Oval Office Visit ON. St. Patrick’s Day ON.
PDX HIBERNIAN INDEPENDENT Volume Two - Number Forty-Six – 6 March 2025
More than an email. Less than a newspaper. Delivered early on the first and third Thursday morning of every month. Published by The Portland Hibernian Society.
A chara. Eleven days until Saint Patrick’s Day.
THE WHITE HOUSE GOES GREEN AGAIN
It wouldn’t be Saint Patrick’s Day week without the traditional reception for Irish leaders in the Oval Office. (March is Irish American Heritage Month.) There was some question about the status of this year’s visit by Taoiseach Micheal Martin because of Ireland’s support for Palestinian statehood. But the invitation came through and was announced last Friday, the day of President Trump’s disastrous Oval Office donnybrook with Volodymir Zelensky. The same kind of fireworks are extremely unlikely on March 12. But you never know. “We will be discussing the impact that Irish companies are having in the United States. Also, then the diaspora. Obviously, it is an occasion to honour the diaspora, which is particularly strong in the United States. Then, the situation in Ukraine.” The Taoiseach also said he would bring up Gaza and tell Mr Trump that Ireland believes that tariffs “damage economies.” But, perhaps thinking of Zelensky's session, he added that he will be “there to listen.” Sinn Fein leaders Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O’Neill will skip the session with Trump.
Delegates from Dublin brought shamrocks to President Trump in 2017.
SAINT PATRICK’S DAY IN PORTLAND - PLACES TO GO AND THINGS TO DO
KELLS OF COURSE – Back in the Eighth Decade of the Twentieth Century, Saint Patrick’s Day in Portland meant Bill McCormick pitching a big tent outside Jake’s, rowdy Irish music at the Dublin Pub, Irish dancers at the AICS and Weinhard’s Pale Ale for its green bottles. (If you lived on Guinness back then you’d die of thirst.) AND THERE WAS NO KELLS ON SW FIRST. That was then and this is now. From Friday evening March 14 until Monday night March 17 Kells downtown and Kells Brewery on NW 21st can meet any needs you might have for celebrating the Feast of Saint Patrick. Here's the full schedule of events at both Kells and at the Waterfront.
TC O’LEARY’S - Fast forward to the days before Covid and all of a sudden, the east side of Portland is blessed with Tom O’Leary’s “Little Irish Pub.” The year-round Irish vibe intensifies this time of year. Whether it’s Six Nations Rugby first thing Saturday morning 3.15, “fairy hair” on Sunday 3.16 or Irish coffee at seven a.m. on Saint Patrick's Day 3.17, you'll find the schedule here. TOMORROW NGHT- Fri. Mar. 7 – Irish Network Portland will host a Saint Patrick’s Day Pre Func affair.
AICS – Let's not forget that Saint Patrick’s Day isn’t until Monday so save some energy for the longest-running March 17 celebration in Portland. It has been hosted by the All-Ireland Cultural Society since 1941. Really. Pipes and drums and dancers and plentiful food and drink are featured in the type of festive setting you’d find at a parish party. Monday afternoon details. There’s also the annual Shamrock Cruise and a month worth of Irish entertainment from S and A Productions.
THREE EXCEPTIONAL IRISH WOMEN
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY IS MARCH 8. Three women with solid Irish roots are in the news these days. And it’s all good news. Orin O’Brien, a daughter of the Irish Diaspora born in San Francisco, is the subject of an Oscar winning documentary, The Only Girl In The Orchestra. Johanna Harwood, born in Bray, Co Wicklow, left Ireland at 19 and within ten years had written the script for the first James Bond movie, Dr. No. Geraldine Byrne Nelson of Drogheda, Co Louth is Ireland’s Ambassador to the United States and will be present in the Oval Office when the Taoiseach comes a calling next week.
Johanna Harwood - When the original producer of the James Bond movies was trying to raise money for the first film in the 007 series, he needed a script to show investors. So, he sent a telegram to Johanna Harwood. “I sat down at my typewriter and wrote Doctor No,” she tells RTE One in this revealing documentary. That script she knocked out included the best three-word line in movie history, “Bond...James Bond.” Harwood says Sean Connery was a “nice person,” but “he’s not the Bond that (Ian) Fleming is describing (in the Bond books). He’s not classical English, Connery. Not at all in my opinion. HE’S CLASSICAL IRISH.”
Orin O’Brien - Her story is fascinating enough even if she isn’t the first woman ever to play with the New York Philharmonic. That’s mostly what the short documentary deals with. It touches on her show biz parents George O’Brien (costar with John Wayne in some John Ford movies) and actress Marguerite Churchill. But look deeper and you’ll find that her grandfather was the Chief of Police in San Francisco, America’s most Irish city during the 1920s.
Leonard Bernstein of the New York Philharmonic was a big fan of Orin.
Geraldine Byrne Nelson - Over the weekend (March 2), Ireland’s Ambassador to the United States was having herself a grand time at the Annual Jerome X. O’Donovan Parade Breakfast ahead of the start of the Staten Island St. Patrick’s Parade. The delighted diplomat, Irelands 19th Ambassador to the United States, said she’s “never felt as much at home” as she did Sunday morning at Jody’s. “Our Irish-American heritage is a shared one and it’s being shared here this morning on Staten Island. It’s a great day to celebrate.” There’s no word whether Nelson will be replaced as Ireland’s Ambassador to the US. She’s only held the post since 2022.Look for her at the March 12 White House reception. A year ago, she was the featured guest on a podcast tracking the long history of the Irish role in American history. While serving as Ireland’s Ambassador to the United Nations, she headed the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
Ireland’s Ambassador to the US Geraldine Byrne Nelson.
CORRIB SCORES
"Pass Over uses Beckett to highlight Black and Irish cultural differences," reads the subhead on the Willamette Week review of the latest Corrib Theater production, which closes its run this weekend. “Pass Over highlights the cultural differences between the Irish and Black diasporas in a story that’s funny, tragic and all too relevant.” Tickets are available for four performances
TARIFF TALK – YOUR KERRYGOLD BUTTER MAY COST MORE
Not to mention meds you may be talking. Right now, the economic consequences of Trump’s tariffs on products Ireland sells to US are unknown. That’s not stopped the conjecturing. Kerrygold Butter has been having a hell of a year in the US and Europe but "A Donald Trump-shaped cloud appeared over the Irish dairy industry last week, as he announced import tariffs of 25% would be imposed "very soon" on EU "cars, and all of the things”,” reports the Irish Examiner. “Importers in the USA could turn their backs on Irish butter and cheese if the price goes up 25%, and instead source it from other countries, such as New Zealand.” Is it too early to start stockpiling the Kerrygold? It wouldn’t hurt. Butter freezes you know. The impact on big Pharma in Ireland would surpass that on dairy products, reports EuroNews.
IF YOU NEED A TOAST THIS SAINT PATRICK'S DAY
St. Patrick was a gentleman
Who through strategy and stealth
Drove all the snakes from Ireland,
Here's toasting to his health;
But not too many toastings
Lest you lose yourself and then
Forget the good St. Patrick
And see all those snakes again.
SAINT PARICK'S ADVICE FROM IKE
"Everybody is Irish on St. Patrick's Day, but if your name is Eisenhower, you've got to wear something green to show it." — Dwight D. Eisenhower
SIX NATIONS RUGBY
reland faces a crucial match with France this Saturday (March 8) at 7 a.m. You can watch at TC O'Leary's on NE Alberta. After winning their opening three matches, the clash against Les Bleus will make or break Ireland’s title charge as they chase an unprecedented Six Nations three-peat.
