Irish Song - Lanigan's Ball

For my good brother Joseph Mathers here is Lanigan's Ball with lyrics...

Happy Halloween

Some interesting readings about Irish Halloween traditions here. Have a good one.

Jack Dowling Dies

Dear Brothers,

We have sad news that Jack Dowling from our Division 9 has passed away.

Jack will be laid out at John N. Elachko Funeral Home, 3447 Dawson St. in Oakland from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. today (Wednesday, Oct. 29).

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. St. Regis Church.

We would like as many brothers as possible to meet at the funeral home on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. for a prayer service. Hope to see you there. Any questions, please call 412-422-1313 or boneil2@peoplepc.com.
-- Bill O'Neil

Father Tom O'Donnell's November Message

All Saints and All Souls Day

It is no accident that All Souls Day follows immediately after the feast of All Saints. After having celebrated the victory and glory of those who are now in heaven, it is only fitting to remember the "poor souls in purgatory," to use the rather quaint but charming language of tradition, and to pray that they too may soon be able to join the saints.

We know that they may be in purgatory because they may still need to be purified, as it were, from any sinful blemishes that may still remain. We don't really know what exactly this purification entails and it may very well be that, in many cases, purgatory is simply the suffering that many experience in their last days on earth.

On November 2, All Souls' Day, the Church encourages us to once again be close to those whom we loved in the past but who no longer grace us with their physical presence. Some Catholics heed this call in a far more direct way than do we Americans. For example, in the Philippines Catholic families spend the night before All Souls' Day at the graveside of their relatives.

I am not about to try to convince American Catholics to "camp out" at a favorite graveside, but we should certainly try to spend part of All Souls' Day once again talking to those who were close to us and are now separated from us by death. There are so many reasons for doing this. First, it gives us the opportunity to enjoy again the enriching company of dear friends. My parents taught me so much when I was a child.

Should their death mark the end of their presence as teachers in my life or should they continue to be my instructors. This feast also provides us with an opportunity to remember those family members and friends who have already died and to whom we owe so much.

To all these good people we owe such a debt of gratitude that we should welcome this opportunity to celebrate their goodness and to ask God to reward them for all the ways in which they have been a blessing in our lives.

This also reminds us of our obligation to be a blessing and a support in the lives of many other people who have not been as fortunate as we have been. In that way, the meaning of the Eucharist will be reflected in our lives and we can then be confident that Jesus will "raise us up on the last day."

As Catholics, we believe in the Communion of Saints. We believe that those who have gone before us have not died in vain and that the tomb is not their final resting place. We believe that those whom we loved are still very much a part of our lives and insofar as the goodness of their lives has brought them to the throne of God, they now stand there pleading for us.

We are often advised that we should look to the future and forget the past. Hard as we might try, however, the past is always a part of us and we ignore it only at our own peril. On November 2, let us heed the encouragement of the Church, and once again unite ourselves in prayer with those who were dear to us in times past and who are close to us in God's love in the present.

Father Tom O’Donnell, AOH Allegheny County and PA State Chaplain

Irish Song - Solas

http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=xD_3CnaeCoM

Irish Joke of the Week

A fellow decided to decorate his bedroom. He wasn’t sure how many rolls of wallpaper he would need but he knew that the Irishman who lived next door had recently done the same job and the two rooms were identical in size.

“Murphy,” he asked, “How many rolls of wallpaper did you buy for your bedroom?”

“Ten” said Murphy.

So the fellow bought the ten rolls of paper and did the job. It looked wonderful, but he had 2 rolls of wallpaper left over.

“Murphy,” he said. “I bought ten rolls of wallpaper for the bedroom, but I’ve got 2 left over!”

“Dat’s funny,” said Murphy. “So did I.”

Irish Song - Dearg Doom

Horslips were a 1970s Irish rock band that composed, arranged and performed their music based on traditional Irish jigs and reels. They were one of the first, if not the first, of the Celtic rock bands of that era.

Irish History - Oct. 26 - Nov. 1

Here is your Irish history lesson for this week.

October 26
1601 - A Spanish army under Don Juan del Aguila, which had landed at Kinsale on 21 September, is besieged by Lord Mountjoy on this date
1771 - John (Juan) MacKenna, who would rise to fame in South America, was born in Clogher, Co. Tyrone
1791 - Founding of the United Irishmen movement
1831 - Birth of painter Nathaniel Hone in Dublin
1837 - James Lawlor Kiernan, Union general in America's Civil War, was born in Mount Bellew, County Galway
1932 - Margaret "The Unsinkable Molly" Brown, daughter of Irish immigrants, dies in New York
1943 - Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge, the coordinating body for Irish-language organizations, is formed
1997 - The country's first women soldiers hold their passing out parade
1998 - A price war rages over the video of Oscar-winning Titanic, which is set to become Ireland's biggest selling video of all time.
1999 - A major opinion poll reveals that a majority of people in Northern Ireland would vote ‘yes’ in a new referendum on the Good Friday Agreement
1999 - A line of tractors backs up for miles as a cavalcade of farmers make their way to the annual Great Maam Cross Fair - the last great fair of the millennium
2000 - The new Manchester United Superstore is officially opened in Dublin
2000 - The country’s 350,000 secondary school students are asked by the Department of Defence to propose a name for a new £20m naval patrol boat.

October 27
1651 - Surrender of Limerick
1673 - A proclamation declares the banishment of Catholic bishops and priest and the closure of religious houses and schools under Charles II's reign
1878 - Between October 24 and this date, Fenians propose a 'New Departure': an alliance with the Parnellites
1905 - Birth in Dublin of Bryan Guinness, 2nd Lord Moyne; brewer and writer
1980 - Beginning of the Hunger Strike by seven Republican prisoners in the 'H' Blocks at Long Kesh. They are later joined by three female prisoners at Armagh Prison
1998 - 200 delegates of the 24,000-strong INO (nurse's union) vote unanimously to reactivate industrial action if their claims are not met
1999 - Fifty bar workers are to sue their bosses in the first smoking related personal injury claim in the history of the State
1999 - NUI Galway marks its 150th anniversary
2000 -The IRA says that the re-examination of a number of its arms dumps by the international inspectors has already taken place 2002 - Severe storm batters Ireland causing power cuts and interruptions in road, rail, air and sea transport services
2002 - After comments by British prime minister Tony Blair that the continued existence of the IRA is an obstacle to rescuing the peace process, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams says the IRA is never going to disband in response to ultimatums.

October 28
1659 - Birth of Nicholas Brad, Anglican clergyman and poet, in Bandon, Co. Cork
1758 - Edward Moore, 5th Earl of Drogheda and former MP for Dunleer, drowns with his son Edward, chaplain to the House of Commons, en route from England to Dublin
1875 - Death of William Howard Glover, composer and music critic
1907 - John Harold Hewitt, poet who wrote the Glens of Antrim, is born
1909 - Birth in Dublin of Sir Francis Bacon, painter
1958 - The State Opening of Parliament is televised for the first time
1976 - Máire Drumm, Irish Republican and Sinn Féin vice-president, is assassinated in her hospital bed by Unionist gunmen
1999 - Ulster Unionist and Sinn Féin politicians grapple with a new formula designed to break the deadlock in the peace process
2000 - Athlete Sonia O'Sullivan returns to her hometown of Cobh and is presented with the Freedom of The Town
2001 - Republican sources claim the IRA has destroyed up to 300 weapons in its first act of decommissioning.

October 29
1835 - Michael William Balfe's opera Siege of Rochelle is first performed at the Drury Lane Theatre in London
1885 - Confederate Civil War Gen. Joseph Finegan, from Co. Monaghan, dies in Rutledge, Florida
1892 - Death of Clonakilty artist, William Hartnett
1922 - Birth of Neil Blaney, politician, in Rosnakill, Co. Donegal
1953 - The Health Act provides for a free mother-and-child healthcare scheme in the Republic
1958 - The Dáil announces a bill to introduce a system of proportional representation into the Republic
1972 - Gilbert O’Sullivan reaches no. 1 in the British charts with Clair
1998 - The tax on tourists row flares up again when members of the Dáil Committee on Tourism clash over a proposed £1 levy on visitors to the Aran Islands
1998 - In tribute to emigrants who sailed to the New World on coffin ships, Coillte announces plans for the establishment of the Forest of Dunbrody on the outskirts of New Ross, Co Wexford. The public, and particularly Irish-Americans, will be invited to buy a tree in the name of their loved ones
2001 - Hardline unionists seek to block David Trimble's re-election as Northern Ireland First Minister
2001 - Over £3.5m will be spent converting Limerick's city centre into a pedestrian area. Within five years, only buses, taxis and delivery vehicles will be able to travel up O'Connell Street
2002 - Continuous heavy rain brings severe flooding to many parts of the country
2002 - Thousands of homes and businesses face massive disruption to Christmas mail delivery following a vote by postmasters in favour of industrial action
2002 - Broadcaster Gerry Ryan becomes the latest homegrown celebrity to feature in the Irish version of Madame Tussaud's collection when he unveils a life-size model of himself at the Dublin museum.

October 30
1751 - Birth in Dublin of dramatist and orator, Richard Brinsley Sheridan
11816 - Sir Richard Quain, physician to Queen Victoria, is born in Mallow, Co. Cork
1865 - Róis Ní Ógáin (Rose Mabel Young), Gaelic scholar and editor of Duanaire Gaedhilge, is born
1928 - Birth of Sir Charles Brett, architectural historian
1972 - Northern Ireland Secretary of State, William Whitelaw's paper "The Future of Northern Ireland" declares no UK opposition to unity by consent
1998 - The South County Bar in West Douglas has become the first pub in Cork to win the James Joyce Pub Award
2000 - The Good Friday Agreement hangs in the balance with the Government seeking to establish whether or not the North’s First Minister David Trimble can ban Sinn Féin Ministers from cross-Border committee meetings
2001 - One of the country's largest estates, Farnham, on about 1,200 acres in Cavan, is bought for around £5m by a locally-born businessman, pharmacist Roy McCabe
2001 - A major anti-litter initiative is launched which will hold every town in Ireland accountable for its cleanliness
2002 - The crisis in the Northern Ireland peace process deeps after the IRA announces its decision to end contact with the arms decommissioning body
2003 - A wreath to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the death of Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, the Vatican priest who is credited with saving the lives of thousands of people during the second World War is laid on his grave in Cahersiveen Co Kerry.

October 31
1641 - The Ulster rebels take Dundalk
1804 - Morgan O'Connell, soldier and politician, is born in Dublin
1838 - General Sir William Frances Butler, soldier and author, is born in Suirville, Co. Tipperary. He had a remarkable and often controversial military career spanning over 50 years. During the Land War he became a great personal friend of Charles Stewart Parnell and campaigned for tenants' rights and Home Rule. Late in 1900 Sir William was promoted to Lieutenant General, a rank he held until his retirement in 1905. The last five years of his life were spent at Bansha Castle among his own people.
He died in Bansha Castle on June 7 1910 and his funeral to Killaldriffe was one of the largest seen in the region
1845 - A committee is formed to examine the extent of the potato crop failure and suggest remedies
1883 - Birth of Sara Allgood, stage and Hollywood actress, in Dublin. Considered one of the greatest character actresses of her time, the crowning point of her career came with her nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in "How Green Was My Valley" in which she played Mrs. Morgan. She began her acting career with Dublin's world famous Abbey Theatre and had a long career on stage before making her film debut in: "Just Peggy". Film credits include "The World, The Flesh and The Devil", Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" with Spencer Tracy, "The Lodger" with George Sanders, "Jane Eyre" with Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine, "The Keys of the Kingdom" with Gregory Peck, "Cheaper by the Dozen" and “Sierra” - her last film. She moved to the U.S. in the 1940s and became a U.S. citizen in 1945. She died on September 15, 1950 in Woodland Hills, California of a heart attack at age 66
1930 - Birth of Michael Collins, an Irish-American born in Rome, and pilot of the command module of the Apollo 10 lunar landing in 1969
1939 - Comedian Tom O'Connor is born in Merseyside, Liverpool
1998 - Dungarvan's milk processing plant in Co. Waterford, operational since the turn of the century, closes with the loss of 135 full-time jobs
1999 - In Co. Wexford, a millennium party catches the imagination of Halloween revellers as the ESB Drum Carnival entertains ghouls and goblins of all ages. The carnival features the largest drum in the world - a staggering 15ft in diameter and part lambeg and bodhran in design
2001 - Pierce Brosnan, Aidan Quinn, and Julianna Margulies, are on location at Castleknock College, Dublin, for the filming of Evelyn which is being produced by Brosnan's film company
2002 - Distributors predict the film The Magdalene Sisters will hit the €1 million mark within five weeks, making it one of the biggest-grossing movies ever screened in Ireland
2002 - In a meeting with employers and unions in Dublin Castle, Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy says the boom is finally over and workers face a pay freeze of up to a year.
2006 - Demolition work finally gets under way at the former high-security Maze Prison, where thousands of republican and loyalist paramilitary inmates were detained during the Troubles. The 360-acre site near Lisburn in Co Antrim will be cleared for housing, a multi-purpose sports arena and what is called a "centre for conflict transformation."

November 1
1625 - Birth near Oldcastle, Co. Meath of St. Oliver Plunkett, Archbishop of Armagh who was canonized in 1975
1790 - Edmund Burke's "Reflections on the Revolution in France" is published
1798 - Sir Benjamin Guinness, owner of the Guinness brewery from 1855, is born in Dublin
1838 - Birth in Ballylough, Co. Antrim of Anthony Traill, provost of Trinity College, Dublin
1857 - John Joly, geologist and physicist, is born in Co. Offaly
1884 - Founding of the Gaelic Athletic Association
1920 - Following a mutiny in India by soldiers of the Connaught Rangers in protest at events in Ireland, Private James Daly is court-martialled and executed by firing squad; he is the last member of the British army to be executed for mutiny
1920 The enrolment of the Ulster Special Constabulary begins
1920 - Kevin Barry, an 18-year-old medical student, is hanged in Dublin for his part in a raid in which six soldiers were killed
1945 - Demobilisation of the Irish Army begins
1972 - VAT is introduced into Ireland
1999 - After stumbling on a huge complex of tombs and structures on his property which date back to the Stone Age, it is reported that farmer Tom Coffey may have uncovered one of Ireland’s most important archaeological sites
2001 - The global economic downturn claims another 1,100 Irish jobs as workers are let go in Navan, Dundalk, Carlow and Dublin
2001 - Northern Ireland faces the threat of new Assembly elections as the British and Irish governments prepare to block David Trimble's bid to be re-elected as First Minister of the power-sharing executive at Stormont
2001 - Industry experts warn that up to 2,000 jobs will be put at risk if the Government's proposal to ban bituminous coal and petroleum coke nationwide goes ahead. Consumers could also face increases in their home-heating costs of up to 25%
2002 - For the first time in his life, Bertie Ahern needs a decoy to break through a crowd as angry IFI workers protest outside a Fianna Fáil fundraising dinner
In the Liturgical Calendar, today is All Saints’ Day.

Sources: Irish Culture and Customs,
The Celtic
League, Irish
Abroad, The Wild Geese

Lottery Used as AOH Convention Benefit

The Allegheny County 2009 AOH/LAOH PA State Convention Committee is conducting a fund raising effort to support the 2009 State Convention, which will be held at the Radisson Hotel Pittsburgh in Monroeville from July 29 to August 1.

The fundraiser is a PA lottery-based drawing that we are calling the "Back Two".

It is based on the last two digits of each Friday evening's daily lottery number, so we can only sell tickets to the first 100 people to join in.

Your odds of winning are 1 in 100. The cost to participate is $5 per week for each number you purchase.

You can play for as many weeks as you wish, but we do require a minimum play of four weeks in advance, so your first contribution is $20.

The first drawing was held Oct. 10. We will continue the fundraiser through the end of June 2009. Numbers are randomly assigned to participants for as many weeks as he wishes to stay in the raffle.

The weekly winner receives $250. Numbers are going fast, so if you wish to participate please contact Rich O’Malley by phone at 412.343.4934 or by e-mail at pghsaintpat@verizon.net

Oldies Dance to Benefit Doug Bado's Family - This Friday!

Please join us this Friday, October 24 at the Heidelberg Fire Hall for an Oldies Dance featuring The Mansfield Five.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. A hot buffet will be available at 7:00 p.m. The Mansfield Five will perform at 8:00 p.m.. Tickets are $25 and include beer and a Chinese Auction.

All proceeds will benefit the Doug Bado Family.

Advance tickets only - call Bernie Donnelly at 412.279.8220, Lynn Kist at 412.429.7084 or Denny Donnelly at 412.276.9312.

Oldies Dance - This Friday

Please join us this Friday, October 24 at the Heidelberg Fire Hall for an Oldies Dance featuring The Mansfield Five.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. A hot buffet will be available at 7:00 p.m. The Mansfield Five will perform at 8:00 p.m.. Tickets are $25 and include beer and a Chinese Auction.

All proceeds will benefit the Doug Bado Family.

For tickets call Bernie Donnelly at 412.279.8220, Lynn Kist at 412.429.7084 or Denny Donnelly at 412.276.9312.

Irish Joke of the Week

Paddy was in New York. He was patiently waiting, and watching the traffic cop on a busy street crossing. The cop stopped the flow of traffic and shouted, "Okay pedestrians" . Then he'd allow the traffic to pass. He'd done this several times, and Paddy still stood on the sidewalk.

After the cop had shouted "Pedestrians" for the tenth time, Paddy went over to him and said, "Is it not about time ye let the Catholics across?

Irish Song - Rat Trap

The Boomtown Rats, led by Bob Geldof, were a new wave band from Dún Laoghaire, Republic of Ireland. This is their song "Rat Trap", which became the first ever rock song by an Irish band to reach #1 in the UK.

Irish History - October 19 - 25

Here is your Irish history lesson for this week.

October 19
1610 - Birth of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond; royalist soldier; and three times Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
1680 - Birth of John Aberneth, dissenting clergyman, near Moneymore, Co. Tyrone
1745 - Jonathan Swift dies
1751 - Birth in Dublin of Charles Edward Kilmaine who was a general in the French army
1913 - Irish historian, novelist and poet, Emily Lawless dies
1955 - Archbishop McQuaid calls for an international football match against Yugoslavia in Dublin to be cancelled, but it goes ahead in front of a capacity crowd
1989 - After serving 15 years in prison, the "Guildford Four" - Gerard Conlon, Patrick Armstrong, Carole Richardson and Paul Hill* are released in what is considered to be one of the biggest-ever miscarriages of justice in Britain
*Paul Hill is taken to a Belfast prison where he was serving time for murder; he was also expected to be released
1991 - Seán Kelly wins the Tour of Lombardy
1998 - Discussions between British Prime Minister Tony Blair, David Trimble and Martin McGuinness fail to break the deadlock on the surrender of arms
1998 - Justice Minister John O'Donoghue imposes tough new visa rules to curb the arrival of Slovakian gypsies, following an influx of 1,600 in search of asylum in Britain in just two months
1998 - Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh admits that the Irish beef crisis, which has seen prices collapse to a 25-year-low, could deteriorate even further
1999 - On the first day of their historic industrial action, thousands of striking nurses take to the picket lines
2000 - The Dalai Lama meets with fellow Nobel peace laureate John Hume MP at the Ulster Hall, Belfast. The Buddhist spiritual leader is in Belfast for three days at the invitation of the World Community for World Peace.
2000 - A fourth man is arrested in connection with the Omagh bombing
2001 - Taoiseach Bertie Ahern becomes the latest target of the anthrax scare sweeping the country after a letter containing an unidentifiable white powder is sent to Government Buildings in Dublin
2001 - The dying wish of IRA volunteer Patrick Maher is fulfilled when his remains are brought from Sarsfield Barracks to his native Co Limerick for burial tomorrow with full military honours. Mr Maher, 32, was executed after his alleged part in the rescue of IRA man Seán Hogan from a heavily guarded train in Knocklong in May 1919, which resulted in the death of RIC man Peter Wallace. Mr Maher had always protested his innocence.

October 20
1674 - Birth of James Logan, Colonial statesman and scholar in Lurgan, Co. Armagh
1775 - Two hundred passengers are lost in the shipwrecks of the brigs Trevor Totty and Nonpareil. Among the casualties are The Hononorable Major Francis Caulfield, MP for Charlemont, his wife and daughters; also lost is Mr French, Member for the County of Roscommon
1794 - John Gustavus Crosbie, candidate in a parliamentary by-election for Co. Kerry, takes offence at some real or supposed breach of neutrality on the part of Sir Barry Denny, the sitting MP. A duel follows on this date; at the first fire Denny is shot fatally through the head 'by the haphazard aim of a man who had never before discharged a pistol in his life'
1808 - Death of composer Michael William Balfe in Dublin. He is best known for his opera "The Bohemian Girl"
1881 - The Land League is outlawed
1892 - Birth near Castleblaney, Co. Monaghan of General Eoin O’Duffy, first commissioner of the Garda Síochána (Blue Shirts) 1933 - The Irish Free State government purchases the copyright of Peadar Kearney's "The Soldiers Song" which becomes the national anthem
1949 - Birth of Eddie Macken, showjumper, in Granard, Co. Longford
1962 - Birth of Nicholas English, Tipperary hurler, in Cullen, Co. Tipperary
1998 - Dance superstar Michael Flatley and his former manager John Reid dramatically settle their multi-million pound court wrangle
1999 - Death in Dublin of former Taoiseach, Jack Lynch
2001 - President Bill Clinton calls on all sides not to give up on the Good Friday Agreement; he also pledges to visit Northern Ireland while still in office
2002 - The Irish vote Yes to the Nice Treaty.

October 21
1879 - Founding of the Land League by Michael Davitt
1803 - Execution of Thomas Russell, United Irishman, in Downpatrick for “high treason”
1805 - The Irish dead at the Battle of Trafalgar include Lieutenant William Ram, son of Abel Ram, MP for Co. Wexford, who is killed on board the Victory
1901 - Douglas Hyde's Casadh an tSúgán - The Twisting of the Rope - is presented at The Gaiety Theatre in Dublin and becomes the first staged Irish-language play
1904 - Birth of poet Patrick Kavanagh in Inishkeen, Co. Monaghan
1999 - President Mary McAleese leads mourners at the removal of former Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader, Jack Lynch, from Dublin’s Royal Hospital to the Church of St Paul of the Cross, Mount Argus
1999 - Hundreds of striking nurses from the midlands join a rally through the streets of Dublin
2001 - Gas pipeline work on a hillside at Kilmacanogue in the Wicklow Mountains uncovers the remains of a house dating back to 2,000 BC. Only eight similar discoveries have been made thus far in Ireland
2002 - The Real IRA pledges to continue their campaign of violence, ignoring a call by the prisoners in Portlaoise to disband and confirm the organisation has split
2002 - Even on paper Keane is faster than McCarthy; on the day of its launch, just one copy of Mick McCarthy’s World Cup diary is sold at Waterstones outlet on Dawson Street in Dublin
2003 - The last flight of the Concorde supersonic jet arrives at Belfast International Airport, Aldergrove.

October 22
1389 - Thomas Mortimer who was appointed justiciar on 5 March is replaced by John de Stanley who lands at Howth on this date
1641 - Rory O'More, Lord Maguire and Sir Pheilim O'Neill initiate a major revolt in Armagh. Known as the Ulster Rebellion, in the ensuing six months, at least 4, 000 Protestants are killed and Catholics are massacred in reprisals
1740 - Birth in Dublin of Sir Philip Francis, civil servant, duellist, and gambler; he may have been the author of the Junius Letters
1761 - John Ponsonby is unanimously re-elected Speaker of the Irish parliament
1906 - Charles Lynch, pianist, is born in Parkgariff, Co. Cork. He gave his first public recital at nine and won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, London, at fifteen. In addition to concert recitals he broadcast regularly with the BBC and in 1937 acted as assistant to Sir Thomas Beecham at Covent Garden
1955 - Belfast-born Ruby Murray has two singles in the British top 20 — I’ll Come When You Call and Evermore. Her much quoted achievement was that she had five top 20 songs at one time - a feat only surpassed by pop singer Madonna four decades later
1993 - Former South African President Nelson Mandela visits Dublin
1998 - Demonstrations by construction workers sweep the country in protest at the jailing of two builders in Mountjoy for a second night. A number of protesters are arrested after they clash with gardaí in Dublin
1998 - The remains of four males are uncovered by workmen during excavation work for a new drainage system to serve the South Tipperary town of Carrick-on-Suir. A coin dated 1805 found nearby, leads locals to believe the remains date from the early 19th century when a fever hospital stood on a nearby site, now occupied by St Brigid's Hospital
1999 - The coffin of former Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, is removed from St. Paul of the Cross Church, in Harold's Cross in Dublin, after an interdenominational service, on the first leg of its journey to Cork city, where a state funeral will take place
2002 - Some of the worst storms on record lash the North wreaking havoc on roads and flooding hundreds of homes.

October 23
1662 - The Irish parliament orders the annual observance of this date as a day of thanksgiving for deliverance from the 1641 rising; for over a century, church services on this day will remind Protestants of Catholic disloyalty
1766 - Birth of John Claudius Beresford, banker, MP, and controversial figure in 1798 rebellion, during which he was alleged to have flogged suspects at his riding house in Marlborough Street, Dublin; the slogan 'Mangling done here gratis by Beresford and Co.' was daubed on it
1771 - Benjamin Franklin ends his visit to Ireland
1931 - The IRA and other organizations are declared illegal in the Free State and the Catholic Church excommunicates members of all of them, including Saor Eire, which soon dissolves
1948 - Gerry Robinson, (UK businessman, is born in Co. Donegal
1969 - Samuel Beckett wins Nobel Prize for Literature. He was born in Foxrock, Dublin on Good Friday,13 April 1906. (Although his birth certificate says it was a month later). "Waiting for Godot"
is generally regarded as his best-known play
Photo Image: Nobel Peace Library
1970 - Charles Haughey, former Minister for Finance, is acquitted of charges that he and Neil Blaney, former Minister for Agriculture, imported arms for the IRA
1999 - The Guinness Jazz Festival in Co. Cork receives a spiritual blessing with the surprise appearance of an infamous cleric. Mother Bernadette Marie O’Connor, or the artist (formerly) known as Sinéad O’Connor, performs in Ireland for the first time in five years
2001 - Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble welcomes official confirmation that the IRA has put a quantity of guns and explosives beyond use
2001 - The Government announces it will sell off one-third of Aer Lingus at a knock-down price in order to fund a drastic rescue plan for the airline.
2001 - Former Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam is presented with the International Woman of the Year Award at a ceremony in Dublin. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson's wins the Overall Award at the Irish Tatler Women of the Year Awards
2002 - Thornton’s in Stephen’s Green, Dublin, is awarded the Jameson Restaurant of the Year. It is among the national award winners announced to coincide with the launch of Georgina Campbell’s Jameson Guide Ireland 2003.

October 24
1642 - Irish Confederate rebels establish government at Kilkenny
1789 - Work begins on the construction of the Royal Canal
1854 - Birth of Sir Horace Plunkett, agricultural reformer and politician
1880 - Fanny Parnell launches the Ladies' Land League in New York. Known as the Patriot Poet, Fanny Parnell is the leading spokeswoman throughout the United States for the organization
1942 - Birth of Frank Delaney, writer and broadcaster, in Tipperary town
1990 - The IRA kills 6 soldiers and a civilian in bomb attacks at Derry and Newry
1998 - New British proposals for a European defence force which could undermine Irish neutrality are outlined at a key summit of EU heads of government in Austria
1999 - The first state funeral ever held in Co. Cork takes place for former taoiseach Jack Lynch at St Mary and Anne’s Cathedral in Cork
1999 - Westlife become the first boy band to score number ones with their first three singles; and, as their song Flying Without Wings hits the top, they beome only the third act ever to see all of their first three releases go straight into the charts at number one
2000 - Hallowe'en firework displays are dampened after gardaí seize rockets and bangers worth close to £1 million in a warehouse north of Omeath, Co. Louth
2002 - President Mary McAleese is named the Irish Tatler Woman of the Year. Northern Ireland Woman of the Year is awarded to blind world water-skier champion Janet Gray
2003 - A smoking ban in all enclosed workplaces except private dwellings is signed into law. Prisons will be excluded to prevent security and conduct problems. The law will go into effect on January 26, 2004. Hoteliers and publicans consider legal action.

October 25
1212 - John Comyn, Archbishop of Dublin, dies and is buried in Christ Church Cathedral
1784 - A radical reform congress commences in William Street, Dublin
1818 - Birth of opera singer Catherine Hayes in Limerick
1899 - Birth of Micheál Mac Liammóir, actor and writer
1909 - The Engineering and Scientific Association of Ireland assures the population that flying machines will never be of any practical use
1920 - Terence MacSwiney, the Mayor of Cork, dies in a London prison after 73 days on hunger strike. His last words to a priest by his side were, "I want you to bear witness that I die as a soldier of the Irish Republic."
1922 - The Dáil approves the Constitution of the Irish Free State
1960 - Death of Harry George Ferguson, environmental pioneer, aircraft designer, inventor of the Ferguson tractor and revolutioniser of mechanised farming. He was from Dromore, Co. Down
1985 - First commercial flight from Knock Airport (Horan International Airport) in Co. Mayo
1999 - Inter-party talks resume at Stormont as the Northern Ireland peace process enters its final and most crucial phase
2000 - The Provisional IRA throws beleaguered Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble a lifeline after it agrees to allow a number of its arms dumps to be re-examined by international inspectors
2002 - Limerick-born movie star, Richard Harris, loses his battle to cancer.

Sources: Irish Culture and Customs,
The Celtic
League, Irish
Abroad, The Wild Geese

Oldies Dance to Benefit Doug Bado's Family

Please join us Friday, October 24 at the Heidelberg Fire Hall for an Oldies Dance featuring The Mansfield Five.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. A hot buffet will be available at 7:00 p.m. The Mansfield Five will perform at 8:00 p.m.. Tickets are $25 and include beer and a Chinese Auction.

All proceeds will benefit the Doug Bado Family.

Advance tickets only - call Bernie Donnelly at 412.279.8220, Lynn Kist at 412.429.7084 or Denny Donnelly at 412.276.9312.

Irish Joke of the Week

Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn't find a parking place. Looking up to heaven he said, "Lord take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up Irish Whiskey."

Miraculously, a parking place appeared. Paddy looked up again and said, "Never mind, I found one."

Irish Song - The Redemtion Song

In honor of Ziggy Marley's birthday this week (October 17) here he is with The Chieftains from the album The Wide World Over.

Irish History - October 12 - 18

Here is your Irish history lesson for this week.

October 12
1645 - Archbishop Rinuccini arrives in Ireland
1671 - Peter Drake, soldier and memoir author, is born in Co. Meath
1798 - French fleet intercepted off Donegal. Wolfe Tone captured when the Hoche strikes its colors
1876 - Jerome Connor, sculptor, is born near Anascaul, Co. Kerry
1911 - Birth in Portrush of Fred Daly, the only Irishman to win a golf 'major' - the British Open in 1947
1938 - Birth in Co. Waterford of Brendan Bowyer, legendary singer with the Royal Showband
1945 - Emer Colleran, microbiologist and environmentalist, is born in Castlebar, Co. Mayo
1969 - Louis Gavan Duffy, Irish language educator, dies
1970 - Founding in Dublin of what is considered to be the first Celtic rock band, Horslips
1975 - Sir Oliver Plunkett is canonised
1999 - Former US Senator George Mitchell moves his make or break review of the Good Friday Agreement to London, just hours after new Secretary of State Peter Mandelson arrives in Northern Ireland to meet the North’s political leaders
2000 - Roman Catholic and Protestant Bishops are on a collision course following Archbishop Dr Desmond O’ Connell’s backing of the controversial document “Dominus Iesus” which proclaims the Catholic Church to be the one true church
2002 - Paddy's Bar, owned by Cork woman Natalia Daly, is destroyed in a series of explosions which kill more than 200 people in Bali. Most of those killed or injured are Australian tourists; the dead and injured also include Swiss, Germans, Swedes, Americans, Britons and Italians. Three Irish people are still unaccounted for.

October 13
1494 - Poynings lands at Howth and summons a parliament to Drogheda. He then campaigns in the north
1729 - William Conolly resigns as Speaker of the Irish House of Commons on grounds of ill health. Sir Ralph Gore is elected unanimously in his place
1823 - Sara Atkinson, a writer on religious and historical subjects is born
1881 - Charles Stewart Parnell and others are arrested for Land League activities
1923 - Republican prisoners in Mountjoy prison begin mass hunger strike
1928 - The Dublin Gate Theatre Company produces its first play - Ibsen's Peer Gynt - in the Peacock Theatre
1940 - Mick Doyle, rugby player and coach, is born in Castleisland, Co. Kerry
1998 - Farmers, furious over the collapse in cattle prices, stage an overnight sit-in protest at the Department of Agriculture and Food in Dublin and warn much tougher action will be taken
2000 - Provisional IRA gunmen are blamed for the murder of a leading member of the Continuity IRA, Joseph “Jo Jo” O’Connor who is shot dead in West Belfast
2002 - Three Irish tourists are among 25 people still unaccounted for following a massive bomb blast which ripped through two packed bars on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

October 14
1693 - The Earl of Tyrone dies and apparently appears promptly to Lady Nicola Hamilton, the widow of Tristram Beresford MP; he makes a number of predictions that turn out to be correct; one of them was that she would die on her 47th birthday
See our article A Triple Treat for Halloween
1702 - Irish Brigade of France fights in the battle of Friedlingen
1767 - George Townshend, 4th Viscount Townshend, becomes Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
1783 - Edmond Sexton Pery is unanimously re-elected as Speaker of the Irish parliament
1791 - Wolfe Tone visits Belfast for the first time; the Society of United Irishmen is founded there on this date by Tone, Henry Joy McCracken, Thomas Russell and Samuel Neilson
1814 - Birth of author and patriot, Thomas Osborne Davis in Mallow, Co. Cork
1880 - Nationalist and Gaelic League activist, Mary Ellen Spring-Rice is born
1882 - Eamon de Valera, nationalist campaigner, Fianna Fáil leader, Taoiseach and president of Ireland, is born in Brooklyn, New York of a Spanish father and an Irish mother
1920 - Tipperary IRA man, Sean Treacy, is killed in a gun battle in Talbot Street, Dublin
1932 - Between October 4 and this date, strikes, marches and protests are held in Belfast against low unemployment payments, temporarily uniting Catholic and Protestant unemployed; payments are raised
1998 - A 15th century painting of Pietro de Francesco Degli Orioli which is part of the Murnaghan collection goes up for auction in Dublin
1999 - More than 1,000 mourners gather in Belfast for the funeral of Patrick Campbell, a hard line republican paramilitary who was murdered in a drugs dispute
2000 - David Guiney, well known Irish sporting personality and journalist, dies in Dublin. Mr Guiney won an AAA title for the Shot Putt in 1948 and went on to compete for Ireland in the Olympic Games in London that year
2001 - The first multiple State funeral is held in honour of 10 IRA Volunteers, including Kevin Barry, who were executed for their role in the War of Independence. More than 80 years after they were buried in the grounds of Mountjoy Prison, the bodies of the 10 men were exhumed and reinterred in a special new plot at Glasnevin Cemetery. The ten men were Kevin Barry, Thomas Bryan, Patrick Doyle, Frank Flood, Patrick Moran, Thomas Whelan, Bernard Ryan, Thomas Traynor, Edmond Foley and Patrick Maher.

October 15
1582 - Pope Gregory reforms the calendar introduced by Julius Caesar in 45BCE: 4 October is followed by 15 October. However, the reform will not be implemented in Britain and Ireland till 1752
1690 - After taking Cork on 28 September, Marlbourough takes Kinsale for the Williamites, who now control Munster
1763 - Birth of United Irish leader, Lord Edward Fitzgerald at Carton House in Co. Kildare
1842 - First issue of "The Nation" published
1949 - Death of Eoin MacNeill, Irish historian and founder of the Irish Volunteers
1964 - UK general election; unionists win all 12 Northern Ireland seats; Harold Wilson forms a Labour government
1980 - Ronnie Bunting, Protestant Irish nationalist, is assassinated
1995 - Seamus Heaney wins the Nobel Peace Prize
1999 - The music world mourns the death in Co. Kildare of Derry-born tenor Josef Locke
2001 - Palestinian President Yasser Arafat asks Ireland to use its influence on the UN Security Council to help resume peace talks in the Middle East
2002 - Following the suspension of the Northern Ireland Government and Assembly, London resumes direct rule of Northern Ireland
2002 - The hero of the Polish Solidarity movement, Lech Walesa, makes an impassioned plea to the Irish people to vote Yes to Nice.

October 16
1678 - Proclamations against Catholic clergy and schools in Ireland are issued
1827 - Cavan-born Thomas Baron von Brady, general in the Austrian army, dies in Vienna
1854 - Oscar Wilde, playwright, novelist and essayist is born in Dublin
1890 - Michael Collins is born in Clonakilty, Co. Cork
1961 - RTÉ reports on the closure of the West Clare Railway
Photo: From the County Clare Library
1961 - Opening of Cork Airport
1981 - Ben Dunne, joint managing director of Dunnes Stores, is kidnapped by the IRA
1998 - Taoiseach Bertie Ahern leads the applause for Nobel Peace Prize winners John Hume and David Trimble, describing it as a deserved tribute to two of the principal architects of the Good Friday Agreement.

October 17
1171 - Henry II, fearful that Strongbow will grow too powerful in Ireland, lands at Waterford with an army. The Normans, Norse and Irish all submit to him, except for the most remote Irish kings
1738 - In a duel at Mullingar, Arthur Rochfort, MP for Co. Westmeath, shoots Dillon Pollard Hampson in the stomach. Hampson, a former Junior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of Irish Freemasons, recovers
1803 - Birth of Young Irelander, William Smith O'Brien in Dromoland, Co. Clare
1882 - The Irish Nationalist League is founded
1886 - John Dillon announces "Plan of Campaign" for Irish tenants against unfair rents
2000 - Ireland becomes the 30th country to pick up the TV show, "Who Wants to be a Millionaire"
2002 - Chieftains’ harpist Derek Bell dies unexpectedly during a recovery period from minor surgery in the United States.

October 18
1718 - Birth in Dublin of actress, Peg Woffington
1791 - First public meeting of the Society of United Irishmen in Belfast
1881 - A “no rents manifesto” is issued by the Land League under the guidance of Parnell
1900 - Sarah Makem, Irish traditional singer, is born
1970 - Máirtin Ó Cadhain, Irish language writer and author of Cré na Cille, dies
2000 - More than 20,000 passengers are stranded as Aer Lingus grounds planes in the worst strike to hit the airline in 20 years
2001 - The five-star Aghadoe Heights Hotel in Killarney named AA Hotel of the Year.

Sources: Irish Culture and Customs,
The Celtic
League, Irish
Abroad, The Wild Geese

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend

At Finnegan's Wake on Pittsburgh's North Side tonight at 7:00 p.m. there is a Pennsylvania Campaign for Change Reception with Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.

Townsend is the eldest daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, and the former lieutenant governor of Maryland. She is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, and on the boards of several prominent organizations, including the Points of Light Foundation, National Catholic Reporter, and the Character Education Partnership. Most recently, she is author of "Failing America's Faithful: How Today's Churches Are Mixing God With Politics and Losing Their Way".


RSVP is not required but strongly encouraged:http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/paKKT

Note: This post is not an endorsement for or against Barack O'Bama or John McCain, rather simply and effort to inform Irish Catholics interested in Clan Kennedy!

Degree Ceremony Canceled

Brothers

It is with regret that the degrees at the Firefighter John Redmond Division 22, which was to beheld on Sunday (Oct. 12), will be canceled. The degrees will be rescheduled at a later date, possibly this year. On behalf of Division 22 our deepest apologizes for any inconvenience.

Yours in Motto:
--Bob Haley
Division President
Firefighter John J Redmond Division 22 State Chairman Pa Catholic Action County Chairman Phila. Mission & Charities
Defenders22@comcast.net
215-620-9588

Oldies Dance to Benefit Doug Bado's Family

Please join us Friday, October 24 at the Heidelberg Fire Hall for an Oldies Dance featuring The Mansfield Five.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. A hot buffet will be available at 7:00 p.m. The Mansfield Five will perform at 8:00 p.m.. Tickets are $25 and include beer and a Chinese Auction.

All proceeds will benefit the Doug Bado Family.

Advance tickets only - call Bernie Donnelly at 412.279.8220, Lynn Kist at 412.429.7084 or Denny Donnelly at 412.276.9312.

Bishop Canevin Junior AOH Welcomes New Members

The induction ceremony for new Jr. AOH members was held on September 30th, at Bishop Canevin. The ceremony yielded 16 fledgling members to supplement the existing 35 members New inductees include Sean Donnelly, Maxwell Dormer, Sean Egan, Zachary Herrmann, William Hicks, Eric Hirschfeld, Christopher Lageman, Casey McCaffrey, Kevin O'Donnell, Gino Palmosina, Zachary Pawlos, Justin Petrovich, Evan Quinn, Jacob Schnelbach, Lucas Simpson, and Jonathan Sommerer.

The Junior Ancient Order of Hibernians at Bishop Canevin High School will engage in a variety of activities during the upcoming year, including field trips, parades, and plays, in addition to staging charitable events. The Jr. AOH is currently planning the “Iraq and Roll,” a Rock Band tournament in which Canevin students are encouraged to participate. The tournament will be held to raise money for soldiers taking part in the war in Iraq. Events scheduled for the upcoming year are numerous and varied. They include a play at the Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theater, a mass at St. Patrick’s Church during Lent, marching in the St. Patrick’s Day parade, and a trip to Gettysburg to walk in the footsteps of the Irish brigade which fought during the Civil War.

The Jr. AOH at Bishop Canevin is growing exponentially and providing the Irish Catholic students with an environment in which they still feel the magical atmosphere of the motherland, even an ocean away.

Irish Joke of the Week

Mrs. Pete Monaghan came into the newsroom to pay for her husband's obiturary. She was told by the kindly newsman that it was a dollar a word and he remembered Pete and wasn't it too bad about him passing away.

She thanked him for his kind words and bemoaned the fact that she only had two dollars. But she wrote out the obituary, "Pete died."

The newsman said he thought old Pete deserved more and he'd give her three more words at no charge. Mrs. Pete Monaghan thanked him and rewrote the obituary: "Pete died. Boat for sale"

Irish Song - Spanish Lady

A song about a lady who came to live in Dublin. She was called the Spanish Lady because, well, she hailed from Spain.

Irish History - October 5 - 11

Here is your Irish history lesson for this week.

October 5
1731 - Parliament meets at the new parliament house in College Green for the first time
1873 - Leslie Montgomery, comic writer under the pseudonym Lynn C. Doyle, is born in in Downpatrick, Co. Down
1878 - New York Gaelic Society is formed
1911 - Birth of Brian O’Nolan, aka Flann O’Brien and Myles na gCopaleen in Strabane, Co. Tyrone
1923 - Birth of Philip Berrigan - militant priest, Virginia, Minn
1924 - John Joe Barry, athlete who is known as 'the Ballincurry Hare', is born
1938 - Frank Patterson, tenor, is born in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary
1954 - Bob Geldof, rock musician and charity organizer, is born in Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin
1968 - Police clash with Derry civil rights marchers, giving birth to the civil rights organization People's Democracy
2000 - With pressure growing on Trimble to withdraw from the Northern Ireland power sharing executive, parliamentary colleague William Thompson, the West Tyrone MP is quoted as saying ‘‘He is on the skids and he cannot survive’
2000 - In one of the largest operations in the history of the State, over 150 gardaí and officers from the FBI search a warehouse and distribution center. At the centre of the investigation is a Shannon based company that is alleged to have sold counterfeit aircraft parts to aircraft maintenance and repair facilities
2000 - Ireland's ban on tobacco advertising stands despite the decision by the European Court of Justice to knock down an EU wide ban
2000 - Michael Collins who wrote The Keepers of Truth and Brian O’Doherty who wrote The Deposition Of Father McGreevy are among the six authors shortlisted for Britain’s Booker Prize
2000 - The World Windsurfing Grand Prix is held in Ireland for the first time
2000 - Midleton Distillery in Co. Cork wins the Distillery of the Year award
2001 - Former NI First Minister David Trimble announces plans to go to the House of Lords after failing to overturn a ruling that his ban on Sinn Fein ministers attending cross-Border meetings is illegal
2001 - Ten thousand rail travellers are delayed when Dublin's Heuston railway station closed because of a bomb alert
2003 - First Sunday edition of the Star newspaper is published.

October 6
1175 - Under the Treaty of Windsor, concluded on this date, Rory O'Connor recognizes Henry as his overlord and agrees to collect tribute for him from all parts of Ireland. Henry agrees that O'Connor can be king of the areas not conquered by the Normans. But O'Connor cannot control the territories of which he is nominally king, and Henry and his barons annex further land without consulting him
1216 - The union of the diocese of Glendalough with that of Dublin, having been promulgated by Pope Innocent III last year, is confirmed by Pope Honorius III
1649 - Owen Roe O'Neill dies
1798 - Grattan removed from Irish Privy Council, falsely charged with being a sworn member of United Irishmen
1891 - Death of Charles Stewart Parnell, champion of tenants rights and co-founder of the Land League; often called the "Uncrowned King of Ireland"
1901 - Birth of C. S. 'Todd' Andrews, revolutionary and public servant, in Dublin
1903 - Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton is born at Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. He and Sir John Douglas Cockcroft were awarded the 1951 Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneer work on the transmutation of atomic nuclei by artificially accelerated atomic particles
1928 - Death of Galway man Pádraic Ó Conaire, who was among the first writers to develop a new modern literature in the Irish language
1928 - Maeve Kyle, athlete and hockey player, is born in Kilkenny
1948 - Birth of Gerry Adams
1970 - Opening of the arms trial involving Charles Haughey
1980 - Mella Carroll, first female judge in the Republic, is appointed
2000 - It is announced that John Monks, a pig farmer from Cloughran, north Dublin who died last year, left almost £8 million in his will; he accumulated the vast sum from selling land to developers
2000 - The High Court grant gardaí the right to detain Slobodan Milosevic if he sets foot in Ireland
2002 - Some of the highest tides in a century are set to swamp the Irish coastline this week, prompting flood contingency plans in a number of high-risk areas.

October 7
1731 - A complaint is made to the House of Commons 'that Mr Anthony Tenison did, in a violent and notorious manner, assault John Bourke, Esq., a Member of this House, by presenting a pistol to his breast, and threatening to shoot him, on the thirtieth of December last'
1878 - Birth of Margaret (Gretta) Cousins, Irish women's rights activist.
1910.- Premiere of Percy French’s play The Immigrant’s Letter
1919 - A cabinet committee is appointed to consider Irish self government
1935 - Birth of Thomas Kineally, Irish-Australian author of Schindler’s List which was originally called Schindler's Ark
1968 - Death of Margaret Mary Pearse, Irish language educator
1998 - The Bank of Ireland announces an unprecedented 20-year fixed rate of 6·99% within the first of a wave of interest cuts that will bring Irish rates into line with Europe for the introduction of the euro on January 1
1999 - The Corrs and The Divine Comedy emerge as Ireland’s favourite music stars winning three awards each at the Hot Press Rock Awards in Dublin. U2's "Sweetest Thing" wins for "Best Single"; Westlife picks up the prize for best Irish pop act; and Robbie Williams’s sell out concert at The Point Theatre, Dublin, wins him best live performance by an international act
1999 - Ireland moves a step closer to raising the recruitment age of the armed forces from 16 to 18
1999 - Aiming to raise awareness of world poverty, The Corrs and chartered accountants KPMG jointly launch the NetAid web site
2000 - The tenants of a Dublin inner city community refuse to leave their houses after been evicted. The tenants of 28 cottages - - almost all single mothers - block access to their homes when they go up for viewing to prospective buyers
2001 - The 46th Murphy's Cork Film Festival opens with a showing of Disco Pigs which was partly filmed in the city
2002 - Police in Northern Ireland are attacked with bottles and other missiles after a crowd of youths go on the rampage through Kilkeel, Co. Down
2002 - The peace process faces its gravest crisis with the announcement that Ian Paisley’s DUP two ministers will withdraw from the government
2002 - A man is shot and critically wounded in east Belfast in what is believed to be an escalation of a bitter feud between the Loyalist paramilitary groups, the UDA and UVF.

October 8
1822 - Birth in Dublin of Richard D'Alton Williams. He is educated at Carlow Academy and studies medicine at Saint Vincent's Hospital, Dublin. He becomes a member of the Young Ireland movement and contributes poetry to The Nation under the pseudonym 'Shamrock'. In 1848, he is tried for treason for articles he publishes in the Irish Tribune, but he is successfully defended by lawyer and fellow poet Samuel Ferguson
1949 - Edith Oenone Somerville, Irish novelist, dies in Castletownshend, Co. Cork.In her late twenties, she meets her second cousin Violet Florence Martin who writes under the pseudonym Martin Ross. They become lifelong companions and literary partners, collaborating on a series of humorous novels about the rural Irish gentry. Their most important literary achievement is their novel The Real Charlotte which is published in 1894
1959 - Birth of musician Gavin Friday
1962 - Kerrygold butter is launched on the world market
1974 - Seán MacBride, President of the International Peace Bureau, Geneva, Switzerland, and President of the Commission of Namibia, United Nations, New York, USA, is awarded a half share of the Nobel Peace Prize
1998 - Minister for Defence, Michael Smith TD strongly defends his decision to close down six army barracks after several delegates stage a walk-out at the PDFORRA conference in Ennis, Co Clare
1999 - Rosmoney Shellfish of Co. Mayo is crowned as Ireland’s Best Oyster Grower in the 1999 BIM Guinness Quality Oyster Awards
1999 - On the grounds of Belfast City Hall, a six-foot statue is dedicated to the memory of the late James Magennis. He is finally honoured in his native Belfast 54 years after he was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry during the Second World War
2000 - Catholic bishops begin a three-day meeting in Maynooth during which they will attempt to reach agreement on the ordination of lay people as deacons
2000 - More than 40,000 jubilant supporters turn out to welcome the victorious Co. Kerry football team and the Sam Maguire Cup back to the Kingdom
2001 - Northern Ireland's political institutions are plunged into a new crisis as Ulster Unionists begin a phased withdrawal of ministers from the power-sharing executive
2002 - Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams claims that the raid on his party’s Stormont offices last week is a plot to throw the peace process into crisis
2002 - Catholic Bishops back the Nice Treaty, stating there is a stronger case for voting in favour than against.

October 9
1651 - The Navigation Act provides that goods imported to any Commonwealth lands shall be carried in English ships only
1849 - First tenant protection society established at Callan, Co. Kilkenny.
1913 - Birth of golfer Harry "The Brad" Bradshaw near Delgany, Co. Wicklow
1968 - Champion racehorse, Arkle, is retired to see out the rest of his days in Bryanstown, Kildare
1974 - Death of poet and playwright Padraic Fallon. He was born in Athenry, Co Galway in 1905. His only collection during his lifetime, "Poems" was published a few months before his death
1978 - Birth of Nicholas Bernard James Adam Byrne in Dublin. Better known as Nicky Byrne, singer with the boyband Westlife
2000 - The Dinn Ri, Carlow Town, Co. Carlow, scoops the Black & White Pub of the Year Award for a third time
2001 - Nearly 450 jobs are lost as the economic fallout from the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US continues to hit home. More than 1,600 workers at Waterford Crystal are also preparing for a complete shutdown next week for five days
2002 - SDLP Leader Mark Durkan urges the British and Irish Governments to do everything possible to minimise the damage to the Good Friday Agreement. Following talks in Downing Street with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Mr Durkan acknowledges that the power-sharing government in Stormont may have to be suspended after allegations of an IRA spy ring operating within the Northern Ireland Government
2003 - The famous cranes at Belfast's Harland and Wolff shipyard, which dominate the city's skyline, are listed as historic monuments to ensure their preservation.

October 10
1084 - Patrick, Bishop of Dublin, dies in a shipwreck
1711 - The Linen Board meets for the first time
1771 - During his visit to Ireland, Benjamin Franklin attends a meeting of the House of Commons on this date
1790 - Birth in Co. Tipperary of Fr. Theobald Matthew, “The Apostle of Temperance” and campaigner against alcohol
1819 - Birth in Templemore, Co. Tipperary of Charles Stanley Monck, the first Governor General of Canada
1865 - Magee College is opened as a combined arts and Presbyterian theological college in Derry/Londonderry
1899 - Irish Transvaal Committee is formed to aid Boers against the English
1899 - Eoin O Grownley, Irish language scholar, dies
1969 - The Hunt Committee Report on Ulster police recommends abolition of the B-special troops and the creation of the Ulster Defence Regiment
1971 - Birth in Cork of Roy Keane, football player for the Cobh Ramblers, Nottingham Forest, Manchester United and the Republic of Ireland
1981 - The Fureys reach no. 14 in the British charts with When You Were Sweet Sixteen
1990 - RTÉ reports on the closure of Phoenix Park Racecourse
1998 - THE IRA and Sinn Féin embark on a series of secret talks with Protestant churchmen and community leaders in a bid to prevent the peace process and the new Northern Ireland Assembly foundering
2000 - Taooiseach Bertie Ahern and British Prime Minister, Tony Blair signal the start of a concerted attempt to rescue the faltering Northern Ireland peace process
2001 - Taoiseach Bertie Ahern joins the ranks of the publicly contrite world leaders when he finally apologises to three journalists for the tapping of their telephones in the early '80s
2002 - After 22 years at the National Museum in Dublin, an eighth-century silver chalice, silver paten and stand and a decorated bronze strainer ladle are returned to their original resting place at the monastic site of Derrynaflan, near Littleton Bog, Co Tipperary.

October 11
1649 - Massacre at Wexford when the town falls to Cromwell
1703 - John Asgill, newly elected MP for Enniscorthy, is expelled from the Irish parliament on this date on account of a pamphlet he published in Dublin in 1698, arguing that man may pass into eternal life without dying. The pamphlet is burned by the common hangman. He will spend much of the rest of his life in prison in England, for blasphemy or for matters arising from land speculation in Ireland
1741 - Birth of James Barry, painter, in Cork
1921 - Anglo-Irish negotiations open with Griffith and Collins leading the Irish delegation
1922 - The Irish Constitution for the Free State, drafted by the Thomas Cosgrove Dáil, is adopted
1974 - Adoption of the Celtic League American Branch
1999 - Hospitals begin scaling down their services after nurses vote overwhelmingly to go on strike
1999 - Taoiseach Bertie Ahern pays tribute to Mo Mowlam’s courage and understanding after it emerges that she is leaving her Northern Ireland post
2000 - In an historic move, Ireland’s Bishops vote at the autumn meeting of the Irish Bishop’s Conference in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth to seek the permission of Pope John Paul II to establish a Permanent Diaconate in Ireland. What this means is that Irish men will be ordained as deacons in the Catholic Church within the next five years and will have powers to officiate at weddings, baptisms and funerals
2002 - Eamon Dumphy announces he will quit his popular radio drive-time show “The Last Word” on Today FM
2002 - Geraldine Kennedy is appointed editor of The Irish Times and becomes the first female editor of a national daily newspaper In the liturgical calendar, today is the feast day of St. Chainnigh.

Sources: Irish Culture and Customs,
The Celtic
League, Irish
Abroad, The Wild Geese

An Amazing Father and Son Story

This is an amazing story about a father and his unselfish love for his son. It's one of the most uplifting, spiritual stories I've ever known and I thank brother Bill Carr for sending it along.

Now, on with the rest of this true story...

A son asked his father, "Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?"

The father who, despite having a heart condition, says, "Yes".

They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying "Yes" to his son's request of going through the race together.

One day, the son asked his father, "Dad, let's join the Ironman together." To which, his father said, "Yes" too.

For those who don't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island. Father and son went on to complete the race together.

Please turn your speakers on first and then click on this video link and be prepared to be moved:

After you view the video, click on this link to find out more about Team Hoyt.

It's true that, "My Redeemer Lives!"

He lives on in all of us and helps us do amazing things.

God bless.

Irish Entertainment for October

Thanks to our good friend Diane Byrnes of Echoes of Erin, here are some fun things to do throughout October. For more entertainment ideas in future months, please visit the Echoes of Erin website.

Thursday, October 2

• “Window to Ireland’ classes at CCAC, Non-Credit Courses at Brentwood High School, 6:30PM to 8:30PM. Each week a new topic – October 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, 2008. Information John Webber, 412.758.5446
  

Friday, October 3

• Pittsburgh Ceili Club, Workshop & Ceili at VFW, 1820 Morningside Ave., Morningside. Workshop 7:00 PM, Ceili 8:00 PM. Information: Bob Kaniecki412-486-2684
  

• Mullaney’s Harp & Fiddle, 2329 Penn Ave., in The Strip, The Michael O’Brian Band at 9:00 PM.

Saturday, October 4

• ‘An Irish-American Experience at Gettysburg’ Tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield & Soldiers National Cemetery from 9:15 AM to 2:30 PM. This trip is being organized by the AOH; information contact Jim Green 412.881.6499 or Jim McGuigan 717.360.5704. Cost for Tour - $50.00 per person. Limited Seating.

• Mullaney’s Harp & Fiddle, 2329 Penn Ave., in The Strip, The Michael O’Brian Band at 9:00 PM.

Sunday, October 5

• Echoes of Erin, WEDO 810AM at 1:00 PM; The Ireland Report with Patricia Sharkey, Editor, Donegal Newsletter – www.dun-na-ngall.com. In Studio Guest, John Graf with FACT (Friends Against Counterproductive Taxation). Email: info@stopdrinktax.com.

Wednesday, October 8

• Mullaney’s Harp & Fiddle, 2329 Penn Ave., in The Strip, presents Sean McCabe at 7:00 PM.

Thursday, October 9

• “Window to Ireland’ classes at CCAC, Non-Credit Courses at Brentwood High School, 6:30PM to 8:30PM. Each week a new topic – October 9, 16, 23, 30, 2008. Information John Webber, 412.758.5446 or Email: .

Friday & Saturday, October 10 & 11

• Mullaney’s Harp & Fiddle, 2329 Penn Ave., in The Strip, presents The Malones at 9:00 PM.

Saturday, October 11

• The Irish Centre of Pittsburgh will sponsor an “Irish Night” with Whiskey Limerick at 8:00 PM. Doors open at 7:00PM. Members $8.00 Non-Members $12.00.

• All Ireland Social at the American Legion Hall, 5857 Forbes Ave. in Squirrel Hill, 8:00PM. Music with CCE Musicians. Information: Ray Connolly at 412-373-7252.

Sunday, October 12

• Samhain, The Celtic New Year Celebration, a fundraiser for Echoes of Erin on WEDO 810AM at Mullaney’s Harp & Fiddle, (Mullaney’s Castle) 24th St. & Penn Ave. in The Strip. Doors open at 4:00PM, Local Talent with Terry Griffith, Christopher Laughrey with Casey Deely & Duane Davis, Jack Puskar, Michael Mykita with ‘rune’ readings & other interesting stuff, plus more with John McCann & Bob Banjeree. Costume Contest. Donation $15.00 at Door. Information Diane Byrnes 412-781-6368

Wednesday, October 15

• Ged Foley in Concert at the Map Room, 1126 So. Braddock Ave., Regent Square at 7:30PM. Suggested donation $10-$20. Ged Foley, a gifted guitarist and fiddle player, Ged has performed with the Battlefield Band, House Band and Patrick Street. http://gedfoley.com and http://www.myspace.com/gedfoley.

• Mullaney’s Harp & Fiddle, 2329 Penn Ave., in The Strip, presents Searson in Concert at 8:00 PM. Searson hail from Toronto.

Thursday & Friday, October 16 & 17

• Mullaney’s Harp & Fiddle, 2329 Penn Ave., in The Strip, presents Danny Burns and the Defectors, 8:00 PM.

Thursday, October 16

• “Window to Ireland’ classes at CCAC, Non-Credit Courses at Brentwood High School, 6:30PM to 8:30PM. Each week a new topic – October 16, 23, 30, 2008. Information John Webber, 412.758.5446

Saturday, October 18

• 14th Annual ‘Buddy Walk for Down Syndrome Awareness’ at Hartwood Acres. This is especially for Maeve Mannion, age 2. Information Gina Marton 412-860-1252.

• LAOH Division 11 will sponsor a ‘Celtic Halloween Fundraiser’ at St. Mary of the Mount Sullivan Hall, 115 Bigham St. Mt. Washington, from 7:00 PM. Entertainment by DJ – T. Tickets $15.00, BYOB. Information Maureen O’Toole 412.913.4184 or Clara Schillinger 412.734.1147.

• Mullaney’s Harp & Fiddle, 2329 Penn Ave., in The Strip, features their debut appearance in Pittsburgh – Birmingham Six out of Philadelphia listen at www.myspace.com/birminghamsix– they sound pretty good! - 9:00 PM.

Thursday, October 23

• “Window to Ireland’ classes at CCAC, Non-Credit Courses at Brentwood High School, 6:30PM to 8:30PM. This week ‘Irish Music’ with Diane Byrnes – October 23, 30, 2008. Information John Webber, 412.758.5446.

Friday, October 24

• Mullaney’s Harp & Fiddle, 2329 Penn Ave., in The Strip, features The Lisdoonvarna Festival.

Saturday, October 25

• Night at the Races to benefit both the Burke Conroy Irish Dancers and The Irish Centre of Pittsburgh. Doors open 6:30PM, Buffet Served 7:45PM, Races start 7:30PM. Admission $15 includes refreshments, BYOB. 10 Races / 10 Horses per race. Information: info@burke-conroy.com or 412-781-3273.

• Mullaney’s Harp & Fiddle, 2329 Penn Ave., in The Strip, presents The Notre Dame Glee Club special performance.

Thursday, October 30

• “Window to Ireland’ classes at CCAC, Non-Credit Courses at Brentwood High School, 6:30PM to 8:30PM. This week ‘Irish Dance’ with Liz Shovlin Grinko – October 30, 2008. Information John Webber, 412.758.5446.