to our room rather briskly!
RHOADES/
McMAHON:
There were many flat farms that were bogs
Where they harvested peat into logs
When they burned in the fire
We’d grow warm with desire
From the sweet smell that circled like fogs.
There are islands offshore I liked better
Where I bought a handmade cable-knit sweater
But the boat ride was rough
Hanging on got real tough
That I almost composed my last letter!
And as we traveled Eire’s highways
Her back roads, her boreens and byways
Forty shades of her green
Were like nothing I’ve seen
With the sheep and the cows blocking my ways!
So, we’re planning a trip back to Ireland
To visit townlands, and homelands, much more and…
Visit friends we had made
“Fore our memories do fade
And out bones get too weak that we can’t stand!
MAY-JUNE 2013 • BUFFALO IRISH TIMES 9
Scoil Cultur
Na Heireann
THE DAUGHTERS
OF ERIN
(SCHOOL OF IRISH CULTURE)
If you would like to participate in:
WEDNESDAYS
6:30pm - 9:30pm
Pot Luck Suppers, Charity Work, Adopt a Family Projects, Book Sales, Raffles,
St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Conventions, Going to the Theater, Helping Local
Food Pantries, Special Mass Observances, Calendar Luncheon and you are of
Irish and Catholic descent
at the buffalo irish center library
Beginner • Intermediate • Advanced
THE DAUGHTERS OF ERIN
ARE LOOKING FOR YOU!
Call Margaret McGrath
716-674-8569
Meetings are held the 3rd Wednesday of every month.
FOR INFORMATION, CALL ROBIN MESSENGER AT 821-9762
13
Calendar of Events BUFFALO IRISH TIMES
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
To submit events to the calendar, please email [email protected] Day Fri’s
Wed
Thu
Date Feb-Mar
4 Feb
5 Feb
Fri
6 Feb
Sat
7 Feb
Mon
Mon’s
Tue
9 Feb
9-23 Feb
10 Feb
Wed’s
Fri
Sat
Fri
Sat
Mon
Fri
11-25 Feb
13 Feb
14 Feb
20 Feb
21 Feb
23 Feb
27 Feb
Sat
28 Feb
Wed’s
Thu
Fri
4-25 Mar
5 Mar
6 Mar
Fri-Sat
Day Sat
Mon
Mon’s
Tue
Fri
6-7 Mar
Date 7 Mar
9 Mar
9-30 Mar
10 Mar
13 Mar
Time 4:30-6:30
6:30pm
7pm
8pm
7pm
8:30pm
6pm
7pm
7pm
7:30pm
TBA
6pm
7pm
7:30pm
6:30pm
7:30-11
7pm
TBA
7pm
7:30pm
7pm
7:30pm
7pm
7:30pm
8pm
6:30pm
7pm
7pm
8pm
7:30pm
Time 7pm
TBA
6pm
7:30pm
TBA
Organization 1st Ward Com Ctr
Shannon’s Pub
Shannon’s Pub
Irish Am Club/BIC
BIC
Shannon’s Pub
Irish Am Club/BIC
BIC
Knights of Equity
Shannon’s Pub
GAAA
ECSP&D
Shannon’s Pub
GAAA/AOH Div-1
Shannon’s Pub
Irish Am Fund Rsr
BIC
BIC
BIC
GAAA/AOH Div-1
BIC
Shannon’s Pub
BIC
Shannon’s Pub
BIC
Shannon’s Pub
Shannon’s Pub
BIC
Event Meetings
Joe Head
Sesiun w/Mark
St Pat’s Day Mtg
Callahan Daley & Jones
Crikwater
St Brigid’s Party
Ray Wood
Daugthers of Erin Dinner
Crikwater
Paint Night
Practice
River Dog Dixies
Exec Mtg-Library
Joe Head
Valentine’s Day Party
Music TBA
Great Guinness Toast
Penny Whiskey
General Mtg-Library
Off the Grid
Seamus Kennedy
Blarney Bunch
Dady Brothers
CCE Celi
Joe Head
Sesiun w/Mark
Penny Whiskey
St Pat Irish Am Club Mtg
Jerry Timlin
Event Music TBA
Paint Ball
ECSP&D
Exec Mtg- Library
ECSP&D, Blarney Etc
Shannon’s Pub
Organization BIC
BIC/GAAA
BIC
BIC GAAA/AOH
BIC/Anl Civic
Lunch
5-8pm
AGL ScholarshipSalvatore’s Garden
$40
Fri-Sat 13-14 Mar 7:30pm
Shannon’s Pub
Dave North Trio
Sat
14 Mar
TBA
BIC/Rince na
Rosewood, Penny Whiskey
Tiarna
TBA
Stone Throw Band Lancaster Elks After Parade
Sun
15 Mar
10:45am BIC
St Pat’s Day Mass
2pm
Un Irish Am Assoc St Patrick’s Day parade
TBA
Leftovers
na Cara & na Tiarna
4pm
Shannon’s Pub
Dave North Trio
To s
ubmit e
vents t
o t
he c
alendar, p
lease e
mail t
[email protected] Tue
17 Mar
TBA
BIC Music &
Penny Whiskey & more
Dance
5pm
Shannon’s Pub
Dave North Trio
6-10pm
The Irish Pub
Stone Throw Band
Fri
20 Mar
TBA
BIC
Fenian’s Pub Quiz
Sun
22 Mar
3-8pm
BIC/Tri-Ethnic
St Pat’s, Joe’s, & Dingus
Party
Mon
23 Mar
7:30pm
BIC/GAAA-AOH
General Meeting
Fri-Sat 27-28 Mar 7:30pm
Shannon’s Pub
Penny Whiskey
Sun
29 Mar
2pm
BIC/Award Day
For St Pat’s Day Parade
Buffalo Irish Times - 14 - January/February Edition 2015
Calendar of Events Location 62 Republic St Buf, NY
2250 Nia Falls Blvd, Ton, NY
245 Abbott Rd, Buf, NY
Location 245 Abbott Rd, Buf, NY
6461 Transit Rd Depew, NY
33 Legion Pkwy, Lancaster, NY
Delaware Av, Buf, NY
5601 Main St Williamsville, NY
The “Fifties” In Buffalo
By Joseph Xavier Martin
ents. Some outraged seniors saw it as morally degenerate. It was thought as salacious
as the “B” movies posted in the rear of the
church, by the Bishop.
The coal truck backed gingerly into
the narrow city driveway on Seneca Parkside. It had a clearance of only a few inches
on either side. The coal chute was lowered
through the open basement window, so that
it came to rest inside of the wooden coal bin.
With a roar of rock on metal, and a cloud of
black dust, the monthly fuel for the furnace
was delivered. The chute was retracted and
the coal truck pulled carefully out into the
dead end street. Scatterings of small children dodged in and out of the alley, curious
at anything out of the ordinary.
Next, we had to shovel the coal back
into the bin from where it lay strewn about
the floor. Then, a quick application of the
broom tidied up the black dust. Later, Dad
would come down and feed the ebony nuggets into the waiting maw of the old cast
iron furnace. The metal door, to the hungry monster, was streaked with rust. It had
raised letter castings on it, depicting the now
forgotten name of the manufacturer. Large,
hollow, cylindrical arms, like branches of a
mighty tree, fed hot air into the open registers in the floors above. The open grates, in
the floors, seemed to swallow objects large
and small. Every evening, the fire would be
carefully banked so that it would last until
morning. The ashes had to be cleaned out
weekly, from the grate below the fire. We
put them out at the curb, in metal baskets,
awaiting the open, fan tailed trucks that
hauled the powdery white residue away
to the City dump on Squaw Island. It only
seems cumbersome in retrospect, now that
we have modern gas furnaces. Technology
freed us from the drudgery of feeding and
caring for the glowing iron monster. No
more coal bins and no more coal dust. It
seems so long ago.
The “rag man,” the “ fruit & vegetable man,” the “ice man,” the “milk man,”
and other assorted peddlers, were weekly
visitors to Seneca Parkside, our small dead
end street, in South Buffalo. Some of the
Quiz shows and live theater dominated the newfangled television set. We saw
the occasional Flash Gordon and Superman shows. Milton Berle, Ed Sullivan, Arthur Godfrey and Lawrence Welk were the
adults’ show of choice. I Remember Mama
was something that we all watched. Mr.
Wizard, The Musketeers and Captain Kangaroo were also favorites. Navy Log and
The Silent Service were Saturday night fixtures. James Dean was whiny and troublesome, and motor cycles became the emblem
of a rebellious generation. Nothing as outlandish and bizarre as the coming 60’s was
in anyone’s imagination.
wagons were still drawn by horses, others
by lumbering, box-shaped trucks. “Mister
Softy” Ice Cream is the only one who comes
by now. The red, Niagara Frontier and yellow, Buffalo Transit buses ran regularly by
the corner of Seneca & Cazenovia, carrying
people “downtown” and back. The radio
jingle, of a Sattler’s Department Store Ad,
seemed to crowd the airwaves. Who did not
know Sattler’s address at 998 Broadway?
laughter from the crowds of neighborhood
urchins, who populated the many rows of
red fabric seats. It was a magical place, that
elaborate palace built by Mike Shea, in era
before us. Monster Movies and 3-D glasses,
to watch the “13 Ghosts,” were standard
fare. We cried, in the dark of course, when
“Old Yeller” was shot. We cringed when the
“creature from the black lagoon” swam eerily through the dark waters, after the unsuspecting heroine. “Rodan” and “Godzilla”
weekly terrorized all of Japan and the “Blob
“ scared most of us silly.
It is a bygone era. Shea’s Seneca Theater, at the corner of Seneca & Cazenovia,
offered two features on Saturdays, for the
$.25 admission. Another dime for popcorn
or candy and we were ready for an afternoon
of adventure. The Lone Ranger, Superman
and a whole posse of western heroes, rode
across that magic screen. The occasional
“Hoola Hoop” contest, drawing or promotional event was greeted with hoots of noisy
Outside, “Chevies,” with big engines
and noisy mufflers, were the teenage chariots of choice. Boys had funny hair styles
modeled after a “duck’s behind” and girls
wore checkered skirts, with bobby socks
and saddle shoes. The music, something
called “rock & roll,” was alien to our par-
Malt shops and soda fountains were
all the rage. Cherry cokes and “Soldier Boy
“or “Johnny Angel,” on the jukebox, were
something that everybody understood.
Weekly dances, at Bishop Timon High
School, insured that boys and girls would
stand on opposite sides of the gym. We were
all a little jealous of those few boys who
could actually dance.
The Space age was starting, with
something called “Sputnik”. A minor league
baseball player, named Fidel Castro, surprised everyone in Cuba. Who would have
thought that baseball players read up on
dialectical materialism? Eisenhower and an
era of good feeling permeated the decade.
People were beginning to move to someplace called “suburbia.” Dick Van Dyke introduced us to it, with Rob and Laura Petrie,
on television.
It was an original decade, a transitional
bridge from a rural, bucolic America, to the
crowded urban centers that we now populate. The innocence of Andy of Mayberry
and Gomer Pyle would not long survive.
The Magic Hours
It was a term that I had coined to explain a
rather unique phenomena regarding the rapid passage of several hours of time in certain
circumstances, while engaging in a ritual of
my younger years that entailed spending
most of the evening hours with friends in
certain smoke filled and boozy environments. The British call it pub-crawling, the
Americans, saloon sliding, bar-hopping or
tavern tromping.
We would be engaged in animated conversation about sports, politics or the local
scandal or cause de jour, while clutching the
neck of an amber filled beer bottle. Casually, you would glance at your watch. It might
read ten P.M. Then, seeming a few minutes
later, you would look down again and find
that mysteriously the watch now read Two
A.M. The intervening hours had vanished
in a fog of conversation, as if by magic. I
could never quite determine where or how
those hours had so magically disappeared.
Einstein may have described it in terms of
relativity. We just hoisted another brew and
let it happen.
This evening was another such episode.
Classmates, from our South Park High
School graduating class of 1967, had labored mightily to bring together about
one hundred of us in a small tavern, Charlie O’Brien’s” on the banks of the Buffalo
River, in South Buffalo, N.Y. As usual in
these events, you walk into the place un-
sure of what you will find. It had been 45
years since I had last met some of these
good people. We each of us looked and in
fact were different than those starry-eyes,
gamin-faced youths of so long ago.
I needn’t have been apprehensive. The easy
camaraderie and comfortable acceptance of
people whom I had known for over half a
century welcomed us back into their lives.
Amidst a blizzard of “Hi, How are ya’s”
and “what have you been doing with yourself?” we became reacquainted with people
whom we had known so well, so very long
ago. Time and nature had been very kind to
some of us, some of us less so. There were
winners and losers in the game of life and
the broad spectrum was present there that
night. I have always felt proud of their individual successes when I became aware of
them. These were all blue- collar kids who
scaled the very difficult ladder of life to
reach some pretty impressive heights. Many
looked happy with themselves and their
lives. They had retired from good careers to
enjoy their children and grandchildren. Others appeared to stoically endure what lay
ahead of them. God bless them every one.
We laughed at each other’s silly stories and
the remembered goofy actions of our youth.
It didn’t seem like it had been so long ago.
Perhaps there is an equivalent “magic years”
phenomena that applies to the days of our
lives. We were so focused on children, jobs
and families that the years had vanished
while our attentions were elsewhere.
Several of my colleagues, I had kept in
touch with over the intervening years, meeting them in the parks, beaches, restaurants
and gathering places in and around Buffalo,
New York. We talked with them of our lives
and times over the last half-century. It was a
wistful and pleasant voyage down the moving river of time.
Some few had fallen over the years. Illness,
war and other calamities had claimed them
in mid-lives. We raised our glasses in a tribute to “absent friends” and remembered the
laughter of living that they had brought to
us. Reunions all bring out the half-sad nostalgia in all of us. It is perhaps the realization of our imminent mortality and distant
remembered, full bloom of our youth long
past. The mood well suits several glasses of
mind-altering liquids. I looked down at my
watch. It read Ten P.M. “Uh oh I thought,
here we go!”
We talked and laughed and enjoyed the
company of some of the finest people that
God had put on this earth. And always, you
could hear the whisper, “Who the hell is
that again?” or maybe “Wow, he/she looks
pretty good for his/her age.” It was a universal construct to see and observe the passage
of time amongst those of your own age. It’s
a good thing that there weren’t any mirrors
present to remind us of our own status.
15
Loud music and some “mood enhancers”
had prompted several to dance, lost in a
happy fog of memory and the enjoyed company of friends made so many years ago.
And then, I looked down at my watch. It
was 2:00 A.M. It had happened again, that
rapid and eerie passage of time I call “the
magic hours.” By this time, I had a death
grip on my fifth bottle of Heinekens and
was beginning to elide the final “G sound
of my gerunds. Though not a beer drinker in
practice, I knew enough from past meetings
that if you try to drink wine or “rocket fuel
at these marathon sessions, you would soon
be running half-clad along the river bank
and howling at the moon. In any case, we
decided it was time to saddle up and head
on back to the ranch.
We made a round of pleasant good-byes and
exchanged contact information with some
classmates, asking that they call or visit
us here or in Florida. Others, we wished a
“Vaya Con Dios” and hoped that their golden years would be good to them.
As we drove the 25 miles homeward to Amherst, we reflected on those that we had met
and talked with these last few hours. It was
a happy event amongst some very special
people and we were glad that we had come.
Now, all we have to do is wait for the next
experience of “The Magic Hours” to carry
us on home.
LONERGAN’S WAKE
The 18th Annual
St. Patrick Joseph
Dyngus Day Tri-Ethnic
The band played with the ardor
of a group of Scotsmen attacking a free
lunch. The bunting and posters were hung
in a lavish array of red white and blue.
The beer flowed like water and some few
noses were already as red as fire hydrants.
The crowd was animated and expectant.
celebration set for Sunday March 22nd.
at the Buffalo Irish Center.
By Dan McCue
your calendar; we’re closing out theMark
crusty month of March with the
18th. Annual St. Patrick Joseph Dyngus
Day celebration.
The Buffalo Irish Center will again
be hosting this spectacular tri-ethnic event
where we combine the three high holy days
of March-St Patrick’s Day, St. Joseph’s Day
and Dyngus Day all under one roof. Three
rooms, three bands and three sets of ethnic
food, entertainment and drink.
This locally legendary celebration
of the ethnic triumvirate turns the crusty
month of March into a warm, sweet promise of spring. This year you can move from
one ethnic celebration to another simply by
walking through a door.
You can bid “Arrividerci Roma”
and leave the rich Italian and Italian-American sounds of the Formula Band to rock
with the Celtic beat of Crikwater, and then
change countries again and Polka to the
sounds of The Touch, all without the hassle
of passports or Euros.
Food, drink, music, dance and
most importantly the company of friends
promise to make this year’s celebration a
party to remember.
If you’ve never been to this event
before you will be in for an afternoon and
evening of fun-filled excitement, including
singers, dancers, pipers and surprise entertainment. Genuine ethnic food and drink
From the podium, the speaker was
finishing his introduction and bringing his
oration to a blustery conclusion. Beyond
the first few rows, no one could much hear
him, but they nodded and clapped in the
right places.
will be made available throughout the day.
Featuring corned beef, Italian and Polish
sausage, pierogis, pasta and Guinness, all at
reasonable prices. Join us for our 18th. Anniversary and learn to do a Polka, a Tarantella or a Jig and have the time of your life.
This event is sponsored jointly by The Buffalo Irish Center, The Polka Boosters of
WNY and the Federation of Italian-American Societies of WNY.
Sure, twas’ the Devil himself
that was among them. His smile was Arctic in its’ warmth. The calculating rascal
looked, to me, like a great white shark
deciding upon whom he would bite into
next. His tones were warm enough, quiet
like a rattler about to strike. It was the
eyes that gave him away. They were dead,
cold as and lifeless as stone.
Michael Riordan Hennessey, the U.S.
Attorney for the Western District, held
court effortlessly. Like most delusional
paranoids, he imagined that the flock was
spellbound before him. The quiet whisper
of his banter seeped slowly into their collective psyche. It was only the professional
pols that were immune. From a life time of
habit, they focused but the merest fragment
of their attention on his words. Their main
energies were spent surveying the gathering and determining the next recipient of
their charms. They cheered the loudest
though, when he was finished, from long
practice as drum beaters. They were as pilot fish, surrounding a shark and feeding
off the remains of the plundered carcass.
Time: Sunday March 23rd. 2014;
3:00 till 8:00
Location: The Buffalo Irish Center,
245 Abbott Rd. Buffalo, NY 14220
Ticket Prices: $10.00 in advance,
$12.00 at the door (sorry, no will-calls)
For ticket information:
Call Dan & Carol McCue 834-7664,
Joyce Czarnecki 741-3001,
Teresa Marcello 668-9451 or
the Tara Gift Shoppe 825-6700.
We were gathered here to honor
one of our own, James Patrick O’Connor,
“Seamus” to his friends. He was a prince
of a man, who we thought could help us
along nicely. You had to keep your wits
about you at these events. The line between a wake and a rally was a fine one.
The major difference was that it was easier, at a wake, to work the principal honoree. Also, he couldn’t deny how close of a
friend and supporter you were or claimed
to be. His inability to flee was also considered a plus. The rest was pretty much
the same. Sometimes, we drank a little bit
more at the wake and were kinder to the
‘honoree’, not always, but usually.
Tonight was no different. Himself, the
grand James Patrick O’Connor was again
running for Mayor. Nothing warms the
cockles of a supporters heart like thoughts
of how the great man could help you after
the election. To some, it was quantifiable.
So much money, so much time, equaled a
job at a certain level. The efforts of others
grew geometrically, in their own recollection, within days of a victory.
The aura became one of the last trains
leaving the station. Everyone wanted to
be on it. “Sure your Honor, I’ve got the
grandest nephew who will work like the
devil for you”, began the plea. “Myself,
I’m not in need of anything. Well, maybe
a small job, with a decent rate of pay, of
course, but the nephew, he’s in need. Can
you help us your honor?” And on it went.
Those petitioners, who were successful, were usually not happy either. They
imagined the payoff larger and sooner in
coming. They were also resentful of the
success of others. “Sure, the lad only hung
a few signs and did little else, compared
to ourselves,” would be the whisper. And
16
on it went.
If you had a dark sense of humor, the
characters could be the stuff of much enjoyment. Sometimes, the great man himself would be holding forth on a subject.
He would turn to me and with a wink;
speak favorably of one lad or another. The
admiring listeners would mumble their
agreement and add what “ a darlin’ lad”
the subject was. Without missing a beat,
his honor, in the next breath, would mention some grave failings that the same lad
possessed. The chorus instantly assented,
with a “and sure, the lad is too fond of the
barley.” More than a few minutes of this
sent me ruefully on my way. His nibs, who
was mightily amused, never let on what
he really thought. He learned more from
listening to the reactions of the Greek
Chorus. Only the twinkle in his eye gave
him away.
Tonight, however, the joke was on
him. He was basking in a self-satisfied
glow from the warmth of a multitude of
cheering acolytes. He went on his way
that night, with grand thoughts of enthusiastic and faithful admirers. We sighed
with relief and dodged another bullet.
His nibs had given us twenty-four
hours to put on the rally. The faithful were
invited, the hall decorated and the preparations laid. No one had bothered to check
the date, however. It was a weekend heavy
with First Communions and Graduations.
These were important clan gatherings in
an Irish Catholic Community like ours,
not to be missed.
Twenty minutes before the rally,
the place was empty. A wake held during the Super Bowl would have generated
more enthusiasm. Never at a loss, the lads
fanned out across the area and emptied
out every gin mill within a two-mile radius. The lure, to all who would listen,
was promises of free beer at the rally.
His nibs, as was his custom, showed up
an hour late. By that time, the place was
packed with an enthusiastic, red-eyed
throng of supporters, cheering lustily for
the great man.
The gossip level was at fever pitch
during these affairs. In small groups,
throughout the hall, the knowing wink
and the careful whisper conveyed some
small secret or another. More than likely,
the information had already been published in the paper that week. It didn’t
matter. It was grist for the mill and fodder
for the blowhards.
You could learn a lot at these shindigs, if you listened carefully to who was
saying what. You also had to know who
was related to whom and in what political
camp they were currently housed. It was
a musical mosaic of babel that could play
a recognizable tune to the discerning ear.
It is a never-ending chorus that
changes with the political winds. We used
to call it the “Buffalo Shuffle,” in “A Weasel Minor.” The chorus sang it with vigor,
and to be fair, as much sincerity as those
directing the whole hot aired symphony.
A gauntlet of earnest handshakes
and a litany of requests, accompanied my
slow and easy departure. Like wild beasts
in the jungle, you knew enough never to
run, show fear or hurt before the watching
eyes. Twas’ another performance, scripted well and good. There would be many
more like it in the never-ending drama.
Himself, A Civil War Veteran’s Struggle
With Rebels, Brits, And Devils
By Bill Donohue
HIMSELF positions two Civil War soldiers, brothers, in the context of their
family and community lives, as well as in
broader social and economic currents. Patrick and John Donohue were raised in an
Irish immigrant family in the First Ward of
Buffalo, NY, which is what gives their life
stories both singularity and continuity with
other Civil War soldiers. In an age of mass
migrations and wholesale service in both
armies by immigrants and ethnic populations, their lives were not unlike those
of thousands of Civil War soldiers. Their
story recounts the effects of a prolonged
period of war on the rest of their lives and
on wives and children. Patrick spent eight
months in Confederate prisons, most of
that time in Salisbury Confederate Prison
whose mortality rate equaled that of Andersonville. He exited from Florence Confederate Prison sixty pounds lighter than
before his capture. He could never endure
the rigors of unskilled labor for more than
two years at a time throughout the rest of
his life.
Patrick was born in Rochester in 1844,
John in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada the
year before, of a young couple who had
migrated in 1842 from rural Cork, Ireland
through Canada and on to Rochester. Their
father, Patrick Sr., was a cooper who had
had some success in spreading his barrelmaking business to nearby villages and
hamlets until a cholera epidemic swarmed
over the swampy Little Dublin area of
Rochester and took both he and his wife,
Catherine.
Moira Joy, their maternal grandmother,
brought the boys to Buffalo to the First
Ward. The First Ward is first because it
was the original settlement area of the city
carved out of a Seneca Indian Nation reservation. Its uniqueness as a neighborhood
stems from the one-of-a-kind position of
Buffalo within the American system of
commerce once final boundaries were set
and westward migration began in earnest.
Buffalo at the west end of the Erie Canal
and as the last navigable, eastern port on
the Great Lakes became the transfer center for finished goods going west and agricultural and mining commodities moving
east. The market vector of its port once
reached St. Louis, MO. The First Ward
contained the canal, the port, the red light
and legitimate entertainment districts,
commercial downtown, and railroad yards
and depots. Like Little Dublin, it was lowland and festered with disease and periodic
epidemics ignited by pools of liquefied
human and animal waste. Its homes were
shacks and four room cottages built on
JOHN DONOHUE AND HIS SON, JOHN
In the process of researching and writing, I came to realize that Patrick’s behavior patterns were imbedded in my
father’s family and had become a part of mine and me.
piers with farm animals and backyard gardens planted among unregulated canals,
river, rail lines, warehouses, and manufacturing plants. Children ran daily in a type
of wild-west and real life Disneyland. The
Irish migration was predominantly males.
Shanty towns, bars, alcohol, gangs, crime,
accidents, death, and political corruption
were as common as dirt.
Against this curtain of social mayhem
stood women, the Roman Catholic Church,
and its first bishop, John Timon. Moira Joy
lived with her brother, John, on Louisiana
Street in the center of the Ward, across the
street from the Ohio Basin, which was an
extension of the Erie Canal. She made her
livelihood sewing vestments for Bishop
Timon and other Catholic pastors. It was
not sufficient to feed her grandsons, so she
gave John to the care of her cousin, Theresa. A childless widow, Theresa had risen
in the employment of Millard Fillmore’s
law firm and was well off by First Ward
standards.
The boys attended Public School 4 through
the sixth grade, then went to work running
errands and shining shoes for sailors and
businessmen, and later doing hard labor in
the grain mills and on coal docks of the
harbor and in Bishop Timon’s growing
list of institutions. In the meantime, the
Civil War was heating up. When an allIrish brigade was formed by General Michael Corcoran in late 1862, they joined
for reasons common to many young Irish
volunteers: bonuses and to save the Union.
Ending slavery was a negative for them as
for most men in the Ward. It would grant
freedom to a vast and competitive population, almost universally hated by the Irish
everywhere in North America.
Shaken to his core by the public misbehavior of Irish men on the streets of Buffalo,
Bishop Timon preached to his clergy abstemious living, a vigorous ascetical spirituality, and a heroic work ethic. He raised
funds in Europe to build a cathedral, parish
churches, schools, and the City’s first hospital, Sisters Hospital, convinced religious
orders in Ireland and France to staff his
institutions. This bishop perhaps accomplished more than any American bishop
of his time or after. With the bishop came
the Roman Catholic Church and all of its
beliefs and devotions and a hierarchy led
by Pope Pius IX, who preached against
Protestantism, democracy, capitalism, and
modern science. The church was Jansenistic in its piety and teachings on sex. It
supported the absolute position of men in
society and the home, all of which reached
down into the lives of its people, above all
GAAA IRISH LIBRARY:
The GAAA Irish Library is OPEN for Irish research to the general public by appointment
only, excluding genealogy, October thru the end of June. The library is located inside the
BUFFALO IRISH CENTER, 245 Abbott Rd, Buffalo, NY 14220. (Stay tuned to WBEN
930 AM for snow or emergency closings. If the Buffalo Irish Center closes, so goes the
library.)
its women.
There were six notable women in the lives
of Pat and John: Moira, Theresa, Annabelle
(a contraband black whom Patrick met and
fell in love with while guarding trains with
the 155th in Sangsters Station, VA), their
wives Mary Nagle and Johanna Mahoney,
and Millicent Hastings (a WCTU leader
whom Patrick befriended while at the Bath
Soldiers Home toward the end of his life).
In spite of their abject status, these women
became powerful and redemptive forces in
Pat’s and John’s lives. Mary died twentyfour years before Pat and was buried in an
unmarked grave in the pauper section of
Holy Cross Cemetery, once an Irish only
cemetery. A year ago, a group of her ancestors remedied that pitiful situation recognizing her for continuing our family in
spite of the challenges she met within her
marriage.
How this story winds among these and
other themes carries the reader through
the length and depth of the lives of two
Civil War soldiers. I am certain their lives
parallel those of hundreds of thousands of
immigrant and first generation children.
Their story was compelling in human
terms alone. I wrote it to awaken an appreciation for the harshness of my ancestors’
lives, the horrors of service in the Civil
War, and its subsequent impact on wives
and children.
GENEALOGY
Family Research
For individual appointments please call:
Donna M. Shine (716) 662-1164
or email Diane Blaser at [email protected]
or Mary C. Murphy (716) 834-4965.
It has become necessary for the Buffalo Irish Genealogical Society to move their 3,500
book genealogical collection to a single satellite location within the Heritage Discovery
Center (HDC) Library, 100 Lee St, 1.5 miles away towards the city. It is at this location that
genealogical research will be conducted by volunteer genealogists. Please call for more
information.
THE AUTHOR AT PATRICK DONOHUE’S GRAVE IN BATH NATIONAL CEMETERY HIMSELF, A CIVIL WAR VETERAN’S STRUGGLE WITH REBELS, BRITS, AND DEVILS, is available at the Waterfront Memories and More center, 41 Hamburg St., in the Old First Ward,
and from its publisher, [email protected]./shop/himself.
Guidelines to untangling your roots
Donna M. Shine
6350 Scherff Road, Orchard Park NY 14127
(716) 662-1164
[email protected]
17
Father Bill Quinlivan
r
a
e
Y
e
h
t
f
Irishman o
Named
By Mary Quinlivan
The Knights of Equity are pleased to announce that Reverend William J. Quinlivan
of the Diocese of Buffalo has been chosen
to receive the Irishman of the Year Award.
Father Bill, who was raised in South Buffalo, will receive his award at this year’s
Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Dinner on Saturday, March 7 at the Buffalo Irish Center.
Father Bill has served as the National
Chaplain for the Daughters of Erin and the
Knights of Equity since 2006. He is being
honored for his spiritual leadership, reflecting the gifts of his Irish roots through his
music ministry, and ever-present Irish humor. Whether performing the beloved classic “Lady of Knock”, made famous by his
friend, Irish singer Dana Scallon, or sharing
one of his own songs to help illustrate the
Gospel message, Father Bill has become a
vital Irish Catholic voice in our community.
In his eight years as our Chaplain, Father
Bill has celebrated our annual Memorial
Mass, and has presided at Mass at our National Convention, and at the Mass for the
Feast of Our Lady of Knock.
No stranger to the Emerald Isle, Father
Bill has brought his music to Ireland for
ten years, playing and singing as a participant in the annual “Intercession for Priests”
retreat offered in Dublin by Sister Briege
McKenna and Father Kevin Scallon. He
has led a group pilgrimage to Ireland, visiting sacred places in our Catholic history,
and presiding at Mass at the Shrine to Our
Lady of Knock in County Mayo. Father
Bill’s paternal grandparents, Patrick Quinlivan and Anne O’Gorman, came to Buffalo from County Clare. His maternal Great
Grandparents (Murrays and Fitzgeralds)
came to America from County Monaghan
and Cork.
Father Bill’s effective use of music in his
priestly ministry, has given him the nickname in parts of Western New York, of
“The Singing Priest”. A prolific songwriter, he has recorded a total of seven CD’s
of his own original songs, including “Paintbrush In The Green”, “Priest of Mine”, and
a collection of Marian songs, “Hail!”. He
recently released his autobiography, “Made
To Praise Him: Finding My Song”. This
humorous and insightful book describes
Father Bill’s Irish Catholic upbringing in
South Buffalo, and the roots of his vocation
to the priesthood.
Father Bill is a graduate of St. Teresa’s
School, Bishop Timon High School, Buffalo State College, and Christ the King
Seminary. Ordained to the Priesthood
in 1995, Fr. Bill is currently the Pastor of
Blessed Sacrament Church in the Town of
Tonawanda. Since the beginning of his
priesthood, Fr. Bill has also served at St.
Luke’s Mission of Mercy in Buffalo as celebrant, confessor, spiritual director, singer,
and friend. Father Bill has never forgotten
where he came from, and he continues to
demonstrate what it means to be Irish and
Catholic, with a prayer and a song ever in
his heart. Congratulations, Father Bill!
BUSINESS
PROFILES
TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT EDITION OF THE:
BUFFALOIRISHTIMES
18
An Irish Country
Doctor In
Leo & Anton in concert at
the Buffalo Irish Center
Thursday, April 23, 2015 7 PM
By Sheila Barrett
An Irish Country Doctor In Peace And
At War is the ninth in a continuing series
written By Patrick Taylor about the life of
Doctor Fingal Flahertie O’Reilly who lives
in the Village of Ballybucklebo in Northern Ireland. As in all of the Irish Country
Doctor Series, Mr. Taylor depicts Doctor
O’Reilly’s life as it is in the 1960’s as well
as detailing memories of his trials and tribulations in the early days of World War II.
The book opens in the 1960’s with Doctor
O’Reilly being asked by the Presbyterian
minister to referee a disagreement about
flowers for Kinky Kincaid’s wedding the
next day. It continues with accounts of Dr.
O’Reilly’s interaction with the people of
Ballybucklebo, with his two young new colleagues and his bride of 1 year.
The chapters covering early World War II
years are sandwiched between the goings
on of the 1960’s. He is a young doctor assigned to the HMS Warspite waiting for or-
ders to go to Scotland for a course in anesthesia. He is curious about the ship’s guns,
reflects on the casualties of the war, while
he longs for his fiancé back in Ireland.
You have to read the book to find out if he
succumbs to the wiles of another naval officer’s wife or does he remain faithful to his
fiancé back in Ireland during the war years.
Does he overcome the jealousy he has for
a man who had been his new brides love
back in the late 1930’s, and does he convince Lenny Brown to let his son sit for the
Eleven Plus Exam.
And as always, Mr. Taylor’s ending leaves
some loose ends, with the promise of another book on the Life of Fingal Flahertie
O’Reilly.
Mr. Taylor uses the vernacular of Northern
Ireland in his writings, and for those who
are unfamiliar with it, he provides a glossary. Kinky Kincaid Auchinleck provides
us with some recipes to try.
Leo Moran and Anthony Thistlethwaite,
have put together an acoustic show that includes different takes on their well-known
Saw Doctors’ songs, Leo Moran, a founder
of the Saw Doctors, was born in the small
market town of Tuam. Between the jigs and
the reels, they wrote many good songs including ‘I Used to Lover her’ The Saw Doctors’ success and an international touring outfit built up a supremely
loyal and faithful fan-base all over the world,
but in particular in the United States, where
they have toured in the region of a hundred
times, and in Britain where the amount of
visits would simple be un-countable.
Anthony Thistlethwaite grew up in the
“lush green heart of England” As a founding
member of the Water boys, his first single
was “A Girl Called Johnny”. This seed of
a band went on to grow and blossom and
eventually, after three albums and some acclaim. Their path took them to Wild West of
Ireland where they met the Saw Doctors and
a whole new adventure began.....
Old 1st Ward Shamrock
Run Stays the Course
This year the 8K course has been modified
to allow for the Ohio Street Parkway renovations. The Run will travel down Seneca
Street to Peabody, passing Honeywell’s facility before turning back up Elk Street toward
the Old 1st Ward. This alternate course has
also been certified.
“We’re looking forward to seeing new faces
along the route,” said Laura Kelly, Director
of the Old 1st Ward Community Association. But we’re also looking forward to the
completion of the Ohio Street Parkway. It’s
going to be a beautiful route along the Buffalo River.”
Online registration and race information is
available at www.buffaloshamrockrun.com
or in person at the Old First Ward Community Center, 62 Republic Street, Buffalo,
14204, 856-8613.
The Old First Ward Shamrock Run is a fundraiser for the Old First Ward Community
Association. The Old First Ward Community
Association provides housing and human
services programs for the Old First Ward
and Buffalo River neighborhoods. For more
information regarding the Old First Ward
Community Association, please visit www.
Old1stWard.com or like us on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Old-FirstWard-Community/54237287915.
Saint Patrick’s Day Mass
and Breakfast
Long ago the celebration of Saint Patrick’s
Day was celebrated truly as a religious Holy
Day. The main event was attending Mass in
honor of Ireland’s patron saint. Saint Patrick’s Irish American Club has continued
that tradition here in Buffalo. On Tuesday,
March 17th the feast day of Saint Patrick,
Mass will again be celebrated by Monsignor David Lee in the Claddagh Room of
the Buffalo Irish Center, 245 Abbott Road.
Please join us for Mass at 10:45AM.
The Buffalo Irish Center will host a full
Irish Breakfast immediately following
Mass in the Emerald Room of the Buffalo
Irish Center. Tickets are $20 and are available as presale only, this event always sells
out so buy your tickets through the Tara Gift
Shop 825-6700 or by contacting members
of the Irish Center Board of Directors.
Mark your calendar for a night to be
remembered!
Pre-sale tickets: $20.00 For info:
[email protected]
The Unstoppable Mary T
By Matt Fisher
The Shamrock Run in the Old 1st Ward will
be held Saturday, March 7, 2015 with a 12
noon start. For many, this heralds the first
sign of spring in Buffalo, as well as the beginning of St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Traditionally, the Shamrock Run is the first in
the Buffalo News Runner of the Year series.
Hardly a year goes by that Moran & Thistlewaite ..the Saw Doctors –don’t tour the
U.S. The Saw Doctors are a hard working
touring band delivering a taste of Ireland
coupled with excellent musicianship and a
large dose of fun.
19
Mary T (Sheehan) Blakeslee, born January
10, 1958 in Buffalo to Nelson and Betty
(Cleary) Sheehan. Her father Nelson along
with some help from his many brothers built
a house in the Cloverbank area of Hamburg
and that was where she grew up and many
family parties took place. Mary went to
Frontier Central Schools and Potters Road
for her LPN in nursing. She worked as a
nurse in various hospital and nursing homes
and eventually became a nanny and finally
MT the Clown.
She married Barry
Blakeslee in July of 1988. They started their
marriage off with a bang….the power went
out at their reception.
Mary T was the glue in our large family,
planning picnics which always included fun
games especially for the kids and she was
the biggest kid of them all. We had water
balloons and egg toss and spinning around
with our heads on a baseball bat until you
got so dizzy you’d fall down. Always collecting from the adults change for the sawdust pile where the kids would dig for the
treasures.
The people who knew Mary T the best were
her family and a party was not complete
without her, someone would always ask
“where’s MT”. One of the stories shared
by her nephew Joe in his Eulogy was of the
year he left the St. Patrick’s Valley Parade
and proceeded to the Irish Center to party
the day away and when Mary T found him
drinking and dancing she pulled him by
the ear and gave him a talking to. He also
shared the time when she took her nephew Ryan and niece Heather to Ireland and
TRIED to drive a car, after hitting a few
cones and curbs it was decided that Heather
would drive the rest of the way. That was
their Aunt Mary always generous with her
time, treasure and companionship. One
personal story I’d like to share concerns
Mary T and her mother Betty. I stopped to
visit one day and found Mary T rummaging
through the trunk of her car, so I asked what
she was looking for and Mary T said her
and her mother were having a picnic lunch
in the living room. She tried to make everything a happy occasion. That was not long
after her father died and soon Betty would
be in a nursing home waiting to go and be
with Nelson, the love of her life.
Mary was a very caring and generous wom- January/February Edition 2015
an. The Buffalo Irish Center and its Board
and the Daughters of Erin were only two of
the places where she volunteered her time.
The Catholic Church asks for your Time,
Talents and Treasure and Mary T had all of
them in abundance and shared generously.
She was a three time cancer survivor and
an avid supporter for Susan G. Koman of
WNY, Ladies Auxiliary of VFW Post # 1419
in Hamburg, Hamburg Youth Board, Hamburg Domestic Violence Board, managing
Democratic campaigns in Hamburg for various candidates, Amanda Hansen Foundation, Co-Founder of the Powers Memorial
Playground at South towns Catholic School,
Toys for Tots and was “MT the Clown” for
the Erie County Fair Parade. She would also
be in attendance at any fund raiser she was
aware of and probably donated a Chinese
Auction Basket as well.
Farewell my little cousin and dearest
friend. I will miss you.
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow
of His hand.
Buffalo Irish Center
Proud ofBeing
IRISH &
CATHOLIC
The Buffalo Irish Center needs you!
Please join in the campaign to keep the BIC in good repair and preserve it for the next
generation. The Buffalo Irish Center needs your support to maintain WNY’S Irish Heritage
Center and preserve it for the future generations. The needs of our 88 year old building
include:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Replacement of Claddagh Room floor.................. $16,000.00
Refinishing of Emerald Room floor:...................... $ 3000.00
New furnace for the GAAA Library...................... $ 6000.00
Flat Roof replacement :.......................................... $10,000.00
Concrete and patio updates ................................... $ 5000.00
Outdoor lighting ..................................................... $ 5500.00
Thanks to our dedicated volunteers, the Buffalo Irish Center continues to enhance the
quality of life for our members and those
in our community. Home to 18 non-profit
organizations, the Center has showcased
Irish music, dance, language and storytelling to keep the traditions alive. Friendships
were forged and memories made as families
brought their children to learn Irish dance
from Mae Butler or Paul Tynan, play Gaelic
Football or just enjoy the “craic”.
Our Online campaign will allow you to
help our volunteers to strengthen the Buffalo Irish Center, our “Home” From the
Tulla Ceili Band to the Carleton Show band;
the Wolfetones to the Furey’s; the Willis
ANCIENT
ORDER of
HIBERNIANS
Located In The Buffalo Irish Center
Clan to the Town Pants, the Buffalo Irish
Center has showcased a wealth of Irish music. Memories remain of early immigrants
who labored to make the Buffalo Irish Center a tribute to the land of their birth. Please
consider a donation to ensure that the Center will maintain its role and be a vibrant anchor building for the Irish Heritage District.
An online campaign has been started to assist with the mounting expense the Center
is facing.
To donate, go to:www.GoFundMe.com/
BuffaloIrishCenter
Checks may be sent: Buffalo Irish Center,
245 Abbott Rd., Buffalo, NY 14220
If you do not wish to donate online.
Join The
20
INNISFREE ADULT DANCERS
TRADITIONAL IRISH SET & CEILI
DANCE LESSONS
BUFFALO IRISH CENTER
TUESDAY 7:45 PM
CONTACT SHANE & JEAN DEVLIN
627-5966

irish buffaloirishtimes

Transcription

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