Irish Scene Jan Feb 2020 Edition

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Happy

New Year

2020 • vol 22 ISSUE ONE

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Been there, wore the t-shirt U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr flashed a t-shirt with ‘Perth’ written on the back on the big screen at their concert in Optus Stadium – U2 REVIEWED, PAGE 82

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Page Index

Business Contacts baggage (unaccompanied) & MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT: FREIGHT 70 Stephen Dawson ..................................9172 2648 79 AI Express ............................................9243 0808 PROPERTY DEVELOPERs: 77 Exportair ...........................Geoff/Tim 9477 1080 92 Tyrone Developments ........................9582 2186 Beauty & MAssage Property maintenance: Sharon Nolan Beauty ................0498 980 987 91 Integrity Property Solutions ......0423 618 506 Butchers 90 Jordan Kitchens & Cabinetry ....0405 182 730 96 McLoughlin’s Meats ..........................9249 8039 Psychology: 80 Meat Connoisseur ..............................9309 9992 63 General Psychology Services .....0414 251 967 CAFE/DELI & fresh food: Pubs, Clubs & restaurants: Avoka Cafe................6406 2336 / 6406 2105 32 Durty Nelly’s, Perth ............................9226 0233 Fresh Frontier Co ..................................6162 9958 16 Galway Hooker, Scarborough 63 Irish Club of WA, Subiaco..................9381 5213 Entertainment & RADIO: 89 Frank Murphy Celtic Rambles................107.9fm 53 JB O’Reilly’s, Leederville ...................9382 4555 84 Fiddlestick...........................David 0413 259 547 2 Paddy Malone’s, Joondalup ...........9300 9966 7 Rosie O’Grady’s, Northbridge .........9328 1488 73 Irish Theatre Players 29 Woodbridge Hotel, Guildford ...........9377 1199 Oliver McNerney.........................................88.5fm 14 Murphy’s ............................................... 9535 2666 31 Torc Ceili Club Solicitors & Legal: Funerals: 25 Kavanagh Lawyers ............................. 9218 8422 49 McKee Funerals ................................... 9401 1900 45 Vibe Legal .............................................. 6111 4890 Your Legal HQ ....................................9445 9200 Immigration advice: 57 EasiVisa...............Carol-Ann Lynch 9429 8860 Sport & SportING Clubs:

BEEF & GUINNESS PIE: Traditional Irish Beef and Guinness Pie with Mushroom and Golden Puff Pastry. Chef’s Selection See Staff

93 GAA ................................................0458 954 052 IRISH community groups & INFO: 91 Shamrock Rovers ..........................0410 081 386 61 Aust Irish Heritage Assoc ...............9345 3530 50 Irish Families in Perth TAX & accounting: 46 The Claddagh Assoc...........................9249 9213 Lawrence Group ..................................9285 8182 66 IACC .................................................. 1300 513 633 Travel & Tourism: Mechanics: 40 British Travel ........................................9433 3288 1 Killarney Autos ....................Neil 0439 996 764 tyres, batteries, brakes, wheels: 12 Tyrepower Perth City ...............Fiona 9322 2214

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Imelda Gorman 0450 884 247 Email: irishsceneperth@gmail.com Lloyd Gorman 0479 047 250 Email: irishsceneperth@gmail.com Canal Walk Media Caris Grant

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed by contributors in articles, reproduced articles, advertisements or any other printed material contained in Irish Scene magazine or on www.irishscene.com.au are those of the individual contributors or authors and as such are not necessarily those of Canal Walk Media. The publisher and editor reserve the right to accept, reject, edit or amend submitted material in order to make it appropriate or suitable for publication. Irish Scene welcomes submissions, ideas and suggestions for articles and features as well as photographs of events happening around and within the Irish community in Western Australia.

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A Spirited Dance Show........................................69 An Evening With Moondyne ...............................81 Around the Irish Scene ........................................90 Australian Irish Heritage Assoc..........................61 Australian Irish Dancing Assoc..........................70 Book Reviews..........................................................74 Breaking The Chains ............................................49 Bríd Na Namhrán...................................................41 Claddagh Report ...................................................46 Comhaltas Perth ....................................................56 Concertinaed Into Success ..................................84 Exhibition of Sgt O’Meara’s VC in Ireland........13 Family History WA................................................64 Freo Gave Me The Fontaines D.C. ......................85 G’Day from Melbourne ........................................54 Getting Cross is an Irish Tradition ......................23 GAA Junior Academy ..........................................95 GAAWA ..................................................................93 Hel Yeah!.................................................................38 Ireland: The Great Divide ....................................52 Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce ...........66 Irish Choir Perth .....................................................62 Irish Seniors Christmas Lunch ............................36 Irish Theatre Players.............................................73 Isteach sa Teach.....................................................42 Japan: World Cup & Honesty..............................88 Little Did a Lot for Dardanup...............................17 Matters of Pub-lic Interest!..................................33 Meeja WAtch.........................................................20 Minute with Synnott ............................................. 72 Paula from Tasmania ............................................86 Perth NYE Party - Irish Style................................. 6 Return Of International Rules Compromised For Local Fans?.......................................................92 Shamrock Rovers ...................................................91 St Patrick’s Feastival............................................... 8 Summer Cooking with Lee ..................................60 They Made Their Mark .........................................15 Twins and Gruesome Twosomes..........................10 U2: Have They Found What They’re Looking For? ............................................82 Ulster Rambles ......................................................58 WA’s First State Tennis Champion .....................30 WA Visitor for O’Meara’s Medals ......................14 What’s Up Doc? .................................................... 24 Would Irish Community Be In Better Shape If It Had A Peak Body? .............................18 You Shall Go To The Ball!....................................... 4

You shall go to the ball!

The Times Square official website tells us that for the year 2000, the millennium celebration at the Crossroads of the World, the New Year’s Eve Ball was completely redesigned by Waterford Crystal and Philips Lighting.

BY LLOYD GORMAN One couple from Perth will have had a big New Years in New York, thanks to 96FM in East Perth and a little bit of Irish magic. The commercial radio station sent two Perthonians on their merry way to the Big Apple for New Years Eve with flights, accommodation and $10,000 to splurge on having a good time.

Over many weeks hundreds of listeners vied for the chance to get onto the standby list and a shot at the top prize which promised something money can’t buy.

The winner would get VIP access to the only secure area in the centre of Times Square, where there would be an official celebrity party in a fully catered and complimentary bar. They would also get access to the top of Times Square for a photo with the crystal ball before its traditional high profile drop at 11.59pm, kick starting one of the biggest New Years parties in the world. It’s countdown is cheered and watched live by a million revellers in the heart of New York who brave the cold and often snow while a billion others around the globe tune in for the special event (many through special ball-cams that give a birds eye view).

Few ever get to see the Times Square Ball up so close as the 96FM winners - but those that do get to see some of the beauty of Ireland at work.

The orb is an impressive geodesic sphere, 12 feet (3.65m) in diameter that weighs 11,875 pounds (5390 kilos) making it the largest crystal ball in the world.

It is covered with 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles that vary in size (ranging in length from 4 ¾ inches to 5 ¾ inches per side) that are are bolted to 672 LED modules attached to an aluminum frame. Each LED

module contains 48 LEDs — 12 red, 12 blue, 12 green, and 12 white for a total of 8,064 of each colour which means it is capable of displaying a palette of more than 16 million vibrant colors and billions of patterns that creates a spectacular kaleidoscope effect atop One Times Square.

Dropping a large ball has been a feature of New Year’s Eve celebrations in Times Square since about 1907, but it hasn’t always been so flashy or Irish! The first ball was five feet wide and weighed 700 pounds, made of iron and wood and was lit by one hundred 25-watt light bulbs. A 400 pound wrought iron ball replaced the original in 1920 which was itself replaced by a 150 pound aluminum ball. This ball remained in place - with some cosmetic changes - until 1995 when for just three years the new ball - with aluminum skin, rhinestones, strobes, and computer controls - was lowered for the last time.

No one can predict the future but it looks like the Waterford Crystal Ball will be a permanent fixture of New York’s New Years celebrations.

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“The crystal Ball combined the latest in lighting technology with the most traditional of materials, reminding us of our past as we gazed into the future and the beginning of a new millennium. In 2007, for the 100th anniversary of the Times Square Ball Drop tradition, Waterford Crystal and Philips Lighting crafted a spectacular new LED crystal Ball. The incandescent and halogen bulbs of the past century were replaced by state-of-the-art Philips Luxeon LED lighting technology that dramatically increased the brightness and color capabilities of the Ball. The beauty and energy efficiency of the Centennial Ball inspired the building owners of One Times Square to build the permanent Big Ball weighing nearly six tons and twelve feet in diameter. The 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles are illuminated by 32,256 Philips Luxeon LEDs. This Big Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball is now a year-round attraction sparkling above Times Square in full public view January through December.”

96FM producer Greg has seen it fall first hand: “To see that ball coming down, it’s huge, it’s like a moon descending down a building – it’s just the most magical thing you’ve ever seen in your life. Our winners are going to have such a good time. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience that, until you’ve done it, you just can’t explain it.”

Congratulations to the winner Sarah from Wattle Grove! Irish Scene is hoping to get a copy of the photograph of you with the Waterford Crystal Ball.

Continued on page 6

An Irish globe-trotter Responsibility for the world's most famous sphere rests on the shoulders of Waterford man Tom Brennan. His father before him was a master glass blower at the local crystal company and at the age of 16, in 1986, Tom entered the trade and tradition himself and in turn became a master artisan and ultimately a special ambassador for Waterford.

“I still can’t believe this huge thing that the world watches comes out of my small hometown,” the 49 year old told the New York Times last December. “I think people get so excited about the ball because it’s like the changing of the guards. It’s out with the old, in with the new. And it’s crystal. The one thing that crystal is associated with is celebration.”

Above: Tom Brennan, the artisan behind the famous crystal ball Brennan is passionate about his craft and the job never gets boring. “We have a glass of champagne, take a week off, and then start improving it for next year.”

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Continued from page 5

11 August 2019

Making a Scene in the Big Apple?

Austin, TX

JB O’Reilly’s owner Paul North passed on this letter from Mr and Mrs Kevin J O’Connell who live in Austin, Texas. Kevin is a proud Irish American who spent 25 years as a cop with the New York Police Department.

A lovely Sunday morning – 7.30am mass and now an opportunity to “get to”. These matters are seldom accomplished! Maria and I want so, so to thank you for your copy of the “Irish Scene” you sent on. Maria, it is a marvelous magazine.

On a visit to Perth last year Kevin and his wife must have stopped into JB’s for a drink, food, entertainment (or all three) and found a copy of Irish Scene.

They enjoyed the magazine and even promised to bring it to the attention of a major Irish American publication in New York. We’d like to thank him for his thoughts!

Greetings to you Maria from we here in “the Hill Country”.

It is not a matter of “articles alone”, the magazine is a first rate publication, so beautifully put together (color, organised, print, ads – just first rate!!) It is so, so impressive. It is on its way to the Office of Irish America Magazine in New York City. Perhaps they already have communication with the ‘Irish Scene”.

It is so first class professional and truly meant to re-enforce what a truly professional product it is. (We shall see Please God!!) Will keep you informed. Again, thank you so, so much!!

God Bless!! Slainte Cathy, Kevin & “The Team”.

Perth NYE Party –

Irish style Popular Perth pub The Lucky Shag elected to see out 2019 and celebrate 2020 “with the luck of the Irish”.

The Swan River waterfront watering hole held a ‘Destination: Ireland NYE Party” on December 31, starting at 7.30 until late.“Eat, drink, dance & get merry with us this New Years Eve on The Rooftop at our Destination: Ireland party!,” the promo material said.

“We’re welcoming an amazing year to come with Irish bevvies, Irish snacks, an Irish band and good old fashioned Irish craic!”. Magners, whiskey cocktails, Irish snacks (whatever they are when they are at home) and music by The Jarrah Celts and DJ Emma Smart were ready and waiting for revellers as they arrived at the venue. No doubt Perth’s many Irish pubs such as JB O’Reillys and Durty Nellys were all packed out for the occasion. Bliain nua shona (Happy New Year) folks, hopefully you had a good one!

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Fight for the right to party!

St Patrick’s

2020 All Saints have their own ‘feast days’ but March 17 is unique and Perth is one of the best places to be in the world for this special celebration of Ireland’s patron saint. Western Australia’s St. Patrick’s Day parade and festival is the biggest of its kind in Australia and is unmatched anywhere else in southern hemisphere. But the event has spawned several supporting fundraising events that are vital to the success of the big day itself but which are also important opportunities in their own right for the Irish and wider community to come together and get involved in different ways.

The annual ST PATRICK’S FESTIVAL FIGHT NIGHT is another major part of the effort needed to make the parade and festival happen. This year’s fight night falls on Saturday March 28 and promises to be another rousing night of fighting and fundraising.

Training for this popular event starts in mid-January at Lacey’s Gyms (Innaloo, Joondalup or Wanneroo catering for most locations) and more fighters are needed, so sign up as quickly as possible. The fee includes eight weeks of training with the experts from Lacey’s in Innaloo, and all the equipment and gear you will need to get into the ring for this unique experience. Contact Olan for bookings and details (0479 061 147) or Jon at Lacey’s (0455 864 535).

Go Raibh Maith Agat! (Thanks a lot)

A good time to horse into it!

First out of the starting gates for 2020 is a firm Irish favorite - RACE NIGHT in the Irish Club, Subiaco on Friday January 31. Recorded races will be screened on the big screen and there will be plenty of chances to have a punt. Anyone who buys their horse on or before the night for $100 or enters a syndicate with friends gets an owners bonus and the chance to win bigger.

There will also be all the usual fun and frolics of a day at the races at this family friendly function which will have an “Owners and Jockeys” dress theme for added fun. Doors open at 7pm with the first race off at 8pm, until late. Bring your family, bring workmates or bring a gang of friends you haven’t seen in a while or just bring it on yourself for a full night of equine entertainment.

Bookings can be made through St. Patrick’s Day Festival Committee Chairman Olan at 0479 061 147.

Gala Glamour The traditional ST PATRICK’S FESTIVAL GALA BALL - held this year on Saturday February 15, sponsored by Stallworth’s McDonald Surveys - is another occasion and excuse for getting all dolled up.

The venue is the Parmelia Hilton in Perth which has pulled out all the stops in previous years to give this glamorous night out that touch of class and feeling of luxury. Formal dress is required but there are prizes for best dressed on the night. Entertainment and the best music by special guests will be laid on. All this and a three course meal with beer, wine and soft drinks (included for 5 hours) in the ticket price makes this a big night out for a reasonable $170 each or $1600 for a table of 10.

Contact Tom (0415 709 393) or Niamh (0458 759 931) for bookings and details.

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groups who want to organize a float. All they have to do is let the festival committee know in advance and be prepared to decorate it accordingly the day before. Even better there is a $1,000 prize for the best float, so what are you waiting for? Those floats won’t make themselves!

As in previous years, the parade will wind its way into the Leederville Oval, followed closely and keenly by the crowds. Inside the stadium a village of stalls, shops, bars, food, sheltered chill out zones and plenty of activities for children awaits them, more than enough for a full and fun day out for young and old alike. You will be able to leave with fresh stocks of Irish produce and products to keep you going for a good while. Respected local musicians Kieran O’Sullivan, Tommy O’Brien and Fiona Rea are amongst those booked in to keep the sounds of Irish music in the air.

Floating on festival air Needing no introduction the FREE FAMILY FRIENDLY PARADE THROUGH LEEDERVILLE and the ensuing festival of all things Irish in the Leederville Oval takes place this year on Saturday March 14.

Each year an estimated 50,000 people - many of them not Irish but who come along for the craic - rock up for this spectacular procession which sees dozens of dance, music, cultural, sporting and special interest groups, performers, companies and even tractors assemble en masse to march in the parade, watched by large crowds. It’s exciting to be in the parade or an onlooker.

The theme for this year’s parade is “Irish Sporting Heroes” so there are plenty of historical and contemporary figures to choose from, and Perth’s many sporting groups - GAA, soccer, rugby and others - should have a good head start on this one. But everyone is welcome to emulate or imitate whichever Irish sportsman or woman or team that inspired them.

Each year the floats get bigger and better and that should be even more so this year. WA firm and festival sponsor John Holland has kindly offered to supply flatbed trucks and even drivers for the vehicles to

The ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE AND FESTIVAL is a free event to the community and it is important that everyone and anyone can come along and enjoy themselves without having to take out a second mortgage. But the budget needed to stage this spectacular event runs into hundreds of thousands of dollars which each year the committee and organisers must source - beg, borrow, cajole but not steal - from generous companies, individuals and organisations without whose support none of this could happen. The St. Patrick’s Day Committee - who volunteer their time and boundless energy - thank previous and existing sponsors for their support and would love to talk to new entities about what contribution they could make and how they could capitalise on their investment.

Any level of sponsorship, contribution or in-kind assistance - no matter how small - will be much appreciated.

The Event is a celebration of being Irish and we should all be proud of what we put on for the kids and families of all attendees. There are two kinds of people in the world “Irish and people who want to be Irish”.

The smiles on kids’/parents faces is all the committee work for. Your support, attendance and sponsorship make then wider.

Don’t forget it’s FUN, FREE and SAFE. Further details contact Tom (0415 709 393) or any of the committee members.

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Use what you got!

The denizens of Dull village in Perthshire, Scotland could teach us here in Perth, WA a lesson about town twinning. In fact the little village of a single street of houses on the north side of the valley of the River Tay - population about 80 - and a church is in the Perth and Kinross region - which is twinned with the WA Capital. In 2006 the City of Perth and the Perth and Kinross Council signed a charter of mutual friendship to encourage and help social,cultural, educational, recreational and economic exchanges between the two cities. Their respective concert halls followed suit with their own twinning deal in that year. And two lightposts installed outside Council Hay, in St George’s Terrace were gifts from the Perthsire people.

TWINS and gruesome twosomes?

BY LLOYD GORMAN Plenty of places in Western Australian share their names with somewhere in Ireland and certainly there is no shortage of historical and even contemporary connections between them. But there is something lacking.

About 267 Australian cities, councils and shires have town twinning or something similar in place with 51 countries. Six of those are between Ireland and Australia, but not Western Australia.

New South Wales has the lions share. According to the 2019 Directory of Australian Sister City Affiliations (ASCA), Ballina, Mayo and Lismore, Co.Waterford are both officially linked to their NSW namesakes - which makes sense. Like many other major cities, Dublin and Sydney have also had a friendship city relationship

The council’s own website carries some detailed information and resources (pdf/video) about that connection, including this short synopsis.

“The story of the Castle Hill Rebellion and the Battle of Vinegar Hill is a story of failed mini-rebellions, unsuccessful escape attempts, mutiny, conspiracies, betrayal and personal tragedy,” it states. “Following an uprising in 1798 in Ireland’s Wexford County known as the Battle of Vinegar Hill, many Irish leaders were exiled to New South Wales. After repeated escape attempts, in March 1804 the Irish patriots at Castle Hill Government Farm decided to rise up against the authorities of the colony and escape back to Ireland.

Together with their supporters they escaped, captured arms and marched towards Parramatta. On the way to Windsor in the search for reinforcements, the NSW Corps led by Major Johnston set upon the convicts.

The ensuing conflict with the British military forces took place near Rouse Hill and became known as the Battle of Vinegar Hill, after the Battle in Ireland, the first European battle fought on Australian soil. The battle left 15 convicts dead with most of the leaders of the uprising being later executed as a mark of infamy. Today a memorial stands at Castlebrook Cemetery on Windsor Road, commemorating the battle.”

Above: The monument known as the Vinegar Hill Battle, which stands inside Castlebrook Memorial Park, is part of the 200 year plus story depicting scenes from the beginning of European settlement. Image: castlebrook.com.au in place since 2000. But Hills Shire - which calls itself Sydney’s garden shire - has (had) a twinning arrangement with Wexford county based on a historical link and an important episode in Australian history.

By most standards that is a good heritage hook to hang your hat on, but unfortunately the ASCA directory lists that arrangement as “inactive”.

The other pair of twins are Clare in Ireland and Clare in South Australia (which was founded in 1842 by an Edward Gleeson, who named it after his Irish birthplace.) The only other recorded pairing then is between Mitchell in Victoria and county Roscommon.

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Not to be outdone by their city cousins the residents of Dull have embraced the twinning idea and run with it. In about 2012 they elected to couple up with their counterparts in Boring, Oregon. More recently they also teamed up with their kindred spirit in the mining town of Bland in New South Wales. In a BBC news package about the place, Perth and Kinross councillor Ian Campbell said a lot of the 60,000 visitors to the area each year come from Boring. “They’ve actually taken to it with gusto when they come along and its good to see them,” he said. Tony Lord who was then mayor of Bland Shire visited the highland community in 2017 and said it was a tourism gem that most tourists would not get to see. But he was upbeat that his electorate might.

“This is real Scotland and I’m sure we will have more people coming from Bland in the future”.

That appears to be the full extent of it - WA is nowhere to be seen.

The West does figure in the ASCA directory rankings but trails behind the other big states. NSW has 99 connections, Victoria 54, Queensland 39 and South Australia 37. WA has 22, which just puts it ahead of Tasmania (10) the Northern Territory (5) and Australian Capital Territory (1).

The bulk of those partnerships are with Japan (122) China (109), United States (89), United Kingdom (45) and New Zealand.

As WA’s flagship city Perth - which only officially became the capital city of WA in 1829 - you would expect it to have the most international pairings of any council or community in the state and it does. Some 14 places in Asia, Europe and America are all linked to Perth. But smaller WA councils also do well. Albany has four, Bunbury three, Wanneroo four and Fremantle with nine.

Quite often when a city or community gets a taste of being a twin they seem to like it and couple up with more than one place.

Certainly in Ireland the concept is tried and tested and is well entrenched across the country. Cities, towns and villages everywhere have relations with other countries and communities close to home and around the globe. There are a few with towns in England (Coventry and Cork signed up together back in 1969) but by and far most of those links with the UK are in Scotland and Wales. Down the road it will be interesting to see what the data says about how many places British people will opt for twinning deals, in the wake of Brexit.

But slightly further afield there are hundreds of towns, villages and centres in France and Germany (in particular) connected to Irish counterparts. The European Union is a big sponsor and champion of the concept. In the post WWII years as the European THE IRISH SCENE | 11

project slowly lumbered along, citizens across the continent embraced this new found form of friendship and in no small way those efforts are accredited by some as keeping the show on the road for Europe.

Indeed it has even been called “The biggest peace movement in the world”. Today Germany and France each have about 6,000 communities that are linked with somewhere else in Europe or the world.

Given the long history of emigration and escape to America and Irish influence there it is no surprise that dozens of big and small cities in the United States have pacts with the people and places of Ireland.

Dublin City Council (known as ‘The Corporation’ by Dubs for a long time) is so busy dealing with official visitors and guests from other parts of the world that it has its own international relations unit.

In recent times alone it has dealt with deputations from Berlin, Beijing, Reykjavik, Continued on page 12

Continued from page 11

Rotterdam, St Petersburg, Tbilisi, San Jose and Beijing.

The money will be used to upgrade the hall’s ability to host events, functions and performances - providing the people of Dardanup with an improved local community facility.

Collie-Preston MLA Mick Murray said he had committed to help the So there is an appetite and a lot project in the run up to the 2017 election and said it was very much of experience out there when it a community driven initiative. “Danny Harris and the Thomas Little comes to cities getting together Memorial Hall committee have been and arguably a strong case strong advocates for this project, and for why Western Australia they should be commended for their and Ireland could reach out commitment to preserving this piece of and join hands in this way. history,” he said. “Dardanup is rich in Which places exactly would both indigenous and European history, need to be thrashed out but and the revitalised hall will add to the a few automatically jump to historical tourism offerings of area, for mind. Collie could have ties the benefit of tourism operators and with Lorrha, Co. Tipperary local small businesses.” through WWI Victoria Cross medal recipient Martin This $500,000 injection into the hall O’Meara. Subiaco has been - which was the first Roman Catholic home to the Irish Club for Church built in Western Australia 40 years as well as more - could become the nucleus for a recently An Gorta Mor famine town twinning scheme with Little’s The Thomas Little Memorial Hall in Dardanup, 2014. memorial, or Bunbury with birthplace in Ireland (Galway). How Image: monumentaustralia.org.au/ Knowth (or maybe even many more stories and connections like nearby Slane) and possibly this are there in the West? There will be even Boston in the US through the a lot of different answers to that, many worth exploring further. adventures of John Boyle O’Reilly.

Local governments tend to be the administrative force behind twinnings CY O’Connor’s engineering skills but the passion and purpose should come from the community itself. were learned in Ireland but honed These links should also be open to everyone to enjoy from programmes in New Zealand and Western for exchange students and schools, to scout groups and groups staging Australia - Fremantle Port and the events for St. Patrick’s Day and similar occasions.

Goldfields Water Scheme which The 200th anniversary of the foundation of Perth in 2029 could be a target could form the basis for some kind date and opportunity to celebrate WA’s Irish heritage. Alternatively a of accord back to his birthplace. twinning deal is something that could be trumpeted by a visiting Irish In May of last year the McGowan government minister, which usually falls around St. Patrick’s Day. government announced $500,000 to restore the Thomas Little Memorial Hall in Dardanup and preserve this piece of unique local history (see page 17 for more on this story). Built in 1857, the hall is named after notable South-West PERTH CITY Twice Winner “WA Tyrepower Dealer Of The Year” pioneer, public administrator and farmer Thomas Little who was instrumental in establishing Qualified Mechanics for the Dardanup and Australind light mechanical work settlements, and advocated for • TYRES a road to Perth and bridges over • WHEELS We stock a huge range of tyres • BRAKES the Collie and Preston rivers. from all the leading brands!

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Exhibition of Sgt. Martin O’Meara’s Victoria Cross at the National Museum of Ireland As reported in earlier editions of The Irish Scene, Sgt. O’Meara’s Victoria Cross in on loan to the National Museum of Ireland in Collins Barracks Dublin until the end of July 2020. This is the first time a Victoria Cross awarded to a native Irishman has been displayed in the country of his birth.

Reports from the National Museum tell us that the exhibition is creating great interest, with people travelling from all over Ireland to view the medal. The people of Lorrah, Martin O’Meara’s birthplace, have been very supportive in promoting the exhibition. The medal is exhibited together with the Victory Medal issued to Sgt. O’Meara, the first time the medals have ever been seen together.

When the Medal is returned to Australia, it will be placed on permanent display at the Army Museum of Western Australia together with a full account of Sgt. O’Meara’s life.

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WA visitor

for O’Meara’s medals On a recent trip back to Ireland, Fred Rea caught up with Mark O'Brien and the pair made a special visit to Collins Barracks National Museum of Ireland to see Martin O'Meara's Victoria Cross on special loan from the Army Museum of Western Australia until July 2020. It is the first time O'Meara's VC and his other war service medals have been united in over 100 years.

Mark is no stranger to the former army barracks near Huston Station, Dublin. He used to work at the nearby Arbour Hill Prison where he coordinated the Travel Box project, with several of the chests - hand crafted by inmates at the prison ending up in Western Australia.

they made their mark

BY ASHLEY MORRISON Wanderers Football Club in Dublin will be celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2020. Yet its biggest claim to fame is the fact that it is the only sporting club to have produced three rugby players to have played internationally for Ireland, and the same three men be awarded the highest military honour for valour, the Victoria Cross.

Few rugby fans, let alone Irish rugby fans, are aware of these three men - Robert Johnston, Thomas Crean and Frederick Harvey.

Fred Rea and Mark O’Brien visited the Collins Barracks National Museum of Ireland to see Martin O’Meara’s Victoria Cross on special loan from the Army Museum of Western Australia

Local documentary filmmaker Ashley Morrison has made a 52 minute long documentary film called Mark Our Place that explores what led to such an occurrence. Was it their education, was it Wanderers, or was it the game of rugby?

As much as the film is about three heroes from the sport of rugby, and in particular one club, it is a film telling the life

stories of the three individuals. Close attention is paid to the action that saw each awarded the highest military honour, the Victoria Cross and where their lives led them afterwards.

The odds of surviving action resulting in a Victoria Cross are said to be one in 10.

Remarkably all three of these men survived.

Incredibly all three have no direct descendants alive today, which makes this film all the more poignant.

It is a film with a strong Western Australian influence. Morrison has called Perth home for over 30 years. Local musician LD Russell, who is of Irish heritage, wrote the theme song “Nothing Else to Fear.” In addition, a local string quartet, Ardito, play a stirring and haunting version of “The Last Post.” Another Western Australian, Troy Lemmey, also edited the film.

Morrison, who works as a sports commentator, explained why he made the film.

“I came across the story that Wanderers had produced these three men, but was surprised that so few rugby fans were aware of the fact,” he said. “Their feats were forgotten or ignored because they were fighting for the British at a time when Ireland was pushing for Home Rule.

Yet now, with the passing of time it seemed important to tell their tale and have Ireland take pride in three remarkable men.”

A special screening of Mark Our Place – supported by Legacy WA and Rugby WA – was held at Event Cinemas (Innaloo) on Monday, 16 December 2019. About 100 people turned up for the screening of the WA made film. All proceeds from the event were donated to Legacy WA which supports veterans families.

If there is an appetite for it Ashley would be interested in holding another screening at the Irish Club in the near future... contact us at irishscene@ gmail.com if you would like to know more!

Local documentary filmmaker Ashley Morrison THE IRISH SCENE | 14

THE IRISH SCENE

Little did a lot for Dardandup

BY FRED REA In 2020 Our Lady of Lourdes school in Dardanup will celebrate 100 years of Catholic education. The school has two events planned, a gala night at Bunbury Catholic College on Friday 14 February followed by official school celebrations the next day on Saturday 15 February. A group of us will be travelling to Dardanup to take part in those celebrations.

Above: Thomas Little Hall financial ruin of Prinsep led Little to purchase Prinsep Park in 1839 as well as establish his own farming venture, which was to become Dardanup Park where, in 1851, he built a substantial twostorey house. This dwelling still exists to this day and is owned privately.

The centenary events also coincide with the rededication of the Thomas Little Memorial Hall in Dardanup.

The historic Thomas Little Memorial Hall has been restored with a $500,000 grant from the WA state government. Premier Mark McGowan was joined by Collie-Preston MLA Mick Murray as he delivered the welcome news to a group of Dardanup community members last year.

Thomas Little, who was a friend of the early sisters at Victoria Square, lived near Bunbury since 1838. In 1854 he moved to Dardanup Park, former property of Rev. J. R. Wollaston. Little was really co-pioneer with John Scott in the Leschenault District. Some say he sponsored migration to Dardanup during the Irish Famine of 1846-47 and set many of the immigrants up on 100 acres of land. Researcher, Ruth McGrath queries this, saying they mostly came of their own initiative but she does say Little had influence in the district’s being strongly Irish in character. The church was built in 1857 on land given by Thomas Little. It was the first Catholic church in the country areas of the colony. Thomas Little made good wine and won gold medals in Paris.

“It’s important that we do all we can to preserve these buildings, so future generations can continue to learn about the history and legends that surround the areas in which they live,” Premier McGowan said.

Mr Murray said the committee had done a lot of work to advocate for the project. “Dardanup is rich in both indigenous and European history,” the local member said.

The Hall committee chairman Danny Harris said the support of Mr Murray was pivotal to securing the funding adding: “This will bring it up to a very special level of finish and something that we had never dreamed of”.

Another Irish connection to Dardanup…

Early European settlement of the Dardanup area began in earnest in 1838 when Charles Robert Prinsep, the Advocate General for the East India Company at Calcutta, purchased land to the east of the present Dardanup townsite for the purpose of establishing a horse-breeding venture to supply horses to India. This would be instrumental in establishing export markets in India for Dardanup’s resources and produce. Prinsep’s venture, Prinsep Park, was managed on the ground by Galway man Thomas Little, who also supervised the construction of a single storey house around 1848. Misfortune and personal THE IRISH SCENE | 16

Thomas Clancy, who was born in Co Waterford, Ireland in 1832, arrived in Western Australia in 1853 on the ship Robert Small. Clancy had been transported to the colony and sentenced to seven years. Aged 21, he was charged in 1851 with ‘Entering a counting house…’ (in the past, the office or building in which a person's or an organisation's accounts or money were kept.) He received his Ticket of Leave and was subsequently appointed the first Headmaster of the Catholic School at Dardanup 1856.

In 1938, the present “new” Catholic church was completed and in 1979 the old church was restored and transformed into a Hall; it was named for benefactor Thomas Little, and is currently in daily use by the students at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Primary School.

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Would Irish community be in better shape if it had a peak body?

BY LLOYD GORMAN The Diaspora event attendees The experience and expectations of the Irish Diaspora community in Perth and Western House. But there was an onus on the Irish community Australia and their interface with the Irish government and its agencies were debated in the here to organise and fundraise itself before asking Irish Club at the end of December. The event - which Irish taxpayers to fund local projects. An Irish House attracted a wide range of representatives from most would also need to have a viable business plan so that local Irish groups and organisations - was organised it could generate its own revenue and become self as one of several consultations across Australia by sustaining. the Irish embassy in Canberra, to gain feedback and Eimear Beattie from Irish Families in Perth said the insight for the Global Ireland 2025 disapora strategy, group had received a grant from the Irish government which is expected to be released early this year. On to develop its website, but that they did not ask for his first official visit to Perth, Ambassador Breandán money to support the groups activities, because there Ó Caollaí hosted the event with Perth based Honorary was strong support from Irish businesses in WA. Consul of Ireland Marty Kavanagh.

Tom Murphy from the GAA floated an idea for the The format for the gathering saw several high profile meeting to consider. In nine years time the lease on figures from the West Australian Irish community - including Marty Kavanagh, Sally Ann McDonald, Tom Bateman Reserve in Thornlie would be up and Stephen Dawson, Alan O’Meara, Heather McKeegan this might create potential opportunities for different - each comprehensively address a question about clubs/groups to work together. “The GAA, Claddagh various aspects of the diaspora and a robust discussion and every other group in this room is a leader in the generally. Sally, who described herself as a small Irish community and we should all lead together,” he business person, with companies in Perth and Ireland, said. said most emigrants now were “globally sophisticated” Seamus Walsh, who is linked to a number of groups and well travelled. She herself had lived in Paris and Los Angeles before coming to Perth. Irish Clubs around including Perth Irish RFC and Irish Families in Perth the world - including in Perth - were typically no longer - suggested the idea of a ‘peak body’ as something that made an “awful lot of sense”. fit for purpose she suggested, but there was a place for “a professional space” like Irish House in Tokyo or the During his presentation Stephen Dawson, MLC Irish Famine Centre in New York in every major city. “It Minister for Environment and Disability Services, would mean that no matter what city you went to you touched on several areas, including this idea. “We do would recognise Irish House as professional source of need to organise ourselves better... the idea of a peak information and support”. group that we are all part of is something we should Carl Homes, owner and operator of Mason Mills, loved look at.” Irish people and groups were generally not the idea of an Irish House in every city as a place where good at asking for money they could legitimately people - including newly arrived workers from Ireland access or apply for, money they were perfectly entitled - could go for information and advice. He also agreed too. “I do think having a peak body will help us with the Irish Club was not able to provide that service. that,” he added.

“They need to walk into a modern building, with offices”, somewhere they could get advice, information Ambassador Ó Caollaí was asked about the experience of similar bodies elsewhere. He said there had been and be put in touch with the relevant Irish contacts some examples of it happening in the UK but “tentative in whatever field they needed. “We need somewhere attempts” in New York and Boston had gone nowhere. central to be able to to do, but it can’t be the Claddagh Association, and it can’t be the Consulate, we need to But each place deserved its own model and concept, have something a bit more business orientated,” he and personally he thought it was a great idea. “If we said. present one voice in the city, or the state or the country, it’s much more effective than if you have a diversity of Barry Mullen agreed the Irish Club needed some TLC and that there was merit to the idea of an Irish voices,” Mr Ó Caollaí said.

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Consulate Marty Kavanagh said there were good arguments for “a coherent group” like a peak body that could, amongst other things, help other community groups access funding. “Government needs a voice to talk to, if it is talking to everybody, it is talking to nobody,” Mr Kavanagh added.

Irish Club president Martin O’Meara said the Club had a theory about the way Irish people are.

“There are so many groups of Irish heritage here in WA, the reason we haven’t all gotten together is because each group has a specific interest in raising funds for themselves… that’s not a criticism. The Irish Club has 14,000 followers but 250 members, 250 people interested in helping the Irish Club per say, where’s the other 13,750 people? They’ve all got an interest in the Irish Club but they are not prepared to do anything to help the Irish Club. That may apply to other groups as well. My observation is that the Irish are very much a self help group. They’ve probably never looked outside their own culture because they’ve done it themselves and we see that right through history, because nobody else has been willing to help them.”

Former ABC presenter Gerry Gannon was generally enthusiastic.

“I love the idea of a peak group but it needs to have a clear statement of intent and reason for being… the reason for a peak body would be to bring together disparate and desperate interests and views of every body, so a commonality could be established”.

Ms Beattie said there was good communication and relations between the various Irish groups. “We do get on, its all about getting our act together and then we can contact Dublin,” she said. She hoped a new committee would be set up on the strength of the meeting.

But another participant said it was a good idea in theory but warned against practical issues. “I think the concept is good but you are going to run into some problems co-opting people onto this committee,” he said. There was also the problem of trying to get so many different groups to agree on the same thing which could be difficult.

Mark Black could offer a personal and business perspective. He said the make up of the Irish community was changing and becoming more complex, and it was hard to know what it would be like in 25 years. He had “doubts” a peak body was what was needed. He found that staging business and networking events had proved to be a successful way of achieving their goals. “The final challenge for us as a business body attempting to be the peak Irish commercial body in Australia is to connect Irish people

or those who identify as Irish and Irish businesses integrate further and embedded successfully with Australian businesses. Our agenda is almost the exact opposite of what we are talking about here.”

Heather McKeegan, Claddagh Association chairperson, said the Irish groups were generally good at contacting each other if they identified a need. But she said that bringing people together for events like this was beneficial for the Irish community.

Olan Healy, incoming chair of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival, said a peak body was a “great concept” but the practicalities of putting multiple groups into one room and expecting quick results would be “difficult”. He suggested early conversations that laid ground work would be a good way to iron out wrinkles and suggested meetings of the body would need to be facilitated to be successful.

Another man suggested that even though they had different interests that did not mean they could not be represented by one body, and it would be a good place for the groups to share information about what each of them were doing.

Margaret Stronge-Smith contributed an interesting perspective from her experience as president of a WA based charity for children born with cleft palates and lips (CleftPALS WA). Her organisation had to make major changes to the way it operates to remain sustainable. The vast majority of people were able to get the support they needed by asking questions on Facebook rather than attending physical monthly meetings.

Difficult as it was to change thinking about the issue, any such peak body would probably need to be virtual to meet the needs of the community in the future.

Mr Holmes said they could test the concept by setting up a central website for anyone coming to Western Australia where every group was able to provide and share information. He said he would be happy to facilitate and pay for such a website. “If the concept is successful then maybe in a few years down the line we could think about building something in bricks and mortar, but this is something we can get off the ground really quickly.”

Ambassador Ó Caollaí said the embassy was open to other ideas and suggestions and urged people to contact the embassy. During his trip to Perth accompanied by his wife Carmel - the Ambassador met several local politicians including Premier Mark McGowan, Alannah McTiernan and Kate Doust as well as other local leaders and representatives. Before they left the couple also visited An Gorta Mór memorial in Subiaco to pay their respects.

THE IRISH SCENE | 19

Meeja WAtch IRISH NEWS IN PERTH

BY LLOYD GORMAN

Western Australia, and the rest of the country, are never far from the hearts and minds of many in Ireland, particularly those who have lived and worked here or amongst those still with family still here. Interest in WA in particular is high if a sample of news and feature articles amongst some of Ireland’s traditional print media are anything to go by....

Keep the airways clear!

Well known to everyone in Western Australia, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and the University of Western Australia was mentioned in despatches as they say by the Irish Examiner on October 18.

Researchers from the neighbouring institutions produced a study that found evidence for the first time that fat accumulates in the lungs and airways, and that overweight and obese people in particular are most at risk.

Researchers from Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth, and the University of Western Australia used samples from 52 people and examined 1,373 airways.

Ireland freezes Australia burns

They looked at the lungs of people who had died from asthma, as well as asthma sufferers who had died from other causes and a group of those without asthma to evaluate the impact of BMI on the airways.

Ireland was gripped by heavy storms (Lorenzo and Ophelia) and cold weather including snow in November and December. Around the same time Western Australia and the rest of the country were suffering blistering heat waves, which fuelled widespread and even devastating bushfires that were described by some experts as unprecedented.

They discovered a correlation between the amount of fat in the lungs and body weight.

Most Irish media reported regularly about the situation in Australia, with most of that attention focused on the situation in the eastern states, but of course Western Australia has so far had its fair share of bush blazes. The RTE News website did however carry one particular story about the WA fires. On December 17 the broadcaster carried a dramatic story about a 12 year old local boy who only escaped and survived fast moving flames by jumping in a car and driving away.

The boy - Lucas Sturrock - was alone at his family’s property, because his father Ivan and brother Dale had gone to fight a bushfire at the small Wheatbelt town of Mogumber, about 130km north east of Perth.

When the fire - which destroyed more than 7,500 hectares - started coming in the direction of the family home Lucas grabbed their pet dog and drove to an pre-arranged meeting spot. But that area too became endangered and he was forced to act on the spur of the moment and drive off again to seek safety. His father and brother returned to the house to find him gone and alerted the authorities. Thankfully he was found by fire crews and police reunited him with his family.

The day before it was picked up by RTE this story with a happy ending was also broadcast or published by the likes of Perthnow, ABC, 7News and the Sydney Morning Herald to name a few local and Australian outlets. https://www.rte.ie/news/ newslens/2019/1217/1099612-australia-fire-boydrives/

Claremont uncovered The Claremont killings case in Western Australia’s Supreme Court got underway in late 2019 and has understandably dominated the local media’s attention and efforts. But the trial has also been heavily reported in some Irish newspapers because of Ciara Glennon’s Irish heritage. Ciara’s parents are both Irish and she was just 27 and had returned from a trip - including to Ireland and was out with friends celebrating for St. Patrick’s Day in March 1997 when she was taken and murdered.

The Irish Times, Irish Independent and Irish Examiner have all followed closely the parts of the trial related to Ciara, but not so much it seems - at least from their websites - the Irish tabloids even though they have in the past.

The Irish Times’ coverage of the case is being provided by a seasoned - currently freelance - journalist called Brendan Foster. As it happens Brendan is a WA man but both his parents are Irish.

Dr Peter Noble, associate professor at the University of Western Australia and co-author of the study was also quoted: “Being overweight or obese has already been linked to having asthma or having worse asthma symptoms. Researchers have suggested that the link might be explained by the direct pressure of excess weight on the lungs or by a general increase in inflammation created by excess weight. This study suggests that another mechanism is also at play.

We’ve found that excess fat accumulates in the airway walls where it takes up space and seems to increase inflammation within the lungs. We think this is causing a thickening of the airways that limits the flow of air in and out of the lungs, and that could at least partly explain an increase in asthma symptoms.” https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/world/ study-finds-fat-builds-up-in-lungs-of-overweight-andobese-people-958075.html

Perth diagnosed as part of the problem A new deal offering hospital consultants up to €250,000 to entice people to work in the public sector was reported across the Irish media on December 19, including the Irish Mirror.

Health Minister Simon Harris blasted the practice of private patients being treated in public hospitals as “bizarre” the newspaper said.

Every day at least 15% of beds in public hospital beds are being taken up by private patients while pensioners and children wait on trolleys.

Starting in April, new consultants could be paid between €180,000 and just over €250,000 - more than the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) earns - to work exclusively for the public sector.

Some 500 consultant places are currently empty and the health minister has pledged 1,000 more consultants over the next ten years.

It is hoped a bigger pay-packet will help keep young doctors in Ireland. “One of the reasons those posts are vacant is because we are training some of the best doctors in the world and they are saying, I’m off to Perth, I’m off to Canada, I can’t get a fair living here,” Mr Harris said. https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/ health-news/new-hospital-consultants-offeredup-21129596

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/ciaraglennon-murder-prosecution-claims-dna-links-accusedto-killing-1.4095364

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Continued from page 21

Sail a whale The daring escape of the Irish political prisoners the Fenians - and the whaling ship Catalpa is well documented and commemorated here in Western Australia, where the whole story transpired. Despite the fact that they all six were Irish patriots who sacrificed almost everything for the cause and took amazing risks, their incredible tale is not widely known or appreciated in Ireland. So it was good to see the Irish Independent in October carry a long interview story with prolific Australian author Peter FitzSimons about his then-latest book Catalpa.

“The Australian author, Peter FitzSimons, who has written several bestsellers in his home country, hopes to give the jailbreak its due place in history,” wrote Indo journo Kim Bielenberg who conducted the interview.

Mr FitzSimons launched his book The Catalpa in Rockingham in April. https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/catalpa-the-gripping-storyof-a-spectacular-fenian-prison-break-in-australia-38606340.html

Christmas cheer in short supply at the Carousel On December 18 the Irish Sun carried what might be loosely described as a Christmas story from Perth that was posted on Facebook.

Moths at the Mounts The Moth World Sailing Championships were held out of the Mounts Bay Yacht Club and on the Swan River in late December.

Two Irish sailors - David Kenefick from Cork and Fionn Conway of the National Yacht Club took part in the 61-boat fleet at the Perth yacht club, afloat.ie reported. https://afloat.ie/sail/sailing-classes/ international-moth/item/44912-twoirish-sailors-contest-moth-worlds-inperth

A 19 year old Perth woman, the mum of a newborn, went to Carousel Shopping Centre, and when she returned to her car found an abusive handwritten note with some very offensive language - which we won’t repeat here.

“Parents with prams is for parents with babies, not for p-platers who think the world owes them something,” the note said.

“I’m a mum of a newborn who needed the park.”

The young mother responded on Facebook “To the lovely lady who left this on my car at carousel shopping centre, I’m going to say you just couldn’t see the capsule base in the back of my car.” https://www.thesun.ie/news/4899644/mum-19-horrified-atreturning-to-car-with-newborn-and-finding-very-rude-notefor-parking-in-parent-and-babies-space/ THE IRISH SCENE | 22

Getting Cross

is an Irish tradition

BY LLOYD GORMAN Like thousands of others like them across WA, these pre-primary school children from Whitfords Catholic will return to school in early February as Year 1 students. But before they broke up for the academic year, these juniors took part in a school art project to create a Celtic High Cross. They are pictured here with their master pieces. On one occasion Irish Scene editor Lloyd Gorman tried to explain to the children a little about the history and significance of these special monuments, which when they were created would have been brightly decorated and coloured to help the motifs and images carved out of the stone to stand out and be easily legible to worshippers, most of who would have been illiterate but very familiar with stories from the bible.

The website for St. Patrick’s Basilica in Fremantle offers this account of the origins of the Celtic cross.

“Christian legend has it that one day, St. Patrick was by the sea-shore discussing the nature of God with the Druids. They drew a circle in the sand, symbol of their Sun God, which Patrick understood very well from his days of captivity in Ireland.

He then “baptised” their circular symbol by gently tracing the Cross of Christ into the circle. He was careful not to destroy their circle, but in a sense, fulfill it. The richness of colours evokes the splendour of the cosmic Christ and the hidden glory of his presence in the world. It also mediates themes of Transfiguration, Resurrection and Uncreated Light.”

Another of Ireland’s three patron saints is closely associated with another type of cross that bears her name. If you grew up in Ireland, chances are as a primary school pupil you made a Saint Brigid’s Cross at least once in your early school days. Typically they are made from rushes

Above: The 2019 pre-primary children from Whitfords Catholic School took part in an art project to create a Celtic High Cross. Right: A typical woven St Brigid’s cross or straw woven together in a particular way to have four arms tied together at the ends and a square in the middle. The rushes (about 12-16 are needed) should be pulled, not cut, and woven in a criss-cross pattern to create the shape of a cross.

Repeat until cross feels sturdy and sprinkle with holy water.

They would have been a common sight in most Irish houses for a very long time which may have something to do with the belief that they could help protect homes from fire.

It is said that St Brigid wove the cross from the rushes off the floor of a pagan chieftain on his deathbed, who she was trying to convert to Christianity and who did after seeing the cross and being told about Jesus Christ. But it is also thought her cross may have Pagan origins. St Brigid’s feast day falls on February 1, the pagan Gaelic holiday of Imbolc, marking the start of spring. As it happens, Imbolc honoured another Brigid - this time the ancient fertility goddess Brigid - and the significance of the two figures merged into one.

Pupils and older school kids in WA will return to their classrooms on February 3 - just two days after St Brigid’s feast day. Maybe as a school art project here children could learn how to make or at least draw a St Brigid’s Cross.

Irish Scene would like to recognise and celebrate all the preprimary school teachers - particularly Mrs Arundale and Mrs Hobbs at Whitford Catholic who I know personally - and all their colleagues through the Catholic and state education system whose responsibility it is to educate our children.

THE IRISH SCENE | 23

Irish Air Corps meets RAAF The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) now has just over half of the 49 PC-21 planes the Australian government has ordered. The PC-21 is a turboprop powered advanced trainer with a distinctive stepped tandem cockpit. It is very likely that future pilots with the Irish Air Corp will learn how to fly in them. Certainly two Irish flyers are already training with the RAAF. Towards the end of November last year Lieutenants Finnegan and Ward from the Irish Air Corps became the first personnel from the Irish Defence Force to be sent to Australia as part of their training under a new Memorandum of Understanding between the two nations. Brigader General Rory O’Connor tweeted he looked forward to “the institutional friendship btw @IrishAirCorps and @AusAirForce go from strength to strength (or should I say to new heights!)”.

What’s Up, Doc?

BY LLOYD GORMAN Ireland’s military airforce is about to look and even fly a lot more like the Royal Flying Doctors Service (RFDS).

In 2020 the Irish Air Corps will have fully replaced its current fleet of five Cessna FR172H’s (there have been nine in total) with three new The Pilatus PC-12 Pilatus PC-12 NG aircraft. It will cost the Irish taxpayer €32m to downsize and upgrade the fleet but hopefully the new planes will prove to be as good value for money as the Cessna’s which were introduced into service with the Air Corps in October 1972 as a result of “The Troubles”, at a cost of £20,000 each. Seven days a week they were used to provide aerial surveillance and monitoring of escorts carrying cash, prisoners VIPs and explosives as well as fishery patrols and communications support for troops in the field, pilot training, air displays amongst other things.

(They have even been used to tow unmanned drones known as drogue towing - which can be used for target practice by other aircraft or from ground or sea forces) The fact they were able to Irish pilots get their wings! do all this for 47 years is a tribute to this American made aircraft and the people who flew and kept them in the air.

The larger Swiss built PC-12 NG coming into service with the Irish Defence Forces will be equipped for ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition

and Reconnaissance) and medical evacuation missions as air ambulances. The NG stands for next generation. PC-12’s have been in active service with different armies, organisations and even private individual pilots for more than 25 years and is considered to be one of the world’s safest and most successful.

Interestingly even at full strength the Irish air fleet would be dwarfed by the West Australian operation of the flying doctors service, which has 16 Pilatus PC-12 and more recently three state of the art Pilatus PC-24 jets. The RFDS national fleet has more than 70 aircraft and continues to increase all the time, including the delivery of a brand new Pilatus PC-12 just in time for Christmas. “This aircraft will help us assist two Australians every day over the next 12 years,” the service tweeted on December 23. These three planes are also known as the Rio Tinto Life Flight Jets and are the first in Australia and the world in terms of aero medical services.

Based in Jandakot and Broome in WA and Adelaide in SA, these jets can take off and land on unsealed runways as short as 800 metres. In 2019 the RFDS flew 215 patients from multiple mine sites across Western Australia.

The PC-24 can transport up to three patients and is customised with an electric stretcher lift and flies medivac missions across Western Australia. The PC-12 can take two stretcher beds and three seats, not including the pilot in the cockpit.

THE IRISH SCENE | 24

Paul Kehoe, the Irish Defence Minister called it a “training partnership”. At a special ceremony in the Australian Embassy in Dublin the pilots were presented with hampers of ‘traditional’ Australian foods. About two weeks later, in mid December, Ambassador Richard Andrews was in the Curragh Camp, Ireland’s biggest military base, rubbing shoulders with another Brigadier General, David Dignam,and others as he was given a tour of the army museum there and invited to inspect the

At a special ceremony in the Australian Embassy in Dublin the pilots were presented with hampers of ‘traditional’ Australian foods. troops. “Confident there are further opps for our Defence Forces to do more together on challenges,” Mr Andrews tweeted about the occasion.

Mr Kehoe - who visited Perth for St. Patrick’s Day several years ago - got the approval of Cabinet for the pilots to go to Australia as part of a bid to hang onto recruits in the highly competitive aviation sector.

The two Irish pilots will trained for up to four months in Australia and then take part in a 15 month placement programme with the RAAF so they can build up flying experience in operational conditions.

Continued on page 26

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of kilometres away, Halls Creek postmaster Fred Tuckett had to perform emergency surgery with the help of morse code, a penknife and some morphine.

Above: The Flynn-Darcy memorial in Halls Creek Left: Rev. John Flynn Continued from page 25

Darcy death helped bring RFDS to life The Royal Flying Doctors Service is an iconic Australian institution. Before it started 90 years ago Australians living far away from cities and those in the outback faced long and difficult journeys by cart, horse or even camel to get any medical help or treatment - if at all. Reverend John Flynn saw the daily and dangerous struggle of pioneers in remote and rural areas and he developed a vision to provide “a mantle of safety” to them.

The origins of the RFDS are fascinating and worth a story in their own right. THE RFDS gives this heroic account of one of the main incident that proved to be an impetus for the establishment of the flying doctor service.

Darcy’s death deeply affected Flynn who decided to provide a ‘mantle of safety’ for people in the outback.

“Kimberley stockman Jimmy Darcy suffered massive internal injuries on 29 July 1917 when his horse fell in a cattle stampede,” flyingdoctor.org. au said. “An 80-kilometre ride on a dray over a rough track took him to the nearest settlement of Halls Creek in the far north of Western Australia.

Jimmy Darcy needed immediate lifesaving surgery and with the nearest doctor thousands

For days, newspaper readers around Australia were gripped by the story of the young stockman’s desperate struggle Above: The grave of Jimmy Darcy for life. It was 2800km from Halls Creek where a doctor in Perth, Dr Joe Holland, instructed Tuckett via morse code how to carry out the surgery on Jim Darcy. The story goes: “Tuckett is afraid he’ll make a mistake – that he’ll kill the injured man – but Dr Holland tells him if he doesn’t act now Darcy will die anyway.

Using his pocketknife, Tuckett makes an incision above the pubic bone as the stockman’s brothers try to ease his agony and shoo the flies away from the blood. Tuckett works for hours, cutting and stitching, stopping every few minutes to check the doctor’s telegrams. The operation on Darcy’s ruptured bladder is a success but the 29-year-old stockman is weak and now suffering from malaria. Dr Holland makes a mercy dash from Perth. He boards a cattle ship that takes an agonising week to reach Derby and he then spends six days in a Model T Ford held together by leather straps, bumping and thumping his way across the desert to save the stockman’s life. Aborigines help push his car across river beds and up sandy banks and he endures punctures, radiator leaks and engine stutters. At one point he has to use the rubber tubing from his stethoscope to siphon the last drops of petrol from a can. The car finally conks out 40km from Halls Creek. Dr Holland walks for two hours to a nearby cattle station and then rides through the night to reach the town at daybreak. Jimmy Darcy has died a few hours earlier.”

Inspiration for how to do this also came that year in the form of a letter from a young Victorian medical student who was shipping out to the war in France where he would be a pilot. Lieutenant Clifford Peel proposed that aviation was the solution to reaching people in the Outback. Sadly Peel, who was just 24 years old, was shot down and killed the year after and would never know that his idea would take root and become a vital medical service that would thousands of lives.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service was established in 1928 and its motto is “The Furthest Corner, The Finest Care”.

RFDS founder had Irish heritage John Flynn was born in November 1880 at Moliagul, Victoria, the second son and one of four children of Irish emigrant Thomas Eugene Flynn, who was a school teacher.

His wife was a Rosetta Forsyth (née Lester). The family knew hardship and loss. The mother died in childbirth on the sister who followed John and during his teenage years John lost his older brother, tragedy’s which no doubt inspired him to help others and perhaps to become a Presbyterian minister.

Decades into his elephantine effort to set up the flying doctors service Flynn took time off for a holiday.

According to southaustraliahistory. com.au: “He visited the Middle East, England, and France where he attended the First International Congress on Aerial Medical Service.

After that he went to Ireland investigating his ancestry followed by a trip to Germany, Switzerland and America.”

When he returned to Australia Flynn returned to the work of establishing the service, including spending a lot of time - months at a time sleeping in a swag in the outdoors - in Western Australia and at Port Hedland, Wyndham and Halls Creek setting up flying doctor bases. Flynn was a little bit Irish but he was a true blue Aussie.

When things go badly wrong!

Back in early September 2011 a young Dublin man survived a fatal helicopter crash about 240km north of Meekatharra, WA. Hugh Caren, then 23, was a passenger in the Robinson R44 helicopte being flown by 37 year old Matthew Wilson.

The pair were working for a South

Tex and Lynn Battle, who married at the RFDS Base in Mount Isa in 1987

Tex and Lynn are Battlers For the Flying Doctors The flyingdoctor.org website has a cute story about the relationship of Tex and Lynn Battle to each other, and the Flying Doctors.

Lyn - who hails from the beautiful Beara Peninsular in the southwest of Ireland - was a backpacker travelling around in the mid 1980s when she met Tex, a good solid Aussie bloke from Mount Isa, Queensland.

At the time Tex and a mate were trying to set up a remote fishing resort on the fishermans paradise area of Sweers Island, QLD. “I had been in Australia for about six months, when Tex took me to Sweers,” Lyn said. “The first flight was on New Years day 1987, and I still remember flying in. It was, well it was at the end of the season, but there’s thing called bachelor’s button, its purple, it looks like Irish heather, flat and scrubby. The whole place looked beautiful. It had beaches, and they’d set up a great big project. They had a camp here already and the weather was gorgeous.”

The fact this picturesque place reminded her of the countryside of home may have played a part in the romance of their relationship.

Lyn returned home to Ireland but Tex contacted her and talked her into returning to Australia to be with him.

“During those days, the only way we could phone out from the Island was to call the RFDS Base in Mount Isa or Darwin and get them to connect us via the radio,” Tex says. “However, because it was over the radio, everyone at the Base could just listen in, so all the girls at the Base were listening in when I asked her if she would marry, me. Of course, all the RFDS nurses then asked if they had an invite to the wedding!”.

They needn’t have worried about being invited. The wedding was held in in front Mount Isa Base. “There used to be a beautiful little garden out the front and we had about 30 people there. It was just a beautiful little spot,” Lyn said. “We even had the Irish flag flying over Mount Isa!”.

Lyn and Tex still live on the island today and are still closely involved with the flying doctors. Their resort has been used to host GP clinics and the couple are the caretakers of the RFDS medical chest. They are fully trained in first aid and on hand to be first respondents in a medical emergency - something they have had to put into practice at least once. In 2018 the couple won the Spirit of John Flynn Award RDFS Local Hero Awards.

Continued on page 28

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crash probe in Ireland was in December 2014. A plane left Newcastle Airfield, Co. Wicklow and was forced to come down shortly afterwards near Wicklow town.

Fortunately in that case there were no injuries and the plane was undamaged. These are the only two Irish incidents which appear on the ATSB website.

Continued from page 27

Australian survey company and were conducting a routine mining survey of a 243,000ha cattle station.

The helicopter came down in a remote and difficult to reach part of the outback.

After the impact the pilot according to reports at the time found himself impaled and bleeding heavily amongst the wreck of his aircraft. Despite being very badly injured he managed to pull himself free from the wreckage. His actions - which would be his last - screamed professionalism and courage. Mr Wilson activated the craft's emergency position radio beacon and he also helped the young Irishman who was in a state of shock and couldn't remember the Australian dialling codes he needed to call for help. The pilot died holding the young Irishman's hand and telling him he'd done well and would he give his love to his girlfriend.

Mr Caren also dragged himself out of the crash site. He had broken arm, ribs, jaw and nose, severe spinal injuries, two broken legs and other injuries.

The owners of Minagh Springs Station, near Nullagine, Peter and Tracey Elliot with pilot Weldon Percy flew to the site and were the first on the gruesome scene. They stayed with Mr Caren and helped keep him alive and took care of Mr WIlson's body, until other rescuers could reach them many hours later.

"It wasn't a pretty scene but we just did what we had to do, we knuckled down and you do what you do in those situations and you just learn to switch off," Mrs Elliot said.

"Hugh was with us the whole time, he was awake," Mrs Elliott told the West Australian in a report a few months later ("Dying pilot saved mate's life", December 3). "He's a tough bloke, let me tell you, with those injuries to be out there . . . stuck in the middle of nowhere. I gave him water, kept him cool, talked to him so he didn't slip off into unconsciousness."

The newspaper also spoke to Mr Caren as he recovered in his home in Dublin.

"I believe people have a choice in these situations, whether to deal with the nightmare or not . . . he chose to get

for take off when its brakes failed and the aircraft rolled into and got stuck between a light tower and a terminal. None of the more than 60 passengers and crew of four were hurt in the incident but the plane - particularly the nose - was a little worse for the experience.

Irish influence is plane to see The newest airplane to start carrying FIFO workers in and out of Perth airport from September last year spent a short but not insignificant period of time in Ireland before its arrival to Western Australia.

The single engine Robinson chopper crashed 240 kilometres north of Meekatharra (Image: WA Police) himself out, take out the SAT phone, give it to me and he even remembered to put in the Australian prefix," Mr Caren was quoted as saying."I knew he was injured but Matt kept very calm, very cool, he had me fooled and then obviously when everything was done, things got worse," Mr Caren said. "If Matt didn't wake up, I don't want to think about what I would have done. I just think everything he did at the time... it gave me every chance so I'm grateful for that."

The crash was investigated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

In another example of Irish Australian co-operation and for reasons that aren't obviously clear, the Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit asked their Australian counterpart to provide an "accredited representative" to help it investigate a fatal airbrush in Ireland.

Australian firm Cobham Aviation Services added a second Q400 aircraft to its Perth based fleet - just over a month after the same 76 seater plane first went into action here at the end of August.

Cobham says the new craft are the worlds most modern turboprops and faster, more fuel efficient, more comfortable and capable of reaching even more locations due to their ability to land and take off from unsealed surfaces.

Cobham has several exploration and resources clients in WA and already flies routes to mine sites in Kalgoorlie, Goldfields Esaperance and the Fraser Ranges amongst others. Before the white skinned aircraft could do any of this it needed an important finishing touch, a full paint job to get it airworthy and branded.

Aviation enthusiast Isaac Alexander tweeted about it on September 10: “@Cobham_plc And soon we’ll have two! Cobham Aviation Services second @ dehavillandAIR Q400 - here just out of the paint shop in Ireland - will join our FIFO fleet in Perth next month. “ Another Cobham plane no doubted needed a touch up after an incident at Perth airport in July last year. One of their airplanes fly-in fly-out workers was taxiing

Aviation enthusiast Isaac Alexander tweeted this photo and message on September 10. “@Cobham_plc And soon we’ll have two! Cobham Aviation Services second @dehavillandAIR Q400 - here just out of the paint shop in Ireland - will join our FIFO fleet in Perth next month. “

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Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit asked their Australian counterpart to provide an “accredited representative” to help it investigate a fatal airbrush in Ireland.

On June 13, 2019 a small two seat airplane (BRM Aero Bristell NG5) took off from Kilrush Airfield, County Kildare for what was meant to be a local flight. A short time later it crashed near Belan, outside Castledermot, Co. Kildare, killing the two people onboard.

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The last time before that that the Australian Transport Safety Bureau was involved in a

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A second Cobham Q400 aircraft has been added to its Perth based fleet

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Western Australia’s first State tennis champion

BY PETER CONOLE Folk with a love of sport and an interest in IrishAustralian sporting history may find this piece interesting for more than one reason. The great game of tennis as we know it (not the ancient and almost forgotten sport called ‘royal tennis’) was invented in the mid-1870s and developed with lightning speed into a hugely popular spring and summer business all over the world. The first Wimbledon Championships were held in 1877. By the end of that year the game arrived in the Australian colonies and, as was usual in that really sport mad era (yes, I am talking about Queen Victoria’s times - not today), tournaments were soon being staged in the colonies to decide who were the best players around. The Victorian championships began in 1879 and most of the other colonies followed suit in staging such events with reasonable speed.

The most important tournament of Australia’s western third - the State Championships - was born in disputation between WA Lawn Tennis Association officials, the Perth and Fremantle clubs and competitors. As a popular sport tennis was a late comer in Western Australia for reasons that passeth all understanding. The game was first played in the colony during the 1880s but spread slowly.

A tournament was held in 1895, but because it was played with handicapping rules it has quite rightfully been discounted as a true championship event.

his family also used McGhee quite freely), enters the picture. He was born at Tuam in Galway on August 23, 1867, the son of Stephen McGhee and Ellen Morrow. He moved to Western Australia in the late 1890s, almost certainly drawn by headline news of the colony’s economic boom.

Magee was a very good tennis player (Ireland produce quite a few champions in the decades building up to 1914) and competed in the key event of 1900. Mr C.Johnston beat Magee in an exciting battle (3-6 6-3 6-3 2-6 7-5) to win in Perth and, in the decider, the Fremantle champion John G.Greayer rather more easily. A reporter noted that Greayer liked to serve and volley but Johnston, having steady groundstrokes, ‘’beat him back from the net”.

Sadly, the play-off arrangement between Perth and Fremantle title holders caused grief for the Association, players and general public supporters during the year of Federation, 1901. The formation of the Australian Commonwealth meant that Western Australia was no longer a colony and the major WA tournament was now for the State title. Magee was victorious in Fremantle over John Greayer and John D.Cramond also beat the gallant Greayer (8-6 6-1 6-1) to win at the WACA ground in Perth. The two victors were then asked to play, as in the previous year, a challenge match for the first State Championships.

Then in 1896, once the dust settled, Perth staged a contest now recognised as the first official Colonial Championships. Some members of the tournament organising committee donated a challenge cup - the first player who won three times could keep the trophy. The contests were held for years on hard courts in the WA Cricket Association’s Perth grounds. A Lawn Tennis Association was created in late 1899 to manage various aspects of the increasingly popular game.

Cramond refused for what he thought were good reasons. His understanding was that the Perth event decided things, as in earlier years. Cramond was wrong, of course. The precedent for a title match between the Perth and Fremantle champions had been set only a year earlier and had been held in Perth. The Association could not persuade Cramond to yield, so the head boffins solemnly denied him the title and awarded it to Magee by forfeiture. The Cramond strife was covered bluntly and in a noncommittal way by the press.

Trouble is, the Association then stirred the dust in 1900 when it arranged a challenge match to decide the title. In that era challenge matches often featured in tournaments. Defending champions stood to one side and played the winner of an all-comers event to decide the issue. In WA the challenge match was unusual: the winners of the Perth and Fremantle tournaments were required to fight it out to decide who was champion.

It is at this time that an Irishman emerges as the notso-reluctant hero of this piece, James Magee (he and

Harry Phillips discussed the furore in his fine book Tennis West (Sydney, 1995) and noted that in the future Cramond was still recognised as the State champion of 1901 in various sources. True, but some lists of winners published before Tennis West were flawed and even that fine work did not print complete results and score lines. Getting back to the key issue, Association officials were responsible for managing all aspects of the tournament and were correct in awarding the title to Magee. It was, of course, a hard thing for Cramond

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to bear. He had long made his mark as a player and beat a strong field to win the Victorian singles in 1890.

There was one positive outcome: after the 1901 fiasco challenge rounds in West Australian tennis were history.

Irishman James Magee, the official winner of the first WA state men’s singles event (1901), settled in the port city and became a committee member and star player of the Fremantle Tennis club. He won the Fremantle singles tournament twice more, in 1902 and 1903.

Magee moved to the goldfields near Yalgoo in 1904 for employment reasons and did well when the notable Field’s Find was at its height. He made enough money to establish himself as a man of business in regional WA. In about 1905 a Chinese man named Fong Lang established a successful general store known as the ‘The Barn’ in the country town of Northampton. James Magee, obviously awash in cash, then arrived in 1907 and purchased the place from him. Magee settled in Northampton permanently and bought a fine house as well, plus a wheat farm on the outskirts of the settlement in 1910. He married Martha Ethel White soon after his arrival. The couple raised a largish family, although they shared the then-common misfortune of losing their first couple of children to diseases of infancy.

Magee expanded his business activities carefully and flourished, in the process winning respect (and popularity) as a community benefactor in hard times.

In bad seasons he helped people out by suspending or ‘forgiving’ debts for those in serious trouble.

In February 1915 he moved the general store from Hampton Road to the opposite end of the town, near Glover’s Club Hotel. He was active in some aspects of municipal politics from 1911 and served as a member of the Northampton Road Board in the 1920s. As a newspaper report stated later in the decade Magee “has done much for the advancement of the town and was of valuable assistance to the man on the land who happened to be embarrassed by financial difficulties”.

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James Magee fell ill in 1928 and travelled south for treatment at St Omer’s hospital in West Perth. He died there on March 9, 1928. The gentleman was buried at Northampton, as was his wife many years later.

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Teachers: Caroline McCarthy & Sinéad Hussey

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Matters of

PUB-LICinterest!

BY LLOYD GORMAN

Kingdom pubs strike back Two Kerry communities are tackling the scourges of drink driving, the demise of the traditional country pub and social isolation in a new trial project that could change the fortunes of struggling country pubs across Ireland.

Six pubs in Causeway village in the north of the Kingdom county and one in Faha in the south, are the testing grounds for a new scheme called Social Spin.

Every day from 5pm to closing Faha pub owner Sean O’Mahony and actor Chris O’Dowd support Social Spin Photo: Independent.ie time, over 70 volunteer drivers from the two areas around the pubs in the area has changed for the better. On average we have signed up to get behind the wheel to drive rural drive between 80 and 100 people to and from the pub residents - singles and couples - to the pub and back on a weekly basis, and as a result it has contributed to home for free, so that they can enjoy a drink and the a renewed sense of community spirit. We are thrilled company of others without worrying about driving with how it is being received”. and all that entails.

The initiative is supported by Guinness and the VFI “Socialising is the fabric that knits our community in Faha together, and fewer people meeting up in a social Pubs of Ireland and even involved stand up and comedy actor Chris O’Dowd. setting began to impact the atmosphere in the area,” said Sean O’Mahony, Faha Court Pub owner.

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“We knew something had to be done, so we bought a community car, set up a dedicated mobile number and asked people to volunteer to drive their friends and neighbours to and from the pub. Since introducing ‘Social Spin’, the atmosphere

Brigid’s beer!

St Patrick may have one of the world’s biggest - and many would say most celebrated feast days - but did you know St Brigid, another of Ireland’s official three saints, is the patron saint of beer and brewing?

Miracles attributed to the Kildare Saint are the time she changed water into beer for a leper colony, and even provided enough beer for 18 churches from a single barrel. St Brigid’s Feast Day is Feburary 1 - which is also the day of her birth!

Left: St Brigid

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“Having grown up in Boyle, a rural area in Roscommon, I understand the significance of the local pub in bringing people together in a community – it’s a social hub, somewhere to catch up and share stories,” he said. “Socialising is part of our DNA and I think Social Spin is a brilliant and simple way of nurturing and celebrating this sociability, which is such an important part of our culture”.

Photo: bromickeymcgrath.com/

THE IRISH SCENE | 33

Continued on page 31

Continued from page 33

Crew get onboard for the Galway Hooker The crew who will work at the Galway Hooker the new customised and imported Irish bar in Scarborough recently got a taste of what the new Irish pub will offer. Guinness brand ambassador, Domhnall Marnell, paid a special visit to Durty Nelly’s late last year to work with the team from Durty Nelly’s and the new crew from The Galway Hooker on pouring the perfect pint of Guinness.

Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life, they say. Not enough people get to do what they love but a lucky few do. Mr Marnell is proof of how it is possible to go after and get your ideal job! He has a background in Irish radio, stand-up comedy and voice-over work, and took a job at the Guinness storehouse in 2011 to top up his income.

Happy 13th birthday to Paddy Malone’s in Joondalup!

The pub staff and Domhnall enjoyed a few pints of the black stuff while discussing Guinness and food pairings and the history of the Above: Domhnall Marnell from Guinness teaching the Galway Hooker crew how to pull the perfect pint Guinness brand.

The new 300 capacity venue will have one of the largest ranges of Irish whiskeys anywhere but it will also focus heavily on the traditional pint of porter which they are sure will be the best in Australia.

“We will have a separate cool room just for Guinness,” said group bar manager James Connolly, with The Ark Group.

“Separate gas lines and even a separate top line [reverse osmosis] glass washer (just for Guinness glasses), special line cleaning equipment. The Black stuff will never have tasted so good,” he says.

According to its Facebook page, the Galway Hooker will be “opening in January 2020” in The Esplanade, Scarborough. We look forward to the big occasion and ‘wetting the baby’s head’ so to speak!

Lucky 13 for Paddy’s Moving from a new Irish pub about to be born in Perth, to another that recently marked a major anniversary.

Paddy Malone’s in Joondalup first opened its doors on Reid Promenade and Central Walk in 2006, and on November 16 the staff and customers celebrated the venue’s 13th birthday in style. Live music for the occasion was provided by Prohibition + Jonny Reid while group of brilliant dancers from O’Brien Academy of Irish Dancing brought the house down.

It was the first time in Paddy’s thirteen years that they celebrated their birthday, so it really was a special occasion and a great day was had by everyone.

The McCrory clan - Sean, Brian, Ciaran, Josh and Emma-Rose - were out celebrating the life of their beloved Brian McCrory on the sixth month anniversary of his death. Brian was remembered in an article in the July/ August 2019 edition of Irish Scene called “An Irish Man In Perth Who Never Lived To See A United Ireland”.

Brendan, our friendly reporter, also met plenty of other good folks on the night, including Dave O’Connor, Frank Grimes with Peter Halpin and Alan Carroll as well as Nathan, Alison and Luke Rhodes.

Cheers to Jason and the team at Paddy’s and all the best for the next 13 years.

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Irish Seniors

Christmas Lunch DECEMBER 6 AT THE IRISH CLUB

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THE IRISH SCENE | 37

HEL YEAH! Above: For a true Finnish experience, Allas Sea Pool is the best Helsinki swimming pool and sauna, located just across from the Old Market Hall. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

BY JOHN HAGAN Considering a trip back to Ireland?

Why not think outside the square and amend the usual routing via Dubai or Doha for a stopover in glorious Helsinki?

BEST ARRIVAL

Finnair flies daily from Australia (Perth, Melbourne, Sydney) with its One World partner, Qantas, to Helsinki via Singapore, and then on to Dublin. From Helsinki it is possible to connect to more than 100 other European destinations.

Take the fastest route from Australia to Europe. Break the journey, either on the outward leg, or on the return (or on both!), to sample the delights of Finland’s elegant, vibrant and cultural, capital city.

Finnair coaches, located just outside the

airport, leave at regular intervals for the city. Don’t worry, everyone speaks English, and the city signs are in English too. Depending on the season, economy flights via Helsinki to Dublin are on offer for about $1700. See, finnair.com/au or contact your local travel agent.

Temppeliaaukio, or the ‘Church in the Rock’ (Lutherinkatu 3) is one of Helsinki’s most popular tourist attractions. It’s a unique place of worship, excavated from a rocky outcrop and roofed by a giant copper dome, with the natural, craggy, pink granite forming an unusual and atmospheric background for religious services and concerts. The Kamppi Chapel (Simonkatu 7) is built solely from spruce, alder and ash, and this 11.5 metre high, futuristic building, offers a place for contemplation and silence, as it shuts out the bustle of the city.

GETTING AROUND

WORK UP A SWEAT

Above: The Kalakauppa E. Eriksson fishmonger at Old Market Hall (right) sells smoked fish, cured fish, fresh fish and shellfish.

Helsinki offers a well developed tram system. Enjoy the city’s best 37 sights by catching the 3T, or 3B, tram from Market Square. The complete trip, which lasts about an hour, comes with an English language brochure. As the trams depart at 20 minute intervals it is convenient to hop off at any attraction, and hop back on a later tram. It’s even possible to catch the red-liveried Sparakoff tram and sup a local beer (Koff) while this ‘pub on rails’ meanders the city.

Given its compact nature, Helsinki is the perfect place to explore on foot. Guided walking tours (covering 15 themes such as, Helsinki’s Russian past, art nouveau architecture, etc) are available in various languages. As the city is replete with cycleways and is reasonably flat, deposit-only bicycles are also a viable option. Visit the Helsinki Tourist Office in Helsinki’s iconic central rail station (Kaivokatu 1), for more information. The Tourist Office also sells the Helsinki Card which provides unlimited travel on all public city transport (tram, bus, metro, ferry) as well as free entry to the top 30 Helsinki attractions.

GO TO CHURCH Right: Helsinki Cathedral is one of Helsinki’s most popular tourist attractions. Top Left: The Kamppi Chapel, also known as the “Chapel of Silence” since it is intended to be a place to calm down and have a moment of silence in one of the busiest areas in Finland. Bottom Left: Temppeliaukio Church, built directly into solid rock is also known as the Church of the Rock

The Finns love their saunas and in a country of 5 million people there are 3.5 million saunas, so plenty to go around. All Helsinki hotels include saunas as part of their amenities although, if a more exotic location is desired, there are an abundance of those too. The Allas Sea Pool sauna (Katajanokanlaituri 2) sits right in the heart of Helsinki, adjacent to Market Square. Just next to it stands the city’s new, 40 metre tall, Finnair Sky Wheel which also boasts a sauna. Yes, it is possible to sit in a specially constructed gondola and have a sauna while taking in spectacular views across the city.

Don’t worry, no one can see in! Not to be outdone, Burger King (Mannerheimintie 12) operates a fifteen person sauna where you can enjoy a whopper as flame-grilled as your skin, but be warned, the french fries might wilt in the humidity.

CUISINE AND COFFEE

At Helsinki’s pulsating heart, overlooking the harbour, is the old Market Square where outdoor stalls groan with meter long wild salmon, bowls of Russian caviar, wild berries and all sorts, together with fresh fruit and vegetables. There is also a brisk trade in hand-knitted sweaters, caps and mittens, and all things Lappish, including reindeer skins, antler jewelry and even smoked reindeermeat crisps! Old Market Hall, adjacent to Market Square, is just the spot to meet the locals and enjoy a freshly made, salty, Baltic herring sandwich, or nibble on homemade crackers and cloudberry jam. For a lunch time snack my own favourite eatery in Market Hall, is the Ericksson Fish Café which serves, hearty, delicious salmon soup and fresh crusty bread.

Finns certainly like their coffee and are reputed to be the world’s largest imbibers per head of population. Helsinki boasts a superfluity of coffee bars and bistros. Café Ekberg (Bulevardi 9) founded in 1852, is the city’s oldest and perhaps most famous coffee house. At the Café Frazer (Kluuvikatu 3), housed in an art deco building with a ‘whispering wall’, the array of pastries

THE IRISH SCENE | 38

Photo: David Pellon/Stockvault

THE IRISH SCENE | 39

is more tempting, but it is Café Engel (Aleksanterinakatu 26), situated on stately Senate Square, which comes closest in atmosphere and ambiance to that of the classical Viennese coffee house. Choose a window seat, order a cappuccino and admire the surrounding pastel painted buildings, including the majestic green-domed Lutheran Cathedral which dominates the Square and basks in the reputation of being Helsinki’s most photographed edifice. The neo-classical facades of the surrounding buildings are reminiscent of Imperial St. Petersburg, which is not surprising since the two cities share a common architect, Carl Engel, after whom the café is named.

SUP UP

Irishman Seamus Holohan is CEO of the Helsinki Distilling Company (Tyopajankatu 2a) which is situated in a former soap factory in the hipster district of Kallio, about ten minutes by tram from Market Square.

Opened in 2014, HDC has since been producing award winning premium gin, local aquavit, and applejack from Finnish apples, and most importantly, single malt and rye whiskey. In 2018 the operation was recognized as being the ‘most innovative distiller in Europe’. Take a tour to see how it’s all done, say ‘hello’ to Seamus, and imbibe a tipple (or two) in the recently opened on-site bar. Maybe even stay for lunch to sample fresh portions of salmon or Finnish sausages with new potatoes.

MAKING MUSIC

As befits the city of the acclaimed classical composer, Jean Sibelius, Helsinki offers plenty to interest musical devotees. It’s possible to satisfy musical interests by attending the numerous Continued on page 40

Ní raibh a fhios aici cá raibh Baile Átha Cliath ná cá fhad uaithi é. Lean sí uirthi, is cosúil, ag iarraidh eolas an bhóthair ar na daoine a casadh di, ag coisíocht i gcónaí, nó gur fhág sí ina diaidh an Chois Locha, agus an Spidéal, agus Gaillimh, agus an tÓrán Mór, agus Baile Átha an Rí, agus Béal Átha na Sluaighe, agus Béal Átha Luain, agus an Muileann gCearr, agus Maigh Nuad, nó sa deireadh go bhfaca sí uaithi tithe Bhaile Átha Cliath.

Bríd na nAmhrán Above: Kämp Galleria is a must visit for any style-conscious shopper. The shopping centre hosts nearly 40 top fashion and design shops and high-quality restaurant and beauty services on three floors. Right: Inside view of the concert hall of the Helsinki Music Centre Photo: kampgalleria.com / commons.wikimedia.org

BY BRÍD

le Pádraic Mac Piarais ar lean....

Continued from page 39

free concerts staged around the city. For example, the midday organ recitals in the imposing Lutheran Cathedral on Senate Square, or listening to a choir, or musical group, performing at the ‘Church in the Rock’. At weekends, the Music Centre (Mannerheimintie 13A), home of the city’s symphony orchestras, presents a succession of free classical concerts and recitals by eminent musicians. Students from the Sibelius Academy, (Toolonkatu 28) also give free performances featuring jazz, folk and the classics.

Helsinki Tourist Office can advise on the programming of these and other free concerts.

For more information on Helsinki’s attractions, events, activities and hotels -

myhelsinki.fi

The author acknowledges the assistance of the Helsinki Tourist Office.

STOP LOOKING & START

BOOKING! FLY NOW , PAY LATER!

RETAIL THERAPY

Finnish design in clothes, textiles, ceramics, jewelry, wood and glass is exquisite and found in abundance in shops along the tree lined, central, Esplanadi, and in the glitzy Kamp Galleria (33 Pohjoisesplanadi), adjacent to the renowned Kamp Hotel. On the same street is the Marimekko outlet where its world famous fashions, fabrics and gifts are sold. But don’t expect too many bargains. Stockmann (Aleksanterinkatu 52) is Scandinavia’s largest department store offering everything from a needle to an anchor. ‘If it ain’t at Stockmann, you don’t need it’.

An extensive souvenir section occupies the 5th floor.

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THE IRISH SCENE | 40

Chuir muintir Mhaigh Chaorthainn liú astu, mar b’as Maigh Chaorthainn Nóra Ní Chaiside. Ní dúramarna faic. Bhreathnaigh mé anonn ar Bhríd. Bhí a héadan bánliath, í ar crith ina baill. ‘Céard a dúirt tú, a dhuine uasail, le do thoil?’ ar sise de ghlór aisteach.

‘An agamsa atá an duais?’ ‘Táimid ag moladh duais speisialta a thabhairt duit, a bhean chóir, mar chruthaigh tú go rímhaith, chruthaigh sin, ach is do Nóra Ní Chaiside atá duais na feise molta.’ Níor labhair Bríd focal, ach is amhlaidh a d’éirigh sí ina seasamh agus, gan breathnú thairsti de thaobh na láimhe deise ná de thaobh na láimhe clé, thug an doras amach uirthi féin. Bhuail sí an bóthar go Ros na gCaorach, agus bhí sí romhainn nuair a shroicheamar an baile go deireanach san oíche.

Bhí an tOireachtas le bheith i mBaile Átha Cliath an tseachtain dár gcionn. Ba bhrónach an dream sinn ar chuimhneamh dúinn nach mbeidh Bríd na nAmhrán ann. Bhíomar lánchinnte nach bhfuair sí cothrom na Féinne i Maigh Chaorthainn, agus cheapamar dá ngabhadh sí go Baile Átha Cliath go bhfaigheadh sí sásamh agus cúiteamh. Ach faraor, ní raibh aon airgead againn lena cur ann, agus dá mbeadh féin bhí a fhios againn nach nglacfadh sí uainn é. Bhíomar ag cur na ceiste trí chéile tráthnóna amháin nuair b’eo chugainn Máirtín Beag Ó Conghaile ar lánrith, agus dúirt linn go raibh Bríd na nAmhrán imithe agus an glas ar a doras. Ní raibh fhios againn céard a d’éirigh di go ceann coicíse ina dhiadh sin. Seo mar a tharla.

Nuair a chuala sí go raibh an tOireachtas le bheith i mBaile Átha Cliath ar a leithéid seo de lá, dúirt sí léi féin go mbeadh sí ann dá maireadh . Níor lig sí dada uirthi, ach d’imigh léi de shiúl oíche, ag coisíocht.

Is cosúil go raibh a cuid airgid caite i bhfad roimhe sin, agus ní bheidh a fhios ag deoraí go deo cén chaoi ar mhair an créatúr ar an aistear fada fíor-uaigneach sin. Ach tráthnóna amháin nuair a bhí an tOireachtas ar lánsiúl sa halla mór i mBaile Átha Cliath, chonacthas bean tuaithe ag teacht isteach an doras, a cosa gearrtha gortaithe ag clocha crua an bhealaigh, a cuid éadaigh breactha le deannach is le smúr an bhóthair, agus í tugtha traochta sáraithe. Shuigh sí fúithi. Bhí daoine ag amhránaíocht ar an sean-nós.

Glaodh ar Bhríd Ní Mhainnín ó Ros na gCaorach (mar bhí a hainm curtha isteach againne ar shúil go bhféadfaimis a cur ann). D’éirigh an tseanbhean, chuaigh suas, agus thosaigh ar ‘Contae Mhaigh Eo’.

Nuair a chríochnaigh sí, bhí an teach in aon rírá amháin le gártha, bhí an t-amhrán chomh breá sin.

Dúradh léi ceann eile a rá. Thosaigh sí ar ‘Sail Óg Rua’.

Ní raibh ach an dara ceathrú ráite aici nuair a tháinig meadhrán éigin ina ceann. Stad sí agus thosaigh uirthi arís. Tháinig an meadhrán uirthi arís, tháinig creathanna uirthi, agus thit sí i lagar ar an ardán.

Tugadh amach as an halla í. Tháinig dochtúir ag breathnú uirthi. ‘Tá sí seo ag fáil bháis den ocras agus den chruatan’, ar seisean.

Lena linn sin go díreach cluineadh gártha móra istigh sa halla. Tháinig duine de na breithiúna amach go deifreach. ‘Tá an chéad duais gnóthaithe agat!’ ar seisean. ‘Rinne tú go __.’ Stad sé go tobann. Bhí sagart ar a ghlúine ag cromadh os cionn Bhríde. D’ardaigh sé a lámh agus thug sé an aspalóid. ‘Tá luach saothair níos fearr ná an chéad duais gnóthaithe aici’, ar seisean. (Ó Pheann an Phiarsaigh, Pádraic Mac Piarais, Cló Iar-Chonnacht, 2016) Seanfhocal: Is beag bóithrín nach bhfuil cor ann.

“What butter and whiskey won’t cure, there is no cure for”

THE IRISH SCENE | 41

– Irish saying

BY LLOYD GORMAN

ISTEACH SA TEACH WA follows Irish lead on homelessness fight Every night an estimated 9,000 West Australian’s sleep rough or are homeless. Men, women (an increasing number of women), teenagers and even families with young kids every night face the bleak and unacceptable prospect of not knowing where they will sleep or what the next day holds for them. Inspiration for the best way to tackle this homeless crisis comes direct from Ireland. On December 4 the McGowan government announced $72 million funding as part of WA’s first 10 year homeless strategy ‘All Paths Lead to a Home Western Australia’s 10-Year Strategy on Homelessness 2020-2030’. The strategy takes two foreign ideas and combines them to create what it is hoped will be a good solution for WA. Two ‘Common Ground’ facilities - centres where up to 100 mixed units in the same complex - will be built one in metropolitan Perth and the other somewhere else in the state. The idea behind these Common Ground facilities which are to help break the cycle of homelessness and give rough-sleepers a place to call home hails originally from New York, where it was first used 20 years ago. WA is the last Australian state to adopt the New York idea, but it Simone McGurk is the first to take on board the second part of the strategy - Housing First which is much newer and borrowed from Ireland, where it has been developed and is currently being rolled out across the country there.

Some $35 million will be used to plan, design and build the Common Ground facilities over three years.

The other $34.5 million has been set said over five years for a Housing First Homeless initiative - including rental subsidies - to extend trial housing first schemes in Perth across the city and further afield to Rockingham, Mandurah, Bunbury and Geraldton.

“The other half of the approach is what is called Housing First and this means we can start working on the ground

6PR. “With the Housing First approach there’s already been some work in Perth done using that model that has been in place here, and overseas, you have a high success rate of people staying in stable accommodation.

For instance where it has been in place in Perth, and in Ireland, over 80% of those clients are still resident in their residencies 12 months later.”

Some of this may sound vaguely familiar to regular Irish Scene readers. The September/October edition carried a story called Lessons in Homelessness about the fact that the National Director of Housing First in Ireland Bob Jordan was in Perth as a guest of Shelter WA for Homeless Week, to share the impressive results coming out of Ireland about how the initiative was working there. The populations of Ireland and West Australia are about 4.8m and but the number of homeless in both is remarkably similar - some 10,253 - including 3,449 children - in Ireland and more than 9,000 in WA as we have seen above.

It is in everyone’s interests that a successful solution can be developed to fight homelessness as a social ill.

Minister McGurk is certainly confident that the Irish approach is the best way to get to grips with what she called chronic homelessness. “We’ve spent 12 months working with the community sector and research organisations to understand the problem and what is working in other jurisdictions and I’m confident we have a good model here and we are backing it up with significant dollars.”

On the day before (December 3), the McGowan government also announced a $150 million housing package. Some 500 new social and affordable homes would be built while another 70 existing Department of Housing homes would be refurbished. This money was on top of the $335.8 million already budgeted to be spent on building and refurbishing social and affordable homes over the next two years the government added.

on by the media, historians, government and international bodies.

“Former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, has a role in monitoring the referendum in Papua New Guinea,” the Taoiseach said. “It is a really important role and we should be supportive of him in that. I had a Leo Varadkar very brief phone call with the new Prime Minister of Australia and one of the first things he mentioned to me is that our former Taoiseach is involved in the referendum in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.

It was not something I brought up.

It was something the Australian Prime Minister was aware of and Scott Morrison volunteered. That just gives you an example of the benefits of that sort of soft power and having our citizens around the world doing this kind of work.”

About two weeks after that debate, Mr Ahern was propelled into the global spotlight for his work there.

The job of announcing the results of the independence referendum fell to the former Dublin politician. The people of Bougainville voted 98% for independence from PNG, rather than greater autonomy within the Southwest Pacific nation.

Bertie and Bougainville Top: The Housing First event held in August. Above: The September/ October issue of Irish Scene ran an article about the similarities between Western Australia and Ireland’s homelessness crisis

immediately with people sleeping rough and homeless people to identify what accommodation they need and to get them into stable housing straight away with a mental health component built into that model so they have the right support and case management that goes along with that package,” Minister for Community Services Simone McGurk told Gareth Parker on

THE IRISH SCENE | 42

Taoiseach (PM) Leo Varadkar and Australian PM Scott Morrison had a quick chat over the phone recently. If it was a routine scheduled call or one with a special purpose we don’t know but we do know a little of what they discussed thanks to Hansard and a debate in Dáil Éireann (Irish Parliament) on November 27 2019 during a discussion about state allowances and services offered to former taoisigh (Prime Ministers).

[The answer to that question is all former taoisigh got just over €21,000 worth of secretarial services in 2019. A previous scheme that was abolished in 2012 could see them get up to €183,000 worth of support a year] Mr Varadkar set out some of the many ways the skills and experiences of former taosigh be can be called

Above: Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern (centre) is involved in monitoring the independence referendum in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea

Mr Ahern explained some of the background and issues with Sean O’Rourke on RTE News Radio 1 (which can be found on the RTE website) on December 11 from his location close to the Solomon Islands .

Continued on page 44

THE IRISH SCENE | 43

Continued from page 43

“Back during Christmas week, almost two years ago, I was contacted by the then Prime Minister [Peter O’Neill] of PNG - who I think it was his grandfather was from Derry and he was a frequent visitor to Derry whenever he was in that part of the world. He was aware of Northern Ireland and the Peace Process and he asked if I would undertake it, I said let me think about it.”

Bertie said he would not get involved in a war in which 23,000 people had been killed unless both sides were satisfied with him as an intermediary to help move on the peace deal agreed in 2001. “My role over the last two years was to try and implement the peace agreement and to try and organise a referendum,” he told RTE listeners. He gave listeners an insight into the war between Bougainville and PNG - a conflict that started when Bougainville said it was excluded from a local copper mine, one of the top three in the world - because of a contract awarded to a company by Australia.

The situation escalated and would lead to a war that lasted nine years.

“We dealt with some of the issues like we did in Northern Ireland, the arms were put beyond use and we had a decommissioning body.

We’ve been through all the things that I’d been familiar with over the last 25 years,” he added.

Above: The 1998 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to John Hume and David Trimble for their efforts to bring peace to Northern Ireland.

The groundwork for a way forward is now in place, but Bertie said he is watching it from a distance but would not be directly involved. That would be up to the UN and donor countries such as Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

“This is a big issue within Australia and New Zealand, this is an every day story there,” he said.

Bougainville may need five to ten years to get back to its former prosperous state, he added.

As a reminder of how fragile peace processes can be, Bertie was asked about the situation in Northern Ireland. On the day he was being interviewed it was the 21 year anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to David Trimble and John Hume. “From where you are, are you hopeful of a break through in Northern Ireland?” Sean O’Rourke asked him.

“I hope so Sean… I was up north a number of times before I came out here and I think the politicians were getting it in the ear about the need to get back down to work and back into the institutions (e.g. Northern Ireland Assembly), and both sides have publicly - Mary

Lou McDonald and Arlene Foster - have made it clear that they are ready for it. So the issues are clear, they’ve been well rehearsed and I know there is talk of resumption of talks on Tuesday (December 17).

I hope that happens, there is no reason in the wide world why the institutions couldn’t be got back up quickly and I hope they will).”

well-being in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child to which Turkey and Ireland are both parties,” the UN body said.

Mary Lou McDonald

Isteach sa Teach might pick up on how those talks progressed in the next edition.

If you don’t extract then what do you do?

Arlene Foster Ireland and Australia took very different approaches to the problem of what to do with foreign ISIS brides and families stranded after the collapse of the Caliphate in Syria and Iraq. In the tens of thousands of people being held in camps that are family members of ISIS fighters about 70 Australian women and their children are languishing in detention camps while the international community struggles to come to terms with the situation. Should they be extradited back to Australia? Bringing them back presents risks, but is the only alternative to leave these citizens rot in hell?

The Irish government sent members of its special forces unit - known as The Ranger Wing - to Turkey to extract Dundalk woman Lisa Smith who travelled to Syria in 2016 to join the Islamic State group. She - and her now two year old daughter - were being held in a remote area on the Turkish/Syrian border.

Tánaiste Simon Coveney, who is also the minister for Foreign Affairs, told the Dáil in November that it made sense for Irish military personnel to speak to the Turkish military, but said it was not an extraction.

He said his “primary concern” was for “a two year old little girl who Simon Coveney in my view, as an Irish citizen, we have an obligation to protect. That is what is driving all of this”. A couple of weeks earlier the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights expressed “grave concern” for the welfare of Ms Smith and her daughter. The UN human rights group warned in a statement that she “may face ill-treatment in custody” while her daughter may also be exposed to physical and mental risks.

“The vulnerability of this infant is particularly worrying and there is a compelling obligation to protect her

THE IRISH SCENE | 44

Smith and her daughter were escorted back to Ireland and arrived at the start of December. She has been charged with committing terrorist offences and at time of print was still in Garda (police) custody. A former member of the Irish Defence Forces, Smith told RTE News back in July that joining ISIS ‘wasn’t worth it’.

The Australian government has been told by various aid groups working in the displacement camps that children daily face “extremely grave” conditions. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said repeatedly that his government “was not going to put any Australian life at risk to extract these people from these conflict zones”.

The government said it would not send in personnel to extract them but would consider helping people who could make their own way to an Australian embassy or consul.

Australian women and their children so they could be repatriated back to Australia.

“Leaving these folks in camps in the desert or in ad-hoc prison facilities is not going to solve the problem, ISIS bride, Irish woman Lisa Smith Photo: extra.ie/ it’s going to kick the can down the road,” US counter-terrorism official Nathan Sales told ABC News in mid-November 2019.

“Where there are Australians who are caught up in this situation - particularly as innocent children - we will do what I think Australians’ would expect us to do on their behalf,” Mr Morrison said as far back as April 2019.

“There’s a number of different options on the table and we’re pursuing very much an ‘all of the above’ approach because regardless of what means we use, the bottom line is, we need to get these kids, their parents and the fighters out of Syria and back to their countries of origin.”

Around the same time that Irish officers were on their mission in Turkey, the Americans made an offer to Australia and other allies with citizens in the displacement camps. The US said its military assets could go into dangerous regions and rescue these

Ireland may be lucky that it only had one ISIS bride and child to worry about, but to date there have been no reported or documented cases of people with Australian citizenship in similar situations being brought back to Australia.

Is your child’s future secured?

For members of the Irish community in WA, we know a common worry is, how can we ensure our children are cared for if something happens to us?

Did you know... in most cases appointing a guardian for your children is as simple as including it in your Will.

The team at Vibe Legal are happy to assist you in preparing a comprehensive Will to address all your concerns regarding your children’s future.

“The best way to predict the future is to create it” Abraham Lincoln

Contact Leo on (08) 6111 4890 or email leo.barry@vibelegal.com.au for further advice.

THE IRISH SCENE | 45

Claddagh AGM

CLADDAGH REPORT

In mid-November members of the Claddagh Association attended our 2018-2019 AGM. Chairperson Heather McKeegan reported on the Association’s activities. She noted that in the past year Claddagh had connected with 1884 members of the Irish community in WA, worked with 59 individuals or families in difficult circumstances, provided $30,693 in emergency relief to members of the Irish community in need and organised 23 events for members of the Irish community.

Crisis Support: 0403 972 265 13/15 Bonner Drive Malaga 6090. Enquiries: 08 9249 9213

www.claddagh.org.au

New Year Greetings

Happy New Year from everyone at Claddagh! We are looking forward to a busy year developing the capacity of the Claddagh Association and working in collaboration with other groups from the Irish community in WA. The last two months of 2019 were busy here at Claddagh. We hosted a number of events and began preparing for 2020 at the same time as continuing our normal support work with members of the Irish community in difficult circumstances. In January 2020 our coordinator, Anne Wayne will be on leave and members of the committee (who are all volunteers) will be checking in on the office and continuing Claddagh’s support work. If you or anyone you know from the Irish community needs support during this time you can contact Claddagh on our crisis line: 0403 972 265. Anne will be back in the office from the 28th of January 2020, refreshed and ready for the work of the year ahead.

Below: Santa paid us a visit for the Seniors Christmas dinner! Left: The Broken Pokers provided great tunes, many thanks to them.

Below: A big thank you to our Seniors Group Volunteers!

Claddagh Seniors events Our Seniors Group rounded out the year with a couple of lovely meals. In November a delicious lunch at The Iris Bar and Restaurant of the Glen Iris Golf Club was very well received by all the Seniors. This was followed by a fabulous Christmas dinner in December at the Mighty Quinn Tavern. Wonderful tunes were provided by The Broken Pokers and Santa made a surprise visit with gifts for everyone in the audience!

Claddagh’s Seniors Subcommittee has a full schedule of monthly events planned for 2020. If you are interested or know a Senior member of the Irish community who would like to attend our events, don’t hesitate to contact Claddagh Coordinator Anne Wayne on 08 9249 9213/ admin@claddagh.org.au or seniors@claddagh.org. au/0417 099 801 for more details.

Above: Fred Rea’s photo of our volunteer group at the thank you breakfast

Fundraising Nobody can resist McLoughlin Butchers Irish sausages! We found that to be true yet again at our last Bunnings sausage sizzle for the year in November. We are grateful as always to McLoughlin’s Butchers for donating all the sausages and to the Claddagh volunteers who organised and staffed the event. We learnt from the first sausage sizzle earlier in the year and this time increased our total profit to $1500 which will go directly to Claddagh’s work.

If your organisation would like to support Claddagh by hosting a Bunnings sausage sizzle in 2020 please contact Claddagh Coordinator Anne Wayne on 08 9249 9213/admin@claddagh.org.au.

If you would like to read the full details you can request a copy of Claddagh’s annual report from Claddagh Coordinator Anne Wayne on 08 9249 9213/admin@claddagh.org.au.

At the AGM the 2018-2019 committee were voted in again to serve for the 20192020 year. The committee consists of: Chairperson Heather McKeegan Vice Chairperson Peter McKenna Secretary Darren King Treasurer Patricia Bratton; and Committee members Barry Doyle, Eoin Halley, Tom Quinn and Stephanie Upton.

The committee look forward to continuing their work supporting the Irish community in WA and progressing the goals of Claddagh’s 2018-2021 Strategic Plan.

Volunteers and Supporters Thank You Breakfast There was fierce competition at Claddagh’s Volunteers and Supporters Thank you Breakfast at Masonmill Gardens at the end of November. After an enormous Irish breakfast those who won the mini golf were rewarded with prize vouchers from Masonmill’s Carl & Marie Holmes. It was a great way to celebrate and say thank you to our dedicated and hardworking volunteers who assist with events, visits, fundraising, office work and committee membership. Claddagh could not do the work we do without the commitment of all our volunteers and we truly appreciate them. If you would like to volunteer with us in 2020 we’d love to hear from you.

THE IRISH SCENE | 46

The Claddagh Committee 2019-2020

Our Bunnings Sausage Sizzle was a big hit

Continued on page 48

THE IRISH SCENE | 47

BREAKING THE CHAINS

Continued from page 47

Strategic Plan Review Day Following the AGM the Claddagh committee, along with Coordinator Anne Wayne, spent a Saturday in early December reviewing the work of 2019 and preparing for 2020. In the coming year the Claddagh Association will continue to support members of the Irish Community in difficult circumstances and work on the seniors and visiting projects.

In addition the Claddagh committee plans to focus on the strategic goals of diversifying our funding and collaborating with other Irish community groups. We know what important contributions Irish community groups make to the community at large and we believe that when we work together we can support the Irish community to be vibrant and resilient no matter what challenges arise.

Claddagh Volunteer Visitor project

As a young boy, along with many others, I had designs to be a Fireman, Gunslinger or a Jungle Explorer when I grew up. These were exciting occupations at the time and very suitable to my keen sense of adventure. However, as I progressed through the various stages of education, I started to move away from these ‘dream careers’, as they were either not paying enough annual income or they simply did not exist in the real world. That was a great pity and a big disappointment for me.

I was then graduating towards less exciting and physical positions, ones that were somewhat dull but paid more.

And there were times over the years when my head was full of schedules, deadlines, HR issues and the like when I would gaze out of the office window and wonder ‘was it too late to run away and join the circus?’

Claddagh Coordinator Anne Wayne and Claddagh volunteers Joe Carroll and Mariea Crabbe were hard at work in late 2019 matching our newly trained volunteer visitors with those from the Irish community who would like a regular visitor. This work will continue into 2020 and we plan to hold a second volunteer visitor training in late February.

Do you ever dream of doing something completely different, not just something similar to what you are doing today? Many of us tend to stay in situations that can make us unhappy in our working life. This is sometimes called the ‘golden handcuffs’ problem. When you are very good at what you do, it is almost impossible to convince yourself to give it up, even if it doesn’t make you happy. Many surveys have shown that only about 10% of people who dream of changing their careers actually turn their ideas into reality. This is often forced on them through losing their job or other drastic changes. There is also another disturbing statistic which says that over 80% of us are in jobs we shouldn’t be in.

If you or someone you know from the Irish community would like to receive visits or would like to volunteer with the scheme, please contact Claddagh Coordinator Anne Wayne on 08 9249 9213 or email admin@claddagh.org.au.

Remembrance Service Thanks to all those who organised, participated in and attended Claddagh’s annual Remembrance Service for the Irish Community in WA last November at St Joseph’s, Subiaco.

When changing career, you should not worry too much about your specific skills. Matching your values, life experiences and attitudes to your new environment and being curious and adaptable are much more crucial for how well you will get on and succeed in your new environment. Do not be afraid of the challenge and you can learn the elements of the new job afterwards as a secondary consideration.

Fr Tim Corcoran led a thoughtful, reflective service during which we remembered our loved ones who had died in the previous year, both in Australia and overseas.

Real change can be hard to achieve. Indeed, as individuals we call for change in all aspects of our society. We do not want to bring our car to a mechanic who does not have the latest computer diagnostic equipment or entrust ourselves to a doctor that does not have access to the latest

Special thanks go to: Fred and Fiona Rea and to the members of the Irish Choir who provided us with beautiful music, and to the representatives from the Australian Irish Heritage Association, Claddagh, Comhaltas Perth, and the GAA in WA who read prayers and poems during the service.

The Remembrance Service for 2020 will again be on the first Sunday of November. If you would like to be a volunteer organiser for the 2020 Remembrance Service please contact Claddagh Coordinator Anne Wayne on 08 9249 9213/ admin@claddagh.org.au.

BY BILL DALY

information and techniques in health care. However, when it comes to changing the way we operate in our own professional lives we sometimes do not see the need for it. In life, as the old saying goes, we can be certain of only two things, death and taxes.

Indeed, we can also be assured of a third, and that is change.

As we enter into the brand new year of 2020, and also the start of a new decade, it might be an appropriate time to examine the condition and strength of our own chains.

‘Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.’

– Ralph Waldo Emerson.

BILL DALY:

Tony and Veronica McKee PO Box 994 Hillarys WA 6923

Thanks to all those who organised, participated in and attended Claddagh’s annual Remembrance Service for the Irish Community in WA

Donations If you would like to make a financial contribution to support the work of Claddagh in 2020 you can make an online donation at www.givenow.com.au/thecladdaghassociation. Claddagh is a not for profit organisation with gift recipient status. Donations over $2 can be claimed as a tax deduction.

THE IRISH SCENE | 48

info@mckeefamilyfunerals.com.au www.mckeefamilyfunerals.com.au Crisis support:

Tel (08) 9401 1900 • Fax: 9401 1911

0403 972 265

Mob: 0413 337 785 THE IRISH SCENE | 49

Originally from Tallow in West Waterford, Bill spent 30 years in Cork as a Senior Manager in the Electronics Manufacturing industry with such companies as Apple, EMC and Logitech.

He has been working on his own as a Consultant/Contractor in Manufacturing Operations and Materials for the past 18 years.

He also attended UCC and has a BA Degree in Archaeology and Geography. Bill is now resident in Connemara, Co. Galway since 2009.

Western Australia

Organised

by The Irish Community of WA working with The Archdiocese of Perth

Upcoming EventS Kids Meet Up in fun playcentre In January Cost $5 entry per child over 12 months. Adults go free! Finger food provided. See our Facebook page for more details St Patrick’s Day Mass St Mary’s Cathedral at 10am on Tuesday 17th March See our ad on page 47 for more information. For anyone or any group wishing to participate, please email irishinperth@hotmail.com.

EIMEAR BEATTIE

Irish Families in Perth is a voluntary non profit organisation with over 15,000 members on our social media group.

We provide Irish emigrants with advice on how to best assimilate into the Western Australian culture and lifestyle. We communicate with our subscribers through social media where topics such as long lost relatives, housing, jobs and social events are covered. It is a vibrant active forum that provides a wealth of knowledge to young families and singles emigrating to Western Australia.

IFIP contributes to a cohesive Irish Community by working together with many of the wonderful groups in Perth that support Irish culture and heritage.

IFIP aims to: · Coordinate Irish family events including twice weekly playgroup.

St Mary’s Cathedral, Perth Victoria Square, Perth IFIP Padbury Playgroup Each Monday & Wednesday Our playgroup meet up is a purpose-built playgroup centre which has undergone recent refurbishment. It has a bright indoor area and a small kitchen complete with small fridge, microwave, tea and coffee making facilities. Outdoors, there is a covered playground attaching to the building and the outdoor area is fenced with a locked gate ensuring the safety of our little ones. It also has a large selection of indoor and outdoor toys ensuring that all parents and kids receive a warm reception.

New members are always welcome.

on St Patrick’s Day Tuesday 17th March 2020 at 10 am Principal Celebrant & Homilist:

Rev Fr Vincent Glynn PARKING AND GETTING TO THE MASS: There is parking for a limited number of cars at the Cathedral.

Other parking is available at PCC Parking Stations in the vicinity.

The “Red Cat” Free Bus Service runs past the Cathedral regularly.

It stops at many convenient locations from West Perth particularly Perth Central Railway Station stopping at the door of the Cathedral Enquiries:

· Develop Irish Culture & heritage.

Eimear at irishinperth@hotmail.com

· Help Irish people with any problems that might arise and provide a link to Australian and Irish support services.

or Phone 0474 481 297

www.irishfamiliesinperth.com facebook.com/groups/irishfamiliesinperth THE IRISH SCENE | 50

THE IRISH SCENE | 51

word which many intelligent Irish people ingeniously imagined rhymed with ‘bank manager’.

Ireland:

The North’s biggest industry is the production of IRAs, UDAs, and UFFs. All versions of the IRA claim to be the IRA. Consequently, we now have the Provisional, Continuity and Real IRA. All of these may very soon be superceded by the BREX/IRE/U/ D/A/TURNTO.

The great divide

Rugby in Ireland has the singular distinction of being played internationally by a team called ‘Ireland’.

Unfortunately this national magnanimity does not extend to the practice of using the same national anthem. Celebrated Irish musician Phil Coulter has composed a compromising air proclaiming, wait for it, Ireland’s Call. This enlightening enterprise has not yet reached the realm of Ireland in international soccer and a host of other Irish sporting bodies on the world scene. It’s still a case of All Ireland minus The Rest of Ireland, alias Northern Ireland.

Ireland actually does play a hybrid football game internationally with Australia, where it’s All Ireland plus The Rest of Ireland versus Australia. Unlike rugby, the national anthems of both countries are performed. The rest of the world must find Ireland’s international sporting representation as confusing as Ireland’s currencies, governments, industry and road systems.

BY SEAN BYRNE

Ireland.

Norenirelan.

Photo: www.irishtimes.com/

Ireland is an island to the west of Britain but Northern Ireland is just off the mainland, not the Irish mainland, the British mainland. The capital of Ireland is Dublin. It has a population of a million people, many of whom will be shopping in Newry this afternoon. They travel to Newry because it’s in the North, which is not part of Ireland, but still pays in Euros. Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland. It has a population of half a million, half of whom own houses in Donegal. Donegal is in the north but not in the North. It’s in the south. No, not the South, the south.

Travel between the two states is complicated because Ireland is the only country in the world with two M1 motorways. The one in the North goes west to avoid the South and the one in the South goes North to avoid the price of drink. The North measures distance in miles, the South in kilometers. Many odometers and speedometers find this confusing.

There are two parliaments in Ireland. The Dublin parliament is called the Dáil (pronounced “Doyle”), an Irish word meaning a place where banks receive taxpayers’ money. The one in Belfast is called Stormont, an Anglo-Saxon word meaning ‘placebo’, or deliberately ineffective drug. There are two types of democracy in Ireland. Their respective jurisdictions are defined by the border, a bizarre, imaginary scrawl across the map of Ireland to show fuel launderers where to productively dump their chemical waste and bi-products. Protestants are in favour of the border which generates millions of pounds in smuggling for Catholics, who are totally opposed to it. In the past British military forces have had great difficulty in actually locating this imaginary, senseless, serrated scrawl across the map of Ireland. Indigenous folks living in the area have no such problem. Mind you they do have a problem driving to work when Westminister governments erect concrete walls right across their roads.

Dublin democracy works by holding a referendum and then allowing the government to judge the result. If the government thinks the result is wrong, the referendum is held again. Belfast democracy works differently. It has a parliament THE IRISH SCENE | 52

with no opposition, so the government is always right. In fact the government is so right that it doesn’t need to govern. It’s currently unemployed but gets fully paid just the same.

In recent years this political miracle has been funded on the Goodnight Arelene ideology and the Teresa May Cash-for-Ash deal, a principle not fully understood by English taxpayers. This system generates envy in many world capitals, especially Dublin.

Ireland has three economies, northern, southern and black. Only the black economy is in the black. The other two are in the red.

The Bank of Ireland distributes British pounds printed under the name Bank of Ireland. This confuses the rest of the world, particularly the English public, and it is nearly impossible to exchange these notes outside Ireland as they are incorrectly considered to be either Euro currency or the now defunct Irish ‘punt’, a

Hope however is on the horizon. Buckdrop Boris the Backstopstapper is ready to solve the perennial Irish problem using the finest traditions of that infamous forerunner of Louis Armstrong. I’m referring to biblical Joshua and his terrifying trumpeteering beyond the walls of Jericho. Forget the Great Walls of China, Trump and Berlin, Boris - the new Checkpoint Charlie - has decreed European tradies may use the back door (Northern Ireland) to England but not the front door. Once again, the old tory-story. How aristocratically convenient. The gentry’s back door is always open to lowly servants, the front door is for the quality people only. Irish singer Daniel O’Donnell will be empowered to give new meaning and musical inspiration to Bob Dylan and Jimmie Hendrix in an Anglo-Celtic version of All Along the Watchtower.

‘There must be some way outta here Said the joker to the thief There’s too much con/fus/ion I can’t get no relief.’

Where you arrive as a customer... and leave as a friend

Home of the Ultimate Sunday Roast

Rock on Donegal frontman Danny O’Donnell who is not from the South but the south which is also the north and adjacent to the North which is in fact the Real Northern Ireland. What next, Brexit the Musical?

99 Cambridge St, West Leederville T: (08) 9382 4555 E: oreillys@iinet.net.au

jboreillys.com.au

THE IRISH SCENE | 53

seen proof that Tom’s voice was much bigger than some other parts of his lower body. As Tom emerged, he was confused with the outburst of laughter from his adoring fans. MB, yes I well remember the astonished look on Tom’s face!

Itchy feet again took me on another journey, this time across Asia covering the PGA Golf Tour for a year, before moving to London to take up a position with Associated Press Television News based out of London, as a Cameraman working in Hostile Environments.

FROM MELBOURNE

BY MIKE BOWEN

I wrote some time back that gold doesn’t always make itself known to the unsuspecting eye, sometimes you have to dig below the surface to find it. Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there.

How do we define gold? Is it a shiny rock? Is it good health? Or could it be an amazing journey of transforming one’s life many times over that makes a story gold? I’m going for the latter, as a writer I am always looking for gold in the form of extraordinary people who have done extraordinary things and this story, is GOLD. Back twenty five years ago, give or take a day or two, while I was with the Fureys on one of their many Australian tours, they were doing a spot on the then country’s most popular TV show with host Bert Newton. Before the lads took up their positions on the set, a fresh faced lad introduced himself to me, Hi I’m Kirby Kearns, I’m the producer. I think I replied something like what Eddie Murphy might have said “get out of here” you have an Irish accent. No mate, came the reply, it’s a Youghal accent, and then an outburst of laughter.

Fast forward to 2019 as Kirby and I talk about the polished bar of gold that is the Kirby Kearns success story. He tells me: In 1956 my mom Maureen was migrating to Melbourne from Ireland, and met Kevin Kearns from Youghal in Co Cork who was a petty officer on the migrant ship Orieana. As the story goes, dad jumped ship and married mom a couple of months later and settled down to what they thought would be their last move. In 1961 my eldest brother Terry was born. On 4th December 1963 I was born, later dad and mom decided the family should return home to Youghal, where my other four siblings were born. It was there in the playgrounds of Youghal that I began to think of adventures and the world beyond.

At the age of sixteen, I went to sea as part of a two man fishing team for two years on a sixteen-foot boat. Later itchy feet took me to New York as an eighteen year old,

where I spent four years looking for that something that would help me fulfil my dreams. When I could not find that something special, I decided to head Kirby Kearns for to Australia and see what life there might have in store for me? While walking down a street in Adelaide one day, I met a girl who I had met some time back in a bar in England while playing pool, she whipped my ass and won every game we played.

Yep she cleaned me out of all in my pocket; the girl was brilliant with the cue. We reunited over a cup of coffee in the nearest café and wedding bells soon followed.

On the 18th of June 1989, the day our daughter was born, life took a dramatic change. It was a magic day seeing her gorgeous face and to make things even better, it was the day I found what I was looking for – a career in TV. I was invited for an interview at Channel 7 in Adelaide for a job as a trainee video editor. I was utterly blown away to finally get an opportunity to do what I felt passionately about – working in the TV industry. I spent the next three years learning the craft and then moved to Channel 7 in Melbourne, where I spent another year. An offer too good to refuse then came, as of producer of the top Australian morning show “The Bert Newton Show” on Channel 10, where I stayed for five years. That’s where you (Mike) and I met the first time and have remain the best of friends.

During my time at Channel 10 I met just about everyone who was anyone that appeared on the show.

I remember well on one occasion I asked you to come in to meet Tom Jones who was appearing on the show.

After the show while having a few beers in the bar, nature called you and it also called Tom. You both headed for the gents. As you were leaving the gents, there were a group of ladies waiting outside for an autograph, and you informed the girls that you had

THE IRISH SCENE | 54

This is the part of Kirby’s story that makes his face cringe, while telling me of the enormous carnage that he saw in those hostile places.

I spent three months in Mitrovitzy in Kosovo where there were open graves and bodies everywhere. Villages that had been razed. I just can’t understand the devastation that man brought on his fellow man in that place. Honestly no words could really describe it. It looked like hell on earth. After that, I had five assignments in Afghanistan, the first was two days after 9/11 and two other assignments in Iraq later on. I saw the extremes of humanity in those hellholes, from the extraordinary cruelty to the enormous kindness.

East. The goalposts can change a lot in terms of the law surrounding business and things move quite slowly.

People can also be put off by the fact that you must have a Qatari partner who owns 51% of your business, but this isn’t as restrictive as it sounds. These are balanced by a can-do attitude and an air of optimism where anything is possible.

For the first two years I did everything myself – sales, writing, filming, editing, producing, directing and accounting. You name it, I did it. It was also a very challenging environment with the climate reaching as high as 50+˚C. In 2009, all the hard work brought me a lucrative deal with Qatar Gas, one of the largest companies in the country. They asked me to make 25 in-house videos and everything changed from then. Resolution Productions have since then won 18 major international awards, including five Platinum, five Gold and one Silver.

Kirby and his production company based in Qatar

I ask him, “did it scare you?” “Only when bullets passed me,” he replies. “It opened my eyes to a lot more than I could ever have imagined. After all that I think I was in badly need of a change in my life.”

In 2004 I returned to Australia, where I took up a two year position with Sports Brand, based in Doha in Qatar, preparing for the 2006 Asian Games. When the project finished, the team returned to Australia and I decided to stay on.

This was when my life takes another twist. I saw an opportunity where I thought I could make an impact – making corporate films here in Qatar. The idea came to me when I realised there were no local firms doing this kind of work, as all came from outside. Outsiders had to fly in and out of here and sometimes accommodation had to be supplied for the crews, creating extra expense to their budget. Knowing that, I set up my own company, Resolutions Production Qatar. Setting up the company was a tough challenge as there was a lot of red tape involved. You have to be prepared for the red tape that comes with doing business in the Middle

The Company is now the largest in Qatar, and I am looking at opportunities to grow more in the Middle East. The Soccer World Cup tournament will be here in just over a year and that should bring great opportunities for Qatar and also for Resolution.

M.B. I know like me, you are a regular plane hopper, going back to Ireland.

K.K. I bought the old railway station-masters house overlooking the beach in Youghal a few years ago. I’ve had it modernised and it’s my heaven on earth, so that gives me even more incentive to spend time there.

M.B. I remember when your mom and dad came out to visit you in Australia, I drove them around the Grand Prix track in Albert Park, your dad was so thrilled and you mom was so nervous.

K.K. Dad passed away seven years ago and he always talked about that day. He told everyone in Youghal that he was the only person from Youghal that ever drove around a Formula 1 Grand Prix track, and starting from the pole position.

In 2016, I was privileged that Kirby was one of 27 friends who travelled from overseas to Ireland to attend my premature wake.

UNTIL NEXT TIME, BE GOOD TO THOSE WHO LOVE YOU AND SLAINTE, FROM MELBOURNE

THE IRISH SCENE | 55

SEÁN DOHERTY BRANCH

For NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS visit: facebook.com/perthcomhaltas

Rita Fallon, Mary Lally, Ray Dealy and Tommie Kearns brought great songs to the Irish Club each Monday night. Thank you for your lovely singing and to all the singers who came along throughout the year.

Comhaltas hosted two successful camps in 2019, both of which were greatly attended at the Bickley Reservoir Outdoor Recreation Centre – thank you to all the teachers and players who took part. There was also the music competition for the children and a number of fun family outdoor activities. The weekend finished with a lovely dinner prepared by the Comhaltas family followed by a music session and great dancing from the Ward family. The first Comhaltas camp of 2020 will be held at the Bickley Outdoor Recreation Centre on 25 May. Further details will be communicated soon.

The Irish dancing classes are always exciting and we would like to thank Tom Tallon for running the classes and encouraging everyone to participate.

COMHALTAS 2020 SEASON

commences on Monday 13 January from 7pm at The Irish Club Subiaco Comhaltas Monday Night Schedule Sean Doherty Group Lesson: 7.00pm to 8:00pm

R

Comhaltas membership has grown in the last year as has the attendance at Sean Doherty’s Monday night lessons at the Irish Club Subiaco, and we hope this continues to grow as we move into 2020. Terry McLaughlin’s Monday slow session has also offered great support to those playing Irish and Scottish trad who are ready to go to the next level of session playing.

Thank you Sean and Terry.

V

A new committee was elected at the recent AGM including Brendan Doherty as Chairman, Yvonne Jones as Treasurer and Tracey Waugh continuing as Secretary. The management group is supported by an enthusiastic group of general committee members.

The Irish language lessons also brought a number of new members on Monday nights – a special thank you to Meg Dixon and Bridie Higgins for coordinating the classes, and Máirtín Ó’Dubhlaigh who was able to assist during the year - go raibh maith agaibh.

In July, Comhaltas hosted a very successful ceílí at the Irish Club, conducted by Hilary McKenna. Thank you Hilary for making it a very fun evening with lots of laughs. Comhaltas will be hosting a number of ceílí events this year. Further details will be communicated soon.

We would like to say a particular thank you to all the great staff at the Irish Club WA. Your continued support all year round is always appreciated.

From everyone at Comhaltas we hope you all had a great Christmas and we wish you all the best for 2020.

Happy New Year.

PA

Comhaltas had another great year in 2019 and we would like to take the opportunity to thank all our existing members and newcomers for making it a very enjoyable and eventful year.

IS TNE A R S

For more information, email us perthcomhaltas@gmail.com

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THE IRISH SCENE | 56

THE IRISH SCENE | 57

that does not quite fit into my plans.

Four weeks later I was on my way to Manchester for an interview.

ULSTER RAMBLES WITH DAVID

I will write more of this story later. On writing it, I realized that everyone who had immigrated to Australia would have a story to tell.

This is the story of a friend who, for want of a name, we will call Derek. Now Derek (I since found out) has a bible of stories about his time in Ulster. Derek lived near the Falls Road and thus was in a prime spot to observe the goings-on during the sixties and seventies.

WHY DID YOU COME TO AUSTRALIA?

“Now I gotta tell ye; some of them stories were real funny”, he said to me one day in his office, “but of course others were a bit different.”

I have just returned from a trip to Dubai, Hong Kong and my old hunting ground Sydney. It was my first trip ever with my complete family. I prefer travelling on my own however selfish that might appear.

My generous sister decided in her wisdom to pay for the whole family; partners also. Yes, five star hotel and flights included... My grown-up children were ecstatic and the five days went off better than I anticipated.

My wife (yeah OK… Dublin 4) and I stayed on an extra two days to watch Rory McIlroy in the race to Dubai golf. I have written about Rory quite a few times in this column so no comment here except to say he played really well for two of the four days and came fourth.

Dubai had grown quite a bit since my last visit about six years ago; a new marina and lots more hotels. I suppose you could say it is an interesting place to visit as the desert is very close. It has lots of interesting buildings and of course the Burj Khilifa, the tallest building on the world.

I found Hong Kong interesting but luckily without incident in the four days we were there.

Understandably there seemed to be very few tourists which gave us easy access to all the attractions. We even passed the University to observe burnt out cars and a rainfall of umbrellas. Needless to say the train did not stop at that station. I was told that almost eight million people live in Hong Kong. I felt like we met two million of them. I did make a tentative effort to visit China from there but was met with derision at the last metro stop. I was told I might have a slim chance of entering but an even slimmer chance of leaving. I promptly jumped on the train again to return to central Kong Hong. We were quite glad to leave as neither of us are great fans of Chinese cuisine (I remember writing in this column about the first Chinese restaurant that appeared in Belfast around 1965; a three course meal for half a crown. Two shillings and sixpence for those inexperienced with that kind of currency; alright about $1.50) and there were simply not many other types of eating houses to

“Well what made you think of coming to Australia?” I innocently asked him.

Above: Dubai and Hong Kong, with the remnants of the Hong Kong protests on the side of the road be had.

Sydney was somewhat of a disappointment. There were heavy water restrictions and breathing in the smog was apparently the same as smoking approximately thirty cigarettes a day; not particularly inviting. I still revived old memories from thirty five years earlier. Some of the pubs in Paddington were unchanged and the RSL clubs were most attractive. I did not have time to visit the Cross but I was assured it was entirely different. It all brought back memories of how I came to Australia in the first place.

I suppose you could say that in those days I was a bit of a fatalist. I arrived in Australia pretty much by accident. I was living in Stratford-upon-Avon, when an old rugby friend phoned me up to ask my advice about changing his lifestyle by moving to Australia (he had previously hurt his neck when playing rugby and needed a warmer climate). I knew that Australia had a capital that was neither Sydney nor Melbourne, and that it was somewhat larger than Ireland. I knew that Australians could swim and play tennis rather well but that was about the extent of my knowledge.

In conclusion, I was not the best person to ask. Not to seem entirely ignorant and without an answer, I replied we should both toss a coin (remember we were on the telephone!) Two heads would suggest we might both go. Heads-tails would mean he should go, and two tails that neither of us would go. I tossed the coin.

HEADS it fell. “How did your coin fall?” I worriedly asked. “HEADS” he said confidently. Damn, I thought,

THE IRISH SCENE | 58

“Are you kidding me!” he says. “What made me think of coming to Australia? Are you having me on?”

I presumed it was a rhetorical question and said nothing and so he continued. “A friend of mine’s wee girl was shot at this time and I just said to the wife, Elsie, it’s time to get out of here.”

“Did you have much trouble with the application?” I asked him. “Sure it was all luck”, he replied.

“I filled out all the forms and heard nothing back so my cousin told me to phone this Mr. Greene in Scotland who might help. So I did. Mr. Greene was more than curt. He wanted to know how I had obtained his private number. ‘You can’t be talking to me about this matter’, he declared, but let it slip about the date of the interviews. So the wife and I caught a plane to Scotland and rocked up to the interview. There were lots of people there all with their passage already paid for. We got no joy for ages until we mentioned Mr. Greene. From then on it was plain sailing; well, flying actually” he said.

My own interview in Manchester did not go that smoothly. To save cost, I had booked another interview with British Aerospace, based in Arabia or somewhere thereabouts. Unfortunately, I turned up on the wrong day but they did pay for the travel which was all I wanted. The interviewer for immigration was a real Aussie who turned out to be very helpful. “Now we go on a points system”, he reminded me, “And to be honest with you, you have not reached the required points, so this last question is most important.” Well, I thought to myself, I should have looked up a book on Australia. No internet in those days! All I knew about was sheep and a capital somewhere between two famous cities.

“Why do you want to go to Australia?” he asked expectantly.

I was just about to tell him about tossing a coin when my brain kicked in to remind me that this might not

Above: Sydney Harbour today be that beneficial to my cause. I actually had never thought of going, so the question was proving more difficult than it should have been.

Above: Arriving in Sydney airport “Look out the window”, I laconically replied. And 33 years ago with very little luggage! so he turned and looked out on a very miserable, damp, dreary, grey, cloudy day in the middle of Manchester.

“Hey, that’s the best answer I have ever had. Well done mate!”

And so I sat there pleased to know that I’d become his friend. Well I had never been called mate before and how was I to know about Aussie slang.

How scary for all of us to think that almost forty years have passed since those scenarios. We both told it like it was only yesterday.

Now that terrible affliction in Britain may be just coming to an end. The buffoon has been reelected, making all sorts of promises along the way. I suppose I have to concede that things are moving at last after almost three years of stalemate. I will have to revisit and revise my Brexit song which begins…….

The Brits had a vote to get out or stay in A close contest it was a very narrow win But the Ayes beat the Nays and now they’re getting out For better or for worse they said leaving everyone in doubt.

A Happy New Year to youse all. I hope it will be a good one. By the way, after 20 years, my friend mentioned that he did not toss his coin! I was more than slightly aggrieved and never spoke to him for a lengthy period, but we met up and made up during this trip to Sydney for a few drinks and neither of us mentioned a certain coin toss. I should have thanked him of course having lived here now for longer than anywhere else in the world. Sure aren’t we in one of the best (I nearly said wee) places in the world.

THE IRISH SCENE | 59

Summer’s evening Garden Party with Irish Poet Tony Curtis

SUMMER

Mexican chicken bowl

COOKING

January is here, which for most it means time to eat healthy and have a good start to the New year. This is a quick and easy recipe for a healthy Mexican chicken bowl.

WITH LEE BEHAN

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

1 small chicken breast diced

1. Marinade the chicken overnight (if you have the time) in the paprika, garlic & chilli flakes.

1 teaspoon smoked paprika 1 lime 1 garlic clove crushed ½ teaspoon chilli flakes 100g kidney beans or black beans

2. Place chicken on a skewer and cook on a hot bbq for 8-10 minutes until cooked through, season with salt and pepper.

½ avocado

3. Smash avocado and squeeze in juice of half a lime, add half of the coriander, season with salt and pepper.

¼ bunch of coriander finely chopped

4. Rinse beans in cold water and set aside.

5 cherry tomatoes diced

5. To plate – place warmed rice in the bottom of the bowl, lay remaining ingredients around in a circle, spoon on a tablespoon of yoghurt, sprinkle with coriander and serve with half a lime.

50g tinned sweetcorn

100g cooked brown rice Greek yoghurt

We commence 2020 with a charming evening of poetry and music featuring visiting Irish poet Tony Curtis. Tony has published 15 books of his poetry. He was born in Dublin, and educated at the University of Essex and at Trinity College, Dublin.

He has won a number of awards for his poetry. He also works in education under the Skagit River Poetry Project schools programme.

Tony is a member of Aosdána.

Reviewer Michael McKimm wrote, “Curtis is telling us that his poems are to be read out loud and listened to, and having heard Curtis recite from his work a number of times, I would challenge anyone not to be won over by his readings. His humour and charm, and ability to turn a poem with the seemingly simplest of images, and that understanding of how words will play over the listener’s ear, are hallmarks which are pleasingly brought to the fore on the page in this hefty new collection. His greatest skill is to make readers go “yes, of course”; he reminds us of what we’ve known all along though perhaps not recognised, and reading his poems is therefore an uplifting experience”.

Enjoy a catered high tea experience of sandwiches, hot bites, tea/coffee and cakes, with supporting music and song for a summer’s evening, and a short screening of Tony in Canada. Bookings essential as numbers are limited for catering and seating.

Venue:

Private garden in Kensington, South Perth Time: Sunday 19 January 2020 at 5pm Admission: Members $15, non-members $20 Contact: Patricia 0417 099 801

Australian-Irish Heritage Association AUSTRALIA DAY BUSH CONCERT

AIHA together with Fred Rea and Friends present an afternoon celebration of Australian and Irish songs, poems and reflections with an Irish afternoon tea.

Singers, performers and readers/writers welcome. Fred launched this format for Australia Day 2017 and it was a great success with an intimate experience of superb performers in air-conditioned comfort, full bar, tea & coffee and Irish fare.

Special Book Launch “Irish Governors of Western Australia”, by Peter Conole.

Venue: Time: Admission: Contact:

Irish Club of WA Theatre, 61 Townshend Road, Subiaco Australia Day, Sunday 26 January from 3pm $10 9345 3530 or 9367 6026

THE FOURTH TUESDAY BOOK CLUB

Meets fourth Tuesday of the month, with exception of December. At 8pm.

January 28 “When All is Said”, by Anne Griffin. No 1 Irish best seller.

Presented by Gayle Lannon

Venue: Irish Club Committee Room, 61 Townshend Road, Subiaco Admission: Free. All welcome. Light refreshments provided. Tea and coffee from the Bar $2 Contact: Convener Mary Purcell, m.purcell@telstra.com

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

We invite you to come on board and share the fun in organizing and promoting events and activities of relevance and interest. We are actively looking for new members to the committee and helpers on the sidelines. We are looking for expressions of interest for the role of editor of the quarterly Journal from June 2020.

Venue: Time: Contact:

Irish Club of WA Theatre, 61 Townshend Road, Subiaco Sunday March 8 at 3pm, followed by complimentary afternoon tea Secretary Tony Bray on 9367 6026 or secretary@irishheritage.com.au

AIHA FILM CLUB SEASON

Ninth annual outdoor Irish Film Festival with a programme of rarely seen and some classic Irish cinema. Private garden cinema, ample parking available. Big fifteen-foot cinema screen. Each night also includes a supporting Irish short film or documentary, together with tea/coffee and cakes. Ice creams $2

Venue: Kensington (South Perth) Time: Wednesdays February 5, 12, 19, 26 and March 4 at 7.45pm Admission: Donation $10 to cover catering and costs, pay at the gate. Come early for best seats, bring deckchair if running late Contact: Denis Bratton 9345 3530, check our website and facebook

Check out events on www.irishscene.com.au/calendar-of-events.html Australian-Irish Heritage Association Non Political - Non Sectarian - Emphatically Australian

For more recipes and treats, check out Lee on Instagram @lee.behan THE IRISH SCENE | 60

Be proud of your Irish heritage

PO Box 1583, Subiaco 6904. Tel: 08 9345 3530. Secretary: 08 9367 6026 Email: secretary@irishheritage.com.au or admin@irishheritage.com.au Web: www.irishheritage.com.au Find us on Facebook @australianirishheritage Membership due 1st January – Family $65, Concession $55, Distant (200kms from Perth) $45.

Membership fee includes tax deductible donation of $20 |

THE IRISH SCENE

61

THE IRISH CLUB IS Proudly sponsored by

SuSANN Keating Registered Psychologist

Child, Adolescent & Family Psychology Service

Irish Choir Perth

Your Irish Psychologist in Perth

Join LUB C THE

Irish Choir Perth

We are a community choir based in Subiaco.

Founded in 2017, we are a group for anyone with a love for Irish music and culture. The choir sings in three parts, with a mix of acapella and accompanied music. There are no auditions – everyone is welcome and we have members from Australia, Ireland and beyond.

ANDY’S GREEN CANTEEN

The Position

For a full job description or to find out more, contact irishchoirperth@gmail.com

Please give our sponsors your support as it is only through their generosity that the Irish Scene can be published for you, for free!

Would you like to advertise in The Irish Scene?

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For more information, contact Advertising:

Imelda Gorman 0450 884 247 THE IRISH SCENE | 62

IRISH

SCENE

It could mean that your business message can reach in excess of 40,000 + people. That is, in excess of 40,000+ people who will want to use your services – 40,000+ potential customers who want to know about you!

WEEKLY EVENTS MONDAYS FROM 7pm

TUESDAYS

ICP is looking for a collaborative, organised and experienced conductor to join the Choir. Knowledge of Irish music is desirable but not essential. Industry rates are available to the right candidate, to cover 1.5 to 2 hours rehearsal time p/w and preparation in advance of session, approx 40 weeks a year, and performances. Our term dates follow the WA school terms.

The Irish Club is a members only club, and we welcome new members. Application forms can be downloaded from the website.

The Irish Choir Perth is recruiting a new Choir Conductor!

0414 251 967

www.generalpsychologyservices.com.au

comhaltas,

CURRY NIGHT

Music Lessons, Set Dancing, The Seisiun, Irish Language Class

THURSDAYS

TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS

traditional music & irish classes

PIE & PINT

TORC CEILÍ CLUB

friday-sundays

A great place for a party!

Sean Nós 5:30pm Ceilí and Set Dancing 6pm

Quiz Night 7pm

roast + trimmings

contact the club for your next function

The Irish Club of WA is proud to be a Fringe World venue in 2020!

BEDBUG ZOO

whip me lick me beat me

adventures of the bearded lady

Puppet Theatre • Jan 22-25 & Jan 31-Feb 1

Burlesque Show • Feb 6-10

Comedy Theatre • Jan 18 & Jan 29

OUTBACK ANGELS

lore-dy me (rugululee)

seeing the invisible

Theatre • Jan 29-31 & Feb 1-2

Extreme Athletic Art • Jan 18-22

18+ Show • Feb 5 & Feb 13

six minute six ways

The oracle

vivir flamenco

Theatre • Jan 24-25

Improv Theatre • Feb 15-16

Guitar & Dance • Feb 12

61 Townshend Rd, Subiaco Western Australia 6008 Phone: 9381 5213 • info@irishclubofwa.com.au • www.irishclubofwa.com.au Opening Hours: Mon-Wed 5-10pm Thur-Fri • Sat 5-late • Sun 4-10pm THE •IRISH SCENE | 5-11pm 63

IRISH FAMILY HISTORY A personal family history story from your columnist Jenni Ibrahim, formerly convenor of the Irish Special Interest Group at Family History WA (formerly WA Genealogical Society). Jenni has Irish ancestors on both her mother’s and father’s sides.

DNA TESTING AND MY TALBOT FAMILY At an Irish Special Interest Group meeting in 2013 I presented results of my search for my paternal Irish ancestors, the Kirbys and Talbots. I likened my own Irish research experience to trying to understand the rules of football, while only being able to watch a game through a knot hole in a paling fence. Promising glimpses, but little idea of the overall picture. Because of the loss of many Irish genealogical and historical records, we Irish researchers often have to be satisfied with snippets of information that may - or may not relate to our nineteenth century ancestor by that name.

There are much reduced opportunities to confirm the information one way of the other. Extremely frustrating.

I hoped that, by presenting a picture of what my snippets suggested to me, the experience and knowledge of the Irish SIG would increase my confidence about my hypothesis and provide pointers for future research. Alternatively, they might tell me I am drawing far too long a bow on those skerricks of data. In the end it was a little of each, more of the first than the second.

I’d started my research in Liverpool England, where many Irish moved in the mid 1800s, during the Great Hunger, an Gorta Mór (1845-49). However my KirbyTalbot family had moved across the Irish Sea earlier, in the 1830s, based on the ages and birth places of their children in the 1851 English census. As usual in English census records, the enumerators simply recorded “born - Ireland”, without the name of a county let alone a town or townland. English, Welsh and Scottish born residents were recorded in much better detail.

Without Irish census records for the nineteenth century, what are we to do?

I had developed a theoretical family tree with a John Noble Talbot as the father of my great x 3 grandmother Euphemia Talbot. Effie had married William Kirby in 1823, produced three sons and moved from Dublin to Liverpool between 1831 and 1834. There were other children of John Noble Talbot and I’d been in touch with some of their descendants. Kathy in New Jersey, USA was the descendant of William Henry Talbot, Effie’s brother, and Geoff was born here in Perth, Western Australia but now lives in California, USA.

Kathy and Geoff even carried the Talbot surname and I introduced them to each other in the virtual sense, at least. I was fortunate to meet my third cousin once removed, Doug in Birmingham, United Kingdom who was, like me, descended from Effie Talbot.

Kathy’s Talbot line had been very adventurous, living in various parts of England, Canada, China and Japan.

Effie’s descendants lived mainly in northern England except for my great x 2 grandmother Alicia, who married an English master mariner and sailed around the world with him for a number of years until their family size made that too difficult. Alicia’s grandson, my own paternal grandfather Cyril Kirby, arrived in Australia 100 years ago, in 1919, right after the First World War, to marry the Australian nurse he had met in the battlefields of France.

Then DNA testing became available at reasonably affordable prices. In late 2016 I decided to take the plunge, spat into the test tube, and persuaded my brother and sister to do the same.

The following year a new match appeared in my list of matches, Frances Talbot, of Dublin. The surname and the place jumped out at me immediately. We shared just 20 centimorgans of DNA. Not much, but enough to suggest to Ancestry that we could be somewhere between 4th and 6th cousins. By comparison, first cousins share between 550 to 1200cm.

If John Noble Talbot were also her 4 x great grandfather that would make us 5th cousins. However, such a small segment of shared DNA could also indicate a number of other relationships: anything from 3rd cousin to 6th

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cousin including all the variations, such as “removed” and “half”. The fact that Frances also matches my brother and two of our first cousins helps confirm that this is a solid match.

Frances had just begun building her family tree and it was not large. To my joy it lead directly back to John Noble Talbot’s son Thomas, who worked in the Bank of Ireland in the nineteenth century. I had come across this family before. Frances’ family had not wandered far at all. They had all lived and worked in Dublin, the presumed birthplace of John Noble Talbot. Thanks to Skype I have been able to see and chat to Frances and her sisters in Dublin. She has since hunted down the 1828 burial place of our John Noble Talbot, at St George’s Church of Ireland, Hardwicke Place, Dublin. The graveyard is all locked up and Frances persisted in making arrangements with the key holder.

Unfortunately John has no gravestone which might have provided much sought after information about what became of his two wives. But at least we know where he is laid to rest.

So now we Talbot descendants know that we are all connected to John Noble Talbot, who was born about 1772 and died in 1828 at Russall Place1, Dublin at the age of 56, just three years after he married for the second time. He spent his working life as an excise clerk at Customs House in Dublin, and also acted as the Keeper of the Diaries in the Office of the Secretary to the Commissioners of Excise. He’s mentioned in a number of almanacs and directories published at the time. John was probably some distant cousin of Richard Talbot (1736-88) of Malahide Castle and thus able to gain this post at Customs House; that was how job applications worked then. He later wrote letters to the Chief Secretary for Dublin, Henry Goulburn2 seeking appointment, and later promotion, for his own son John Toler Talbot. I’ve tried to untangle the aristocratic Talbots but so far been unable to make a link with John Noble Talbot.

There was a record of John Noble Talbot marrying Mary Chappel in 1800 at St Peter’s Church of Ireland, Dublin, but there are none for his baptism, nor of that his wife, or their six children. They lived in Lower Gardiner Street, Dublin at the time his daughter Effie married William Kirby, sheriff’s officer. There was also a record stating that John N. Talbot died without a leaving a will, another lost opportunity for further family information.

In the course of my research I found five more John Noble Talbots, all descended from him. Two were grandsons, one was a great grandson and two were great x 2 grandsons. One of his eponymous grandsons lived at Kingstown and Clontarf, Dublin and was a builder/contractor who got himself into financial difficulties and spent some time in Kilmainham Gaol, as an imprisoned debtor. Apparently that was the main purpose of prisons then, housing debtors.

I am hoping I will make contact with other descendants of John Noble Talbot and Mary Chappel and some of them will do a DNA test, further confirming our cousin connection. Little by little, making progress. But the process of making contact with distant cousins over the years has been wonderful. And DNA testing can help to close the record gaps.

1

Russall Place is now replaced by North Circular Road.

2

The town of Goulburn, New South Wales was named after Henry Goulburn.

Irish Special Interest Group The Irish Special Interest Group (Irish SIG) of FamilyHistoryWA meets quarterly. The last meeting for 2019 was held on Sunday 20 October.

The theme for the Irish SIG meetings in 2020 is Researching Our Irish Ancestors with 2020 Vision, kicking off at 2pm on Sunday 19 January with stories about using DNA testing and genetic genealogy techniques to uncover Irish family history, with presenter Christine Cavanagh, who convenes the DNA Special Interest Group.

The other meetings for 2020 will be on 19 April, 19 July and 18 October.

New members and visitors are always welcome.

Gold coin donation is appreciated. If you’d like to come along - and are not yet a member of FamilyHistoryWA (the business name of WA Genealogical Society) do drop a line to the convenor Robyn O’Brien. Please book a free place using the online booking site TryBooking, details below.

The Irish SIG would like to wish readers a productive 2020 in the search for your Irish ancestors, a new year challenge we’d love to help you with.

MORE...

ROBYN O’BRIEN Convenor, Irish Special Interest Group E. irish.sig@fhwa.org.au

BOOK A (FREE) PLACE AT THE 19 JAN 2020 MEETING ON GENETIC GENEALOGY www.trybooking.com/book/event?eid=546400

FAMILYHISTORYWA (FHWA) membership.wags.org.au T 9271 4311

IRISH SIG WEBPAGE AT FAMILYHISTORYWA tinyurl.com/irishsig

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Join FAMILYHISTORYWA Facebook group Researching family worldwide, open to all

IRELAND CHAPTER UPDATE

The 28th November saw the Chamber partner with the Construction Industry Drinks Network (CIDN) for the first time to host a Christmas Drinks Event at Henry’s Rooftop Bar at the Reveley, Eliszabeth Quay.

Mark Black, State President of the WA Chamber welcomed the support of event Sponsors Adenco and McDonald Surveys on the evening and encouraged members of both IACC and CIDN to continue to support and connect with each other with a view to improving Irish and Australian business interests in Western Australia and possibly making this an annual event which could become one of the highlight of the pre Christmas calendar in years to come.

Tables sales for next year’s Saint Patricks Day event in the Crown Casino officially went on sale on the evening, with one lucky guest, Jo Burgess from FDC Construction & Fitout, taking out the raffle prize of two free tickets to the March 13th Corporate Lunch Event. Nobody went home empty handed however as all guests were treated to a guest goody bag curtesy of IACC and CIDN Event Sponsors.

Members of the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce network in Dublin engage with senior Australian Official Cathy Raper in a wide ranging discussion today, where a potential AusEUFTA and broader business opportunities were covered. Thanks to Richard Andrews for the opportunity and inviting Chapter President Vincent Crowley to present. We are excited to see the business relationship continue to develop positively. Also present was our very own Vicky Buckley, maintaining her proclivity for exalted company now that she is back at home. Vicky, a long-standing member of the former ‘Ireland West Australia Forum’ was a key contributor to the establishment of the WA Chapter of the Chamber.

ON SALE NOW

WHEN

March 13th, 2020 12:00 PM through 5:00 PM

WHERE

We look forward to seeing many more familiar faces this year for St Patricks Day Celebrations.

Crown Perth Great Eastern Hwy Burswood, WA 6100 Australia TABLES FROM $ 2365 (includes GST of $ 215) Contact Email: admin@irishchamber.com.au

PERTH ST PATRICK'S CORPORATE LUNCH Connect with us THE IRISH SCENE | 66

@IrishChamber

@IrishChamber

Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce

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TheIrishChamber

Learn more about the IACC

irishchamber.com.au

A spirited Brisbane CHAPTER

Melbourne CHAPTER

dance show

BY LLOYD GORMAN An Irish dancing juggernaught will soon jig its way across Australia with Perth and Mandurah as its destinations in Western Australia in May. Spirit of the Dance has already stormed around much of the globe over the last twenty years - pulling in audiences of more than 20 million people along the way.

Indeed, it is a world class show for other reasons.

“It is similar in terms of the concept of River Dance but ‘Spirit’ is different because we have other styles of dance - including Scottish, Flamenco, Latin, Salsa, Street Dance, Hip Hop, Techno, Can Can and American Tap,” Spirit of Ireland dancer Aideen Donoghue told Irish Scene.

“As much as we are all Irish dancers in the show, we are also trained in other different styles.”

SYDNEY CHAPTER

Aideen is a great example of how these traditional and variety styles of dance have been brought together to create a unique and explosive display. “When I was sixteen I moved to London to train as a dancer, but Irish dancing was the first thing my mum put me into,” said the 33-yearold native of Tyrone, Northern Ireland. “I used to travel to Feis’s around Ireland and the All Ireland and then I started doing more Jazz, Tap, Ballet and others,” she said.

Aideen harboured her love of traditional Irish dancing while she learnt the different steps of other cultures and customs. “Irish dancing is different, its all about your legs and techniques while with some other styles you can balance your body with your arms for example. Spirit of Ireland is a very high energy show with some dynamic songs and some lyrical ones as well, we’ve always had good reviews and I hope the audiences in Perth and Mandurah will enjoy it. I’m excited to do ‘Spirit’ there.”

An audition for cast members with Spirit 13 years ago allowed her to go back to her first love for dancing, and she won a much sought after place with the show. Being an Irish dancer on such a successful production is something she has never taken for granted and is a passion she - and her cast members - bring to every show.

“I remember the first time I did ‘Spirit’ and we were in Canada and we were on an arena tour and I remember being on stage and thinking this is the happiest I’ve ever been,” she said. “Now every time we do the show - at the fourth number at the end of act one - I always think of that time in Canada and how grateful I am to be here.”

This will be her first touring visit to Australia with the show, but she has been here before to see her brother who has lived in Sydney for about 14 years.

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Aideen Donoghue Before she joins the Australian tour, Aideen will join it in Monte Carlo but she has already been to America, Canada, France, Saudi Arabia and Israel with previous tours.

She is thankful for the opportunity to travel so widely with the work but also mindful that it will be the first time each audience will experience the show, and drives herself to do the best each and every time. The other dancers - whom she considers to be her extended family - feel the same way. She is also proud of the chance to bring traditional Irish dancing to the world.

The Spirit of the Dance national tour of Australia is being promoted by Mellen Events from Perth.

Spirit of the Dance is touring Western Australia in May 2020.

For tickets go to: www.mellenevents.com.au

AIDA WA EXECUTIVE 2019 President: Caroline McCarthy TCRG Vice Presidents: Melissa Kennedy TCRG and Samantha McAleer TCRG Secretary: Caitriona Slane Treasurer: Martina O’Brien TCRG Registrar: Jenny O’Hare TCRG National Delegate: Eileen Ashley

SCHOOL CONTACTS: Celtic Academy East Victoria Park & Karragullen www.celticacademyperth.com Siobhan Collis TCRG 0403 211 941 Kavanagh Studio of Irish Dance Maylands www.kavanaghirishdance.com.au Teresa Fenton TCRG 0412 155 318 Deirdre McGorry TCRG Caroline McCarthy TCRG Melissa Kennedy TCRG Avril Grealish TCRG The Academy/Keady Upton Subiaco, Wangara & Pearsall Samantha McAleer TCRG Dhana Pitman TCRG Kalamunda Lara Upton ADCRG 0409 474 557

Australian Irish Dancing Association Inc. Aida WA hosted their End of Year Celebrations last month at the Novotel Langley Perth. Thank you to all who joined us for a very successful night full of amazing Irish music and dance.

In addition, a huge thank you to Dara McAleer and Dakota Courtney, our two world globe winners for your beautiful display of Irish dancing.

We also announced the winner of our 2020 Australian National Championship logo competition....

Huge congratulations Ashleigh Peake for your fantastic design below. Aida WA are very excited to be hosting the 2020 Australian National Championships in Perth next year.

O’Brien Academy Butler, Mindarie/Quinn’s Rock, Ocean Reef, Connolly, Duncraig 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 na hEireann Rockingham irishdance@iinet.net.au Megan Cousins TCRG 0411 452 370 Scoil Rince Ni Bhaird Fremantle & Lynwood Tony Ward TCRG 0427 273 596 Three Crowns School of Irish Dance Wangara & Padbury www.threecrownsirishdancing.com Eleanor Rooney TCRG 0449 961 669 Trinity Studio of Irish Dancing Morley, Midland, Bayswater & Singleton trinitystudiowa@gmail.com Eileen Ashley ADCRG 0413 511 595 Katherine Travers TCRG Nell Taylor TCRG WA Academy of Irish Dancing, Malaga Glenalee Bromilow ADCRG 0410 584 051 Sue Hayes TMRF 0412 040 719

Sr Brendan is Minister for Environment; Disability Services congratulated Deputy Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council by the Italian PO Box 2440, SOUTH HEDLAND WA 6722 members of the stephen.dawsonmp@mp.wa.gov.au community (08) 9172 2648 • 1800 199 344 (toll free)

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SUPPORT IN THE WA G

IRISH COMMUNITY

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Lizzie’s a Darlin’

Meet...

Andy Mullins WITH TONY SYNNOTT

Q: Thank you for talking to me, what part of Ireland are you from ? Tell us something about your schooling, how far you went ?

A: Hi Tony, thanks for having me. I’m from Galway myself. Schooling was a bit of a chore for me.

Q: Are you from a big family, how many girls & boys ?

A: By todays standards yes, I’m blessed amongst women, I have three beautiful sisters.

Q: Ambitions, did you have anything in your mind growing up ?

A: I always wanted to work with my hands so a trade was always on the cards for me.

Q: When did you decide to leave home and where did you go ?

A: I am on the biggest world tour for 10 years, around the world in 2009.

Q: Was the big world everything you wished for, and if not why?

A: It was a massive eye opener for me.

Q: Is there anything about WA that you don’t like ?

A: The insects are awful I must say !

Q: What are your hobbies and pastimes, where do you go ?

A: Mainly spending time with my family, playing with my kids, we go to playgrounds a lot.

Q: Have you met many people from your county and surrounding counties ?

A: Well as you know Adam is from Galway too and yes a few people from Donegal & Kerry.

Q: What are your thoughts about the “Irish Scene”?

Irish Theatre Players enjoyed a fantastic night at our wrap party for 2019 at the new Townshend Theatre at the Irish Club of WA in December.

It was great to spend the evening with so many of our fantastic supporters, including audiences, casts, crews and volunteers. We also had the pleasure of the company of Subiaco Mayor Penny Taylor to help us launch the Townshend Theatre at the Club.

WRITTEN BY SIOBHAN WRIGHT DIRECTED BY SIOBHAN WRIGHT & SIOBHAN O’GARA

OPENS FEBRUARY 20, 2020 AT TOWNSHEND THEATRE IN THE IRISH CLUB OF WA TICKETS JUST $25 OR $20 WITH CONCESSION FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT www.irishtheatreplayers.com.au www.facebook.com/irishtheatreplayers

The concept of the theatre is to increase the patronage and revenue at the Irish Club, while also opening the doors of our theatre to many other “homeless” theatre groups in Perth. With thanks to the Irish Club committee and their kind volunteers, the theatre has now been redecorated and ready for a busy Fringe Festival and packed calendar for 2020.

If you’d like to find out more about Irish Theatre Players shows, as well other events coming up at Townshend Theatre, you can follow the page on facebook at www.facebook.com/ townshendtheatre.

A: It’s a fantastic publication, the Irish community is lucky to have it.

Q: I know you work as a chef here in the Irish Club, and from what I hear your food is very good, are you happy there and would you change anything ?

A: I am still finding my feet but I am developing a good relationship with my customers and that’s the most important thing.

Q: What brought you to Perth and is this your final destination ?

Q: Tell us what is your family situation, married or single ?

A: We weren’t sure but “what’s for you won’t pass you by” as the saying goes. We always wondered about Perth’s climate!

A: Now that’s a very personal question Mr Synnott I have been with my partner Amanda for over 12 years now.

Q: Were you surprised to find a big Irish community here and do you enjoy it here ?

Q: Is there anything I missed out in asking you, let me know and I will ask you ?

A: Yes I was pleasantly surprised as previously I used to live in North Queensland and there was a very small Irish community there.

A: Tonights menu ! But you’ll have to call into the Irish Club and see me. I do love a good chat with the Irish gang.

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COMING SOON!

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BOOK REVIEWS

BY JOHN HAGAN

A GRAVE FOR TWO

ANNE HOLT | ATLANTIC $29.99 If Jo Nesbo is considered the doyen of Sacndi-noir then surely Anne Holt must be its doyenne.

A former TV journalist and Police Force attorney for the Oslo region, Holt subsequently established her own law firm and briefly served as Norway’s Minister for Justice. To date, she has become internationally known for two crime series: one featuring Hanne Wilhelmsen (10 books) and the second starring Johanne Vik (5 books).

Currently, one of her books, ‘Modus’, featuring criminal researcher and police profiler, Johanne Vik, is screening on SBS On Demand.

In her latest offering, ‘A Grave For Two’, Holt delves into the cloistered world of Norwegian distance skiing.

She introduces us to Selma Falak, a former Olympic cross-country skier, successful lawyer and the mother of two children. Due to her penchant for gambling, Falak has lost her family, friends and, almost, her legal status. Caught embezzling from him, she is given the opportunity to salvage her career by, Jan Morrell, one of her influential business clients. Morrell’s adopted daughter, Hege Chin Morrell, a world class professional skier, has delivered a positive drug test which her father believes to be a ‘fit up’. Morrell hires Falak to prove Hege’s innocence and thus allow her to compete in the forthcoming Olympics. When another

top skier, Falak’s godson, is found dead after a skiing ‘accident’, Falak realizes that the sport she adores may be corrupt and deadly, that more lives may be at risk, including her own. But can Falak overcome her gambling habit, prove Hege Chin innocent and save her career in just two months before the Winter Olympics commence?

Acclaimed, Scottish crime author, Val McDermid once remarked that ‘Anne Holt is the latest crime writer to reveal how truly dark it gets in Scandinavia’. ‘A Grave For Two’ supports her opinion in spades.

THE MOUNTBATTENS

ANDREW LOWNIE | BLINK $32.99 The lives of Lord Louis ‘Dickie’ Mountbatten and his wife Edwina might be characterized by three words – India, Ireland and infidelity. He was the debonair war hero of royal lineage who, in 1921, married heiress, Edwina Ashley, England’s richest woman. It was a marriage made in heaven. Or was it? Based on over 100 personal interviews, research from dozens of archives and new information released under Freedom of Information requests, Lownie recounts the tale of their powerful partnership, revealing the truth, and spin, behind the carefully curated legend.

Hard on the heels of Mountbatten’s exploits (not all apparently successful) and leadership (some quite theatrical) during World War II, Dickie and Edwina were, in 1947, appointed as Viceroy and Vicereine of India and charged with overseeing the surrender of Britain’s ‘Jewel of the Empire’. Sectarian unrest eventuated, India was partitioned and Pakistan created. Over one million Indians died in the process.

It is suggested that the personal relationships the Mountbatten’s had struck up with Indian leader, Nehru, probably resulted in the less that optimum outcome.

Throughout the book, Lownie emphasizes the open nature of the Mountbatten marriage. Edwina was a serial cheat, indulging in numerous adulterous affairs, including one with Nehru. She is also said to have bedded show business personalities Paul Robeson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Leslie Hutchinson, classical conductor, Malcolm Sargent, and many others. Dickie, meanwhile, enjoyed a long-term relationship with his mistress, Yola Letellier. But Dickie was also a rampant

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bi-sexual, and over his long naval career was known colloquially as ‘Mountbottom’. When his butler was questioned as to whether or not he called Dickie, ‘Mountbottom’, he replied “Of course not. That would have been disrespectful….I called him Queen”. Among his friends with similar distaff tastes were entertainers Noel Coward, Alan Price and Northern Ireland politician, James Molyneux.

His naval career over, and now a widower (Edwina died in 1960), Mountbatten retired to his holiday home in Co. Sligo, where he was a popular figure. In 1979, he was advised not to take his annual vacation in Ireland due to fears of assassination. “But the Irish are my friends”, he asserted. “Not all of them, my Lord”, came the response. And so it proved. On 27 August 1979, on the orders of IRA supremo, Martin McGuinness, Mountbatten was blown up in his boat while retrieving lobster pots off the Donegal coast.

MORNING GLORY ON THE VINE JONI MITCHELL CANONGATE $49.99

1971 was a big year for music icon, Joni Mitchell. Her new album ‘Blue’ was both a commercial and critical success around the world, further cementing her status in the pantheon of singer songwriters. With Christmas that year fast approaching, Mitchell was perplexed as to what to give her ‘sort of nouveau riche’ friends as a gift.

Encouraged by her agent and manager, she compiled some of her handwritten lyrics and sketches into a limited edition book to present to her 100 closest friends. Given its limited nature, few have ever seen an original. Now, in this Mitchell’s 75th year, we can all own a coffee table copy of what was formerly a very limited edition.

Mitchell’s best loved lyrics, including ‘Big Yellow Taxi’, ‘Both Sides Now’, her ode to ‘Woodstock’ and the words to ‘Blue’, all in her own quirky script, spill across the pages of this publication. I have always considered Mitchell to be a much better poet than a singer, so being able to sit and reflect on her resonant, and sometimes challenging, imagery was, for me, something of a joy. Also an inveterate artist, Mitchell has included sketches and portraits of fellow musos (including David Crosby, Neil Young, James Taylor), together with many colourful innovative abstractions, still-lifes and landscapes. Some of her art is simple, elegant line drawing; some more intricate, work executed in bold vivid colour reminiscent of of Freda Kalho. This is a fascinating and gorgeous volume of

CHILDREN’S CORNER BOOK REVIEW

BY NEVE HAGAN (AGE 11)

THE LOST TIDE WARRIORS

CATHERINE DOYLE | BLOOMSBURY $14.99 This is a thrilling sequel to the Storm Keepers Island. I really enjoyed this book. While it isn’t as action packed as the first, it had some unexpected twists and turns that I thought really complimented the book. I got to learn a lot about the characters that I didn’t know before.

In this book, Fionn, Tara, Shelby and Sam (Fionn’s friends and sister), set off to find a shell that will summon Tide Warriors called the ‘Merrows’. Meanwhile, the Soul Stalkers are gathering for the awakening of their leader. If Fionn and his companions can find the shell in time, they will save the Island; if not, Morrigan will take over Arranmore, then the whole of Ireland, and eventually the whole world, spreading darkness across the whole universe.

To make things worse, Fionn’s magic is not cooperating with him. Every time he tries, it flares up. How is he supposed to defeat Morrigan if his magic is not working? And seemingly things are getting worse. His grandfather is getting old and the old man’s memory is fading.

Fionn must rely on the Islanders and his friends to defeat Morrigan and save Arranmore once more…

art and poetry celebrating the world and vision of Joni Mitchell.

THE ANARCHY

WILLIAM DALRYMPLE BLOOMSBURY $29.99 A tour-de-force, Dalrymple’s narrative traces the 200 year ‘relentless rise of the East India Company’ to become the most powerful financial, military and trading institution on Earth.

The author describes how a Continued on page 76

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BOOK REVIEWS

BY JOHN HAGAN

Continued from page 75

small private company with 35 employees, in an unpretentious London office, evolved to eventually control decisions of life and death decisions over a population of 100 million. With an army of some 200,000 men (twice the size of the British army), the EIC was an aggressive colonial power which ‘controlled almost half of the world’s trade’ generating staggering fortunes for its select coterie of investors.

According to Dalrymple, ‘To have something as powerful as the East India Company today Facebook would need to have an aircraft carrier and Google would need submarines’.

This book not only describes the conquest of a subcontinent (the company had the right to wage war in its charter), but also reveals the dark, and often brutal, secrets behind what Dalrymple describes as the ‘supreme act of corporate violence’ which allowed the EIC to become ‘a military industrial complex’ par excellence. Before long it straddled the globe, ferrying opium east to China, and shipping tea west to North America, an action which was to trigger the American War of Independence. At one stage the EIC spruiked itself as ‘the grandest society of merchants in the Universe’. Despite all the Palladian palaces, scarlet uniforms, white plumed hats, tiger shoots, tiffin and grand balls, it was the EIC profit and loss ledgers, and its share price on the London Stock Exchange, which governed company policy.

Peopled by luminaries such as Robert Clive, who laid the foundations for British rule in India, and

in the course amassed a personal fortune of about $500 million in today’s terms; Arthur Wellesley, later to become famous as the Duke of Wellington, and scheming, Irish born, politician and duellist, Philip Francis, Dalrymple reveals their impact on the rise and fall of the EIC. Sadly, despite his obvious extensive research, Dalrymple can find no place amongst his dramatis personae for Ulster’s John Nicholson, despite the significant role he played in EIC affairs.

A legendary Brigadier-General in the Bengal Native Infantry, Nicholson, who had a religion named after him, was instrumental in the settlement of the North West Frontier and led the forces which suppressed the Indian mutiny of 1857.

Nonetheless, this tale of the world’s first global corporate power is passionately recounted by an exceptional and gifted historian.

TALL TALES AND WEE STORIES

BILLY CONNOLLY | HACHETTE $45.00 I’ve a soft spot for stand-up comedians with Bob Hope, Chic Murray, Jerry Lewis, Ken Dodd, Victoria Wood and Dave Allen (on his bar stool) amongst my favourites. I tend to shun modern stand-up comedians who seem to rely too much on potty-mouth humour, ripened with an abundance of four letter words. I suppose Billy Connolly falls into this latter category of comedian, although Connolly, because of his seemingly spontaneous presentation and language lilt, tends not to offend me to the same degree when he swears on stage. Perhaps it’s only because he is so likable and endearing, with an advanced sense of the absurd, that he can get away with it.

In December 2018, after 50 years in the entertainment business, ‘The Big yin’ announced his retirement from stand-up comedy. Battling Parkinson’s and standing in front of an audience for two hours each night had become too much for him. For Connolly, it all began in Scottish folk clubs where he entertained by playing the banjo. Between songs he would improvise by telling anecdotes about his time in the Clyde shipyard where he worked as a welder. Gradually, the songs became fewer and the monologues longer. ‘I’ve always loved telling stories. It’s the most natural thing in the world for me’, he admits. In ‘Tall Tales’, Connolly has

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recorded for posterity, many of his notable stand-up routines including, The Last Supper, Incontinence pants and Jojoba shampoo; all are reproduced and carefully categorized in to discrete sections of his life such as, Childhood & Family, Scotland & Beyond and Accidents & Adventures, all interspersed with examples of his own art work. However, dealing with a superfluity of four letter words on each page is a bit more confronting, and upsetting, than hearing Connolly deliver similar content by on stage. But then as he warns in the introduction to the book, ‘if you’re likely to be offended by the swearing, you might as well f*** off now’.

AGENT RUNNING IN THE FIELD

JOHN LE CARRE | VIKING $32.99 This is Nat’s tale. Christened Anatoly, later anglicized to Nathaniel and truncated to Nat, he is married to Prue, a compassionate, long-suffering solicitor; in addition, Nat is blessed with an adult, unruly daughter, Steff, with whom he has an ‘on-off’ relationship. But, 47 year old Nat is also a veteran spy and field-agent with Britain’s MI6.

It is a job he loves, having served his nation with some distinction in an assortment of international covert operations for over 25 years. Despite sensing that the service wishes to ‘put him out to grass’, Nat is offered a new position managing undercover agents at ‘The Haven’, a London-based intelligence substation, reputed to be largely dysfunctional. Soon, thanks to the diligent work of one of his junior operatives, Florence, who is obsessed with bringing down London based, Russian oligarch, Orson, the office is again initially reenergized and focused.

When not supervising agents, Nat is a passionate and dedicated badminton player, and, as club champion, he is challenged to a series of matches by Ed, a querulous and mysterious young man who suddenly appears at his club. Eventually, Nat finds himself being dragged down a dangerous pathway, with Le Carre deftly weaving together the disparate threads of Nat’s professional and social life.

With a stint in British Intelligence behind him and 25 books to his credit, Le Carre is one of the greatest writers in his genre, but this is not his best, or even one of his best books. Full of critical barbs towards Trump and Brexit, the plotting seems somewhat convoluted and shallow, with some major players paper thin and flat in character, while the ending appears unrealistic and a trifle abrupt.

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THE IRISH SCENE | 77

BOOK REVIEW

BY DR. GERARDINE NEYLON, PHD UWA

Continued from page 77

IRISH SPEAKERS AND SCHOOLING in the Gaeltacht, 1900 to the Present

PROFESSOR TOM O’DONOGHUE PALGRAVE MACMILLAN At various stages of my life I have had contact with Gaeltacht districts. As a pupil in school in Ennis, Co. Clare, I became familiar with Gaeltacht Cois Fharraige as an Irish college attendee.

Ceantar na nOileán Gaeltacht was frequented by my sons and I fell in love with Gaeltacht na nDéise when my daughter spent a memorable year at Scoil na Leanbh in Coláiste na Rinne. Later still, as a PhD student, I had the pleasure of working alongside Aoidín Ní Shé from Corca Dhuibhne and visitng one of my sons on Inis Mór Árainn when he took up a positon there. Nevertheless, all of these places and other Gaeltacht districts constituted unjoined dots in my cultural psyche.

Recently, I joined the dots on reading the latest book by my colleague, Professor Tom O’Donoghue, originally from Lismore and his co-author, Professor Teresa O’Doherty, President of Marino Institute of Education in Dublin. The book is entitled ‘Irish Speakers and Schooling in the Gaeltacht, 1900 to the Present’ and is published by the international

publishing house, Palgrave Macmillan, located in London and New York. It is the first full-length treatise to have ever appeared on the history of various aspects of life in the Gaeltacht, with particular reference to schooling, and Gaeltacht na nDéise appears regularly in it. The latter does not surprise me. My office is next to Tom’s and shortly after arriving in Western Australia I came to realise how much he locates his identity in relation to his family roots in an Sean-Phobal and Rinn Ua gCuanach. Daily also we maintain what we term our micro Gaeltacht of Íarthar na hAstráile in our university’s coffee shop. It is only natural that we avail of the opportunity to speak ‘as Gaelainn’ there, cheek to jowl with fellow academics maintaining their command of French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, and much more.

The book, while being a scholarly academic publication, is extremely readable. Drawing on a very wide range of historical sources it brings one to a realisation of the nature and extent of the Gaeltacht regions nationally as well as the unique circumstances of each of them, including in Co. Waterford. Overall, the work is one of social, political and education history that enlightens on a range of topics. It opens with an exposition of how the very notion of the Gaeltacht emerged and been constructed over 140 years. A detailed summary of the fate of the Irish language nationally since the Elizabethan era follows.

A very engaging account is then provided of the bilingual programme of instruction taught in over 230 Gaeltacht schools all around the country from 1904 to 1922. It dispels notions that at least in the last two decades of British rule in Ireland, there was a lack of support by the administration for the preservation of the language amongst native Irish speakers. Relatedly, the colonial administration provided funding for the training of teachers of Irish in the Irish colleges around the country and in the teacher training colleges We then go on to read that, by contrast to the situation in the last two decades of British administration, no differentiation was made in the early years of independent Ireland between the curriculum and teaching approaches prescribed for schools where students spoke Irish as a first language and for those where students spoke English as a first language.

This resulted in those who spoke Irish as their first language being disadvantaged when they had to move to English-speaking districts in Ireland or overseas to work. The most fascinating chapter in the book draws on autobiographical works to portray memories

THE IRISH SCENE | 78

of growing up in the Gaeltacht, , of problems experienced by Gaeltacht speakers when having to attend secondary school in English-speaking districts, and of difficulties experienced when working as labourers in England and the USA. In no way do the authors suggest that Gaeltacht students should only have been taught English. On the contrary, they echo the position of An tAthair Peadar Ó Laoighre who argued that Gaeltacht people deserved an education system that would ensure they maintained their native language and maintained a pride in it, while also ensuring they would be literate in both Irish and English.

A dominant theme running throughout the book is that while the population of the Gaeltacht districts were eulogized by the State from its establishment in 1922, it was simultaneously marginalized by it socially and economically. Successive governments argued on the one hand that the Gaeltacht inhabitants held the nation’s reserves of piety, heroism and the ancient characteristics of the race. Yet, on the other hand, its Irish language crusade failed to regenerate the Gaeltacht, to ensure Gaeltacht children would enjoy equality of education opportunity, and to ensure that public servants required to work in the Gaeltacht would be competent Irish speakers. Indeed, people in the Gaeltacht districts were dreadfully deprived in the education sphere through inaction by both the State and the Church, who took no steps of any significance to provide secondary schooling there to match that available throughout much of the rest of the country.

The vocational education sector revealed as having been a notable exception in this regard. Indeed, the work of the vocational education committees, the vocational school section in the national Department of Education, and the vocational school inspectors comes across as a story of herculean and authentic effort to provide technical schooling for Gaeltacht students against great odds.

Aran Islands, and from West Mayo to West Kerry, in asserting and demanding their rights.

Gaeltacht na nDéise features prominently throughout the book. This district at the turn of the twentieth century stretched from Ballymacoda on the Cork side of Youghal to beyond Dungarvan, and north through Modeligo, Kilbrien and Tooranena, while on the way spreading as far west as Lismore and as far east as Kilrossanty, before dipping over the Knockmealdown Mountains to take in the Parish of Newcastle in County Tipperary. This was only a few generations back. In fact, County Waterford was one of the most intensely Irish-speaking counties in Ireland at the time. One wonders if this fact has faded from the current memory bank. To recall it would surely be something worthwhile for the youth of the County and help them to come to an appreciation of their proud ancestry.

We learn in the book of the work of bilingual education in the primary schools at Maol a’ Chóirne (Rinn Ua gCúanach), An Ghráinseach (Grange) and Baile Uí Chorráin (Ballycurrane) in the parish of Clashmore. The establishment of Coláiste na Rinne is related in relation to the establishment of all of the other Irish colleges throughout the country. Further, the establishment of Scoil Náisiúnta San Niocláis in Rinn Ua gCúanach is detailed in an exposition of similar heroic ventures from the 1950s by lay people in Baile Mhúirne, Corca Dhuibhne, Gaeltacht Acla, Gaeltacht Béal a’ Mhuirid, and Gaeltacht Ghaoth Dóbhair. These are cases of supreme local effort motivated by ‘mórtas cinne’. The book by O’Donoghue and O’Doherty is also a product of such motivation.

The dedication is to two outstanding individuals.

The first of these is Muiris Búdhlaeir (RIP), former principal of Scoil na Leanbh in Ring and uncle of the husband of the second named author, while the codedication is to Professor Gearóid Ó Crualaoich of UCC who is recognised by the first-named author as having had a profound influence on his life both personally and academically.

Overall, then, the book makes clear that the people Continued on page 80 of the Gaeltacht constituted one of a number of marginalized populations in Irish society. Amongst a number of examples illustrating this is the case of the shocking treatment meted out to those Gaeltacht families given small We can help you with the move! farms by the Land Commission in County Meath, something that brings a new dimension to our understanding Quick, Efficient & Reliable of the opposition in certain quarters in Ireland currently to the settlement of Contact our refugees. Yet, the story is also one of great Sales Team fortitude on the part of Gaeltacht people (08) 9243 0808 themselves. Indeed, we read how this sales@aiexpress.com.au has blossomed in recent years as they www.aiexpress.com.au have taken action from Tory Island to the

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THE IRISH SCENE | 79

BOOK REVIEW

BY LLOYD GORMAN

Continued from page 79

It is an amazing story about very ordinary people facing horrible odds and cruelty. But there is light.

Rose’s Children

DEIRDRE MCGORRY AUSTIN MACAULEY PUBLISHERS Most families will get around to at least starting a family tree and some will even commit their clan’s story to paper, often in a historical or biographical way. But few amateurs ever achieve a retelling of a family’s history - honest, warty and warm - that somebody with no blood connection would find worthy of reading. That is exactly what Greenmount resident Deirdre McGorry manages to do with her first book Rose’s Children.

It is hard to believe that this is her first published tome, although she has had hundreds of letters published in the West Australian, often even requested directly by the editor on certain subjects, such was her reputation and ability to express an argument succinctly and to the point.

One of the strengths of this first book is how well written it is. McGorry writes with the skill of a seasoned novelist. Indeed the literary style of the book is that of a true story told almost in novel form. It is very effective and easy to read. Much research, time and effort would have gone into its writing including countless hours with her husband’s family, trips to Ireland and New Zealand and contact back to his native Cavan.

When her own mother died in 2005 McGorry realised that her husband had never really had a mother in his life. Retirement gave her the time and space to write this amazing story. It is a very Irish story and one that will resonate with many older readers. Closer to home, her family - who nagged her into writing it - can be proud of this offering and hopefully there is more than one book in this writer.

Rose’s Children is a deeply intimate story about the grinding poverty and hardship that marked her husband’s upbringing. His mother was a young woman when she died, and it was her dying wish that all her seven children would be kept together in the family house after she died. This was 1940’s Ireland, when families were routinely separated and farmed out to relatives (or orphanages), or left destitute when parents died or simply walked out. There was often very little love to go around. But ultimately Rose’s Children is a story about the power of love and what it can achieve against all the odds. It is a story that peers into the soul of a family and community but also peeks at a country and certain time in our past.

Woodvale Boulevard Shopping Centre Whitfords Ave, Woodvale THE IRISH SCENE | 80

Moondyne and Friends

BY ANNE GOLDEN The Fenians Festival held An Evening with Moondyne and Friends on 20 November at the Norfolk Hotel in Fremantle.

It was a nostalgic evening remembering the Fenians Festival’s fabulous Moondyne Walk and other writings of John Boyle O’Reilly.

Thanks to all who participated and attended, and a special word of thanks to Margo O’Byrne and Joy Lefroy of the Fenians Festival Literary Committee who organised this great event.

See you for the next Fenians Festival event on 12 January 2020: Wild Goose Lecture ‘Reflections on the Fenians in Australia’ Bernie Brophy.

For more information contact info@feniansfestival.com.au

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An Evening with

Clockwise from top left: Professor Fiona Stanley reading an extract from John Boyle O’Reilly’s novel ‘Moondyne’; Margo O’Byrne and Joy Lefroy of the Fenians Festival Literary Committee who organised this great event; Michael Deller of Fremantle Tours reading an extract from ‘Moondyne’; Joy Lefroy reciting a JB O’Reilly speech; Margo O’Byrne leading a discussion on the works of JB O’Reilly; Kandy James reading an extract from ‘Moondyne’; Brigida Desebrock reading an extract from ‘Moondyne’; Anne Golden reading some of JB O’Reilly’s poetry which he wrote on board the ‘Hougoumont’; Bryan R Dalton singing Captain’s Cove.

Opening hours: Mon - Wed 8:00am to 6:00pm Thursday 8:00am to 7:30pm Friday 8:00am to 6:00pm Saturday 8:00am to 5:00pm Sunday 11:00am to 5:00pm

THE IRISH SCENE | 81

U2 Have they finally found what they are looking for?

BY JONATHAN BOWEN After a ten year wait U2 finally made their way down the yellow brick road to Australia on their Joshua Tree Tour.

There is a feeling in Australia that The Joshua Tree tour will be the last time we see U2 tour this side of the world, if that proves to be the case what a way to finish up! The Joshua Tree album was released in 1987 and since its release it has gone on to sell more than 25 million copies worldwide It is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time.

This tour really feels like the end of an era for U2.

After the release of their new single Ahimsa, there are already whispers that a new album is in the works to be released mid to late 2020.

U2’s sound is mixed by that legendary Irish sound engineer Joe O’Herilhy. It is hard to image that Joe started his career all those years ago provided sound mixing for the showbands that toured around Ireland and of course that legendary Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher. Even after 50 years in the industry Joe is still developing the cutting-edge live sound experience for not just U2 but for many other bands and stadiums that are being built today.

I went to three of their Melbourne and Sydney concerts and I am in awe of this group and how after more than forty years of creating music and touring together they still are one of the great live acts in the world. Indeed, I think after all these years U2 have finally found what they are looking for!

U2 are the band that is the closest to my heart. Their music was what I grew up on. Being from Irish parents they were the band that was hard to ignore.

The Melbourne gig was very much a home coming for them. Bono has family that live in the city they choose to spend another four days here after their concerts had finished. The Melbourne gig kicked off with Sunday Bloody Sunday, I will follow and New Year’s Day. It was then followed up by those two classic anthems off the Unforgettable Fire album Bad and

Pride in the name of Love. Melbourne lapped up these classics, the fans lit up their torches on their phones for Bad creating an almost candle lit atmosphere which was very haunting. As the rain came down and the roof was closed on the football stadium the audience then sang in one voice almost the entire version of pride while The Edge played the classic guitar rift. The band then kicked off the section of the gig everyone paid to see, songs from The Joshua Tree album set with that giant screen projecting a red background with the famous silhouette of the Joshua tree in front of it with the four members of the band standing in front of the stage creating a black shadow of themselves against the screen. As the band worked their way through each of the tracks off the album, songs such as One Tree Hill were dedicated to the ex-member of the U2 road crew the New Zealander Greg Carroll. Greg died tragically in a motorcycle accident in Dublin. The song One Tree Hill and the album the Joshua Tree are dedicated to him.

Once the songs from The Joshua Tree were complete it was time to move to that classic American song written for the legendary singer Billie Holliday, Angel of Harlem.

The encore followed with the band playing classic hits like Elevation and Beautiful Day. The gig finished off the greatest U2 song of all time One. Bono asked for all the lights to be turned off. The songs finished with a project of the Australia flag on the screen behind them.

A truly magical way of closing out one of the greatest concerts of all time held in Melbourne.

Next to Sydney where the first night’s concert fell on the 22nd anniversary of the death of both Bono’s good friend and legendary INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence. This gig had the makings of being a very emotional and special night for all the fans. The classic songs Bad and Stuck in a moment were both dedicated to Michael. Bono provided an insight into his relationship with the Aussie singer who he said was a man with troubles but a spirt that was something to behold. Imagines of Michael throughout his career were projected onto the screen, cheered as each new image was shown. Queuing for hours in the rain did not dampen fans enthusiasm.

The bands last gig in Sydney can be best described as being an old fashioned U2 rock n roll gig. It reminded

THE IRISH SCENE | 82

me of the ones you would The giant 8K LED definition screen has a clarity that is truly mind blowing. have seen at the dandelion The films which are beamed from it are market back in Dublin in the of the Joshua Tree National late 70s. The band played Park which truly is an through all their classic hits American icon. including Bad and Pride.

They then moved into their standard setlist of songs from The Joshua Tree album and concluded their first part of the gig with to my amazement and delirious joy my favourite track and a song they have not performed live in two years - Desire.

Bono during this time told the story of how his father was an opera singer and use to watch him as he put on his make up before each performance and how thankful he was that he had in in his life even if he didn’t tell that enough when he was alive.

The band dedicated the performance of the song Ultraviolet Light to the women who have pioneered key issues in history. Imagines of women such as the suffragettes, Melinda Gates, Cathy Freeman were project on the screen as the band played. The band concluded their performance which the song One. The song was once against played in the dark with nothing but the torch lights from the crowd’s mobile phones light up the stadium.

As the song concluded the image of the Australian Flag was projected onto the screen.

I had the privilege of meeting Bono in Melbourne and catching up with my good mate Joe were definitely a highlight. A note to Paddy, Joe says hello and hopes you are doing well! Thanks too to Brandon from Live Nation for the tickets to the show.

Did U2 impress in Perth?

BY LLOYD GORMAN

The Australian leg of the Joshua Tree tour closed with a concert in Perth at Perth (Optus) Stadium on Wednesday November 27, before the production moved onto Asia.

Their December 2010 360 Degrees performance in Subiaco Oval - the last section of which had just been torn down earlier that week - was a great concert. From the perspective I had on the stadium’s oval, this was not a great event as I could not see much for a lot of the concert and the acoustics were terrible, with the sound seeming to bounce off and bang into itself for most of the concert, making it hard to hear which song was being played and almost impossible to make out what Bono said when he spoke to the crowd.

I moved around the ‘pitch’ area as much as possible to try and find a better spot but found it didn’t make much differece to what I could see or hear on stage.

I was not alone in thinking these conditions were not great. A concert where you cannot hear or see what is going on is a fail in my book. It may well have been the venue itself and there have been complaints about other big concerts at Perth Stadium, but some commentators (two 6PR journos reviewing the show the next morning for example) said the Dublin rockers put in a lacklustre performance, which I can’t vouch

for. 6PR did play some audio recorded (albeit on an iPhone) from the concert which was brutal, but which I can say without hesitation was pretty much what I heard.

But there were plenty who enjoyed it thoroughly and thought it was a fantastic concert - including reviewers from the mainstream media. It may just be a question of where you were sitting/standing. We paid $130 for our tickets in the ‘pit’ and one of our group of three loved it (two of us didn’t). But friends who raved about the night were in $60 grandstand seats and could hear and see everything perfectly. Some people paid hundreds of dollars to be in areas such as the Members Bar only to find that the bar was closed and they had to make a difficult trek elsewhere to get a drink. I know of one couple who agreed the sound was really bad but they didn’t care because it was a rare night out for them away from the kids. A group of Perth concert goers - including Honorary Consulate Marty Kavanagh and his husband Richard - got to meet Bono and the boys backstage.

A majority of fans probably enjoyed the overall experience but arguably not everybody felt it was one of their better concerts.

THE IRISH SCENE | 83

Concertinaed into success

BY SARAH McNEILL

Freo gave me the Fontaines D.C.

BY LLOYD GORMAN

Like it or not, Cormac Begley was born into a musical family.

His father and uncle, Brendan and Seamus Begley, were well-established accordion players who had grown up in their parents’ dance-hall in Ireland’s West Kerry, and his mother was a singer.

His whole Irish ancestry was about music and Cormac didn’t like it.

Despite Brendan’s best efforts to get his youngest son to learn anything from the keyboard to a tin whistle, Cormac resisted.

In fact, 12-year-old Cormac was so fed up with all the music that when his dad took him to a pub to hear him play, he confessed to sneaking out the back, finding his dad’s accordion and opening it up with a butter knife, inflicting as much damage as he could.

There’s a long pause after he relates this story – he’s never told his dad that it was him, although he suspects that his father didn’t think the instrument was ripped up by accident.

At the age of 16, Cormac relented.

“My older brother was playing guitar, all my cousins were playing, and for as long as I could remember, there was an old concertina lying around the house,” he said.

“It just became a sociable thing to do, to join in and play.”

Perth Festival in 2020, discovered after a lesson or two that he was playing it wrong.

“I tried to learn the conventional way,” he said mildly, “but I’m still stubborn and I still want to do things my own way. I play it differently, I just follow what’s in my head.

Cormac Begley “Some of the tunes I play are over a thousand years old. They’re part of our DNA, our culture and we humans haven’t changed emotionally for centuries.”

Now a player of the bass, baritone, treble and piccolo concertinas, Cormac was nominated for the awards of instrumentalist of the year and album of the year in Ireland last year. This year he joined one of Ireland’s foremost dance-theatre storytellers in a new festival production, Mám.

Following the success of Michael Keegan-Dolan’s Irish re-imagining of Swan Lake (Loch nahEala) for last year’s festival, his company Teaċ Daṁsa returns with Cormac in a new production that breaks out from both their Irish traditions.

He picked up the concertina and began to teach himself to play it.

Cormac joined with the Berlin-based classical and contemporary collective Stargaze to compose a new The award-winning virtuoso musician, who comes to score, and Keegan-Dolan chose 12 international dancers for a dance-theatre production that will find a meeting place between soloist and ensemble, classical and Musical Entertainer / Teacher traditional, myth and magic, local and universal.

David MacConnell 0413 259 547 0doublexx7@gmail.com www.maccdouble.com THE IRISH SCENE | 84

Mám performs for Perth Festival at the State Theatre Centre from February 26 to 29.

Book through perthfestival.com.au This article was first published in the POST Newspaper on December 14, 2019.

When was the last time you heard a song that reached out of the radio, grabbed you and gave you a vigorous shake and made you pay attention?

That was the reaction I got as I stepped out of the shower last month.

Radio Fremantle was streaming through my iPhone but the sound jumping out of the speaker at me was one I didn’t know. However I recognised the lead singer’s accent as being undoubtedly Dublin, and before long James Joyce popped in the lyrics. But who were they, it sounded like it might have been an old track that somehow had evaded my attention, but that didn’t seem likely for a song that made such a big and sudden impression.

I listened intently to the rest of the song but got impatient waiting for the name of the band and song to be mentioned by the host of the show (Out of the Woodwork - Every Friday 11am to 1pm) and phoned the Freo station while the next song The Fontaines D.C., a post-punk rock band from Dublin was still playing to find out. I was put through to the Scottish born presenter Paul Reilly, who gave me the name I had been craving and had to ask him to repeat in the brief few seconds he had available to him before he needed to go back on air. “The Fontaines D.C.,” he said.

When he returned to the mike, Paul was able to give a bit more information about the group who were from Dublin, and that the song - Boys In The Better Land - was from their first album Dogrel. “What a lot of folks have thought is that it’s the best album of the year,” he said. “It certainly has post punk feel to it, and very edgy, very Pougsey, a bit like The Fall to some extent as well… it has had a lot of exposure in the UK and Ireland”.

Paul certainly knows his music and I’d like to thank him for introducing and reconnecting this (middle aged) Dub to a new sound coming out of my native city. The Fontaines D.C. are a bunch of 20 somethings whose sound, look and inspiration is unmistakably Irish, specifically Dublin based. A shared love of Irish poetry and literary figures is a big part of why they got together as a group. But they also cite the likes of other Dublin bands such as Girl Band and the Pogues as big influences.

Dogrel, to give you an idea, is Irish poetry for the working people that dates back hundreds of years. Check them out on YouTube, there is a lot of great content by them there.

It seems to this observer Fontaines D.C. are part of a wave of new and interesting sound coming out of the Irish capital, a new and exciting brand of music that may be the most interesting thing to emerge from that city in a long time! I used to write for In Dublin magazine back in the 1990’s, which put me fairly close to the ground in terms of music and entertainment at the time. I am grateful to Radio Fremantle and Paul - who has called Freo home since 2002 - for plugging me back into this scene.

Talking of Radio Fremantle and things Irish, don’t forget to check out Celtic Rambles with Frank Murphy every Saturday morning from 8am to 10am.

THE IRISH SCENE | 85

in the Presentation Sisters. One such story concerns a woman without family whom the sisters took under their wing. This lady decided to join the order, and a particularly funny story concerned when she was nominated to be on duty to announce to Mother Superior when the dumb waiter arrived with its cargo.

PAULA XIBERRAS

FROM TASMANIA

This sister would say “it’s coming Mother,” but on one particular time a mishap occurred and the sister’s narrative sounded something like this: “it’s coming Mother, it’s coming Mother… Mother, its gone!”

Nun greater love than the sound of music

Sister remembers as a child playing with her cousins on the domain and on one particular occasion her cousin Lee running and falling over. Aunty Corrie decided that since Gwenda’s mother Gladys wore glasses, she would be better able to get the young lad Lee on his feet again.

The Presentation Sisters were founded in Ireland by Nano Nagle, and a group from Fermoy moved into their convent and school called Mount St Mary’s (now known as St Mary’s College) in Hobart in 1868. There have been 150 Presentation Sisters that have served in Tasmania. One of those is Sister Joseph McVilly.

“You can’t go to St Mary’s College,” so said the Irish grandmother of Sister Joseph (born Gwenda McVilly), adding some ‘misadventure’ would occur should she attend the school. Gwenda had long admired the Presentation Sisters who ran the school with its student’s signature bottle green coloured uniform, and not only would Gwenda attend the school, she herself would later profess her vows and become a Presentation Sister.

Perhaps behind grandmother McVilly’s protestations were some of the supposed superstitions concerning the colour green, that a quick internet search discovers.

One of which is the story of Carl Scheele, a Swedish chemist who used arsenic to create a variety of green colouring for use with fabric and wall paper. He believed there was limited danger in using arsenic for these items because there was low possibility of its harmful properties being ingested. He didn’t foresee that when the green fabric became damp it emitted a poisonous gas causing illness in those that breathed it in. However Mrs McVilly may have gained her superstition for the colour green by way of her Irish background. The Celtic belief was that green was the colour of the fairies, and humans wearing it did not please them.

Gwenda’s father’s family had settled in Zeehan, or as it was called ‘on Zeehan’, perhaps a nod to the town’s main industry of miners.

When Gwenda was growing up, her mother Gladys lived with ill health. After many consultations that failed to diagnose her illness, it took a bright spark of a doctor to ask Gwenda’s mum to ‘walk’ for him, where upon observation he came to the diagnosis of living with a form of goitre. Due to her mother’s illness, Aunty Dot stepped in to help raise Gwenda and her brother Athol. Spoiled by his mum, Aunty Dot had a novel way of preventing Athol consuming all of the butter. Instead of leaving it on the table, she would carry a pat of batter in her hand and shave off an equal slice for all the diners.

One day Gwenda failed to consume her favourite dessert of pears.

Her tummy pains ended her in hospital, where the doctors had to convince her doting dad that Gwenda’s diagnosis of appendicitis THE IRISH SCENE | 86

Another humorous family story included visits to Aunty Corrie’s house. These would come to an abrupt

Sister Joseph McVilly warranted its removal. Finally convinced her dad agreed. Gwenda remembers waking up in a room with a very sick older man, at a time when there were no children friendly wards. Her memories are also vivid of the soldiers also being treated at the hospital.

In spite of Gwenda’s mum’s illness, the McVilly’s were a family that had a lot of fun. Mr McVilly sang songs to his children which installed a love of music and singing in Gwenda that continues to this day and yes, her favourite movie is The Sound of Music, one that incorporates both nuns and music. Even though the family were poor, Gwenda tells me her dad went out of his way so that his children would not miss out. When her best friend was given a new bicycle she yearned for one too, knowing there wasn’t the money to buy one. Her dad fixed up an older bicycle for her so she would not miss out.

Once professed, Sr Joseph started her teaching career at St Cuthbert’s School.

She went on to teach at St Mary’s College and Immaculate Heart of Mary School.

The children she taught still visit her and she visits them.

While teaching and its rewards have filled Gwenda’s life, she also has some wonderful stories to tell of her colleagues

end when it was decided her son Leo, who needed to rise early to work at the Mercury newspaper, needed to get some sleep. To achieve this, the makeshift chair the visitors were sitting on had to be ‘turned upside down’ to become Leo’s bed. So when Aunty said turning the bed upside down was required, it was the hint that home for the visitors was nigh!

Sr Joseph, formerly Gwenda, is still full of the impish fun she always had, together with a formidable intelligence and faith. Now you are more likely to see Sister not in a habit but trousers, in an ensemble that continues to pay tribute to the Sister’s fawn colour scheme. The trousers - a nice piece of symbolism for the Presentation Sisters, women who provided fine role models for their students, demonstrating the capability of these women to educate their female students academically and spiritually for an empowered life.

The hills of Daniel’s Donegal alive with the Sound of Music When Daniel O’Donnell was in Australia earlier this year he kindly agreed to a chat. Daniel has structured his touring a schedule a little differently these days with breaks here and there as he and wife Majella spend more time with their young grandchildren.

At the time we spoke Daniel told me of his latest album which included songs and the songs such as ‘Walk in the moonlight’ and particular favourites ‘Old friends’ and ‘The best part of day is the night’. Daniel tells me he is keen to do more writing in the future including with his former collaborator Marc Roberts who continues to encourage Daniel to write. Daniel tells me that songwriting inspiration first touched him when he visited the Maria shrine of Medjugorge. Out of that experience came the song ‘Sweet Queen of Peace’.

Over his career Daniel has visited many parts of the world and I wonder if there is a place that holds a special place in his heart. Not surprisingly Daniel does not have a favorite place to tour but tells me it’s not the physical landscape that he holds dear in his memories but instead he remembers the place for the people he meets there and who impact his life, keeping him singing for the foreseeable future.

Having discussed memories I wonder what Daniel sees as the future. From a career so full of singing, concerts, hosting TV shows, acting and albums is there one particular thing that Daniel would still like to add to his achievements?

He tells me secretly, he would have liked to do musical theatre and the role he would have loved to play is Captain Von Trap in ‘The Sound of Music’, although he jokes to me ‘he might be a bit old’ for the role. I suspect Daniel’s many fans would not agree.

Daniel is returning to tour Australia in August 2020.

THE IRISH SCENE | 87

JAPAN:

WORLD CUP & HONESTY

BY MIKE BOWEN On my return from Japan, I had high hopes of writing a lengthy Ireland sadly were beaten by the host nation in the World Cup held in Japan. Photo: punditarena.com/ report on Ireland’s progress and expectations of returning to see this Irish team perform so badly, now only a to Dublin with the Gold Webb Ellis Rugby World Cup, shadow of the team that won the Grand Slam and also after my 16 day stay in the land of the rising sun. Alas, beat the best of the best only a few years ago.

O what a disappointment for all those who spent their savings, or borrowed on their mortgages to make Time to take the brush out and sweep away the losses the journey to cheer on their heroes in green. The and disappointment of 2019. Time for new faces and travelling loyalty kept smiling and in good spirit as big hearts to be introduced for the fight in another four they continued to sing their hearts out in praise of a years. Hopefully the IRFU will see to it that the team team that had no heart or respect for the jersey they peaks on time and not two years earlier, as they say wore so proudly two years ago, when they blitzed all they did this time. No plan, is a plan to fail. Lesson to who dared to challenge them. I was reminded of the learn, plan. old saying of always being happy to be a bridesmaid All was not lost with Ireland’s loss, as my son in but never the bride. residence in Tokyo, Emmett, joined my traveling Ireland came into the competition as number one in companions, Paddy McCarthy, publisher of I.E., the world and was beaten by the host nation – a tier along with Garrett Doyle, owner of Tuttles Bar and two team – who made Ireland look like a tier three Restaurant New York. Also making up the rest of team. I’m not one for calling a shovel a spade, a spade the group was Jonathan, my other son who is also a is a spade and a shovel is a shovel, so there is no columnist with Irish Scene, and my Business partner point in me trying to gloss up Ireland’s performance Alan Sherratt with his wife Maree from Australia at this World Cup. As this event is the cream of the making up the international group of non-Irish crop, should they not have prepared to have the team residents. peak at this time? The excuses used of them peaking Emmett makes an excellent tour guide in a city of to soon is ridiculous, did the IRFU not know that the 13,000,000, where there is not a lot of English spoken.

World Cup takes place every four years?

I’m sure each of my travelling colleagues will vouch The tier two team Japan topped Pool A Group by for that. He ferreted plenty of places for us to eat at winning their four games, beating Ireland into second and also have the odd drink or two. Other than the place and sending Scotland home unqualified, to disappointment of Ireland’s loss, a great time was had progress to the quarter finals. In the Quarter Finals, by all. again the host nation put in a determined gutsy fight I have been to Japan many times and have sang the against South Africa (now World Champions), unlike song of praises about the country and it’s people. Let Ireland’s performance against the New Zealand All me give two examples of the integrity of the people.

Blacks, a team they had beaten in their two previous On the 28th of October, the day I was leaving to return meetings. It was obvious from the start of that game to Australia, the hotel arranged for a taxi to take me that the Irish team had left their hearts and fighting to the Airport Limousine bus stop in Shinjuku. The spirit somewhere in the changing room. It was sad THE IRISH SCENE | 88

airport bus is about ten times cheaper than a taxi to travel to the airport. It happened to be raining cats and dogs when I arrived at the Limo bus stop. Two young attendant lads at the bus stop took my bags out of the taxi and lined them up to be loaded on the bus when it arrived. Meanwhile I was searching my pockets for change to pay the taxi driver. Had no luck with enough change from my pockets, so I dig into my backpack to take out my pouch with cash, credit cards and passport along with flight tickets. I handed over the money and stepped out of the cab backward in the rain, as soon as I went to reach for my backpack the door of the taxi closed and the taxi drove off. All taxies in Japan have automatic opening and closing doors or be it controlled by the driver. What the f**k just happened. A sense of disbelief hit instantly followed by panic (what else). I felt like I was on Mars with no way of getting back, no money, no credit cards, no passport and no airline tickets, and only two words in Japanese in my vocabulary. As Olly of Laurel and Hardy fame would have said, that’s a fine mess that I find myself in. Holy s**t what now. After saying about a dozen Hail Marys and Our Fathers to my favourite saint Mary MacKillop, the panic seemed to ease. I showed one of the young lads who was loading cases on to the Limo bus my hotel receipt with the address and phone number on it, and mimed for him to phone it for me. He obliged, and then there was the

problem of trying to explain to the receptionist my predicament. After being transferred to five others at the hotel, I finally spoke to one who spoke a little English. I explained that the hotel had arranged for the taxi to pick me up earlier, and could they track down who the taxi company were and alert the driver that my back pack was in the back seat. To make a much longer story short, six more phone calls and two hours later, the taxi driver returned to bus stop 23 with my back pack, all in tack. The bus ride from Tokyo to Narita Airport is an hour and a half. Thank God that I always make plenty of time when traveling to an airport just in case of a problem, traffic wise or other. I just made my flight on time!

On a previous occasion while staying in Osaka and traveling the bullet train to visiting Hiroshima, I hadn’t realised l had left my wallet with my passport and airline tickets plus cash at the station. I only discovered three days later as I was preparing to fly to New York the following day, again in a panic I checked all the restaurants I had dined at in Osaka, and then decided to try my luck at the railway station. With my two words of Japanese and a lot of miming, I was directed to the lost property office. On arrival I was met by a smiling gentleman in uniform waiting to present me with my wallet with all contents accounted for. Where else in the world could you find honesty and help like that, where else but Japan.

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A happy and healthy New Year from Shamrock Rovers, hope everyone enjoyed the festive season.

Have you heard some news lately?

Let us know and you might be seen in the next issue!

Email irishsceneperth@gmail.com

Welcome home!

Above: John & Doris Hagan recently returned to Perth after 33 years and managed to catch up with Fred Rea at Durty Nelly’s.

Big Congratulations

Left: Well done John Ronan, winner of the U14 Australian National All Schools Champion for 3km Racewalking

For those of you who haven’t seen our Facebook page lately, the amalgamation of Shamrock Rovers Perth FC and Carramar FC is moving along nicely. Both clubs will benefit greatly and are looking forward to a bright future. There is a lot of hard work still to be done both on and off the field, with plenty of challenges ahead.

We had a good turnout to our pre-Christmas sessions, well done lads. Pre-season training will start Tuesday 7th of January 2020 at Grandis Park in Banksia Grove, at the rear of Joseph Banks’ school, all new and old players welcome. In particular, if you are interested in playing State League under 18s, Gerry McEwan and his coaching staff would be delighted to see you.

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Right: Congratulations to Martina Fox, winner of the Irish Scene Hamper at The Three Crowns Christmas Concert

Football West State League night series starts on Friday 31st January, and we want to hit the ground running.

Fixture for this are:

Fremantle City vs Shamrock Rovers 6:30 p.m. 31st Jan 2020 E&D Litis stadium Shamrock Rovers vs Morley Windmills 7:00 p.m. 9th Feb 2020 E&D Litis stadium Quinns FC vs Shamrock Rovers 5:00 p.m. 15th Feb 2020 Wanneroo A

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service@ipsmaintenance.com.au www.perthpropertymaintenance.net.au THE IRISH SCENE | 91

Return of International Rules

compromised for local fans?

BY LLOYD GORMAN Almost exactly two years to the day after the final whistle blew up on the November 17, 2017 Ireland Australia clash at Subiaco Oval, the last standing section of grandstand at the 43,500 seat stadium was torn down and broken down into piles of broken cement, sandy earth and twisted metal. The turfed pitch itself a muddy mess to be restored with grass grown in Waneroo and transplated onto the Subiaco spot.

On this second anniversary details of the 2020 International Rules series started to come out.

The series will be played out on Sunday 15 November and Saturday 21 November*, but it won’t be in Australia.

Local fans of the hybrid code will lose out to supporters in America where the two nations will face other again for the first time in three years. Australians and Irish who enjoy the unique series will have to wait until after the 2022 AFL season to see it played out on home turf again. Five years is a long time between drinks when you are thirsty for it.

GAA Director General Tom Ryan said he looked forward to re-connecting with “our friends and colleagues” in the AFL, both on and off the field.

“The series offers our players the chance to wear the green jersey & represent Ireland and it also provides them with an opportunity to pit themselves against the best from another code while showcasing the best skills of Gaelic football.”

Irish Scene Report Jan/February 2020

AFL General Manager Football Operations Steve Hocking said: “We want to take the best of the best to the two-Test series in Ireland [in 2020] and our All-Australian players will be the first players selected,” he said.

The International Rules series began in 1984 with both Ireland and Australia coming in neck and neck in terms of wins overall. Meanwhile, the Irish influence and contribution to AFL itself continues to grow. There will be 17 Irishmen playing Aussie Rules football in 2020 eclipsed only by 18 Irishwomen in the AFL Women’s league. *The second series game on November 21 falls on a particularly significant date in the history of Ireland and Irish sports. It will be the 100th anniversary of ‘Bloody Sunday’.

On Sunday 21 November 1920 a force of Black and Tan British soldiers in trucks crashed their way into Croke Park as Dublin played Tipperary in a Gaelic football game.

Without warning they started shooting indiscriminately into the grandstands and across the pitch. Ninety seconds later 14 people - including Tipperary player Michael Hogan - lay dead.

The events of Bloody Sunday - particularly the killing of innocent sports fans - made an immediate and enduring impression on Irish politics and sports.

GAAWA Executive:

GAAWA CLUB DETAILS

At its 2019 Annual General Meeting on December 11th, a new Executive was elected for 2020;

Football Clubs GREENWOOD Mens Senior Football greenwoodgfc@hotmail.com

President: John Whelehan Vice-President: Alan Burke Secretary: Tom Murphy Treasurer: Ronan Cullen Public Relations Officer: Oisin McFadden Registrar: Tara Pratarelli Tom Bateman Manager: Sean O’Casey

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

Over 20 motions were discussed with a good representation from all arms of the Association present on the night. Peter McKenna from the Claddagh outlined plans for a joint GAAWA/Claddagh sports day in 2020 while appreciation was expressed to outgoing President Gerry McGough for all his work and efforts during his three-year presidency.

Hurling Clubs ST. GABRIEL’S Mens & Ladies Senior Hurling & Camogie stgabrielsperth@gmail.com WESTERN SWANS Mens & Ladies Senior Hurling & Camogie westernswansgaa@gmail.com

Minor Board:

PERTH SHAMROCKS Mens Senior Hurling perthshamrocks@gmail.com L E T T Y R O N E TA K E Y O U H O M E

SARSFIELDS Mens Senior Hurling sarshurlingperth@gmail.com

Football: BGC Grounds, Tom Bateman Reserve Cnr Bannister & Nicholson Rds, Canning Vale Hurling: RA Cook Reserve, Coode St. Morley HR

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The outgoing board for 2019 of Chairman Ciaran Gallagher, Secretary Tom Murphy and Treasurer Eimear Beatiee were re-elected to their positions at the Minor AGM held on November 30th in the Irish Club. Both the chairman and secretary outlined a very successful and historic year just gone and both expressed their hope that more people, particularly parents, would put their names forward to take up positions on the board in the future. The treasurer was commended for her stewardship of the accounts, while issues discussed included Feile 2020, schools coaching and sending a State team to the next Australasian Championships.

Tom Bateman Reserve Cnr Bannister & Nicholson Rds, Canning Vale (entrance off Wilfred Rd)

Hurling & Football Clubs: All of our clubs have held their 2019 AGM’s and have turned their focus to 2020. If you would like to get involved in a playing, coaching or administrative capacity, each club has a presence on Facebook, message the GAA in WA Facebook page or email progaawa@gmail.com or secretarygaawa@hotmail.com

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Gaelic Games Junior Academy of WA: At their 2019 Annual General Meeting held on November 28th last, the following were elected on the Junior Academy Committee for 2020:

President: Gerry Crowley Vice-President: Derek Crowley Secretary: Kieran O’Rourke Treasurer: Liz Lawlor Committee Members: Lois Crowley, Debbie Cashman, David Dillon, Brendan Fitzgerald, Ollie Crowe, Tony Ward.

Mick O’Connor Cup: The finals of the annual Mick O’Connor Cup took place on Saturday 7th December at John XXIII College in Mount Claremont. The finals were a culmination of over 6 weeks of weekly gaelic football sessions which were a great success. Western Shamrocks, St Finbarrs and Southern Districts were all represented on finals day, with Western Shamrocks winning the cup after a great day of football. Oran O’Connor presented the cup on behalf of the O’Connor Family. Thanks to all the players, parents, coaches and the O’Connor Family for another successful running of the Mick O’Connor Cup for 2019.

At time of going to press a ‘come and try day’ was being organised for the Junior Academy, expected to be held on March 29. New players and members as well as coaches and committee members very welcome. Watch this space or Team App for updates.

Contact us

Email: ggjunioracademy@gmail.com or Facebook: The Gaelic Games Junior Academy of WA

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