Patricia’s Performance o words edel cassidy
The Irish violinist who performed for President Biden on his Inauguration Day the counties of his ancestors were represented at a private Mass for the Biden family on the morning of the inauguration ceremony. Leading Irish violinist Patricia Treacy from Blackrock in County Louth was invited to play at the Mass and chose to play Proclamation, composed by Patrick Cassidy who originally hails from Mayo. Patrick composed Proclamation for the 1916 Centenary and Patricia had performed it when President Michael D Higgins laid a wreath to honour those who fought and died in the Rising at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin. The invitation came directly to Patricia Treacy from the Biden family. She played for the then vice-president when he visited his ancestral home in Louth in 2016. She has since played for him on a number of occasions, including at his official residence when he was vice-president, and also at some of the Biden rallies during the presidential campaign. For the Inauguration Day performance, Patricia stunned in a blue couture gown from Dimitra’s, Chicago, designed by New York-based Alex Tieh, who is known for his chic, modern, and elegant dresses. The dress was complemented by exquisite diamonds and sapphires from Beverly Hills jeweller, Martin Katz. above: Patricia wore diamonds and sapphires provided by Martin Katz, valued at $3 million; right: Rehearsing at the historic Old St. Patrick’s Church, Chicago
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oseph R Biden, the 46th President of the United States, is deeply proud of his Irish roots which can be traced back to the Blewitts from County Mayo and the
Finnegans from County Louth. His great-great-grandfather Patrick Blewitt, who was born in Ballina, Mayo, in 1832, left Ireland in 1850 and settled in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Biden’s other great-great-grandfather was Owen Finnegan, from the Cooley Peninsula in Louth, who moved to America in the late 1840s and settled in Seneca, New York. The President has made a point of honouring his Irish roots throughout his life and career and his Inauguration Day on 20 January was no exception. It was fitting that 90 SUMMER 2021 ANTHOLOGY
