The Irish Scene - March/April 2024

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VOL 26, No 2 February/march 2024

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Mr Donnelly has an important doctors appointment in Perth!

H

ealth minister Stephen Donnelly will be the Irish government representative travelling to Australia for the 2024 St Patrick’s Day festivities. While the precise dates of his tour are not yet public we know he will visit Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney. He will be one of 38 members of the executive government boarding planes to 48 countries and visiting 86 cities. Only Jack Chambers, the junior minister at the department of transport, environment, climate and communications who will be bound for Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland in New Zealand will travel further and farther than Mr Donnelly.

Like all his colleagues on similar missions around the world – and his predecessors who have made the long haul voyage to Australia before him – he will be facing into an intensive itinerary and heavy workload of meetings, events, appointments, functions, parades, festivals and launches and the like.

On top of the international flights there are also numerous domestic flights to deal with, all jam packed into a tight diary. It could be the hardest working period most politicians experience in their careers.

As well as all the usual stuff Mr Donnelly will also be looking to follow up on specific areas of interest to his cabinet portfolio. Indeed, while he is here in Perth the minister will be taking a close look at the exodus of hundreds of junior Irish doctors leaving the Irish healthcare system for Australia – particularly Perth – as soon as they qualify, in search of new opportunities and experiences in the workplace as well as a more attractive lifestyle. That apparent trend seems to have accelerated in the last few years particularly.

“There’s a narrative that there isn’t a doctor in Ireland because they’re all on Bondi beach or in Perth, but the facts don’t support that,” the minister said last month. “It’s okay to go abroad, we want our doctors to get international experience, and we want them to come back.” Mr

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by Lloyd Gorman Donnelly made these comments at the launch of a new report about the training of junior doctors.

The report by the National Taskforce on the Non-Consultant Hospital Doctor (NCHD) Workforce Minister Donnelly, pictured contained 44 right, was in Canada last recommendations year for St. Patricks Day aimed at improving the working experience and work-life balance of young medicos coming into the sector. “I am confident that delivery of the Taskforce recommendations will support present and future retention of NCHDs in Ireland by making the experience of doctors working in our health service both positive and fulfilling,” the minister said at the launch of the report. “Significant progress has already been made on many of the Interim Report recommendations but there is a lot more work to do, and it is crucial that we maintain the momentum and commitment that we have seen over the past 18 months.” No doubt armed with this newly minted report he will have something concrete to discuss with any junior Irish doctors he encounters along the way. It was unclear if there will be a

specific event for doctors, nurses and other allied health workers but perhaps there will be a forum of some kind. Irish Scene contacted his office for further information. It will be interesting to see how that fact finding mission goes and what the different parties will take away from it and what impact if any it has. As well as the human contribution to running local and state hospitals and national healthcare systems we might learn about some technologies developed in Ireland making a difference in this part of the world.

It is not unusual for visiting ministers to make a courtesy call on their federal and state counterparts. As well as the (one sided) movement of medical staff from one nation to another the two countries also have a reciprocal health care agreement that entitles visitors from Ireland to Australia to receive medically necessary treatment as public inpatients or outpatients in Australian public hospitals, on the same terms as Australian residents (i.e. free of charge). No doubt this agreement has proved to be a valuable lifesaver for a lot of Irish over the years and it might be a fair to say that more Irish in Australia have benefited from it than Australian’s have in Ireland. Perhaps a visit to the QEII Medical Centre in Perth – the largest precinct of its kind in the southern hemisphere – might be on the cards. He would be able to see what one of the most modern

children’s hospitals in the world looks like. A $1.8 billion project Perth Children’s Hospital faced a horrendous amount of problems and setbacks, which were eventually overcome.

Ireland’s new – and badly needed –children’s hospital project has also been beset by delays and cost blow-outs, the most recent being an extra €512 million, taking the total cost of the project to more than €2.24billion, more than three times what it was originially projected to cost. Speaking on RTE Radio 1 last month Mr Donnelly urged the contractor to get the project finished by its own deadline of October, after which there would be another six months commissioning before it can start caring for sick kids. There is a lot to talk about and much to do. This publication also hopes to grab an interview with minister Donnelly and to bring his message and views to readers and the wider Irish community.

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GPs encouraged to make the most of Irish connection

by Michelle Wisbey

O

ne doctor’s early medical years in Australia – and subsequent return decades later – have pushed him to urge others to follow.

Dr Ray Power is encouraging Australian GPs to make the most of the Irish connection.

Thirty years ago, Dr Ray Power was in the right place at the right time. He had just finished medical school in his native Ireland, which involved studying hard and ‘playing a lot of rugby’. It was 1992 and he decided to take the leap and embark on a working holiday to Australia. While he did not yet have a job, he did have a visa. “It’s funny story, but I ended up with my first job being with the Royal Flying Doctor Service*,” Dr Power told newsGP. “I knocked on the door and the medical director was there coincidentally, and I said “I’ve just landed in Australia today and I’d love to be a Flying Doctor, do you have any jobs?. He said, “where do you want to go?” and I really had no idea where, so I ended up being with the Flying Doctors … in Port Headland. It was during those first six months that he fell in love with Australia and with rural practice, ultimately spending six years as Assistant Director of what was then the Western Australian Centre for Remote and Rural Medicine.

Dr Power believes the lessons he learnt in those formative years set him up for a highly

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successful career when he eventually headed back home. “I really was inspired by what I had seen in Australian general practice,’ he said. ‘It gave me the confidence and energy to establish a network of GP practices in Ireland, and that’s the genesis of Centric Health.” Growing from that one practice which opened its doors in 2003, Centric Health now has a network of 76 clinics across Ireland, employing 1000 staff and caring for more than 10% of the country’s population.

This year, despite its success – and the demands that inevitably followed – Dr Power felt the need to travel back to where it all began for a second working holiday. He hopped on a plane and landed around 200 kilometres south of Perth at the Broadwater Medical Centre [Busselton] to care for patients half a world away from his home.

“Common things are common in general practice, so the pattern of presentation,

scheduled or unscheduled, is the exact same,” he said.

“We would have a similar approach to intervention diagnosis, using imaging, using pathology, referring to specialist colleagues, it’s just very similar.”

As his second Australian stint comes to an end, Dr Power remains a strong advocate for the two countries to remain connected. He said several of the administrative barriers which typically prevent doctors from working overseas do not exist between Australia and Ireland, leading to an easier and more streamlined working holiday. And the connection has already proven popular among Ireland’s medical students.

Last year alone, 442 Irish doctors were issued with temporary work visas for Australia, and in 2021, 62 of the University College Cork’s 77 medical students were practising down under.

In Australia, the RACGP has already committed to simplifying the process for International Medical Graduates to work on our shores following previous complaints of complexity.

“I’m trying to encourage likeminded Australian colleagues to do something like me, but there is little awareness that there’s full recognition between the RACGP and the Irish College of General Practitioners,” Dr Power added. “Irish doctors can come here, and Australian doctors can come to Ireland, and unlike the UK where they’d have to be a register again and get paid as a registrar, in Ireland they get full recognition, straight in, working away as a specialist GP and getting well paid.

Dr. Power with a patient.

“I was sharing the concept of a WONCA passport, so that’s one organisation which would standardise the recognition of training for countries with similar qualifications and similar training,” he said. “For a lot of the Australian doctors, it will be more like a working holiday and there will be a chance to earn Euros and to explore. I learned an awful lot from working in Australia and there’s no doubt that Australian GPs would learn a lot in Ireland as well.”

This article was originally published on NewsGP – published by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners – on 20 December 2023 and is reproduced here with their permission.

The working conditions, and the scope of practice, and the facilities, and the environment is identical so it’s like glove in hand, it’s very straightforward.”

Moving forward, Dr Power said he would like to see GPs able to move to a variety of different countries with minimal red tape, both to fill workforce shortages and to offer young doctors a full range of experiences.

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2023 smashed RFDS records in WA

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he Royal Flying Doctor Service of Western Australian recorded its busiest year on record, with 10,270 patients retrieved across the state throughout 2023, the organisation said on February 8.

The most common reasons for transfer related to medical issues including heart attacks and stroke, injury and accidents, and respiratory issues like pneumonia and cancers. Crews also treated 6,315 patients at 813 primary health care clinics. These clinics provided a range of services including dental, immunisation and female GP clinics for people in some of the most remote parts of Western Australia.

intervention,” she added. “The launch of our new Strategy in the coming months will see a significant focus on bringing health care closer to home for Western Australians living in regional and remote communities. We will continue to work with our partners across the health sector to help meet the evolving needs of Western Australians.”

RFDS WA Chief Executive Officer Judith Barker said the team has observed a range of trends influencing the growing need for the service.

“2023 was the first year since the COVID-19 pandemic where our borders were completely open to the rest of Australia and the world,” Judith said. “We are seeing more people live, work and travel around WA, and this is resulting in higher and more diverse needs for health care.”

The 2023 statistics also showed an increase in high priority transfers.

“Health emergencies like heart attacks can often highlight the need for better access to primary health care for early

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Helping Your family

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D

ublin GP turned RFDS medic Mark Reddy was the cover story for our July/August 2021 edition while WA born and bred Dr Tim Driscoll – who is the organisations clinical lead outback mental health in Queensland – got his start in the medical field as a 19 year old backpacker in Dublin featured in the November/ December issue.

I’m living proof of how good Irish medicos in Perth are!

by Chris Doyle

M

y regular GP had taken a sabbatical when I developed what I suspected to be a chest infection, so the replacement doctor gave me a course of antibiotics and told me to drink plenty of fluids and rest up. When there was no improvement two weeks later, I returned to the surgery and saw a different doctor, who sent me for a chest X-ray, the results of which were inconclusive. When I returned for a third visit, a third doctor assured me the X-ray was clear, and the chronic pain I was experiencing was probably due to all my coughing. Two weeks later, I felt so ill I was spending most days in bed, and felt I was literally slipping away. My husband looked at me one afternoon and decided he was taking me to A&E in St. John of God, Midland. I felt a bit reluctant to waste the time of busy medical staff, as I’d had three “professionals” assure me I was perfectly healthy. While checking in, my husband was giving my details, but the Irish triage nurse doing the intake never took her eyes off me, and as I felt myself sinking into the seat, she bolted from behind the glass panel, got me onto a bed, and went to get a doctor.

A young Irish female doctor came in, took one look at me, and diagnosed the pneumonia I’d suspected I had, and had been suffering for

weeks beforehand. I got the treatment needed to clear it up, and returned to health eventually.

I found a good GP, that followed up my bout of pneumonia by sending me to a specialist, Professor Michael Bremner (also of Irish stock!) who discovered what I’d contracted was a variety of “carpenter’s lung”, from the beautiful shutters I’d made for my home, without using a mask while sanding them! After the last stresstest to measure my oxygen levels, Mr. Bremner said “Those lungs would go a marathon!” I felt really relieved, but reminded him they’re called Snickers now! I know most people take comfort from being around their “own” especially when far away from home and illness strikes, but the level of professionalism and knowledge of their craft practiced by Irish medical staff is world class, and I am living proof!

THE IRISH SCENE | 9

L

ike hundreds of his nursing counterparts Fergal Guihen is preparing to set off for Australia for a working holiday Down Under. But the 25 year old is not following the well trodden path to Perth or other parts of Australia and aims to get here under his own steam. Up until very recently he was a nurse in the emergency room at Sligo General Hospital and worked in St Jame’s Hospital in Dublin and Trinity College Dublin before that.

Hailing from Arigna, Co.Roscomon, Fergal is also a part-time farmer and plays GAA with St Ronan’s. In March he will saddle up and start on an incredible 23,000km route, starting out from his native Roscommon and with the Sydney Opera House as his final destination, hopefully arriving in February 2025. It will be a trip of a lifetime for him and will also honour another lifetime.

The epic cycle will take 11 months to complete and will take him across three continents and through 25 countries. He is also using the experience as a way to raise funds for two good causes; Mayo Roscommon Hospice and Northwest Stop, which provides badly needed services in the community, such as counselling and a safe space for those that need one.

“I decided to do this trip as a lot of my friends and colleagues are either gone or are heading off to Australia for two years,” said Fergal.

“Instead of spending two years in Australia, I thought why not cycle there as it’s a great opportunity to see the world and then spend a year in Australia. This challenge is no doubt going to be the hardest thing I have ever done.

The longest cycling trip I’ve done was about two weeks long so this is certainly going to be very different but I’m very much looking forward to it,” he said in January. ““I’m funding the trip myself and will live a very minimalistic life. I’ll be bringing my tent and hot stove with me. I had a thought that I may as well incorporate a fundraising element into it, so I’ve chosen a charity local to me, the Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation, as I want to give back to my local community.

The Foundation provides vital palliative care services to the communities of Mayo and Roscommon and my great-granny benefitted from those services in Roscommon.”

Mayo Roscommon Hospice CEO Martina Jennings wished Fergal well all on his “Rossie to Aussie” adventure. “We are very grateful to be one of his chosen charities and we look forward to watching him on his journey over the next 11 months and beyond.”

Donations can be made at https://www. idonate.ie/fundraiser/Rossie-to-Aussie until March 2025.

Rossie to Aussie 10 | THE IRISH SCENE

Shine on you crazy ‘emeralds’!

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popular St Patrick’s Day tradition that was born in Australia and successfully exported around the world is on the line!

On February 1 RTE News and other Irish media reported the Irish government had been informed by Tourism Ireland that it would no longer be promoting Global Greening, a scheme which for more than a decade now has seen hundreds of global landmarks – including the Empire State Building, Niagara Falls and the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil – bathed in distinctively and recognisably ‘green’ light to mark St. Patrick’s Day. Back in 2010 the iconic sails of the Sydney Operate House became the first building in the world to be illuminated in green. The novel event was in aid of an historic event that happened in the early years of the fledgling colony. Exactly 200 years earlier Governor Lachlann Macquarie officially declared March 17 to be a day of entertainment and celebration for the Irish convicts under his jurisdiction, an unusually humane gesture in an age of penal punishment.

Wanting to capitalise on the bi-centennial anniversary Tourism Ireland pitched the idea to the Opera House operators and New South Wales government. Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons recalled his feelings when he saw the mock-up of the plan a few months before the Global Greening project was first revealed.

“At the height of the Credit Crunch (GFC), at what was such a difficult time for the world, I remember that something hit me on Perth lights up for St. Patrick’s Day

by Lloyd Gorman

Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons with Catherine Martin, Irish minister for tourism

an emotional level, while visualising this. It seemed to be something that would have a huge impact.” The experiment surpassed the wildest expectations of everyone involved and soon some of the world’s most recognisable landmarks, buildings and geographical features followed suite and were temporarily turned into beacons of Irishness. They have included the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Niagara Falls, Table Mountain in South Africa and the Sky Tower in New Zealand, to name a few. Perth – which is proud of its moniker as The City of Light which was given to it by American astronaut John Glenn– has been an enthusiastic participant over the years. Most if not all the city’s important sites – including Perth (Optus) Stadium, the Bell Tower – and many private buildings have lit up in honour of the occasion. While Tourism Ireland as an organisation no longer be drive the Global Greening phenomenon Irish government ministers were also told there was nothing to stop individual diplomatic Irish missions from pursuing greenings in their part of the world.

The tradition of the Sydney Opera House has already survived one challenge to its existence and it may well fend off this latest threat.

Just twelve months ago the Irish tourist body announced the Global Greening would not be going ahead in view of the energy crisis that affected many countries around the world.

But locally in Sydney the St Patrick’s Day Organisation secured the support of the NSW government and the Opera House remained proudly green on March 17, 2023. Last year was also the 50th anniversary of the Opera House itself, so hopefully the two things will continue to have a long and prosperous connection, and everywhere else as well.

THE IRISH SCENE | 11

The Irish influence and impact of Patrick Dodson

by Lloyd Gorman

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ne of Australia’s most identifiable and popular politicians Senator Patrick Dodson – who has been undergoing cancer treatment – retired from the Australian parliament and public life on January 26, 2024, to concentrate on his recovery. When he became a Labor Senator in May 2016 Irish Scene published this [edited] story about him. So it is only right we should bookend his remarkable contribution on behalf of West Australians, and all Australians. It is also an opportunity to update the record. About a year after his Senate appointment when we ran this story his ‘Irish’ ancestry became a major issue that could have ended it as soon as it began. Indeed he was forced to renounce being ‘Irish’ as a result of the dual citizenship crisis of 2017/18 that saw several sitting members of parliament expelled from the house under a strict constitutional rule that prevented MPs with ‘foreign’ affiliations from holding elected office.

His father ‘Snowy’ was born in Launceston, Tasmania.

“The only known Irish connection in my family is my mother’s mother’s father,” he told the ABC. His great-grandfather, Joe Fagan, arrived in Australia in 1857. As we reported at the time Mr Dodson visited Ireland at least once, about eight years before he entered

Patrick Dodson addre ssing students at St Cronan’s school in Bray.

public political life. That trip – organised by 80:20 an organisation that promotes development through education – marked the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. While he was in Bray he addressed students from several schools, including Dominican, Sion Hill, St. Gerard’s, Loreto, Holy Child and Presentation school. The Irish Independent reported that the Aboriginal campainger held “a series of workshops in Tallaght, Limerick and Tyrone – where he went to trace his Irish roots”.

Paddy’s Road leads back to Ireland

P

atrick Dodson was officially elected as Western Australia’s newest Senator on April 28. Wearing his trademark Akubra Patrick (Pat) Dodson was sworn into his role in the national parliament in Canberra on Monday May 2 [2016]. This distinguished Aboriginal leader and elder who has been called ‘The Father of Reconciliation’ has an Irish heritage and background. “Patrick Lionel Djargun Dodson is a Yawuru man from Broome,” Premier Colin Barnett told Parliament.

“His father, Snowy, was an Irish Australian and his mother, Patricia, a Yawuru woman. When he was aged two, his family moved to Katherine in the Northern Territory. When he was 13, he

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lost both parents within three months of each other. He and his six brothers and sisters were orphaned.”

Dodson was just 12 years old when his parents died in 1960. After finishing school where he was called Paddy and his brother was Mick – he won a scholarship to Monivae College in Hamilton in far western Victoria – he enrolled to study for the priest hood and in 1975 was ordained in the order of Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. He was Australia’s first Aboriginal Catholic Priest.

He left the Church in 1981 to work in Aboriginal and Indigenous community issues. His life’s work was recognised as a national living

treasure, and in 2008 he received the Sydney Peace Prize. Mia Davies, Deputy Leader of the National Party, and member for Central Wheatbelt, said that in winning this prize he joined: “Laureates such as Desmond Tutu and Ireland’s Mary Robinson”. In 2009, he was named Western Australian Senior Australian of the Year.

By happenstance, the date of his appointment as Senator has a special significance for another Irish connection. It is the feast day of Saint Cronan, a 7th-century Roman Catholic Saint known for his work in Roscrea, County Tipperary, Ireland, who died 637 AD. In 2008 Dodson visited St. Cronan’s Boy’s National School, in Vevay Crescent in Bray, Co. Wicklow.

A conference called ‘Exploring Identities’ was held at the school to challenge students and others to think about racial, religious and cultural stereotypes – including in Northern Ireland. The school choir performed for the special visitor. According to an Irish Times article about the visit, published on Saturday December 30, Dodson reminded everyone

Mr Dodson with students and staff from Wicklow

at the conference who was facing poverty, discrimination, hatred or oppression to believe in hope and humanity.

“The role of youth is to push and push hard for the dream and the ideal of a reconciled community,” Mr Dodson told the students. “Where the diversity and the difference that distinguish us is totally appreciated. Keep in your mind to treat them as you’d like to be treated. That sounds very Christian, but in honouring and respecting their uniqueness and enabling it to flourish through accommodations and compromises, your uniqueness can prosper too. The world is a pretty small place after all.”

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You’ll find formidable Folk at the Fairbridge Festival!

by Lloyd Gorman

A

fter a long hiatus the Fairbridge Festival is making a much anticipated and determined comeback in April 2024 and helping to proclaim its return will be appearance from one of Ireland’s favourite singer songwriters – Luka Bloom.

Founded in 1993 this folk festival has grown into one of WA’s if not Australia’s best known and respected annual events. COVID was not kind to the festival but with such obstacles overcome, the time is now right for a return – but in a slightly different setting.

As the festival director, the man responsible for getting it back on its feet and making sure it lives up to the high standard festival goers have come to expect of it is New Zealand born, Perth bred, honorary Irishman Jon Cope.

Jon’s band of the time was one of the main

acts to take part in the very first Fairbridge Festival. It was also around that time that he first travelled to Ireland, which would become home for some time.

“It was a much smaller affair then of course, a very cosy little setting,” he told Irish Scene. “I moved to Ireland after the festival and lived there for three years on and off. “I started a band Press Gang in 1991 and we were quickly sponsored by Guinness and we did lots of shows as all the new Irish pubs opened up and put Guinness on tap. We were in the right place at the right time.” With the influence of some new Irish players the band evolved and became Fling, which toured extensively around many parts of the world, including Ireland. “It gave us access to travel the world and play our music, it was fantastic”, he said.

Jon Cope – pictured here at Oranmore, Galway – lived in Ireland during the 90’s: Inset Jon today!

“I went to Ireland for the music and when I lived there I used to play in a lot of sessions. I lived in different parts, Dublin of course, but also Oranmore, next to Galway and I had a good friend (Ormonde Walters) in Westmeath but I spent a big chunk of time in West Cork, in Skibbereen. The Irish are so welcoming and very friendly, they were just like instant family, it was great.”

Jon was appointed festival director in August 2022 but as we have already seen his association with Fairbridge goes back to the start. It also runs deep. “I’ve had my own family since and my kids – who are in their late teens now – have been going since they were babies and my wife has run baby music classes. Its a very family friend festival, its wonderful for children, and people of all ages.”

As well as a range of activities for young

Festival Fever

Traditional Irish or Celtic culture has always been an important part of the Fairbridge Festival and this year will be no different.

A Ceili is planned as is an appearance by a new group called The Black Bream Band.

Jon describes it as a “supergroup” made up of the best players in town, led by fiddle/ violin player Rob Zielinski, who will be featuring the Donegal fiddle style. Rob – who has himself lived and learned much about his instrument while there – will be holding the world premier of his new work Kiangardarup - The Torbay Suite in The Perth Concert Hall on Sunday May 12, 16 | THE IRISH SCENE

children Jon has factored in the needs of high school age and young people, who will have their own youth zone.

“They will have youth bands on stage playing music to their peers, so that they are not just looking at older people playing. They will be doing it themselves, that’s how they can learn.” A special feature of the youth zone will be a solar powered trailer provided

by Fremantle College that will control the PA system and lights, operated by young people themselves. “They’ll be trained up for it of course, so you’ll have young people on the stage and in charge of what’s happening on it, so it’ll be a case of the kids showing the way to the future with this really sophisticated trailer which is literally powered by the sun. It’ll be fantastic, they are developing their skills as well as putting on some entertainment.”

2024. Six years in the making Kiangardarup – which means Kangaroo place – The Torbay Suite comes from the country of the Minang people. Rob describes it as being an intensely

evocative piece that takes the listener on a journey, from the awakening dawn through the heat of the day, to dusk and a still night spent under the Karri forest and stars. This journey finishes by the coals and flames of a campfire. He made recordings for it down south in the forrest and at the inlet that inspired it. Accompanying Rob on the violin will be Manuela Centanni (wooden flute), Melinda Forsythe (cello) and Jim Green (bouzouki). Kiangardarup – The Torbay Suite the album is due in September, but Fairbridge goers can expect a preview.

Jon points out the festival is truly multi-cultural and that Luka brings something unique and Irish and a special connection.

“The thing about connection is quite important to me and I guess its a part of the programming strategy for the festival,” added Jon. “I do a lot of work in multicultural arts and have done for decades. I work with a whole range of artists from different cultural backgrounds who have different influences but live here in Perth and are a part of Australia and a part of Australian culture. We all come together, so we might have strong Irish element but we also have a strong African component, and

Luka’s local lore Luka has a deep connection with Australia and has developed strong emotions for it over the years. In an interview with this publication a few years ago Luka shared with readers that his favourite place in all of Australia was South Fremantle, a real home away from home for the Kildare man. His Australian tours are deliberately organised so that Perth is his “last port”, to give him time to spend here and catch up with friends. And so it was on that last trip in April 2019 – which at the time was his 13th tour and looked quite like it might have been his final visit down-under, so its great to see him make it here again. Anyhow, not that he needed it but Fremantle reminded him of his affection for the place. He went for a stroll with his close friend Hanne (Fisker) around Freo one afternoon, with a very specific mission in mind.

we’ve got several Chinese acts as well. But the thing with Luka, what makes him special is that send of connection that we have with him as well as the connection he has with the Irish Aboriginal Festival in Kidogo (Bathers Beach, Fremantle). He’s connected to us and we could have got any artist – and we know many high quality artists – but he’s in Australia, he’s literally coming past and he’s got this connection and it felt like being a part of our community and we should celebrate that.

He’s got the major concert on the Saturday evening and we’ll be giving him a much longer performance time than the other artists. And he’s sticking around the next day (Sunday) and is doing a smaller chat event with Lucky Oceans”. Jon met Luka when he was living in Ireland in the 90’s, but got to know him here in WA. “He came to live in South Fremantle when I was the CEO of Kulcha Multicultural Arts of WA and he would come into Kulcha. “We got talking and I asked him if he would write a testimonial about what he liked about the place, and he did, and we used in our promotional material, which was great.”

“For ages I have been trying to find a copy of Riverside for Hanne. I don’t have one myself,” Luka said on social media at the time.

“So we rambled into The Record Finder on High Street in Freo; and I said to myself, ‘you never know’….had a look through the ‘B’ section, and sure enough, there was one copy of Riverside, which I happily bought for 10 dollars. This time 30 years ago I was preparing to record this record in New York, and today I bough a copy of it in Fremantle.”

Luka – who must have been through (and in) some of the best music shops in the world – thanked owner Mark and gave the local store

THE IRISH SCENE | 17

a great plug.

“Mark and his friends have the most fantastic collection of CDs, tapes, and mostly vinyl. It is a beautiful Fremantle institution.”

Just days before interviewing Jon Cope and writing this piece Irish Scene editor Lloyd Gorman learned of another Freo Luka connection, through my friend and workmate Paul McGovern. Paul – a talented photographer who I work with at the Subiaco POST newspaper – and I got talking about music over lunch and Luka’s name came up. Paul, who is also a fan of Luka’s music, started talking about a friend of his,

Christian Sambrailo a local artist and interior designer. She had recently posted a message on Facebook about one of her creations, Wood Horse – Susan Rothenberg Tribute. “I completed this piece many years ago,” she said. “It was sold and resides in the West of Ireland alongside one of my other pieces which happens to be on the cover of Luka Blooms Head and Heart album. It is always a small wonder to me that pieces created are sent out into the world to find their own way. We create, we release and we create again. If we hold onto things, it’s like stopping an evolution in the process or progression of things.”

Jon sees this as another example of how art and culture can connect people. “This is the great thing people get at this festival,” he adds.

“They get the cultural experience and a sense of connectedness with artists from around the world, around Australia, from around regional WA and from Perth. It really fills your soul.”

Same festival, new venue COVID took a heavy toll. “We lost three festivals in the last four years,” Jon reflected. “We lost the one in 2020, there was a small one in 2021, with local acts and artists, 2022 was not possible and things were still not sitting right for it to happen in 2023.” It was a big hit for a business model that depends on ticket sales for an event that happens once a year.

“We want people to get behind it,” he added.

“Don’t wait for next year or anything get down to this one. The main thing that has changed between the Fairbridge Festival and this one is that it will be held at a new location, about five miles away from the traditional grounds at Fairbridge village. “When the festival started that was an extraordinary location, but after COVID, there’s been some changes and it was no longer really suitable for us, so unfortunately the board at the time in 2022 had to make a call, to keep the festival going we had to find a new home.”

The board of Folkworld Inc – the parent company for the Fairbridge Festival – put together a presentation outlining the benefits of the festival and pitched it to the market.

They got an outstanding 30 Expressions of Interest from various shires and groups that wanted the festival in their bailiwick. “The 18 | THE IRISH SCENE

Shire of Murray put forward a really strong proposal and the new site – the Edenvale Heritage Precinct – I believe is potentially better than the old one. It feels like a soft step out of the Fairbridge village. We’ve got the heritage ambiance, that’s landscaped and well maintained and a shady riverside area, and we’ve even got a little chapel. The new site offers lots of opportunity but its also got logistical challenges. For example, we’ve got a huge camping field across the river, so we are building a pontoon bridge to connect them.

But once we’ve done it for the first time it will become easier. There were 28 Fairbridge festivals at the other site, as well as some council events. Its just time to move on and we hope people get behind the Fairbridge Festival they know and love and come to this one and support us in this transitional step.”

STUDCO

ST PATRICK’S RACEDAY Ascot Racecourse | Saturday 16 March

May the luck of the Irish be with you on Studco St Patrick’s Raceday at Ascot Racecourse! Enjoy a full day of racing and entertainment with the ever-popular Irish village in full swing, featuring the beloved Mucky Duck Bush Band, Irish-themed food, plus Guinness and Kilkenny on tap.

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Searching for the answer to the Irish Club question?

A

strong crowd turned out for the community forum to discuss the fate and future of the Irish Club at the open meeting held on January 31 (The Irish Club Needs You! Irish Scene Jan/Feb 2024). The upstairs bar area was largely full with people with something to say or who wanted to hear how the club and club premises – which can be two very different things – are travelling.

Chaired by Marty Kavanagh (Honorary Consul) and Stephen Dawson (MLC) Alan O’Meara, president of the Irish Club committee Alan O’Meara and some other committee members, were there to listen and take what they heard onboard. As much as possible comments were constructively critical.

Individuals speakers as well as representatives from many organisations and groups – the GAA, Ceoltas, Claddagh, Irish dancing and Irish Theatre Players amongst others – aired their experiences of dealing with the Club over the years. There was frank and fearless feedback about the shortcomings with the building itself and the way it was run. Most Irish groups no longer use the club because it doesn’t service their needs. The lack of a lift to the upstairs section meant a lot of older members of the community and even members, as well as those with mobility issues, could not come to the Club. There was a lively discussion and variety of views about the changing needs and nature of the Irish community, of clubs around the world, what a club should be and have and even if there was a need for a club in the traditional sense. There were a lot of successful people in the room and community and good reasons why something good could be made

20 | THE IRISH SCENE

by Lloyd Gorman to happen. There were a few show of hands to gauge the mood of the room to several questions, including should the Club stay at its present site in Subiaco, where it has been since the 1970s. The location of the club, parking and playing fields and the condition of the building itself were all discussed. There was some goodwill and support for the club to remain in situ but also a sentiment amongst many that it was time to move forward with something different. At least one person had a sense of Déjà vu, reminding the room the community had come together before when the club was in distress, but nothing concrete had come of those deliberations. There was a general consensus the Irish community needed and wanted an Irish Club, but what that looks like is an open question waiting for an answer.

A photocopied newspaper story published just two days earlier was handed out at the meeting. It gave some reason for optimism.

The article was about the Celtic Club in Melbourne, which after losing its club house and eight hard and heartbreaking years of being ‘homeless’ was expecting to reopen in its own building in time for St. Patrick’s Day! After years in the financial doldrums the Club is investing half a million dollars to renovate the 170 year old Sarah Sands Hotel in Brunswick.

“It wouldn’t be too strong a thing to say that the members were quite bereft, and lost, after the sale of Queen Street,” Celtic Club president Patrick McGorry told The Age. “And now we’ve found a new home which we hope the members will really warm to, and that the whole community will get behind.”

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THE IRISH SCENE | 21

MARTIN KAVANAGH

HON CONSUL OF IRELAND

MARTIN KAVANAGH

HON CONSUL OF IRELAND

Happy St Patrick’s Day Richard and I wish you and yours a very Happy St Patrick’s Day 2024. Whether you are a recent arrival or a ‘blow in’ who has been here for decades, we hope you take the time to celebrate our Irish ancestry, culture and history. Our thanks to the many volunteers who contribute so selflessly to our community through their participation in cultural, sporting and welfare groups. We Irish look after our own, quietly, selflessly and with great passion, empathy and enthusiasm. Go raibh mile maith agait.

Thank to Lynda O’ Leary at the Honorary Consulate in Perth and to Ambassador Tim Mawe and all the team at the Embassy in Canberra for their guidance, support and assistance, particularly Liz.

We’ve come a long way since 1924. But it’s still worth remembering important things about your Irish passport: Always have at least 6 months validity on your passport.

• You must report lost or stolen passports to police and obtain a police report.

• All Irish passport applications and renewals are online.

• If you do not have a valid passport and there is a genuine emergency such as a family death or illness- contact the Honorary Consulate of Ireland in Perth or the Embassy of Ireland in Canberra.

Welcome to Minister Donnelly

St Patrick’s Festival Leederville

It is great to hear that the Minister of Health of Ireland, Stephen Donnelly TD will visit Western Australia as part of the Government of Ireland’s global outreach during St Patrick’s Day. At the time of writing the Minister’s itinerary has not been finalised. Minister Donnelly is very welcome to Western Australia, and we are delighted that the government has chosen to send such a senior cabinet minister to WA.

Irish Passport is 100 Years Old

Please join the fantastic organising team for the St Patrick’s Festival in Leederville. As ever, the hard work, energetic and enthusiastic organising team and volunteers promise to deliver a wonderful and fun packed day at Leederville. The Irish community in Perth is lucky to have such a wonderful group of committed ad talented volunteers. Please come along and enjoy a wonderful day.

Irish club

It was great to see such a high turnout at the As St Patrick’s Day approaches it is interesting to public forum hosted by the Irish club. Let’s hope note that 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of the that this is the stary of an ongoing discussion and Irish passport. From humble beginnings in 1924, consultation about the future of the Irish club and the Irish passport has come a long way. A few the Irish community in WA. interesting facts and numbers: In 2022 and 2023 over 1 million passports were issued each year.

• In 2022 the oldest online applicant was 102 years and the youngest was 7 days old.

• The Irish passport ranks joint 4th in the world in the Global Passport Index which ranks passports by total mobility.

• The most popular names on new passports in 2022 were: 165/580 Hay Street, East Perth WA 6004 By appointment only

We’ve come a long way since 1924. But it’s still worth remembering important things Tel: (08) 6557 5802 Fax: (08) 9218 8433 Email: info@consulateofirelandwa.com.au your Irish passport: 165/580 Hay Street, East Perth WA 6004 By appointmentaboutonly Mon-Fri 10.30 - 2.00pm Website: www.consulateofirelandwa.com.au • Always have at least 6 months validity on your passport.

• You must report lost or stolen passports to police and obtain a police report.

Tel: (08) 6557 5802 Fax: (08) 9218 8433 Email: info@consulateofirelandwa.com.au

Website: www.consulateofirelandwa.com.au 60 | THE IRISH SCENE

•

All Irish passport applications and renewals are online.

• If you do not have a valid passport and there is a genuine emergency such as a Mon-Fri 10.30 - 2.00pm family death or illness- contact the Honorary Consulate of Ireland in Perth or t

Embassy of Ireland in Canberra.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day From

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Leaving the Land

E

migration is not a new concept to the people of Ireland.

Earlier instances that can be quantified go back to the “Flight of Earls”, Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and Rory O’Donnell, first Earl of Tyrconnell, who fell out with the crown in the early 1700’s, and got out of dodge while they still could.

There would be very few Irish who were not familiar with the circumstances and consequences of “An Gorta mor” the great famine of 1845.

Eighty per cent (80%) of those who left Ireland during this terrible time went to America, the poorest of the emaciated and starving victims could only afford the ferry passage to Liverpool in the UK. Most Irish families were large, some consisting of fourteen or more people, and the countries they sought refuge from could be the devil between them and the deep blue sea.

Poverty forced emigrants to shelter their families wherever they could, often in tiny, cramped spaces, shared with two or more other families, in a building intended for single family use. Lack of proper sewage and running water made keeping self and surroundings clean practically impossible, leading to sickness and disease. Existing in these cheekby-jowl conditions earned the label of “Dirty Irish’, their large Catholic families looked down on as animal litters, and treated in kind.

Suspicion around taking jobs from the locals produced discrimination and mistrust on a national level. Even the educated Irish could only secure heavy labouring work or in domestic service, paying minimal, or below, wages. Take it or leave it, Paddy!

Many a boarding or lodging house put signs in their windows stating, “No blacks, no dogs, no Irish”. In the late 1940’s and 1950’s, dire economic conditions forced the next

24 | THE IRISH SCENE

by Chris Doyle

wave of migration to the UK, where work was so thin on the ground, or unavailable to the Irish, some men felt pressured into joining the British army, taking “The Queen’s shilling” to support their families. Given the history between both countries, and having blood relatives back home, this could be very marginalising for those trying to keep the wolf from the door, and their kids fed and sheltered.

Lack of political autonomy and religious or sectarian conflicts were the main concerns of those emigrating in the 1960’s and 1970’s, particularly Northern Irish.

The flat-lined economy of the 1980’s saw young people leave in droves, mainly to America, Canada, and Europe.

Eire go Brea enjoyed huge economic growth, AKA “The Celtic tiger”, from the late 1990’s to 2008, when the bubble burst with the collapse of the Irish banking system. People leaving Ireland more than tripled between 2008 and 2012, impacting families, friends and businesses.

The central statistics office (CSO) estimates that almost 81,000 left Ireland in the twelve months between April 2014 and April 2015, exceeding even the highest rates of emigration in the 1950’s and 1980’s. Overall, since 1700, it is estimated between nine and ten million born in Ireland have emigrated—— more than the population itself.

Perth, WA, where I now call home, is considered the most isolated place on the planet. It’s not Paris, or Poland, or Pennsylvania, USA that would take six hours thirty-one minutes to get to Dublin airport from, as opposed to twenty-one hours fiftyfive minutes (that’s 22 hours in ANY language!) from Perth.

The hot, dusty, dry conditions of living on a desert’s edge can make the green, green grass

of home seem even further away when homesickness strikes. Even in a crowded room, loneliness can side-swipe and shock us with its depth.

Hearing a song that reminds of a time or place, a lad the image of someone from primary school, a whiff of your Ma’s perfume, or a Tayto sandwich with Kerrygold butter can trigger a desperation to be among your own, even for ten minutes.

Birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and holy days, the matchings, hatchings and despatchings only the Irish celebrate and honour in our own unique way, can break the heart of a soul trying their best to integrate with their new life, and make some sort of peace with living in tomorrow.

Whether we came for better economic opportunities, or adventure and curiosity for what lies in the field beyond, everyone that has grown up in Ireland still thinks of our little Island as “HOME” in the head, but more so, in the heart.

Our sayings, customs, values and mannerisms sometimes draw condescension, or a smile, but a “LAAAV your accent!” Can bridge what gets lost in translation.

It’s not just Barrys tea, chocolate Kimberley, or tights

from Penneys that define what we miss from home. It is the sometimes irreverent humour, our patriotism, fairness in sport——win, lose or draw, welcome for strangers, sing-song at the drop of a hat, and most conversations starting with a description of the weather. Swearing to go straight home from the GAA match on Sunday afternoon, and yourself and the pals being last to leave the pub for a stop at the chipper on the way home…

Ireland has bred saints, sinners, scholars, singers, musicians, poets, athletes, and authors, most of whom have left their beloved Island, sometimes grudgingly, to expand their wings in the wider world. When playwright, poet, and character extraordinaire Brendan Behan returned from a three month stint in Canada, and was asked what he thought of the place, he replied, “It’ll be lovely when it’s finished!”

Before leaving for America in the 30’s and 40’s, Irish people had their “Wake” the night before they sailed, giving family and friends the opportunity to say goodbye. Surviving the crossing was not guaranteed, any more than procuring work to keep body and soul together, with returning home again being completely out of the question.

Modern technology allows us to stay connected to loved ones any time of day or night, whether on shiftwork, or living in remote areas, especially handy when the Mammy keeps forgetting what time it is here……

The grief of leaving “Home” behind, even temporarily, is a reaction to loss of the familiar.

Some things that may not have particularly

THE IRISH SCENE | 25

resonated when we lived there can magnify homesickness and reinforce the idea that we will never fully settle.

There will always be the dread of “that” phone call on the backburner; Illness or death in the family, how quickly can I get there? There’s the possibility of accident or injury here in Australia, outstaying the visa, unplanned pregnancy, or the prolonged H O M E S I C K N E S S, affecting every aspect of life.

Being in the “system”, paying a mortgage or rent, childcare fees, and living expenses in general can make that holiday back, or return home, a pipe dream. What if your partner settles, but you want to go home?

Or vice-versa. Grieving any loss is unique to everybody, no two people will feel exactly the same way. Some of the physical symptoms of grief reactions are; •

A “hollow” feeling in the tummy area

I

was born and raised in Dublin, landing as the troublesome “middle” of six kids, who questioned everything and answered back from the minute I could speak.

I was very attached to my maternal grandmother, who swung between telling me off for my bolshie behaviour, and defending me when it got me into trouble, in equal measure.

My Nanny was a woman who didn’t suffer fools gladly, with a no-nonsense approach to most situations, usually minus the kid-gloves, but was the heart’s blood of good nature, and a head of common sense when it came to dispensing advice.

She lived in inner-city Dublin, and like most of her generation was a devout Catholic, who would not break her fast until she’d attend 7.00am mass in Whitefriar st. church, answered the prayers in Latin, and received communion.

26 | THE IRISH SCENE

•

Tightness or heaviness in the chest or throat

•

Oversensitivity to noise

•

Difficulty breathing

•

Fatigue—feeling tired and weak

•

Lethargy—lack of energy

•

A dry mouth

•

Increase or decrease in appetite

•

Insomnia, or fear of sleeping

•

Aches and pains

Numbness or anger can also be present with grief. If you are struggling with grief and loss related issues, reach out to those around you, talking to someone can lessen the burden of trying to carry grief 24/7.

People care about you, especially those from your community, the fighting Irish tend to fight hardest for each other, and you may be surprised by the reactions, or how the emigration journey has impacted some of those you think have “got it all together”, so put your hand up if you need help!

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Sometimes she’d even give the time of day to the gossiping women in the chapel porch, who she’d christened the “Ate the statues, shite the chalk brigade”.

Called a spade a shovel, did my Nan! I like to think I’ve absorbed some of her wisdom, and the humanity and compassion that no psychology degree can provide.

I’ve been a counsellor most of my life, and was drawn to studying the theories and ethics implemented in modern counselling strategies after my children left the nest.

I’d worked in hospitality from age fifteen, my husband and I ran restaurants, cafes and catering companies both in Dublin, and here in Perth. Like my nanny, I was a self-taught cook, and inherited her ability to “make a dinner out of nothing”.

My last culinary gig was as cook to the

Archbishop of Perth, and the clergy that resided in the palace. I sometimes wondered what she’d think of my serving them her coddle and brown sodabread on cold winter days.

I became a nanny myself before embarking on my counselling career, and my grandson asked if I would have my own show like Dr. Phil, of course, I said yes…..then he decided I had more in common with Judge Judy….

Following the birth of my youngest child, I suffered a pretty severe dose of post-natal depression, and the eighties may as well have been the fifties regarding treatment for managing the condition.

My GP informed me if I didn’t take the antidepressants she’d prescribed, she could have me committed to a mental healthcare unit, my mother told me to get out and clean my windows, that would cure me of the “babyblues”, and two different friends asked me just what WAS wrong with me when life was so good? (one even alluding to my “millionaires” family, my girl AND my boy!) bless! I had the cleanest windows on my road, but nobody could hear the screaming in my head.

I truly get that everyone was trying to help in the only way they knew how, even institutions back in the infancy of mental health care advocated a “chop wood-carry water” strategy, where patients would scrub the walls and floor as “therapy”.

The theory behind it being, concentration can only be given to one thing at a time, and scrubbing surfaces would take the focus off their issues.

When I was growing up, the stigma attached to seeking help for anything connected with mental illness was well known, but hidden under a blanket of secrecy and shame for the people involved.

I remember hearing various family members whispering about Mrs. X “suffering with her nerves”, or, an even bigger mortaler, being “under a psychiatrist”, it was almost as if they’d catch whatever she had if they spoke to or went near the object of pity and scorn.

Recently, I saw a meme that began “LMFAO! Guess what my therapist said to me today?!”

Approach to mental health issues has changed almost beyond recognition in the last thirty years, and I say “AMEN!” to that fact.

Everybody knows someone that’s struggling with something, just look at the rates of anxiety suffered by children as young as five following the pandemic.

There are many different approaches to helping people in psychological pain, from pharmacotherapy, where some people do need medication to regulate mood/impulse control (EG; bipolar disorder, which used to be known as manic depression) to self-help groups where everyone explores the nature of their issues and can lean on the perspective and support of like-minded people within a safe space, without judgement.

There’s narrative therapy, that can help reshape destructive behaviours, CBT; cognitive behavioural therapy, which can help in constructing alternative, more useful beliefs about the self, making sense of experiences, thoughts and feelings, and there are plenty of workshops and seminars that address and explain most issues that affect the lives of us all.

One-on-one counselling can be a great resource for someone in pain. Most people who seek counselling will have had heaps of advice on just where they are going wrong or failing in their lives from family and wellmeaning friends.

As a person-centred therapist, I truly believe we all have the capacity to find the answers within ourselves that can uncover healthy lifestyle choices that align with our own values, and put us on a path to fulfilment, or at the very least, coming to an understanding of the nature and management of our issue/s.

Through nonjudgmental support, switching off the background “noise” of others voices can facilitate tuning into self-perspective, which can translate as that guidance that we all seek.

A question my nanny used to ask was “What would the wise woman do?”

Chris Doyle

Chris Doyle m a c a . . .

COUNSELLOR

c.doyle@chrisdoyle.com.au chrisdoyle.com.au 0429 933 830

THE IRISH SCENE | 27

New era for the old ‘Woody’ F amed – amongst other things – for its foot stomping traditional Irish music sessions on Tuesday nights (and every second Sunday) the Woodbridge Tom and Rob Hotel in Guildford changed hands in early February.

The ‘Woody’ has been a public house since 1902 and will continue to be under its new owners the Australian Venue Company.

The new landlords also own Durty Nelly’s Irish Pub in the Perth CBD and The Galway Hooker in Scarborough, so they know a thing or two about running a quality Irish pub and all up they have almost 200 venues across Australia, 25 of which are in Perth.

As recently as last December the previous owners and punters celebrated an important milestone for the popular watering hole, its 20th anniversary. In December 2003 Dublin man Thomas Shortall and his business partner Robert Simpson – from Nottingham – took over what was a fairly run down establishment and built it up as a vibrant venue that is popular with the Irish

28 | THE IRISH SCENE

community, and many others besides.

“Twenty years went in the blink of an eye,” said Tom. He and Rob worked together for the late hospitality king Morris Brockwell,

who owned heaps of pubs in Perth and across Australia. Tom returned to Perth from Sydney where he had opened pubs for his boss. Rob was working at Bridie O’Reilly’s in Subiaco (now Fenway) and they struck out on their own by setting up Rosie O’Gradys in South Perth (which closed about 2005).

When the lease for the Woodbridge Hotel came up they took that on and a few years later bought out the freehold to the property.

“I’m going to take a break for the next six months, do some travelling and see what happens after that,” Tom told Irish Scene.

“I’ve got plenty of ideas but no plans.”

Congratulations to Tom and his wife for baby Cillian – their sixth child – who arrived about the same time he was wrapping things up with the pub.

The Woody has been an important meeting place and the setting for many big occasions, including every March 17 of course! It has also been a long term supporter of the Irish Scene so on behalf of many in the community we would thank Tom and Rob for everything they have done over the years and wish them well in whatever their next adventure is.

Sir Henry I presume?

A

brand new pub with the best Irish – and ‘rock’ – pedigree in Perth was born in January.

In fact, Sir Henry’s in Lake Street Northbridge actually had its opening night on the same day nearby Johnny Foxes marked its third birthday.

Sir Henry’s is owned by three mates, Dave McKee, Pat Van Brakel and Ian Jeffrey. On top of his usual business interests Ian has been busy. The Galway man launched a local stout called Sir Henry’s – which was introduced to the world at Johnny Foxes to tap – for St Patrick’s Day last year, and this year now has a venue of the same name. We wonder what he might come up with next and hope to speak with him for the next issue of Irish Scene.

THE IRISH SCENE | 29

Catalpa Adventure Festival Dropping anchor on Sunday 31 March 2024 and set across two fun-filled days, the Catalpa Adventure Festival sponsored by Catalpa Group of Companies, returns bigger than ever in 2024. Presented by Tourism Rockingham and Street Hassle events, this free community event celebrates the excitement and daring of this astounding historical escape tale that took place in Rockingham 148 years ago.

Sunday 31 March 2024 • •

2pm to 5pm – Village Green 5pm to 9pm – Gary Holland Centre

Monday 1 April 2024 • 11am to 6pm - Churchill Park Suitable for all ages Sunday 31 March 2pm - 5pm Village Green, Rockingham Watch a live Gaelic football match with Na Fianna Catalpa and enjoy Irish hurling demonstrations.

There will also be food trucks and free activities for the whole family.

5pm - 9pm Gary Holland Community Centre Listen to the Fenian fables and live Irish music followed by the screening of the Catalpa Rescue. 18+ event with licensed themed bar by Tourism Rockingham - have a Guinness!

Monday 1 April 9am – 12pm approx. The Catalpa Dash Just like our brave Fenian escapees, the Peel District Cycling Club will take the journey from Fremantle Prison to Rockingham. Register now to join this memorable cycle. Breakfast is included along with wonderful Irish music by Tommy O Brien. The groups will leave at approximately 10am and are expected to arrive in Rockingham between 11am and 12pm.

Sponsored by the Fremantle Fenians Ride is $55 ( includes a free Catalpa T-shirt) – register now at Catalpa Dash 2024 – PDCC. 11am to 6pm Churchill Park, Rockingham • Learn about the Catalpa Rescue - “The Great Rockingham Irish Escape” • Visit market and food stalls and say “cheers” or “slainte” at the licensed bar.

• Take part in free activities and more.

Join in the Irish song and dance, featuring Trinity Irish Dance Studio, The Healys and the Jarrah Celts.

For more information contact Tourism Rockingham 9592 3464, visitrockingham.com.au or follow the Catalpa Adventure Festival on Facebook.

Thanks to all our sponsors: • City of Rockingham • Tourism Rockingham • Catalpa Group • Fremantle Ports • Rotary Club of Palm Beach • Rotary Club of Rockingham

• Perth Southwest Metropolitan Alliance • Bendigo Bank Community Bank Rockingham • Shelford Constructions • Safety Bay Settlements • Street Hassle Events • Cockburn Cement

• Rockingham and Kwinana Mobility and Rehabilitation Supplies • Lions Club Rockingham • Margaret River to You • Three Pound Group • Fremantle Prison • TS Leeuwin

G’day from Gary Gray AUSTRALIA’S AMBASSADOR IN IRELAND Stay up to date with what’s happening in the Australian Embassy, Ireland by following:

@ausembire

Australian Embassy, Ireland

@AusEmbIre

Gary Gray

32 | THE IRISH SCENE

Ambassador Gray’s note from Dublin: Ponderings on Australia Day It is mid-February here in Ireland as I write for this edition of Irish Scene and it is a time here at the Embassy when we review and learn from the hustle and bustle of Australia Day celebrations at the end of January. What is Australia Day? Around this time of year, I often find myself reflecting on this question. It’s one that, at least in an Australian context is loaded with challenging analysis and ponderings on what it is to be a modern multicultural nation with a difficult and painful past. Indeed, what it is to be Australian. In ‘My Country,’ Dorothea Mackeller, one of Australia’s most famous ‘bush poets’ describes Australia as a ‘sunburnt country’… ‘a wide brown land for me!’ She speaks of ‘my heart’ and ‘my country’ in the same poem – is this a proclamation or a challenge?

Or both? I sometimes wonder.

For if something is ‘mine’ then it is surely not ‘yours’ and in the context of Australia’s history with its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples there is an ‘other’ that was identified early in Australia’s colonial history. One that was forced into ‘otherness’ in a land they had called their own for 65,000 years.

Terra Australis – taken from the Latin meaning Southern Land, Australia has been known by many names; New Holland, Ulimaroa, Van Diemen’s Land. A land of the Eucalyptus, the Banksia, the Callistemon, the Acacia and the Telopea. A land of Dunnarts and Bilbies, of Bandicoots and Dingoes, of Emus, Koalas, Kangaroos, Wombats, Wallabies and

G’DAY FROM GARY GRAY Tasmanian Devils. Is that what Australia Day is about?

Or is it NBA’s Ben Simmons, Golf’s Jason Day, Soccer’s Sam Kerr or Tennis’s Ashleigh Barty? When Australia Day comes round each year I put on the Embassy pre-prepared playlist and I wonder is this what it’s about; the BeeGees, ACDC, Olivia Newton John, Kylie Minogue. None of it seems to answer my ponderings. Making sense of why Australia Day remains so important to many Australians and unimportant to others is something I think about often. It’s important for us to understand and respect one another and hopefully build something better from the answers we receive. To some Australians, Australia Day reminds them of a loss. A loss of land, a loss of culture and identity. For others it recognises that pain and tries to incorporate it into a worldview that includes the modern nation Australia has become. These aren’t easy reflections and I don’t think that’s an easy task. ‘Easy’, might they who were dispossessed say, ‘for the coloniser to rationalise the hurt of the colonised’. Yet finding a way through the pain caused by one group of people onto another is the building block of many modern nations. There is no scenario, nor any serious suggestion that the 95% of Australians who do not share an Aboriginal heritage are to leave the land so a shared future seems the only possible path available to us. Of the 95% trying to also find their place in our complicated land it is worth reminding ourselves that they are not from England alone but also Ireland, Italy, Greece, Vietnam, China, Philippines, Poland, Lebanon, India. The list goes on.

The people from these nations have come ‘Down Under’ because we have built a society that is one based on individual freedom and dignity. One which enshrines protections and rights not only to the individual but to minorities – ensuring that the mistakes of the past will not be repeated again.

People from Ireland and across the world travel,

work and settle in Australia because we have created a welcoming, high-income and high-quality standard of living. We created the black box flight recorder, pacemakers, WiFi technology and the world’s first Gardasil and Cervarix cancer vaccines. I don’t know where these achievements sit in this conversation.

But they do sit somewhere. Australia, as many modern nations are, is a complicated place filled with contradictions and challenges. Australia Day for me does not ignore those challenges. Australia Day is about acknowledging the contributions every Australian makes to our contemporary and dynamic nation. From our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with an ancient and rich heritage, to those who have lived there for generations, to those who have come from all corners of the globe, including Ireland, to call Australia home.

Oodgeroo Noonuccal, a proud indigenous Quandamooka woman and Aunty from Northeastern Australia, a famous poet and activist writes beautifully how, during her life teaching and informing Australians about Aboriginal culture, ‘the last seventeen years I’ve had 26,500 children on the island. White kids as well as black. And if there were green ones, I’d like them too… I’m colour blind you see. I teach them about Aboriginal culture. I teach them about their balance with nature.’ Oodgeroo’s aspirations for an island of equality are still to be reached as Australia continues to work to try and reach her vision for the nation. In some ways there is no better date than Australia Day that promotes constructive discourse and pushes us to reflect, respect and celebrate the nation we have become as all Australians are part of the story. For the true answer, though never perfect, will not be the National Flag, nor the Torres Strait Islander Flag nor the Aboriginal Flag, but all of them. Together.

The Hon Gary Gray AO Australian Ambassador to Ireland

THE IRISH SCENE | 33

A Garish and Grubby Gamble

by Lloyd Gorman

E

xactly fifty years ago – just four days before St. Patrick’s Day – Vincent Gair – a Queensland senator and former premier of that state accepted an offer to be Australia’s ambassador to Ireland. The timing of his decision had nothing to do with the impending feast day of the Irish patron saint and the job offer had nothing to do with Australia’s foreign policy interests in Ireland. Shrouded in secrecy from the outset his ambassadorship was a combination of personal vanity and dirty power games in Canberra.

As a result Ireland got a lousy diplomat who caused more problems than he might have solved. For its part Australia inherited an infamous political debacle that became known as the Gair Affair. The Liberal opposition of the day denounced it as the “most shameful act ever perpetrated by an Australian government”. Causalities from the fallout included a political party that was wiped out existence, provoked a change of government and ultimately helped claim the scalp of a prime minister in one of the most spectacular and famous downfalls in Australian history.

Gair at least had good reason to want the job.

He was nearing the end of a long and often gnarly political career and would have felt he deserved a comfortable exit. A plum posting to an overseas mission would be the perfect purse for all those years of political brawling.

Gair had personal motivations for wanting it too. His mother was from Enniskillen and both of his wife’s parents were Irish, from Clare (father) and Kerry (mother). Gair himself had been schooled by Christian Brothers (Br Ryan and Br Hogan from Clonmel), who he would talk fondly about sixty years later in his posting to Dublin.

‘A 72 year old drunk ambassador to Ireland’ Whitlam’s own minister for foreign affairs did not think it was a good idea to send Gair to Dublin, or anywhere. “I will not appoint a 72 34 | THE IRISH SCENE

“We’re all a little confused Sir....What is it exactly that you have against Ireland?”

year old drunk ambassador,” he told Whitlam whose solution was to wait until the minister was out of the country and to make the appointment himself as acting foreign affairs minister.

With the ambassadorship locked in Prime Minister Gough Whitlam quickly put his plan into place. On 21 March Whitlam told federal parliament of his intention to hold a half-Senate election on 18 May, with the writs for the election to be determined by state governors and the Governor General.

Whitlams scheme was for Gair to resign from the Senate on 2 April, as soon as the chamber returned from a break and before the election writs could be issued.

Whitlam knew Gair was disgruntled with

his own party – the Democratic Labor Party – and by making him ambassador he would have to leave the Senate, creating a vacant seat which Whitlam his party (Labor) planed to take in the election he was calling to help break a stranglehold the opposition held over assembly which had been blocking his government’s legislation, and call an election.

When parliament resumed on April 2 the story about Gair’s appointment to Ireland broke in a Melbourne newspaper.

Opposition leader Billy Snedden challenged the PM to reveal the truth, and when Whitlam did, he branded it a shameful act and “worse than any Tammany Hall effort that has ever been made in the United States”.

Parliament descended into a state of political conflict over the course of that day and night, leading to the notoriously dubbed “Night of the Long Prawns”, during which Gair was deliberately kept out of the way – entertained on a generous diet of whiskey and prawns – as political strings were being pulled in the background. That episode has been covered and documented in detail time and again by commentators and it is not necessary to go over that ground here.

‘What have you got against Ireland Prime Minister?’

For all that has been written about it the ‘Irish perspective’ in this tale has received much less attention and is what this article hopes to explore.

The next question to the PM was if he appointed Gair because of “diplomacy…. or so that you could win another Senate seat in Queensland?.” Whitlam responded by saying he agreed with the opposition leaders assessment that “Senator Gair is a very experienced and very senior politician.

He has, in fact, been a very great Australian”.

My attitude to Senator Gair has Always been same.”

The first question – of many – asked at a press conference with the Prime Minister in Parliament House on April 2 was; “why Senator Gair appointed Australian Ambassador to Ireland and, secondly, was this opposed by officials at the Department of Foreign Affairs who would have liked to see the position filled by a career diplomat rather than a politician?”.

Whitlam also confirmed the idea to appoint Gair was his and was made while he was the acting foreign affairs minister.

Mr Whitlam replied: “The Department of Foreign Affairs wasn’t asked for a view on it and, of course, didn’t presume to express a view on it. But members of Parliament have been constantly appointed to diplomatic posts including Ireland. You remember Sir Hugh Roberton was appointed as Ambassador to Ireland.”

The next day the front page of the Canberra Times was dominated by the issue (Gair accepts Irish post, April 3). The article was accompanied by a very telling cartoon of a newspaper man asking the PM – with a leprechaun-like Gair at this side – ‘We’re all a little concerned Sir...What is it exactly that you have against Ireland?”.

Another journalist asked him if the Irish government had expressed “any reservations about a second political appointment” as ambassador. Whitlam said Dublin had not made any comment and in fact had given its ‘agrément’ to it.

THE IRISH IRISH SCENE SCENE || 35 35 THE

Gair pictured here addressing an audience when he was premier in 1953. His wife Florence Glynn is also on the podium

The next day veteran journalist Richard Carleton interviewed the PM one on one to discuss Gair’s appointment and the potential for an election. Whitlam was bullish about the prospects of gaining power – indeed increasing it – by ‘going to the country’. “I’ve headed more campaigns for the Labor Party than any previous Federal leader, we’ve improved our record each time, I think we will this time,” Whitlam said.

The award winning TV journalist (who died in May 2006) said the threat of an election had started with his appointment of Gair as ambassador.

“Do you accept the description of that as a grubby act?,” Carlton asked, to which he got the simple answer “No”. How would he describe it then the interviewer asked.

“We appoint a member of parliament to an academic post, something that our predecessors have done on 12 occasions, er 14 occasions including Ambassador Dwyer.”

Questions about Gair kept coming and the grilling led to Whitlam confessing: “people were caught by surprise, yes, sure!”.

they were at aware of the sensitives involved, thanks to their own ambassador in Canberra.

“I continue to be surprised by the vehement feelings which the Gair appointment arouses in Irish and Irish-Australian circles,” ambassador Florrie O’Riordan reported to Dublin on September 12, 1975, following a requiem mass for the late Eamon de Valera in late 1975. “It is quite definitely felt as a slur to the Irish-Australian community by the Whitlam administration. It is now almost impossible to open an Australian newspaper or magazine without finding some derogatory reference to Mr Vincent Gair,” the ambassador reported on October 21, 1975. “Everywhere I have gone in Australia I have been bombarded with comments, anecdotes, jokes on Vince Gair,” he added.

“This has happened from governors of states, politicians of all parties, clergy, academics, businessmen, journalists and people in every walk of life. The anecdotes may not be true but many of them are very funny—or would be if we had no connection.”

A slur against Australia’s Irish community!

Whitlam’s wife even confided in the Irish ambassador that her husbands decision to appoint Gair had been “very unwise”.

If the Irish government did not outwardly express an opinion about Gair’s appointment

Gair started his new post in Dublin in May 1974 and he did not shower himself in glory.

36 | THE IRISH SCENE

“As an ambassador, Gair left a lot to be desired, habitually subjecting women to unwelcome attention, addressing the British ambassador as ‘you old bugger’, and telling unsavoury stories to mixed company in inappropriate situations,” Brian Stevenson wrote in The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate.

“When Whitlam visited Gair in Dublin in December 1974, Gair used the occasion to make political comments, including an attack on the capabilities of the then leader of the opposition, Billy Snedden. On the tarmac at Dublin airport journalist Laurie Oakes asked Gair what he thought about the opposition leader.

“Couldn’t go two rounds with a revolving door,” he shot back. “Wouldn’t make an impression on a soft pillow,” he added.

Inflammatory and insulting remarks for any public figure – let alone an ambassador – to make to a journalist. Back in Australia the Liberals demanded that Gair be compelled to resign, but the Labor government did nothing.”

X-Files A trademark of a good career diplomat is that they work hard to rack up milestones and markers along the way, and in each posting. Gair’s predecessor in Dublin – for example – was a consummate and dedicated diplomat. Keith Brennan had a legal background but excelled as an envoy and administrator. He had considerable experience under his belt when he was sent as ambassador – his first time in the high ranking role – to Dublin in February 1972.

In the relatively short time before he was prematurely moved on to make room for Gair in 1974, Brennan (who is worth an article in his own right) made a big impression in Dublin. He set up a chair of Australian history in the Australian Studies Centre at University College Dublin, where this writer would get a chance to study under the incredible but now sadly passed Australian historian Prof.

John Maloney in the 1990’s.

Another notch in Brennan’s belt was the mounting of a large and very successful exhibition of Sidney Nolan’s paintings in

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Dublin, including Snake, an impressive collective of 1620 panels measuring 9.14m by 45.72m long (30ft by 150ft) that formed one giant image.

Gair appears to have achieved nothing of substance in his time in Dublin. According to the national archives in Canberra there is very little in the way of official papers or records from his tenure.

Interestingly there is a file about him that remains under wraps. We know that the Irish army’s intelligence unit opened a classified dossier about Gair, but not why.

That information was not released with other confidential state papers in 2005/6 in line with the thirty year rule for the public release of former secret cabinet and government records. So it is possible that some secrets about this untypical diplomat have yet to be revealed.

diplomatic immunity, but it does not protect them against the order of their nation’s government.

He returned to Brisbane on 12 March 1976 – almost exactly two years to the day when he accepted the ambassadorship – and disappeared from public life. He died exactly five years to the day (November 11) of Whitlam’s dismissal. The whole sorry shambles was over, but it has never been forgotten in the political or public imagination of the nation.

Did Gair deliberately dud the PM in Dublin?

The Gair Affair was the first of those ‘disasters’ in the chain of events that led to the Whitlams demise when the Governor General Sir John Kerr – who Whitlam had appointed to the role – dismissed him as PM – the first time this had happened – and installed opposition leader Malcolm Fraser as caretaker prime minister. This led to one of the most famous scenes in Australian political history on November 11 1975 of a defiant Whitlam declaring: “Well we may say ‘God Save the Queen’ because nothing will save the Governor-General”.

About eight months after Gair took up his role in Dublin Prime Minister Whitlam visited several European countries, including a quick pitstop at Dublin. Whitlam – accompanied by Gair – met the Taoiseach and Foreign Affairs Minister Garrett FitzGerald at Government Buildings on December 23. That meeting was followed by a press conference for Irish journalists and Australian counterparts covering the tour. Thanks to an unclassified cable sent by the Dublin embassy to London there is a full transcript of the questions and answers posed at it. Questions ranged from the bombings in Dublin and Monaghan in May of that year, terrorism and Northern Ireland, access to the European Economic Community for Australian agricultural produce and the sacking of car workers in Adelaide by an American car manufacturer.

There were of course also the obligatory questions about his view about Ireland, if he thought Guinness rated equally with Fosters Lager and if he had plans to holiday there and if the Taoiseach had accepted his invitation to visit Australia.

Whitlam took Labour into the ensuing election and led it to its worst ever defeat.

Fraser – who he dubbed as “Kerr’s cur” – won a comfortable majority in both houses of parliament, the very thing Whitlam had set out to achieve by appointing Gair as ambassador to Ireland. The new Liberal administration wasted little time in recalling Gair. A qualified member of the Department of Foreign Affairs was sent to replace him. The disgruntled diplomat fired off an angry reply and tried to argue he had another year left in his term as ambassador but it was no good. Ambassadors have

The transcript shows that ambassador Gair pitched in with a jibe or a bad joke, one with the potential to be potentially embarrassing or awkward for his boss to deal with. “You’re an R.C., a regular customer.” It appears that this interjection may have caught the PM off-guard. While it is hard now to be one hundred percent certain about his meaning at that moment in time, it is quite likely it

Shonky shenanigans In his assessment of the Gair affair Ambassador O’Riordan said it might have “passed into semi-oblivion but for the fact that it was followed by a series of disasters for the Whitlam government.”

38 | THE IRISH SCENE

“This is the fourth time I’ve been here,” Mr Whitlam told one journalist. “I came here in 1962, 1967 and in January 1972. For a man who hasn’t got a drop of Irish blood in his veins, I’m a fairly regular visitor.”

was some kind of play on the abbreviation for Roman Catholic. Gair himself was a devout Catholic – a “bible bashing bastard “in Whitlams own words – and he would have been fully aware of the inference of R.C. and known the PM’s religious beliefs.

If Gair was flirting with dodgy religious references that would have been in Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave, left, greeted his Australian counterpart at Dublin Airport, December 1974.irishphotoarchive.ie/LensmenCollection incredibly bad taste and totally inappropriate at a time when the Troubles in Northern Ireland need to repeat himself, but now he seemed were seeing large numbers of Catholics to stumble; “I’m...I’m...I’m an adherent….I and Protestants being brutally killed and am adherent of the Church of Ireland,” he murdered in the conflict. Indeed, there said. “I am a separated brother.” Gair quickly were several questions directed at Whitlam followed up with another quip; “We’re at the press conference about terrorism in praying for you every day.” the North and the Dublin and Monaghan The transcript of the press conference shows bombings earlier that year by the Ulster that Mr Whitlam had just started to say Volunteer Force. something else and then paused before Whitlam had answered every other question in a polished and direct way, and without the

talking about how well he had come to know members of the Irish government from his

THE IRISH SCENE | 39

visits to Ireland, and theirs to Australia. “So it is very easy for me to pick up a conversation with Mr Lynch or Mr Cosgrove because I’ve had several conversations with them over the years.”

We don’t know the reason for the question – it may or may not alluded to the notorious Gair Affair – but Mr Whitlam was asked about the ambassador. “After eight months it is fairly clear that Mr Gair thrives on the

diplomatic life. Can you tell us when his term ends at the end of three years will he be offered another diplomatic post?”, a journalist (the transcript doesn’t say who it was or if they were Irish or Australia) said.

Mr Whitlam’s response didn’t give much away either. “I’ll consider that in my next government,” he said. As it turned out it wasn’t Whitlams decision to make! It wasn’t even his government that served Gair his marching orders.

Mr Whitlam addresses the media shortly after his dismissal as Prime Minister

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uch closer to home in Western Australia – and some years later – there was another example of top level political interference regarding the ambassadorship to Ireland. Brian Burke was sworn in as the premier of WA on 25 February 1983, his 36th birthday. Young and popular the new premier got off to a promising start and later that year local entrerpenur Alan Bond and his band of mainly West Australian merry men dramatically won the America’s Cup, the first team from outside the US to ever do so. West Australian’s were surfing a wave of prosperity and new prospects..

The Burke government had some successes but those early hopes and aspirations soon became bogged down in political reality and a cavalier era of commercial horsetrading and backroom wheeling and dealing between powerful interests, the likes of which the state had not seen before and would notoriously become known as ‘WA Inc’.

When he was elected premier Burke had said he would serve in the role for five years and then walk away from it and resign from parliament. It was a promise he kept and on February 25 1988 he stood down as premier of Western Australia, but not before he had made other arrangements.

“Before stepping down, I flew to Canberrra to tell the Prime Minister of my plans,” Mr Burke wrote in his autobiography ‘A Tumultuous Life’, published in 2017. “When I arrived at The Lodge I don’t think [Bob] Hawke had any idea of the resason for my visit. He was very surprised.”

A loyal Hawke ally, Burke told his friend of his intention to leave parliament on his 41st birthday, 25 February 1988.

“He tried hard to dissuade me from going,” added Burke in a chapter headed ‘Stepping Down’. “He said I was young enough to have a good career in federal politics, where I would be a senior minister and might even be prime minister. Hawke knew I hated flying and said a safe seat could easily be found in Melbourne or Sydney. But my mind was made up. Hawke didn’t miss a beat when I told him I wanted to be Australia’s Ambassador to Ireland. Without asking why, 42 | THE IRISH SCENE

by Lloyd Gorman

he said he would make sure I was appointed.

He didn’t say it would be hard and he didn’t make me think I was asking for a lot. He simply said “yes”.”

There were some minor formalities to deal with and a string of briefings by the department of foreign affairs to attend in Canberra, all of which the West Australian figure took in his stride.

“I had no fears about doing the job,” he wrote. “On a visit to Ireland in 1985, Sue and I both thought we had stepped back to the Australia of our youth in the 1950s and 1960s because the Irish youth looked just like those we had seen then in Australian streets. Their names were them names of kids we went to school with. We knew then just how Irish early Australia was.”

On July 24 1988 the entire Burke clan flew out of Perth destined for Dublin, where his term as ambassador (to Ireland and the Holy See) would begin on 2 August. His

Happy as Larry: Australian Ambassador to Ireland His Excellency Brian Burke with the 6 Australian Rose of Tralee contestants L-R, Orla McKnight(Perth), Catherine Coleman(Sydney), Allanah Mahony(Brisbane), Lydia Cagney(Melbourne), Tamara Field(Darwin) and Cathy Holdercroft(Adelaide), 21/08/1989 (Part of the Independent Newspapers Ireland/NLI Collection). Reproduced with the kind permission of Mediahuis Ireland

personality and amenable approach meant Burke was well suited in many ways to meet the demands of being a diplomat, and he enjoyed the three years he spent in Dublin.

He was at home when dealing with Irish politics and revelled in being Australia’s go to man in Ireland. But his time there was cut short. Diplomatic immunity could not pardon ambassador Burke from his political past.

“Soon after arriving in Dublin, I started to hear distress signals from home, so for two of the three years there I was worrying about what was happening in Perth,” he explained in his book. The mounting cost of his telephone bill became a major problem for him. “As the problems piled up in Perth, the Embassy’s telephone bill grew and, after it became public, questions were asked in Parliament, prompting Foreign Affairs Minister Evans to send me a “please explain”.

I really didn’t have an explanation because the use of the phone increased as the problems in Perth multiplied. I was using the phone a lot.”

In November 1989 Burke made a mercy dash to Perth to see his mother who had fallen seriously ill, but only stayed a few days because her condition improved. It was a brief trip but it was long enough for him to know which way the wind was blowing.

“I was now aware of the growing demand for

a royal commission into the government’s business dealings…,” he wrote. “When I was in Perth I discussed the royal commission with a number of people, including several ministers, and told them I saw no problem in establishing the proposed inquiry. I said I did not know of anything anyone had done that could not stand inspection and that, while there’d be embarrassment, I knew of no corruption or criminality. After I returned to Ireland, the royal commission was announced and it rapidly became clear that my position as Ambassador was untenable.”

His biography – which is a fascinating read – reveals that a number of friends and parliamentary colleagues told him to tough it out but that he knew it was becoming impossible for the Federal Government to defend his appointment. “Almost as soon as the royal commission was called I told the minister I was stepping down and returning to Perth….I could hear the sigh of relief in Canberra when I announced my decision to step down. Graham Richardson spoke to me and said he thought it was time to go but he told me the Prime Minister refused to ask me to resign. “At at media conference when I returned to Perth, I told a standing-room only crowd of journalists that I’d “knock these allegations into a cocked hat”. There was just one problem – my head would be in the hat!.”

THE IRISH SCENE | 43

Flanagan keeps up political pressure for Perth

by Lloyd Gorman

S

ay what you like about it but unlike its Australian equivalent the Irish diplomatic service is much less prone to being used as a political football to score goals in political squabbles, reward friends or bribe rivals. Take Ireland’s track record in Australia as a case in point . Starting with Dr Thomas Kiernan, the first Irish ambassador despatched to Canberra, in 1946 right up to today and serving ambassador Tim Mawe – 17 ambassadors in all – everyone of them has risen to the role from a background in the civil/public service or as career diplomats.

Charlie Flanagan TD, addressing a University audience about Irish politics

But political decisions about the Irish diplomatic service are made by sitting governments all the time. And as it happens the question of what Ireland’s next diplomatic move in Australia has been – and continues to be a live issue in Dail Éireann (parliament of Ireland). Up until very recently that debate focused on Perth – but now a challenger has thrown their hat into the ring for Melbourne.

One Irish politician in particular has been banging the drum for some time now for Western Australia to be upgraded to a permanent Consulate General, something that would be closer to an embassy. [Perth has had an honorary consulate – a private individual authorised to represent the government and Irish community locally – for more than fifty years. Corkman and lawyer Marty Kavanagh has been the honorary consulate for more than a decade now, and was appointed to the role by the government following the retirement of the late Michael Nolan, who performed the job for decades.]

Charlie Flanagan is a TD for the Laois-Offaly constituency and was Ireland’s minister for foreign affairs from 2014 to 2017. The Fine Gael TD also chairs Dáil Éireann’s (Parliament of Ireland) Select Committee on Foreign 44 | THE IRISH SCENE

Affairs and Defence and it was through this forum in November 2021 that Mr Flanagan first raised the idea, in a question to the minister for foreign affairs of the day, Simon Coveney: “having regard to our diaspora in Western Australia and the economic relationship between Ireland and Western Australia, will consideration be given towards the establishment of a consulate in Perth?.”

In response Mr Coveney – who visited Australia including Perth last year as Ireland’s trade minister – said he was familiar with the Irish diaspora in Perth. “One of them is my brother. He is a doctor there, like many other young Irish people and their families.

The Department is assessing where the next phase of expansion will go…...We are trying to finalise the next phase of areas where we think enhancing Ireland’s footprint makes sense politically, economically and with regard to the diaspora. We need to think about Western Australia,” Mr Coveney said.

At its next meeting on 10 March 2022 minister Coveney appeared before the Committee again and Mr Flanagan was eager to get an update to his question.

“When we discussed estimates last year, we mentioned the likelihood or need for a consular office in Perth, Western Australia,”

Mr Flanagan said. “I do not see that on the list. Is there any means by which a feasibility study might be undertaken, having regard to anecdotal evidence and indeed statistics that would show a very large diaspora community in Western Australia? Why does an office in Perth not appear to have gained the support of the Department at this stage?”

Mr Coveney told the Committee in terms of opening new embassies and the like the Department makes decisions “12 months before we are likely to action them”.

“Therefore, when the Chairman says he does not see Perth on the list, that is because it is being considered as part of a package which is not yet signed off on but which I will bring to the Government in the coming weeks as suggestions we are making for new representations that should progress next year. This year we are progressing Dakar, Toronto, Miami and Lyon for sure. One or two may be added to that list if we can move quickly on them.”

Mr Flanagan chaired the meeting of the Committee on Valentines Day 2023, this time with a new foreign and defence minister appearing, Tánaiste (Deputy PM) Micheál Martin. “I note the Tánaiste did not mention Perth in western Australia in his overview,” Mr Flanagan said. “I understood it was on a list somewhere. It seems to have gone down the priority list and I hope it could be restored because, again, I am sure there is quite a substantial Irish presence in Perth. Indeed, it is an increasing one, especially with respect to people in the medical profession. Australia being the vast territory it is I would have thought a consular office in Perth is something careful and due consideration would be given to.”

Flanagan said. “While I acknowledge that the honorary consul is doing a very good job, I ask that consideration be given in the context of proposed new missions to a consulate in Western Australia, having regard to the distance between Perth and the east coast cities where we have honorary consuls. The information might not be immediately to hand because it does not refer to the spending of money this year but I ask again that consideration be given to siting a consulate in Perth in order to service the needs of Irish interests in that area, not only from a consular point of view but also from an economic and political point of view, having regard to the very positive relations between Ireland and Australia.”

Appearing before the Committee on that occasion was Sean Fleming TD, the junior minister responsible for international development and the diaspora. In one part of his response Mr Fleming revealed an interesting detail that indicates Perth is no closer now to a consulate than it was three years ago.

“I completely take the Chair’s point about Perth,” Mr Fleming told him. “Western Australia is a long way from Canberra and Sydney. It is not on a list but it is being talked about, with a view to being considered down the road. We will take on board what the Chair has said. Given that it is so far away from Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, the other cities that people know, there is a reasonable case to be made for that possibility to be examined by the Department.”

Mr Martin’s response to the question about Perth was to say he would “follow those up and come back to him”.

The Foreign Affairs Committee met twice on November 28 and 29 last year, and on both days questions about the position of Perth persisted. “I again raise the situation in Western Australia where, in the city of Perth alone, there are 16,000 Irish-born residents and in the state there are more than 235,000 Australians who claim Irish ancestry,” Mr

Diplomacy in action…Mr Flanagan – who was Ireland’s minister for foreign affairs at the time – is pictured with his counterpart Julie Bishop and the former ambassadors Richard Andrews (left) for Australia and Breandán Ó Caollaí for Ireland.

THE IRISH SCENE | 45

Melbourne’s man on a mission

M

eanwhile, another line of questions about a new consulate “in Australia” were raised in Matt Carthy, Sinn Féin’s (SF) the Dail on 30 spokesperson on foreign affairs November last with Penny Wong, Australia’s year and again foreign affairs minister currently. on January 25

by Sinn Fein’s spokesperson on foreign affairs, Matt Carthy.

The true intention of what deputy Carthy had in mind emerged during the February 1 sitting of the foreign affairs committee. His views were formed by his visit to Australia – but not including Perth – last year. “I was in Australia over the summer. It is amazing when Irish people gather in large numbers in different places, particularly once they get GAA clubs established. It promotes healthy rivalry. The Melbourne Irish were quick to have a go at the Sydney Irish saying that they were getting everything because they have a consulate. They assured me that a consulate in Melbourne would be very much utilised. There are vibrant Irish communities in many cities in Australia, but Melbourne is a large city and a very important economic centre. It would be a really worthwhile initiative to open a consulate in Melbourne.

In Sydney I noted something that does not happen very often. Even before I had an opportunity to visit a Government service people told me how valuable and important it was to them. That is the experience of people with the consulate in Sydney. From how it was described I thought there was a staff of 30 or 40 people. It turns out that the staff is two or three, one of whom is on secondment. The interaction they have had with the Irish community and also with very important stakeholders there makes it a very valuable resource for Ireland, which is good value for money, if nothing else. We could have a similar situation with a consulate in Melbourne. Are there any plans in this regard and are any other consulates or embassies going to be opened in 2024?”.

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by Lloyd Gorman

Foreign affairs minister Micheál Martin said: “I am looking at Melbourne and other areas as well to see what the next tranche will be and I will come back to the committee on that. I take the Deputy’s point but I am looking at all of those areas with regard to expansion.

We have had very substantial expansion and that has stretched personnel and makes for a much more different organisation but on Ireland’s footprint, that is good and has many benefits, including cultural.”

No doubt just as he had done at every Committee meeting over the last three years Mr Flanagan had planned to raise the matter again, but now it was even more imperative than before. “[Deputy Carthy] made a good case for Melbourne but I will make a similar case for Perth, where there is a large and growing Irish community and its distance from either Canberra or Sydney is considerably farther than Melbourne is from Sydney or Canberra,” Mr Flanagan said. “The need in Perth might be borne in mind in the context of the Irish footprint in Australia. I am sure due diligence will be done in the normal way the Department engages in these issues, but I hope consideration might be given to Perth.”

Minister Martin led his concluding remarks by addressing this point. “I was alerted by my officials about [the charimans] enduring interest in securing a consulate in Perth,” Mr Martin said. “I appreciate his view on that. We will keep it under review and there will be due diligence.”

So while the stage is set for the issue to come up again at the next Committee meeting it would be unwise to hold one’s breath waiting for an answer or announcement.

Mr Carthy and Pearse Doherty, SF TD, met with QLD health minister Shannon Fentiman.

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Happy St Pat’s Day

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ow’s about ye and Happy St Patrick’s Day wherever you are and indeed from wherever I am. As always, I will be churning out the olde songs, jigs, reels and hornpipes during the festival week, mainly at nursing homes this time around. The elderly populace love hearing those magic, lilting, toetapping, Celtic songs. I love singing them along with Anita, my famous fiddle player.

Let me stray away from festivities for a brief update. Since my last article, I have finally bitten the bullet and read about our tragic history over the last 60 or more years. The title of the book is “Making Sense of the Troubles.”

An oxymoron for me if ever there was one.

It was not an easy book to read and enjoy and in fact I found it strange and surreal to recall that I lived in the province at various times over a period from 1965 to 1976 but never for more than a few years at a time and many of the happenings at the time, I must have missed out on. I suppose I could put that down to my youthful outlook. The book begins well, reminding us of a brief history of the island with an emphasis on a part of the Ulster section. It finishes on a happy note with the peace agreement, but the many chapters in between are to be read and viewed with great shame when reading and learning about the atrocities committed on both sides. The story itself over the period from 1965 – 2005 is not that easy to explain to anyone. When I lived in the U.S. for a short time, and was asked what was going on, I simply used one word: history.

Unfortunately, the period to read up on was way too long and many in this fast-moving world of multimedia would require a simpler answer. I never found one.

In those days it was all about the Unionist Party, the I.R.A. and the DUP. What does DUP stand for?

The Democratic Unionist Party is a unionist, loyalist, British nationalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland, to give it its full title.

How times have changed. Michelle O’Neill recently became the first nationalist leader of Northern Ireland’s government, a historic moment for the British territory prompted by

50 | THE IRISH SCENE

the return of power-sharing after the biggest pro-UK party (the DUP) ended a two-year boycott. In a special sitting, the Northern Ireland Assembly first voted to resume devolved governing and then nominated the pro-Irish unity Sinn Fein politician as first minister. The landmark move came after the DUP ended its walkout from the Stormont institutions after striking a deal with the UK government over post-Brexit trade rules. The assembly also appointed the DUP’s Emma Little-Pengelly to be O’Neill’s deputy and filled other top ministerial posts. Under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, also known as the Belfast Agreement, which ended three decades of sectarian violence over British rule in Northern Ireland, the first minister and deputy first minister posts are equal. I am not sure how that is going to work out. It is certainly unique. Time will certainly tell us a story here. Let us hope for a happy positive one.

Of course, the appointment of a Roman Catholic, pro-Irish unity first minister in a nation set up as a Protestant-majority state under British rule is hugely symbolic to say the least. It not only reflects Sinn Fein’s position as Northern Ireland’s biggest party but also shifting demographics, since the island of Ireland was split into two self-governing entities in 1921.

It really is a time of optimism for the province and certainly was never on the cards, or near it, when I lived there.

“This is an historic day, and it does represent a new dawn,” Michelle (O’Neill) told fellow lawmakers shortly after her selection, noting it was “unimaginable to my parents’ and grandparents’ generation”.

I suppose that must include me and all the people who left the island in those troublesome times.

I quote her here…. “We must never forget all those who have died or been injured or their families. I am sorry for all the lives lost during the conflict without exception, and I am wholeheartedly committed to continue in the work of reconciliation between all our people.”

America (well most of them who thought about

LES ULSTER RAMB it) of course welcomed the development (as again I quote) “an important step”. Personally, I think it was more than that, but most of the populace there never understood the problem.

I could say here that many others around the world fitted into that category as well.

O’Neill takes office facing the pressing problem of fixing budgetary constraints and crumbling public services that have sparked widespread industrial disputes in Northern Ireland. She has called the assembly’s restoration “a day of optimism” and urged a joint effort to tackle the problems. The 47-year-old has been first minister-designate since May 2022, when Sinn Fein became the largest party in elections for the 90-seat assembly. But until now, the DUP boycott of the assembly had prevented her from taking up the role.

What did the DUP think of this recent development? Not as negative as one might have imagined. The leader Jeffrey Donaldson said at Stormont “Today is a good day for Northern Ireland, a day when once again our place in the United Kingdom and its internal market is respected and protected.” I am certain he said a few other things but perhaps behind closed doors.

What does London think of this development you might well ask. Chris Heaton-Harris, Northern Ireland Secretary in the UK government, said he was “confident” it would now have “sustainable government... for a very long time”. A bold statement, and if it eventuates should serve the province well for a better future.

I mentioned in my last article that I believe there will be a United Ireland within the next fifty years. Surely, this is the beginning of that prediction. However, I am also certain there will be hardline unionists remaining opposed to Stormont’s return and all that will become of that event.

By the time you are reading this, the momentous day celebrating our Saint, will be upon us. I recently authored an article at how low key the 17th Match was in Ulster during the time I lived there. On googling the event this year, I am glad to report that all that has changed. The day, I am led to believe will be celebrated with parades, music, family activities, (whatever they are) and a whole lot of green. So, it remains for me to wish you all (again) a fabulous day doing whatever appeals to you and of course, as always, may your God go with you.

David MacConnell

THE IRISH SCENE | 51

Rugby 7's in Perth

I

n brutally hot conditions, Ireland ladies 7s took out the Australian leg of the World 7s competition, at the HBF stadium in East Perth on Sunday. With a party atmosphere in the packed stands, Ireland stormed to victory over the hosts Australia on a score of 19 points to 14.

Despite being heavy favourites in the final, Australia showed a hint of nerves when their first kick off went straight into touch.

It wasn’t only the Australian team that could feel the pressure though as the crowd could sense something palpable and monumental was about to occur. There was a steely ferocious look about the Irish ladies as they stood across from them and this writer could feel a storm coming. Australia are not the world number one team currently for no reason though. They settled quickly and their captain Charlotte Caslick raced away for the first score of the game after clever work from Madison Ashby. Ireland responded instantly. Former sprinter Amee Leigh Murphy Crowe of Tipperary, cut the Australian outside defence to pieces and burned the despairing defenders to dot down under the posts for seven all. Catastrophe struck for the Australians when Charlotte Caslick was shown yellow for intentional foul play and they were reduced to six players for the remainder of the half. With the extra space available on the pitch, Ireland took advantage and captain Lucy Mulhall of Wicklow crashed over before half time, for a seven point lead.

In the second half, with their captain restored to the field, Australia began to pick up the tempo and ask the Irish defence some serious questions. With five minutes to go, Aussie wide player Teagan Levi scythed through the Irish defence to go under the posts and the scores were levelled at fourteen apiece. The last few minutes were gripping as each side attempted to crack the other under the sweltering sun.

Astonishingly it was the Australians who blinked first and Dubliner Eve Higgins struck at the death, for a famous victory for Ireland. The ladies in green were victorious for the first time ever in a 7s rugby championship, on a score of 19 points to 14. For this writer the most electric player on the pitch was Amee Leigh Murphy Crowe. She was phenomenal. In defence she was tigerish and in attack, every time she touched the ball the Australian side looked intimidated by her speed. It was a heroic performance by Ireland and one that should lure all Irish supporters to get behind this team as they wind up for a crack at the Olympic games in Paris this year. With this form they should fear nobody. On a WA note, the whole weekend was a massive success, with packed stands and beautiful weather.

Lets hope that World Rugby have the sense to return here annually. Credit must go to current Western Force CEO, Niamh O’Connor of Laois, who was instrumental in bringing this event to Perth.

52 | THE IRISH SCENE

by Conor Brennan

many talents she has worked in the construction industry. She was also a board member for the Perth Symphony Orchestra for three years before joining the Rugby WA board of directors in 2021, with a focus on junior participation and to grow the game. In June 2023 she joined the Force board as a community representative with a view to unlocking the club’s potential. She was thrilled about the opportunity to lead the Force ahead of an exciting period for Australian rugby and the club.

by Lloyd Gorman

C

ork woman Niamh O’Connor is the latest recruit to the ranks of Australia’s Irish Chieftain class!

On February 7 the former engineer was announced as the new CEO for the Western Force – the first female chief executive in Super Rugby history. Her plan is to make it one of the best rugby sides in the world.

She had been acting CEO since September when the Club parted ways with her predecessor. O’Connor impressed on and off the field in her time and we understand she had quite a bit to do with SVNS 2024 – which the Irish women’s team won only two weeks before her instalment in the top job. A lot to celebrate and be grateful for. It wasn’t possible to arrange an interview with this impressive young woman in time for the March edition but we hope to be able to sit down with her in the very near future for a good chat. Stay tuned! In the meantime what we do know about Niamh is that she played rugby socially at home and moved to Perth in 2011 where she also got involved in community rugby and held various roles with the UWA Rugby Club. A woman of

“This is an incredible opportunity and I feel a significant responsibility to the game and the club to drive us forward,” Niamh said.

“Australian rugby is entering an exciting period with two home World Cups on the horizon. We want the code to thrive in WA and we want the Force to truly connect and tap into those opportunities while realising our own potential on the field in our men’s and women’s programs. The opportunity for Western Australia on the global stage is enormous.”

Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh said he was excited to work alongside her. “On behalf of Rugby Australia, I’d like to congratulate Niamh on her permanent appointment as CEO at the Western Force,” Waugh said. “Niamh has a long-standing and meaningful connection with community rugby as a volunteer, participant and administrator. We look forward to continuing to work with Niamh to support the growth of Rugby in Western Australia, and to strengthen the all-important bonds between the community and professional game.”

Niamh is not the only heavy hitting Irish person to join their ranks. All round rugby legend and former Connacht player and coach Jimmy Duffy announced in late 2022 he was coming to Perth to take up the role as forwards coach through to this year.

THE IRISH SCENE | 53

RORY O’ ROUR K E Rory was an Aussie legend and an Irish gentleman Perth real estate agent Rory O’Rourke – who died in January aged 78 – was a legend in the profession. One of the three books he wrote in his life was proudly titled “I sold 22 homes in one day”. His Wednesday night investment seminars were renowned in the sector for being inspirational and aspirational. Indeed, he was always in “seminar mode” no matter where he was – a social function or a rugby match or West Coast Eagles game – he would very happily engage in a deep and meaningful conversation about negative gearing and property investment. While on holidays with his wife Robyn in Broome Rory was walking on Cable Beach when he bumped into John (a friend) and they got talking in the sand and the surf for ten minutes, at the end of which Rory pulled out a business card and handed it to John. Nothing strange about that you might think, except that Rory was wearing nothing but a pair of budgy smugglers, so where did the card come from?

As passionate as he was about property there was another side that was just as important to him. It didn’t matter if March 17 fell on a week day the offices of O’Rourkes were closed so the whole team were free to celebrate together in one Irish pub or another. St. Patrick’s Day was always a big affair and demonstration of his largess and generosity. On one of those memorable days many years ago Irish Scene’s own Imelda Gorman was a part of the O’Rourke gang. When she realised her handbag had been stolen without a second thought Rory handed her $200 and told her not to let it spoil the rest of the day. That was the kind of man he was. You can ask anyone!

Rory was born in Dublin on the 17th October 1945, one of four children to Thomas and Rosaline O’Rourke. When he was nine his parents emigrated to Australia because the doctors in Ireland told them he could die from his asthma if they stayed in the ‘Big Smoke’.

54 | THE IRISH SCENE

Rory was intensely proud of his Irish heritage but also thankful for his Australian upbringing. In 2000 he returned to Ireland with his dad, brother and sister and sons for an O’Rourke family reunion. They had a ball and met many of their relations. Rory’s father was one of 11 children while his mum was one of 13 siblings. At the reunion Rory would proudly chant Aussie Aussie Aussie – Oi, Oi, Oi! His entrepreneurial spirit was always evident. He was the “The Organiser” and had a business card proclaiming the title. Rory started out in accounting but became a music promoter – Mr Gasser – and handled acts like the Troopadoors, The Kravats, Normie Rowe, The Martel’s, The VIP’s and even Bon Scott in the early days. He was also owned a night club in Wellington Street, had a removals business, build the roadside franchise network, was a car salesman at City Motors Holden and even had an antique shop in West Perth with Robyn. O’Rourke Realty was founded in 1985 and would become one of Perth’s most recognisable and respected real estate businesses. Its fair to say his sons are still traumatised by countless trips home from school on the bus when all the other kids would shout ‘Rory’ in unison – every time they passed a bus stop with advertising O’Rourke Realty and a photo of his dad.

No doubt influenced by his Irish upbringing the instinct to write was strong in Rory, and may have even coloured his political outlook. In 2002 he wrote ‘Born Free Taxed to Death’ and published his political manifesto ‘It’s Time for a Republic’ in 2009.

For all that, his greatest success was meeting and marrying Robyn, their children Dean , Jarrad, daughter in laws Tania and Ricky and their five grandchildren Isabella, Sienna, Evvie, Luka and Taya. Vale Rory O’Rourke.

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G’DAY FROM MELBOURNE

H

ere I am again, back on computer after another few jaunts around Victoria and a visit to Perth in Western Australia, home of the Irish Scene Magazine. I have now added Perth to my top 5 cities in the world to visit after my recent trip. There was a time when Melbourne was one of the best cities in the world before the pandemic and the wrecking job of the Dan Andrews Government. Perth certainly beats Melbourne hands down now when it comes to safety, cleanliness and its miniscule graffiti problem compared to my home state.

Let me talk about the great Celebration Day for the Irish and how important March 17th is for our nation and for the millions of expats around the world. I’m sure St Patrick never, in his wildest dreams, thought of the legacy he was leaving the Irish people when he lit that postal fire, in defiance of the King who looked on from the Hill of Tara all those centuries ago. By lighting that fire he shone a light in all our hearts, that binds us wherever we are in in the world. All of us who are in exile, while celebrating on the day, our hearts will be in Ireland.

It is the most importan day in the yearly calendar, for all Irish, wherever in the world we may happen to be.

The way we Irish celebrates on March 17th is a message to the world, showing how much pride we

56 | THE IRISH SCENE

take in our bonding as a nation. It is amazing to see the many thousands of tourists from various countries around the globe that come to Ireland to join in the celebration. It’s a sight for sore eyes, seeing so many of them waving flags and wearing shamrock. The money spent by the influx of all those visitors plus the amount of money spent by the locals, contributes handsomely to the economy of Ireland.

While there, the visitors spend a bankers dream of pot loads of money on hotel stays, dining in restaurants and in many cases downing a fair share of Guinness pints and consuming some of the finest Irish whiskies, the latter two are great for tuning up the vocals for the many singsong sessions that continue over the festival.

A pint of Guinness and a drop of the dew is a good substitute for the traditional Irish breakfast of bacon eggs and sausages breakfast, or if you’re hungry why not both? St Patricks Day is well and truly celebrated world-wide and almost everyone wants to be Irish, even if only for the day. It is so much different nowadays as I remember when you could count the number of countries on one hand who didn’t celebrate St Patricks Day. Nowadays you would be scratching your head trying to count how many countries who don’t celebrate St Patricks day. In the last 15 years I have had the privilege of celebrating March 17th, here in Australia, in New York USA, Tokyo Japan, on four occasions and at home in Ireland, on five occasions, in Cork three times Dublin, and Killarney. Hail rain or shine, nothing stops the St Patricks Day celebrations.

Here in Australia, I must congratulate the Irish community in Perth, West Australia, who hold the mantel high for taking the celebrations to a new height. The way they celebrate is as close as you can ever get to celebrating the day in Ireland or New York

G’DAY FROM MELBOURNE

with their iconic St Patricks Parade. An old saying, anything good is worth waiting for. So, Perth is on my list for next year.

Timing sometimes can be cruel when it robs you of opportunities. What I am trying to say is, I would have loved to have had the opportunity of being in Perth for the celebrations this year.

Being diehard rugby fans, my son Jonathan and I, tossed a coin weather to go to Perth for St Patricks Day or traveling back to Cork to see the first ever Rugby game between the Northern hemisphere rugby champions Munster V the Southern hemisphere Champion the New Zealand Crusaders. “For those of you who might have missed the result of that game Munster won. Jonathan and I now cringe at not being in attendance for such a historical game. After being to Ireland to see Munster V the Barbarians in Limerick and then on to Paris to see Ireland play Scotland, only a short time ago, another flight halfway across the world and some unwelcome jet lag both ways took the gloss off the possibility of the trip. However, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be in Perth for another rugby series. This time the recent Rugby Super Sevens series. Even though we were unable to get tickets for the final it was worth flying over there to be part of the celebrations as the Irish women’s

team won the gold medal and the men’s team won the bronze medal. Despite the no tickets saga, Durty Nelly’s was the ideal place to watch the finals as their manager, Dan Culleton was the perfect host to help us forget the no ticket saga by spoiling us with plenty of his time for conversation and hospitality. The odd Magners pint or two helped keep the temperature down in Durty Nellies to a sensible figure. The later part of the day was spent with Fred Rea his wife Lily along with sone other friends of his. Fred must be the most obliging person ever to walk on this planet, bar none. Later that evening, Durty Nelly’s was graced with the amazing voices of Fiona Rea and her male companion Brett Hardwick. Better known as Grand Remedy. The perfect finish to a great day with great results from the rugby, while not perfect but a big step up for Irish super sevens teams.

When I woke up the next morning for the long flight back home, I counted my blessings that Jonathan and I had not got tickets for the game as the back of my neck was as red as Santa’s coat from my walk to and from the stadium. Had we got tickets and sat in the sun for the day, I’m sure I would have got sunstroke. So, there was a silver lining anyhow, in not getting a final ticket.

Until I talk to you again, be good to those who love you and Slainte, from Melbourne.

Mike Bowen.

THE IRISH SCENE | 57

MIDWEST IRISH La’ maith from the Midwest Irish Club.

The club wishes all the Irish Scene readers a happy new year for 2024.

After a much-earned break for the club from the 18th of Dec to the 5th of January, we have hit the new year running.

Our members and friends have continued to support the club with consistent numbers coming through the doors on our Friday and Sunday trading days whilst being entertained by our live music schedule.

On Saturday 10th of February, the club hosted an 80’s night at $10 a ticket.

The event sold out quickly, and why wouldn’t it when you tell people to go back in time and dress like it is the 80’s.

We were entertained by Geoff Udy who put together a repertoire of 80’s classics which saw everyone dancing from the first song until the last. There

be open from Midday until 10pm with the following on offer: • Share Plate Lunch from 1 to 2pm • Live music • Food Van out the front of the club from 5pm • Irish raffles throughout the day There will be live music throughout the day including the clubs very own

were various spot prizes throughout the night which included best dressed male & female. Refer to the photos from the night and I am sure you will agree, there were some great costumes. The club is now focusing on our St Patrick’s day celebration, which being a Sunday this year, is sure to bring in the crowds from both our members and the public. The club will 58 | THE IRISH SCENE

CLUB ROUND-UP

“Bleeding Irish” consisting of President Peter Vanderpol and Simon Miller playing all the Irish classics from 2 to 4pm. Following this, we have one of Geraldton’s favourites, Johhny David, playing from 6 until 9pm to finish the day off. Johhny has a great Irish repertoire which is sure to have people dancing right up until the end. Please refer to the posters for further information on this event. We hope everyone enjoys themselves celebrating St Patricks Day for 2024 and we look forward to sharing our stories and photos from our events in the next edition. As always, continue to keep up to date with our upcoming events and live music programme by visiting our Facebook page and remember, if you are passing through Geraldton, don’t be a stranger.

Until next time.

Regards

Simon Miller

Committee Member

THE IRISH SCENE | 59

Happy 3rd Birthday

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THE IRISH SCENE | 61

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Darkness into Light Perth is celebrating its 10th year in 2024. The Pieta house annual fundraising 5km charity walk will take place across 200 venues worldwide, and approximately 150,000 people will walk together to end the stigma relating to suicide and self-harm. The Perth walk will commence at sunrise on Saturday, May 11, at Sir James Mitchell Park in South Perth.

This year, the nominated charity partner is Headspace.

Headspace is the National Youth Mental Health Foundation. They began in 2006, and ever since, they have provided early intervention mental health services to 12-25-year-olds.

Each year, they help thousands of young people and their family and friends access vital support through their services in over 154 communities across Australia.

The Darkness into Light tickets are expected to be available online at www.darknessintolight.ie from the beginning of March with an early bird discount available for the first 4 weeks.

More details will be shared on the Darkness into Light Perth Facebook and Instagram pages.

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Each year, the walk provides an opportunity for people to connect with their local community and to bring hope to those who have been impacted by suicide. The team of dedicated volunteers in Ireland and overseas return year on year to make the event a success and to help continue to raise awareness and hope in the global fight against suicide and self-harm.

Saturday 11th May

THE IRISH SCENE | 63

CONGRATULATIONS

Sailor made...Joan and Charlie pictured here with one of their creations at their studio in Gidgegannup © West Australian Newspapers Limited Photographer: Ross Swanborough

Congratulations, Mr & Mrs Smith

T

There’s a very good chance the next sculpture or public artwork you see in Perth or across WA – as well as many other parts of Australia – was created by a unique Irish couple. Indeed, such is their contribution to sculpture and the visual arts that this duo were recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Australia Day Honours List. Every January 26, hundreds of deserving and outstanding individuals are honoured for service to their chosen profession, philanthropy, community work, volunteering and the like. But even in this select and small group it is rare for a husband and wife to both receive the distinction for the same thing. “We are astounded, but proud and humbled by this amazing honour,” they told Irish Scene.

Originally from Waterford, Ireland Charles ‘Charlie’ Smith and Joan Walsh-Smith are the husband and wife team behind Smith Sculptors in Gidgegannup (the name of this township comes from the Noongar word describing “Place where spears are made”). With three children in tow they came to Australia in 1985 and their first of their major commissions in Australia was the National Memorial to the Australian Army, Canberra, having won a national competition in 1988. Since then they have continued to help memorialise historic and contemporary moments and people in Australia, Ireland and internationally. Two of their most distinctive pieces can be found in Western Australia. Their most significant project of this kind in WA, is the Memorial to HMAS Sydney II, in Geraldton, now declared a National Memorial. An estimated 100,000 people a year visit this special site.

The Irish Famine Memorial in Subiaco – An

by Lloyd Gorman Gorta Mór – was unveiled by President of Ireland Michael D Higgins at the start of his offical state visit to Australia in October 2017. Amongst other occasions it is the meeting point every year for the local Irish community to come together for the international Famine Commemoration Day – which this year will be on Sunday, May 19.

Another important landmark, the Catalpa Wild Geese Memorial in Rockingham – commemorating the remarkable escape of six Fenian prisoners in 1876 is also a focal point for historic and cultural gatherings.

Charlie and Joan truly are two of Australia’s most prolific and prodigious sculptors and are currently working on a number of commissions, including for the new Battle of Crete Memorial in Kings Park. In 1997 the Australian-Irish Heritage Association founded the Brendan Award to pay tribute to members of the Irish community who give outstanding service to the community in Australia, especially Western Australia.

Originally designed by Charlie and Joan the first recipient of this prestigious award was the then President of Ireland Mary Robinson and in 1998 the sculptors themselves were named as the recipients for that year and were presented with the award they had designed! Irish Scene would like – on behalf of our readers and supporters and the wider Irish community – to say congratulations on your latest public acknowledgement for your craft and creativity which has helped shape the way Australia sees and remembers itself!

We will catch up with Charlie and Joan after they have received their Order of Australia medal at a special ceremony in May.

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THE IRISH SCENE | 65

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THE IRISH SCENE | 67

IRISH IRISH THEATRE THEATRE PLAYERS PLAYERS

The Rugged Cross WE ARE BACK IN THE REHEARSAL SPACE AGAIN PREPARING FOR OUR APRIL PRODUCTION “THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT” UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYES OF AWARD WINNING DIRECTOR BRENDAN ELLIS. The The Last Last Days Days of of Judas Judas Iscariot Iscariot is is a a hilarious, hilarious, poignant, thought-provoking work poignant, thought-provoking work by

by Pulitzer-prize Pulitzer-prize winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis. winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis. Boasting Boasting a a large, large, zany zany cast cast of of characters, characters, the the play play asks asks one one of of the the most most plaguing plaguing questions questions in in the the Christian Christian ideology: ideology: What What happened happened to to Judas Judas Iscariot?

Iscariot? The The facts (we think!) we know are these: facts (we think!) we know are these: Judas Judas was was the the disciple disciple of of Jesus Jesus who who betrayed betrayed his his friend friend and and teacher teacher

to to the the authorities. authorities. He He is is seen seen as as the the man man responsible responsible for Jesus’s death; afterwards, Judas for Jesus’s death; afterwards, Judas fell fell into into despair despair and and hung hung himself himself from from an an olive olive tree; tree; since since then, then, he he has has been been suffering suffering for for his his deeds deeds deep deep in in Hell Hell and and will will continue continue to to do do so so for for all all eternity. eternity. Is Is that that really really fair?

Was Judas the duplicitous master of fair? Was Judas the duplicitous master of his his own own fate, fate, a a much-suffering much-suffering pawn pawn used used for for Jesus’s Jesus’s ends, ends, or or just just a a man man who who made made a a mistake? mistake? Set Set in in a a courtroom courtroom in in Purgatory, Purgatory, The The Last Last Days Days puts puts Judas’ Judas’ case case to to a a hilarious, riotous, piercing trial, the results of hilarious, riotous, piercing trial, the results of which which are are sure sure to to make make the the inhabitants inhabitants of of Heaven, Heaven, Hell, Hell, and and Purgatory — and the audience — reconsider Purgatory — and the audience — reconsider what what each each thought thought they they knew knew about about forgiveness, forgiveness, faith, faith, and and the human inside one of history’s most infamous the human inside one of history’s most infamous figures. figures.

SHOW SHOW TIMES TIMES ARE ARE APRIL APRIL 21ST, 21ST, 22ND 22ND & & 23RD 23RD AT AT 7.30PM.SUNDAY MATINEE 24TH AT 2.00PM 7.30PM.SUNDAY MATINEE 24TH AT 2.00PM THEN THEN 28TH, 28TH, 29TH 29TH & & 30TH 30TH AT AT 7.30PM. 7.30PM.

THANKS THANKS SO SO MUCH MUCH TO TO ALL ALL OUR OUR MEMBERS MEMBERS WHO WHO ATTENDED ATTENDED OUR OUR AGM AGM ON THURSDAY 17TH FEBRUARY AT THE IRISH CLUB OF ON THURSDAY 17TH FEBRUARY AT THE IRISH CLUB OF WA. WA. FOR FOR THOSE THOSE WHO WHO MISSED MISSED IT, IT, HERE’S HERE’S OUR OUR REVIEW REVIEW OF OF OUR OUR YEAR YEAR 2021.

2021.

Also, Also, membership membership for for 2022 2022 now now available; available; www.trybooking.com/BWUGC www.trybooking.com/BWUGC

After a very successful 2023 we are now well into rehearsals for our April production, The Rugged Cross written and directed by Noel O’Neill. Noel is a multi-award winning playwright and actor who arrived in Perth via Cork and New York and has written and produced many plays in Perth including quite a few at ITP. The Rugged Cross takes place around Good Friday in a remote country pub by the coast.

Amid talk of boats and fish, tensions simmer as Alby, Jamesy, Willie, and Paddy discuss a mysterious man who’s stirring trouble.

Their banter dances from boats to fishing tales until talk turns to the elusive figure evading capture. During Easter, discussions throughout the evening between the men

irishtheatreplayers.com.au irishtheatreplayers.com.au

reveal conflicting sentiments. Throughout the play, themes of loyalty, morality, societal norms, and the consequences of individual actions are interwoven, with that of human behaviour and relationships within a closeknit community. Don’t miss this excellent production with lots of familiar faces in the cast.

The venue is the Irish Club in Subiaco.

Evening performances will be on April 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20 @ 7.30pm. There is one matinee performance on Sunday April 14th @ 2.00pm.

Watch out for further updates and booking information on our Facebook page: Facebook.com/irishtheatreplayers or our website: www.irishtheatre players.com.au

IrishTheatrePlayers THE IrishTheatrePlayers THE IRISH IRISH SCENE SCENE || 85 85

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Book Reviews

Books reviewed by John Hagan KILL YOUR HUSBANDS JACK HEATH / ALLEN & UNWIN $32.99

While still only 40 years old, Jack Heath has already published over 40 novels. He wrote his first book while at high school selling it to a publisher in 2004, when only 18. Heath began writing full-time in 2009, initially penning children’s books before tackling adult fiction with ‘Headcase’ on the bookshelf in 2018. Heath’s previous adult novels might be dubbed as ‘thrillers’, but his focus lately has focused on the mystery style genre – ‘whodunnits’. His previous book, ‘Kill Your Brother’ was shortlisted for best crime novel in the Ned Kelly Awards, and this, his latest offering, is in a similar ‘whodunnit’ vein.

Three couples, friends since high school, rent a remote house in the mountains for a relaxing, catch-up, weekend away. The party comprises of financier, Dominic and his flighty wife Felicity, gym owner Cole and his fitness model partner, Clementine, together with real estate agent Oscar, and wife Isla. On the first fateful night the topic of partner- swapping is raised and despite some initial misgivings amongst the group, the idea is accepted. Each of the women retire to a darkened bedroom while the men pick a room at random. But just how random is the selection? When the lights come back on, one of the men is dead, but who was his female partner and how, and why, was he killed? The remaining 70 | THE IRISH SCENE

five find themselves with no phone service, no internet and no way of leaving (the car key has disappeared) – and the killer is not yet finished. This roller-coaster, unnerving and devious tale unfolds from the point of view of each of the six ‘friends’ interspersed with the observations of Detective Sergeant Kiara Lui, who, with her live-in partner, Elise, foolishly chooses to spend a weekend in the murder house - a decision which brings its own peril. The success of ‘Kill Your Husbands’ lies in the complexity of each of Heath’s major characters as he explores all their underlying flaws, frailties, motivations and more sinister realities. The narrative is lightening-paced in short, punchy chapters, well-honed dialogue, ingeniously plotted twists, and an undisputedly surprising ‘I-didn’t- see-thatcoming’ ending.

LILIANA’S INVINCIBLE SUMMER CRISTINA RIVERA GARZA / BLOOMSBURY $32.99

On average, ten women are murdered every day in Mexico by ‘disaffected outsiders’ – husbands, boyfriends, male acquaintances, family members. The bodies of the slain are often deposited in public places to send a warning. The perpetrators of these crimes are rarely brought to justice and some go on to murder more women. What connects the

Book Reviews killings is not sex, as might be assumed, but power – more specifically, men’s assertion of power over women. Author Rivera Garza’s sister, Liliana, was one such statistic. On 16 July, 1990, twenty-year old Liliana was found dead in her Mexico City apartment, strangled by Angel Gonzalez Ramos, a handsome weightlifter and former boyfriend. How could Liliana, a vibrant budding architect, talented swimmer, cinema lover, insatiable writer and feminist not have sensed that she was in a relationship that would lead to her death. All the signs were there. Ramos had stalked, threatened and menaced Liliana for some time since she attempted to break their liaison. By the time the police got around to issuing an arrest warrant Ramos was nowhere to be found. He had fled to the United States. Nearly 30 years later, Liliana’s elder sister, Rivera Garza, award winning author and professor of Hispanic studies, sets out to investigate the murder and to record her sister’s life – and death.

Throughout this memoir, Garza endures the excruciating bureaucracy and ineptitude of the Mexican government and its criminal justice system. She seeks her sister’s case file from the Attorney General, but when this line of enquiry eventually proves futile, Rivera Garza conducts interviews with those who knew Liliana (fellow students, friends and lovers), peruses her diaries, trawls through school notebooks, candid photographs, plus all the frantic notes and scribblings which Liliana sent and received. ‘I want to find the murderer and I want him to pay for his crime’, Rivera Garza writes. ‘I seek justice’.

Despite the seemingly unpleasant focus of the novel, this is a memoir full of tenderness and beauty, masterfully told, with the author’s quest leading to widespread unrest and demonstrations spearheaded by the chant, ‘Ni Una Mas’ (Not One More) as masses of Mexican women take to the streets to protest against femicide, demanding an end to this insidious, senseless crime.

MAGAZINE JEFF JARVIS / BLOOMSBURY $21.99

This is another quality offering in the excellent Bloomsbury ‘Object Lessons’ series which focuses on the hidden life of ordinary things.

And what could be more ordinary than the ubiquitous magazine; once very much staple fare at the supermarket checkout. Since the zenith in their sales during the early part

of this century, quite a number of previously popular mags, such as ‘Elle’, ‘NW’, ‘Women’s Health’ and ‘OK’ have all disappeared from the news stand.

Jarvis’ compact book pays tribute to the magazines from their eighteenthcentury origins (‘The Tatler’ and ‘Spectator’), through the twentieth century boom times, to their recent fall at the hands of the internet. Few people know the magazine industry better than Jeff Jarvis, who, for decades, worked on ‘People’ and ‘TV Guide’ as a critic and feature writer. He went on to found best-selling, ‘Entertainment Weekly’ before it too succumbed to the cyberspace phenomenon. Who needs a magazine to sum up the week or provide tantalizing tales when you can read about the world in another form from all over the world? Who wants to subscribe to periodicals when there are Netflix, Amazon and Paramount+ in the offing? In an age of instant gratification, we can be entertained for hours without the bother of reading or turning a page. What will become of the magazine now - a seeming dinosaur in the internet age? Jarvis describes this slim book (some 144 pages) as an elegy, a love-letter to the print form, as it like many other creations, follows the inevitable product life cycle from faltering inception, through opulent heydays as a lucrative offering of media conglomerates, to an uncertain future.

Jarvis succinctly and entertainingly outlines the magazine’s importance to society, how it demarcated nations and cultures, how it set societal aspirations and goals while influencing civilization, art and behavioural norms. This is an insightful, succinct history of a cherished institution and a vivid, often funny and unsparing tribute to a fast-faltering entertainment medium.

THE IRISH SCENE | 71

Paula from Tasmania

BY PAULA XIBERRAS

Tasmanian Forest Adventures

BY PAULA XIBERRAS A desire to retain their Ukrainian heritage as well as embracing their new home in Tasmania has prompted Anna Mykhalchuk and Iryna Bohkscheid to introduce Tasmania to the beauty of Samchykivka folk art.

Samchykivka is a village west of Kyiv where this beautiful folk art has its origins. The art is displayed in such diverse areas as embroidery on clothes and clay pottery. and is now undergoing a renewal. Anna, an artist since childhood, has become proficient in this art and together with her co-author Iryna have created a bilingual book that celebrates this unique aspect of Ukrainian culture and seeks to maintain the Ukrainian language for the children including Anna’s son, now growing up in Tasmania.

It was my privilege to meet Anna and her son as well as Iryna to talk about their book, ‘Forest Adventures’.

The folk-art style allows for hidden animals in the designs and so it becomes an educational tool for children to discover the Australian fauna hidden within its illustrations.

Iryna a poetry translator, with a degree in philology has the ability to understand the structure and meaning of a text to translate it to another language. Her talent garnered her prizes back home in Ukraine. When Iryna was 17 she won first place in a competition on national TV for her work. Later moving to Great Britain, she kept a desire to maintain the Ukrainian language.

Some features of the book are its large font making it accessible for those with vision problems.

With the success of the book there are hopes to translate in other languages including Punjabi and maybe even Irish?

For more information on the book Forest Adventures contact the Association of Ukrainians Tasmania ukrainiansintas@gmail.com

72 | THE IRISH SCENE

Wolf in the Outback

With such strong feelings it’s almost as if even if Rita is not alive Barbara has the determination to rewrite the plot to make her so.

BY PAULA XIBERRAS Patricia wolf that is!

I met with Patricia late last year to discuss her novel ’Outback’, the first of a series featuring DS Lucas Walker. Right from the start it is established that family is important for Lucas who has returned to his hometown of Caloodie to look after his ailing Grandmother.

While Lucas is in Caloodie two German backpackers seeking seasonal work are kidnapped and Lucas is assigned the case.

In a parallel example of family fidelity the female German backpacker Rita, has a sister who is also a detective. DS Barbara makes the trip out to Australia to solve the mystery of her sister’s disappearance.

The surname of the sisters is Guerra, the Spanish word for war. This sums up Barbara’s feelings for finding Rita, it is war until she finds her sister.

Patricia tells me that she has always loved books and when at school while other girls might have worked at Kmart Patricia chose to work in a library. Patricia made her way to being a novelist through a diploma of journalism and 15 years as a journalist in London, Portugal, Spain, Berlin, and Perth’s Irish community – like many Madrid.

A long way from her others in Australiaofand across hometown Mount Isa.heA road trip together back to to the Australian world – came hold a vigil outback and it’s ‘vast in the wake of the shocking empty murder roads’ sowed the seed of the of 23 year old Tullamore teacher novel for Patricia reminding Aisling Murphy while she was jogging and demonstrating to her how easy it was to in broad in her home town of disappear in such a vastdaylight environment.

A group traditio and fid county’ tributes woman promis also he GAA cl right. E the vig of the k to the s traditio music a vigil ton #Ashlin in Perth

Similar were st across includin the Am at Kang Tullamore, Co. Offaly in January.

Patricia’s proud parents now live in Launceston Point, B and when we spoke, sheofwas her way to attend Hundreds Irishonpeople – including and all a book launch with their attendance. families with young children, took part based Outback is out in now published ECHO. an evening timebyvigil and walk at Irish Au the Flame of Remembrance in Kings Queen Park on January 19, organised by the by Ann Claddagh Association and supported

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35 35

St Patrick’s Day

C

omedian Tommy Tiernan a stand-up comedian, once said ‘Only the Irish would stick St Patrick’s Day right in the middle of Lent!... or the old chestnut about Paddy walking into a bar night after night and ordering three pints of Guinness.

Finally, the bartender says, ‘Why three pints Paddy? Paddy says, ‘Well I have a brother in Chicago and another in Boston so this is my way of keeping us all together’. One night he orders two pints and the bartender said ‘Sorry to hear about your brother Paddy’.

Paddy replied ‘Oh it’s not that at all. I’ve given up the stuff for Lent’. Saint Patrick’s Day to me is a celebration of the Irish race. (okay now speaking of race, we may not know where we’re running to all the time but eventually we’ll get there lol) One thing we the Irish have all been blessed with is a sense of humour which I personally believe is as important as love. Just imagine…love without laughter! That to me would be equivalent to (there’s that word ‘lent’ again) ‘nights without days’ darkness without light’.

So, I completely understand that we have all been blessed. We shouldn’t take this blessing lightly especially when you go back through Irish history. Not that we are going to sit down and eat a bag of Tayto’s while watching a documentary about The Potato Famine but we managed to overcome many adversities through humour. I remember in London, in the mid-sixties, the ‘paddy’s they were called working on the building sites living in rooming houses, shovelling out a living, sending money back home to families that were close to destitute, and yet through all that they managed a quick joke or a laugh while their backs were almost broken from the pick and the shovel. I remember the signs on the windows reading, ‘IRISH NEED NOT APPLY’ well it’s a good thing they did. I witnessed the same thing in the 74 | THE IRISH SCENE

by Noel O’Neill

streets of New York where they were told ‘There’s gold in the streets’ and I overheard someone say, ‘Yeah but they had to wait for an Irishman to dig it up’. Another gift we were blessed with was an incredible work ethic. This was apparent when I first landed in New York in 1968 and I saw the amount of Irish who had educated themselves and their children to achieve far more than they ever imagined and it was not ‘given’ it was earned through hard work. Here in Australia the Irish flourish like flowers in the Garden of Eden. We love it here because we are welcome here, we are a part of the tapestry that makes Australia what it is today, and I say ‘a part’ because there are so many. The same humour and work ethic exists here. I remember when I used to paint houses. A woman asking me what time will I be at her house in the morning and I replied, ‘Around six’ I showed up at six and she said ‘I thought you were bloody joking, I know how you Irish are. But only we know how we are’. It’s such a beautiful thing to hear someone get up to sing an Irish song in a pub. I mention this out of pure sentimentality of my Dad who would not allow Irish music to be played on the wireless or sung in our house. No, “Oh Danny Boy, No ‘Four Green Fields’. He once said “If anyone is going to bring misery into this house…it will be me! is There is black humour even in this statement because it was true! So, let me say something, I will always remember it and it was said through the froth of a pint of Guinness but it stayed with me. My Dad used to say ‘Saint Patrick banished all the snakes from Ireland… then they crawled to America… and became politicians!... perhaps there is so much truth in our humour that’s what makes it funny.

I’m thinking, maybe there were no snakes in Ireland in the first place… that’s what makes St Patrick our first stand- up comedian Saint. We are truly blessed.

Happy St Patrick’s Day from your WA Labor Irish-Australian Team

Jessica Stojkovski Member for Kingsley

Alanna Clohesy

Member for East Metropolitan

Caitlin Collins

Member for Hillarys

David Michael

Member for Balcatta

Stephen Dawson

Member for Mining & Pastoral

Jackie Jarvis

Member for South West

walabor.org.au Authorised by Jessica Stojkovski MLA, 4/923 Whitfords Ave, Woodvale WA 6026

CAN YOU PUT YOUR HAND UP? Volunteers Needed!

We are gearing up for a big year at Claddagh in 2024 and we look forward to sharing with you over the year, some interesting and valuable volunteer opportunities. We hope you will be able to contribute your time and experience to some of these and help us support our community. We are blessed with a strong, community minded membership, and many of our members take opportunities to make a positive impact on the world by sharing the gift of their time. We are so grateful for the support – and the people who benefit from the work of our Volunteers are too. Whether you can spare an hour or two, or commit to an ongoing programme, we can’t wait to have you involved! Please contact us at the office to enquire and express your interest. Some of the upcoming events are: • Digital Training Workshops • St Patrick’s Day Parade • Outreach Programme

• Support in the office and with our office move • Darkness Into Light Walk … to name just a few!

ST PATRICKS DAY

Claddagh are looking forward to all the St. Patrick’s Day festivities in March.

On 16 March 2024 the Claddagh Association committee, members and volunteers will walk in the parade.

We’ll be joined by some of the volunteers from the Darkness into Light Perth committee and some fourlegged friends, the Irish Terriers and their owners! We will be hosting a stall at the Festival in Leederville Oval. While you are there pop over to say hello. On 17 March 2024 some of our committee will be attending the St Patrick’s Day Mass at St. Joseph’s Subiaco which is again being organised by members of the Irish Community in WA.

St Patrick’s W eek GOLF TOURNAMEN T Frid

St Patrick’s Day Golf Event In celebration of St Patrick’s Day and as a joint fundraiser for Claddagh and the Charlotte Foundation, The Irish Golf Society will be holding their annual Two Ball Ambrose event on Friday 15 March 2024.

Two tee start from 7.30am - $85.00 per person. Carts available by calling 08 9370 3211 to arrange. There will be prizes galore with a raffle on the day plus lots of novelties.

Contact Peter McKenna 0447 258 000, Jack Ebbs 0450 675 167, PJ Kenny 0451 009 536 or Allan Rowland 0439 516 399 for bookings and details.

All proceeds to the Claddagh Association and the Charlotte Foundation.

ay 15th March

from 6.45 am

BOOKINGS Contact: Peter McKenna 0447 258 000

NO BYO ALCOHOL

Jack Ebbs 0450 675 167 PJ Kenny 0451 009 356 Allan Rowland 0439 516 399

FORMAT: TWO BALL AMBR OSE. $85 per perso n Two tee start from 7.30am includes Lunc h after the game .

CARTS:

Carts availa ble at individual’s own cost.

Booking for carts 93703211 .

Bank accou nt details: Irish Club Golf Society BSB 306821 Acc: 4608

HOLE SPO NSOR: $700 (inclu des two team s of two playe rs, banners displayed on the day.)

240

Supporting: The Clad

CLADDAGH SENIORS ENJOY A FUN DAY OUT!

2024

Maylands Go lf Course Swan Bank Road Maylands.

Registratio n

dagh Association

Raffle and Nove

lties prizes

and the Charlotte

Foundation

Movie Time!

2024 has started off well for our Seniors who had their first Claddagh Seniors outing to see an exclusive screening of ‘The Holdovers’ at Event Cinemas in Innaloo.

Delicious refreshments were served in the cinema, and everyone enjoyed the movie. Thank you to our Seniors Committee for organising such a fun screening.

If you, or a senior you know from the Irish community, would like to attend events you can register by contacting the Claddagh office via admin@claddagh.org.au or phone 08 9249 9213. | THE IRISH 76 SCENE

Movie Time!

Claddagh Report

SENIORS DIGITAL (pics TRAINING attached) WORKSHOPS ARE RETURNING IN 2024 2024 has started off well for our Seniors who had their first Cladd

exclusive screening of ‘The Holdovers' at Event Cinemas in Innalo WORKSHOP 2: Managing Your Phone Settings Saturday 23 March - 10am - 1pm

refreshments were served in the cinema, and everyone All Workshops are designed especially forDelicious Seniors and endeavour to provide a fun and supportive learning environment teaches practical our Seniorsthat Committee for organising such a fun screening. skills in using today’s technology.

Workshop 2 will focus on setting up your smart phone or device to suit your needs best.

If you, or a senior you know from the Irish community, would like Join us for this fun and informative workshop.

You’ll getthe morning tea, office via admin@claddagh.org.au or by contacting Claddagh definitely a few laughs and a folder to take home to practise in your own time.

Call our office on 08 9249 9213 or email - admin@claddagh.org.au to secure your seat now.

The Seniors Digital Training Project is sponsored by the Emigrant Support Program Grant.

The Claddagh Association - There When You Need

FREE VISA CLINICS

The mission of the Claddagh Association is to provide help an community who find themselves in difficult circumstances.

The Claddagh Association hosts FREE Visa Clinics regularly.

To support these needs Patricia Halley (MARA 1383611) from Visa4You - a registered and of both individuals and families Claddagh experienced Migration Agent is available for face to face and telephone appointments.

If you would like to support Claddagh’s work in 2024 you can don

If you need advice about Visa’s or citizenship, please an or sign up tomake volunteer – your time can make the world of differe appointment with our office for the next clinic by contacting us on 08 9249 9213 or email our Co-Ordinator: Shauna at admin@ https://claddagh.org.au/support-our-work/make-a-donation/-, a claddagh.org.au

a member. Increasing our membership allows us to access addi

Appointments are available free to anyone in the Irish other avenues. See our website for full details. community and is a great opportunity to get advice from a professional. In the future, the association aims to enhance these sessions, making them more interactive by exploring Don’t forget, if you or someone you know needs Claddagh’s su options such as group face-to-face sessions and webinars. This will enable those working remotely or officeasvia admin@claddagh.org.au/08 9249 9213. 9am-2pm.

If your need is u during the evenings/weekends to participate well.

Next Visa Clinic Wednesday 27 March

Line on 0403 972 265.

Logo (on hand) THE CLADDAGH ASSOCIATION - THERE WHEN YOU NEED US The mission of the Claddagh Association is to provide help and support to members of the Irish community who find themselves in difficult circumstances.

To support these needs of both individuals and families Claddagh must fundraise throughout the year.

If you would like to support Claddagh’s work in 2024 you can donate at our website: claddagh.org.au or sign up to volunteer – your time can make the world of difference. https://claddagh.org.au/support-our-work/make-a-donation/-, alternatively for $10 you can become a member. Increasing our membership allows us to access additional funding and support through other avenues. See our website for full details.

Don’t forget, if you or someone you know needs Claddagh’s support, please contact the Claddagh office via admin@ claddagh.org.au/08 9249 9213. If your need is urgent, you can call Claddagh’s Crisis Line on 0403 972 265.

13/15 Bonner Drive, Malaga WA 6090.

Enquiries: 08 9249 9213 admin@claddagh.org.au

Crisis Support: 0403 972 265

St Brigid’s Festival 2024 Fremantle

C

aroline McCarthy from Torc Céilí Club brought the 3rd annual St Brigid’s Festival to Kidogo Arthouse on Sunday 4th February. We were spoilt with amazing live music from Tommy O’Brien, Teresa Kelleher, Donough O’Donovan, Kevin Giang, Jerry Murphy and Chris McMullan. There were many volunteers coming up for a few songs and tunes and the day also finished with an open traditional session. There was a pop-up Gaeltacht, some Irish poetry from Sean Byrne and a little Irish song for the kids by Clár Ní Chonchúir.

The dancers from The Academy Irish Dance Co had everyone in awe with their dancing displays and Caroline had everyone up on their feet for some ceili dancing. Caroline choreographed some ceili dances for the festival which represented some stories about St Brigid. We were making Brídóg dolls and St Brigid Crosses inside in the gallery, we had a children’s storytime with Marian Byrne from the Irish Theatre Players, and butter making. The butter was a great addition to the lovely breads that were entered into the soda bread competition.

| THE 78 | THE78 IRISH SCENE IRISH SCENE

The Claddagh committee members had the tough job of choosing the best bread and Teresa O’Connor took first place and Teresa Kelleher a close second. Entry fees were donated to the Claddagh Association. A huge thank you to all of the volunteers and artists involved and to everyone for coming and sharing in a day of Irish culture and traditions!

This event wouldn’t have been possible without the kind support from Kidogo Arthouse Fremantle, Irish Embassy Canberra and CLRG Dance Development Fund. A huge thank you to everyone that attended and took part in all the activities! Can’t wait to do it all again next year! [Note from the editor on behalf of the community: A huge thanks and congratulations to Caroline and her crew on organaising yet another outstanding event honouring Ireland’s only female patron saint and our Irish culture, held in the magnificent setting of Kidogo and Bather’s Beach and another magnificent sunny WA summers day].

Photographs by Ashleigh Peake from Creative Fleire Photography and Irish Scene editor Lloyd Gorman.

THE IRISH SCENE | 79

80 | THE IRISH SCENE

St Brigid’s Festival 2024 Fremantle

year long diary

by Lloyd Gorman

S

t Brigids Day has long been a important fixture on the Irish calender but 2024 was an especially significant year for Ireland’s female patron saint. This year was the 1,500th anniversary of her death and a remarkable life.

Hundreds of local schoolchildren formed the largest human St Brigids Cross ever for her anniversary

She is truly Irish. Like her celebrity status male counterpart Brigid is venerated by both the Catholic and Protestant churches in Ireland – but she can also claim the Eastern Orthodox Church as well. She represents the strengths of a Celtic (pagan) Goddess of the same name and is the traditional patroness of healing, poetry, smithcraft, brewing and many other disciplines besides.

Her feast day – February 1 – was also a pre-Christian festival called Imbolc – marking the start of spring for our ancient Irish ancestors.

Starting last year the Republic of Ireland got a new public holiday in her honour, and as a way of thanking the medical and other frontline workers who helped get the nation through the pandemic. Leap years – such as this one --- have a special connection to St Brigid. An old Irish legend tells us that St Brigid convinced St Patrick to allow women to propose to men every on one day four years – February 29, a tradition that survives to this day.

2024 marks the special anniversary with Brigid 1500, a programme of events to celebrate and commemorate St. Brigid the The incredible new mural in Kildare town

woman, her life and legacy. “The main aim of Brigid 1500 is to create a meaningful cultural and societal legacy that appeals to a diverse, contemporary audience. Brigid 1500 will engage communities with the story and heritage of St. Brigid, providing a tangible connection with the past through events and programmes that have an ongoing meaning and relevance,” event organisers said. “The programme will engage with the values St. Brigid championed including faith and spirituality, biodiversity and sustainability, arts and culture, social justice, peace, hospitality and education.”

Brigid 1500 saw a string of big and small, religious and secular events in Kildare Town THE IRISH SCENE | 81

– where St Brigid built a nunnery and has a Cathedral – across the rest of the county, and country. Let’s not forget the recent and outstanding gathering at Kidogo, Bathers Beach, Fremantle.

As someone who spent most of their school years – primary and secondary – in Catholic School in Kildare Town this writer remembers the particular pride the Christian Brothers (and no doubt the nuns in the convent near the boys school) felt in belonging to the place and religious faith she helped establish. How many places can lay claim to a national saint as their local saint, and a legend to boot?

If she has always been revered and remembered throughout the ages then Brigid 1500 has given living generations a reason to celebrate her and an understanding of why she is still important and relevant to us today.

Of the many legends about her, my personal favourite was the story of how she approached the King of Leinster to ask him for land to build a monastery. When the king turned her original location down she asked for as much land as the cloak on her back could cover. He agreed to the ridiculous request only to watch in disbelief as the garment was stretched out in every direction over a large amount of ground. The miracle impressed the chieftain so much he offered her money, food and support to build the monastery and he converted to Catholicism.

Growing up on the rolling open plains of the

82 | THE IRISH SCENE

Curragh it was always fun to imagine such a thing.

A ‘relic’ of St Brigid came home to Kildare for the occasion. When she died – believed to be 524 AD – her corpse was buried in the grounds of the monastery she founed but was later relocated to DownPatrick, to rest beside St. Patrick’s grave, to prevent it from being stolen by attacking Vikings. Just in time for February 1 a fragment of St. Brigid’s skull – that had spent most of the last 1,000 years in Europe where Irish knights had taken it – was returned to St. Brigid’s Parish Church in Kildare town at a special ceremony.

And in an age where war and conflict seem to be escalating St Brigids Day has also become the carrier for a new message of hope. The Pause for Peace Movement was started at Solas Bhríde (a Christian Spirituality Centre where people of all faiths or none are welcome). On 1st February each year, the Pause for Peace Movement invites people from around the world to stop and pause for one minute’s silence and reflection at 12:00 noon local time.

Beannachtai Lá Féile Bríd.

50 YEARS IN OZ!

Mick Manning (left) and Gerry Murphy recently celebrated 50 years in Australia. Onya mates!

Sean Roche with his brother Shamie who just returned to Ireland. My spies tell me Sean has a big birthday coming up soon! How many years Sean?!

Other visitors to Perth, Mike Bowen and his son Jonathan (in Green) with Eileen Murphy with the son Tom Murphy. The Melbourne based Gerry and Elsie Tully (back) with PJ and Bowen’s were in Perth for the Women’s Moira Malone. The Tully’s just returned to Rugby 7’s where Ireland had a big win Ireland and have a wonderful guest house (Divine Mercy) in Knock Co Mayo. If you are and Eileen returned to the best part of looking for great accommodation its the spot! Ireland.... Cork!

AIHA FILM CLUB SEASON concludes Wednesday March 7, 7.45pm

Featuring “Your Ugly Too”TUESDAY with a supporting Irish documentary, together with tea/coffee, homemade cakes, Irish AIHA FILM CLUB SEASON concludes Wednesday March 7.45pm THE FOURTH BOOK CLUB AIHA FILM CLUB SEASON concludes Wednesday March 7, 7, 7.45pm

wheaten bread“Your andUgly jams. creams $3. At Kensington (South Perth).

Donationhomemade $15 to cover and costs.

Featuring Too”Ice with supporting Irish documentary, together with tea/coffee, cakes,catering Irish wheaten Featuring “Your Ugly Too” with aa supporting Irish together with tea/coffee, homemade cakes, Irish fourth Tuesday of the month, with exception ofdocumentary, December. At 7.30pm THEMeets FOURTH TUESDAY March 26 and April 23,toDooey 7.30pm, Irish Club Committee Room, 61 bread Ice creams $3. At Kensington (South Perth).

Donation $15 cover catering andtocosts.

May 24 and jams.

‘Phosphorescence’

by CLUB JuliaAt Baird, to be presented byPerth).

Trish wheaten bread and jams.

Ice BOOK creams $3.

Kensington (South Donation $15 cover catering and costs.

June 28FOURTH TBA to be presented

by Cecilia Bray THE TUESDAY BOOK CLUB March 26 and April 23, 7.30pm, Irish Club Committee Room, 61 TownTownshend Road, Subiaco.

All welcome.

Light refreshments provided.

Convener Mary Purcell, m.purcell@telstra.com THEVenue FOURTH TUESDAY BOOKLight CLUB 26 and April 23, Mary 7.30pm, Irish Club Committee Room, 61 Irish Club Committee Room, 61March Townshend Road, Subiaco shend Road, Subiaco.

All welcome. refreshments provided.

Convener Purcell, m.purcell@telstra.com SAINT PATRICKS FESTIVAL Saturday 16threfreshments March, Leederville Parade and Festival, 10am.

Join our vintage Admission Free.

All welcome.

Light refreshments provided.

Tea and coffee from theIrish Bar $2 Townshend Road, Subiaco.

All welcome.

Light provided.

Convener Mary m.purcell@telstra.com SAINT PATRICKS FESTIVAL Saturday 16th March, Leederville Parade and Irish Festival, Purcell, 10am. Join our vintage car Contact Convener Marypresentation Purcell, m.purcell@telstra.com car float in the parade and our of ththe Brendan Awards 2022 and 2023 at the concert in the early SAINTfloat PATRICKS Saturday 16Brendan March,Awards Leederville and Irish Festival, Join our vintage the paradeFESTIVAL and our presentation of the 2022Parade and 2023 at the in the10am. early afternoon. afternoon.inThis prestigious award recognises individuals or groups with a record ofconcert dedicated service and outstanding car BLOOMSDAY float inprestigious the parade and our presentation of Brendan Awards 2022 and 2023 the concert in the early This award recognises individuals or the groups with a record of dedicated service andatoutstanding achievement in James Joyce Literary Competition presentations achievement in one or more aspects of Australia's Irish heritage. Meanwhile we invite nominations for 2024. afternoon. award recognises or groups with a record of dedicated service and outstanding one orThis moreprestigious aspects of Australia’s Irish heritage.individuals Meanwhile we invite nominations for 2024.

Sunday 24 March, 3pm, Irish Club Committee room.

There will be special ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING ANNUAL GENERAL Sunday 24 March, Irish Club Committee room.

There will be special achievement in one or more MEETING aspects of Australia's Irish 3pm, heritage.

Meanwhile we invite nominations formotions 2024. for motions for Life Membership nominations.

Please consider joining as a committee member, volunteer or an event coordinator.

Life Membership nominations.

Please consider24 joining as a3pm, committee volunteer orroom. an event coordinator.

Sunday March, Irishmember, Club Committee There will be special motions ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING CATALPA COMMEMORATION ROCKINGHAM Annual commemoration of the escape of six Fenian convicts on CATALPA COMMEMORATION ROCKINGHAM Annual commemoration of the escape of six Fenian convicts on for Life Membership nominations. Please consider joining as a committee member, volunteer or an event coordinator.

17-18 April, 1876.

With oration, music drama the Catalpa Memorial, Rockingham 17-18 April, 1876.

With oration,verse, verse, music drama andand songsong at theat Catalpa Memorial, Rockingham Beach, EasterBeach, Monday,Easter 1 CATALPA COMMEMORATION ROCKINGHAM Annual commemoration of the escape of six Fenian convicts on To mark the 100th of the publication Ulysses, thedignitaries AIHA will including hold a celebratory event on andMayor April, to11am 12 anniversary noon.

Freenoon. public event.

Guest of speakers and Mayor Deb Hamblin city councilors; Monday, 1 11am April, to 12 Free public event.

Guest speakers and dignitaries including Deb Hamblin 17-18June April, 1876.

With oration, verse, drama and songSomer at the Catalpa Rockingham Beach, Easter , officially known world-wide asmusic Bloomsday, after Leopold Bloom in Ulysses.Memorial, At the event, the 16th Federal Minister Madeline King; StateMadeline Minister Stephen Dawson; Bessire-Briers from presentations US Somer Consulate; actor Michael from US and city councilors; Federal Minister King; State Minister Stephen Dawson; Bessire-Briers shortlisted entries from our competition will be staged as readings, drama, music and visual Monday, 1 April, 11am tooverall 12 noon.

Free public event.

Guestby speakers andand dignitaries including Mayor Deb Hamblin Sheehy; musician Ormonde Og Waters; more.

Coordinated David McKnight. by solo or groups.

The winner willand be chosen by popular vote on the night will receive a cash Consulate; actor Michael Sheehy; musician Ormonde Og Waters; and more. Coordinated

by David McKnight. and city councilors; Federal Minister Madeline King; State Minister Stephen Dawson; Somer at Bessire-Briers from US prize.

ANZAC DAY Thursday 25 April, 8am.

AIHA at invitation of Subiaco RSL lay wreaths for Irish ANZACS Fallen Soldiers War ANZAC DAY Thursday 25 April, 8am.

AIHA at invitation of Subiaco RSL lay wreaths for Irish ANZACS at Fallen We thank our adjudicators Frank Murphy and Frances Devlin-Glass Consulate; actor Ormonde Og Waters; and more.

Memorial on Michael the cornerSheehy; of Rokebymusician and Hamersley roads. Morning tea follows.

SubjectCoordinated to confirmationby David McKnight.

Soldiers War on corner ofAIHA Rokeby and Hamersley roads.

Morning tea follows. to confirmation ANZAC DAYMemorial Thursday 25the April, at invitation of Subiaco RSL lay wreaths for IrishSubject ANZACS at Fallen Date Thursday June 168am. at MEMBERSHIP 1 January to7.30pm 31 December, 2024 MEMBERSHIP 1 January to 31 2024 Venue Irish Club Theatre, 61December, Townshend Road, Subiaco (to be confirmed) Soldiers War Memorial on the corner of Rokeby and Hamersley roads.

Morning tea follows.

Subject to confirmation Admission AIHA$65; members $20, Non-members includes light refreshments Family membership Concession (Centrelink and$25, unwaged students with ID) $55 Family membership $65; Concession (Centrelink and unwaged students with ID) $55 Prizes Edwardian male or female.

Plus special Irish raffle MEMBERSHIP 1Best January to dressed 31 December, 2024 Distant (200 kms fromPerth) Perth) $45; fee includes tax deductible donation of $20 Distant (200 kms from $45;Membership Membership fee includes tax deductible donation of $20 https://www.trybooking.com/BZAVU Bookings Family membership $65; Concession (Centrelink and unwaged students with ID) $55 Online – https://irishheritage.com.au/membership/registration/ Pay Pay Online – https://irishheritage.com.au/membership/registration/ Distant (200 kms from Perth) $45; Membership includes tax deductible donation of $20 Or Bank Transfer: Bank: Commonwealth, BSB: fee 066-192 No: 1054 AIHA Website Or Bank Transfer: Bank: Commonwealth, BSB: 066-192Account Account No: 6502 1054 6502 PayCheck Online –website https://irishheritage.com.au/membership/registration/ AIHA has approved charity and tax deductable status. Deductable Gift Recipient Statusinterviews conducted our https://irishheritage.com.au/news-blog/ for a selection of exclusive AIHA has approved charity and tax deductable status.

Deductable Gift Recipientwith Status by committee member GillCommonwealth, Kenny and other articles note. If you click on No: the interview Or Bank Transfer: Bank: BSB: of 066-192 Account 1054 6502 Aine Tyrrell

ww

YEARS AGO - MARCH 2004

Australian Irish Dancing Association Inc. As the Irish dancing competition season starts for 2024, AIDA WA would firstly like to congratulate the dancers who represented Western Australia at the All Ireland Championships held in Killarney in February.

WA competitors had 100% recall rate and some amazing results!

Congratulations to: Vaughan Cooper (WA Academy) - 1st Place ALL IRELAND CHAMPION Men 19-20 Dara McAleer (The Academy) – 3rd Place Senior Ladies O23 Sinead Daly (The Academy) – 17th Place Ladies 19-20 Isobel Ashley (Trinity Studio) – 21st Place Ladies 21-23 Georgia Western (Trinity Studio) - 30th Place Girls 14-15 Stella Ashley (Trinity Studio) – 35th Place Ladies 19-20 Very well done to you all, along with your teachers! Competing at such a prestigious championship is such an amazing achievement.

The pinnacle of any competitive Irish dancers career is qualifying and training to dance on World Stage at the Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne, representing their school and country. This year the World Championships will take place in Glasgow, Scotland from 24th-31st March. WA is lucky enough to have an incredible 27 competitors representing our state in the championships.

Good luck to the following dancers: Talitha Lin (The Academy)

Sinead Daly (The Academy)

Tiernan Beattie (The Academy)

Joel Brooker (Kavanagh Studio)

Cassie Lin (The Academy)

Vaughan Cooper (Kavanagh Studio)

Charlotte Langford (The Academy)

Medbh Flanagan (The Academy)

Sahara Donelan (The Academy)

Niamh Leahy (O’Hare)

Sasha Brown (Kavanagh Studio)

Isobel Ashley (Trinity Studio)

Sinead Lydon (The Academy)

Chloe Andrews (Trinity Studio)

Georgia Western (Trinity Studio)

Koral Smith (The Academy)

Katelyn Steele-Gage (The Academy)

Caoimhe McAleer (The Academy)

Lene Brady (Kavanagh Studio)

Caitlin Bone (The Academy)

Zoe Cahoon (Kavanagh Studio)

Ciara Stobbie (The Academy)

Laoise McAleer (The Academy)

Dara McAleer (The Academy)

Hayley Brooker (Kavanagh Studio)

Iona Braham (Trinity Studio)

Stella Ashely (Trinity Studio) We wish all of these dancers the best of luck, and congratulate them on this wonderful achievement.

Locally, AIDA WA look forward to seeing our dancers returning to the stage, with the first Feis of the year being held on the 9th & 10th March, hosted by Celtic Academy. We can’t wait to see all the dancers do their best and have fun.

Stepping away from competitions, AIDA WA would like to acknowledge Torc Ceili Club who were the recipients of the CLRG Dance Development Fund. The objective of the grant is to preserve and promote Irish Dancing, including step dancing, céili dancing and other team dancing. The funds were used to host the St Brigid’s Festival Family Day honouring St Brigid – the patroness of women, poets, farmers and healers. Congratulations and thank you for your dedication to our tradition and art.

Finally, on behalf of AIDA WA we wish everyone a very Happy St Patricks Day for the 17th March and hope you enjoy the festivities!

86 | THE IRISH SCENE

Irish Dancing AIDA WA EXECUTIVE 2023 President: Teresa Fenton TCRG Vice Presidents: Katherine Travers TCRG & Eileen Ashley ADCRG Secretary: Shannen Krupa TCRG Treasurer: Martina O’Brien TCRG Registrar: Jenny O’Hare TCRG WA Delegate: Caitriona Slane TCRG

SCHOOL CONTACTS: CELTIC ACADEMY East Victoria Park www.celticacadmeyperth.com Siobhan Collis TCRG 0403 211 941 KAVANAGH STUDIO OF IRISH DANCE Mt Hawthorn www.kavanaghirishdance.com.au Teresa Fenton TCRG 0412 155 318 Deirdre McGorry TCRG Avril Grealish TCRG O’BRIEN ACADEMY Joondalup www.obrienacademy.com Rose O’Brien ADCRG 0437 002 355 Martina O’Brien TCRG 0423 932 866 O’HARE SCHOOL OF IRISH DANCING Doubleview, Wembley Downs & Craigie Jenny O’Hare TCRG 0422 273 596 SCOIL RINCE NI BHAIRD Fremantle & Lynwood Tony Ward TCRG 0427 273 596 THE ACADEMY MID AMERICA & WESTERN AUSTRALIA Wangara, Kalamunda & Bicton Samantha McAleer TCRG Dhana Pitman TCRG Lara Upton ADCRG 0409 474 557 TORC IRISH DANCE Subiaco & Maylands Caroline McCarthy TCRG 0437 073 744 Caitriona Slane TCRG TRINITY STUDIO OF IRISH DANCING Morley, Midland & South Lake trinitystudiowa@gmail.com Eileen Ashley ADCRG 0413 511 595 Katherine Travers TCRG Nell Taylor TCRG Siân Fitzgerald-Cain TCRG Taryn Owen TCRG

Stephen Dawson MLC Minister for Emergency Services; Innovation and ICT; Medical Research;

WA ACADEMY OF IRISH DANCING Malaga www.waacademyofirishdancing.com Shannen Krupa TCRG Stephanie Leeder TCRG Glenalee Bromilow ADCRG Sue Hayes TMRF

12th Floor, Dumas House 2 Havelock Street, WEST PERTH WA 6005 Email: Minister.Dawson@dpc.wa.gov.au Telephone: (08) 6552-5800

THE IRISH SCENE | 87

CARRAMAR

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1984 - CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF FOOTBALL - 2024 In the beginning…….

Thanks to these people, we are now celebrating the 40th anniversary of Shamrock Rovers.

We will be marking the occasion at the Carramar Shamrock Rovers home game on Saturday 18th of May 2024, at Grandis Park in Banksia Grove. We will be hosting East Perth FC. All players, committee members, volunteers, supporters, and sponsors past and present, are invited to join us in celebrating 40 years of playing the game we all love, and sharing the many great stories and events of the last four decades.

The merger with Carramar in 2020 brought the club to a new level. We have over 300 boys and girls playing at junior level, and young players now have a pathway to State League.

Eden Pyle and Louie Martin have been playing together since Under 8s, and both took the pitch for the First team in this season’s Night Series. Eden was in the starting lineup and played

24th January 1984 - A meeting to organise and nominate a committee for Shamrock Rovers soccer club was held at the Briar Patch tavern at 8pm. Present were: M. Murray, M. Durkan, J. MacDonald, M. Nugent, P. Gault, P. Burnley, J. Gault, M. Nugent, E. Mewes, D. Curtis, J. O’Neill, M. Hennessy, P. Marsh, D. Brooks, C. O’Sullivan, M, Manning.

The following officers were elected: M. Manning - President, J. McDonald - Secretary, M. McAuley - Treasurer, J. Gault - Team Manager, M. Nugent - Asst. Team Manager, M. Durkan - Social Club Rep., M. Murray - Players Rep. (1), C. O’Sullican - Players Rep. (20) at right back for 75 minutes. Louie came on in the second half at right mid. Both boys stepping up from under 18s, and didn’t look out of place We are looking forward to the 2024 season.

Our first game is in the Cup at home to Ashfield on 16th March. Our first League game is at home to Canning on 23rd March.

As always, thanks to our sponsors, we couldn’t do this without you: • Declan McDermott, Integrity Property solutions • CFMEU, and • Frankie Atkinson, Muntz partners.

Again, special thanks to Nicky Edwards for his ongoing work in getting sponsors on board. Thanks also to our loyal banner sponsors and various teamwear sponsors, several of whom have been with us for a number of years now.

Follow us on Facebook for lots more information, news and photos! If you are interested in getting involved with your local club in any capacity – coach, volunteer, committee member – please contact us at CSRFC2020@gmail.com

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88 | THE IRISH SCENE

The Irish Choir

T

he Irish Choir Perth have kickstarted 2024 with a whole new repertoire! The back catalogue of Irish music is as broad as it is impressive, and so it’s no easy task to refine and curate the music for the Irish Choir Perth.

Choosing repertoire for any choir is a delicate balancing act. Each selection aims to challenge, inspire, and ultimately, unite the choir.

For conductor, Hilary Price, a recent trip back to Ireland provided all the inspiration she needed. Her first choice, the “Blower’s Daughter” by Damien Rice is a hauntingly beautiful ballad released in 2001 as part of Rice’s debut album “O,”. The song’s strippeddown acoustic arrangement and poignant lyrics were inspired by Rice’s own experiences of heartache and longing and captures the pain and yearning of unrequited love. Its delicate melody and evocative imagery paint a vivid portrait of love’s complexities, leaving an indelible mark on all who dare to listen. Over the years, the song has become a timeless classic, celebrated for its raw honesty and timeless beauty.

Hilary has prepared a beautiful two-part harmony that does justice to this piece, and

which is quickly becoming a choir favourite.

The song will be featured as part of a repertoire of new arrangements when the Choir performs at the Fremantle Songfest in April. However, there may a sneak preview at the Choir’s first concert of the year when they take to the stage at the Irish Club of WA’s St Patrick’s Day event!

The Choir always sees an uptick in new members following a concert. New faces are always welcome! Why not join us and become part of a choir that will uplift your spirits and reignite your passion for music. Whether you’re a seasoned soprano or a novice baritone, there’s a place for you – no auditions (and no solos, at least not on your first night!).

The Irish Choir Perth meet on Wednesday nights, 7pm at the Irish Club of WA. Drop us a line at irishchoirperth@gmail.com and keep an eye on social media @irishchoirperth for the most up-to-date session dates and performance details!

THE IRISH SCENE | 89

Penalty Kick? Penalty ShootOut? Blame an Ulster man!

by John Hagan

“I felt I was stepping off the edge of the world into silence”, declared Chris Waddle after missing his penalty for England against Germany in the 1990 World Cup.

William McCrum

“The penalty is with me every day, but the nightmare in myself is all about the long walk to the spot”, confessed Italy’s Daniele Massaro on missing a penalty against Brazil in the 1994 World Cup Final.

There is no doubt the penalty kick plays a significant part in the game of football leading to either elation or abject misery for the players and teams involved. This now well accepted, if traumatic, part of the round ball game was introduced to the world on 2 June 1891, as Rule 13 of the ‘Laws of the Game’ thanks to Ulster man, William McCrum, from Milford, County Armagh, thus changing the game forever.

‘Master Willie’, as he was known around Milford, was born on 7 February 1865, the son of linen millionaire R.G. McCrum, founder and owner of the famous linen manufacturing business McCrum, Watson & Mercer which owned Milford village and its linen factory.

While ‘RG’ was authoritarian, thrifty, hard working and God-fearing, Master Willie enjoyed gambling, amateur theatrics, singing, traveling and playing sport. After attending Armagh Royal School and Trinity College, Dublin, for many years Willie played as goalkeeper for local club, Milford Everton, including the very first season of the formation of the Irish Football League (1890-91). Unfortunately, during that season Milford finished rock bottom, with no points from 14 games, scoring only ten goals while conceding 62. Maybe Master Willie was not such a crack keeper. During the nineteenth century, football was something of a freefor-all with players often shunning even the game’s most rudimentary rules. One of the ploys used by defenders involved jumping up and kneeing opponents in the stomach while manslaughter charges arising from 90 | THE IRISH SCENE

matches were not unusual. Anything to stop the opposition from scoring seemed to be in order. As goalkeeper, Willie McCrum had a ring-side seat to any such foul play as the drama of the contest unfolded in front of him. In order to curb ‘over enthusiastic’ defending, McCrum developed the idea of the penalty kick which was introduced initially for local Milford games. McCrum’s new ‘kick of death’ (as it was initially known) would be awarded if a defender deliberately tripped, grappled with an opponent or handled the ball within twelve yards of the goal. The keeper, often a bystander for much of the game, was now thrust centre-stage, something which would have appealed to McCrum’s penchant for amateur dramatics.

Soon McCrum persuaded the Irish Football Association (IFA) to submit the idea to the International Football Board (IFB). The new innovation was not warmly received as it was feared that the ‘Irishman’s motion’ might reduce the play to gridlock and impede the game’s ‘freedom of expression’. Some leading players such as the legendary CB Fry, captain of English football club Corinthians

and cricket international, shunned the idea as a slur on sportsmen believing it would encourage players to ‘behave like cads of the most unscrupulous kidney’. At its June 1890 meeting, the IFB resolved, following much acrimonious debate, to adjourn the motion for twelve months. However, the mood soon changed after the controversial climax to the English FA Cup quarter-final. Non-league giant-killers Stoke City found themselves a goal down against favourites, Notts County.

During an attack near the final whistle Stoke had a shot punched off the goal line by an outfield player and were awarded a free-kick.

Notts County players simply stood on the goal line in front of the ball and blocked the resultant kick. Four months later, on 2 June Grave before restoration

1891, Willie McCrum’s penalty proposal was accepted as ‘Rule 13’ forcing the goalkeeper to stand on the goal line while a spot kick was taken from twelve yards out and directly in front. Initially, some keepers protested by standing beside the goal, some penalty takers deliberately shot wide or high while a few, such as CB Fry and his associates, showed their disdain by leaving the pitch for a quick smoke while the kick was taken. Despite all his education and wealth, McCrum’s personal life was something of a disaster. In 1891 he married Maude Squires and the couple had a son, but Maude seemingly preferred other men and was implicated in a number of local scandals before eventually, in 1903, eloping to the French Riviera with a Major Heard.

McCrum continued to enjoy his travelling and gambling and, in 1915, on the death of his father, he inherited the village of Milford and half the shares in McCrum, Watson & Mercer.

But Willie proved a poor businessman, and in the wake of the 1929 great depression, the firm collapsed with the village and business seized by the Northern Bank. Willie McCrum, inventor of the penalty kick, died in 1932, penniless and alone in an Armagh boarding house. His grave in Milford Cemetery was restored in 2015, thanks to funding from the International Football Association (FIFA).

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THE IRISH SCENE | 91

@GAAINWA

Junior Academy Golf Day The second annual Gaelic Games Junior Academy of Western Australia golf day took place last Saturday morning 17th February at Maylands Peninsula golf course. On a glorious morning for golf, over 100 players turned out to test their driving, chipping and putting skills. All proceeds raised from the day go back into the Junior Academy who provide an opportunity for boys and girls aged 4 to 16 to play Gaelic Football, Hurling and Camogie in Western Australia. Following the success of the first ever Australiasian Felie held in Adelaide in March 2023, this year’s golf day would also help support sending a U15 boys gaelic football team to represent Australasia at 2024 Feile

being held at the Connaught GAA Centre of Excellence in Mayo on June 29th. There were some excellent scores set with the winning team led by Andy Harris coming out on top on a score of 59.25. Following the golf all the players were treated to lunch and musical entertainment kindly provided by the Celtic Academy of Irish Dance and Ciaran O’Sullivan and Co. While the golf was going on, Academy Secretary and GAAWA Vice-President Tom Murphy was talking all things Gaelic Games on Radio Fremantle’s Celtic Rambles with host Heather Deighan and 2023 Perth Rose Olivia Duffy. A sincere thankyou to all our players and sponsors, Peter McKenna, the staff of Maylands Peninsula golf course, Ciaran O’Sullivan & Co and the children and teachers of the Celtic Academy of Irish Dance.’ David Dillon, Ciaran Gallagher & Tom Murphy.

Proudly Sponsored by

Hon. Stephen Dawson MLC MEMBER FOR MINING & PASTORAL REGION

Jessica Stojkovski MEMBER FOR KINGSLEY

Hon. Alanna Clohesy MEMBER FOR EAST METROPOLITAN REGION

consultants 92 | THE IRISH SCENE

THE IRISH SCENE | 93

@GAAINWA

94 | THE IRISH SCENE

GAAWA

CLUB DETAILS FOOTBALL CLUBS GREENWOOD Mens & Ladies Senior Football greenwoodgfc@hotmail.com

MORLEY GAELS Mens & Ladies Senior Football morleygaelsgfc@hotmail.com

SOUTHERN DISTRICTS Mens & Ladies Senior Football southerndistrictsgaa@gmail.com

ST. FINBARR’S Mens & Ladies Senior Football stfinbarrsgfc@outlook.com

WESTERN SHAMROCKS Mens & Ladies Senior Football westernshamrocks@hotmail.com

HURLING CLUBS ST. GABRIEL’S Mens & Ladies Senior Hurling & Camogie stgabrielsperth@gmail.com

WESTERN SWANS Mens & Ladies Senior Hurling & Camogie westernswansgaa@gmail.com

PERTH SHAMROCKS Mens Senior Hurling perthshamrocks@gmail.com

SARSFIELDS Mens Senior Hurling

sarshurlingperth@gmail.com

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THE IRISH SCENE | 95

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58 Westchester Road, Malaga 6090 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 8am-3pm www.mcloughlinbutchers.com.au