JFK came early and often to Oregon
PDX HIBERNIAN INDEPENDENT Volume Two. Number Thirty-Seven. 17 October 2024
More than an email. Less than a newspaper. In your email box the first and third Thursday morning of every month. Published by The Portland Hibernian Society.
MEETING TONIGHT - If you think this election is close, you should have been here 64 years ago when JFK and Richard Nixon were running neck and neck to become the 35th President of the United States. We'll follow the road to Nov. 8, 1960 and the White House as it ran through Oregon. JFK came here early, and he came here often in his bid to become the first Catholic ever elected President. SLIDESHOW/SCRAPBOOK PRESENTATION BEGINS AT SEVEN P.M. PRECEDED BY NO-HOST DINNER IN KELLS RESTURANT AT SIX P.M. 212 SW SECOND AVE. PORTLAND.
The Kennedy for President campaign comes to Portland State College. Accompanying the candidate left to right are: Hibernian Dick Feeney, Professor/pundit Marko Haggard and Senator John Kennedy. (Photo courtesy of Dick Feeney.)
Tonight’s consideration of the Kennedy for President campaign in Oregon would not be complete without mention of Hibernian Dick Feeney. That’s Dick on the left and JFK, of course, on the right. Join us tonight for the back story on Dick’s encounter with the future 35th President and several other tales from the Oregon campaign trail. Hibernian Tom Markgraf, who was at a Kennedy campaign event before he was born (his mom was five months pregnant with him at the time) will be our guide for this scrapbook/slide show presentation. (That's Professor/pundit Marko Haggard in the middle.) Photo courtesy of Richard Feeney.
Saint October- Why no Patron Saint of baseball?
(Hibernian Jim Keegan tipped us off to this.) Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Connie Mack and Johnny Evers were all members of what Catholic fraternal group? The Knights of Columbus. Who knew? Hibernian Jim Keegan passes along this article Who Should Be the Patron Saint of Baseball? which proposes that Blessed Michael McGivney is worthy of that honor. He founded the K of C using baseball as an organizing tool. “During the late 19th century, Catholic immigrants endured discrimination, often taking the most dangerous jobs for little pay. This reality was an impetus for Father McGivney to found the fraternal organization. Meanwhile, baseball — which was still in its infancy — became an early avenue of assimilation for Catholics.”
Bluegrass in Shades of Green
(Tip of the cap to Hibernian Mike Holmes) Unlike jazz, bluegrass wasn’t born in America. It was actually born in Ireland. And England. And Scotland. But mostly Ireland. The father of bluegrass might disagree, “Bill Monroe once described bluegrass music as, "It's a part of Methodist, Holiness and Baptist traditions. It's blues and jazz, and it has a high lonesome sound." Jigjam, a bluegrass group from Ireland, recently played at the Grand Ole Opry, featuring the Irish classic Wild Rover. Jigjam is coming to Portland and will perform at the Alberta Rose Theater on October 28. By the way, two of the members are All Ireland champions in the musical competition we wrote about in the last edition of the PDX HI.
Keeping our culture alive. One curragh at a time.
Keeping Celtic/Irish culture alive is what Brian O’Hairt does. His latest crusade concerns the currach. The currach is a type of boat that comes from the west coast of Ireland. Legend has it that Saint Brendan earned the name Brendan the Navigator for his seafaring journeys in a currach. Basically, it’s a boat which features a wooden frame with dried animal skins (then) or canvas (now) stretched over the frame. (Think an Irish canoe from the late Stone Age). Its seaworthiness has been proven over the eons and now there's a chance to keep the custom alive. O’Hairt wants you to know about the Currach Community of the Confluences, an organization based on preserving the Irish cultural tradition of currach building and rowing. Here’s the ask: “We are seeking to raise $5000 to pay for the skilled labor and local building materials used in the building of Portland's first Irish currach.” And here’s the link to all you’d ever want to know about keeping currachs (AND CELTIC/IRISH CULTURE) alive.
Brian O'Hairt at the Oregon Potato Famine Memorial at Mount Calvary Cemetery. March 17, 2023. How many other Hibernians in this photo can you identify?
An Irish Wake at the Dublin Pub
Sad news from an outpost of Irishness in the west of Portland: The Dublin Pun on Beaverton Hillsdale Highway. Katie Bullard, longtime owner, passed away in late September. Her son Scott tells the PDX HI the Irish name only had a little bit to do with the Olde Country. "Two Bit Saloon (at the original location on SE 31st and Belmont) was awful and she said (but she would say lots of things) that Irish was better for marketing - who doesn’t like Irish pubs? And we have Irish heritage so went for it." Family members and friends posted this brief memorial on Facebook. "Regretfully we have to post that the Dublin Pub’s founder, Katie Bullard passed away last week .She started the Dublin Pub in 1983 on Belmont & 31st. In 1986 she pushed the Widmer brothers to expand their offerings. That motivation inspired the brothers to introduce Widmer Hefewiezen. Katie was the first person to put the lemon on a Hefe pint. The Pub grew a little too rowdy for SE, so she moved it to the current location in 1989. Countless crazy St Patty’s, Christmas’s, Thanksgiving’s, NYE’s…Everyone who knew her has a “Katie story” .She had a movie script life and was a force to be reckoned with. R.I.P. Katie “Momma Dub” Bullar. On November 15th the Pub will host a proper Irish Wake."
News From Ireland
UN DUTY IN LEBANON DANGEROUS - Last week Israeli soldiers took up positions close to an outpost UNP 6-52 - which is manned by 30 Irish troops close to the blue line. The move was the focus of international attention and criticism. Taoiseach Simon Harris was at the White House last week. Officially the meeting with President Biden was to mark 100 years of Irish-US relations. The US was the first country to recognise the Irish Free State in 1922 reports the other Independent.....PROTESTING FARMER CROSSES THE LINE - Prosecutors claim a farmer from Gort in Co. Galway went too far at a town hall with his TD. “… he lobbed the bag of cow dung in the direction of Ms Rabbitte, taking a risk that it would hit her or someone, and that he never undertook any legitimate means - such as emails or letters - to air his grievances.’... NOT RETIRED YET - Three-time Oscar winer Daniel Day Lewis is coming out of retirement. He’s co-written a movie that his son will direct, and he’ll act in. The highly acclaimed performer, known for films such as “Lincoln” and “Gangs of New York”, will take on his first acting role since 2017’s “Phantom Thread”, for which he earned his sixth Academy Award nomination. But wait, is he Irish? Oh yeah. Technically, he was born in England. But he’s lived in Wicklow forever and raised his sons there. After winning his first Best Actor Oscar for My Left Foot, he said, “You've just provided me with the makings of one hell of a weekend in Dublin.”...
Saoirse Ronan in The Outrun
Nominated four times for Best Actress Oscar, Ronan was born in the Bronx to Irish parents who were undocumented. She's been in Ireland since she was 3. Her latest movie is The Outrun. It’s the story of a woman who fights alcoholism on the Scottish island of Orkney. Its unconventional narrative may leave some confused, but Ronan’s performance captures the wobbly clarity of a drunk who knows she’s got to stop drinking. And the scenery and furious ocean waves way up there above Ireland on the map are awesome. Ronan will be featured in another movie soon. Blitz has her playing the mother of a nine-year-old boy on a risky walkabout in London during the German bombing of England in 1940. Fun Fact. Ronan is married to Jack Lowden, the actor who plays River Cartwright in Slow Horses on Apple+. Her mother in The Outrun is played by Saskia Reeves, who plays Catherine Standish in Slow Horses.
Costumes encouraged but optional
From T.C. O’LEARY’S - Since the origins of Halloween can be traced back to the Gaelic festival Samhain, we think it's very fitting to celebrate at an Irish pub. There's fun for everyone with family-friendly Trick or Treat Alberta Street from 3-6pm and ghoul-friendly karaoke starting at 8pm. Come in costume ready to share your favorite song.
First ever PDX HI Glaring Error Award
The first winner of the Glaring Error Award goes to Martin Buckley of Irish Network Portland. He read the following item, “ALL IRELAND - THE BEST OF THE BEST IN 36 COUNTIES” and emailed the HI, “Great recap. Should 36 counties be 32, or did I miss something? Cheers” Busted! Oregon has 36 counties, Ireland has 32. Martin wins the position of Copy Editor for the PDX HI.
"What do you mean you can't make the Hibernian meeting tonight at Kells?"
KELLS RESTAURANT - NO HOST DINNER AT SIX P.M. JFK IN OREGON AT SEVEN P.M. FAILTE!
