The Father of Oregon: An Unlikely Irishman
PDX HIBERNIAN INDEPENDENT Volume Two Number Forty-Four, 6 February 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. Only 38 days left until Saint Patrick's Day.
MEET THE IRISHMAN WHO BECAME THE FATHER OF OREGON
We're going to celebrate Oregon's Statehood anniversary AND the man who made Oregon great at our next meeting on February 20. Doctor John McLoughlin was born in Canada. He had relatives who fought against Americans in two wars. He was England’s main man in the often-hostile Oregon Country. He competed in the fur business with Yankee traders. And usually won. He was Catholic in a Protestant world. So, what did Dr. John do to be named the Father of Oregon by a nearly unanimous vote of the state legislature in 1957? We’ll find out how that happened. John Bradach appears as Doctor John McLoughlin for an evening of Oregon history the way it should have been taught. Thursday February 20 - Six PM - Kells Restaurant - 112 SW Second Ave.
The Father of Oregon’s grandfather was a Donegal man. Dr. John McLoughlin was proud of his Irish ancestry.
SONG AND DANCE WITH PETER AND BREDA YEATES
It’s not a minute too soon to set aside the evening of Saturday, March 8 for the 26th annual Hibernian Saint Patrick Day Banquet at Kells. See details below. We’re proud to host two mainstays of the Irish music and dance scene here in Greater Portland: Peter and Breda Yeates. Hibernian Daniel Curran caught up with the two of them recently and sent this dispatch to the PDX Hibernian Independent.
Ken Larson and Peter Yeates at Whelan’s Irish Pub.
BREAKING NEWS - NFL MATCH AT CROKE PARK IN SEPT.
Don’t be surprised to learn this Super Bowl weekend that the NFL will play in Dublin in September on hallowed grounds. RTE reports. "Croke Park looks set to host Ireland's first NFL game later this year with the Government briefed today on the proposal to bring a Pittsburgh Steelers fixture to GAA Headquarters". Not a huge surprise. The Steelers owner Art Rooney was an Irishman as generous as he was wealthy. "We do have a lot of history here. The Rooney's emigrated to the United States from Newry in the 1840s. We played a game in Ireland, in this stadium, in 1997 and we've been coming back ever since we moved. I love the country," said Art’s grandson Daniel.
WINDS OF A TRADE WAR IN IRELAND
The possibility of higher tariffs on Made in Ireland products and services sent to the US has people in the Republic worried. This is much bigger than paying more at the OLCC store for Irish whiskey. The consequences of slapping tariffs on goods from Ireland headed for America could mean paying more for your meds at the pharmacy reports the BBC. “European growth is sluggish, and Ireland faces clear headwinds,” reports Fortune Magazine." If the U.S. cuts its own corporation tax, there are fears it could lead to more U.S. companies returning home." (Nota bene: Fortune calls Ireland the 51st state because of its close economic ties with the US.)
IRELAND’S SECRET WEAPON IN TALKS WITH TRUMP?
Not sure if the columnist for the Irish Examiner was serious when she suggested that Rory McElroy go to bat for Ireland with our golfer in chief. "Engineering a five-hour exclusive meeting with the president of the United States would usually be a ridiculous and impossible endeavour, but for a leader who owns 17 golf courses worldwide and has claimed to have a handicap of 2.8, a chance to play a round of golf with one, or maybe two, of the world's top golfers would be an offer he couldn't refuse." She might have a point. With his win over fellow Irishman Shane Lowry at Pebble Beach last Sunday, Rory's in rare air - second only to Tiger Woods on tha all time PGA earnings list.
Will Ireland recruit Rory to fight Trump's Tariffs on Ireland?
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE PRICE OF IRISH WHISKEY?
Is Trump serious about using tariffs to even the scale with countries that sell a lot more to the US than we buy from them? If he is, Dublin has a problem. Ireland has the fourth-largest trade surplus with the US. Only China, Mexico and Vietnam have larger trade surpluses. Take Irish whiskey, please. “We pretty much escaped first time around, but I don’t think we’ll be that lucky this time, nobody is actually,” says Louise McGuane, founder of Irish whiskey bonder JJ Corry in County Clare. Stephen Teeling says he’ll sell more of his whiskey elsewhere if tariffs make it more expensive in America, “Nigeria has been very strong for us over the past couple of years and it is now our third biggest market behind the US and Ireland.”
TIM EGAN: AMBASSADOR OF IRISH HISTORY IN PDX
Timothy Egan, the author of THE IMMORTAL IRISHMAN*, came to Portland late last month and did his part to keep Irish history alive and breathingbefore a class of AP English students at McDaniel High School. * Warfare and politics in Ireland and America in the middle of the Nineteenth Century drive this narrative of the life and times of Thomas Francis Meagher.
If there was a Hibernian Book Club this book would be Number One.
TOP IRISH TRAD MUSIC TRIO IN TUALATIN
They call their trio Tradmill. Dublin button accordion master Johnny B. Connolly, Northern California fiddle player John Weed, and Portland’s own guitar wizard/vocalist Cary Novotny are kicking off a limited run of winter shows in the Pacific Northwest SATURDAY NIGHT, FEB. 8TH AT THE GRANGE IN TUALATIN. If the lineup sounds familiar, it’s because you may have seen them playing together at the Moon and Sixpence in the Hollywood neighborhood. Step-dancer Marisa Gilman will join Tradmill. Johnny Connolly released an LP named for his adopted hometown in 2001, Bridgetown is a fusion of traditional Irish and French tunes which got great reviews. Bridgetown featured Kevin Burke's guest appearances and guitarist Ged Foley's production. Tradmill - Saturday Feb 8 Tualatin Grange. Doors open - 6:45. Show 7:30.
WILL YOU BE JOINING US AT THIS YEAR'S BANQUET ON MARCH 8?
One of the best things about growing up Irish Catholic with lots of cousins and what we now call extended family was the fun we had at gatherings on holidays like Saint Patrick’s Day. Everyone had a good time. Failte was one of the first Irish words we learned. Erin go bragh was next. Sound familiar? Then join us on Saturday March 8 for the 26th annual Portland Hibernian Banquet, brought to you by Saint Patrick. To reserve a place at the banquet for yourself and all the others you’d like to bring along, simply reply to this email. Subject: Banquet.
Portland Hibernian Society Saint Patrick's Day banquet upstairs at Kells March 2023. This was our first banquet post Covid.
CIAN FROM CORK HAS THE QUOTE OF THE DAY
Irish musician Cian (Kee-an) Ducrot on winning his first Grammy for co-writing Best R&B Song: "If there's some kid in Cork in his bedroom, or anywhere in Ireland, and just dreams 'I want to win a Grammy'. You can, you actually can win one. Just do it."
