 This
Month's Issue: |
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PRESIDENT'S
ADDRESS, James Doran
 We
have several pieces of good news for our members. First
of all, our monthly meetings continue to appeal to a
wide range of members—with standing room only
at our March Meeting. Indeed Bill Cullen’s presentation
may have set an all time record for attendance.
This month we will feature Brother
Rick Curry, founder and artistic director of
the National Theatre Workshop of the Handicapped. Brother
Curry is also the author of two cookbooks and will conduct
a book signing after his presentation. Our member profile
will be Sean Murphy of Murphguide Entertainment.
In June, we plan on having our friends
at Enterprise Ireland update us on
their activities. The Gala Ball
is in the planning stage and we will discuss the event
at our next meeting. During the summer, we will have
a number of social events that will be publicized in
the next few weeks. We also encourage all members and
friends to attend our Annual Golf Outing - June
9th. Flyers and more information will be available
at our meeting.
As we move into the summer months,
we want to encourage our members and friends to continue
using our meetings for their real purpose - networking.
In the last month alone several members have benefited
from relationships developed at the IBO. Also, at least
two job opportunities were filled from contracts made
at our April meeting. So, we encourage everyone to attend
our meetings- bring your friends- share your ideas and
get involved.
James Doran
President, IBO
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NOLAN'S
NOTIONS
May 2003
It’s been some
month eh! As the Cork farmer would be wont to eject,
“The Hay saved and Tipperary beat…how
bad?’’. In this case I mean the Economy
saved and Iraq beat, and as any optimist will tell
you, “that’s fine unless you are fooling
yourself”! The early rounds rarely amount too
much in terms of memorable play!
Quite a month for realizing
what a short distance our world has come in real terms.
Were one to lay down a ruler (no…not Saddam),
a grid, in which our progress as a nation, or as a
race were plotted, say in yearly terms, or decades,
or centuries, or millennia, and graph how we treated
each other, and how we resolved our differences, the
resulting bars, high and low while pleasing to the
eye, may hide more than they reveal.
Were the peaceful and
diplomatic means overlaid on the graph, alongside
the traditional kick and rush of gung-ho and battle,
I suspect that the graph would be very robust, were
it not for the tiny bar at the end, where Gandhi,
McBride, King and ..yes maybe even Jesus reside! Y’know…that
sliver of the pie chart that says ‘Other’!
The very narrow strip of undetermined…well that
strip may be grey, while the others are red and blue,
black and white, but hey, it’s a real place,
where a lot of folks live, and love and hope, for
a better way!
I am so-ooo glad the
‘war’ has worked out as good as it has,
total success and relative loss of life, and I suppose,
everyone is especially pleased that the reaction of
the Iraqi’s has been as good as it has, subdued
but happy, not as resentful as they might have been!
But I am a realist…. lets face it, how many
times have you seen a soap-opera scene, or a dance-hall
altercation, and the 2 combatants, forced eventually
to shake hands, or submit. That’s the stuff
of novels, and movies. Reality is that the music does
not play, nor the credits roll. Fact is, life continues,
and I gotta tell you…Poverty Sucks!
Poverty sucks the good
out of most, the life out of many, the humanity out
of the strong, the compassion out of the caring, and
the logic out of the ordinary man! It thrives in Bosnia
and Zimbabwe, China and Yemen, Alphabet City and Washington
Heights. “Same Pile of sh*t, different crowd
of flies”…as if it were their fault! (not
to mention the
Palestinians - imagine that for a deadly mix of persecution,
poverty and politics.)
The Irish here suffered
through this too, and not long ago either. Living
in the slums (comfort) of the Bowery, or the fever-ridden
shanties of New Orleans or Quebec, the sanatoria of
Grosse Isle, or Ellis Island were too good for us
pigs! Sure weren’t we plottin’ with the
Pope to take over America? We practiced xenophobia,
as it was practiced on us, only we knew how to embellish
it! Not for naught are we victims of our own success.
Ian Paisley (no I don’t
refer to him as The Reverend) is Irish! He went to
School/Seminary though in the USA, to Smith College,
in SC, and managed to bring back with him a racial
prejudice that was only balanced by those enlightened
individuals on the opposite side like John Hume and
Bernadette Devlin, in the early days of the troubles,
as they are referred to as. Belfast and Derry now
are ultra modern cities, with an ambience that belies
their recent past and while not gone, the blatant
discrimination and demonisation of Catholics by the
Protestant majority there, has waned.
Waned that is until Paisley
entered the fray again last week and showed what a
dinosaur he truly is, in referring to the Irish Foreign
Minister’s rather large lips in a very derogatory
manner. His remarks were absolutely racist and divisive,
and Minister Cowan could be forgiven for wondering
what century the large man from Ulster was living
in! Judging a man by the color of his skin, the church
he attends, or the size of his lips is surely not
acceptable in our enlightened age!
Some habits die hard,
I suppose, but acceptance of, indeed rejoicing in
a diversified population has been one of the United
State’s greatest achievements and strength!
The fact that people of all nations can live, work,
worship, inter-marry, or not, with very little rancor
has made the American way of life enviable across
the world, our business strong, our people accepting
and our lives embellished. Paisley was obviously not
in class at Smith the day they covered that lesson.
Pity!
And so it’s
back to the war, and the aftermath! One hopes that
the Muslim world will accept our need to intervene,
and that there will be no further terrorist attacks
here, or elsewhere in retaliation. Likewise, one also
hopes that the Federal intervention here at home will
not revitalize the ugly McCarthy tactics of the 50’s.
Not all Arabs are terrorists, but they are being treated
with suspicion, forced to register, and encouraged
to start spying on themselves. Who will be next? It’s
a slippery slope and very Un-American!
Brian Nolan
Celtic Solutions
Tel: (201) 280 5022 - BGNolan@aol.com
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GUEST
SPEAKER - MAY MEETING
We are delighted to
have Brother Rick Curry as our guest speaker
for our May 14th Meeting. The following is a brief bio
on our speaker.
Brother Rick Curry
Founder & Artistic Director,
National Theatre Workshop of the Handicapped (NTWH)
www.ntwh.org
Brother Ricj Curry is the founder and artistic director
of the National Theatre Workshop of the Handicapped
(NTWH). The Jesuit brother, who has a degree in theater
from NYU and an M.A. in theater from Villanova, founded
the workshop in 1977 after stints working with the BBC
in London, touring handicapped schools in Japan and
Israel and participating in programs at the Loyola school
in India. Curry, who was born without a right forearm,
was motivated to start the workshop after being rejected
for acting parts in his younger days. The NTWH, according
to Brother Curry is “ Workshop training with a
primary focus on self expression, helping students achieve
a feeling of accomplishment, dignity and fulfillment”.
In July 1998, NTWH opened the first ever-residential
facility of the arts for persons with disabilities in
Belfast, Maine.
In 1998, Brother Curry began
Project Ireland where NTWH brings disabled students
from Ireland to study at its campus in Maine. In 1999,
he started the NTWH-Belson Bakery. The Bakery trains
persons with disabilities to become professional bakers
and sells its specialty breads on the Internet under
the label –Brother Curry’s Breads.
Curry has been featured on many news
media programs, including 60 Minutes. He is also the
author of many articles on disability and theater as
well as the cookbook’s, The Secrets of Jesuit
Breadmaking and The Secrets of Jesuit Soupmaking, the
proceeds of which go to the theater workshop.
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DOLLARS & SENSE
LIFE INSURANCE
How Much
Do I Need & What Should I Buy?
When working with clients, this is a
common question and the answer is, “It depends”.
For personal coverage, younger clients with young children
have different needs than senior clients either planning
for retirement, who are actually retired or completing
their estate plans. For business coverage, there are
a multitude of different needs dependent on the type
of company, the type of business, the form of ownership
and many others too numerous to mention. For the purpose
of this article, I will address some of the basics and
try to provide beneficial information for anyone considering
life insurance protection for their family or their
business.
How
Much Do I Need?
On a personal basis, young clients with young children
should purchase an amount of coverage that can be invested
conservatively to duplicate the income of the family
breadwinner(s) in the event of a premature death. For
example, a client earning $50,000 per year should consider
$1,000,000 of coverage since an investment yielding
5% will yield $50,000 of income per year for the deceased
client’s family. From a budget perspective, clients
should consider plans of insurance that will offer the
most coverage since premature death for younger, married
clients with families are their greatest risk. For businesses,
there are so many different types and needs that I cannot
address them all in this article.
What Should I Buy?
Term Insurance
There are annual renewable term products with premium
that increase every year and level plans with coverage
terms of 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30-years. The advantages
of term insurance are low cost allowing clients with
limited resources to purchase large amounts of coverage.
The disadvantages of term insurance are unsuitability
for older clients in poor health, long-term coverage
needs and premature termination of a policy that could
be fatal to a client’s objectives.
Permanent Insurance
There are two types, universal life and whole life,
and each plan has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Universal life is an extremely flexible
product that allows clients to pay whatever premium
they choose within certain limits. The advantages of
this product are the flexibility of premiums and death
benefits, client control of policy cash flows and client
control of death benefit levels. The disadvantages of
this product are interest rate sensitivity, poor product
guarantees and policyowner risk. Universal life must
be funded properly and monitored closely especially
with large swings in interest rates over time.
Whole life is a contract
designed to provide protection over the entire lifetime
of the insured client providing level, fixed premiums
for life with a level fixed benefit. The advantages
of whole life are long-term coverage, controlled and
schedulable costs and low market risk. The disadvantages
of whole life are the price, inflexibility when compared
to universal life and premature terminations, which
are costly.
For many people considering the purchase
of life insurance, you have probably have heard the
five myths of life insurance from many sources. I will
list all five and will write about them in my next column.
They are:
1) Buy term & invest the difference.
2) Insurance is a forced savings.
3) I need just enough to bury me.
4) Single people don’t need life insurance.
5) Children don’t need life insurance.
As with any insurance need or
purpose, you should always consult with a trained, independent
insurance professional that can shop the markets for
you and provide the best product from the best company
to meet your needs.
John J. Doolan
President/General Agent
Northeast Insurance Brokers
Tel: (908) 709 1550 jdoolan@att.net
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Duchas:
Our Irish Heritage A Cultural Miscellany
 Irish
Round Towers
Tower structures are common to many
cultures who have left behind physical evidence of their
civilizations. The minarets of the Islamic world and
the campanile of Italy are but two examples where much
effort was expended raising masonry to great heights.
The round towers described here however, are almost
exclusively an Irish phenomenon. (Three comparable structures
are to be found elsewhere - two in Scotland, and one
in the Isle Of Man, - all derived from pre-existing
Irish models.) About sixty-five round towers dating
from the middle of the 10th through the mid-12th centuries
remain in Ireland today. A surprising number are remarkably
well preserved, a testament to the skills of Irish masons
more than 800 years ago. Typically the towers are wholly
detached structures, usually forming part of a monastic
complex. Physically they range from about 70 to just
over 100 feet in height, with the tallest found at Kilmacduagh
in Co. Galway. The diameter constructed at the base
tapers slightly towards the top which is typically capped
by a conical slate roof.
 Access
was usually provided through a small arched opening
located about ten feet off the ground. As Irish monastic
sites were frequently attacked by Viking and Nordic
raiders, and as early settlements were mostly of wood
construction, monks would retreat to the relative safety
of the stone towers in time of attack. The raised doorway
added a level of security against belligerent marauders
attempting to enter from below. If the door was breached
however, and a fire was lit within the base of the tower,
its shape acted as a chimney flue encouraging the vertical
spread of flames. Indeed the Annals record several instances
where monks and their treasures were incinerated in
this unseemly way.
There has been much speculation regarding
the probable symbolism of the towers’ shape. In
the post-Freudian world, even sexual interpretations
have been offered, but such theorizing is more likely
to reflect on the phallocentric thoughts of the commentator
than on the monks who commissioned or built the towers.
Most recently, New Age ‘authorities’ have
determined that the shape was used to focus geomagnetic
energies on the site in a way similar to that ascribed
to Egypt’s pyramids.
More practical reasons however, are
likely to have informed the design of the towers. From
a purely pragmatic viewpoint, a circular shape utilized
less masonry than a square plan of similar width, an
important consideration for those having to hoist heavy
stonework 70 or more feet above the ground. Similarly,
rising higher than adjacent trees served the practical
purpose of visually marking the monastic site to anyone
approaching from afar. And the Irish word for the structures,
‘cloichtheach’, which translates as ‘bell
house’, points towards a rather functional purpose
and justification for the height insofar as it ensured
that a bell could sound unobstructed over great distances.
Not least, the circular motif was already evident in
pre-Christian Irish artwork and it’s influence
is readily found in such architectural works as Newgrange
or the stone forts of the Aran Islands.
 The
siting of the round towers shows an unfailingly clear
response to place, complementing rather than intruding
on the adjoining landscape, a skill which sadly seems
lost looking at today’s built environment. And
our familiarity with the complexity of the modern world
might easily condition us to overlook the elegant simplicity
of the tower’s design. A truly wonderful visual
eloquence belies the economy of line used to achieve
it. Looking at any of the Round Towers, I am invariably
impressed that an apparently effortless composition
can simultaneously achieve both great majesty and a
benign, somewhat gentle, humility. One must ask if there
are some unexpected, but essential lessons still to
be learned from our medieval scholastic sites.
Brian J. Connolly
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IBO
SPRING /SUMMER SOCIAL EVENTS
• May 28 - IBO /
Ull Mor CCE - CEILI
Venue: The Parlour Irish Pub
& Restaurant – (downstairs)
250 West 86th St. (at Broadway)
Co-hosted by : The Irish Business Organization of New
York
Ull Mor CCE, the Manhattan branch of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri
Eireann
Time: Crash-course dance lesson at 6.30pm
Ceili at 7.30pm.
Live band: Niall O'Leary and friends
Cover charge: Members - $10;
Non-member/guests - $15.
Wooden dance floor and full bar adjacent, with seating
for the more passive dancers!
The word 'Ceili' means gathering in
Gaeilge, but has for many years meant a dance party
where everyone gets out on the floor and has a great
time doing native Irish dances. No special skills are
required; you can even get by with two left feet, especially
if you attend the crash course session at 6.30pm! The
evening will feature a mix of set and ceili dances,
most dances you need a partner, but usually people make
different strategic alliances for each dance so you
absolutely should come on your own, but bring all your
associates and clients as well! In many of the linear
and some of the circular dances you get to dance with
everyone on the floor, and if you do all the dances
you will have your arm around someone for most of the
time. What better way to spend an evening?
Flex your muscles, practice your sidestep,
improve your jump, find a new partner at the IBO / Ull
Mor CCE - Ceili!
Niall O’Leary
• June 9th - IBO Golf Outing
Venue: Twin Brooks Country Club,
Watchung, NJ
(driving direction available at www.twinbrooks.com)
Time: 10.30am – Breakfast
11.30am – Registration & Lunch
12.30pm - Shotgun Start – Tee off
Dinner and Prize Giving to follow
Prizes galore for members, non-members,
men, women, longest drive, closest to pin and “Hole-in-One”
on specified holes.
Cost: $185 per golfer
- inclusive of breakfast, lunch, golf, golf cart &
dinner.
$75 per non-golfer
Supporting Charity: The Aisling Irish
Center, Yonkers, NY
The IBO Golf Committee has really been
working on getting players and sponsors for this event.
The support has been tremendous with only limited space
available. If interested in playing and not signed up,
download the booking/registration form from the IBO
website at www.ibo-ny.com,
complete and fax to IBO office at 914 237 4726. You
may pay be check or credit card. For further information
contact the IBO Office at
212 750 8118.
Come on out and enjoy a great day of
golf with friends and members of the IBO.
Upcoming Events
• IBO Summer Boat Ride
• IBO Gala Ball
(further details to be announced
at IBO May Meeting)
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NOTICEBOARD
• Couple of the Year
Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas
are not the only couple getting all the media publicity.
How about our own Kevin Tierney and Sue Lohar. In the
May/June issue of House Magazine, you
can read all about Kevin and Sue’s engagement
at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Great two page
spread with photos. So what next for this happy couple?
Perhaps an exclusive wedding photo spread with Hello
Magazine!!!
• New IBO Administrator
Welcome to Clare Dermody
of Main Office Inc., the new IBO Administrator
having taken up her duties last month. Clare will now
be the point of contact for the IBO for any e-mail and
telephone inquiries. Clare will also work closely with
the IBO Executive Committee.
No change to IBO telephone number (212) 750 8118 or
E-mail address: info@ibo-ny.com
• Key For Charity
Donate $100 to Charity and you have
the chance to Win a 5 Series BMW. This
is the ‘Key For Charity’ Draw to aid Project
Children and The Aisling Irish Community Center.
The draw will take place in Rory Dolan’s on July
13th. For further information and to purchase a ticket
–Tel: 914 237 5121or visit website www.aislingirishcenter.org
. The Aisling Irish Community Center is also the nominated
charity for the IBO Golf Outing on June 9.
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IBO
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
|
May
|
|
|
|
May 14 |
IBO Monthly Meeting
- Shelburne Hotel
Member Presentation: Sean Murphy
Murphguide Entertainment
Guest Speaker: Brother Rick
Curry
Founder and Artistic Director of the National
Theatre Workshop of the Handicapped (NTWH)
|
7.00pm |
|
May 27 |
New York Networking
Breakfast
Fitzpatrick’s Grand Central Hotel
|
8.00am |
|
May 28 |
IBO / Ull Mor CCE –
Ceili Evening
Parlour Bar & Restaurant
|
7.30pm |
|
June
|
|
|
|
June 9th |
IBO Golf Outing
Twin Brooks Country Club, Watchung, NJ |
11.30am |
|
June 11th |
IBO Monthly Meeting
- Shelburne Hotel
Guest Speaker: TBA
|
7.00pm |
|
June 24th |
New York Networking
Breakfast
Fitzpatrick’s Grand Central Hotel
|
8.00am |
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About
The IBO: The Irish Business Organization of New
York, Inc. is an non-profit, non-denominational organization,
which seeks to promote, foster, and advance the business
interests of Irish and Irish American business people
in the tri-state area.
The IBO News
is the official newsletter of the Irish Business Organization
of New York, Inc. It is published 10 times per year.
This newsletter is distributed to members of the IBO,
guests from recent IBO meetings, and other individuals
from the NY-NJ-CT business community.
Newsletter Staff
Philip McGuaran, Belvedere Communications, 212 726 0150
Steve Collins, Webb Communications, 212 695 7022 ext
313
Timothy Daly Bogner, Tel (718) 729 4847
Allan Cullen, Stevens Printing Services, 631 584 3501
Brian Connolly, Zivkovic Architects, 212 807 8577
Jim McGuire, TeleDotCom, 212 675 6565
Contact
Information:
The Irish Business Organization of New York Inc.
FDR Station, PO Box 6425
New York, NY 10150-1901
Tel: 212 750 8118
Fax: 212 747 1820
email: info@ibo-ny.com
www.ibo-ny.com
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