OOH AH, UP THE RA
Vol. One Number Nine - September 7, 2023
The official publication of the Portland Hibernian Society.
More than an email. Less than a newspaper. In your email box the first and third Thursday of every month.
9.21 PORTLAND HIBERNIAN SOCIETY MEETING - KNOW N0THINGS NEVER GO AWAY PART ONE….IRISH TRIVIA ANYONE?…OREGON IRISH FAMINE MEMORIAL ORIGIN STORY…HALFWAY TO SAINT PATRICK’S DAY….RILED UP BY "OOH AH - UP THE RA"…..IRELAND V. FRANCE TODAY…SAD PASSING OF NFL PLAYER WHO BROUGHT RIVERDANCE TO THE END ZONE.
CLOSING CATHOLIC SCHOLS IN OREGON. The next meeting of the Portland Hibernian Society will take place on Sept. 21 - Third Thursday - at Kells (of course). Dinner at Six P.M. in the restaurant. At Seven P.M. we head upstairs for a special presentation. Oregon voters passed a ballot measure in November 1922 that would shut down all private schools and force all students to attend public schools. People today ask, "Really?" Yep. KNOW NOTHINGS NEVER GO AWAY PART ONE takes a quote from Archbishop Alexander Christie to explain how that happened. A strong anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant sentiment existed in Oregon back then. A combination of Oregon's first-in-the-nation initiative system, sectarian tensions and the fear that immigrants wouldn't become REAL Americans resulted in the success of the Oregon Compulsory Education Act. It’s a hell of a story! By the way, if you’d like to be a card-carrying member of The Portland Hibernian Society, bring $35 and you’ll get your card. All are welcome. (Cash or check only, sorry.)
WHAT’S WRONG WTH SINGING OOH AH, UP THE RA? Depends who you talk to. The Wolf Tones, 60 years after their debut, aretrending, as they say. Mike Phillips passes along word that they electrified a huge crowd at the rock festival in Ireland (Stradbally, Co. Laois) called the Electric Picnic. Here’s the Celtic Symphony and a sample of the crowd reaction at the EP. Nothing like a controversy to revive the reputation.
IRISH TEAM TRIVIA. Save the date: October 13. We’ll be taking over Kells Restaurant for a night of intense Irish trivia. Details at 9.21 meeting.
Saint Patrick’s Day - 2023
HOW THE FAMINE MEMORIAL CROSS AT MT. CALVARY CAME TO BE. It was 15 years ago that what was then the E.H. Deery Division of the AOH dedicated the Oregon Famine Memorial. David O’Longaigh will share the Saga of The Cross at our October meeting on October 19. Featured: Rare archival video from Ireland where the Cross was sculpted.
IS IT REALLY ALREADY HALFWAY TO ST. PATRICK’S DAY? YEP. There will be a show at McMenamins Mission Theater the night of September 16 and our friend CARY NOVOTNY and Cul an Ti (The Back of the House) will perform. Cul an Ti performed June 1, 1997 at the Irish Heritage and Potato Famine Commemoration Day event at the Hibernian Hall, the genesis event of The Portland Hibernian Society. Also performing, AMADAN with longtime friend of local Hibernians Eric Tonsfeldt. Headliners: Sean Daly and The Shams (“Irish Rebel Rock”).
NEWS FROM IRELAND. “Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he will make a decision in the coming weeks on whether to launch a legal challenge against the UK government's Northern Ireland Legacy Bill.” The NY Times devoted two pages to this on Sunday. “The “legacy bill,” as it’s known, would end hundreds of investigations into well over 1,000 killings from the Troubles, the blood-soaked, quarter-century-long conflict among the mostly Protestant unionists, or loyalists (who’d enjoyed centuries of dominance and clung fiercely to their British identity); the mostly Catholic republicans, or nationalists (who wanted full rights on an island free from British rule); and, as the years and the blood ran on, the British security services, who were tightly enmeshed with unionist communities.”
SAD NOTE. Former Seahawk Alex Collins was killed last month in a motorcycle accident. “Mr. Collins often performed a short Riverdance-style routine after scoring touchdowns. It became his signature move.”
BRIGHTER NOTE. Which early favorite at the Irish Open (who tees off today) said, “"For as long as I can remember, since I was a child, the only tournament my mum ever wanted to see was the Irish Open.”? Rory McElroy.
SPEAKING OF SPORT IN IRELAND...SOCCER ER FOOTBALL. It’s the Republic of Ireland versus France in a Euro Cup qualifier today at 11:45 A.M. on Fox Sports 2.
Until the next edition of The Hibernian Independent on September 21....
No fear. No envy. No meanness. Liam Clancy