San Jose

A fine day of Irish music this Saturday, July 10. #IrishMusic

COVID recovery in Ireland per Paul McAuliffe TD.

Save this date: June 15, 2021! See you at O'Flaherty's Irish Pub

See you all at O'Flaherty's Irish Pub!

The City of San José lit up the City Hall Rotunda in green from March 15-21 in celebration of St. Patrick's Week and the 35th anniversary of the San Jose - Dublin Sister City Program. Spectacluar!

Wishing to be across the pond today!

First set tonight will be live-streamed on Facebook. Check it out!

Keep up with all things Irish during the season of St. Patrick and beyond. Be sure to download the Irish Culture Bay Area Events app. See links below.

The Ambassador of Ireland to the United States, Daniel Mulhall, has announced details of a St Patrick’s Day celebration of Irish-America, which he will host on ...evening of Wednesday 17 March, alongside Ireland’s Consuls General in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York & San Francisco. Titled ‘‘Shades of Green’’, the program will feature performers from across America and Ireland, as well as more than a dozen exceptional Irish-Americans, who will reflect on the community’s history and traditions as well as the resilience we have shown in response to COVID-19. Alongside a special St Patrick’s Day message from Taoiseach Micheál Martin, the evening will include a poetic tribute to President Biden and a commemoration of those our community has lost over the past year. The program will be broadcast on www.ireland.ie/usa from 4:30PM Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday 17 March. The webpage will go live a few days before the event. Join us! #StPatricksDay2021

Please join us in celebration of St. Patrick's Day (Wed. 3/17) with The Crooked Road Céilí Band, who will perform traditional Irish music from 5:30-8:30pm live outdoors at The View at the Chaminade Resort in Santa Cruz. Still in lockdown or quarantine? Watch livestream at www.facebook.com/CrookedRoadCeiliBand. Ready to get out and enjoy the fresh air at an outdoor concert? Check out the free event at https://fb.me/e/1l97sww41.

REGISTER NOW! and get your green on in support of the San Jose - Dublin Sister City Program and our Pat McMahon Master's Level Scholarship, which has provided life-changing experiences for students in San Jose, California and Dublin, Ireland since 2012. Run anytime March 12-21, 2021. https://sanjoseshamrockrun.com

In our series, Irish in the West, we spotlight a member of our diaspora community currently living in one of the states we represent. Liam Frost, a genial man... known for his positive attitude, is feeling reflective as the season of St. Patrick draws near. For the past 169 years, marchers and participants have lined the streets of San Francisco, usually along Market street, and cheered as pipers, dancers, union members and community organizations have walked past them. Things are different this year: everything will be celebrated online. But the absence of in-person events won’t dampen the spirit of celebration, says Frost, the president of the United Irish Societies for the past four years, who sounds characteristically upbeat as he discusses the plans for the season. Yes, it’s a challenge, he said. But it was a challenge 170 years ago. How did they get parades together back then? The most important thing is that it’s been going on for 170 years, and we need to keep that tradition alive. Frost, whose grandparents immigrated at the turn of the century from counties Louth and Clare, was born and raised in San Francisco and got his experience working with the city and planning large scale events from his career in law enforcement, first walking beats in the Haight in the eighties and later serving as a Sergeant in the Bay View. He did a four-year stint on the San Francisco Entertainment Commission, but stepped down after that (It conflicted with grandfatherly duties). This year, March 17th will be marked by virtual events celebrating St. Patrick and the Irish influence on the city of San Francisco. The entire month of March is the celebration, Frost pointed out- not simply the parade itself. The biggest goal is to make it understood that this is a season, not just a parade,’ he said. The St. Patrick's Day season starts in March- late February, really- with the Grand Marshal’s Dinner, and the flag raising at City Hall. All throughout the month, the United Irish Society practices one of its oldest and strongest traditions: benevolence and community service. We visit Laguna Honda, the Veterans Hospital, St. Anne’s, said Frost. We bring Irish dancers with us, and it’s so cool to see the kids shaking hands with the patients. Frost sees the parade as an intergenerational, small-town event that just happens to take place in a big city. Parents bring their children to the parade they once marched in themselves. Some people have wanted to plan a bigger parade, something with more flash, he said. But it’s about families and the people on the sidelines, watching and cheering. The kids get to walk down Market Street past City Hall just like their parents did. As President, Frost is one of the first to walk down Market Street to open the parade. I see people looking and wondering who that old man is, he laughed. I tell them that the best stuff is behind me! The theme of this year’s parade, which has not been finalized yet, will revolve around service to the community and support for the city’s essential workers, past and present. We’ll be highlighting Kate Kennedy and Father Peter Yorke, Frost said. Kate Kennedy did a lot to get equal pay for female teachers in San Francisco, and Father Yorke for his work on behalf of labour. Frost also wants to make sure that the city's small businesses are supported. They've been some of our most loyal supporters, and now we want to show loyalty to them," he said. "We’re figuring out how we can support them financially, through advertising, which wouldn’t happen if we took a hiatus. They are still out there and they need our support. The parade celebrates Irish history in its totality, and includes the whole city of San Francisco. The Chinese community marches with us, and the unions. Carpenters Local Union 22 is one of our biggest supporters. I think Manny Flores, who’s also a city boy, thinks he’s Irish! Planning for this year’s season of events, including the events on March 17th, is in the works. Frost admits it's a challenge. It’s a huge learning curve, he said thoughtfully. The season is not just about the Irish. It’s about the Irish in San Francisco and celebrating our history with other communities. It's really about having the right people, in the right place, at the right time, and we’ve got that. Written By: Elizabeth Creely

Just do it. I did. We need to flip the senate.

Our Speaker Series continues on Friday, 9 October at 9:00 am PST with Attorney General of the Navajo Nation, Doreen McPaul and Jason Ryan from the Irish Cultura...l and Learning Foundation in Phoenix, Arizona. The Navajo nation has been disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, reporting almost 10,000 cases in their population of 173,000. In the midst of this crisis, the people of Ireland and the Irish Cultural Centre of Arizona stepped up to raise millions of dollars to purchase and distribute emergency supplies to the Navajo nation. Join us this Friday via Zoom to hear Navajo Attorney General Doreen McPaul and Mr. Jason Ryan discuss the contributions of the Irish people and the effect of their generosity for the Navajo nation. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us//tZYqceqrqzosHtU510jKP8RQmDQuPXCEt.

Celebrating Charlotte Powers and a life well lived. You will be missed. Thanks for the memories!

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved friend and colleague Charlotte Powers. She was a gentle soul with a powerful spirit that guided her life's work to make a difference in the lives of her family, her friends and colleagues and the community at large. Charlotte worked tirelessly as a champion of women, the underserved, education and the arts and for that we are better off and truly grateful. We will miss her more than you know.

We need to visit this building on our next delegation trip!

In remembrance of Seamus Heaney.

Our "Shades of Green" series wrapped up last week on twitter. But we've a series of great videos not yet posted to Facebook. First up, from Cork by way of San Diego, Máirtín de Cógáin (Facebook.com/mdcProject) with Oró, Sé Do Bheatha 'Bhaile.

So sad to learn about the passing of Rick Doyle who we got to know on one of our delegation visits to Dublin, Ireland several years ago.

Here we go again and were live!!! Were delighted to have David Fitzpatrick from the The Crooked Jacks join us today!!!

Irish in the West

Happy birthday Maire OFlaherty!

Keep in touch with the Irish diaspora in this Irish in the West series.

Sooooooop great to play a tune with this guy, after almost 5 months! We might rename it: Tim’s Return from Ashland (formerly known as Paddy’s Trip to Scotland).

We are very sad to share this bad news.