Photo credit from the Minneapolis Star Tribune – Angelina Katsanis Leaving Minnesota to live in another country has always appealed to me as a way to gain perspective on my country of origin. On December 10, 2022, I went to the land of the brain injured, which was not on my to-do-list. I awoke with…
Mary Sue McFarland Brooks Distinguished Irish Woman – St Paul Saint Patrick’s Day Parade 2024
Mary Sue McFarland Brooks, Board Chair of Irish Network Minnesota and retired Public Affairs Coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, is a pivotal member of St. Paul’s Irish Community. She is 100% Irish- American with her four corners being McFarland, Reagan, O’Hanlon, and Farrell. During her time at MnDOT, she was responsible for communications…
Listowel Writers’ Week Announces Appointment of New Chairperson
The board of directors of Listowel Writers Week is pleased to announce the unanimous election of Tom Donovan to the position of Chair of the Board as well as the appointment of Richard Vance as a new, incoming director, both appointments taking effect from the 13th July 2023. The previous Chair, Catherine Moylan, retired having…
Northern Ireland Government back in Business Stormont Reconvenes
On February 3rd 2021 the DUP crushed the hopes of Northern Ireland Government in protest against post Brexit trading arrangements that it said undermined the region’s place in the UK. Michele O’Neill, Sinn Fein’s deputy leader was elected first minister after a May 2022 assembly election when the republican party out polled the DUP as…
Ireland Promotes With ‘Meet The Irish’ in New York
Culture Ireland held ‘Meet The Irish” which was attended by over 100 presenters looking to find work at Irish venues. It was held at the Irish Arts Center in New York. The showcase featured tour-ready works by Irish artists and organizations including Eileen McClory/Off The Rails Dance, Malaprop Theatre, Prime Cut Productions & Ciara Elizabeth…
A Mayo Tailor
FROM KILKELLY TO SOUTH CAROLINA. By Mattie Lennon. Michael Gerard Kenny was born and raised in Kilkelly Co Mayo. He now owns a successful machinery business in South Carolina. He got there via Galway, Limerick, Cork, and Dublin. He Left Ireland in 1980 to work overseas for a mining machinery company. He worked in…
Erin Prairie WI is an Irish Town
The town of Erin Prairie, Wis., has one of the highest percentages of Irish Catholics you’ll find in the Midwest, and the local parish is the center of the town, with its members lingering long after each Sunday service, and then most of them bringing the celebration across town to the in its truest sense…
Ethna “Essie” McKiernan – Honored Alum
Minnesota poet and social advocate, Ethna McKiernan was honored this past summer by her High School – Visitation School, Mendota Heights, MN. Excerpt from Visitation School Vision! newsletter: The Visitation Alumnae Board honored Essie McKiernan ’69 posthumously as the 2023 Distinguished Alumna on August 11, 2023. Essie’s sister Nuala McKiernan Rosensteel ‘66 spoke at the…
Cliffs of Moher won a Gold Award at CIE Awards of Excellence
The Cliffs of Moher Experience in County Clare has won a Gold Award and the accolade of ‘Best Visit’ in Ireland at the annual CIE Tours International Awards of Excellence. The awards, which are based on feedback received from customers of CIE Tours International throughout the year, were presented at a ceremony held in the Irish…
2023 Northern Ireland local Elections
Local elections were held in Northern Ireland on 18 May 2023. The elections were delayed by two weeks to avoid overlapping with the coronation of King Charles III. Following the elections, Sinn Féin became the largest party in local government for the first time. It also marked the first time that nationalist parties had garnered…