Author: Tim Murray

Non Published

Record Flooding Panics Irish

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Heavy rain caused record flooding in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The whole Shannon watershed was affected along with border lying areas and the Lough Neagh-Bann catchment. In many areas this was the most serious flood event ever recorded. In this exercise SAFER has facilitated a cross-border action involving the river authorities, the Office of Public Works and the Rivers Agency, Republic and Northern Ireland respectively, to promote the GMES Emergency Response Service and the use of satellite imagery in managing flooding and its effects. ...read more

Reference

Gaelic Football – “Gah”

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Gaelic football (Irish: Peil, Peil Ghaelach, or Caid), commonly referred to as “Football”, “Gaelic”, or “Gah” is a form of football played mainly in Ireland. It is, together with hurling, one of the two most popular spectator sports in Ireland. Football is played by teams of 15 on a rectangular grass pitch with H-shaped goals at each end. The primary object is to score by kicking or striking the ball with the hand and getting it through the goals. The team with the highest score at the end of the match wins. ...read more

Club News

Friendly Son of Saint Patrick Returns

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The Derry-born president of the Irish-American organization The Friendly Sons of St Patrick returned to the city this week to meet the Mayor of Derry, Colum Eastwood. Chris Donnelly was born and raised in Lisfannon Park in the Bogside and moved to the United States more than 20 years ago. Before moving to America, Mr Donnelly owned the Derby Bar on Great James’ Street. He is now a teacher in New Bedford, near Boston, where he lives. Mr Donnelly is a regular visitor to Derry with the Friendly Sons of St Patrick and attempts to promote stronger links between here and his adoptive city. ...read more

Arts

There was Riverdance and then there was Stavros Flatley

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RIVERDANCE, the thunderous celebration of Irish music, song and dance that has tapped its way onto the world stage thrilling millions of people around the globe…Composed by Bill Whelan, produced by Moya Doherty and directed by John McColgan, to date, RIVERDANCE has played over 10,000 performances, been seen live by more than 22 million people in over 350 venues throughout 32 countries across 4 continents. ...read more

Reference

Hurling – Everything you ever wanted to know, but never dared ask! (3 Part Video)

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Hurling has been described variously as ‘field hockey in the air,’ ‘brutal field hockey,’ ‘like lacross but with solid sticks’ etc. None of these descriptions really do the game justice. To truly get a feel for the spirit of the sport requires that you see it in action. It exhibits a unique combination of skill, athleticism, stamina and speed that few sports can match. It is acknowledged as the fastest field game on earth. It has the speed and continuous flowing action of ice hockey but on grass. ...read more

Reference

Hurling – Fastest Team Sport in the World (Video Demonstrations)

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Hurling is an outdoor team sport of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. The game, played primarily in Ireland, has prehistoric origins and is thought to be the world’s fastest field team sport in terms of game play. One of Ireland’s native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, number of players, and much terminology. There is a similar game for women called camogie (camógaíocht). It shares a common Gaelic root with the sport of shinty (camanachd) which is played predominantly in Scotland. ...read more

Music

Irish and English National Anthems Played at “Crokers”

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A rugby match between Ireland and England on 24 February 2007 was politically symbolic because of the events of Bloody Sunday in 1920. There was considerable concern as to what reaction there would be to the singing of the British National Anthem God Save the Queen. Ultimately the anthem was sung without interruption or incident, and applauded by both sets of supporters at the match, which Ireland won by 43-13 (their largest ever win over England in rugby). ...read more

History

No Go: Free Derry

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Free Derry (Irish: SaorDhoire) was a self-declared autonomous nationalist area of Derry, Northern Ireland, between 1969 and 1972. Its name was taken from a sign painted on a gable wall in the Bogside in January 1969 which read, “You are now entering Free Derry”. The area, which included the Bogside and Creggan  neighborhoods, was secured by community activists for the first time on 5 January 1969 following an incursion into the Bogside by members of the police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). Residents built barricades and carried clubs and similar arms to prevent the RUC from entering. ...read more

History

DeValera – Churchill (6 videos)

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In June 1940, during and after the Battle of France, Britain offered to end the Partition of Ireland  quickly if Ireland would abandon its neutrality and join the war against Germany and Italy. De Valera had campaigned against partition and the 1937 Constitution drafted by him had an irredentist  clause describing the State as the “whole island of Ireland”, but he declined the offer. After the war he again called repeatedly for the ending of partition. The offer and his rejection remained secret until a biography was published in 1970. ...read more

Humor

Speaking with an Irish Accent

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Very few Irish people sound rampantly Irish, so don’t try to overdo it like the man in this video. The best way to sound like a native Irish is to slip in a few potent Irishisms into your speech, playing the role of someone whose Irish accent is waning after a few years in America, rather than playing the Mick fresh off the boat. You’ll also need to learn phrases and the different mannerisms, and not simply the accent. For example, Irish people might say “I’m only just after getting home” where as someone else might say “I just got home”. ...read more

History

The Catalpa Rescue (6 Videos)

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This documentary film tells the story of one of the greatest prison escapes in history. A celebrated story in its day, this 150-year-old story has long since been forgotten. Set amid the background of a period of great change in world history – the last days of Colonial Britain – the remnants of their time resonate today in the British policy towards Northern Ireland. ...read more

History

Catalpa (The Rescue)

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A BRIEF COMPILATION OF THE MAJOR POINTS OF THE CATALPA RESCUE STORY by Paul T. Meagher

The bare bones of the story of the Catalpa Rescue is familiar to most members of the Friendly Sons. It tells of the escape, on 18 April, 1876, of six Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) prisoners from the Convict Establishment (now Fremantle Prison) in the British Penal Colony of Western Australia. It describes their successful evasion of recapture aboard a New Bedford whaling bark, Catalpa, and their triumphant reception in the USA and subsequent freedom. ...read more

Club News

Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Scholarship Committee awarded $14,000 to 12 outstanding students from Greater New Bedford on June 19, 2010

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The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Scholarship Committee awarded $14,000 to 12 outstanding students from Greater New Bedford on June 19, 2010. The awards were made at the club’s Annual Golf Tournament held at Allendale Country Club. The scholarships, open to students of all ethnic and racial backgrounds, are awarded on the basis of financial need and scholastic standing, with the first named awarded on academic merit by competitive essay. Funding for the scholarships is derived solely from the Friendly Sons two major fund raising events; the New Bedford Half Marathon each March and the Annual Golf Tournament in June.

This year’s scholarship recipients are: ...read more