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St. Patrick's Day Parade 2004 - New York City
Yes it is that time of year again when the Irish march all the way up Fifth Avenue for the St Patrick's Day Parade! The Irish Business Organization is pleased to join the New York City Parade on Wednesday, March 17th, 2004.
It is our especial pleasure to announce that Brian Nolan will be the IBO Grand Marshall for this years St Patrick's Day Parade! Congratulations!
The IBO gathering time this year is at 2.40 pm prompt for an expected departure soon after 3.00 pm. (You you only need to take a half-day off work!).
We assemble at East 47th St between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue, AFTER the NYC Department of Environmental protection and BEFORE the Irish American Building Society.
So please join us in representing the Irish Business Organization for the parade!
Please let us know if you plan to march with the Irish Business Organization in the 2004 St Patrick's Day Parade. You can contact the IBO office at (212) 750-8118 or info@ibo-ny.com or Eileen Collins at (212) 475-6525 or eileencollins1@yahoo.com. Please leave your name, phone # and email address. We will send you additional information on the day's activities!
The parade officials are very serious about the guidelines! We must be in line and ready to march on time. They enforce a strict dress code so please be sure to dress well! Needless to say no jeans, sneakers or clothing with advertising.
We must have all marchers join the IBO at the start of the parade, after we leave the starting point you are not permitted to join the parade.
Traditionally it is a great day to celebrate our Irish heritage. All IBO members that march up Fifth Avenue on St Patrick's Day always have a fun day!
We hope to see you on Wednesday March 17, 2004.
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St. Patrick's Day Parade 2004 - Pearl River
We are pleased to announce that the Irish Business Organization will be marching for the second time in the Pearl River, NY St Patrick's Day parade!!
So in addition to marching up Fifth Avenue in NYC we will also march up Main Street in Rockland County. The Irish Business Organization is pleased to join the Pearl River parade on Sunday March 21st in Pearl River, NY. We are in the 4th Batallion.
Julia Connolly is organizing the parade details including the meeting place and start time. The parade is under 2 hours and is one of the largest US St Patrick's Day parades. It is about a 45 minute drive from New York City and also accessible via bus or train. We will be sure to have some post parade activities for all to enjoy!
Please let us know if you can march in Pearl River with us! Again you can contact the IBO office at (212) 750-8118 or info@ibo-ny.com, Eileen Collins or Julia Connolly. Please leave your name, phone # and email address so we can send additional information.
We hope to see you on Sunday, March 21st, 2004! And have a good St Patrick's Day!
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It's Reigning Women - or is it?
On March 8, 2004 the Irish Business Organization celebrated International Women's Day with The Northern Ireland Women's Initiative (NIWI) at a special dinner in Manhattan. NIWI was created in response to the Good Friday Agreement's commitment to "the right of women to full and equal political participation. Based in the United States, NIWI's purpose is to support women in Northern Ireland to develop their political skills. NIWI's role was defined through research and meetings with women in political parties. Over 50 IBO members and friends were in attendance to support NIWI's groundbreaking efforts.
Breaking into the "old boy's club" of politics has been a real challenge for women the world over. In the United States, women currently make up 13.6% of the House, 14% of the Senate - a total of 13.6% of Congress. There are only 8 (16%) women Governors (9 if you include the female Governor of Puerto Rico). 15% of the Mayors of the top 100 U.S. The statistics are even lower in Northern Ireland. Throughout the evening, the guest speakers focused on the virtues of power sharing between men and women. The arrangement seems not only fair, but also obvious: women populate half of Northern Ireland; and many feel they should occupy half the positions of leadership - both for gender equity and because women bring a different skill set than men to the table.
Maureen Murray, founder and organizer of NIWI was recognized for her achievements by the IBO Executive Committee. Also present was Assembly Member Patricia Lewsley (Chair, SDLP), a supporter of the NIWI and who has led two rounds of training with NIWI in the SDLP. Patricia is on the Front-bench SDLP team for the Review of the Good Friday Agreement. The special guest of the evening was Bronagh Hinds, 1999 European Woman of the Year, and head of the NIWI DemocraShe program. Bronagh was a key negotiator in the Multi-Party Talks which led to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Bronagh updated the group on current developments in the implementation of the Agreement.
Senator Charles Schumer and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who helped launch NIWI at Stormont, both sent warm wishes for a good event. In her letter, Senator Clinton states, "I applaud the IBO and NIWI whose efforts exemplify the extraordinary power that is unleashed when we work together to empower women and our communities."
In its first election cycle, NIWI trained 102 women to run for office from parties spanning the entire political spectrum. Of that number, all were active in a campaign, 31 ran for office themselves, and 15 were elected.
Hennegan Construction, Wexler Services, United Elevator Consultants and Sweeny & Harkin sponsored the event.
Maura Kelly
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NOLAN'S NOTIONS
An occasional Column from former IBO President!
I had an e-mail from Brenda Silke, a former IBO member and a good friend for many years, just last week. She left Baird McNutt, with whom she worked for many years, in NYC, shortly after 9/11, to seek some peace in her life after the turmoil we all suffered here. Well she succeeded. She is now living in Italy and is learning Italian, setting up a business, and better yet, she’s in Love! Bruno swept her off her feet and they are so happy! I had many an interesting evening with Brenda and a hard-working committee when we were trying to have the Church at Clonfert, built by St Brendan in the 6th century, preserved and nominated to the protection of the World Monument Fund. That we were successful in that effort was both amazing and satisfying and was in no small way due to Brenda’s dedication, faith and Charisma. (not to mention the rest of the committee, Brian, Tess, Maeve and many more!).
Anyway, Brenda gave me some advice. She said “you have to give up something you value, to take on something else good in life!” For her, to find her happiness elsewhere, she gave up her more-than-interesting life her in New York! I thought of that today on reading Philip McGauran’s e-mail to me, in which he told me that he too was giving up his life here after 15 years, and following his dream back to Ireland this time, and setting up a “casual bakery-café” chain in Ireland. Aside from the shock and somewhat selfish pain I feel at his leaving, I am so happy for him personally. He has been so relentless in pursuing his goal over the past 2 years, studying the marketplace here, seeking backers here and in Ireland, working at every level in similar operations here.
Like Brenda, Philip is a totally dedicated IBO member, and a true friend to us all. Unassuming, he gets the job done, and never lets you see him sweat. He will be missed here, but boy, are Ireland getting the better part of that bargain! Whatever Brenda says, about giving up something good to get something better, I believe we have given up many of our better folks lately, so they deserve to succeed and achieve their goals, if only to level the playing field!
Philip will be walking with me on March 17th in the parade, so I want to call on all of you to come and join us. Maybe some of Philips luck and acumen will rub off and we will all gain from the walk up Fifth Ave! Put your best foot forward and meet us at 47th and Madison, at 2.40pm.
On a more literary note, it being Irish Month, should you feel a need to re-charge your green-power, there are some extraordinary offerings at the Irish Arts center this month, including the author, Pete McCarthy, reading from his best-seller The Road to McCarthy (he also wrote McCarthy’s Bar) on this coming Friday, and from March 9 - 21, The Dubliners founder, Ronnie Drew, accompanied by musician-extraordinaire Mike Hanrahan, will entertain in an Evening with Ronnie Drew. ( Irish Arts Center 212 757 3318) .
Over in the Irish Repertory Theatre, Eden has been extended luckily for us until March 21.
“The Irish Repertory Theatre’s production boasts TWO FINE PERFORMANCES BY CATHERINE BYRNE AND CIARÁN O’REILLY…Byrne is compelling to watch. An animated storyteller, the actress makes Breda’s yearning for her estranged husband quite touching. O’Reilly … is also strong as Billy…As a funny-sad portrait of a marriage gone cold, Eden is totally believable." - Broadway.com
IBO Members get a discount at the Irish Rep. Just mention my name, and you will receive $10 off the regular price! Phone 212 727 2737.
That’s it for now. I am looking forward to a great marching season, and a few pints with my old friend Mr. Smithwicks, who has come to us by way of a straight swap for Brenda and Philip. I’d say we got the better of the deal, but I’m biased!
Brian Nolan
Celtic Solutions
202 280 5022
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SIMON SAYS
March 2004
As we approach St. Patrick's Day, one's thoughts often turn to the question, "What does it mean to be Irish?"
As someone who has a distinctly un-Irish surname, speaks with the ineradicable tones of the English boarding school system, and yet proudly carries an Irish passport, I find that this question hits close to home. Indeed, my mother's maiden name is McLaughlin, which translates as 'son of Lochlan', with Lochlan supposedly referring to 'Lake-land', Scandinavia, and hence an ancestry at least partially Viking (for the Northern shores of Ireland were much visited by Viking raiders, many of whom stayed to settle).
Even County Donegal, where my grandfather Patrick McLaughlin was born, has this 'foreign' influence in its very name, for Dún na nGall means "the fort of the foreigners".
Yet we are here in the USA, where this intermingling of bloods is the norm rather than the exception, and perhaps this gives us more insight and be wariness those many times it can seem natural to behave in a 'clannish' manner. I come from Clare, he comes from Dublin, I am a Catholic, she is a Protestant, I am black and he is white.
But the further we dig back into the true past, all of these labels fall away. We learn that the Scots, named after a Northern Irish tribal group, the Scotii, who invaded much of Scotland in the fifth and sixth centuries, share the same Gael ancestry as those deemed 'native Irish' and that both Protestant and Catholic Irish therefore share a common ancestry in no more than sixty or seventy generations, and often much less.
Think about that. Put sixty people in a room. It's not many. Get them to hold hands in a long chain. Now, instead of holding hands across the room, imagine them holding hands across the generations. Suddenly the kinship seems much closer.
As the IBO is non-political I have set aside any specific comment on recent history (and in Irish terms that goes back many hundreds of years), but whatever our island disputes, they somehow seem more resolvable if they are seen in para-genealogical terms as disputes within 'the family.'
Nowadays in Ireland we have immigrants from many corners of the globe. We are now coming to terms with expressions such as Afro-Irish. I was saddened to learn from the New York Times in January of this year that there has recently been a spate of racist attacks against immigrants from India and Pakistan.
In the end, we can but acknowledge that the land that we hold so dear has been settled by many waves of humankind over many centuries. Each new wave has initially treated the local inhabitants with hostility and received the same animosity in return, only to later find a 'modus vivendi', come to recognize their mutual strengths and even intermarry. The Picts were displaced none to gently by the Celts, who found their genepool later augmented by the Vikings. Next, stir in a few in a few Anglo-Normans of French origin, specifically Normandy, somewhere else settled by the 'Northmen'. (Yes, the Vikings again!)
Concluding our romp through history we have the plantation of Ireland by the distant cousins from Scotland and, in the last few years, enthusiasts for life in Ireland have arrived from elsewhere in the European Union (especially Germany) and from Asia.
And who can deny that it's a grand country!
In the United States, we have over 44 million who claim descent at least in part from Ireland; of course these 44 million will also be part Native-American, German, English, Dutch, African-American, ...and the rest.
So on St. Patrick's Day, a day above else for coming together in joy and common humanity, let us take the opportunity to reach with friendship across any and all cultural boundaries - and be proud that so many from across Europe, and indeed, the whole wide world, find so much to admire in that 'little bit of heaven' across the Atlantic ocean.
If you have been, thank you for reading.
Simon Pereira Shorey
Email: simonps@ibo-ny.com
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IBO MENTORING PROGRAM - MY EXPERIENCE
I had been laid off in June and was following the advice of all the career experts and taking advantage of opportunities to network. I subscribe to Steve Willet’s free “J List” which describes daily networking events held in Manhattan. The August/September issue included the IBO monthly meeting. I decided to attend the meeting mostly for the chance to network, but I also wanted to hear the speaker, Trina Vargo. That was the evening Simon announced the mentoring program to the group.
For many years I have felt that I have some untapped potential, and that I need help bringing it forward. Primarily, I feel I need a mentor to help me uncover what I have a passion for and to guide me in attaining a job within this undiscovered area. I have taken interest tests and the Myers-Briggs test, but neither helped me to discover a profession for which I feel passion.
Being that I got laid off months ago and with this depressed economy, I decided that this is not the best time to find my dream job, but rather to find a job suited to my background, which in itself has been quite difficult. I met my mentor, Joanne Dunaway, at an introduction-to-the-mentoring-program meeting. At the meeting, we reviewed documents that were specifically prepared for the mentoring program. The documents explained the process, offered guidance on how to be mentored and described what the protégées were to expect, as well as what was expected of us.
Joanne’s background is in human resources. She has worked in HR departments for large companies and has counseled a number of people on career path issues. In the couple of months that she has been mentoring me, she has demonstrated generosity with her time and makes herself available whenever I need her. Most meetings have taken place in person at an office that her former coworker has allowed us to use. We have also had several telephone sessions, some lengthy, some short. If I need to run something quickly past her, I call. Joanne gives me assignments, for example, asking me to write 20 professional accomplishments, to revise my resume incorporating her suggestions, to write a two-minute pitch.
Joanne has given me valuable advice and much-needed support. She is intelligent, funny and energetic. She is also a very attentive listener. She has helped me considerably with interviewing techniques, salary issues, developing an effective sales pitch, job search techniques, networking, and practically every other aspect of the job search. Once I find a job in my field and get back on my feet, I hope to continue to consult with her in finding my dream job. If anyone can help me, I know Joanne can!
Yvonne Wheby
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IBO
MENTOR PROGRAM
With the success of the pilot program, further applications are now being accepted for admission in to the main Program, to be launched in April, with preparatory briefings to be held in March.
If you have a career that you would like to develop further, run an enterprise that you would like guidance on, or simply would like a wise and unbiased head to turn to - the IBO Mentoring Program could be the answer. We have access to experienced individuals both within and outside the IBO who have offered to act as Mentors to our members.
The Program is free to IBO members and is totally confidential.
If you would like to learn more, email Simon Pereira Shorey at simonps@ibo-ny.com or call Simon on (212) 208 2526.
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ROCKLAND COUNTY MEETINGS
Thank you to all who attended the February Irish Business Organization Rockland meeting. Once again we thank John and Breda Lyons of Madden's for their support of the IBO and their warm hospitality.
A thank you also goes to John Fleming, Candidate for the 17th Congressional District, New York who provided the membership with a valuable and informative presentation on small business issues.
In addition to the NYC St. Patrick's Day parade, the IBO will be proudly marching in the Pearl River St. Patrick's Day parade on March 21st. We will be lining up in the 4th Battalion. More details will follow within the coming weeks. We certainly hope that you will all be able to march behind the IBO banner!
Our March 24th meeting will be once again held at 7pm at Madden’s Restaurant, Central Avenue, Pearl River, NY 10954. The guest speaker will be Eileen Guzzo of Donnelly & Moore IT Consulting and Permanent Staffing Services.
Our April meeting will be once again at Madden’s, at 7pm on April 28th. The speaker is to be confirmed.
Please contact Julia Connolly, IBO Secretary for more details (201) 446-7939.
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